With a relative deluge of private and public money pouring into sustainability, "it's never been a better time to start a climate tech company," Amy Francetic, co-founder of Buoyant Ventures, tells Climate Deals' Alan Neuhauser.

Driving the news: Francetic co-founded Energize Ventures, and on Feb. 2 she announced that Buoyant closed its debut fund at $76 million, with a focus on early-stage climate software companies.

This interview, which appeared in Climate Deals on Feb. 9, was lightly edited for length and clarity:

What, in your view, was the big story in climate tech this week?

• The European Union's response to the Inflation Reduction Act was bold: regulatory incentives, funding, job training.
• It kicks off global competition and innovation for climate businesses. It's go-time for everyone working in climate.

What would you add to the narrative?

• Europe has been the global leader in climate policies for the last few decades. The fact that the U.S. is rising to that status with the IRA is an indication of the anticipated impact of that bill on domestic climate technologies and manufacturing.

By contrast, what's going under-noticed?

• Water is the barometer of climate change. The crisis in the Western U.S. with the Colorado River is a much bigger deal than the media is portraying.
• We either have flooding and hurricanes and too much water, or catastrophic droughts. The impact on the agricultural industry at a time when inflation is hurting consumers is really bad news.

In three-ish words, what change would you make to climate-tech investment?

• More funding for diverse founders.

Three fun things:

💼 First job: Other than babysitting, my first paycheck was selling Apple computers in my hometown's dinky retail computer store.

👑 Proudest investment decision: The 40-plus companies in the Midwestern U.S. backed by Evergreen Climate Innovations. [Francetic co-founded the group and leads the board.]

🤦 The one you regret: At Energize we had the opportunity to invest in Omnidian early. We passed because we had just finished leading the Series A of Aurora Solar, and we didn’t want to do another rooftop solar deal right away.

Private equity investors may see more opportunities to scoop up undervalued retail assets in a down environment, but that activity may be reserved for particular areas, KPMG partner Kevin Martin tells Retail Deals' Kimberly Chin.

Why it's the BFD: Despite an estimated $1.96 trillion in global private equity dry powder, consumer and retail PE activity was muted last year.

By the numbers: Last year, PE deal volume fell to 480 transactions from 706 the year before, representing a 32% drop, according to a KPMG report on consumer and retail M&A.

• PE deal value fell 59% to $34.8 billion in 2022 from the year earlier.
• Around 80% of PE firms active in the C&R sector say that they expect a decline in deal activity over the next 12 months, according to the report.

What they’re saying: Sponsor-led deal activity will ramp up once lenders “feel good” about the macroeconomic environment, Martin says.

• “As one of my private equity friends said, ‘the lenders sort of had alligator arms,’” he quips.
• Once lenders “start seeing some of these early wins, that's when it's going to really open up,” he says.
• Last year, fundraising among PE firms fell to $784.1 billion from $918.5 billion a year earlier, according to Preqin.

Yes, but: Martin sees some pockets opening up around distressed M&A.

• “Some large private equity firms... are certainly looking for valuations that are lower,” he says.
• They will be looking for bargain-priced assets ripe for a turnaround, he adds.

What we’re watching: Industry insiders say there’s plenty of deal demand, with many PE firms prepping portfolio companies to come to market later this year.

• “I believe that when the dam breaks, it’s going to be pretty ferocious,” Martin says. “The question, again, is when?”
• Martin predicts a spike in corporate divestitures in 2023 as strategics shore up their portfolios to ensure they coincide with their long-term strategies.
• Those underperforming assets — ideal targets for private equity — will likely hit the auction block, he says.

This article ran in Retail Deals on Feb. 8.

Companies large and small are on alert for a record wave of attacks this year from activist investors, Axios' Michael Flaherty writes.

By the numbers: 2022 saw a record number of new activist investors, and a record share of activists' activity targeted large companies — including Alphabet, Meta and Salesforce.

Driving the news: Last week, Trian Partners claimed victory over Disney in a proxy fight that showed what lies ahead in 2023.

• Irenic Capital's attack on News Corp last fall captured two key activist trends in a single campaign: Irenic was a first-time activist, and it targeted a large, blue-chip industry name.

Details: Easing volatility and low valuations are keeping activists on center stage. And a drop in M&A volume is among the drivers for big-ticket activist campaigns.

Go deeper.

Zeta Global launched a generative AI tool in beta that's called ChatBotZeta last Thursday, Media Deals' Kerry Flynn writes.

Why it matters: As ChatGPT explodes in popularity, more businesses are publicizing their work in the field by releasing tools to consumers.

Details: ChatBotZeta analyzes "trillions of consumer signals from Zeta's proprietary Data Cloud with generative artificial intelligence to produce conversational attributes and descriptions of individuals," the company said in a press release.

• Using the tool requires sharing your name and email address. And then it generates a description of you or a personal haiku or poem.
• "ChatBotZeta is an early beta version," chief data officer Neej Gore says. "Eventually, we plan to have this type of technology embedded within our products to help marketers understand more about their customers."

💭 Kerry's thought bubble: The tool is fun but, of course, not perfect. The descriptions for Axios' Tim Baysinger and me both randomly said we're passionate about educational technology. Mine also said I like wine, which is false.

This article appeared in Media Deals on Feb. 9.

• Zeekr, the EV arm of Chinese Geely Automobile Holdings, is raising $750m from five investors at a $13b valuation. https://axios.link/3YCEQK6

• The Ugly Company, a Farmersville, Calif.-based snack-maker from upcycled fruit, raised a $9m Series A led by Sun Valley Packing, a fruit grower and distributor. https://axios.link/3jUYKkE

• Fable, an Australian producer of mushroom-based meat, raised $8.5m led by VC 3 Ventures. Better Bite Ventures participated. https://axios.link/40UUbaH

• CaPow, an Israeli developer of battery-free energy systems for robotics, raised a $7.5m seed round led by IL Ventures. Mobilion VC, Payton Planar Magnetics, Doral Energy-Tech Ventures, Mobilitech Capital, and angel Ray Nissan participated. https://axios.link/3HOcdTq

• C3, a New York City-based self-custodial exchange, raised $6m in seed funding. Two Sigma Ventures led and was joined by Jane Street, Hudson River Trading, Flow Traders, Jump, DRW’s Cumberland, Golden Tree, CMS Holdings, AlphaLab Capital, and C² Ventures. https://axios.link/3RWE3l5

• Kennek, a U.K.-based alternative lending software startup, raised $4.5m in pre-seed funding led by Dutch Founders Fund, FF Venture Capital and Plug and Play Ventures. https://axios.link/3RW3RxB

• ShareWell, a San Francisco-based telemental health provider focused on peer support, raised $1.3m in pre-seed funding from Quiet Capital and individual backers including Forward CEO Adrian Aoun, Twitch cofounder Kyle Vogt, former Yelp CTO Russell Simmons and former Ancestry CEO Margo Georgiadis. https://axios.link/3xeoonH

• Fondo, a San Francisco-based maker of tax prep and accounting software, raised $1.2m in funding from Y Combinator, Liquid2 Ventures, Transmedia Capital, and GMO Venture Partners, as first reported by Axios Pro Fintech. It also raised $1.8m in debt from Capchase. https://axios.link/3IjSmga

• Francisco Partners bought GreenSlate, a New York-based provider of payroll and accounting software, from VSS Capital Partners (which retains a minority stake). www.gslate.com

• Oasis Corp., a South Korean grocery delivery app, withdrew its Seoul IPO wherein it was seeking almost 207 billion won. https://axios.link/3jQKidF

• Complete Solaria, a San Ramon, Calif.-based solar services provider and installer, received a $10m commitment from Foris Ventures, part of a $30m bridge round supporting the company’s SPAC combination with Freedom Acquisition I Corp. https://axios.link/3HZTioG

• Alibaba sold its remaining stake in Indian digital payments firm Paytm for about 13.78b rupees ($167.14m) through a block deal. https://axios.link/3YMsTRV

• Morinaga Nutritional Foods, a plant-based food manufacturer, acquired plant-based food company Tofurky and its sister brand Moocho. https://axios.link/3YqMFmr

• Tonal, a home fitness startup, has explored options including a sale. https://axios.link/3K4pcDo

• United Utility Services, a Baton Rouge-based utility services provider, completed its acquisition of BHI Power Delivery, a Weymouth, Mass.-based utility transmission and distribution services provider, from Westinghouse Electric. https://axios.link/3Ikxe9F

• Fei-Fei Li has joined Radical Ventures, a Canadian venture firm focused on AI, as a partner. She will continue her appointment at Stanford University. https://axios.link/3HZwTrs

• Peeyush Nahar, global head of Goldman Sachs' consumer business, is leaving the bank and will take on an advisory role. https://axios.link/3RNDUAr