Ryan Breslow is stepping up, in terms of both his job title at Bolt Financial and his battle with what he calls the "Silicon Valley mob."

Why it matters: Few tech founders eagerly poke the bear, particularly ones in the midst of raising hundreds of millions of dollars in new funding.

What happened: Breslow is founder of Bolt Financial, a one-stop checkout company most recently valued at $11 billion. He recently posted a Twitter thread arguing that accelerator program Y Combinator has become too bloated to justify its dilution cost. He also alleged that YC and its VC friends have used anti-competitive means to aid mega-winner alums like payments giant Stripe.

• YC and those aforementioned VCs hit back with everything from Twitter threads of their own to memes to poop emojis, in short arguing that Breslow — who once applied to YC but was rejected — didn't have his facts right.
• Yesterday, TechCrunch's Connie Loizos scooped that Breslow was transitioning from CEO to executive chair at Bolt. The new CEO is Maju Kuruvilla, a former Amazon exec who joined Bolt in 2019 and was promoted to COO last summer.
• Breslow claims the switch had been in the works for weeks, and that the timing was tied to the end of Bolt's fiscal year (Jan. 31), not backlash to his tweets. "I saw someone next to me who could take my job as CEO and be better at it than me," Breslow told me last night. "Maju already managed a vast majority of the company, and this allows me to focus on what I'm best at, like big deals and culture and fundraising."
• In terms of culture, Breslow recently implemented four-day workweeks at Bolt, and has been outspoken in hoping others follow its lead.

Deals: Breslow says that "acquisitions will be a key part of what we do" going forward, adding that he's thinking bigger than acqui-hires and that Bolt also will make venture investments. Specifically, deals could be used to build more around consumer products related to Bolt's shopper network, plus for international and social commerce expansion.

• Breslow declined to discuss fundraising, besides the $355 million in Series E-1 funding it recently secured at an $11 billion valuation.
• But Axios has learned that round was quietly co-led by Hedosophia, alongside disclosed backers like BlackRock. It's also continuing to work toward its overall $777 million Series E target, as we reported last October, via a Series E-2 round that will come with a $14 billion valuation. Expect that new tranche to close later this month, with a Series E-3 round also possible (the tranches are being spaced out, letting Bolt raise its valuation as it signs large new customers).
• I've received conflicting information on whether of not the Series E-1 investors were informed of the pending CEO switch (BlackRock declined comment). Obviously, prospective Series E-2 investors are aware.

Competition: Breslow believes that Stripe has asked many of its VCs to refrain from backing potential competitors, including by leveraging the YC network. For example, he alleges that Stripe investor Founders Fund invested Bolt when it was a crypto play, but was "blocked" from doing follow-ons once Bolt pivoted.

• Leaving aside the legitimacy of Breslow's Stripe claims, it's certainly true that VCs may ask an existing portfolio company for "permission" to back a rival (even if not legally required). John Doerr, for example, did so when he wanted to invest in Google but was already invested in Excite.
• It makes sense, in terms of VC scruples, but obviously could be abused by companies with overflowing investor rosters.

The bottom line: Breslow isn't backing down, and it sounds like his new job could give him more latitude to pursue his "conscious culture" objectives. "If you do things differently and fail, you're going to get made fun of," he says. "But it's worth doing if you believe it's right."

Source: Giphy

Sony Interactive Entertainment agreed to buy Bungie, the U.S. gaming studio that created Halo and Destiny, for around $3.6 billion.

Why it's the BFD: This is the third major gaming merger of 2022, even though the calendar just flipped to February. It also means there's been as much dollar volume in gaming deals as there was in all of 2021, which was a record-breaker in its own right.

Bonus: The NY Times yesterday agreed to buy Wordle from creator Josh Wardle for an amount in the "low seven figures." Would love to see a Venn diagram of Wordle and Destiny 2 players.

Flashback: Gaming consolidation in full swing.

The bottom line: Even when Microsoft isn't involved in a big gaming deal, it's involved in a big gaming deal. Bungie was independent until Microsoft bought it in 2001, using Halo to drive adoption of the original Xbox. Bungie then became independent again in 2007, and then in 2010 signed a since-lapsed publishing deal with Activision, which is now being bought by Microsoft.

• Chargebee, a Walnut, Calif.-based subscription management and recurring billing platform, raised $250m at a $3.5b valuation. Tiger Global and Sequoia Capital co-led, and were joined by Insight Partners, Sapphire Ventures and Steadview Capital. http://axios.link/Esu5

• LoadSmart, a Chicago-based on-demand freight marketplace, raised $200m in Series D funding at a $1.3b valuation. SoftBank led, and was joined by BlackRock, CSX and Janus Henderson. http://axios.link/2xCH

• GWI, a British market research SaaS, raised $180m in Series B funding led by Permira at a valuation north of $850m. http://axios.link/C2Mg

• Dealshare, a Bengaluru-based social commerce startup, raised $165m in funding led by Tiger Global and Alpha Wave Global at a $1.6b valuation. Dragoneer Investments Group, Kora Capital and Unilever Ventures also participated. http://axios.link/ALQM

• RenoRun, a Canadian e-commerce platform for construction and building materials, raised US$142m in Series B funding co-led by Tiger Global and Sozo Ventures. http://axios.link/qr0M

🚑 Athelas, a Mountain View, Calif.-based remote patient monitoring company, raised $132m over two rounds led by General Catalyst and Tribe Capital, respectively. Go deeper.

• Betterfly, a Chilean insure-tech startup, raised $125m in Series C funding at a $1b valuation. Glade Brook led, and was joined by Greycroft, Lightrock and insiders QED Investors and DST Global. http://axios.link/RJuB

• Superpedestrian, a Boston-based scooter fleet developer, raised $125m in equity and debt funding from Jefferies, Antara Capital, Sony Innovation Fund, FM Capital and insiders Spark Capital, General Catalyst and Citi. http://axios.link/omuN

• MNTN, an LA-based connected TV ad-tech company, raised $119m co-led by BlackRock and Fidelity. http://axios.link/QbY1

• Wayflyer, a Dublin-based financing platform for e-commerce merchants, raised $100m at a $1.6b valuation. DST Global and QED Investors co-led, and were joined by Prosus, Madrone Capital Partners, JPMorgan and insiders Left Lane Capital and Guillaume Pousaz. http://axios.link/Moul

• Jellyfish, a Boston-based engineering management platform, raised $71m in Series C funding from Accel, Insight Partners, Tiger Global and Wing VC. www.jellyfish.co

• Dott, a Dutch e-scooter and micromobility startup, raised $70m in new Series B equity and debt. Sofina led, and was joined by fellow insiders EQT Ventures and Prosus Ventures. http://axios.link/REig

• Channable, a Dutch e-commerce marketing management startup, raised €55m in Series B funding. Partech led, and was joined by Peak. www.channable.com

• Scaler, an Indian upskilling startup, raised $55m in Series B funding at a $710m valuation. Lightrock India led, and was joined by insiders Sequoia Capital India and Tiger Global. TechCrunch reports that Scaler recently turned down a $400m acquisition offer from Unacademy. http://axios.link/MEYn

• Lunchbox, a New York-based digital ordering platform for enterprise restaurant chains and ghost kitchens, raised $50m in Series B funding. Coatue led, and was joined by Primary Venture Partners and 645 Ventures. www.lunchbox.io

• Purely Elizabeth, a Boulder, Colo.-based breakfast and granola brand, raised $50m in Series B funding. Semcap led, and was joined by Swander Pace Capital and Fresh Del Monte. http://axios.link/YoH3

• Metronome, an SF-based billing and data infrastructure platform for usage-based companies, raised $30m in Series A funding led by Andreessen Horowitz. http://axios.link/tWdL

• Olipop, an Oakland-based better-for-you soda brand, raised $30m in Series B funding at a $200m valuation led by Monogram Capital Partners. http://axios.link/EaHF

• Withco, a New York-based commercial property ownership platform for SMBs, raised over $30m from firms like Canaan Partners, Founders Fund, Initialized Capital, NFX, Enlightened Hospitality Investments and Lennar. http://axios.link/EMYZ

🚑 Vynca, a Palo Alto-based provider of care solutions for those with serious illnesses, raised $30m in growth funding. Questa Capital led, and was joined by Generator Ventures, First Trust, 4100 Group and OCA Ventures. www.vyncahealth.com

• Tint, an SF-based embedded insurance startup, raised $25m in Series A funding. QED Investors led, and was joined by insiders Nyca, Deciens, YC and Webb Investment Network. www.tint.ai

🚑 Ethris, a German developer of mRNA therapeutics, raised €23.3m in Series B funding led by Laureus Capital. www.ethris.com

• Deepnote, an SF-based collaborative data science notebook, raised $20m in Series A funding. Index Ventures and Accel co-led, and were joined by YC and Credo Ventures. http://axios.link/I8yG

• Lex, a New York-based commercial real estate securities marketplace, raised $15m in Series A funding. Peak6 led, and was joined by Khosla Ventures, MetaProp, Two Lanterns, MUFG Innovation Partners and Gaingels. http://axios.link/mhjX

• Ayoconnect, an Indonesian financial API platform, raised $15m in Series B funding led by Tiger Global. http://axios.link/0qef

🚑 First Dollar, a digital health wallet for insurance members with tax-advantaged plans, raised $14m in Series A funding led by Blue Venture Fund. https://www.firstdollar.com

• Circula, a Berlin-based expense management startup, raised €12m in Series A funding from Alstin Capital, Peak and Storm Ventures. http://axios.link/VtM8

• Jobilla, a Finnish recruiting platform, raised €8.25m co-led by Jurri Partners and Trind VC. www.jobilla.com

• Bizi, an Israeli SMB financing startup, raised $7.5m in Seed funding led by BlueVine, along with Phoenix and Orshay. http://axios.link/wmD5

• YFS, an Egyptian instant delivery startup, raised $7m in Series A funding. DisruptAD led, and was joined by Flybridge Ventures and I Squared Capital. http://axios.link/71dz

• Lost Lake Games, a Seattle-based cross-platform gaming studio, raised $5m in seed funding. Bitkraft Ventures led, and was joined by Lightspeed Venture Partners, Moon Holdings and 1Up Ventures. www.lostlakegames.com

• Forwrd, an Israeli business intelligence startup, raised $3.5m in seed funding from Angular Ventures. http://axios.link/aC3V

🎬 Apollo Global Management agreed to invest $760m for a minority stake in Legendary, a production house whose recent films include "Dune" and "Godzilla vs. Kong." http://axios.link/aeYc

• Carmelina Capital Partners invested in Magswitch, a Lafayette, Colo.-based provider of magnetic grippers and other industrial magnetic tools. www.magswitch.com

• Godspeed Capital acquired Savli Group, a Woodbine, Md.-based provider of ServiceNow software and IT automation solutions to federal agencies. www.savli.com

• H.I.G. Capital acquired a majority stake in Mobileum, a Cupertino, Calif.-based provider of data analytics for the telecom market, from Audax Private Equity (which retains a minority stake). www.mobileum.com

• KKR is investing in PlayOn Sports, an Atlanta-based high school sports media and technology company, alongside existing backer Panoramic Ventures. www.playonsports.com

• SBJ Capital bought Rack & Riddle, a Healdsburg, Calif.-based sparkling wine producer. www.rackandriddle.com

• Cybereason, a Boston-based endpoint security company, filed confidential papers for a U.S. IPO, per Reuters. It’s raised $745m from firms like SoftBank, Google, Liberty Strategic Capital, Spark Capital, CRV, Irving Investors, SharesPost,West Coast Equity Partners, Neuberger Berman and Lockheed Martin. http://axios.link/xh10

• Alset Capital Acquisition, a real estate SPAC, raised $75m in its IPO. http://axios.link/kfs5

• Blue World Acquisition, a marine industry SPAC, raised $80m in its IPO. http://axios.link/jN6o

• Falcon Capital Acquisition II, a media SPAC led by Alan Mnuchin, withdrew registration for a $400m IPO. http://axios.link/ojBA

• Primavera Capital and ABC International Holdings filed for a Hong Kong-listed SPAC. http://axios.link/4z9X

• Meta (Nasdaq: FB) is in talks to buy Accusonus, an audio software startup founded in Greece and incorporated in Massachusetts, per Reuters. Accusonus investors include VentureFriends and Enterprise Mates. http://axios.link/9hDN

• TA Associates completed its $700m sale of Power Line Systems, a Madison, Wis.-based provider of software for designing overhead electric power lines, to Bentley Systems (Nasdaq: BSY). www.powerlinesystems.com

🚑 Apollo Medical Holdings Inc. (Nasdaq: AMEH) agreed to buy Orma Health, a Palo Alto-based remote patient monitoring platform. http://axios.link/yzub

• Cengage Group agreed to buy Infosec, a Madison, Wis.-based cybersecurity education provider, for $191m. www.cengagegroup.com

• The FTC will investigate Microsoft's proposed Activision Blizzard takeover, rather than the DOJ, per Bloomberg. http://axios.link/xafQ

🚑 Glooko, a Palo Alto-based provider of remote patient monitoring and chronic care management for diabetes, acquired Xbird, a Berlin-based predictive analytics platform for diabetes. Glooko has raised over $230m from Health Catalyst Capital, Realization, Canaan Partners, Georgian Partners, Novo Nordisk, Insulet and Mayo Clinic. Xbird backers included Cascara Ventures. http://axios.link/UouI

🚑 Humana (NYSE: HUM) hired Goldman Sachs to find a buyer for Kindred at Home, the country's largest home health and hospice care provider, per Axios Pro Health Tech Deals.

• SIG Combibloc, a listed Swiss packaging firm, agreed to buy Northlake, Ill.-based packager Scholle IPN for around $1.5b. http://axios.link/XrwM

• 468 Capital of Berlin raised $400m for its second seed fund. http://axios.link/VFVs

• AirTree Ventures of Australia raised A$450m for a new growth fund, A$200m for a new seed fund and A$50m for a web3 fund. http://axios.link/aYMl

• Flex Capital, an SF-based VC firm, is raising $300m for its second fund per an SEC filing. www.flexcapital.com

🌎 Lightsmith Group raised $186m for a climate-focused growth equity fund. www.lightsmithgp.com

• Seven Seven Six, the VC firm led by Alexis Ohanian, raised $500m for its second fund. www.sevensevensix.com

• Michael Agyilirah (ex-Blackstone) joined HarbourView Equity Partners as CFO. http://axios.link/c3Mb

• S. Sundareswaran rejoined Morgan Stanley to lead India M&A, per Bloomberg. http://axios.link/43nx

• Christine Weis (ex-Lincoln International) joined CVC Credit's private debt team as a Frankfurt-based managing director. www.cvc.com

🌎 2150, a European VC firm focused on urban sustainability tech, hired Peter Hirsch (ex-EBRD) as head of sustainability and Margarita Skarkou (ex-Barclays) as an investor. www.2150.vc

• Hercules Capital promoted Christian Follmann to COO, Charlie Vandis to chief credit officer and hired Kiersten Zaza Botelho (ex-Bain Capital Credit) as general council and chief compliance officer. www.htgc.com