The SPAC King is back, crown dented but confidence unbowed.

Driving the news: Venture capitalist Chamath Palihapitiya has filed to raise $250 million for a new blank-check company called American Exceptionalism Acquisition A.

• It aims to acquire a company in one of several industries, including energy production or decentralized finance, although SPACs often settle on targets way outside their original purviews.

Why it matters: Palihapitiya for several years was the SPAC market's most active and visible sponsor, raising over $6.3 billion in IPOs for 10 of them and buying six companies.

• He also became a lightening rod for SPAC critics, as all but one of those companies now trade below $4 per share. The exception is SoFi, which closed yesterday at $22.75 per share.
• Palihapitiya also was involved in PIPEs for several other SPAC mergers — including for Desktop Metal, which later was acquired at a steep discount and recently filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

Catch up quick: Palihapitiya in 2022 seemed to sour on SPACs, winding down a pair of tech-focused ones after failing to find adequate merger targets. In short, he argued that such companies had failed to adequately reset valuation expectations to a post-ZIRP world.

• He kept a pair of biotech-focused SPACs open, but those never consummated deals either and eventually shut down.

Fast forward: Palihapitiya seems to believe that valuations have finally begun to take their Adderall, and there's some new data backing him up (both in terms of private round valuations and IPO prices vs. last private marks).

• In the new SPAC prospectus, he also cites a belief that "the biggest gains in the future will come from companies that are involved in fixing the fundamental risks that come from our interconnected global order while reinforcing American exceptionalism."
• The former Democrat has taken a Trumpy turn, and perhaps wants to return to an asset class where Trump and his sons have increasngly dabbled. Or perhaps he's banking on talk that the SEC will relax Biden-era SPAC oversight.

Yes, but: Palihapitiya gives a nod to his past performance problems, bolding a section about improved investor alignment.

• The new SPAC includes no warrants and a larger-than-normal sponsor promote, although his shares only vest if the post-merger company trades at a 50% premium to the IPO price (i.e., $15 or more).
• He also notes that this sort of offering is more appropriate for institutions than retail investors, and that any participants should go in with the understanding that there's "no crying in the casino."

The bottom line: Palihapitiya will have no trouble selling this, and its very existence could help set off another SPAC craze.

FieldAI, an Irvine, California-based developer of "brains" for robots, raised $405 million in Series A and Series A-1 funding, at a $2 billion post-money valuation.

Why it's the BFD: This is AI that could enable future AI, by helping to build data centers.

• Field AI is developing what it calls field foundation models, trained on the physical world, rather than retrofitting large language models to robots.
• It then applies these FFMs to third-party robots, regardless of form, with a focus on applications in "dirty, dull, or dangerous" industries like construction, energy, and logistics.

By the numbers: The initial $91 million was raised at a $400 million pre-money valuation late last year. The remainder came in more recently at the $2 billion post-money mark.

Investors include Bezos Expeditions, Canaan Partners, Emerson Collective, Intel Capital, Khosla Ventures, NVentures, Prysm, and Temasek.

The bottom line: "All we need from the robot manufacturer is that the robot can be joysticked by a person. If you have that, we can replace the person by installing our box on the robot. For example, if it's a humanoid robot, then it looks like a backpack. If it's a quadruped, then it's on its back." — FieldAI CEO Ali Agha to Axios

⚡ Group14, a Woodinville, Wash., silicon battery materials manufacturer, raised $463m Series D funding. SK led, joined by insiders Porsche Investments, ATL, OMERS, Decarbonization Partners, Lightrock Climate Impact Fund, and Microsoft Climate Innovation Fund. axios.link/45Z9MKU

• EliseAI, a New York developer of chatbots for the housing and health-care markets, raised $250m in Series E funding at a valuation north of $2.2b. A16z led, joined by Bessemer Venture Partners, Sapphire Ventures, and Navitas. axios.link/45oYP5c

• Overhaul, an Austin, Texas-based supply chain risk-management company, raised $105m in Series C funding led by Springcoast Partners and Edison Partners, per Axios Pro. It also acquired Ann Arbor, Mich.-based logistics tech provider FreightVerify. axios.link/4mP9Sud

• Midas, an Turkish investment platform, raised $80m in Series B funding. QED Investors led, joined by IFC, HSG, QuantumLight, Spice Expeditions, Spark Capital, Portage Ventures, and Bek Ventures. axios.link/41K4OiG

• TinyFish, a developer of enterprise web agents, raised $47m. Iconiq led, joined by USVP, Mango Capital, MongoDB Ventures, ASG, and Sandberg Bernthal Venture Partners. axios.link/3Jp0iQv

🚑 Iantrek, a White Plains, N.Y.-based developer of a surgical solution for glaucoma patients, raised $42m in Series C funding. USVP led, joined by aMoon and insiders Visionary Ventures, Sectoral Asset Management, Radius Special Situations Fund, and Civilization Ventures. iantrekmed.com

• AgendaPro, a Latin America-focused provider of salon management software, raised $35m led by Riverwood Capital, per Axios Pro. axios.link/3Hy0GeU

• Zed Industries, a Boulder, Colo.-based developer of an open-source code editor, raised $32m in Series B funding led by Sequoia Capital. zed.dev

• Pylon, an SF-based B2B support platform for post-sales teams, raised $31m in Series B funding led by Bain Capital Venures and a16z. usepylon.com

• Casca, an SF-based loan origination platform, raised $29m in Series A funding. Canapi Ventures led, joined by Live Oak Bank, Huntington National Bank, Bankwell Bank, YC, Peterson Ventures, and Alliance Funding Group. axios.link/45Wqsmd

🚑 Sensorium Therapeutics, a Boston-based developer of psychoactive medicines, raised $25m in Series A funding from Mission BioCapital, Hatteras Venture Partners, Mockingbird Capital Partners, and Dolby Family Ventures. axios.link/45HGOOi

• Phoebe, a U.K. developer of AI agents for detecting software problems, raised $17m led by GV and Cherry Ventures. axios.link/45rot9B

🚑 Mindler, a Swedish provider of digital therapy in the U.K. and Nordics, raised €15m in equity and debt funding led by Claret Capital. It also agreed to buy Ieso Digital Health UK. axios.link/4mPb1C1

🚑 Develop Health, an SF-based provider of benefits verification and prior authorization automation, raised $14.25m in Series A funding, per Axios Pro. Wing VC led, joined by Afore Capital, J Ventures, and South Park Commons. axios.link/4msXxMG

• Hades Mining, a German mining tech startup, raised €5.5m in pre-seed funding led by Project A. axios.link/45Xs9zT

• Low Observable Technology, a London-based digital asset trading firm, raised $5m in seed funding. 13books Capital led, joined by Lightspeed, Veris Ventures, and CRIT Ventures USA. lo.tech

• Astorg invested in Attikon Finanz, a German commercial insurance brokerage. axios.link/4fLAA4O

• Charlesbank Capital Partners invested in Centegix, an Atlanta-based provider of workplace safety solutions. Existing backer Gauge Capital will roll over some of its stake. centegix.com

• CSI agreed to acquire Apiture, a provider of digital banking solutions to U.S. financial groups. CSI backers include TA Associates, Bridgeport Partners, Centerbridge Partners, and CFT Capital Partners. Apiture had raised around $70m from Live Oak Ventures, Truist Ventures, Live Oak Bank, Pinnacle Bank, SunTrust Bank, Pinnacle Financial Partners, T. Rowe Price, and Bankers Healthcare Group. csiweb.com

• Edison Partners invested $65m for a majority stake in KnowledgeLake, a St. Louis-based enterprise workflow automation platform, per Axios Pro. axios.link/45J3lKL

• FTV Capital and Lead Edge Capital invested in Highway, a provider of logistics carrier identity and compliance logistics. highway.com

🚑 Findos Investor agreed to acquire Denmark-based vaccinations provider European LifeCare Group from Inflexion. axios.link/3JoMm99

• H.I.G. Capital acquired a control stake in Fluo Group, a Finnish waste management and recycling company. fluo.fi

🚑 Quadrant Private Equity agreed to buy Carlisle Health, an Australian network of outpatient imaging centers, for over A$130m. axios.link/3HG7F5u

🚑 Residex, an Accel-KKR portfolio company that provides records management provider for senior communities, acquired Kevala, a Kirkland, Wash.-based staffing startup focused on healthcare facilities. Kevala had raised around $16m from such firms as Costonoa Ventures, Cercano Management, and PSL Ventures. axios.link/45WjM7E

• Riata Capital acquired Coeo Solutions, a Downers Grove, Ill.-based provider of managed network and cloud collaboration solutions to SMEs. coeosolutions.com

• SuperHero Fire Protection, a Hidden Harbor Capital Partners portfolio company, acquired Strategic Connections, a Raleigh, N.C.-based provider of commercial fire protection and low-voltage systems. superherofireprotection.com

• YFM Equity Partners invested in MurphyCobb & Associates, a London-based brand consultancy. murphycobb.com

• BTC Development, a Bitcoin ecosystem SPAC led by Betsy Cohen, filed for a $220m IPO. axios.link/4lwFVxZ

🚑 Stada, a German pharma company owned by Bain Capital and Cinven, is restarting IPO plans as talks to be acquired by CapVest have stalled, per Bloomberg. axios.link/4oRfjeb

🚑 Aurobindo Pharma of India is the lead bidder for Zentiva, a Czech generic drugmaker being sold by Advent International, per the Economic Times. A deal could fetch around $5.5b. axios.link/47EazCi

🚑 Custom Health, a West Hollywood, Calif.-based medication management company acquired PatchRx, a Tulsa, Okla.-based maker of smart pill bottle caps that had raised $12m from firms like Atento Capital, Cortado Ventures, Forum Ventures, Plains Ventures, and Vast Ventures. axios.link/4fEOsO0

• Daikin Applied, a subsidiary of Japan's Daikin Industries, acquired DDC Solutions, a San Diego-based provider of GPU cabinet cooling solutions, from Thompson Street Capital Partners and Cequel III. axios.link/41cqJPm

• Klaviyo (NYSE: KVYO) acquired Gatsby, a social automation product for brands that had been seeded by firms like 10X Capital and Capital Factory. axios.link/4mOSO7K

• Lennox International (NYSE: LII) agreed to acquire the HVAC unit of NSI Industries, a Sentinel Capital Partners portfolio company, for around $550m in cash. axios.link/41gsxa6

• MC Machinery Systems acquired Canadian machine tools maker Ferro Technique from Argyle and Sharno Group. mcmachinery.com

• Rosebank Industries (LSE: ROSE) completed its $1.9b purchase of St. Louis-based wire harness maker Electrical Components International from Cerberus Capital Management. ecintl.com

• Salesforce (NYSE: CRM) agreed to acquire Regrello, an SF-based agentic workflow startup that had raised around $25m from Sherpalo Ventures, Hitachi Ventures, Tiger Global, a16z, and Dell Technologies Capital. axios.link/3UBRJUH

• Starling Bank, a London-based neobank that's raised nearly $1b, agreed to buy U.K. accounting startup Ember, which had raised $14m from backers like Valar Ventures, Viola Fintech, and Shapers. axios.link/45W6BDI

👖 Guess (NYSE: GES) agreed to go private for $1.4b, in a deal led by Authentic Brands (NYSE: AUTH). axios.link/45qRr9v

• Mercuries Life Insurance (Taiwan: 2867) is exploring a possible sale, per Bloomberg. axios.link/47D0CoG

• Turkish Airlines agreed to invest €300m for a minority stake in Spain's Air Europa. axios.link/4oHIJLy

• Anchorage Capital Advisors raised $1.5b for its ninth credit opportunities fund. anchoragecapital.com

• Neuberger Berman is nearing a first close on its next flagship PE secondaries fund, which is targeting $5b, per Bloomberg. axios.link/3Jla8mp

🌎 Evan Kaufman joined TPG Rise Climate as a principal. He previously was with KKR. axios.link/4oL3q9g

• Lightrock hired Gaurav Malhotra (ex-British International Investment) as a partner, Aayush Parwal (Eversource Capital) and Himanshi Kashyap (Apollo) as principals, and Manoj Kohli (SoftBank) as a senior advisor. lightrock.com

Lowe's this morning beat Q2 earnings expectations and said that it will pay $8.8 billion to buy interior building products distributor Foundation Building Materials from private equity firms American Securities and CD&R.

The big picture: New home starts hit a five-month high in July, led by multifamily units, but permits for future builds is at a five-year low.

• That doesn't feel like the best environment for a giant acquisition in the professional contractor space, although perhaps Lowe's feels it needs to play catch up with Home Depot — which last year paid over $18 billion to buy SRS Distribution from Leonard Green & Partners and Berkshire Partners.

The intrigue, via Axios' Ben Berkowitz: There are also serious questions about whether the government's housing starts data really reflects what's happening.

• Multiple economists argued Tuesday that private-sector data shows starts falling sharply, not rising, both for single-family homes and apartment buildings.

By the numbers: Home Depot shares climbed over 3% yesterday on its own earnings, while Lowe's is up over 2% in premarket trading.