The collision between pro sports and dealmaking keeps accelerating, and today we've got two new examples:

Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen is joining Cashmere Fund as a partner, Axios has learned.

• Cashmere is a Nasdaq-listed interval fund, led by former Endeavor exec Elia Infascelli, in which non-accredited investors can get exposure to venture-backed startups.
• It has two redemption periods per year, each for up to 5% of the fund's AUM, plus a year-end distribution (if applicable), and soon is expected to unveil a brokerage partnership. The portfolio has more than 30 companies, weighted toward consumer and consumer tech.
• Allen won't have a role in making deal decisions, but rather will invest in the fund and use his profile to support portfolio companies. It's like venture's version of being an influencer, and similar to what Cashmere also is doing with former J. Crew president Jenna Lyons.
• "Unlike prior eras, athletes now have so many more opportunities available to them outside of sports than ever before," Allen explains. "VC is one of the most competitive businesses around, and like in sports, the rewards when you do succeed are great. That appealed to me."

Longtime NBA exec Dave Checketts is launching a sports-focused private equity fund, for which he's seeking to raise $1.2 billion.

• It's in partnership with Cynosure Group, an investment firm founded by the Eccles family — with whom Checketts worked to help keep the Jazz in Utah four decades ago.
• "When the team was basically bankrupt and going to move, Spencer Eccles of First Security Bank wrote a loan of $8 million that no one else would have," recalls Checketts, who later would run the New York Knicks, Madison Square Garden Corp., and Legends Hospitality. "It let us pay off our debt and put working capital into the franchise."
• He tells Axios that there's already enough committed capital to begin doing deals, and that the plan is for a concentrated portfolio that's likely to include "meaningful" club stakes — both within major and emerging leagues — plus some related media or tech opportunities.

AuthMind, a Bethesda, Maryland-based identity protection startup, tells Axios that it's raised $19.3 million in seed funding led by Cheyenne Ventures.

Why it's the BFD: This highlights a rising cybersecurity threat whereby hackers — both human and machine — mimic verified users to access networks and devices. Logging in vs. breaking in.

• It's become more common as identity "ownership" infrastructure has become more fragmented, and AuthMind says its tech also can be used to detect insider threats.

Other investors include Ballistic Ventures, IBM, Black Opal Ventures, K2 Access Fund, Jefferies Family Office, Silver Buckshot Ventures, and Blu Venture Investors.

The bottom line: "We're providing continuous identity observability, knowing what's suspicious because of the identity rather than centering on attacks." — Shlomi Yanai, AuthMind CEO

• Supabase, a Postgres database management system, raised $200m in Series D funding at a $2b valuation, per Fortune. Backers include Coatue, YC, Craft Ventures, and Felicis. axios.link/4lHq7tu

• Manychat, a New York-based provider of customer and e-commerce service automation for brands, raised $140m led by Summit Partners. axios.link/4jGg8mv

• Electra, a Manassas, Va.-based maker of hybrid electric aircraft, raised $115m in Series B funding. Prysm Capital led, joined by Lockheed Martin Ventures, Honeywell, Safran, Statkraft Ventures, and the Virginia Innovation Partnership Corp. axios.link/3RXhH3w

🚑 Biolinq, a developer of wearable glucose monitoring devices for Type 2 diabetes, raised $100m in Series C funding, per Axios Pro. Alpha Wave Ventures led, joined by RiverVest Venture Partners, AXA IM Alts, LifeSci Venture Partners, M Ventures, Hikma Ventures, Aphelion Capital, and Taisho Pharma. axios.link/42PK358

• Ocient, a Chicago-based provider of data analytics software, raised $42.1m in Series B extension funding from Allstate Strategic Ventures, Blue Bear Capital, Solidigm, Massive, Zelkova, and Northwestern Mutual. axios.link/3Gfg7aH

⚡ Exowatt, a Miami-based solar storage startup, raised $35m in Series A funding. Felicis led, joined by a16z, 8090 Industries, Starwood Capital, Thrive Capital, and MCJ Collective. It also secured $35m in debt from HSBC. exowatt.com

🚑 Superpower, a health early detection app, raised $30m in Series A funding. Forerunner led, joined by Day One Ventures, Susa Ventures, Long Journey Ventures, Family Fund, Opal Ventures, Valia Ventures, Visible Ventures, Vanessa Hudgens, Steve Aoki, and Giannis Antetokounmpo. axios.link/42XmaJO

• Reco, a Miami-based SaaS security startup, raised $25m from Redseed and insiders Insight Partners, Zeev Ventures, Boldstart, and Angular Ventures. reco.ai

• Irrigreen, an Edina, Minn., developer of ultra-precise lawn sprinklers, raised $19m in Series A funding co-led by Natural Ventures and Burnt Island Ventures, per Axios Pro. axios.link/4ioJTXW

• ROH, a payments management platform for hospitality, raised $9.2m from Highgate Tech Ventures and Acrew Capital. roh.co

• Tally, a New York-based provider of software for onchain organizations, raised $8m in Series A funding from AppWorks, Blockchain Capital, 1kx, Cyberfund, Placeholder, BitGo and Bloccelerate. tally.xyz

🌎 OnePlanet, a Jacksonville, Fla.-based recycler of solar panels for critical metals, raised $7m in seed funding led by Khasma Capital. 1planetrecycling.com

• CSignum, a U.K.-based underwater and underground IoT communications startup, raised £6m in Series A funding co-led by Archangels, Par Equity, and Scottish Enterprise. axios.link/4ira4x6

🌎 PHNX Materials, a concrete decarbonization startup, raised $2.5m in seed funding from Divergent Capital, KdT Ventures, and Overture. axios.link/4448FcC

🌎 Fotenix, a U.K. crop diagnostics software developer, raised £2.1m led by River Capital, joined by Ehe Ventures. axios.link/4jfrtdv

• 2ndWave Software, a PSG portfolio company, agreed to buy JAMS, a workload automation and job scheduling solution, from TA Associates. axios.link/4cSpREg

• Azureon, a portfolio company of O2 Investment Partners, acquired Northern Pool & Spa, an Eliot, Maine-based pool maintenance and construction company. azureon.com

• Baker Tilly, an accounting firm backed by Hellman & Friedman and Valeas Capital Partners, agreed to merge with peer Moss Adams in a deal valued at around $7b. axios.link/4cHIuKR

• Coral Tree Partners invested in Innovative Artists, a Santa Monica, Calif.-based talent agency. innovativeartists.com

• J.C. Flowers agreed to acquire Admiral Group's (LSE: ADM) U.S. motor insurance business, including Elephant. axios.link/4lVE4Ey

🚑 KKR offered to acquire life sciences products firm Biotage (Swiss: BIOT) for around $1.22b. axios.link/42Dkiom

• Littlejohn Capital acquired 3P Processing, a Wichita, Kan.-based provider of metal processing and finishing solutions to aerospace, from Spell Capital Partners. 3pprocessing.com

• Lynx Equity acquired MNM Group, a Willow Grove, Pa.-based communications contractor. axios.link/4jNebVz

🚑 SePRO, a portfolio company of Stanley Capital Partners and Goldman Sachs Alternatives, acquired Green Eyes, a lab tech company focused on field-based nutrient analysis. sepro.com

• Serent Capital invested in PlotBox, a provider of cemetery, crematory, and funeral home management software. plotbox.com

• Tecum Capital invested in Marcy Laboratories, a Glendale Heights, Ill.-based provider of contract manufacturing for fragrance brands. marcylaboratories.com

• TPG and Temasek acquired minority stakes in Cliffwater, a Marina del Rey, Calif.-based alternative investment adviser and fund manager. axios.link/4jeuf2F

• VitalSource, an e-textbook provider owned by Francisco Partners, acquired RedShelf, a Chicago-based course materials distributor for higher ed. axios.link/4jG0M1c

🚑 Waud Capital Partners acquired MedTec, an Illinois provider of in-home care and adult day services. medtechealthcare.com

• Autodoc, a German spare car parts marketplace owned by Apollo, is prepping for a 2025 IPO. axios.link/4lNb55N

• Affiliated Managers Group agreed to buy a minority stake in Verition Fund Management, per Bloomberg. axios.link/3YGWtL0

• BAHA, an Austrian market data provider, agreed to buy low-latency market data business QuantHouse from Iress (ASX: IRE) for €17.5m. axios.link/3ElCzi2

• Barrick Gold (TSX: ABX) agreed to sell its 50% stake in Alaska's Donlin Gold mining project for $1b to John Paulson and Novagold (TSX: NG). axios.link/4jfr1vP

• Helvetia (Swiss: HELN) is merging with Baloise (Swiss: BALN) to create Switzerland's second-largest insurer, with around a $22.4b market value. axios.link/3GmU8yL

• Nomura agreed to buy Macquarie Group's U.S. and European public asset management business, representing around $180m in AUM, for $1.8b. axios.link/42CiAU7

⚡ Stone Ridge acquired Wincoram Asset Management, a capital solutions provider to the physical and financial energy markets. wincoram.com

⚡ Terra Innovatum, a nuclear reactor developer, agreed to go public via GSR III Acquisition (Nasdaq: GSRT), a SPAC led by Gus Garcia (ex-BofA) and Lewis Silberman (Oppenheimer). axios.link/4lHspZG

• Tonic.ai, a synthetic data set creation startup that's raised $45m from firms like Insight Partners and Notable Capital, acquired data generation product Fabricate. tonic.ai

• ICP Group of Dallas is raising its fourth flagship buyout fund and its second lower midmarket fund, per SEC filings. icp-pe.com

• Venture Guides of Boston raised $262.5m for its second fund. ventureguides.com

• Drew Maloney is stepping down as head of the American Investment Council (i.e., private equity's top lobbyist) to become CEO of Edison Electric Institute, as Axios first reported.

• He's expecting to remain with AIC though the end of June, by when there may be tax bill clarity from the House.
• AIC's board is already running a search process for Maloney's replacement.

• Andrew DiGeronimo joined Warburg Pincus as a managing director and global co-head of partnership solutions. He previously was with LGT Capital Partners. axios.link/434GtUT

• James Hu joined Morgan Stanley as vice chair of China. He previously was with Bank of America. axios.link/42wYB9i

• Ionic Partners promoted Tanner Cerand to partner. axios.link/3YcEsEp

• MiddleGround Capital promoted Jordan Gabbert to head of IR. axios.link/4cJM9rI

• Erik Torenberg joined a16z as a general partner, after the VC firm acquired his Turpentine podcast. axios.link/4iqpDVK

• U.S. Bank said that global fund services head Jay Martin also will oversee its global corporate trust team. axios.link/42kNHEW

Climate-focused startups saw their valuations and deal sizes rise in Q1 2025, despite punishing policy changes, Axios Pro's Alan Neuhauser reports:

• The unlikely rebound, driven by soaring power demand, suggests that venture's climate pullback may have found a floor.