Just weeks before the election, upstart social network Bluesky announced that it had raised $15 million in Series A funding.

• The plan was for the money to last at least two years.
• But now there's already talk of a sizable Series B round, driven by inbound interest, as Bluesky has become a sudden refuge for millions of Twitter/X users.

The big picture: Venture capitalists don't try to time markets, although timing still can be the difference between a single and a grand slam.

• Bluesky recently said that its user base topped 20 million, while SimilarWeb reports that the app's usage grew more than 5x in the past two weeks.

Zoom in: Plenty of VC-backed social networks have flamed out after hot starts. Remember Ello?

• Bluesky investors, however, believe the company's momentum could be sustained by an open architecture that's appealing to techies and a basic UI that's not off-putting to normies.

What they're saying: "Our thesis is that the open ecosystem isn't just for the Bluesky product, but also for developers to build on and leverage the broader social network," says Kinjal Shah, a general partner with Blockchain Capital, which led Bluesky's Series A round (she also joined its board). "We've had a lot of social stagnation over the past decade or two, so this feels refreshing."

• True Ventures partner Toni Schneider adds: "This puts control in users hands, at a time when lots of other networks have been getting more closed ... It feels a lot like the early days of Twitter, when users experimented and created things like hashtags."
• Neither Shah nor Schneider would discuss if and when Bluesky will raise more money.

The bottom line: There's conventional wisdom that 100 million is the magic number for social media companies to monetize.

• But that might not be as true for Bluesky, since it may be difficult to serve ads to users who can choose their own experience on a decentralized network.
• Instead, expect the company to eventually seek to make money via usage and product add-on features. Innovation that could be accelerated with more investment.

Yes, I'm now on Bluesky: danprimack.bsky.social. And still actively on X @danprimack.

Northvolt, a Swedish maker of lithium-ion batteries that once was valued by VCs at nearly $12 billion, has filed for bankruptcy.

Why it's the BFD: This is a massive blow to Europe's EV manufacturing goals, as Northvolt was viewed as the best homegrown chance for reducing reliance on China.

By the numbers: Northvolt had raised over $6 billion in equity funding since 2017, from a large investor group that included Goldman Sachs, Baillie Gifford, IKEA, Siemens, Baron Funds, and AP-fonden. Plus automakers like BMW and Volkswagen.

• It also took on billions of dollars in debt.

The bottom line: Northvolt isn't dead yet, as its restructuring plan includes $245 million in new financing. But its equity backers are wiped out, and the episode could cause European automakers — and maybe some U.S. automakers — to further perseverate on the largescale transition to EVs.

• Zepto, an Indian grocery delivery company, raised $350m in new funding at a flat $5b valuation from backers like Motilal Oswal, Cello, Haldiram's, Sekhsaria, and Kalyan. axios.link/3ZijVPt

🚑 Enveda, a Boulder, Colo., drug discovery startup that focuses on medicinal plants, raised $130m in Series C funding. Kinnevik and FPV co-led, and were joined by Baillie Gifford, Premji Invest, Lingotto Innovation, Lux Capital, Dimension Capital, True Ventures, Cresset Partners, The Nature Conservancy, and Henry Kravis. axios.link/3YUjyJE

• Pickle Robot, a Cambridge, Mass., developer of warehouse robots, raised $50m in Series B funding from Teradyne Robotics Ventures, Toyota Ventures, Ranpak, Third Kind Venture Capital, One Madison Group, Hyperplane, and Catapult Ventures. axios.link/3ZgjFAI

⚡ Iontra, a Centennial, Colo., supplier of battery charger microcontrollers, raised $45m in Series C funding led by Volta Energy Technologies. axios.link/3Z3k9bQ

• OneRail, an Orlando-based omnichannel fulfillment startup, raised $42m in Series C funding led by Aliment Capital. axios.link/3V2jfeA

• Clean Skin Club, a maker of disposable facial towels, raised $32m co-led by Astō Consumer Partners and Amberstone. axios.link/3UZMRti

• Wordware, an SF-based operating system for AI development, raised $30m in seed funding. Spark Capital led, and was joined by YC, Felicis, and Day One Ventures. axios.link/3UZMija

• Aviz Networks, a San Jose, Calif., networking software company, raised $17m in Series A funding. Alter Venture Partners, led, and was joined by Cisco Investments, Moment Ventures, Wistron, Accton, Celestica, and Qualcomm Ventures. axios.link/4fAZ28b

• Cardo AI, a New York-based private credit tech platform, raised $15m in Series A funding from Blackstone Innovations Investments, Fintop Capital, and Jam Fintop. axios.link/3CEsOKy

• Anomalo, a Palo Alto, Calif., data quality platform, raised $10m in Series B extension funding from Smith Point Capital. axios.link/3ZsQb2N

• Crown Affair, a hair care brand, raised $9m in Series B funding led by True Beauty Ventures. axios.link/3Omm4Uc

🦐 Three-Sixty Aquaculture, a British sustainable prawn farmer, raised €4.1m in Series A funding led by PrimeStar Industries. axios.link/4eFlZWs

• Dannce.AI, a Boston-based video image analysis startup, raised $2.6m in pre-seed funding. LDV Capital led, and was joined by Glasswing Ventures, The Leo Lion Co., Duke Capital Partners, and Merck Digital Sciences Studio. dannce.ai

• MannyAI, U.K. inventory management solution for the fashion industry, raised €1.26m in pre-seed funding led by Dreamcraft Ventures. axios.link/3Z2w4GV

• Affinity Equity Partners is in talks to buy Malaysian seafood supplier Golden Fresh, which could fetch around $290m, per Bloomberg. axios.link/40YXgZT

• Blackstone is investing more than $500m in Lancium, a Houston-based data center developer. axios.link/3V0Z2Ws

• FloWorks, a portfolio company of Wynnchurch Capital, acquired Applied Controls, a Tulsa, Okla., provider of industrial process controls and analyzer systems. gofloworks​.com

⚡ Fortress Investment Group acquired TH Holdings, a Dallas maker of hydraulic components. texashydraulics.com

• General Atlantic invested in Technosylva, a TA Associates-backed provider of catastrophic event simulation modeling, risk analysis, and response solutions. technosylva.com

• Haveli Investment acquired a majority stake in AppViewX, a New York provider of automated certificate lifecycle management and public key infrastructure solutions. appviewx.com

• Kobalt, a music publisher owned by Francisco Partners, invested in Slipstream, a music platform for creators. axios.link/4g0zXDs

• Littlejohn & Co. acquired Sunbelt Modular, a Phoenix maker of commercial modular buildings. sunbeltmodular.com

• Mediaocean, an ad tech company owned by CVC Capital Partners and TA Associates, agreed to acquire Innovid (NYSE: CTV), an ad tech focused on connected TV, for $500m. axios.link/3CI5MCE

• Protective Industrial Products, a portfolio company of Odyssey Investment Partners, agreed to buy Honeywell's (Nasdaq: HON) personal protective equipment business. pipglobalsafety.com

• Sunstone Partners invested in KMS Technology, an Atlanta-based provider of software development and testing services. kms-technology.com

🚑 Medline Industries, Northfield, Ill., medical supplies firm, is talking to bankers about a 2025 IPO that could raise more than $5b, per Reuters. Backers include Blackstone, Carlyle, and Hellman & Friedman.

• Pony AI, a Chinese robotaxi operator, pushed its U.S. IPO back to next week, amid reports that Uber plans to be a buyer.

🌍 CO2 Energy Transition Corp., a SPAC targeting the carbon capture, utilization, and storage industry, raised $60m in a downsized IPO. axios.link/4fvbMNr

🚑 Novartis (NYSE: NVS) agreed to buy Kate Therapeutics, a San Diego-based developer of gene therapies for neuromuscular diseases, for upwards of $1.1b (including earnouts). Kate had raised over $70m from Westlake Village BioPartners, Versant Ventures, University Partners and UF Innovate Ventures. axios.link/3Z0um95

• Stripe is launching another stock tender offer at a $70b valuation, the same price as in a tender earlier this year, per Bloomberg.

• Wiz agreed to buy Dazz, a Palo Alto, Calif.-based cloud security remediation startup, for $450m in cash and stock. Wiz is a cybersecurity company reportedly raising new funds at a $20b valuation, while Dazz was most recently valued just shy of $400m from firms like Greylock Partners, Cyberstarts, Insight Partners, and Index Ventures. axios.link/4feyxp7

• Automattic, the parent company of WordPress.com and Tumblr, acquired German Grammarly rival Harper. axios.link/3ZiOnJm

• Ken Griffin said yesterday that he' be open to selling a small stake in hedge fund manager Citadel. Two years ago, market maker Citadel Securities sold a minority position to Sequoia Capital and Paradigm, while BlackRock reportedly is in talks to invest in Citadel rival Millennium.

🚑 Henry Schein (Nasdaq: HSIC) acquired Acentus, a Tampa, Fla., continuous glucose monitor supplier. acentus365.com

• Quikrete of Atlanta is in advanced talks to buy Denver's Summit Materials (NYSE: SUM), per the WSJ. axios.link/4hZR3Ts

• BSV Ventures, a Lithuanian pre-seed and seed deeptech firm, raised €15m for its debut fund. axios.link/490SrRM

• Theory Ventures, an early-stage software investor, raised $450m for its second fund. theory.ventures

• SEC chair Gary Gensler and FCC chair Jessica Rosenworcel both said they'll leave their agencies when Donald Trump becomes president.

• Hunter Brown rejoined Anzu Partners as a principal focused on tech investments. He previously was with Anduril Industries. axios.link/40XiAPy

• Alexander Hecker is leaving Lazard to joined Deutsche Bank as vice chair of global M&A. axios.link/4fCnPbT

• Arpan Shah joined Spark Capital as a general partner. He previously was with Pear VC. axios.link/3Ok3pbz

DirecTV last night terminated its agreement to buy Dish Networks from EchoStar, after bondholders rejected a proposed debt swap.

• The deal would have created the country's largest pay-TV provider, more than two decades after after the companies were stopped from merging by antitrust regulators.
• Its failure is not expected to impact TPG's plans to to buy the 70% stake it doesn't already hold in DirecTV from AT&T, for $7.6 billion.