Wonder, the labor-light restaurant concept led by former Walmart ecommerce boss Marc Lore, is quietly preparing to go public next year.

• In the meantime, Axios has learned that it's seeking to acquire small restaurant brands with devoted local followings.

Zoom in: Wonder's first restaurant acquisition came in February, when it paid around $6 million for Blue Ribbon Fried Chicken, which has a single location in Manhattan's East Village.

• It has a number of similar deals in the works, with plans to do around two per quarter.

Zoom out: This is an M&A shift for Wonder, which is better known for bigger strategic deals like GrubHub, Spyce Robotics, and Blue Apron.

• It's also about Marc Lore trying to have his cake and eat it too. Wonder is designed to beat local restaurants by stripping out high labor costs, but also wants to give some of them a chance to join the team.

Catch up quick: Wonder has raised around $2.4 billion in private funding, including a $600 million infusion last May at a $7 billion post-money valuation.

• It currently has around 130 locations, each of which offers hundreds of different menu options through robot-assisted kitchens (plus some humans who do tasks robots still struggle with, like rolling burritos and stretching pizza dough).
• Next year it plans to offer drone delivery in Texas.

What to watch: The company soon will launch an AI tool to let people create new "restaurants" — including menu items and custom packaging — that will operate via Wonder.

• Creators will get a cut of profits, thus incentivizing them to socialize the restaurants' existence (and, in turn, do free marketing for Wonder).
• Don't be surprised to see some big-name influencers participate.

Wonder declined to comment for this story.

President Trump yesterday balked at signing his own executive order on artificial intelligence, following last-minute opposition by David Sacks and others.

Why it matters: AI companies are racing on a road whose rules have yet to be written, accelerating both tech innovation and investor risk.

Catch up quick: As Axios was first to report, the cybersecurity-focused EO included a "voluntary framework for AI developers to inform the government about new releases."

• Trump was expected to sign it yesterday, having already sent invites to industry bigs, but bailed with just hours to go.

The bottom line: "Trump has been walking a tightrope between allowing American AI companies to flourish with light regulation and addressing growing public anti-AI sentiment, including within his own party." — Ashley Gold, Maria Curi & Sam Sabin, Axios

• Hark, developer of a "universal" AI interface, raised $700m in Series A funding at a $6b post-money valuation. Parkway Venture Capital led, joined by Align Ventures, AMD Ventures, ARK Invest, Brookfield, Greycroft, Intel Capital, Prime Movers Lab, Qualcomm Ventures, Salesforce Ventures, and Tamarack Global. axios.link/4fFAy02

• Modal, an SF-based AI infrastructure layer, raised $355m in Series C funding at a $4.65b post-money valuation. General Catalyst and Redpoint Ventures led, joined by Menlo Ventures and Accel. axios.link/4wKDzm1

• Farther, an SF-based AI platform for financial advisors, raised $150m in Series D funding, per Axios Pro. General Atlantic led, joined by CapitalG, Viewpoint Ventures, Bessemer Venture Partners, Context Ventures, Cota Capital, Khosla Ventures, Lightspeed, MassMutual Ventures and Moneta Venture Capital. axios.link/4eX7otd

• Fresha, a London-based beauty booking marketplace, raised $80m from KKR at a valuation over $1b. axios.link/43rbcvy

• SignalPlus, a Hong Kong-based crypto trading platform, raised $40m from HashKey Capital. axios.link/49euAzq

🚑 Oorja Bio, a Houston-based developer of therapies for fibrotic and cardiopulmonary diseases, raised $30m in Series A funding from Westlake BioPartners. axios.link/4tTbVRh

🚑 The Path, an AI therapy platform co-founded by Tony Robbins, raised $14.3m in seed funding led by Prime Movers Labs. axios.link/4wGUlT1

⚡️ Aboard, an Orange, Calif.-based developer of electric travel trailers, raised $13m led by Ondine Capital and Llama Ventures. axios.link/3Rj46GZ

• Clouted, an SF-based short video marketing startup, raised $7m. Slow Ventures led, joined by Gold House Ventures, Weekend Fund, and Peak XV Partners. axios.link/3RDqBX3

• Cycles, a Swiss crypto clearing protocol startup, raised $6.4m. Blockchange Ventures led, joined by Coinbase Ventures, Compound VC, and Primitive Ventures. axios.link/4dyWZkX

• Foundation, a maker of hardware for Bitcoin wallets, raised $6.4m. Fulgur Ventures led, joined by Arche Capital. axios.link/4ukcEfa

• Vêtir, an NYC-based wardrobe styling tech company, raised $5.5m in Series A funding at a $150m valuation from backers like Laidlaw & Co. axios.link/4tI3bgx

⚡️ Shatterdome Energy, an SF-based energy trading startup, raised $3.5m in pre-seed funding. Crucible Capital, led, joined by Transpose Platform and Entrepreneurs First. axios.link/42Sig4j

Source: Giphy

• Authentic Brands Group agreed to acquire denim brand Lee from Kontoor Brands (NYSE: KTB) for up to $1b ($750m upfront). ABG backers include CVC Capital Partners, General Atlantic, HPS Investment Partners, and Leonard Green & Partners. axios.link/49ySIgv

• Anthropic's PE-backed services firm has acquired Fractional AI, an SF-based AI services startup that had raised over $14m from firms like Foresight, Mask Network, Paka Fund, Bertelsmann Digital Media Investments, Next Play Ventures, and Reach Capital. axios.link/4um4cfp

🚑 Avista Healthcare Partners and Damier Group agreed to acquire Sanotact, a German vitamins and supplements distributor. axios.link/4dGquS6

🚑 Brookfield and TA Associates are circling UAE-based fertility business Fakih IVF, which could fetch around $1b, per the FT. axios.link/4fym2XZ

🚑 CVC Capital Partners and Groupe Bruxelles Lambert offered to buy Italian drugmaker Recordati (Milan: RECI) for €10.7b. axios.link/4v3qDpI

• Foundral, backed by McNally Capital, acquired A. Hattersley & Sons, a Fort Wayne, Ind.-based mechanical contractor. axios.link/43lvnLo

• One Bow River invested in PteroDynamics, a Colorado Springs, Colo.-based developer of VTOL systems. axios.link/43tFnSR

• Orix and QIA, via their joint PE fund, acquired Nippon Information Industry, a Japanese systems integrator. axios.link/3PTH356

⚡️ Stoneshield Capital and an undisclosed investor agreed to buy a 25% stake in Spanish energy logistics company Exolum from OMERS. axios.link/43mEStN

• Blockchain.com, a crypto exchange that's raised over $1b in VC funding, filed confidentially for a U.S. IPO. axios.link/4dGBor2

• BTECH, an energy SPAC led by Farbod Pasha Asgharzadeh, filed for a $200m IPO. axios.link/3RiYQTL

• The German government said it wants to buy a 40% stake in German tankmaker KNDS before the company's upcoming Frankfurt IPO. axios.link/4nIAajz

• Oceanhawk Acquisition, a SPAC led by Ernest Miller, raised $160m in a downsized IPO. axios.link/4bHc9Uf

🚑 Oura, the smart ring maker valued by VCs at $11b, filed confidentially for a U.S. IPO, per Bloomberg. axios.link/49gojmU

• FountainVest is seeking to sell Switzerland-based Small Precision Tools, which could fetch up to $1b, per Bloomberg. axios.link/4dWnPoC

• Lone Star Funds is weighing a sale of German lender IKB, per Bloomberg. axios.link/3RTyBmU

• Parker-Hannifan (NYSE: PH) agreed to buy the commercial and defense aerospace unit of KKR portfolio company Circor for $2.55b in cash. axios.link/4wDGFIF

• Princeton Digital Group, owned by Warburg Pincus, is seeking to sell its Chinese data center assets for up to $1b, per the FT. axios.link/49chFxZ

• Estée Lauder (NYSE: EL) ended talks to acquire Spanish beauty group Puig (Madrid: PUIG), which would have created a $40b beauty behemoth to better compete with market leader L'Oreal. axios.link/4dp4Frh

🚑 H.B. Fuller (NYSE: FUL) offered more than £600m for Advanced Medical Solutions Group (LSE: AMS), a U.K. maker of tissue-healing medical products, per Bloomberg. axios.link/4a28nVs

🚑 Liminatus Pharma (Nasdaq: LIMN) agreed to buy InnocsAI, a CAR-T biotech, for $320m in stock. axios.link/4nLjHev

• Brian Dutzar joined H.I.G. Capital as a Denver-based managing director in its private wealth management team. He previously was with Monroe Capital. H.I.G. also added Adam Whitman (Sculptor Capital) and Steven Stack (Neuberger Berman) to the team as principals. axios.link/4v8weeB

• Christian Horner, former head of Red Bull Formula One, is advising Oakley Capital ​on sports investments. axios.link/43mSYvc

• Peter Levine has returned to a16z as a fulltime general partner, focused on AI and infrastructure investing. He'd stepped back in 2020 after an appendix cancer diagnosis, from which he's made a "full recovery." axios.link/4wHnVYz

• Ryan McCarthy, former U.S. Army secretary, joined Capitol Meridian Partners as an operating partner. axios.link/4tL9jVh

• Hester Peirce is stepping down as an SEC commissioner to become an associate professor at Regent University School of Law. She was best known at the SEC as an advocate for crypto, often in opposition to the majority. axios.link/3RleMVv

• Ed Whele joined Jefferies Financial Group as global head of tech services investment banking, per Bloomberg. He previously was with Citi. axios.link/4nKNFiK

Large-format film company IMAX is on the block, per the WSJ.

• Shares are up more than 15% in premarket trading.

Zoom in: The company has benefited from increased consumer interest in premium theater experiences, which WSJ says has outpaced basic box office, although there are some Hollywood concerns that a buyer could favor its films over those of competitors.