When the University of Idaho recently scrapped a $550 million deal to buy for-profit University of Phoenix, it may have been a blessing in disguise for the latter's private equity owners.

• They now plan to take the school public, likely at a much higher valuation.

The big picture: This is a Trump trade, betting on an administration that's favored light-touch regulation on for-profit education with low graduation and loan repayment rates.

Catch up quick: Apollo Global Management and Vistria Group took University of Phoenix private for $1.1 billion in 2016.

• The Idaho deal was signed in 2023, following reported discussions with the University of Arkansas, but collapsed due to political opposition.

By the numbers: University of Phoenix reported 78,900 enrolled students as of August 2024, with over 80% of them pursuing undergraduate degrees. The average starting age is 37 years old.

• Its six-year graduation rate is only 37%.
• The national average graduation rate at private nonprofits is 68%. It's 63% at public institutions and 29% at private for-profits.
• The company reports $118 million of net income on $750 million in revenue for the nine months ending May 31, 2025, per its IPO filing.

Zoom in: Timing with this IPO may be everything.

• Educational institutions cannot have a federal student loan default rate higher than 40% in any given year, or 30% for three consecutive years.
• But because there was a multi-year pause in federal loan repayments, due to COVID-19, the University of Phoenix lists its current default rate at zero.
• As such, investors have no way of knowing how much loan default risk there really is (save for some historical data).
• The company and its PE backers are implicitly saying to trust them, maybe with a wink-wink that Trump officials could look the other way if troubles arise.

The bottom line: For-profit schools like University of Phoenix can be a vital stepping-stone for some working adults, while others end up with more debt than diplomas. Private equity might generate returns with either outcome.

Tether, the world's largest stablecoin issuer, has discussed investments in the gold mining supply chain — including miners, refiners, and traders — per the FT.

Why it's the BFD: This could blur the line between digital gold and the genuine article, with Tether seeking to provide a broader array of value storage.

• That said, Tether already does hold billions of dollars worth of gold bars that it uses as stablecoin collateral.
• Its investment arm also has backed Canadian gold royalties firm Elemental Altus, while it also has a gold-backed stablecoin called Tether Gold.

By the numbers: Gold futures hit an all-time high earlier this week, before pulling back slightly.

The bottom line: "Within the conservative gold mining sector, Tether's interest has been greeted with surprise — and questions about whether the unconventional newcomer will succeed." — Leslie Hook & Nikou Asgari, FT

🚑 Treeline Biosciences, a Watertown, Mass.-based cancer drugmaker, raised $200m in Series A extension funding from Arch Venture Partners, OrbiMed, GV, and KKR. axios.link/4p9PtSu

• Baseten, an SF-based AI inference infrastructure startup, raised $150m in Series D funding at a $2.15b valuation. Bond led, joined by CapitalG, Premji, Scribble and insiders Conviction, 01a, IVP, Spark Capital, and Greylock. axios.link/4oZQxZc

🚑 Galvanize Therapeutics, a Redwood City, Calif.-based cancer and lung disease biotech, raised $100m in Series C funding. Sofinnova Partners led, joined by Norwest Venture Partners, Elevage Medical Technologies, Ally Bridge Group, Perceptive Xontogeny Venture Fund, Janus Henderson Investors, and Longaeva. axios.link/4m4OQXZ

• Augment, an AI productivity platform for logistics, raised $85m in Series A funding. Redpoint Ventures led, joined by 8VC, Shopify Ventures, and Autotech Ventures. axios.link/3VwrAqO

• Mojo Vision, a Cupertino, Calif.-based micro-LED platform, raised $75m in Series B funding. Vanedge Capital led, joined by Edge Venture Capital, NEA, Fusion Fund, Knollwood Capital, Dolby Family Ventures, Khosla Ventures, imec.xpand, Keymaker, Ohio Innovation Fund, and Hyperlink Ventures. axios.link/3JMn9pm

• Lead Bank, a Kansas City-based lender, raised $70m at a $1.47b valuation from a16z, Khosla Ventures, Ribbit Capital, Coatue Management, Zeev Ventures, Iconiq Capital, and Greycroft. axios.link/4p9mrm0

🚑 MRM Health, a Belgian microbiome startup, raised €55m in Series B funding. Biocodex led, joined by ATHOS, BNP Paribas Fortis Private Equity, SFPIM and OMX Europe Venture Fund. axios.link/480xE27

• ProRata.ai, a smartly named chatbot that shares revenue with media publishers, raised $40m in Series B funding, per Axios. Touring Capital led, joined by Mayfield, MVP Ventures, Revolution Ventures, SBI Investment, BOLD Capital, XPV-Exponential Ventures, and Idealab Studio. axios.link/4mLBoJn

🚑 Ketryx, a safety compliance platform for life sciences, raised $39m in Series B funding. Transformation Capital led, joined by Lightspeed Venture Partners, MIT's E14 Fund, Ubiquity Ventures, and 53 Stations. axios.link/42aL0Fh

🚑 Congruence, a Montreal-based biotech focused on diseases of protein misfolding, raised US$32m from Amplitude Ventures, FSTQ, Lumira, Investissement Quebec, and Thrive Venture Fund. axios.link/4mLrh7n

🚑 Hello Patient, an AI platform for patient communications, raised $22.5m in Series A funding. Scale Venture Partners led, joined by 8VC, Bling Capital, Max Ventures, Remus Capital, and FirstLook Partners. axios.link/3I8Wnqy

🚑 Boomerang Medical, a Mountain View, Calif.-based developer of an implantable neuromodulation system for IBS, raised $20m in Series B funding led by Arboretum Ventures and Hatteras Venture Partners. axios.link/4p6t08W

• Reggora, a Boston-based real estate appraisal software startup, raised $18m led by Centana Growth Partners. axios.link/3UYDcCP

🌍 Euclid Power, a provider of clean energy project management software, raised $20m in Series A funding, per Axios Pro. Venrock led, joined by HSBC Asset Management, Spero Ventures, Toba Capital, Designer Fund, and Commonweal Ventures. axios.link/4gaitWq

• Fiveonefour, a Portland, Ore.-based developer toolkit for analytical backends, raised $17m. Dimension Capital led, joined by Stage 2 Capital, Flybridge Capital Partners, Ridge Ventures, Tokyo Black Venture Capital, and Vermillion Cliffs. axios.link/4mS2AGA

🚑 Revalia Bio, a New Haven, Conn.-based provider of human data to biopharma, raised $14.5m. America's Frontier Fund and Sierra Ventures led, joined by Roger Ferguson. axios.link/3I5tawM

🚑 NewDays, a Seattle-based developer of cognitive health treatments for mild cognitive impairment and dementia, raised $7m in seed funding from General Catalyst and Madrona. axios.link/4p8vkfL

• Throxy, a London-based outbound sales startup, raised $6.2m in seed funding led by Base10 Partners. throxy.com

🚑 Neon Health, an SF-based AI tool to help patients obtain specialty drugs, raised $6m. NFX led, joined by DigiTx, Olive Capital, Ascend, Village Global, and Digital Health Venture Partners. axios.link/3VDPQqU

• TracXon, a Dutch printed electronics startup, raised €4.75m in seed funding. Invest-NL led, joined by DeepTechXL and BOM. axios.link/4mQenoU

• Bishop Lifting, an Altamont Capital Partners portfolio company, acquired American Rigger's, a Kansas City, Mo.-based sling fabrication and rigging supply company. axios.link/3V4i3XT

• Cantilever Group, a GP stakes firm, acquired a passive minority stake in Tecum Capital, a Pittsburgh-based midmarket PE firm. axios.link/4p7RtuA

🍺 Garage Beer, a light-beer maker backed by Travis and Jason Kelce, raised funding led by Durational Capital Management at a $200m valuation. axios.link/427Yemg

• Milrose Consultants, a Southfield Capital portfolio company, acquired Borne Consulting, an SF-based architectural engineering firm. milrose.com

• Parthenon Capital invested in Embark, a Dallas-based management and financial consultancy. embarkwithus.com

• Rainier Partners acquired Kleen-Tech Services, a Denver-based janitorial services provider. kleen-tech.com

• Rhone acquired restaurant chain Freddy's Frozen Custard & Steakburgers from Thompson Street Capital Partners. axios.link/4g969Wl

• Leapfrog Acquisition, a SPAC targeting non-U.S. energy and infrastructure, filed for a $125m IPO. axios.link/4m7ff7n

🌍 Spring Valley Acquisition III, a natural resources and decarbonization SPAC, raised $200m in an upsized IPO. axios.link/4mwK71I

• Kraken, a U.S.-based crypto exchange valued at $15b, acquired Breakout, a crypto-native prop trading platform that had raised a $4.5m seed round led by RockawayX. axios.link/4neRVFD

🏒 W. Graeme Roustan, owner of The Hockey News, agreed to acquire hockey equipment maker True Hockey from True Temper Sports, a Lincolnshire Management portfolio company. axios.link/41DTTHo

• Cadence Design (Nasdaq: CDNS) agreed to buy the design and engineering unit of Hexagon (Stockholm: HEXA) for €2.7b. axios.link/42dSqrt

• Daimler Truck is seeking an investment partner for its self-driving unit, Torc Robotics, per Bloomberg. axios.link/3I3X8kK

• Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) plans to invest up to $1b for a 3.5% stake in T. Rowe Price (Nasdaq: TROW), as part of a strategic agreement whereby Goldman will sell T. Rowe's private market products to retail investors. axios.link/3HVBRd2

• Klar, a Mexican financial services platform valued by VCs at over $800m, agreed to buy digital bank Bineo from Grupo Financiero Banorte. axios.link/4gfge4e

• MediaForEurope acquired a 75.6% stake in German media group ProSiebenSat.1 for around $1.7b. axios.link/466MAJN

• Safran (Paris: SAF) is seeking to sell part of its aircraft interiors business, which could fetch €1.5b, per the FT. axios.link/47plAr9

🚑 Atlas Venture raised $400m for its third opportunities fund. axios.link/4nl9hRw

The U.S. economy added only 22k jobs in August, below estimates, while the unemployment rate ticked higher to 4.3%.

• The July figure was revised up slightly to +75k, while June was revised down to a negative 13k.
• The last month to have job losses was December 2020, while the unemployment rate hasn't been this high since October 2021.

The big picture: If there were any doubts about a Sept. rate cut, those have been extinguished. And now there's even talk about 50 basis points.

The bottom line: You know that scene in "Star Wars" where they're in the trash compactor and the walls are closing in? That's Jay Powell and the Fed right now. Labor market are weakening while inflation is still rising too fast.

• Dual mandate at odds, and everyone standing in a pile of garbage.