Autism Impact Fund, a venture capital group focused on autism and other neurodevelopmental disorders, has closed its debut fund with $60 million.

Why it matters: 1 in 36 kids in the U.S. has autism, up from the prior rate of 1 in 44, according to the CDC. But treatments lag far behind the rampancy.

• "Imagine me telling you that you have cancer, but we don't really have any idea of exactly what's happening biologically," explains Chris Male, AIF's co-founder and managing partner. "That's what it's like with autism, it's that far behind. The most common traditional form of therapy works with maybe 25% of recipients, but that leaves the other 75%."

Backstory: AIF was conceived of five years ago by a group of investors with kids on the autism spectrum, who wanted to support relevant life sciences and health-tech startups.

• Those parents recruited a team, including Male, and then in 2021 helped seed the fund.
• Family office LPs came next, and AIF began doing deals to prove out its thesis to institutional investors like Norway's Ferd.

By the numbers: AIF already has deployed around 60% its capital into a dozen companies, one of which already is in sale talks, and expects to begin raising at least $100 million for a successor vehicle in six to nine months.

Inside the portfolio: Male is particularly excited about Cortica, a San Diego-based neurological therapy services provider that's raised follow-on funding from such firms as CVS, Deerfield, and Optum.

• Plus, a fast-growing U.K. telehealth startup called Healios, which operates in the U.S. as Meliora Health.

The bottom line: "We're structured so as not to overlap or compete for dollars with the nonprofits that are doing the foundational and research work," Male adds. "We're that next layer, so there can be an entire ecosystem focused on helping people with autism."

Silver Lake agreed to take Endeavor Group (NYSE: EDR) private at a $13 billion valuation, buying the 69.4% stake it doesn't already hold for $27.50 per share.

Why it matters: This is a boomerang buyout for Silver Lake, which first invested 12 years ago in what would become Endeavor Group, before taking it public nine years later at $24 per share.

Catch up quick: That initial deal was in WME, the entertainment talent agency led by Ari Emanuel. WME then went on a buying spree, adding such assets as rival talent agency IMG for $2.4 billion and live events brands like UFC, WWE, and Professional Bull Riders.

• Endeavor last September spun off UFC and WWE into a new publicly traded company called TKO, but says it has no plans to sell off its majority stake in the business.
• Including its TKO position, Silver Lake puts Endeavor's enterprise value at $25 billion.

The bottom line: "Endeavor said the deal would not be put to its minority shareholders for a vote. Such a vote is not legally required, yet many controlled companies selling themselves agree to such a vote to minimize the chances that disgruntled shareholders succeed in suing them for a higher deal price." — Reuters

• Flip, a shopping social network, raised $144m in Series C funding. Streamlined Ventures led, and was joined by AppLovin. https://axios.link/4cJh7Q2

🚑 Alterome Therapeutics, a San Diego-based cancer biotech, raised $132m in Series B funding. Goldman Sachs led, and was joined by Canaan Partners, Invus, Driehaus Capital Management, Digitalis Ventures, Blue Owl Capital, and insiders Orbimed, Nextech Invest, Vida Ventures, Boxer Capital, and Colt Ventures. https://axios.link/3J43iy5

• Hailo, an Israeli AI chipmaker, raised $120m in Series C funding from the Zisapel family, Gil Agmon, Delek Motors, Alfred Akirov, DCLBA, Vasuki, OurCrowd, Talcar, Comasco, AEV, and Poalim Equity. https://axios.link/3VDKduj

⚡ Alsym Energy, a Woburn, Mass.-based battery startup, raised $78m in Series C funding. General Catalyst and Tata co-led, and were joined by Drads Capital, Thomvest, and Thrive Capital. https://axios.link/4400iNb

• Homebase, an SF-based HR and team management app for small businesses, raised $60m in Series D funding. L Catterton led, and was joined by Emerson Collective and insiders Notable Capital, Bain Capital Ventures, Khosla Ventures, Cowboy Ventures, and Plus Capital. www.joinhombase.com

• Constantinople, an Australian banking software provider, raised A$50m in Series A funding. Prosus Ventures led, and was joined by Square Peg and AirTree. https://axios.link/3U4eqla

• Luminance, a Santa Monica, Calif.-based AI startup for the legal market, raised $40m in Series B funding. March Capital led, and was joined by National Grid Partners and Slaughter and May. https://axios.link/3U0Ia29

• Modal, an SF-based employee upskilling startup, raised $25m led by Left Lane Capital. https://axios.link/3TCf7R4

🚑 Intellihealth, a weight loss startup, raised $24m from firms like Mentors Fund and Connecticut Innovations. https://axios.link/3U0n6sL

• Bizplay, a Korean expense management and business travel company, raised $22.5m from JB Financial Group. https://axios.link/3J3IrLs

• Oros Labs, a Portland, Ore.-based provider of thermal insulation solutions for outdoor equipment and clothes, raised $22m in Series B funding. Airbus Ventures led, and was joined by REI, Path Ahad Ventures, Platinum Mile Ventures, Culper Ventures, Crumpton Ventures, and Iron Gate Capital Advisors. https://axios.link/3xpWhFy

• Datavolo, a Phoenix-based provider of "multimodal data pipelines for AI," raised $21m in Series A funding. General Catalyst led, and was joined by Citi Ventures, Human Capital, Rob Bearden, and MVP Ventures. https://axios.link/4aF4C6k

🚑 Praia Health, a Chicago-based consumer platform for health systems, raised $20m in Series A funding. Frist Cressey Ventures led, and was joined by SignalFire, Epsilon Health Investors, and Providence Ventures. www.praiahealth.com

• Full Glass Wine, an acquirer of DTC wine marketplaces like Bright Cellars, raised $14m in Series A funding led by Shea Ventures. https://axios.link/3TGhB0R

• Coadjute, a London-based homebuying data-sharing platform, raised £10m from Lloyds Banking Group, Nationwide, Natwest, and Rightmove. https://axios.link/4aAM8E7

• Higgsfield AI, an SF-based social media video creation startup, raised $8m in seed funding. Menlo Ventures led, and was joined by Charge Ventures, Bitkraft Ventures, K5 Tokyo Black, AI Capital Partners, and DVC. www.higgsfield.ai

🚑 HD, a Thai developer of chatbots for health care, raised $5.6m in Series A funding. SBI Ven Capital led, and was joined by M Venture Partners, FEBE Ventures, Partech Partners, Ratio Ventures, Orvel Ventures, and TA Ventures. https://axios.link/3vEBXQ6

• Quadratic, a Boulder, Colo.-based spreadsheet startup, raised $5.6m in seed funding. GV led, and was joined by Catapult Ventures, Betaworks, and The Fund Rockies. https://axios.link/3VJhWSV

🚑 Scriptology, an Atlanta-based medication management startup, raised $4m in seed funding from Redesign Health. axios.link/4cA1J8C

• Lil Snack, an LA-based casual game developer, raised $3.1m in seed funding from Lerer Hippeau, Waverley Capital, A16Z Speedrun, and Powerhouse Capital. https://axios.link/4aptJus

• Coadjute, a London-based proptech startup, raised £3m. Lloyds Banking Group led, and was joined by NatWest, Nationwide, and Rightmove. https://axios.link/3TZV7Jx

• Hapax, a Houston-based AI for financial services, raised $2.6m in pre-seed funding led by RHS Investments. www.askhapax.ai

• Supersimple, an Estonian data analytics platform for B2B SaaS, raised $2.2m led by Tera Ventures. https://axios.link/49lQu0L

• Merkle Trade, a decentralized trading platform, raised $2.1m in seed funding. Hashed and Arrington Capital co-led, and were joined by Morningstar Ventures, Amber Group, Aptos Labs, Re7 Capital, and Dorahacks. https://axios.link/3vAXj0E

• Accel-KKR acquired a majority stake in Aico Group, a financial close software platform for large enterprises. Existing backer Juuri Partners will retain a stake. www.aico.ai

• Blue Owl Capital agreed to buy Kuvare Asset Management, a Rosemont, Ill.-based provider of asset management services to the insurance industry, for $750m in cash and stock. https://axios.link/3VJzgax

• Brera Partners bought a 70% stake in Italian insurance broker GBSAPRI Group. https://axios.link/4ah6liz

• Broad Sky Partners acquired Punctual Pros, an Authority Brands franchisee that provides HVAC and electrical services in central Pennsylvania. www.authoritybrands.com

⚡ Morgan Stanley Capital Partners acquired Resource Innovations, a Half Moon Bay, Calif.-based provider of energy efficiency services, from BV Investment Partners. www.resource-innovations.com

• Outdoor Living Supply, a Rochester, Minn.-based portfolio company of Trilantic North America, acquired Willow Creek, a landscaping materials firm focused on the Georgia market. www.outdoorlivingsupply.net

• OutSolve, a portfolio company of The Riverside Co., acquired FWLLI, a Houston-based labor law consultancy. www.fwlli.com

• Petershill acquired a passive minority stake in credit manager Kennedy Lewis Investment Management from Azimut for $225m. https://axios.link/3TFqrMp

• Summit Partners invested $35m in Netgain, a Denver-based provider of software for finance and accounting teams. www.netgain.tech

• Vehicle Accessories, a portfolio company of Kinderhook, acquired Maxton Group, an Ormond Beach, Fla.-based maker of emblem overlays, LED lighting and other auto accessories for OEMs. www.maxtongroup.com

• Cerebras Systems, a Sunnyvale, Calif.-based AI chipmaker, picked Citigroup to lead its IPO, per Bloomberg. The company has raised over $400m from firms like Coatue, Benchmark, Altimeter, Abu Dhabi Growth Fund, Eclipse Ventures, and Falcon Edge. https://axios.link/3vBIYB8

• Loar, a White Plains, N.Y.-based maker of aerospace and defense components, filed for an IPO. Backers include Abrams Capital Management and Blackstone. It reports a $5m net loss on $316m in revenue for 2023. https://axios.link/49lUcaA

• Syngenta, a Swiss agrichemicals and seeds firm, withdrew its application for a $9b IPO in Shanghai, after pressure from Chinese securities authorities, per Reuters. https://axios.link/4cGYfBg

⚡ Tembo, a utility vehicle electrification subsidiary of VivoPower (Nasdaq: VVPR), agreed to merge with Cactus Acquisition 1 (Nasdaq: CCTS), a SPAC led by Ofer Gonen (Clal Biotech), at an implied $838m equity value. https://axios.link/3J1YrNV

• CVC Capital Partners sold its 5% stake in Asia Commercial Bank, a Vietnamese commercial lender, for $220m. https://axios.link/43Lbq0g

🚑 Genmab (Nasdaq: GMAB) agreed to buy ProfoundBio, a Seattle-based biotech focused on ovarian cancer and other solid tumors, for $1.8b in cash. ProfoundBio had raised around $250m from Ally Bridge Group, Nextech Invest, T. Rowe Price, Janus Henderson, K2VC, RA Capital Management, HongShan, and OrbiMed. https://axios.link/3VLwVvW

🏈 Riddell, the Illinois-based maker of NFL football helmets, secured $400m in debt funding from BC Partners. Most of the proceeds will be used to pay a dividend to owner Fenway Partners, which last year had looked to sell the company. https://axios.link/3TKsdf7

Editor's note: This was corrected to show BC Partners provided $400m (not $800m) in debt funding to NFL football helmet maker Riddell.

• Clariant, a Swiss chemicals company, completed its $810m purchase of Lucas Meyer Cosmetics from International Fragrance & Flavors (NYSE: IFF). https://axios.link/3UcEXgd

• Dr. Martens (LSE: DOCS), a British bootmaker with around a $1.1b market cap, is under pressure to launch a strategic review, which could lead to a company sale, from shareholder Marathon Partners. https://axios.link/4aHflNx

🚑 GE HealthCare Technologies (Nasdaq: GEHC) acquired MIM Software, a Beachwood, Ohio-based imaging analytics provider. www.mimsoftware.com

• Hilton Worldwide (NYSE: HLT) agreed to buy a control stake in Sydell Group, a hospitality group that owns the NoMad luxury hotel brand. https://axios.link/4ahFEdG

😷 Honeywell (Nasdaq: HON) is seeking to sell its personal protective equipment (PPE) unit for more than $2b, per Bloomberg. https://axios.link/3VN3SYH

• Savage, a Utah-based trucking and transport firm founded in 1946, is considering a minority stake sale, per Bloomberg. https://axios.link/3U11GeK

🚑 Surescripts, an Arlington, Va.-based provider of electronic prescribing tech, hired TripleTree to find a buyer, per Insider. https://axios.link/3U2UsqU

• Adenia Partners, a PE firm focused on growth deals in Africa, raised $470m for its fifth fund. www.adenia.com

• Laton Ventures, a Turkish VC firm focused on gaming, raised $35m for its debut fund. https://axios.link/3VPrSdA

• OceanSound raised a $1.15b continuation fund for SMX Group, a Washington, D.C.-based provider of mission support and digital transformation solutions. www.smxtech.com

• ICG raised $1b for its debut secondaries fund, which expands to $1.6b with co-investment and SPV commitments. www.icgam.com

• Warren Equity Partners raised $550m for its second small-cap infrastructure fund. www.warrenequity.com

• Ellie McDonald and Jeannine Sargent joined G2 Venture Partners as an investor and operating partner, respectively. McDonald previously was with Morgan Stanley Infrastructure Partners, while Sargent was president of Flex. www.g2vp.com

🚑 Sylvia Tobé joined JDRF T1D Fund, a diabetes-focused VC firm, as a managing director. She previously was with Omega Funds. https://axios.link/3TIaXau

• Jim Wiegmann joined One Rock Capital Partners as an operating partner. He previously led One Rock portfolio company OLM Food Solutions. www.onerock.com

• Britton Woolf joined Palm Tree as a managing director of transaction advisory. He previously was with Alvarez & Marsal and PwC. www.palmtreellc.com

Venture capitalists disbursed $36.6 billion into 2,882 U.S. startups during the first quarter of 2024, per an early look at the upcoming PitchBook/NVCA Venture Monitor.

• That's a a 9% dip from the prior quarter and a whopping 29% decline from one year earlier.
• It was the slowest first quarter for U.S. venture deals since 2018.