DOGE cuts are leading to new warnings in filings from biotech and health-care companies looking to IPO stateside.

The big picture: Uncertainty is a deal killer.

• According to data from Renaissance Capital, there have been just four biotech IPOs this year that have raised over $50 million — down from 10 in the same period last year. Venture bets are slowing too.

Driving the news: Carlsmed, a personalized spine surgery company backed by B Capital Group and U.S. Venture Partners warned in its prospectus that "the current U.S. presidential administration" has issued policies to cut headcount and budgets in agencies including the FDA.

• "It remains unclear the degree to which these efforts may limit or otherwise adversely affect the FDA's ability to conduct routine activities," it continued.
• Sixth Street-backed cancer diagnostics company, Caris Life Sciences, which went public in late June, said this:
• "The current Trump administration is pursuing policies to reduce regulations and expenditures across government including at HHS, the FDA, CMS, and related agencies," Caris' prospectus read. "These actions ... may propose policy changes that create additional uncertainty for our business.

Zoom out: Though Carlsmed says it's "unclear the degree to which" the cuts will affect the FDA's ability to conduct routine activity, those in the space already feel the effects.

• The FDA told KalVista Pharmaceuticals last month that the agency would miss a deadline in approving a drug for potentially life-threatening genetic disorders — marking what appears to be the first time a review had to be extended over DOGE cuts.
• Verve Therapeutics, in a filing explaining its rationale for selling to Eli Lilly for $1.3 billion, noted that Peter Marks resignation in March as director of the FDA played a role in its move to sell rather than raise additional capital.

The bottom line: These things take time to shake out. Meaning the current slowdown likely won't just gum up dealmaking now — it'll also gum up the IPO and later-stage pipeline down the road.

Canadian tungsten company Almonty Industries raised $90 million in its IPO yesterday, with shares up 5% as of this morning.

Why it's the BFD: The U.S. continues its efforts to end its reliance on Chinese tungsten.

• Tungsten is exceptionally hard and dense, and is used in hypersonic missile casings, tank armor, armor-piercing projectiles.
• China notably produced about 80% of the world's supply in 2024.

Zoom in: Almonty, which focuses on the defense industry and is not impacted by U.S. tariffs, also has a 15-year contract with GTP, a subsidiary of the Plansee Group and a U.S. defense contractor.

• It had $7.9 million in revenue in the first quarter on a loss of $34.6 million.

Context: The Biden administration placed a 25% tariffs on tungsten products last year, and the Department of Defense plans to ban buying tungsten produced or refined in China, Russia, or North Korea starting in 2027.

The bottom line: Growing tensions between China and the U.S. are creating new opportunities for companies.

• Almonty's prospective says, "[W]e believe the operation of our established mine in Portugal, in addition to the construction of our mine in South Korea, positions us as a key supplier for Western defense programs."

• Zerohash, a crypto infrastructure business, is in talks to raise about $100m at a nearly $1b valuation, per Fortune. Interactive Brokers is set to lead. axios.link/40h1z1y

• CertifID, an Austin, Texas-based real estate wire fraud prevention company, raised $47.5m in Series C funding led by Centana Growth Partners, per Axios Pro. axios.link/40UJR45

• Amogy, a New York-based provider of ammonia-to-power solutions, raised $23 in additional funding led by Korea Development Bank and KDB Silicon Valley. axios.link/4o5ioXJ

• Datavations, a New York-based insights platform for materials and home improvement industries, raised $17m in Series A funding led by Forestay Capital, with participation from Morpheus Ventures, board members Jay Steinfeld and Alexander Papadimitriou, Sage Venture Partners and NevCaut Ventures. datavations.ai

• Vultron, an SF-based proposal development platform, raised $17m in Series A funding led by Greycroft, per Axios Pro. Craft Ventures, Long Journey Ventures, South Park Commons participated, per Axios Pro. axios.link/3IHZcPe

• Heka Global, a New York and Tel Aviv-based real-time digital fraud prevention company, raised a $14m in Series A funding led by Windare Ventures, with participation from Barclays and Cornèr Banca, per Axios Pro. axios.link/46JTtT4

• Collate, a Menlo Park, Calif.-based AI agent startup for organizing data, raised $10m in Series A funding led by Venrock. Additional investors include Unusual Ventures and Karman Ventures. getcollate.io

• Monumental Labs, a Mount Vernon, N.Y.-based robotics company, raised $7m in seed funding led by Seven Seven Six. Mythos Ventures, Sahil Lavingia, Gravity Capital, Path Ventures, Milstein Companies, Inflection, Siqi Chen, Elad Gil, Severin Hacker, Sahil Lavingia, Andrew McCollum, Marinelli Capital, and Nadeem Meghji participated. axios.link/46avpsr

• Duranta, a Seattle-based software developer for landscapers, raised a $7m seed. Led by Base10 Partners, the round also included participation from Pear, Coalition Operators, Sunshine Lake and individual investors. axios.link/4kE2PDm

• Kaleidoscope, a New York-based podcast company, raised a $5m Series A led by Burda Principal Investments and North Base Media. axios.link/4kBtj8c

• Juno, a corporate travel operations and expense management platform, raised $4m in seed funding. Avid Ventures led and was joined by Matchstick Ventures and return investors Madrona Ventures and Bungalow Capital. juno.travel

• Trupeer, an SF-based AI video platform, raised $3m led by RTP Global, with participation from Salesforce Ventures. trupeer.ai

• Bifrost Electronics, a Boulder, Colo.-based quantum readout startup, raised $2.5m in seed funding led by Caruso Ventures. Harlow Capital participated. bifrostelectronic.com

• Island, a Dallas-based enterprise browser company, says JPMorgan Private Capital's Growth Equity Partners invested in its Series E that valued it at nearly $5b. island.io

• PetScreening, a Mooresville, N.C.-based pet policy management software company for property managers, raised $80m in Series B funding. Volition Capital and Guidepost Growth Equity led. axios.link/4lZHvJz

• Tavrn, a legal tech platform, raised $15m in Series A funding led by Left Lane Capital, per Axios Pro. axios.link/44yldJ3

• SuperAnnotate, an SF-based data platform, raised $13.5m in Series B from Dell Technologies Capital. superannotate.com

• Dakota, a New York-based crypto-integrated banking platform, raised $12.5m in Series A funding led by CoinFund, with participation from 6th Man Ventures and Triton Ventures. axios.link/4lFt3GA

• IntuigenceAI, a Berkeley, Calif.-based engineer platform, raised $10m in seed funding led by Innovation Endeavors with additional funding from Recursive Ventures and Think+. intuigence.ai

• Gen Phoenix, a British alt-leather startup, raised a $15m round including funds from Coach and Kate Spade-parent Tapestry, which increased its equity stake to 9.9%. axios.link/3GLUrUc

• Baraya Extended Care, a Saudi Arabia-based provider of long-term care and rehabilitation services, raised $124m in Series B from TVM Capital Healthcare and investors including Olayan Financing Company, Saudi Economic and Development Holding Company (SEDCO), ANB Capital and SVC. baraya.com.sa

• Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan Board agreed to acquire Donte Group, a Madrid-based dental company, for €1b from Advent. axios.link/4nQ2MqO

• FTV Capital invested in FundApps, a London-based compliance monitoring and reporting platform. fundapps.co

• Kairos Bidco, managed by KKR, agreed to acquired Perrigo Company's (NYSE: PRGO) dermacosmetics branded business for up to €327m. axios.link/44Qlfe5

• Limerston Capital acquired DigitalXRAID, a U.K.-based cybersecurity business. axios.link/44y7iTj

• Mitchell Capital acquired a controlling stake in Optelos, a visual inspection platform using digital twins. optelos.com

• Northleaf Capital Partners and Avalt agreed to acquire Wash Multifamily Holdings, a Torrance, Calif.-based laundry infrastructure services company, from EQT. wash.com

• Accelerant Holdings, a specialty insurance marketplace backed by Eldridge Industries, plans to raise up to $405.5M in a sale of 20.3m shares priced between $18 to $20. Selling shareholders plan to raise up to $173.4m. It plans to list on the NYSE (ARX). axios.link/46pf9Un

• Zimmer Biomet (NYSE: ZBH), a Warsaw, Ind.-based medical devices company, plans to acquire Austin, Texas-based orthopedics company Monogram Technologies (Nasdaq: MGRM) for $177m. axios.link/4kCnHuA

• Maverick Gaming, a Washington state-based casino operator, filed for bankruptcy protection. axios.link/3IsLwaY

• Health care entrepreneur Ron Zwanziger has reportedly made a takeover bid for OraSure Technologies (Nasdaq: OSUR),a company known for its COVID-19 rapid tests, per Reuters. The company's market cap is at about $239m. axios.link/3TEjStW

• Cognition, last valued at $4b, acquired Winsurf, the coding assistant whose founders have gone to Google. axios.link/44O9Hb4

• Geely Automobile agreed to buy Zeekr (NYSE: ZK), a Chinese electric carmaker with a $7b market cap. axios.link/451n9d4

• Rastar Group, a Chinese game developer, invested in Velocity Sport, the holding company of Burnley FC. ALK Capital backs Velocity. axios.link/44I34qY

• Mantis VC closed its third fund with $100m. mantisvc.com

• Citigroup hired Alena Antigua as managing director in the healthcare investment banking group. She was previously senior vice president in healthcare IT at Jefferies. stifelinstitutional.com