TikTok has less than one month until its U.S. lifeline expires, but sources say there still haven't been negotiations between its Chinese owner and prospective buyers.

Why it matters: Tick tock, tick tock.

State of play: Suitors are increasingly frustrated by their inability to get under TikTok's hood, in terms of both finances and technology.

• There also has been some confusion as to who is actually in charge of Trump administration negotiations for the deal. Early expectations were that it would be Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, given his role as chairman of CFIUS, but Vice President Vance seems to have taken the baton.
• Beijing, meanwhile, continues to be publicly silent; one source suggested the situation is like juggling four balls when one is invisible.
• Everyone has ideas of how a deal could be structured, but no confidence on how it needs to be structured.

Silver lining: The April 5 deadline isn't really set in stone.

• President Trump had no legal authority to extend the U.S. ban by 75 days, so there's no reason to think he wouldn't extend it out further (or even indefinitely).
• But his hand would be helped if at least a term sheet were submitted, since that could trigger a legal extension under the law passed last year.
• There's also a proposal from Sen. Markey (D-Mass.) to push back the deadine by another 270 days, although it's stuck in legislative limbo.

The intrigue: Trump has publicly floated the idea of a U.S. sovereign wealth fund buying TikTok, and Reuters yesterday reported that former Morgan Stanley tech banker Michael Grimes has been tasked with leading a U.S. SWF.

• A lot of folks view this endeavor as quixotic, given that the U.S. is deep in debt, but Grimes is a serious guy with a history of pulling off difficult assignments (e.g., Uber IPO, Twitter takeover, etc).
• It's possible that the TikTok slow walk is giving Grimes more time to put Trump's plan into action.

The bottom line: A tentative agreement could absolutely be signed within the month, but the odds grow longer with each passing day.

Onsemi (Nasdaq: ON) today announced an offer to buy chipmaker Allegro Microsoystems (Nasdaq: ALGM) for $6.9 billion in cash, with Allegro responding that the unsolicited bid is "inadequate."

Why it's the BFD: Suitors don't normally disclose their desires via press release, which suggests that onsemi's hope is to get an assist from Allegro shareholders. It also may suggest a willingness to go hostile.

By the numbers: Onsemi's $35.10 per share offer for Allegro represents a 31% premium to yesterday's closing price, and is slightly above a $34.50 bid submitted last September.

• Both companies have seen their stock prices fall significantly over the past year, although onsemi has taken the much larger hit.

The bottom line: Onsemi generates around half of its revenue from automakers, which means the current tariff fight gives it added incentive to add new business via acquisition.

• Turing, a Palo Alto, Calif.-based AI engineer HR platform, raised $111m in Series E funding at a $2.2b valuation. Khazanah Nasional Berhad led, and was joined by Westbridge Capital, Sozo Ventures, Uphonest Capital, AltaIR Capital, Amino Capital, Plug and Play, MVP Ventures, Fortius Ventures, Gaingels, and Mastodon Capital Management. axios.link/4koBmXb

• SpecterOps, an Arlington, Va., cybersecurity startup focused on threat actor tradecraft, raised $75m in Series B funding. Insight Partners led, and was joined by Ansa Capital, M12, Ballistic Ventures, Decibel, and Cisco Investments. axios.link/3XuYERk

• PetScreening, a Morrisville, N.C.-based provider of pet policy management software for the rental housing market, raised $80m in Series B funding co-led by Volition Capital and Guidepost Growth Equity. petscreening.com

• Grain, an Israeli FX hedging business, raised $33m in Series A funding led by Bain Capital Ventures, with participation from Aleph, Vessey Ventures and Hanaco Ventures. axios.link/4bsfAxD

⚡Renaissance Fusion, a French nuclear reactor design startup, raised €32m in Series A-1 funding. Crédit Mutuel Impact led, and was joined by Lowercarbon Capital. axios.link/4iugBrA

🚑 Freed, a SF-based AI clinician scribe, raised a $30m Series A funding. Sequoia Capital led, and was joined by Scale Venture Partners and Daniel Gross. freed.ai

• DoubleZeroFoundation, developer of a "new internet" for improving blockchain performance, completed a $28m token round at a $400m valuation. Dragonfly Capital and Multicoin Capital co-led, and were joined by Foundation Capital, Reciprocal Ventures, DBA, Borderless Capital, Superscrypt, and Frictionless. axios.link/3FaE7LJ

• Crogl, a developer of AI agents for cybersecurity researchers, disclosed $25m in Series A funding led by Menlo Ventures and $5m in seed funding led by Tola Capital. axios.link/4btEBIN

• Flex, a Miami-based provider of back-office business software, raised $25m in equity funding led by Titanium Ventures, with participation from Companyon Ventures, Florida Funders, MS&AD Ventures, AAF Management, and First Look Partners. It also secured $200m in debt. flex.one

🚑 Lumata Health, an Edmond, Okla.-based virtual ophthalmology care platform, raised $23m in Series B funding co-led by LRVHealth, McKesson Ventures, and Cencora Ventures. axios.link/4i3hw2f

⚡ Steady Energy, a Finnish developer of heat-only SMRs, raised €22m. 92 Ventures led, and were joined by Lifeline Ventures. axios.link/4i3i6gh

🚑 Ataraxis AI, a New York-based developer of precision cancer diagnostics, raised $20.4m in Series A funding. AIX Ventures led, and was joined by Floating Point, Thiel Bio, Founders Fund, Bertelsmann Investments, Giant Ventures, and Obvious Ventures. axios.link/4bAwRov

• Zocks, an AI platform for financial advisors, raised $13.8m in Series A funding, per Axios Pro. Motive Ventures led, and was joined by Lightspeed Venture Partners,Expanse Venture Partners, Entrée Capital, and 14Peaks. axios.link/41r4BzV

🚑 Nervonik, an LA-based developer of an opioid-free peripheral nerve stimulation system, raised $13m in Series A funding. USVP led, and was joined by Foothill Ventures and Correlation Ventures. nervonik.com

• Ceramic, an AI startup led by Gradient Ventures founder Anna Patterson. raised $12m. NEA led, and was joined by IBM, Samsung Next, and Earthshot Ventures. ceramic.ai

• Alpine Eagle, a German developer of counter-drone tech, raised €10.3m in seed funding led by IQ Capital. axios.link/4bt1CeY

🌎 AgZen, a developer of crop spraying equipment and software, raised $10m in Series A funding led by DCVC Bio, per Axios Pro. axios.link/41kJfUM

• Conveo, a Belgian AI research assistant, raised $5.3m in seed funding from YC, 6 Degrees Capital, Entourage, Pitchdrive, and Syndicate One. axios.link/4ksKOJ1

• Outmarket AI, a developer of agentic copilots for commercial insurance, raised $4.7m in seed funding from Fika Ventures, TTV, and Dash Fund. outmarket.ai

• Uniti AI, a New York-based maker of AI agents for commercial real estate, raised $4m in seed funding led by Prudence, with participation from Alate Partners, Flex Capital, Observer Capital, and RE Angels. axios.link/4h8NfOm

• Momentic, a New York-based end-to-end testing platform for developers, raised $3.7m in seed funding from FundersClub, General Catalyst, YC, and AI Grant. axios.link/4brcFVU

• Tiga AI, a marketing startup focused on "signal-based prospecting," raised $2m. Bull City Venture Partners led, and was joined by Cascade Seed Fund and the Virginia Innovation Partnership Corp. tiga.ai

• Airtron, an HVAC company owned by Gamut Capital, acquired Sierra, an installer of HVAC systems to new homes in Nevada and Idaho. airtron.com

• Apex Fintech is weighing an acquisition of Bakkt (NYSE: BKKT), the Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE: ICE) spinoff that bought out Apex's crypto operations two years ago, per Axios Pro. axios.link/4kq2q8A

• Bain Capital agreed to buy a 60% stake in the supermarket assets of 7-Eleven owner Seven & i (Tokyo: 3382) at a $5.4b enterprise value, and said it plans to bring the business public in three years. axios.link/4he4X2R

• Blackstone acquired a minority stake in ITE Management, an alt asset manager focused on transportation infrastructure with over $10b in AUM. axios.link/41Ja2eY

• Charlesbank Capital Partners completed its take-private buyout of Emcore, a N.J.-based provider of inertial navigation solutions for aerospace and defense. axios.link/43p08AC

• Crestview Partners acquired Smyth Cos, a St. Paul, Minn.-based provider of pressure sensitive labels and shrink sleeves, from Novacap. smythco.com

🚑 CVS Health (NYSE: CVS) sold its Medicare shared service savings program to Wellvana Health, a value-based care enabler whose backers include WCAS and Optum Ventures, in an all-stock deal. axios.link/4bsFqSa

• FloWorks, a portfolio company of Wynnchurch Capital, acquired CAC, a Canadian distributor and repairer of industrial pumps and related parts. gofloworks.com

• Partners Group agreed to acquire GreenSquareDC, an Australian data center provider, and said it would invest up to A$1.12b. axios.link/41mvW6q

• SK Capital Partners acquired Physical Properties Testers Group, a U.K. provider of physical property test and measurement solutions, from Battery Ventures. pptgroup.com

• Stephens Group invested in Kalkomey Enterprises, a richardson, Texas-based provider of online recreational safety education backed by Macquarie Capital and Weatherford Capital. kalkomey.com

• Warburg Pincus signed an agreement with Saudi pension fund manager Hassana to jointly explore deals in Saudi Arabia. axios.link/4bqyV2c

🚑 Kestra Medical Technologies, a maker of wearable cardioverter defibrillators, raised $202m in its IPO. The company priced 11.9 shares at $17, versus plans to offer 10m shares at $14-$16. It will list on the Nasdaq (KTMS), and had raised $246m from firms like Bain Capital, Endeavour Vision, Andera Partners, Ally Bridge Group, Longitude Capital, Omega Funds, T. Rowe Price, Eventide Asset Management, and Gilmartin Capital. axios.link/4h1l0ky

• Discord, valued by VCs at $14.2b in 2021, is speaking with bankers about an IPO, per the NY Times. axios.link/4inrLhw

• Yupi, an Indonesian candy maker, plans to raise up to $131m in its domestic IPO. axios.link/4kkQoxn

🚑 Gulf Capital hired Moelis & Co. to find a buyer for Abu Dhabi-based Art Fertility Clinics, per Bloomberg. axios.link/4imce1s

• Airwallex, valued by VCs at $6b, acquired CTIN Pay, an intermediary payment service licensed company in Vietnam. axios.link/4kopHYx

• A.P. Moller agreed to acquire a 40% stake in the logistics arm of Philippine conglomerate Ayala, with an option to buy more. axios.link/4kshOBi

🚑 CareCloud (Nasdaq: CCLD) acquired MesaBilling, a Brookfield, Wis., medical billing business. mesabilling.com

• Dalata Hotel Group, a listed Irish hotel operator, hired Rothschild & Co. to launch a strategic review that could lead to a company sale. axios.link/43qnkhY

• DNB, an Oslo-listed Norwegian bank, agreed to buy a 15% stake in export lender Eksportfinans from Norway's government for around $69m. axios.link/43oVceR

⚡ Liberty Energy (NYSE: LBRT) acquired IMG Energy Solutions, a Pittsburgh-based distributed power developer. libertyenergy.com

⚡ Oklo (NYSE: OKLO) acquired Atomic Alchemy, an Idaho Falls, Idaho-based radioisotope producer, for $25m in stock. atomicalchemy.us

• Pepco Group (Warsaw: PCO) is seeking to sell U.K. discount retailer Poundland. axios.link/3XwZTzz

⚡ Rio Tinto (LSE: RIO) completed its $6.7b acquisition of NYSE/ASX-listed miner Arcadium Lithium. axios.link/4heRszQ

• 400 Capital Management raised $1.39b for its fourth private credit fund. 400capital.com

• Accolade Partners of Washington, D.C., is raising its fourth flagship VC fund and fourth opportunities fund, per SEC filings. accoladepartners.com

⚡ Ascent Energy Ventures of Denver is targeting $50m for its second fund, per an SEC filing.

• Homegrown Capital, a South Dakota-based VC firm, raised $30m for its second fund, per an SEC filing.

• Lane42 Investment Partners was launched by Scott Graves (ex-Ares) to focus on opportunistic credit in public and private markets. axios.link/4kpjonB

• Goldman Sachs named David Dubner as COO of global M&A, per Reuters. axios.link/41Iavht

• Nicole Perez joined Foley Hoag as a partner in the law firm's M&A practice. She previously was with Baker Botts. axios.link/41rfwJZ