Today's column didn't quite come together in time, so let's clean out the notebook...

🪙 Crypto convo: David Sacks held his first press conference yesterday as crypto and AI czar, alongside some GOP members of the Senate Banking and House Financial Services Committees.

• What we learned: The Senate plans to move on stablecoin legislation before a market structure bill, which could be a boon for Circle's IPO ambitions. The House wants to work on both concurrently.
• Sacks said that he began educating members on the "esoteric" topic of crypto before this session of Congress even began, and added that President Trump's concept of a U.S. sovereign wealth fund is "separate" from his executive order to study the feasibility of a bitcoin strategic reserve.
• We still haven't seen any public disclosures of Sacks' crypto holdings, either directly or indirectly via Craft Ventures, although word is that it's working through the bureaucracy.

✂️ DOGE digging: Veteran tech exec Tom Krause isn't stepping down as CEO of Cloud Software Group, despite his reported work with DOGE, per a source familiar with the situation.

• CSG is the Vista Equity-owned parent company of Citrix and Tibco, while Krause previously led Broadcom.
• My understanding is that he's volunteering at DOGE for the next two or three months, including an office within the Treasury Department, but isn't taking a leave of absence from CSG. And Vista is said to be fine with the split focus.

💰 Update: Last week we reported that General Catalyst was looking to sell GP stakes to strategic investors, in order to help fund expansion beyond its VC roots.

• Yesterday the firm launched a wealth management business, led by a 20-person team that used to work at First Republic.

❓ Quiz time: Can you name the VC-backed fintech unicorn that just filed confidential IPO papers? Hint: It's not headquartered in the U.S.

⚡ Power outage: Axios Generate, our daily newsletter focused on energy and climate, yesterday dug into how new Trump policies could impact both energy dealmaking in Africa and the DOE's clean energy loans program. Worthy of your time.

🎉 Save the date: Axios BFD will return to New York City on Nov. 18. Lots more info to come...

Brookfield submitted a US$1.9b non-binding takeover bid for Australian wealth manager Insignia Financial (ASX: IFL), matching prior bids from Bain Capital and CC Capital Partners.

Why it's the BFD: Australian wealth management is becoming a magnet for global private equity, thanks to the country's strong and growing pension systems.

• Don't be surprised if the Insignia Financial bidders already are eyeing backup plans, in case they lose out.

The bottom line: "It's been nearly eight weeks since Bain's original offer was disclosed, with Insignia's board attempting to entice higher bids by allowing all three firms limited access to proprietary information." — Harry Brumpton, Bloomberg

• Semgrep, an SF-based application security platform, raised $100m in Series D funding. Menlo Ventures led, and was joined by insiders Felicis, Harpoon Ventures, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Redpoint Ventures, and Sequoia Capital. semgrep.dev

• Cashfree, an Indian payments startup, raised $53m in Series C funding at a $700m valuation. Krafton led, and was joined by Apis Growth Fund. axios.link/3ElFjLY

• MagicSchool AI, a Denver-based platform for K-12 educators and students, raised $45m in Series B funding. Valor Equity Partners led, and was joined by Bain Capital Ventures, Adobe Ventures, Atreides Management, and Smash Capital. axios.link/3Q5zrZD

• Protex AI, an Irish developer of workplace safety tech, raised $36m in Series B funding. Hedosophia led, and was joined by Salesforce Ventures. axios.link/42Ekk0L

• Beamable, a Boston developer of decentralized infrastructure for gaming, raised $13.5m in Series A funding led by Bitkraft Ventures. axios.link/3Q1LhUT

• Prior Labs, a German developer of foundation models for spreadsheets and databases, raised €9m in pre-seed funding. Balderton Capital led, and was joined by XTX Ventures, Hector Foundation, Atlantic Labs, and Galion.exe. priorlabs.ai

🚑 C the Signs, a London-based cancer risk assessment provider, raised $8m from Khosla Ventures. axios.link/3EqmuqX

• Neofin, a Brazilian accounts payable SaaS startup, raised $7m co-led by Quona and Upload Ventures. neofin.com.br

• Saeki, a Swiss manufacturing automation startup, raised $6.7m. Lightbird led, and was joined by Founderful, 2100VC, and Danobat. axios.link/4gsjHe0

🚑 PinkDx, a Daly City, Calif.-based developer of women's health tests, raised $5m in Series A extension funding from Blue Venture Fund, Sandbox Clinical Ventures, and BEVC. axios.link/4gw0mbQ

• Rho Labs, a crypto-native rates exchange, raised $4m in seed funding. CoinFund led, and was joined by Auros, Flow Traders, and Speedinvest. rho.trading

• Neuralk-AI, a French developer of foundational models for commerce data, raised $4m led by Fly Ventures. axios.link/410r1cs

🚑 SimpliFed, an Ithaca, N.Y., virtual maternal care provider, raised $4m. Morningside led, and was joined by Artemis Fund, Cultivation Capital, American Heart Association Ventures, The Venture Collective, Empire State Development, and Waterline Ventures. axios.link/4hmvoUP

🚑 Solstice Health, a biopharma marketing acceleration startup, designed to accelerate commercial timelines for biopharma teams, raised $3.5m in seed funding co-led by Twelve Below and Virtue. solsticehealth.co

• LogicStar, a Swiss developer of AI agents for app maintenance, raised $3m in pre-seed funding led by Northzone. axios.link/42ItqKe

• Astra Security, a Delaware-based cybersecurity SaaS startup, raised $2.7m. Emergent Ventures led, and was joined by Neon Fund, Better Capital, Blume Ventures, and PointOne Capital. getastra.com

• Deel, the HR and payroll startup valued by VCs at $12b, sold $300m secondary shares to new investors like General Catalyst and Mubadala. axios.link/4aMSlxY

• Voldex, a "home for top games on Roblox," secured Series B equity funding led by The Raine Group and debt financing from Shamrock Capital. It also acquired game Brookhaven. axios.link/4hn1QXk

• Architect Equity acquired Gibbs Die Casting, a Henderson, Ky., maker of die-cast products for the automotive and industrial markets, from Koch Enterprises. gibbsdc.com

• DigiCap acquired Govplace, a Bethesda, Md.-based provider of IT solutions for federal agencies. govplace.com

• Frontenac acquired CROM, a Gainesville, Fla., provider of water infrastructure solutions, from Sciens Water. cromcorp.com

🚑 JLL Partners acquired Odyssey Behavioral Healthcare, a Brentwood, Tenn., provider of behavioral health care, from Carlyle. axios.link/40IfRYy

• Legacy Bakehouse, a portfolio company of Benford Capital Partners, acquired Mannon Specialty Foods (dba Classic Cookie), a Sevierville, Tenn.-based maker of premium cookie products. legacybakehouse.com

🚑 Radar Healthcare, a U.K. portfolio company of Marlin Equity Partners, acquired EIDO Healthcare, a U.K. provider of digital consent and patient information solutions. radarhealthcare.com

🚑 Rubicon Founders bought Horizon Infusions, a Blue Ash, Ohio-based ambulatory infusion provider, from BroadOak Capital for around $130m, per Axios Pro. axios.link/4hA4Zms

• The Stephens Group acquired Astro Pak, a Costa Mesa, Calif., provider of cleaning services for regulated industries. astropak.com

• With Intelligence, a London-based media and information group owned by Intermediate Capital Group and Motive Partners, acquired M&A content provider The Deal from Delinian, a portfolio company of Astorg and Epiris. axios.link/4aOG38l

• Corpay (NYSE: CPAY) agreed to acquire Gringo, a Brazilian vehicle registration and compliance payment firm that had raised around $85m from firms like Valor Capital Group, Moore Capital Management, Piton Capital, and GFC. axios.link/4hKCdPM

🚑 McKesson (NYSE: MCK) agreed to acquire an 80% stake in Prism Vision, an Edison, N.J.-based provider of ophthalmology and retina management services, for $850m from Quad-C. axios.link/4gmKkkJ

• Purolator, a Canadian freight and logistics firm backed by Onex, bought Livingston International, an international trade services firm, from Platinum Equity. purolator.com

• Worldpay (NYSE: WP) agreed to acquire Ravelin, a London-based fraud prevention business that had raised around $37m from firms like Molten Ventures, BlackFin Capital Partners, Passion Capital, Amadeus Capital Partners, and Plug and Play Tech Center. axios.link/42L2SI3

• Databricks, valued by VCs at $62b, acquired the tech and talent of BladeBridge, to help with enterprise data warehouse migrations. axios.link/4hLJ6jQ

• JD.com (Nasdaq: JD) has "renewed interest" in acquiring listed German electronics retailer Ceconomy, per Bloomberg. axios.link/3CAHgUc

• Nissan (Tokyo: 7201) is preparing to end its $58b merger talks with rival automaker Honda (T: 7367). axios.link/3CGYgrR

• Epic Ventures of Salt Lake City is raising its seventh fund, per an SEC filing.

• GTMfund, led by Max Altschuler, raised $54m for its second VC fund. axios.link/3CFsIm9

• Hitachi Ventures raised $400m for its fourth fund, per TechCrunch. axios.link/40Me0ln

🌎 Marunouchi Innovation Partners, a growth investment JV between Mitsubishi, MUFJ Bank, and Pavilion Private Equity, raised $744m for a climate tech fund. marunouchi-innovation.com

• Overlap Holdings raised $33m for its debut VC fund, focused on frontier tech. overlapholdings.com

• Operator Collective is raising $15m for its third fund, per an SEC filing.

• Ares Management said that credit group heads Kipp deVeer and Blair Jacobson will become firm co-presidents, and deVeer will be replaced as CEO of Ares Capital Corp. (Nasdaq: ARCC) by Kort Schnabel. aresmgmt.com

• Sam Camens joined CD&R as a managing director, focused on portfolio health and welfare strategy. He previously was with Onex. axios.link/3Q9wPKc

• Galen Fu joined Monroe Capital as an Australia-based director of biz dev. He previously was with Hines Investment Management. monroecap.com

• Lexington Partners promoted Jeff Bloom and Cullen Schannep to partners, both focused on secondaries, and named Victor Wu as co-chair of the firm's secondary investment committee. to the firm's Secondary Investment Committee. lexingtonpartners.com

• Daniel Penny, the former Marine who recently was acquitted of criminally negligent homicide of a man in New York City, joined a16z as an investor. axios.link/40Meqbr

⚡ SCF Partners promoted Sean Rice to managing partner. axios.link/415n1X5

Just when it looked like Venture Global was climbing out of its post-IPO funk, China announced reciprocal tariffs on LNG imports from the U.S.

• Venture Global shares fell 4.6% to $20.45 on the news.
• The company had planned to price its IPO at $40-$46, before cutting the range to $23-$27 and pricing at $25.

The bottom line: Venture Global had high hopes for the Trump administration, which lifted the freeze on LNG export permit applications, but also warned of tariff risks in its IPO prospectus.