After I recently wrote about President Trump's efforts to close the carried interest tax loophole, some readers responded by arguing that it would be balanced out by Trump's plan to cut corporate taxes.

• Not so fast.

Catch up quick: Trump's 2017 tax bill reduced the corporate tax rate to 21% from 35%, and he campaigned last year on lowering it further to 15%.

Fast forward: Congressional Republicans are scrambling to find revenue offsets for an array of proposed tax cuts, including on overtime and tips, plus to maintain spending on Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security.

• Particularly as Trump walks back tariffs that he had claimed would help fill the gap.

Driving the news: White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt yesterday was asked if the president might support an increase to the corporate tax rate, to help get other tax cuts across the finish line.

• She acknowledged having heard such proposals, and said that Trump has not "made a determination" on if he supports them.
• Again, this isn't a Trump endorsement of raising the corporate rate. But it's also not slamming the door, let alone reaffirming his commitment to lowering corporate taxes.

Zoom in: It also comes as the White House is discussing an increase to top individual tax rates, which could create a triple tax whammy for wealthy investors.

The bottom line: Leaving aside personal or political views on tax policy, it's tough to argue that this fresh jolt of uncertainty won't discourage new dealmaking.

Figma, a San Francisco-based provider of collaborative design software, has filed confidential IPO papers with the SEC.

Why it's the BFD: This is an exit regroup for Figma, 16 months after scrapping its $20 billion takeover by Adobe.

• That deal would have been the largest acquisition of a privately held software company, at least until Google's bid for Wiz, but faced serious scrutiny from both European and U.S. antitrust regulators.

Catch up quick: Figma last raised funding in April 2024 at a $12.5 billion valuation — a secondary round that included new investors Franklin Venture Partners and Thrive Capital, plus insiders like Sequoia Capital and Kleiner Perkins.

The bottom line: Corporate courage is being shown here, given how the tariff tumult has grounded most other IPOs. At the same time, however, there's a big difference between filing confidentially and flipping an S-1, let alone launching an IPO roadshow.

• Kavak, a Mexico-based used-car marketplace, raised $127m co-led by SoftBank and General Atlantic at a $2.2b valuation (down from $8.7b in 2021), per Bloomberg. It also secured $400m in new debt facilities. axios.link/4ijc7mO

🚑 Glycomine, a San Carlos, Calif., biotech focused on orphan diseases, raised $115m in Series C funding. CTI Life Sciences Fund, abrdn, and Advent Life Sciences co-led, joined by insiders Novo Holdings, Sanofi Ventures, Abingworth, RiverVest Venture Partners, Sanderling Ventures, Chiesi Ventures, Remiges Ventures, and Asahi Kasei Ventures. axios.link/3Y2CAxR

🚑 Science Corp, an SF-based neurotech startup, raised $104m led by Khosla Ventures, with participation from Elad Gil, Samaipata, and Valor Equity Partners. axios.link/4jtYqT3

• Hammerspace, a San Mateo, Calif., data platform for AI, raised $100m from backers like Altimeter Capital led, joined by ARK Invest. axios.link/3Y11dLm

• Luma, a Cincinnati-based provider of structured products and insurance solutions, raised $63m in Series C funding. Sixth Street Growth led, joined by Bank of America, Morgan Stanley, UBS, and TD Bank Group. lumafintech.com

• iCreditWorks, an Iselin, N.J.-based point-of-sale lending startup, raised $60m led by Comvest Partners and Barings, with participation from RedBird Capital Partners. axios.link/42g6nWv

⚡ Crux, a provider of financing software for clean energy companies, raised $50m in Series B funding, per Axios Pro. Lowercarbon Capital led, joined by Liberty Mutual Strategic Ventures, MassMutual Ventures, OMERS Ventures, Acrew Capital, Giant Ventures and insiders a16z, Ardent Venture Partners, CIV, New System Ventures, and The Three Cairns Group. axios.link/3RPMcbF

🚑 Hellocare, a Clearwater, Fla.-based virtual care platform, raised $47m in funding led by HealthQuest Capital, with participation from Bon Secours Mercy Health, UCHealth, OSF Ventures, and LRVHealth. axios.link/42JA1n0

• Onfly, a Brazilian B2B travel tech company, raised $40m in Series B funding led by Tidemark, with participation from Endeavor Catalyst and Left Lane Capital. axios.link/4igk5gs

⚡ Nyobolt, a British EV charging tech startup, raised $30m co-led by IQ Capital and Latitude, with participation from Scania Invest and Takasago Industry. axios.link/4ijIphI

• Virtue AI, an SF-based AI security platform, raised $30m in combined seed and Series A funding led by Walden Catalyst Ventures and Lightspeed Venture Partners, per Axios. axios.link/3XZikND

🚑 Assort Health, an SF-based provider of voice AI agents for health care, raised $22m in Series A funding. First Round Capital and Chemistry co-led, joined by Quiet Capital. axios.link/3Ej9Qu9

🚑 HepaRegeniX, a German clinical-stage biotech focused on liver disease, raised €21.5m from firms like Wellington Partners. axios.link/4jTNAX1

⚡ Fourier, a Menlo Park, Calif.-based hydrogen producer, raised $18.5m in Series A funding including from Airbus Ventures. axios.link/4lyj06J

• Corvic AI, a Mountain View, Calif.-based cognitive infrastructure company, raised $12m in seed funding led by M Ventures and Bosch Ventures, with participation from Foothill Ventures, Lam Capital, LDV Partners, and K2 Access Fund. axios.link/3EnZyJi

• NetRise, an Austin, Texas-based software supply chain security company, raised $10m in Series A funding led by DNX Ventures, with participation from Miramar Digital Ventures, Sorenson Capital, Squadra Ventures, and Talons Ventures. axios.link/3EpGhXQ

• Dolphin Semiconductor, a French mixed-signal IP design firm, raised €10m from Vertex Growth. axios.link/4j5EiHa

⚡ Hexium, an Austin, Texas-based developer of isotope enrichment tech for nuclear power, raised $8m in seed funding. MaC Venture Capital and Refactor co-led, joined by Humba Ventures, Julian Capital, Overture VC, and R7 Partners participating. axios.link/3Gmw5zL

• Bauplan, an SF-based serverless data platform for AI and analytics, raised $7.5m in seed funding led by Innovation Endeavors. bauplanlabs.com

• Friday Harbor, a Seattle-based mortgage origination platform for loan officers, raised $6m in seed funding led by Abstract Ventures. axios.link/3EphgMq

• Portia AI, a London-based developer of open-source AI agents, raised £4.4m. General Catalyst led, joined by First Minute Capital and Stem AI. portialabs.ai

🚑 Youlify, a Campbell, Calif.-based revenue cycle management startup, raised $4.3m in seed funding, per Axios Pro. Bonfire Ventures led, joined by Top Harvest Capital. axios.link/42MrFuQ

• Atomic, a supply chain planning platform, raised $3m in seed funding from DVx Ventures and Madrona Ventures. axios.link/3YBUIyP

• Ideem, a Kansas City-based authentication startup, raised $2.4m in seed funding from Sovereigns Capital, Quona Ventures, Everywhere Ventures, Hustle Fund, Oread Angels, and Network KS. axios.link/3G7fsZ7

• Allegrow, a Scottish B2B email deliverability platform, raised $1m led by Golden Section. axios.link/4ilZ6t1

• Assiduous, an Irish fintech for SME corporate finance, raised €1m from Enterprise Ireland and EIT Digital. axios.link/4cCBRtl

• Brookfield is in talks to buy a stake in Barclays' payments business, per Bloomberg. axios.link/3YyZuwS

• Clairvest Group acquired a minority stake in NCS Engineers, a Rio Rancho, N.M.-based provider of water and wastewater engineering solutions. ncseng.com

⚡ Ember Infrastructure invested $50m for a majority stake in Caban, a Plano, Texas-based on-site power provider, per Axios Pro. axios.link/3EnvtJI

• KKR agreed to acquire listed German IT services firm Datagroup for €450m. axios.link/4ih8A8w

• Local Crafts Group, a portfolio company of Blue Point Capital Partners, acquired Jimmy Beans Wool, a Reno, Nev.-based retailer of yarn and knitting accessories. jimmybeanswool.com

🚑 M42 acquired a stake in Juvenescence, a British longevity biotech. axios.link/4jbsAuC

• NUO Capital agreed to buy coffee pot maker Bialetti. axios.link/4jfB83R

• Rotunda Capital Partners acquired Capital Machine Technologies, a Tampa, Fla.-based provider of provider of metal fabrication machinery. capitalmachine.com

• Sagard of Canada agreed to acquire a strategic stake in BEX Capital, a French PE secondaries firm with over US$2b in AUM. axios.link/3EbnYpl

• Teranet, an OMERS Infrastructure portfolio company, acquired a stake in ReadyWhen Tech (dba GoVeyance), a Canadian provider of software for real estate legal professionals. goveyance.com

⚡ TPG completed its $2.2b take-private buyout of Altus Power, the largest owner of commercial-scale solar in the U.S. axios.link/3Q4z0z1

🚲 VisionEdgeOne acquired Spanish bike share company Inurba Mobility from Sherpa Capital and Moventia Group. inurbamobility.com

• Willow Tree Credit Partners is exploring the sale of a minority stake, per Bloomberg. axios.link/4jElcbb

• Vendome Acquisition I, a consumer SPAC led by CEO Scott LaPorta (Sugarfina USA), filed for a $150m IPO. axios.link/4lz6ofs

• Infinite Reality, a VC-backed metaverse firm valued at $15b, agreed to buy agentic AI company Touchcast for $500m. Touchcast's backers included VU Venture Partners and Accenture Ventures. axios.link/3Gagnb7

🚑 Mérieux Equity Partners agreed to sell its majority stake in Theravia, a French pharma company focused on rare diseases, to Amsterdam-based Norgine. theravia.com

• Partners Group is weighing a sale for its 49% stake in Italian toll road business Telepass, per Bloomberg. axios.link/3YzhSFX

• Futureverse, a New Zealand-based metaverse firm that's raised over $50m in VC funding, acquired NFT startup Candy Digital, per Axios. axios.link/3YBEOV5

• Lyft (Nasdaq: LYFT) agreed to buy taxi app FreeNow from BMW and Mercedes-Benz for €175m. axios.link/4lQdXPp

• Pearce, backed by New Mountain Capital and Willcrest Partners, acquired JoeMax Telecom, an Allentown, N.J., provider of engineering, site acquisition, and project management services for telecom. pearce-services.com

• Recharge, a Dutch prepaid payments fintech, acquired U.K.-based B2B digital rewards company Giftcloud from Groupon (Nasdaq: GRPN). axios.link/4lwPEWd

• Tredence, a San Jose, Calif., data science firm that's raised over $200m in VC funding, acquired Further Advisory, a Pittsburgh-based management consultancy. tredence.com

• 11 Tribes Ventures, a Chicago-based early-stage VC firm, raised $46m for its second fund. axios.link/42HP7tf

• Advent International is premarketing its first midmarket PE fund, to be led by managing directors John DiCola and Francesco Casiraghi, per Buyouts. axios.link/43XGzQc

• BPS Ventures launched as a pre-seed and seed VC firm focused on fintech, led by Mike Nugent (ex-Vestigo Ventures). axios.link/3RUn5o0

• EQT secured over $10b in commitments for its ninth pan-Asia buyout fund, which is targeting $12.5b, per Bloomberg. axios.link/42zxFpE

🚑 Sprig Equity of Illinois raised $50m for its debut growth equity fund focused on med-tech. sprigequity.com

• Paul Armsby joined Corinthia Global Management as a managing director. He previously spent a decade with Golub Capital. axios.link/4cyhuNZ

• Max Jackson joined Ballast Rock as a managing director of private credit. He previously was with KeyBanc. axios.link/42xmPAe

• Keith Lindsey joined e2p, a Chicago-based PE firm focused on food and beverage, as an executive partner. He previously was president and CEO of Salm Partners. axios.link/42sx1dn

• Matthew Mills joined Reynolda Equity Partners as VP of portfolio strategy and ops. He previously was with Three Ships. axios.link/3Gmgtwc

• John Novak joined SK Capital Partners as a managing director and head of biz dev. He previously was with Paine Schwartz Partners. axios.link/42cYelw

• Elizabeth Stockton, a former DoD official, joined New York-based VC firm Overlap Holdings as director of government solutions. axios.link/3RXIj4p

Harley-Davidson is coming under activist pressure from H Partners, which is calling for the removal of the motorcycle maker's CEO and three board directors.

• H Partners is the second-largest shareholder in Harley-Davidson, with a 9.1% stake.
• Earlier this month, its board designee resigned over what H Partners called "material disagreements."

By the numbers: Harley-Davidson's share price is down 44% over the past year, giving it around a $2.7 billion market cap.