The startup world is brimming with accelerators. For companies, founders, creators, careers, and most everything else.

• Now it also has a decelerator.

Driving the news: Steve Schlafman, who spent over 10 years as a full-time venture capitalist, has launched Downshift, which he describes as a "program tailored for high performers in transition."

• It's the sort of thing Schlafman says he wishes he had when he resigned from RRE Ventures nearly seven years ago. An opportunity to deeply examine what he wanted to do next, rather than leaping into the next venture capital gig (which is what he ultimately did).
• "A lot of people are in this space where their identity is no longer founder or a similar role, but it's also not yet who they're going to become next," he tells me. "That middle space is very disorienting for high performers."

Zoom in: Downshift sits somewhere between professional and life coaching, with Schlafman saying me the deceleration process has four primary phases:

1. Discover the behaviors and patterns that prohibit you from slowing down. It's a very personal process, which means it also can be a lonely one.
2. Learn to be patient with yourself, possibly for years. Yes, this is a financial luxury, but one that many high-performers can afford.
3. Determine what fundamentally energizes you (i.e., your core values).
4. Decide what you want to leave behind (i.e., resentment, grief), what you want to bring on the next journey, and what new skills you want to cultivate.

The bottom line: "In an accelerator, everyone is marching toward the same thing," Schlafman adds. "What we're trying to do is strip people of their accolades and success so that they can move forward without any of that pretense."

New York Community Bancorp (NYSE: NYCB) agreed to a $1.05 billion equity rescue, at a price of $2 per share, led by Steven Mnuchin's Liberty Strategic Capital.

Why it's the BFD: This extinguishes a spark that some feared could spread into another regional bank wildfire, nearly one year after the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank.

Other investors include Hudson Bay Capital, and Reverence Capital, and Citadel Global Equities.

Zoom in: The deal reunites Mnuchin and Joseph Otting, who becomes NYCB's new CEO.

• The pair previously led mortgage lender OneWest, which acquired the assets of failed mortgage lender IndyMac, before working in the Trump administration as Treasury secretary and OCC head, respectively.
• Not exactly clear how this fits into Liberty Strategic Capital's mission as a private equity firm, nor its mandate to invest in "dynamic global technology companies."

The bottom line: "This is very expensive capital for NYCB, but does put it on a much firmer regulatory footing." — Felix Salmon, Axios

🚑 Alumis, an SF-based precision immunology company, raised $259m in Series C funding. Foresite Capital, Samsara BioCapital and venBio Partners co-led, and were joined by Lilly Asia Ventures, Cormorant Asset Management, SR One, Nextech, Ally Bridge, HBM Healthcare Investments, Omega Funds, Piper Heartland Healthcare, and AyurMaya. https://axios.link/3IpAAYn

• Claroty, a New York-based cyber-physical systems protection provider, raised $100m. Delta-v Capital led, and was joined by AllianceBernstein, Standard Investments, Toshiba Digital Solutions, SE Ventures, Rockwell Automation, and SVB. www.claroty.com

• Zama, an open-source cryptography startup, raised $73m in Series A funding co-led by Multicoin Capital and Protocol Labs. https://axios.link/3Is4HOI

• Todyl, a Denver-based modular cybersecurity startup, raised $50m in Series B funding. Base10 Partners led, and was joined by Anthos Capital, Tech Operators, and StoneMill Ventures. www.todyl.com

• IO Research, developer of a Solana-based decentralized physical infrastructure network, raised $30m in Series A funding. Hack VC led, and was joined by Multicoin Capital, 6th Man Ventures, Solana Ventures, OKX Ventures, Aptos Labs, Delphi Digital, and The Sandbox. https://axios.link/3UZjF6q

• Remofirst, an SF-based HR tech startup, raised $25m in Series A funding. Octopus Ventures led, and was joined by insiders QED, Mouro Capital, and Counterpart Ventures. https://axios.link/433t5Qk

• Cayosoft, a Columbus, Ohio-based Microsoft Active Directory management firm, raised $22.5m from Centana Growth Partners. www.cayosoft.com

⚡ DevEngine, a clean energy project incubator, launched with $20m from Spring Lane Capital, per Axios Pro. https://axios.link/4a1L4bZ

• Neural Propulsion Systems, a Pleasanton, Calif.-based software-defined radar startup, raised $17.5m in Series B funding. Cota Capital led, and was joined by GM Ventures and RTX Ventures. www.nps.ai

• Utila, an Israel-based institutional crypto platform, raised $11.5m in seed funding from NFX, Wing VC, and Framework Ventures. https://axios.link/3wJfPEs

🚑 Chamber Cardio, a Washington, D.C.-based provider of value-based care transition solutions for cardiologists, raised $8m in seed funding. General Catalyst led, and was joined by AlleyCorp, Company Ventures, American Family Ventures, and City Light. www.chambercardio.com

• Fluent, a London-based business data analytics platform, raised $7.5m in seed funding co-led by Hoxton Ventures and Tiferes Ventures. www.fluenthq.com

🥛 Malk Organics, an Austin, Texas-based alt milk brand, raised $7m from insiders Benvolio Group and Rotor Capital. www.malkorganics.com

• Lettuce, an SF-based provider of accounting and tax software, raised $6m in seed funding led by Zeev Ventures. lettuce.co

⚡ Nextron, a Brazilian startup that connects renewable energy generators to consumers via subscriptions, raised $5.3m in Series A funding co-led by Vox Capital and Copel Ventures. www.nextronenergia.com.br

• Cosmology, an SF-based web3 app development ecosystem, raised $5m in seed funding co-led by Galileo and Lemniscap. www.cosmology.zone

• Cogna, a London-based AI startup focused on physical industry, raised £3.8m. Hoxton Ventures led, and was joined by Notion Capital and Octopus First Cheque Fund. www.cogna.co

• Kuts Orbital, an Italian satellite servicing startup founded by Ukrainian space industry vets, raised €3.7m in seed funding. OTB Ventures led, and was joined by Credo Ventures, Galaxia, In-Q-Tel, and Inovo. https://axios.link/48HGL4A

🌎 EcomID, a Swedish sustainability startup focused on reducing product returns, raised €2.8m in pre-seed funding. CapitalT led, and was joined by H&M Group Ventures. https://axios.link/3Tq4CQX

🌎 Thryve.Earth, a Singaporean developer of forestry carbon projects, raised US$2.6m. Openspace led, and was joined by Capital Code. www.thryve.earth

🚑 Cardiotrack, an Indian health screening provider, raised $2m in seed funding led by Corporate Finance Associates Worldwide. axios.link/3P8OC4m

🚑 Keirón, a Chilean CRM provider for medical facilities, raised $1.7m in seed extension funding led by Taram Capital. https://axios.link/3v7fjPU

• Safety Radar, a Tulsa, Oklahoma-based platform for preventing job site accidents, raised $1.5m in seed funding. EIC Rose Rock led, and was joined by Helmerich and Payne and a Denver Angels affiliate. www.safetyradar.com

🚑 Adiuva Capital hired JPMorgan to find a buyer for German medical center operator Sanecum, which is getting interest from firms like Advent International, Ardian and Carlyle, per Bloomberg. A deal could fetch upwards of €1.5b. https://axios.link/43brCY7

• Apollo Global Management is weighing a takeover bid for TripAdvisor, the travel info business owned by Liberty Media, per Bloomberg. https://axios.link/49NzmSU

• Ardian agreed to buy CampusParc, the provider of parking operations at Ohio State University, for more than $850m (including debt), per Bloomberg. https://axios.link/4a6drGh

• Carousel Capital sponsored a recap of O.R. Colan Associates, a Charlotte-based provider of right-of-way services and land management solutions. www.orcolan.com

• Greykite, a new private credit real estate advisory led by Michael Abel (ex-TGP), secured cornerstone investments from Wafra's Constellation and Leucadia Asset Management. https://axios.link/4c66dnh

• H&M Group and Swedish investment firm Vargas launched a textile recycling business, Syre, with backing from TPG. https://axios.link/3IojUjZ

🎵 Iconic Artists Group, Irving Azoff's music investment firm, is acquiring 50% of Bryan Ferry's sound recording, publishing, and NIL rights from his solo work and Roxy Music catalog. https://axios.link/3V3OlmS

⚡ KKR is in talks to buy Encavis, a listed German renewable energy producer that could fetch more than €2b, per Bloomberg. https://axios.link/3V5KIwM

• MiddleGround Capital acquired IT8, a Spanish engineering services firm. www.its-e.com

• Stengel Hill Architecture, a health care-focused portfolio company of Godspeed Capital Management acquired Smith Consulting Architects, a San Diego-based architectural, engineering, and consulting services firm. www.stengelhill.com

• Sugar Foods, a Villa Rica, Ga.-based portfolio company of Pritzker Private Capital, acquired Concord Foods, a Brockton, Mass.-based flavors and ingredients company, from Arbor Investments. www.concordfoods.com

🚑 Boundless Bio, a San Diego-based oncology drug developer focused on extrachromosomal DNA, filed for a $100m IPO. It plans to list on the Nasdaq (BOLD) with Goldman Sachs as left lead underwriter. The company has raised around $250m from firms like Arch Venture Partners, Fidelity, RA Capital, Bayer, Nextech, and Vertex Ventures. https://axios.link/3v6XaBN

🚑 QT Imaging, a Novato, Calif.-based maker of medical imaging products, completed its merger with GigCapital5 (NYSE: GIA). https://axios.link/3IqRq97

• Cloudflare (NYSE: NET) acquired Nefali Networks, a Berkeley, Calif.-based multicloud networking startup that had raised over $9m from NEA, The House Fund, and DHVC. https://axios.link/3wJLs0w

⚡ Itron (Nasdaq: ITRI) acquired Elpis Squared, a Lake Oswego, Ore.-based provider of utility grid operations software. www.itron.com

• Qonto, a a French challenger bank valued at €4.4b in a 2022 round co-led by Tiger Global and TCV, acquired Regate, a French accounting and financial automation platform. https://axios.link/3T9vMeE

• Nationwide Building Society (LSE: NBS) agreed to buy Virgin Money UK (LSE: VMUK) for £2.9b in cash, which would create the U.K.'s second-largest savings and mortgage provider. https://axios.link/434hQan

• Orange Sky Golden Harvest (HK: 1132) is considering selling its movie theaters in Singapore and Taiwan for at least $400m, per Bloomberg. https://axios.link/48MxCHU

• Paramount Global (Nasdaq: PARA) is in talks to sell its minority stake in India's Viacom18 Media to Reliance Industries, per Bloomberg. https://axios.link/3T8Mef9

🎵 Warner Music Group (Nasdaq: WMG) says it plans to bid at least €1.65b, or €17 per share, to buy French digital music firm Believe (Paris: BLV). https://axios.link/3wLKNfa

• Prudence, an New York-based VC firm focused on property tech, raised $80m for its third fund, per Axios Pro. https://axios.link/49XeGau

• Emily Brakebill joined True Wind Capital as head of IR. She previously was with HMI Capital Management. www.truewind.com

• Serent Capital promoted John Caselli and Dexter Hopen to partners. www.serentcapital.com

Female-founded and co-founded startups last year secured a record market share of U.S. venture capital funding, according to a new PitchBook report.

• This was largely driven by mega-rounds for OpenAI and Anthropic.
• And the record still holds even if you remove OpenAI from the calculations, given that its female co-founder left the company (market share falling from 27.8% to 22.8%).
• The cumulative amount raised by female-founded startups also hit a record, although it falls below 2022 if OpenAI is excluded.

The bottom line: Progress remains very slow in this area, but at least there is material progress.