Amid the current AI obsession, local opposition is the one thing that has the potential to slow the AI boom — and arguably already has.

By the numbers: According to the most recent report from Data Center Watch, 20 projects representing some $96 billion in investments were blocked or delayed in the second quarter of 2025 alone amid local opposition.

• And Wilmer Hale says over 200 bills were introduced in 2025 aimed at regulating the sector across states, 40 of which became law.

The latest: The pushback has only intensified since then. Ten new moratorium proposals — which would freeze data center development — were filed in the past month alone, according to Sightline Climate.

Reality check: Data center capacity is already under stress, with JLL noting that the sector only had 1% vacancies last year.

State of play: Communities are increasingly worried about rising energy bills due to data centers, the noise nuisance, water usage, and the potential for AI to eliminate jobs.

The big picture: Proposed state and federal regulation are considering ways to address those those concerns, while still allowing data centers to operate.

• That could mean pushing builds further out from cities, requiring developers to pay for the own grid and power updates, or have their own power sources.
• Those restrictions could be a boon to some industries. For example, forcing data centers into more rural haunts would require more connectivity to be built out, boosting demand for fiber, pipes for cooling, and extra transmission lines.
• But it could also increase the cost of compute to the industry, as energy and compliance bills increase for the sector. Time to construction could also increase, as states weigh zoning restrictions.

The bottom line: Data center and AI companies will have to evolve fast to address local concerns, or speed up timelines to put those data centers in space.

Payments darling Stripe is now valued at $159 billion in a new tender offer, a surge from $107 billion last year.

Why it's the BFD: The timing is accidentally poetic, contrasting yesterday's carnage in public payments stocks.

Context: Payments companies including Adyen (Stripe's closest public company comparison) slid on Monday after Citrini explored a doomsday scenario in which AI takes over everything.

• The thought experiment argues that AI could get rid of payments middlemen, with agents finding direct options rather than routing through a mix of banks, networks, and processors.

Yes, but: Payments and financial services are a lot harder to disintermediate than coding, in part because of high compliance requirements.

• Meaning even Citrini's note eventually becomes true, it'll take much longer than two or three years to come to pass in payments land.

What we're watching: Stripe has been using M&A as a tool to stay ahead of threats. It acquired stablecoin company Bridge last year, and usage-based billing (an rising trend in AI times) company Metronome earlier this year.

• "We're always interested in acquisitions," president John Collison tells Axios. "We love making acquisitions in breakout new areas ... growing way faster than the industry."

• Anthropic, the foundational model company, has kicked up a potential $5b to $6b employee share sell valuing the company at $350b, per Bloomberg. axios.link/4cMniFv

• Axelera AI, a Netherlands-based semiconductor company, raised $250m led by Innovation Industries, joined by BlackRock, SiteGround Capital, Bitfury, CDP Venture Capital, European Investment Council Fund, Federal Holding and Investment Company of Belgium (SFPIM), Invest-NL, Samsung Catalyst Fund, and Verve Investments. axios.link/4aJSumd

🚑 Slate Medicines, a Raleigh, N.C.-based raised a migraine and headache drug company, raised $130m in Series A funding. RA Capital Management, Forbion and Foresite Capital led the round. axios.link/4c6ApkJ

• Profound, a New York-based agentic marketing startup, raised $96m in Series C funding at a $1b valuation led by Lightspeed Venture Partners. Sequoia Capital, Kleiner Perkins, Saga VC, South Park Commons, and Evantic joined. tryprofound.com

• Humand, an SF-based HR platform for deskless workforces, raised $66m in Series A funding. Kaszek and Goodwater Capital led with participation from Y Combinator, Arash Ferdowsi (Founder of Dropbox), Guillermo Rauch (Founder of Vercel), Martin Varsavsky (Founder of Overture), and Rajat Suri (Founder of Lyft). humand.co

• Slang AI, a New York-based AI platform for the hospitality industry, raised a $36m Series B led by U.S. Venture Partners. axios.link/4s1pVrs

• Frankenburg Technologies, an Estonia-based missile defense startup, raised €30m in Series A funding led by Plural. SmartCap joined. frankenburg.tech

• Subject, a Beverly Hills, Calif.-based AI education platform, raised a $28m venture round led by Vistara Growth, per Axios Pro. axios.link/4rvwW3T

• Turbine, a Budapest-based company predicting therapy responses, raised $25m in Series B funding led by Interactive Venture Partners, joined by Beiersdorf, MSD Global Health Innovation, Accel and Mercia. turbine.ai

• Portkey, a SF-based platform for producing AI, raised $15m in Series A funding. Elevation Capital led joined by Lightspeed. axios.link/46Svqk4

🚑 Handl Health, an analytics platform for health plans, raised $14.2m in Series A funding led by Arthur Ventures, per Axios Pro. Syndra Capital Partners joined. axios.link/3N1QMEW

• Hypercore, a Tel Aviv, Israel-based management platform for private credit funds, raised $13.5m in Series A funding led by Insight Partners. axios.link/4awxRL

• VoiceLine, a Munich-based voice AI for field sales and service teams, raised €10m in Series A funding led by Alstin Capital and Peak, joined by Scalehouse Capital, Venture Stars, and NAP. voiceline.ai

• Giant, an interactive storytelling platform for children, raised $8m in seed funding led by Matrix, Decasonic, and Griffin Gaming Partners, joined by Perceptive Ventures, Flex Capital, Arbitrum Gaming Ventures, Unpopular Ventures, and LightShed Ventures. giant.org

• Comeryx Insurance, a Denver-based commercial insurance startup led by Pie Insurance co-founder Dax Craig, raised $7.5m in seed funding led by Altai Ventures, joined by American Family Ventures, Intact Ventures, Boulder Ventures, Arch Capital Group, and Echelon. axios.link/4qWDWpA

• General Magic, a Toronto-based maker of SMS-based AI agents for insurance teams, raised $7.2m in seed funding led by Radical Ventures, joined by a16z Speedrun, per Axios Pro. axios.link/46p0vfa

• Happyhotel, an Germany–based revenue management software provider for hotels, raised €6.5m in Series A funding. Reimann Investors led joined by Start-up BW Innovation Fund, seed + speed Ventures, and Wecken & Cie. axios.link/4s24Ahx

🚑 QT Sense, a Netherlands-based biotech, raised €4m led by Cottonwood Technology Fund, joined by QDNL Participations. axios.link/40nCxxh

• Sherpas, a Kansas City, Mo.-based software maker for wealth managers, raised $3.2m in seed funding led by 1248, joined by AUA Private Equity Capital and GoHub Venture. axios.link/4ryXlhq

• An investor consortium led by Affinius Capital in partnership with Vista Hill Partners agreed to acquire Veris Residential (NYSE: VRE), a Northeast-focused multifamily REIT for about $3.4b. axios.link/4kUkXKT

🚑 Bain Capital is halting the sale process for portfolio company Basic Home Infusion, a Wayne, N.J.-based infusion provider, per Axios Pro. axios.link/3Ow8VLE

• BayHawk Capital invested in Gridco, an Alabama-based maintenance, electric utilities services company. gridcompany.com

• GHK Capital Partners acquired CPL, a Rochester, N.Y.-based architecture, engineering, and consulting services firm. axios.link/4s6ilMi

• Green Heron Partners invested in Regency Plumbing Contractors, a Houston-based commercial plumbing contractor. axios.link/4b5Ta6M

• Haveli Investments completed its majority investment in Sirion, an Austin, Texas-based contract lifecycle management software maker. axios.link/4rvr6zs

• Hamilton Lane, Braemont Capital and Delta-v Capital invested $500m in VFN Holdings, a Boulder, Colo.-based fiber infrastructure business and broadband internet provider. axios.link/4tRlgKo

• L Squared Capital Partners acquired Functional Devices, a Sharpsville, Ind.-based provider of field devices for automation and emergency lighting systems. axios.link/4kUJyiG

• Scale Microgrids, an EQT-backed energy developer, acquired Reload, a Chicago-based platform for data center management. axios.link/4aLYN8L

• Uber agreed to acquire SpotHero, a parking reservation app company. Macquarie Capital backs SpotHero. axios.link/4rw0nTt

• Apotex, a Canadian drugmaker, is seeking an IPO in the country that could raise as much as $730m. SK Capital backs it. axios.link/4cRdOJ4

🚑 Global Medical Response, an emergency medical response company backed by KKR, has picked banks for an IPO. axios.link/46mmjIh

• RedotPay, a Hong Kong-based stablecoin payments company, is eyeing an IPO in the U.S. that could value it over $1b. Accel, Blockchain Capital, Goodwater Capital, HSG, Pantera Capital and Vertex Ventures back it. axios.link/3ZTC2em

• Sify Infinit Spaces, an Indian data center company, is seeking an IPO in India that could value it at $4.2b. https://axios.link/3OxdK7y

• Canva acquired animation startup Cavalry and ad performance company Mango AI. axios.link/4b3zvEB

• Capitolis agreed to acquire 20 Gates Management's U.S. secured financing Platform. axios.link/3ZSle7l

• CECO Environmental (Nasdaq: CECO) agreed to acquire Thermon Group Holdings (NYSE: THR), an industrial process heating solution company, for $2.2b. axios.link/3OzEaW2

• Everpure (NYS: PSTG) acquired 1touch, a New York-based data security company backed by Neotribe Ventures and National Grid Partners. axios.link/46rcusF

• Paramount Skydance raised its $30-a-share offer to buy Warner Bros. Discovery, but did not disclose the. new offer. axios.link/3ZQD3Uv

• Cutting Horse, a consumer-focused investment firm, raised $75m for its debut fund, per Axios Pro. axios.link/4tOqJSt

• Second Sight Ventures, led by Patrick Finnegan and Chris Hollod, raised $75m for its debut fund. axios.link/4kRkDwf

• Evercore appointed Ben Hart as a senior managing director and head of its Asia private capital advisory division. axios.link/4tQVW7p

• Norwest promoted Jordan Leites to principal and John McNeil to senior associate. norwest.com

Shares of payments companies including Visa, Mastercard, and American Express dipped Monday, following a bearish thought experiment from Citrini Research.