Private equity may begin an Ozempic diet.

The big picture: Some firms are pulling back from investing in consumer companies that could be negatively impacted by the GLP-1 boom, believing that profits will get squeezed as obesity rates fall.

• That could include certain snackmakers or restaurant chains. Or gyms. Or grocery, which makes much of its meager margin on items that many GLP-1 users no longer crave.
• "Even if the types of foods don't change for someone on a drug like Ozempic, the amount of consumption usually does," one PE pro explains.

Zoom in: These investors are betting on widespread GLP-1 adoption, maybe even to the point where taking such medicines for weight loss becomes as routine as taking aspirin for headaches or antihistamines for seasonal allergies.

• Private equity deals are particularly susceptible to such trends, they argue, because of their long-term horizons.

Yes, but: It's not a glidepath. There are still many hurdles, including cost/reimbursement, research on side effects, and social acceptability of dropping pounds the new-fashioned way.

• And there are still plenty of dealmakers who expect America's bad health habits to prevail.
• "People always overreact," a veteran dealmaker argues. "Whether it was the Atkins diet or food delivery during COVID or when the government wanted restaurants to put caloric information on the menus. Even if 15% of the population goes on a GLP-1, it's not like they stop eating. It's just a percentage of a percentage."

The bottom line: The composition of America's consumers is beginning to change, quite literally, and private equity may change with it.

Alchemy, a developer of in-house pharmacy programs for clinics with large HIV and hepatitis C patient populations, raised $31 million in seed funding led by Andreessen Horowitz.

Why it's the BFD: Antiretrovirals are one of biotech's greatest success stories, but there still are disparities in who receives the drugs.

• Approximately 37,000 Americans each year are diagnosed with HIV, the vast majority of which are men.
• Over half the diagnoses are in the South (52%) and among those aged 13-34 (56%). Around 38% of patients are Black, while another 32% is Hispanic or Latino.

Other investors include Magic Johnson, Sandberg Bernthal Venture Partners, Banc of California, Twine Ventures, Springbank, and AlleyCorp.

• The company's co-founders previously were with Truepill, a digital pharmacy startup that sold for $525 million.

What they're saying: "Having spent over a decade in Africa building the largest HIV access program in the world, I was shocked to learn that HIV medication adherence rates in Africa are better than they are here in the U.S. I'm convinced that the number one barrier ... is the friction that exists in navigating the U.S. pharmacy system." — Peter Park, Alchemy co-founder and CEO

• Lightmatter, a Mountain View, Calif., photonic supercomputing startup, raised $400m in Series D funding at a $4.4b valuation. T. Rowe Price led, and was joined by insiders Fidelity and GV. axios.link/4f23snE

• Decagon, an SF-based developer of AI customer support agents, raised $65m in Series B funding. Bain Capital Ventures led, and was joined by Elad Gil, A*, Accel, BOND Capital, and ACME Capital. axios.link/3Y62gc4

• Neuron7.ai, a San Jose, Calif., service resolution intelligence startup, raised $44m in Series B funding. Smith Point Capital led, and was joined by insiders Nexus Venture Partners and Battery Ventures. axios.link/4dNGG1G

• Azra Games, a Sacramento-based developer of mobile role-playing games, raised $42.7m in Series A funding. Pantera Capital led, and was joined by a16z and NFX. axios.link/3Y5owTA

⚡ Equilibrium Energy, a Boston operator of grid-connected battery systems, raised $39 million in Series B funding, per Axios Pro. DCVC led, and was joined by Breakthrough Energy Ventures and Valo Ventures. axios.link/4dPImYO

• Port, an Israel-based internal developer portal, raised $35m in Series B funding. Accel led, and was joined by Bessemer Venture Partners and insiders Team8 and TLV Partners. axios.link/3XZfrvq

• Vanilla, a Salt Lake City provider of estate planning software for financial advisers and wealth managers, raised $35m in Series B extension funding, per Axios Pro. Insight Partners led, and was joined by Venrock and Vanguard. axios.link/3A0HzpY

• Everstage, a New York-based provider of enterprise sales performance management software, raised $30m in Series B funding. Eight Roads Ventures led, and was joined by insiders Elevation Capital and 3one4 Capital. everstage.com

• Capacity, a St. Louis-based support automation startup, raised $26m in Series D funding from backers like TVC Capital and Toloka.vc, and also made three small acquisitions. axios.link/3YsG5hP

• Bitnomial, a Chicago digital asset derivatives exchange company, raised $25m led by Ripple. bitnomial.com

• Stoïk, a French cybersecurity insurance company for SMBs, raised €25m in Series B funding. Alven led, and was joined by a16z, Tokio Marine HCC International, Munich Re Ventures, Opera Tech Ventures, and Anthemis. axios.link/4eKvRif

• ForceMetrics, decision-assist platform founded by former FBI agents, raised $22m from backers like Charles Koch's Stand Together Ventures, GovTech, George Lucas, and Mellody Hobson. forcemetrics.ai

• Autone, a London-based inventory management startup, raised $17m in Series A funding. General Catalyst led, and was joined by YC, Speedinvest, Seedcamp, 2100VC, Motier, and Financière Saint James. axios.link/405653M

• Herald, a digital infrastructure provider for commercial insurance, raised $12m in Series A funding. Lightspeed and Brewer Lane Ventures co-led, and were joined by Afore Capital and Underscore VC. heraldapi.com

• Solv Protocol, a Bitcoin staking protocol platform, raised $11m at a $200m valuation from Nomura subsidiary Laser Digital, Blockchain Capital, and OKX Ventures. axios.link/3A7LzF6

• Agtonomy, a South SF-based provider of automation software for agriculture and land maintenance, raised $10m in Series A extension funding. Autotech Ventures led, and was joined by Rethink Food, Allison Transmission, Black Forest Ventures and insiders Toyota Ventures, Flybridge, and Cavallo Partners. agtonomy.com

🚑 Ash Wellness, a New York-based at-home testing company, raised $10m in Series A funding led by Merck Global Health Innovation Fund, per Axios Pro. axios.link/3BNd3AB

⚡ King Energy, a Durango, Colo., installer of solar panels on commercial buildings, raised $10m in seed funding led by ArcTern Ventures, per Axios Pro. axios.link/4dPWpgM

• Clerk Chat, an SF-based AI telecom platform for enterprises, raised $7m. Race Capital led, and was joined by HF0, Mento VC and Altair VC. clerk.chat

• Predicate, a blockchain network "built to simplify transaction prerequisites," raised $7m co-led by 1kx and Tribe Capital. axios.link/404Pai0

• Early, an Israeli AI code quality platform, raised $5m in seed funding. Zeev Ventures led, and was joined by Dynamic Loop Capital. startearly.ai

• Concourse, a platform for finance teams to analyze data and generate charts, raised $4.7m from a16z, YC, CRV, and Box Group. axios.link/4h4bIFA

• Strella, a Seattle startup using AI for customer research, raised $4m in seed funding. Decibel led, and was joined by Unusual Ventures. strella.ai

🌎 Octavia Carbon, a Kenyan direct air capture startup, raised $3.9m in seed funding co-led by Lateral Frontiers and E4E Africa. axios.link/4eJeUol

• Keep, an Israeli AI observability platform, raised €2.7m in pre-seed funding led by Runa Capital, with Firestreak and YC participating. keephq.dev

• Sallea, a Swiss maker of "edible scaffolds" for cultivated meat production, raised $2.6m in pre-seed funding. Founderful led, and was joined by Kost Capital. sallea.ch

• Stema, an Italian platform to automate and enhance STEM recruitment, raised €1.6m led by United Ventures. stema.io

• VendorVue, a Belgian provider of automated compliance SaaS, raised €1.4m co-led by Pitchdrive and Syndicate One. axios.link/4dQ6Xgb

• Aleph Holding acquired a control stake in Localpayment, an Argentinian payment services provider focused on emerging markets. axios.link/3NrRO9P

🚑 Archimed acquired FIM Medical, a French maker of occupational health medical devices. fim-medical.com

🚑 Astoriom, a U.K. portfolio company of Limerston Capital, acquired the biorepository business of Broomfield, Colo.-based Flagship Biosciences. astoriom.com

• Blue Point Capital Partners recapitalized Pinnacle MEP Holdings, a Midwest-focused HVAC and plumbing services provider. pinnacle-mep.com

• Centerbridge Partners agreed to acquire Precinmac, a Canadian manufacturer of high-complexity precision components, from Bain Capital and Pine Island Capital Partners. axios.link/484mSpT

🚑 Frazier Healthcare Partners acquired DirectMed Imaging, a Poway, Calif., provider of aftermarket parts and component repairs for diagnostic imaging equipment, from NMS Capital. directmedparts.com

• General Atlantic acquired a minority stake in Kyriba, a San Diego provider of treasury and cash management software, alongside existing investor Bridgepoint at a $3b valuation. axios.link/4f26s3t

• Graham Partners bought Tulkoff Food Products, a Baltimore maker of horseradish products, sauces, and other condiments. tulkoff.com

• GreyLion Partners invested in Birdseye, a Canadian provider of logistics security and solutions. birdseyesecurity.com

• Leeds Equity Partners bought OffSec, a New York provider of cybersecurity workforce development training and professional education, from Spectrum Equity. offsec.com

• Made in Italy Fund, managed by Quadrivio & Pambianco, bought a majority stake in Italian knitwear maker Filippo De Laurentiis. axios.link/3YshzfB

⚡ Post Oak Energy Capital invested in Houston-based E&P Tiburon Oil & Gas Partners, which then closed on an initial acquisition of leasehold in Ohio's Utica Shale. tiburonoilandgas.com

⚡ RESA Power, a Houston portfolio company of Investcorp, acquired Prime Engineering, a Canadian electrical design, engineering and services firm. resapower.com

• Stone Point Capital agreed to buy a majority stake in Kestra Holdings, an Austin, Texas-based wealth management firm, from Warburg Pincus. Oak Hill Capital will remain a minority shareholder. kestraholdings.com

⚡ Summa Equity invested in EA Technology, a U.K. provider of monitoring and management solutions for electricity grids and assets. eatechnology.com

• Syntax Systems, a Montreal-based portfolio company of Novacap, acquired Argon Supply Chain Solutions, a warehouse management firm. syntax.com

• Tekmetric, a Houston-based auto-repair shop management system backed by Susquehanna Growth Equity, acquired Scottsdale, Ariz.-based CRM platform Shopgenie, per Axios Pro. axios.link/4f84iPF

• Turnspire Capital Partners acquired GHP Group, a Niles, Ill.-based outdoor living and indoor heating products company. ghpgropinc.com

• Ufenau Capital Partners acquired Romijnders, a Dutch HVAC and electrical installation service provider. romijnders.nl

• Warburg Pincus is weighing a buyout of listed German IT services company Nagarro, which has a €1.2b market cap, per Bloomberg. axios.link/4h5XN1Q

• Ingram Micro, an Irvine, Calif.-based IT company owned by Platinum Equity, set IPO terms to 18.6m shares at $20-$23. It would have a $5.1b fully diluted market cap, were it to price in the middle, plans to list on the NYSE (INGM) and reports $104m of net income on $23b in revenue for the 26 weeks ending June 29, 2024. axios.link/4f8gGiV

• ADP (Nasdaq: ADP) acquired WorkForce Software, a Livonia, Mich., provider of workforce management software for large enterprises, from backers like Elliott Management and Insight Partners. axios.link/407T5KO

• KKR hired Deutsche Bank and Rippledot to find a buyer for Goodpack, a Singaporean provider of shipping containers and logistics services that could fetch around $1.8b, per Reuters. axios.link/3Y6yYu2

• Tengram Capital Partners sold hair care and skin cleansing business HRB to Sodalis Group, an Italian beauty and personal care platform. axios.link/400sb7G

• Credit Agricole (Paris: CAGR) agreed to buy a 50% stake in the leasing unit of listed Chinese automaker GAC. axios.link/3A12wkz

🏈 NFL owners approved Tom Brady and Tom Wagner buying a 10% stake in the Las Vegas Raiders. axios.link/3zQiGxj

• Toho (Tokyo: 8602), a Japanese entertainment group, agreed to buy New York-based animation distributor GKIDS. axios.link/400JCoG

• CID Capital, an Indianapolis-based lower midmarket PE firm, raised $250m for its fourth fund. cidcap.com

🚑 KdT Ventures, an early-stage life sciences VC firm, raised $100m for its fourth fund. kdtvc.com

• Node.vc, a venture firm focused on the Nordics and Baltics, raised €71m for its debut fund. axios.link/4f1V4oa

• Eric Aboaf joined S&P Global as CFO. He previously was CFO at State Street. axios.link/4h9rkI6

• Aly Alibhai is leaving UBS to become head of North American M&A at Deutsche Bank, per Bloomberg. axios.link/4dTmnQt

• Megan Lundy joined Percheron Capital as a managing director and head of IR. He previously was with Audax Private Equity. axios.link/3BVvbbf

• Ali Malik left Goldman Sachs to join Bayview Asset Management as co-head of the firm's financial institutions group. axios.link/4dNkipo

• Vivek Sharma, a director with Kaiser Permanente and JetBlue, joined Advent International as a senior adviser. axios.link/4h64Nvy