📘 Some highlights from the deal world...

📈 Secondaries up: According to Forge Global's latest report, 25% of the companies that have traded in Q2 raised their most recent primary funding round in 2023-2024, up from 18% in Q1.

• Forge notes that investors should expect smaller discounts on these companies (overall market median was 32%). That's mostly because they tend to be in hot sectors like AI, and because their last primary round was during a time with more conservative financing from investors. That is: less exuberant valuations than during the VC market peak of 2021.
• Additionally: 39% of companies trading in Q2 last raised in 2021, and have a median discount of 59%, a slightly deeper discount than last quarter.

🚫 No deal: Acquisition talks between Google and Wiz, the buzzy cybersecurity company, have ended, according to an internal email seen by Axios that Wiz CEO Assaf Rappaport sent to employees last night.

• The companies were reportedly discussing a $23 billion price tag, which would have made it Google's biggest acquisition.
• According to the email, Wiz decided to walk away and continue to pursue its dream of going public. Concerns that it'd be challenging to get regulatory approval was also part of the consideration, per a source familiar with the discussions.
• Yes, but: That's a lot of money to walk away from — could there be more to the story? If you have the inside scoop, whisper it in my ear...

💨 Bad winds: Vacationers (like my colleague Dan Primack) may be having summer fun on Martha's Vineyard, but offshore wind farm Vineyard Wind is not: One of its wind turbine blades broke off and fell into the ocean.

• Vineyard Wind is jointly owned by Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners and Iberdrola, through a subsidiary of Avangrid Renewables.
• The incident forced the closure of beaches in Nantucket, and is a "massive technical and publicity failure for the region's biggest clean energy project," as Axios Boston's Mike Deehan notes.
• Moreover: The incident has renewed the scrutiny of GE Vernova, the manufacturer of the turbine, which has made headlines for similar incidents in Germany, the U.K., and Sweden. And competitor Siemens Gamesa is also dealing with broken turbine blades.

Clio, a Canadian legaltech company, has raised $900 million in Series F funding at $3 billion valuation led by NEA, with Goldman Sachs, Sixth Street, CapitalG, and Tidemark also participating.

Why it's the BFD: Companies have been throwing AI at every business category, but legal applications seem to have really convinced investors to cut big checks.

Zoom in: The 16-year-old Clio is rolling out generative AI and automation features.

• It's nearly doubled its valuation from its previous round in 2021, when it was priced at $1.6 billion.
• The new round includes primary and secondary share sales.

The bottom line: AI might not completely make lawyers obsolete, but it's bound to reshape how the legal industry operates.

• Cohere, an SF- and Toronto developer of large language models for the enterprise, raised $500m in Series at a $5.5b valuation led by PSP Investments, with Cisco Systems, Fujitsu, AMD Ventures, and EDC also participating. axios.link/3WiMGZG

• Monarch Tractor, a Livermore, Calif., electric autonomous tractor startup, raised $133m in Series C funding at a valuation over $500m valuation led by Astanor and an affiliate fund of Foxconn. axios.link/3zTjbGt

🚑 Headway, a N.Y. startup linking people with in-network mental health providers, raised $100m in Series D funding at a $2.3b valuation led by Spark Capital, with Thrive Capital, Accel and a16z, and new investor Forerunner Ventures also participating. axios.link/4bQVziR

• Linx, an Israeli identity management startup, raised $27m in funding led by Index Ventures and Cyberstarts, with Cerca Partners and Knollwood Investment Advisory also participating. It also disclosed a prior $6m round led by Cyberstarts. axios.link/3SllUyD

• Momentum, an SF-based sales communication analysis company, raised $13m in Series A funding led by FirstMark Capital, with Stage 2 Capital, Basis Set Ventures, and Leadout Capital also participating. momentum.io

• Sojo Industries, a Bristol, Pa., food and beverage robotics company, raised $10m in Series A funding from Schreiber Ventures and Tech Council Ventures. sojoindustries.com

🌎 CarbonBlue, an Israeli developer of ocean-based CO2 removal technology, raised $10m in seed funding led by Ibex Investors and Fresh Fund, with Engie New Ventures, ZIM Ventures, Jibe Ventures, MoreVC, and Secret Chord Ventures also participating. axios.link/3xYc8Md

• Fragment, a Seattle bank digital ledger startup, raised $9m in funding from Gokul Rajaram, Dara Khosrowshahi, Zach Perret, Jack Altman, Emilie Choi, Scott Belsky, Cristina Cordova, and others. axios.link/46h6jG6

• Heeler Security, a Bethesda, Md., cybersecurity startup, raised $8.5m in seed funding led by Norwest Venture Partners, with Storm Ventures also participating. axios.link/4f8fPQ9

• OurRitual, a N.Y. provider of online couples' therapy and relationship tools, raised $5.2m in seed fund led by Venrex, with FJ Labs, Active Partners, GroundUp Ventures, 97212 Ventures, David Siegel, Michelle Kennedy, Samsung, Learn VC, Gaingels, Tiferes Ventures, Ventures Together, Liebenthal Ventures, Rose Street Capital, JJ Hodari, and Tamar Lifschitz. ourritual.com

• Aviato, an SF startup data provider, raised $2.3m in seed funding from 8VC, Soma Capital, and SoftBank. axios.link/3LCfrvI

• JMI Equity invested in Fullbay, a Phoenix truck and trailer repair shop software company. fullbay.com

💅 L Catterton has reportedly approached Mattel with an acquisition offer, per Reuters. axios.link/3zUdxnu

• Sango Capital acquired a majority of LP stakes in the first fund of Synergy Private Equity, a Nigerian PE firm. sangocapital.com

• PestCo, backed by Thompson Street Capital Partners, acquired Secure Pest Services, a Linden, N.J., provider of commercial and residential pest control services. pestcoholdings.com

• TDL Gentek acquired Microcel, a Canadian retail distributor of tech lifestyle products, from Atar Capital. microcel.com

• Grab (Nasdaq: GRAB) acquired Chope, a Singaporean restaurant reservation company backed by Ant Group and Singha Ventures. axios.link/3YbXMCj

• Bosch agreed to acquire Johnson Control's HVAC business and Johnson Controls' and Hitachi's joint venture, Johnson Controls-Hitachi Air Conditioning, for $8b. bosch.com

• Iconiq Capital, an S.F. multi-family office, raised $5.75b for its seventh growth fund. axios.link/3WyitHz

• Angeles Equity Partners, an L.A. niche industrial-focused PE firm, hired Peter Kurto as an operating partner. He was previously and operating executive at Monomoy Capital Partners. angelesequity.com

• Bessemer Venture Partners hired Lauri Moore as partner. She was previously at Foundation Capital. axios.link/4daCGZf

🚑 Flexpoint Ford, a N.Y.-based PE firm focused on health care, hired Josh Tamaroff as a managing director. flexpointford.com

• FSG Global, an advisory and communications firm, hired Josh Tzuker as global head of antitrust and competition. He was previously the Antitrust Division's chief of staff and senior counsel at the U.S. Department of Justice. fgsglobal.com

• Techstars promoted Jonathan Geehan to chief financial officer. He was previously senior vice president and senior controller. techstars.com

• Trinity Capital, a Phoenix-based business development company, hired Josh Ruben as managing director of life sciences. trinitycap.com

Store closures and bankruptcies could ultimately swing consumers online, per an FTI Consulting online retail report.

Why it matters: Investors have retreated from e-commerce deals, but the trend could reverse if consumers get back online to shop more.

The big picture: Per a PitchBook report, e-commerce deal value as of Q1 decreased 5.3% year over year, while deal value fell more than 30% during the same period, notes my colleague Kimberly Chin.

• Andreessen Horowitz and Lerer Hippeau have recast their efforts away from consumer investments toward B2B SaaS and AI.
• PE giants Carlyle and KKR are both bearish on the consumer space.

Zoom in: Investors are willing to bet on AI that enables commerce and personalization, and order management systems that make retailers more efficient, says PitchBook analyst Eric Bellomo.

The bottom line: "Investors in this non-zero interest rate environment are less willing to underwrite unprofitable growth," Bellomo says.