Slow Ventures bgan making seed-stage investments in creators three years ago, allocating around 10% of its flagship funds. Now it's raised more than $60 million for a dedicated creators fund that appears to be the first of its kind.

• "In the early 2000s you had all these kids building apps, and professional VCs said, 'That's cute,'" says Slow Ventures partner Sam Lessin. "When we go to VCs now about creators, they say the same thing. Which means they're going to miss out again."

How it works: The fund will focus on creators who've become authorities on niche areas, such as automotive or gardening, rather than on celebrities or athletes.

• It will invest for a 10% stake in a holding company, and has a right of first refusal to invest in spinout businesses (e.g., restaurants, merchandising, shows, etc.).
• The holdco receives all founder equity in any spinouts.
• The pitch for creators is that they can get investible capital to expand their businesses, in a way they can't necessarily do via social media revenue alone.
• Limited partners include MIT and the University of Michigan.

Zoom in: Slow scours YouTube for potential investments, believing it's the only serious platform for monetization. If a creator's focus is on TikTok or Instagram, it might work for them but likely becomes a filter for Slow.

• "We need to know that they're actually entrepreneurs, people with the sort of DNA who'd be going into Y Combinator if they weren't doing this," explains Slow's Megan Lightcap.
• "There's so much more data than we're used to on other sorts of seed investments," she adds. "These people have a public presence and you can actually see how they're engaged with their communities, and we can do Bain-style analysis on their verticals."

The bottom line: The creator economy will be venture capitalized.

Dave's Hot Chicken is seeking a buyer that could value the fast-casual chain at around $1 billion, per Reuters.

Why it's the BFD: Hot chicken has quickly spread from Nashville novelty to nationwide phenomenon, with even legacy chains like KFC joining the trend. Expect private equity to have interest, despite rising labor costs and avian flu concerns.

• It also could provide a rich return for celeb investors like Drake, who could really use a win this week.

By the numbers: Dave's, which began as a parking lot pop-up in 2017, operates over 250 global stores.

The bottom line: Sometimes you've got to strike when the chicken is hot.

• Tabby, a Saudi BNPL company, raised $160m in Series E funding at a $3.3b valuation. Blue Pool Capital and Hassana Investment Co. co-led, and were joined by STV and Wellington Management. axios.link/42QmsCM

🌍 Chestnut Carbon, a developer of nature-based carbon removal, raised $160m in Series B funding from Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, Cloverlay, and DBL Partners. axios.link/3EwqHJN

• Klook, a China-based travel platform focused on younger users, raised $100m led by Vitruvian Partners. axios.link/3QgZkGe

⚡ ANA, a Henderson, Nev-based maker of hybrid mobile generators, raised $50m from S2G Investments, per Axios Pro. axios.link/4hSR3nt

• Olipop, a soda startup, raised $50m in Series C funding led by JPMorgan Private Capital at a $1.85b valuation. axios.link/41chwH5

• Suger, an SF-based platform for helping software companies transact on cloud marketplaces, raised $15m in Series A funding. Threshold Ventures led, and was joined by insiders Craft Ventures, Intel Capital, and YC. suger.io

• Fal, an generative media platform for devs, raised $49m in Series B funding. Notable Capital and a16z co-led, and were joined by Bessemer Venture Partners, Kindred Ventures, and First Round Capital. axios.link/40TrMCW

• Voyantis, an Israeli LTV modeling platform, raised $41m. Intel Capital led, and was joined by Square Peg, Target Global, Jibe, Redseed, Alicorn, and Icon. axios.link/4hzcx9e

• High Definition Vehicle Insurance, a Chicago-based commercial auto insurance startup, raised $40m from insiders 8VC, Autotech Ventures, Munich Re Ventures, and Weatherford Capital. hdvi.com

🍕 Via 313 Pizzeria, a Detroit-style pizza brand, raised $32.5m co-led by Asilia Investments and Brightwood Capital Advisors. axios.link/40UTorb

• Moderne, a Miami-based automated code refactoring and analysis company, raised $30m in Series B funding. Acrew Capital led, and was joined by Morgan Stanley, Amex Ventures, TIAA Ventures, and insiders Allstate, Intel Capital, Mango Capital, and True Ventures. axios.link/3EunB98

• Lanch, a German startup that leverages social media and influencers to create food brands, raised €26m in Series A funding co-led by Felix and HV Capital. axios.link/4hTrkeJ

🌍 Mast Reforestation, a Seattle-based reforestation startup, raised $25m. Pulse Fund and Social Capital co-led, and were joined by Seven Seven Six. axios.link/419xnWR

• Boostly, a Lehi, Utah-based provider of SMS marketing software for restaurants, raised $22m. PeakSpan Capital led, and was joined by insiders YC, Trestle Partners, and Singularity Capital. axios.link/4hQvfJe

• Lucidity, a cloud storage optimization startup, raised $21m in Series A funding. WestBridge Capital led, and was joined by insider Alpha Wave Global. axios.link/41a5j5P

• Comulate, an SF-based revenue management platform for insurance brokers, raised $20m in Series B funding co-led by Bond and Workday. axios.link/43aaSmn

• ConverzAI, a Redmond, Wash.-based provider of recruiting software, raised $16m in Series A funding. Menlo Ventures led, and was joined by Left Lane Capital, Foundation Capital, and Afore Capital. axios.link/3ErZUht

• Lingopal.ai, a New York-based provider of real-time speech-to-speech translation, raised $14m in Series A funding round led by DCM Ventures, with Scrum Ventures and Marquee Ventures also participating. lingopal.ai

• Phynd, a Dallas-based cloud gaming platform, raised $10m in seed funding. Wellington led, and was joined by Bessemer Venture Partners, Connecticut Innovations Fund, and soccer player Jozy Altidore. axios.link/4hw8j1X

• Datalign Advisory, a Cambridge, Mass., platform that matches consumers with financial advisers, raised $9m led by Link Ventures at a $75m valuation. datalignadvisory.com

• MarketLeap, a D2C ecommerce platform, raised $8.3m in Series A funding. Smedvig Ventures led, and was joined by Expon Capital and Motier Ventures. marketleap.ai

• Edacious, a Marlborough, Mass.-based food verification platform, raised $8m in seed funding led by Patagonia's Tin Shed Ventures. axios.link/418Rftj

• Integral, a German provider of SME accounting and payroll solutions, raised $6.3m. General Catalyst and Cherry Ventures co-led, and were joined by Puzzle Ventures. axios.link/4jRPd8j

• Kodiak Hub, a Swedish supplier relationship management platform, raised $6m from Oxx. axios.link/4k5blw6

• Oso Semiconductor, a Mountain View, Calif., developer of low-cost chipsets, raised $5.2m. Engine Ventures led, and was joined by Entrada Ventures, Berkeley SkyDeck and J-Ventures. ososemiconductor.com

🚑 Coral, a Canadian menopause care startup, raised C$4.1m in seed funding. Brightspark led, and was joined by Diagram and The51. coral.ca

• ETFbook, a Swiss data and analytics platform, raised €4m in Series A funding led by BlackFin Capital Partners. axios.link/3CAmTql

🐮 Collie, a Dutch livestock management startup, raised €3.5m in seed funding from Freigeist Capital. axios.link/3CPICdQ

• Index, an Australian tool for B2B product managers, raised A$3.5m in seed funding co-led by Bain Capital Ventures and Blackbird Ventures. axios.link/41mFiR3

• Mundi, a Turkish capital markets platform for SMEs, raised $2.5m in seed funding co-led by Speedinvest and DeBa Ventures. axios.link/4hwNJi1

🚑 Diag-Nose.io, a Seattle-based respiratory care startup, raised $2m in seed funding led by Breakthrough Victoria, with Radar Ventures participating. axios.link/3WVuPt0

• Mattoboard, a 3D interior design platform, raised $2m. Acrobator Ventures led, and was joined by Blue Field Capital, SoundBoard, Home Depot Ventures, and Masco. mattoboard.com

🚑 Advent International, Apollo, and Lone Star Funds are among the bidders for a homecare asset portfolio being sold by London's Reckitt Benckiser (LSE: RKT), which could fetch £5b, per Bloomberg. axios.link/4hw1k9f

• Baker Tilly, a portfolio company of Hellman & Friedman and Valeas Capital Partners, agreed to buy CironeFriedberg, a CPA and advisory firm in Connecticut. cironefriedberg.com

• McNally Capital acquired Jewett Automation, a Richmond, Va., manufacturer of industrial filtration equipment and automation solutions. jewettautomation.com

🚑 Pan-Am Dental, a Savannah, Ga.-based dental lab backed by Caymus Equity Partners, acquired both JB Dental Lab (Tempe, Ariz.) and Avaneer Dental Studio (Warren, Mich.). axios.link/4hLrzbS

• The Riverside Co. acquired Wall Street Prep, a provider of financial training solutions and certifications, from Eden Capital. axios.link/43akcXp

• Rotunda Capital Partners invested in RMH Systems, a Waukee, Iowa-based provider of material handling, packaging, and automation solutions. rmhsystems.com

⚡ e2Companies, a Boca Raton, Fla.-based energy company, agreed to go public at a $500m equity value via a reverse merger with Nabors Energy Transition Corp. II (Nasdaq: NETD), a SPAC formed by Nabors Industries (NYSE: NBR). axios.link/419NKmr

• Drata, a San Diego-based security compliance and automation platform valued by VCs at $2b, agreed to acquire SafeBase, an SF-based enterprise cybersecurity company that had raised over $50m from firms like Touring Capital, Time Zero Capital, Comcast Ventures, Zoom Ventures, NEA, and FourCities Capital. axios.link/3CNrfug

• LegalZoom (Nasdaq: LZ) acquired Formation Nation, a provider of small business formation and compliance offerings. axios.link/4b3hiFK

• nCino (Nasdaq: NCNO) acquired Sandbox Banking, a Cambridge, Mass.-based provider of banking software to fintechs. Sandbox had raised $5.8m in seed funding from Horizon Venture Capital, Blacktop Capital, SixThirty Ventures, Tuesday Capital, Forum Ventures, and YC. ncino.com

• United Group, a Dutch telco and media group backed by BC Partners, agreed to sell Serbia Broadband to e& PPF Telecom Group for €825m. It also sold other assets to Telekom Srbija for €675m. axios.link/42Mm7kC

• Archer Aviation (NYSE: ACHR), an eVTOL developer, raised $300m from BlackRock and Wellington. axios.link/41fbggP

• Hain Celestial (Nasdaq: HAIN) said it's exploring strategic options for its personal care business, including a possible sale. axios.link/3Qa5rfo

• Jacquemus, a French luxury fashion brand, sold a minority stake to L'Oréal (Paris: OR). axios.link/42SIQeO

🚑 Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) is seeking more than $1b for its stroke care business, per the FT. axios.link/4jTOKT2

• Spirit Airlines says it rejected yet another takeover offer from rival budget carrier Frontier Group (Nasdaq: ULCC). axios.link/41aQIHb

• IMB Partners, a private equity firm focused on government contracting, utilities, and infrastructure, raised $125.5m for its debut fund. imbpartners.com

🚑 Nina Capital, a Spanish VC firm focused on health-care tech, is raising €50m for its third fund. nina.capital

• Clearvision Ventures promoted Thomas Englis to partner. axios.link/4aT75LK

• Peter Crawford, former Charles Schwab CEO, joined Clayton, Dubilier & Rice as an operating advisor. cdr-inc.com

• Sam Eshrati, COO and chief engagement officer at TechBBQ, joined identity.vc as a venture partner. axios.link/3WZGRSh

• Red Arts Capital promoted Chris Hull to principal. axios.link/3WZ5G0t

The larger the college or university endowment, the larger its allocation to alternative investments like private equity.

• That's a finding of a new report from NABUCO and Commonfund, which also finds that private schools have higher alternatives allocations than do public schools.
• Overall, it found that average net IRRs for U.S. college and university endowments climbed to 11.2% in 2024 from a 7.7% mark the prior year. The median net IRR climbed to 11.3% from 8%. Returns were negative for fiscal 2022.