I've gotten a lot of emails asking why Sam Bankman-Fried hasn't been arrested, often with a reminder of how much money the former FTX CEO gave to Democratic politicians.

• Clichéd and accurate answer: The wheels of justice turn slowly.

Reminder: Elizabeth Holmes didn't face civil charges by the SEC until March 2018 and criminal charges until that June. This is despite the initial Wall Street Journal investigation being published in October 2015, Theranos voiding two years of blood test results in May 2016 and federal regulators in July 2016 banning Holmes from running blood-testing labs.

• With FTX, we're less than one month since the collapse.
• Yes, Bernie Madoff went down fast. But that's because he confessed to his kids and then to the FBI.
• Bankman-Fried, meanwhile, has publicly insisted that the FTX troubles were caused by incompetence rather than fraud. Not saying he's right, but rather that he's not falling on his sword like Madoff did.

The bottom line: It will take a good amount of time for prosecutors to make their case, particularly given how much of this occurred outside of the U.S., as explained in this smart piece by Ankush Khardori.

• In the meantime, investigators must be loving Bankman-Fried's addiction to journalists, particularly as he's begun to contradict himself on key aspects of how client funds were used. It's not under oath — as would be the House hearing that Bankman-Fried seems disinclined to attend — but it's still insight into his tactics and into where his defenses disintegrate.

🤖 AI $$: Twitter was consumed over the weekend by users experimenting with ChatGPT, a remarkable new AI text generator created by San Francisco-based OpenAI.

• OpenAI received a smattering of grant and seed capital between 2015 and early 2019, before raising $1 billion from Microsoft in July 2019. Since then, however, the company has kept quiet about its funding.
• The Information recently reported that some insiders sold secondary stock last year at a $20 billion valuation to Andreessen Horowitz, Bedrock Capital, Sequoia Capital and Tiger Global. And also that the company was in advanced talks to secure more cash from Microsoft.
• Yesterday I asked OpenAI CEO Sam Altman if the company has raised any new capital since the 2019 round, to which he replied: "Nothing we've announced." Not sure you need an AI text generator to read between those lines...

🏀 Tip-off: The NBA last week voted to allow endowments, pension funds and sovereign wealth funds to acquire passive stakes in its franchises. This comes several years after the league made similar permissions for private equity funds, which since have bought into at least seven teams.

• One key caveat is that such deals remain subject to league approvals, which likely knocks out some large SWFs that come with too much geopolitical baggage.

Whoosh, a Russian electric scooter company, disclosed plans to raise up to $80 million at a $400 million valuation in a Moscow IPO.

Why it's the BFD: This would be the first such offering since Russia invaded Ukraine in February, following which the Russian capital markets were hamstrung by Western sanctions.

The bottom line: Reuters reports that there had been at least 10 Russian companies prepping 2022 IPOs, none of which have gotten out. If Whoosh prices even at the bottom of its proposed range, expect several of those stalled issuers to revive plans for early 2023.

🚑 HealthKart, an Indian consumer nutrition platform, raised $135m in Series H funding. Temasek led, and was joined by Sequoia Capital India, Sofina and IIFL. https://axios.link/3Vy9Zx8

• Plant Prefab, a Rialto, Calif.-based home design and prefabrication tech startup, raised $30m in equity funding led by Brazilian steelmaker Gerdau. Other backers include Western Technology Investments, ATEL Capital, Asahi Kasei and Unreasonable Collective. https://axios.link/3H9LJNn

• Loft Dynamics, a Swiss developer of VR simulation tech for helicopter pilots, raised $20m from Craft Ventures, Sky Dayton and Up Ventures. https://axios.link/3h2eMru

• Aigens, a Hong Kong-based provider of online ordering and marketing tools for food and beverage companies, raised $14m in Series A funding led by Ant Group. https://axios.link/3HcDPmu

• Twelve Labs, a South Korean AI startup focused on video context, raised $12m in new seed funding. Radical Ventures led, and was joined by Index Ventures, WndrCo and Spring Ventures. https://axios.link/3UxY4Oo

• Kapu, a South Korean social commerce startup, raised $8m in seed funding. Giant Ventures and Firstminute Capital co-led, and were joined by Founder Collective, Base Capital, Norrsken and Raven One. https://axios.link/3umgBCS

• Amplio, a Rockville, Md.-based supply chain management startup, raised $6m in seed funding. Construct Capital led, and was joined by Slow Ventures, High Alpha Capital, Flexport Ventures and Alpaca VC. www.getamplio.com

• 3Bee, an Italian provider of sustainability data solutions, raised €5m in Series A funding from Grow impact fund, Anya Capital and ESA. https://axios.link/3Y1eJNh

• OneOrder, an Egyptian provider of restaurant supply chain solutions, raised $3m in seed funding. Nclude led, and was joined by A15 and Delivery Hero Ventures. https://axios.link/3P30Mdz

• Antin Infrastructure Partners acquired a majority stake in OpticalTel, a Coral Gables, Fla.-based fiber broadband provider. www.opticaltel.com

• Lincolnshire acquired Whitewater Brands, a Caldwell, Idaho-based provider of consumables and light equipment to automotive collision shops and dealerships. www.whitewaterbrands.com

• Mill Point Capital acquired Seviroli Foods, a Garden City, N.Y.-based maker of frozen pasta. www.seviroli.com

⚡ Octopus Energy agreed to buy British solar power developer Zestec Renewable Energy. Octopus backers include CPP Investments, Generation Investment Management and Origin Energy. https://axios.link/3VHHv4h

• PestCo, a portfolio company of Thompson Street Capital Partners, acquired Reliable, a Hannibal, Mo.-based provider of commercial and residential pest control solutions.

Only one company expects to price a U.S. IPO this week, and it's targeting a raise south of $10m. https://axios.link/3VxGhbA

• 21Cineplex, operator of Indonesia's largest cinema chain, is considering a Jakarta IPO that could raise up to $1.1b, per Bloomberg. https://axios.link/3iqBolP

⚡ Luberef, the base oil subsidiary of Saudi Aramco, plans to raise up to $1.32b in its IPO. https://axios.link/3h5AD1f

• Circle, a Boston-based provider of payment and treasury infrastructure solutions for online businesses, terminated plans to go public via Concord Acquisition Corp. (NYSE: CND), a SPAC formed by former Barclays boss Bob Diamond. The deal had been set to expire later this week, after having previously been extended and recut. In September, Circle announced $400m in new funding.

• Circle founder and CEO Jeremy Allaire tells me that the company is generating cash-flow, generated $274 million in Q3 revenue and has around $400 million on its balance sheet: "We are committed to becoming a public company, but don't have specific plans at the moment."

• Flexi Group, a flexible workspace company operating in Asia and Australia, agreed to go public at an implied $205m enterprise value via TG Venture Acquisition Corp. (Nasdaq: TGVC), a SPAC sponsored by Tsangs Group. https://axios.link/3uo6NZ9

• Alchemy Investments Acquisition 1, a data analytics SPAC, filed for a $100m IPO. https://axios.link/3uvYpXf

• CVC Capital Partners is considering a sale process and other options for Razer, an Irvine, Calif.-based gaming peripherals maker it took private earlier this year for $3.2b, per Bloomberg. https://axios.link/3HaMk1A

⚡ EQT (NYSE: EQT), a Pittsburgh-based natural gas producer, said that it’s been asked by U.S. antitrust regulators for more information on its agreement to buy rival THQ Appalachia I for around $4b (including debt) from Quantum Energy Partners. https://axios.link/3H0VdKV

🚑 Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) said it won't make a binding takeover bid for Irish biotech Horizon Therapeutics (Nasdaq: HZNP). https://axios.link/3Fo32sK

• V Ventures, a unit of Thoresen Thai Agencies, offered around $100m ($30m cash/$70m tokens) to buy Singapore-based crypto exchange Zipmex. https://axios.link/3irtRDk

• 645 Ventures raised a total of $347m for its fourth flagship fund and its first opportunities fund. www.645ventures.com

• Partech, a Paris-based VC firm, raised €120m for its fourth seed fund. https://axios.link/3VTe6U8

• Cowboy Ventures promoted Jillian Williams to partner. www.cowboy.vc

• Lux Capital promoted Bilal Zuberi, Brandon Reeves, Deena Shakir and Shahin Farshchi to general partners. It also promoted Alex Nguyen and Grace Isford to partners and Shaq Vayda to principal. www.luxcapital.com

CEOs of America's biggest companies have downgraded their view of the economy, although not to the levels of gloom normally seen in recessions, Axios' Courtenay Brown and Neil Irwin write.