There is a growing disconnect between the business and politics of data centers.

• The business is booming. Public and private equities are both up and to the right — not only for actual project operators, but also for related energy and vendor plays.
• The politics have turned sharply negative, often on a bipartisan basis.

Why it matters: Investors may be whistling past the server racks.

State of play: New York has put a temporary moratorium on large new data center projects. Pennsylvania and Texas have implemented new regulatory roadblocks that could decrease development.

• New data center restrictions, including some moratoriums and bans, have been introduced in dozens of other states.

Zoom in: Data center investors lament the opposition, often framing it as a correctable community education issue. They also believe that much of the political pushback will dissipate after the midterm elections.

• Even if hostilities harden, they add, there are plenty of states where new projects can be built or existing ones expanded.
• "There is a time horizon problem," explains a Wall Street executive active in the sector. "Capital is underwriting decades of demand while politics runs to the next election. Those two things at times don't reconcile easily. I wouldn't overweight or underweight any one state."

Yes, but: Local fights could get nationalized.

• For example, imagine that Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro runs for president. Won't he have to argue that what's good for Pennsylvanians is also good for other Americans?
• I'm not predicting a blanket moratorium on new data centers, especially since permitting and siting are usually a municipal or state-level issues, but the federal government does have all sorts of levers that could slow the industry's roll.
• Remember, the Axios Pro Rata audience is not the electorate. "We can't let China win the AI race" isn't a salient statement for most normies, particularly when their electricity bills keep rising.

The bottom line: There is more than one way for an AI bubble to burst.

Source: Giphy

Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena has offered to buy rival Italian lenders Banco BPM and Banca Generali for a combined €34 billion in stock.

Why it's the BFD: Even in M&A, the best defense can be a good offense.

• Banca Monte has been trying to repel a takeover by Italy's largest bank, Intesa Sanpaolo. This new effort could make Intesa's bid look more anticompetitive.

Zoom in: The two offers aren't "conditionally linked," which means that either could happen without the other.

The bottom line: "Italy's government has said it wants to see a third national champion in banking, after Intesa and UniCredit, and doesn't want Monte dei Paschi to be broken up. By casting itself as a domestic behemoth under the proposed three-way tie up, Monte dei Paschi improves its position to be more than a pawn." — Michael Hennessey & Margot Patrick, WSJ

🦣 Colossal, the "de-extinction" startup, is raising new funding at a valuation of at least $23b, per Axios Pro. axios.link/3UulaLv

🚑 Cityblock, an urban primary care provider, raised $116m in Series E funding from insider General Catalyst. It also completed its all-stock acquisition of rural primary care business Homeward Health, whose backers included GC, Arch Venture Partners, and Human Capital. axios.link/4c5tis2

• Math Magic, a Beijing-based 3D creation platform, raised $50m. BAI Capital and HyT Capital led, joined by V Fund and insiders HSG, IDG Capital, Long-Z Investments, Crystal Stream, and Jinqiu Capital. axios.link/4xm4411

• Remepy, an NYC-based biotech whose lead candidate focuses on Parkinson's disease, raised $36m in Series A funding. O.G. Venture Partners and M Ventures led, joined by NFX, Vine Ventures, Qumra Capital, and TechAviv. axios.link/4bWFTOe

⚡ Apollo Atomics, an MIT spinoff building pressurized water reactors, raised $31m in seed funding. FCVC led, joined by YC, Telesoft Partners, Alumni Ventures, Robinhood Ventures, Nucleation Capital, Pelion VC, and Duke Capital Partners. axios.link/4gIpeR1

• Vessev, a New Zealand maker of electric hydrofoil boats, raised US$19m in Series A funding, per Axios Pro. Blackbird Ventures led, joined by GD1, Rypples, K1W1, Icehouse Ventures, Shasta Ventures, and NZVC. axios.link/4qpNlXW

• Pixelgen Technologies, a Swedish platform for mapping molecular cell architecture, raised $15.5m in Series B funding. Flat Capital led, joined by Industrifonden and Navigare Ventures. axios.link/4cvYgcQ

• Beldex, a Seychelles-based blockchain infrastructure startup, raised $8m. Sigma Capital led, joined by NTC, Nxgen, Digital Consensus Fund, and EAK Ventures. axios.link/4hGOo3z

• Peeko, an Indian baby care e-commerce platform, raised over $7m in Series A funding. Chiratae Ventures led, joined by Stellaris Venture Partners. axios.link/3SMYV2W

🌎 Mafix, a Seattle-based rock weathering startup, raised $5.4m in pre-seed funding. Azolla Ventures led, joined by Counteract VC, Astera Institute, Plug and Play Ventures, and Impact Science Ventures. axios.link/4qxvUVE

• Oshen, a British developer of ocean robotics, raised $5m. Lunar Ventures led, joined by AlbionVC, Twin Track, and Concept Ventures. axios.link/4cQFdtS

• Solinide Photonics, a Swedish developer of photonic chips, raised €4m in seed funding. Navigare Ventures and PSV Hafnium led, joined by Chalmers Ventures, Turbine Capital, Norrsken Evolve, and Almi Greentech Fund. axios.link/4g9zmlD

• Dirac Labs, a Madison, Wis.-based developer of quantum positioning sensors, raised $1.8m in pre-seed funding. TitletownTech led, joined by Automotive Ventures, Riceberg Ventures, and quantumEDGE Ventures. axios.link/3S2ha4l

• Artwod, a Belgian learning platform for visual artists, raised €1.1m in seed funding from Airbridge Equity Partners and ForsVC. axios.link/45ERaPv

• Guideless, a Lithuanian software training platform, raised €1m in pre-seed funding. Superhero Capital led, joined by Firstpick VC. axios.link/3SKtGFK

🏈 Arctos Partners agreed to buy a 10% stake in the NFL's Atlanta Falcons at a $10.6b enterprise value, per CNBC. axios.link/3U8LN8J

🌎 Canada Growth Fund and Rice Investment Group invested $35m in EnerPure, a Canadian developer of motor oil recycling tech. axios.link/4grCDvC

• Certerra, backed by OceanSound Partners, acquired Skyrise Engineering and Testing, a Fort Lauderdale, Fla.-based geotechnical and materials testing firm. axios.link/4quemts

• KKR agreed to lead an A$7.7b takeover of Australian insurance broker Steadfast Group (ASX: SDF). As part of the deal, Genstar Capital-backed Amwins would acquire Steadfast's underwriting agency and Dragoneer would assume its broking business. axios.link/46cOtEZ

• Long Ridge Equity Partners invested in MarketSphere, an Atlanta-based provider of unclaimed property compliance solutions. axios.link/4x7qumt

• Marquee Brands, owned by Neuberger Berman, acquired Roots (TSX: ROOT), a Canadian outdoors and lifestyle brand, for C$4.10 per share. axios.link/3ShmrFd

• Ode, the enterprise AI consulting business launched by Anthropic and several PE firms, acquired AI services firm Casper Studios. axios.link/4gbZCMc

• Stone Point Capital acquired the risk management unit of agri-food tech company Ever.Ag. axios.link/4x5JF00

• Valor Exterior Partners, a Cincinnati-based portfolio company of Osceola Capital, acquired Braintree, Mass.-based Associate Roofing. axios.link/4garsbF

• WSB, a GHK Capital portfolio company, acquired Civil Infrastructure Associates, a Murfreesboro, Tenn.-based municipal engineering firm. axios.link/3Uaf56X

🚀 Gravitics, a Miami-based maker of in-space living and working structures, set Nasdaq float terms to 8.1m shares at $14-$17. It would have a $693m fully diluted value, were it to price in the middle. Shares currently trade OTC. axios.link/46iDw4J

• Orion180 Insurance Group, a Melbourne, Fla.-based provider of excess and surplus home insurance, filed for a $100m IPO. It plans to list on the Nasdaq (OIG). axios.link/4c2Z3BV

• SpaceX (Nasdaq: SPCX) and AST SpaceMobile (Nasdaq: ASTS) are among those interested in buying 800 MHz-band spectrum licenses held by Grain Management, per Bloomberg. axios.link/4wGnaxS

• Charter Communications (Nasdaq: CHTR) completed its $34.5b acquisition of Cox Communications from Cox Enterprises (parent company of Axios). axios.link/4gaVFr5

⚡ Continental Resources of Oklahoma agreed to buy a 50% stake in Phoenix Global Resources, an Argentinian shale oil firm owned by Mercuria Energy Group. axios.link/4xVmO7y

• Holcim (Swiss: HOLN) agreed to acquire Fermacell, a German maker of sustainable walling and flooring solutions, for €430m from James Hardie Industries (NYSE: JHX). axios.link/3S368vH

• Woody Johnson, owner of the woeful New York Jets, agreed to buy a minority stake in the Aston Martin Formula One team. axios.link/4x7yWSL

• Mavis Tires completed its acquisition of auto services chain Pep Boys from Icahn Enterprises for $700m in cash. axios.link/4xX5oaK

⚡ Mitsubishi Electric (Tokyo: 6503) agreed to acquire PCI Energy Solutions, a Norman, Okla.-based energy software provider, for $1.4b. axios.link/4wFH3VA

🏀 Patrick Soon-Shiong said he doesn't plan to sell his 4% stake in the Los Angeles Lakers to the group led by Joshua Kushner and Bob Iger. axios.link/4gnSxqL

• T. Rowe Price agreed to acquire F/m Investments, a fixed-income and ETF manager with around $19b. axios.link/4bWIYxM

• WSP Global (TSX: WSP) plans to keep pursuing Arcadis, a listed Dutch engineering and consulting group that has rejected two unsolicited approaches. axios.link/4zvlppC

• Crestline Management of Texas raised $625m for its second Europe-focused PE fund. axios.link/4wHUQuX

• Siguler Guff raised $500m for its latest India-focused fund. axios.link/3SOtbul

• Adit Singh joined Mayfield as a partner focused on AI infrastructure. He previously was with Cota Capital. axios.link/4c1phF3

• Kevin Swan joined Luge Capital as a venture partner. He's the former head of private markets at Morgan Stanley. axios.link/4gaupZY

• Andrew Williams joined Blue Owl Capital as head of communications. He previously was with Brunswick Group and Goldman Sachs. axios.link/4bVFBXS

The U.S. IPO market is in the midst of a record-breaking year, having generated more proceeds than in 2021, mostly attributed to SpaceX, per Renaissance Capital.

• Soon it will become a record-smashing year, as Anthropic is expected to flip its S-1 within weeks.
• OpenAI, meanwhile, reportedly told employees that it "will be a public company in 2027," but that the IPO could come in 2026 if "our business continues to inflect."