Last month, a cloud-seeding startup called Rainmaker raised $25 million in Series A funding. Just weeks later it was being unfairly accused by conspiracy theorists for causing the tragic floods in Texas.

• "I suddenly got thousands of notifications on my phone," recalls Rainmaker CEO Augustus Doricko. "It was because [retired] General Mike Flynn jumped in and insinuated that cloud-seeding was responsible."

Before continuing, I want to be clear that I called Doricko, not the other way around, after a reader alerted me to the situation. He feels frustrated, not victimized — an important distinction in light of a death toll that now stands at 120 souls.

What it does: Rainmaker uses drones to enhance rain, with contracts in such drought-vulnerable states as Texas, Utah, Colorado, and California.

• It's next-gen cloud-seeding, with Rainmaker also designing drones for weather conditions that may be dangerous for human pilots.
• As Axios Pro's Katie Fehrenbacher notes, China also has been testing drone-based cloud seeding.

What happened: Texas regulators have suspension criteria for cloud seeders, in order to mitigate the chance of flooding after severe weather.

• Doricko says those thresholds were met on July 3, but that Rainmaker stopped operations in the region on July 2 because of what its own meteorologists were seeing. He adds that such pauses occur "tens of times" per year.
• The Guadalupe River began flooding late in the evening of July 3 into the early hours of July 4.
• Moreover, some third-party climatologists have argued that Rainmaker's cloud-seeding can't produce the amount of precipitation that led to this outcome. Instead, they believe it was caused by remnants of Tropical Storm Barry.

Fever swamps: Flynn's tweet, which says he'd "love to see the response" from Rainmaker, has been seen one million times,

• He never posted the company's response, nor even seems to have acknowledged it. Instead, he later replied to another post about the supposed threat of "weather modification."
• It's also worth noting that Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) said one day after the floods that she'll introduce a bill that would make any "weather modification" a felony.

The other side: This is about extreme voices, not regular partisans.

• Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), for example, said at a press briefing that he's seen "zero evidence" that weather modification played a role in the floods, and dismissed "crazy theories" on the internet.

The bottom line: This episode highlights the increased risks being faced by both climate-tech entrepreneurs and investors, well beyond federal funding cuts.

• A couple folks I reached out to declined to comment on the record, saying they no longer feel comfortable doing so in this political environment.
• Welcome to the rise of climate cancel culture.

Source: Giphy

Ferrero International, the family-owned Italian maker of Nutella, has agreed to buy breakfast cereal maker WK Kellogg (NYSE: KLG) for $3.1 billion in cash.

Why it's the BFD: As a rabid viewer of Saturday morning cartoons in the 1980s, I consider Kellogg to be America's dominant company.

By the numbers: Ferraro is paying $23 per share, which represents a 31.4% premium over yesterday's closing price.

Zoom in: No word yet on product integrations, such as Nutella Frosted Flakes or gold foil-wrapped Froot Loops.

The bottom line: Kellogg has struggled due to healthier-eating trends and inflation, particularly since its 2023 split with a snacking unit that got renamed Kellanova.

• In an interesting parallel, both groups have agreed to go private via family-owned businesses, as Kellanova is being bought for $36 billion by Mars.

• iCapital, a New York-based provider of private markets tech platform for financial advisors, raised more than $820m at a $7.5b valuation. T. Rowe Price and SurgoCap Partners led, joined by insiders Temasek, UBS, and BNY. axios.link/44lWwPR

• Revolut, a U.K. neobank, is in advanced talks to raise primary and secondary funding at a $65 billion blended valuation, per Axios Pro. Greenoaks is likely to lead, with Dragoneer and Coatue also participating. axios.link/3UamBLD

• Groq, a Mountain View, Calif.-based AI chipmaker,, is in talks to raise between $300-$500m at a $6b post-money valuation, per The Information. axios.link/4kwrSrW

• Airalo, an eSIM provider, raised $220m at a valuation north of $1b. CVC Capital Partners led, joined by insiders Peak XV and Antler Elevate. axios.link/44xOe7L

• Also, a micromobility startup spun out of Rivian, raised $200m from Greenoaks Capital at a $1b valuation, per Bloomberg. axios.link/408KYNm

🚀 Varda, an in-space manufacturing startup, raised $187m in Series C funding. Natural Capital and Shrug Capital led, joined by Founders Fund, Peter Thiel, Khosla Ventures, Caffeinated Capital, Lux Capital, and Also Capital. axios.link/45WmoD8

• MaintainX, an SF-based asset management platform, raised $150m in Series D funding at a $2.5b valuation from Bessemer Venture Partners, Bain Capital Ventures, D.E. Shaw Ventures, Amity Ventures, August Capital, Founders Circle Capital, Sozo Ventures, and Fifth Down Capital. axios.link/4nAYmUJ

🚑 Nuclidium, a Swiss radiopharma startup developing copper-based theranostic, raised around $99m in Series B funding from Kurma Growth, Angelini Ventures, Wellington Partners, Neva SGR, DTCF, Bayern Kapital, Eurazeo, Vives Partners, NRW.BANK, and HighLight Capital. axios.link/45YiR7n

• SandboxAQ, a Palo Alto, Calif.-based Alphabet spinoff developing AI models for enterprises, raised $95m in a secondary offering from insiders Rizvi Traverse, Forge Global, and Ava Family Office. sandboxaq.com

• ServiceUp, a Los Gatos, Calif.-based vehicle repair management platform, raised $55m in Series B funding led by PeakSpan Capital, with participation from Hearst Ventures, Trestle Partners, Capital Midwest Fund and Litquidity Ventures. axios.link/4lmvlKQ

🚑 Renasant Bio, a Berkeley, Calif.-based developer of a kidney disease drug, raised $54.5m in seed funding. 5AM Ventures led, joined by Atlas Venture, OrbiMed, and Qiming Venture Partners USA. axios.link/40NExiX

🚑 Aqtual, a Hayward, Calif.-based developer of diagnostic tests for chronic diseases, raised $31m in Series B funding from Bold Capital, Bold Longevity Growth Fund, Genoa Ventures, Manta Ray Ventures, and Yu Galaxy. axios.link/3GjDLU5

• Vellum, a AI development platform, raised $20m in Series A funding, per Axios Pro. Leaders Fund led, joined by Socii Capital, YC, Rebel Fund, and Eastlink Capital. axios.link/4kyQEHT

⚡ Unblock, an Argentinian energy infrastructure startup, raised $13.5m led by Goldcrest Capital and Collaborative Fund, with participation from Pampa Energia, Grupo Sielecki, FJ Labs, NYDIG, Luxor Technology, and Sunna Ventures. axios.link/4nAd3al

• Augmentus, a Singaporean no-code robotics automation company, raised $11m in Series A+ funding. Woori VP led, joined by EDBI, Sierra Ventures, and Cocoon Capital. axios.link/463bgo8

• AirMDR, a Menlo Park, Calif.-based managed detection and response startup, added $10.5m in seed extension funding. Race Capital led, joined by Foundation Capital and Storm Ventures. axios.link/3IdDd2H

• Ryft, an Israeli data infrastructure startup, raised $8m in seed funding. Index Ventures led, joined by Bessemer Venture Partners. axios.link/4lR97R7

🚑 Welli, a Colombian medical credit platform, raised $8m in Series A funding from Costanoa Ventures, Animo VC, and Crestone. welli.com.co

• Blok, a user behavior simulation startup, raised $7.5m in Series A funding led by MaC Venture Capital. joinblok.co

• Abacus, a developer of agentic CPA assistants, raised $6.6m. Menlo Ventures led, joined by Pear VC, Recall Capital, and Original Capital. getabacus.com

• Layer, an SF-based embedded accounting platform, raised $6.6m in seed funding led by Emergence Capital, with participation from Better Tomorrow Ventures. axios.link/4lKzS9y

• Circuit, an New York-based digital asset recovery platform, raised $4.5m in seed funding. Nyca Partners led, joined by Soma Capital, New Form Capital, The Venture Dept, Silicon Badia, Druid Ventures, and Belvedere Strategic Capital. axios.link/40MU9mP

• ZeroEntropy, an AI search infrastructure startup, raised $4.2m in seed funding. Initialized Capital led, joined by YC, Transpose Platform, a16z Scout, and 22 Ventures. axios.link/4lvCUi8

• Chariot Claims, a legal-tech startup that helps individuals identify class actions, raised $3.6m led by Indicator Ventures. chariotclaims.com

🚑 Blue Box Biomedical, a Spanish developer or urine tests for breast cancer, raised €3m. Unconventional Ventures led, joined by Fund F, Grow Ventures, Hans(wo)man Group, and the Foss/Krups family. axios.link/4eHt763

• Yplasma, a Newark, N.J.-based developer of plasma actuators for data center cooling, raised $2.5m in seed funding. Faber led, joined by SOSV. axios.link/4eBCJ2a

🚑 Solence, a French biotech focused on polycystic ovary syndrome, raised €1.6m in seed funding led by Impact Shakers Ventures. axios.link/3Ifh7Nj

• Blue Sage Capital invested in Clean Scapes Enterprises, an Austin, Texas-based commercial landscaper. cleanscapes.net

• Liberty Hall Capital Partners acquired Paxia, a Herndon, Va.-based provider of in-flight catering management software for commercial aerospace, from Teleo Capital. paxiasolutions.com

• Main Post Partners bought a minority stake in Dallas-based food chain Smoothie King. axios.link/3TvMDc4

• Monogram Capital Partners reacquired meat snack maker Western Smokehouse Partners from AUA Private Equity for nearly $500m. axios.link/4lihi8V

• Partners Group acquired a majority stake in Infinity Fincorp Solutions, a non-bank lender in India. axios.link/3IC950P

• Stonepeak agreed to acquire a 50% stake in IFCO, a German provider of reusable packaging for fresh foods, from ADIA. It will share control with Triton. ifco.com

• Valor Exterior Partners, a portfolio company of Osceola Capital, acquired Kirkin Exteriors, a New Castle, Del.-based provider of residential roofing and other exterior home services. valorexteriorpartners.com

• Globa Terra Acquisition, an agribusiness and water SPAC led by Agustin Tristan Aldave (Lexington Capital), raised $152m in its IPO. axios.link/4jAxmBE

• Aquiline Capital Partners hired Goldman Sachs to find a buyer for financial software provider Quicken, which could fetch more than $1.5b, per Bloomberg. axios.link/44Evu4W

• Bain Capital is weighing the sale of all or part of its control stake in luxury coatmaker Canada Goose (TSX: GOOS), per Bloomberg. axios.link/3GjDbWp

• Cinven is considering a sale of Envu, a pest control business that could fetch €3.5b, per Bloomberg. axios.link/3Ii3n4h

• Claire's Stores, the Illinois-based retail jeweler whose backers include Elliott Management and Monarch Alternative Capital, is weighing a bankruptcy for its U.S. operations, per Bloomberg. It's also exploring a sale. axios.link/44VY17y

• Monad Foundation acquired stablecoin payments startup Portal, whose backers include Mapleblock, BlackDragon, and BasedVC. axios.link/3GBOGbF

🚑 Ontario Teachers' sold a majority stake in India's Sahyadri Hospitals to Manipal Health Enterprises for around $700m. axios.link/4lkOaxT

☕ Scooter's Coffee, an Omaha-based drive-thru coffee chain whose backers include McCarthy Capital, is weighing a sale that could fetch nearly $1b, per Reuters. axios.link/461YtST

• Autodesk (Nasdaq: ADSK) is considering a cash-and-stock takeover bid for PTC (Nasdaq: PTC), a rival engineering software firm with a $25b market cap, per Bloomberg. axios.link/3IhZRHb

⚡ Omnidian, a Seattle-based solar energy monitoring and maintenance startup that raised over $170m in VC funding, agreed to buy part of bankrupt Sunnova's residential solar installation business for $7m in cash. axios.link/46yyXEM

• OpenAI completed its $6.5b purchase of io, a hardware startup founded by ex-Apple chief design officer Jony Ive. axios.link/3Tw6APZ

Andreessen Horowitz moved its incorporation from Delaware to Nevada.

• Blackstone is forming a private credit partnership with Legal & General Group, which could grow to $20b in the next five years. axios.link/44ATo1m

• BlueFive Capital, a Gulf-focused PE firm led by Hazem Ben-Gacem (ex-Investcorp), raised $2b for its debut fund. axios.link/4lJKWDT

• Exponent raised more than €1b for its fifth flagship fund focused on midmarket European private equity. axios.link/45Wncb8

• Investcorp raised €240m for a single-asset continuation fund focused on Italian cybersecurity provider HWG Sababa. investcorp.com

• Levine Leichtman Capital Partners raised $3.6b for its seventh flagship fund. llcp.com

• Multiball Capital, an LA-based VC firm led by Matt Kozlov (ex-Techstars), is raising $25m for its debut fund, per an SEC filing.

• OnePrime Capital raised $305m for its third secondaries fund. oneprimecapital.com

• Propel Venture Partners raised $100m for its fifth fintech fund, per Axios Pro. axios.link/3U5QUTK

🚑 Terry Hyman joined Invidia Capital Management as a partner. He previously was with THL Partners and Northwood Healthcare Partners. invidiacap.com

• Craig Payne joined the Iowa Public Employees'​ Retirement System as a senior investment officer focused on private assets. He most recently was a partner with Transition Equity Partners. axios.link/4luUFhy

• Young Sohn, former Samsung president, is joining European VC firm Speedinvest as chair. speedinvest.com

• Updata Partners promoted Ryan Brady to principal and head of value creation. axios.link/4nFTUDV