OpenAI is one of the world's most valuable private companies, and by far the global leader when it comes to consumer adoption of artificial intelligence.

• It also could be on the precipice of its first major commercial challenge.

Driving the news: Apple is considering using models from either OpenAI or Anthropic to underpin its next version of Siri, according to a blockbuster report from Bloomberg's Mark Gurman.

• Gurman writes that Apple has asked both companies "to train versions of their models that could run on Apple's cloud infrastructure for testing," although he also cautions that these discussions are in their early stages and that Apple continues to develop its own LLM.

The big picture: Were Apple to pick Anthropic, it could become a major challenge to OpenAI's consumer dominance.

• There are more than 2 billion iPhones in use globally, including around 155 million in the U.S. That's a massive installed user base that suddenly would get introduced to Claude, even if white-labeled as Siri.
• iPhone users spend a lot of time inside the Apple ecosystem — photos, storage, contacts, etc. — and may skip the ChatGPT app tap if a viable alternative is more integrated with the rest of their digital life.

By the numbers: OpenAI most recently was valued by VCs at $300 billion, while Anthropic was valued at $61.5 billion.

Zoom in: There are lots of obvious caveats here, including the possibility that Apple will stay in-house or outsource to OpenAI instead of to Anthropic.

• Plus the Google Gemini wildcard for consumer, and the likelihood of mergers that push market concentration in unexpected directions (lots of Perplexity rumors, for example).

The bottom line: Apple picking Anthropic would be a game changer. Including for a venture capital markets that's made massive bets at record valuations.

Paramount Global (Nasdaq: PARA) agreed to pay $16 million to President Trump's future presidential library, to settle a lawsuit that Trump brought over the editing of a "60 Minutes" interview with Kamala Harris.

Why it's the BFD: It's a small price to pay for merger approval. Unless you value integrity.

Catch up quick: Paramount last summer agreed to merge with David Ellison's Skydance Media, via a two-part process that would value the combined company at around $28 billion.

• RedBird Capital Partners is helping to finance the deal.
• But regulatory approval was clouded by Trump's $20 billion lawsuit, which alleged that CBS had deceptively edited the pre-election interview with Harris (something still denied by CBS, which later released the unedited transcripts).
• Just weeks after Trump took office, the FCC launched a probe into WCBS New York over the interview for "news distortion."
• In April, longtime "60 Minutes" executive producer Bill Owens quit, citing his inability "to make independent decisions." CBS News CEO Wendy McMahon resigned next.

The bottom line: Paramount chose expediency.

🌎 Climeworks, a Swiss direct air capture startup, raised $162m led by BigPoint Holding and Partners Group. axios.link/4nuUGn7

• Talon.One, a German provider of enterprise loyalty and promotion software, raised $135m led by Silversmith Capital Partners and Meritech Capital, with participation from insider CRV. axios.link/4lkRpoU

• Savvy Wealth, a New York-based digital platform for financial advisors, raised $72m in Series B funding. Industry Ventures led, joined by Vestigo Ventures, Euclidean Capital and insiders Canvas Ventures, Thrive Capital, The House Fund, and Brewer Lane Ventures. axios.link/44vgJl8

🚑 Terrana Biosciences, a Cambridge, Mass.-based developer of vaccines for plants, launched with $50m from Flagship Pioneering. axios.link/4noIKmV

🚑 Field Medical, a developer of cardiac ablation technology, raised $35 million in Series B funding led by BioStar Capital and Cue Growth. fieldmedicalinc.com

• Wonderful, a provider of non-English customer service chatbots, raised $34m in seed funding. Index Ventures led, joined by Bessemer Venture Partners and Vine. axios.link/45SLVx6

• Remark, a developer of expert models for ecommerce, raised $16m in Series A funding. Inspired Capital led, joined by Stripe, Neo, Spero Ventures, Shine Capital, and Visible Ventures. axios.link/4kthfWU

🚑 Circulate Health, a Seattle-based longevity startup focused on "blood cleaning," raised $12m in seed funding led by Khosla Ventures. axios.link/4l8Pcgr

• Yaspa, a London-based instant payment and identity fintech, raised $12m. Discerning Capital led, joined by Metavallon and TechStars Ventures. axios.link/44IqZHT

• Civ Robotics, an SF-based construction robotics startup, raised $7.5m in Series A funding. AlleyCorp led, joined by Bobcat Co. and ff Venture Capital. axios.link/4eyf6rl

• Vok Bikes, an Estonian mobility startup, raised $6m in Series A funding. SQM Lithium Ventures led, joined by insiders Metaplanet, Specialist VC, Sunly, and SmartCap. axios.link/4nAEKQC

🚑 Argon AI, a ChatGPT-style software service for pharma, raised $5.5m in seed funding, per Axios Pro. Crosslink Capital and Wireframe Ventures led, joined by YC and Pioneer Fund. axios.link/3GsVc4t

• Argano, a digital services consultancy owned by Trinity Hunt Partners, acquired Twelve Consulting Group, a Minneapolis-based Anaplan partner. argano.com

• Aquiline completed its purchase of SEI's (Nasdaq: SEIC) family office services business (dba Archway). axios.link/44bn3PV

• Audeo Capital invested in Carlson Hall, a Boston-based provider of offshore hiring solutions for U.S. tech startups. carlsonhall.com

• Charger Investment Partners acquired Versa-Drill, an Indianapolis-based maker of drilling rigs. versa-drill.com

• DigitalBridge and La Caisse completed their acquisition of British data center developer and operator Yondr Group from sellers like Apollo. axios.link/3GhhBSk

• The FTC opened an in-depth investigation into SoftBank's proposed $6.5b acquisition of chip designer Ampere Computing from Carlyle and Oracle, per Bloomberg.

• Harvest Partners acquired The Learning Experience, a Deerfield Beach, Fla.-based provider of early childhood education, from Golden Gate Capital. axios.link/3IbMOa1

KKR agreed to buy U.K. testing equipment maker Spectris (LSE: SXS) for £4.1b, beating out Advent International. axios.link/3I6GDnB

• KKR also agreed to buy Australian poultry producer ProTen from Aware Super. axios.link/4erKQOK

🚑 Nordic Capital acquired Arcadia, a Boston-based health-care data platform. Sellers include Revelation Partners and Cigna Ventures. arcadia.io

• Pact Capital Partners acquired a passive minority stake in Graham Partners, a PE firm focused on manufacturing and tech-enabled services. grahampartners.net

• PrimeSource Brands, a building products business backed by Clearlake Capital, acquired Fortress Railing Products, a Garland, Texas-based maker of railing systems. primesourcebp.com

🚑 Stone Point Capital acquired The Difference Card, a Mt. Kisco, N.Y.-based provider of health-care cost containment solutions, from Northlane Capital Partners. differencecard.com

• Thoma Bravo is in talks to buy Verint Systems (Nasdaq:VRNT), a Melville, N.Y.-based center software maker with a $1.1b market cap, per Bloomberg. axios.link/4kd257L

• VTIG, an outsourced IT firm owned by The Riverside Co., acquired The Instillery, a New Zealand-based cloud and cybersecurity company. vitg.com.au

• Figma, an SF-based collaborative design software firm that once agreed to be acquired by Adobe for $20 billion, yesterday flipped its S-1 after previously filing confidentially.

• It shows a large 2024 loss due to a stock tender offer, and a large 2023 gain thanks to the Adobe breakup fee. Its Q1 2025 numbers were $45 million of net income on $205 million in revenue.
• Top shareholders include Index Ventures (16.8% pre-IPO stake), Greylock (15.7%), Kleiner Perkins (14%), and Sequoia Capital (8.7%).

🚑 AstraZeneca (LSE: AZN) is considering a move of its listing from London to the U.S., per the Times. axios.link/40AK1gT

🚑 Brainlab, a German maker of surgical imaging and guidance software, is delaying its domestic IPO. Backers include EMH Capital. axios.link/44bBbIX

⚡ EQV Ventures Acquisition II, an energy-focused SPAC formed by EQV Group, raised $420m in an upsized IPO. axios.link/45SM9Es

• Vendome Acquisition I, a consumer SPAC led by CEO Scott LaPorta (Sugarfina USA), raised $200m in an upsized IPO. axios.link/4lz6ofs

• Danone (Paris: BN) acquired Kate Farms, a maker of plant-based foods that had raised over $125m from firms like Goldman Sachs, Novo Holdings, Kaiser Permanente Ventures, and Main Street Advisors. katefarms.com

• EQT hired UBS to help sell a "signifcant minority" stake in the Italian unit of digital infrastructure firm Radius, per Bloomberg. axios.link/4l8ZrBe

• Grammarly, a writing assistant valued by VCs at $13 billion, acquired Superhuman, an email client that raised over $130m from firms like a16z, IVP, First Round Capital, and Tiger Global. axios.link/3ZUwJM3

• SGS (Swiss: SGSN) agreed to acquire ATS, a Marietta, Ga.-based provider of testing, inspection, calibration, and forensics solutions, from Odyssey Investment Partners for $1.3b. axios.link/40zhbNQ

• Xerox (Nasdaq: XRX) completed its $1.5b takeover of printer-maker Lexmark for $1.5b from Ninestar Corp., PAG Asia Capital, and Shanghai Shouda Investment Centre. axios.link/3BPx5e1

• Banco Santander (Madrid: SAN) agreed to buy the U.K. unit of Banco Sabadell (M: SAB) for £2.65b. axios.link/4nvgL51

🚑 Concentra Biosciences, a San Diego-based portfolio company of Tang Capital Partners, agreed to acquire Mountain View, Calif.-based antibody biotech IGM Biosciences (Nasdaq: IGMS) for around $43m, or $1.25 per share. axios.link/3GvacyG

• Euronext (Paris: ENX) said it's in talks to buy the Athens stock exchange operator. axios.link/3GmYI0h

• Hewlett-Packard Enterprise (NYSE: HPE) completed its $14b takeover of Juniper Networks (NYSE: JNPR), following a U.S. antitrust settlement.

🎲 Intralot of Greece agreed to acquire Bally's International Interactive for €2.7b in cash and stock. axios.link/4nwaYfx

• Packaging Corp. of America (NYSE: PKG) is acquiring Greif's (NYSE: GEF) containerboard business, including mills in Ohio and Virginia, for $1.8b. axios.link/44iWhne

• Alliance VC held a €40m first close for its third Nordics-based fund, which is targeting a total of €100m. axios.link/3TmAoyv

🚑 AN Venture Partners, a global biotech VC firm, raised $200m for its debut fund. an.vc

• Essence VC, an infrastructure-focused VC firm, raised over $40m for its fourth fund, per an SEC filing. essencevc.fund

• Omnes Capital of Paris held a €112m first close for its second European deeptech VC fund. axios.link/40zXjKx

• Ridgemont Equity Partners is raising its fifth fund, per an SEC filing. ridgemontep.com

• Stephane Tetot joined Partners Group as a managing director focused on digital infrastructure, energy, and transportation. He previously spent 13 years with BlackRock. axios.link/4nrUxkm

• Simpson Thacher & Bartlett promoted Elizabeth Cooper to global head of private equity and Rajib Chanda to global head of asset management. simpsonthacher.com

Artificial intelligence isn't just dominating venture capital funding. It's also beginning to dominate venture debt funding, according to a smart analysis by PitchBook's Jacob Robbins.

• Some of this is to finance big-ticket items like data centers, while some is to help companies maintain inflated seed or Series A valuations.