SoftBank is once again flush with cash and liquid/leverageable assets, following last week's IPO for chip design firm Arm.

Why it matters: Get ready for a spending spree.

What to know: SoftBank CEO Masa Son never rests on his laurels or spends much time salving old wounds.

• He went from one of the world's richest men to a paper pauper following the dotcom boom and bust. Then, after making a savvy bet on Alibaba, Son came over the top with the $100 billion Vision Fund — arguably sparking the unicorn overflow that ended up eating itself and its investors.
• SoftBank never raised a second Vision Fund, instead using its balance sheet for what it called Vision Fund II in press releases, and slowed its new investment pace over the past couple years.
• Arm enables SoftBank to go back on offense, at a land grab moment for cash-hungry AI companies.

Behind the scenes: SoftBank's investment process for the past several years is said to have required that prospective portfolio companies have at least some AI component, no matter how tortured.

• Yes, even for companies like Greensill (if you can find the investment committee memo, I'd almost guarantee there's an AI mention).
• Now it's a lot easier. Not only because there's a plethora of legit AI companies, but also because most every non-AI company is either trying to incorporate AI or is pretending to.
• There's even debate over whether Arm should refer to itself as an AI company, given that the vast majority of its designs are used in smartphones, but CEO Rene Haas tells me that his main IPO roadshow message was that "AI runs on Arm."

The bottom line: SoftBank engenders more schadenfreude than any other venture capital or private equity firm on the planet, but almost no one is going to turn down its money.

Lowercarbon Capital has raised over $550 million for a pair of new venture funds focused on climate tech startups, per a letter to limited partners that appeared this morning on the firm's website.

Why it's the BFD: In that letter, firm founder Chris Sacca, called out fellow climate tech investors for accepting capital from unsavory sources:

• "We've built all this without taking any blood money from countries actively working to undermine democracy while trampling human rights and obstructing efforts to solve the climate emergency. Maybe your firm could try that too?"

Details: The first fund, dubbed 421.0, will focus on pre-seed and seed-stage deals. The second will be an opportunities fund that lets Lowercarbon double down on select portfolio companies.

• "421.0" refers to parts per million of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere when the fund was launched. Earlier fund names were 411.2 and 419.1.

The bottom line: Sacca notes in the letter than he and Lowercarbon colleagues will be in New York for Climate Week, which kicks off today. Those sideline conversations may be worth eavesdropping on.

• Writer, an SF-based generative AI platform for enterprises, raised $100m in Series B funding. Iconiq led, and was joined by WndrCo, Balderton Capital, Insight Partners and Aspect Ventures. https://axios.link/3sY7quO

• Dragos, a Hanover, Md.-based cybersecurity startup focused on industrial controls, raised $74m in Series D extension funding led by WestCap (prior close was $200m on a $1.7b valuation, led by Koch Disruptive Technologies). https://axios.link/3sYlDbg

•Mottu, a Brazilian motorcycle rental company and last-mile delivery marketplace, raised $50m in Series C funding. QED Investors and Bicycle Capital co-led, and were joined by Endeavor Catalyst and Caravela. www.mottu.com.br

• Levelpath, an SF-based procurement startup, raised $30m in Series A funding. Redpoint Ventures led, and was joined by Benchmark, NewView Capital, WiL and Menlo Ventures. www.levelpath.com

• Flipto, a French treasury management startup, raised €15m in seed funding co-led by Serena Capital and Motier Ventures. https://axios.link/3sVg4Kx

• Boxbot, an Oakland, Calif.-based provider of parcel logistics automation solutions, raised $12m in Series A funding. Playground Global led, and was joined by Maersk Growth, Toyota Ventures, Pear Ventures and Artiman Ventures. www.boxbot.io

• Superorder, an online presence platform for restaurants, raised $10m led by Foundation Capital. https://axios.link/3PIIKzA

🚑 CardioOne, a Houston-based clinic-facing heart care enabler, raised $8m in seed funding led by Redesign Health, per Axios Pro. https://axios.link/3PnlKET

• Truewind, an SF-based accounting startup for small companies, raised $3m in seed funding co-led by Fin Capital and YC, per Axios Pro. https://axios.link/3EHPAyN

• Catalyte, a Baltimore-based developer of apprenticeship programs, raised $1.5m from Green Street Impact Partners. www.catalyte.io

• Bluestone Equity Partners invested in RWS Global, a New York and London-based provider of live shows and immersive experiences. www.rwsglobal.com

• Gryphon Investors acquired Big Chief, a Cincinnati-based distributor of electric process heating and temperature control products for the industrials market. www.gobigchief.com

• GS Foods Group, an Ontario, Calif.-based portfolio company of Highview Capital and A&M Capital Partners, acquired Lamm Food Service, a Lafayette, La.-based food distributor. www.gsfoodsgroup.com

🎵 Katy Perry agreed to sell master recording and publishing rights for five of her albums to Litmus Music, a music rights business backed by Carlyle, for $225m. https://axios.link/3PjWPSx

• KKR agreed to invest around $800 million for a 20% stake in Singtel's regional data center business, with an option to increase its stage to 25% by 2027. https://axios.link/44WvgEv

🌎 Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan agreed to acquire a control stake in GreenCollar, an Australian environmental markets platform, from KKR. https://axios.link/3sW5rr5

• Paine Schwartz Partners lowered its buyout offer for Australian fresh produce producer Costa Group (ASX: CGC) to A$3.20 per share from A$3.50 per share, valuing the business at A$1.49b. https://axios.link/3sZPJv1

• Quad-C Management invested in Vortex, a provider of trenchless infrastructure rehabilitation products. www.vortexcompanies.com

• Instacart plans to price its IPO tonight and begin trading tomorrow on the Nasdaq, per sources.

• Instacart continues to use "Maplebear" as its official corporate name in regulatory filings.
• It was coined by Instacart founder and former CEO Apoorva Mehta, a Canadian immigrant who was under time pressure to complete his visa paperwork. The "maple" relates to Canada, while the "bear" refers to the California state flag.

• Klaviyo, a Boston-based marketing automation SaaS provider, increased its IPO price range to $27-$29 from $25-$27. It reports $15 million of net income on $321m of revenue for the first half of 2023, and plans to list on the NYSE (KVYO). Shareholders include Summit Partners (21.3% pre-IPO stake), Shopify (11.2%) and Accomplice (5.7%). https://axios.link/3RlgIv7

🚑 Neumora Therapeutics, a Watertown, Mass.-based biotech focused on major depressive disorder, raised $250m in its IPO. It priced at $17 (middle of its range), for an initial $2.7b market cap, and ended its first day of trading (Nasdaq: NMRA) down at $16.25. Shareholders include Amgen (24.4% pre-IPO stake), Arch Venture Partners (20.4%), Biomatics Capital Partners (5.7%) and SoftBank (5.5%). https://axios.link/3Zews4N

🚑 RayzeBio, a San Diego-based developer of targeted radiopharmaceuticals, raised $311m in its IPO. It priced at the high end of its $16-$18 range, after sold 2.9m shares more than originally planned, and finished its first day of trading (Nasdaq: RYZB) up to $24. The pre-revenue company had raised over $400m in VC funding from Viking Global (12.5% pre-IPO stake), Versant Ventures (12.2%), VenBio (12.2%), Venrock (6.4%), Sofinnova Investments and Wellington Management. https://axios.link/3svRtvS

• Volotea, a Spanish airline, hired Barclays and Morgan Stanley to prep an IPO, per Expansion. https://axios.link/46hkuKm

• Actis hired Flamingo Capital Partners to find a buyer for East African casual dining chain Java House, per Bloomberg. https://axios.link/3PFXZZY

• Advent International hired Morgan Stanley to find a buyer for CCC Intelligent Solutions (Nasdaq: CCCS), a Chicago-based provider of software to the auto insurance market, per Reuters. CCC had a $7.1b market cap at the time of the report. https://axios.link/3PLc0Ws

🚑 The Honey Pot, an Atlanta-based maker of feminine hygiene products, is seeking a buyer, per Bloomberg. A deal could fetch around $500m, while company backers include VMG Partners and Sundial Brands. https://axios.link/3PICLe7

⚡ Southern Cross Group agreed to sell Chilean fuel distributor Esmax to Saudi Arabia's Aramco. https://axios.link/44Z1oY2

• Discover Financial Services (NYSE: DFS) is considering a sale of its student loan business, which includes a $10.2b loan portfolio, per Bloomberg. https://axios.link/3Rq9shn

• Hitachi (Tokyo: 6501) is offering to sell assets in France and Germany, plus train control tech, to win EU antitrust approval for its €1.7b purchase of Thales' (Paris: PCFP) railway signaling business, per Reuters. https://axios.link/3PD6hSh

• International Paper (NYSE: IP) sold its 50% stake in a Russian joint venture to local investors. https://axios.link/3ra30Rb

• Liberty Global (Nasdaq: LBTYA) and Warner Bros. Discovery (Nasdaq: WBD) are seeking a buyer for All3Media, a British production company behind "Fleabag," per Reuters. https://axios.link/3EO6Ty5

• Pendragon (LSE: PDG) agreed to sell its British motor and leasing unit to Lithia (NYSE: LAD) for £250m. https://axios.link/48dkblv

⚡ TGS, an Oslo-listed oil services firm, agreed to buy local rival PGS in an all-stock deal. The combined company will be valued at nearly $3.3b (including debt). https://axios.link/3sVtLJw

• Cortado Ventures of Oklahoma City raised $80m for its second seed fund. www.cortado.ventures

• Hartford Funds launched a closed-end tender offer fund for accredited investors that's focused on private equity strategies. www.hartfordfunds.com

• Play Time Ventures, led by Razmig Hovaghimian (ex-Hoodline, Viki), is raising up to $200m for its debut fund, per an SEC filing.

• Nicole Musicco stepped down as chief investment officer at CalPERS, less than two years into the job. https://axios.link/3LqQzY9

• Bob van Dijk stepped down as CEO of Dutch investor Prosus and its South African e-commerce parent company Naspers, with M&A head Ervin Tu (ex-SoftBank) taking his place. https://axios.link/3PlexFm

• AXOM Partners has launched as a new M&A advisory, co-founded by former Qatalyst/Code Advisors execs Alan Bressers, Brandon Hightower and Ross Weiner. https://axios.link/3EF9YAK

• Bruno Delahaye (ex-CEO of Reach Analytics) is becoming a Paris-based partner with Cathay Innovation. He previously joined the VC firm last November as an operating partner. www.cathayinnovation.com

• Jeremy Lane joined Moelis & Co. as a Hong Kong-based managing director of industrials banking, with a focus on metals and mining. He previously was with Credit Suisse. www.moelis.com

• Amon Johnson joined Star Mountain Capital as a managing director. He previously spent over 15 years with BlackRock. www.starmountaincapital.com

• Dale Martin, former director of private markets for the Fire and Police Pension Association of Colorado, has launched an investment advisory called Great Mountain Partners. https://axios.link/3ZkdKZI

• Steve Schwartz joined Banco Santander as head of U.S. health care banking. He previously spent 24 years with Credit Suisse. https://axios.link/3sXYJ3E

⚡ Robert Trainer joined energy services-focused Voyager Interests as a partner. He previously was president and CEO of Gyrodata. www.voyagerinterests.com