The world's largest predictions market has received an investment from Donald Trump Jr.'s venture capital fund, Axios has learned exclusively.

Why it matters: This new form of betting faces little legal risk under Trump 2.0, even as pro sports leagues like the NFL raise alarms.

Driving the news: 1789 Capital, which Trump Jr. joined last year as a partner, invested double-digit millions of dollars into Polymarket, which recently was valued north of $1 billion by Founders Fund.

• Trump Jr. also will join Polymarket's advisory board.

Catch up quick: Americans aren't allowed to use Polymarket, which claims to have hosted over $6 billion in predictions so far this year, but that may soon change.

• The company recently paid $112 million to acquire derivatives exchange QCEX, which means that it also acquired a CFTC license.
• Polymarket also announced that the DOJ and CFTC have both closed investigations into the company — probes that had included an FBI raid last November on CEO Shayne Coplan's apartment.

Behind the scenes: A source familiar with the situation says that 1789 Capital founder Omeed Malik and Coplan first began talking around 18 months ago, but that the firm waited to invest until there was a clear legal path for U.S. market entry.

• 1789, whose portfolio also includes Anduril and SpaceX, views Polymarket as an eventual IPO candidate.

The intrigue: Trump Jr. earlier this year joined Polymarket rival Kalshi as a strategic advisor.

• The Kalshi role is a paid position, not reflective of an investment. At this moment, he seems to have a foot in both camps.
• Both Polymarket and Kalshi gained national attention last year when their users defied many traditional pollsters by predicting a Trump election victory.

AT&T (NYSE: T) has agreed to buy wireless spectrum licenses from EchoStar (Nasdaq: SATS) for around $23 billion in cash.

Why it's the BFD: This should get federal regulators off Charlie Ergen's back.

• The FCC in May launched an investigation into EchoStar's spectrum squatting, and the company reportedly flirted with bankruptcy in order to protect its licenses.
• Today's deal doesn't involve the spectrum in question, but is EchoStar's way of saying that it understands the concerns.

By the numbers: The deal includes 30 MHz of 3.45 GHz mid-band spectrum and 20 MHz of 600 MHz low-band spectrum, covering over 400 U.S. markets.

• The $23 billion value is 2.7x EchoStar's market cap at yesterday's close, although its shares are up more than 70% in premarket trading.

The bottom line: "AT&T was smart to dump its media assets so it could afford to get stuff like this done." — Sara Fischer, Axios

🚑 Arnatar Therapeutics, a San Diego-based developer of RNA therapeutics, raised $52m in Series A funding. Eight Roads and 3E Bioventures led, joined by F-Prime Capital, Zhuhai Huajin Capital, Legend Star, Transfar Capital, New Alliance Capital, Yijing Capital, Gaorong Ventures, Jifeng Ventures, and Hongsheng Capital. axios.link/4oYG5Bm

• Blue Water Autonomy, a developer of unmanned ships for the U.S. Navy, raised $50m in Series A funding. GV led, joined by insiders Eclipse Ventures, Riot, and Impatient Ventures. axios.link/4mz5SOT

🚑 Vaxxas, an Australian provider of needle-free vaccine delivery solutions, raised A$49.2m in Series D funding. SPRIM Global Investments led, joined by LGT Crestone, OneVentures, and Brandon Capital-Hostplus. axios.link/45CT0RK

• Aurasell, a CRM startup, raised $30m in seed funding from N47, Menlo Ventures, and Unusual Ventures. axios.link/4g30y3W

• Holo, a Dubai-based home buying platform, raised $22m in Series A funding. Impact46 led, joined by Mubadala, Rua Growth Fund, anb seed, and MoreThan Capital. axios.link/3ULYFig

🚑 Eyebot, a Boston-based maker of vision test kiosks, raised $20m in Series A funding, per Axios Pro. General Catalyst led, joined by insiders AlleyCorp, Baukunst, Village Global and Ubiquity Ventures. axios.link/45AJ77e

🚑 Nest Health, a New Orleans-based care provider for families on Medicaid, raised $12.5m in Series A funding. 8VC and Blue Venture Fund led, joined by Amboy Street Ventures, Alumni Ventures, and Health 2047. axios.link/45Q3mMP

⚡ Splight, an SF-based grid tech startup, raised $12.4m in SAFE funding. Blue Bear Capital led, joined by Zoma Capital. axios.link/3UJoMX9

🚑 Incyclix Bio, a Durham, N.C.-based cell cycle control startup, raised $11.3m in Series B extension funding from Eshelman Ventures, Eli Lilly, Pharmacosmos, and Cape Fear BioCapital. axios.link/4mwYO58

• Boost My School, a New York-based fundraising platform for K-12 schools, raised $10m. High Alpha led, joined by Far Out VC, Ground Game, and Allos Ventures. boostmyschool.com

• Irys, a London-based programmable datachain, raised $10m in Series A funding. CoinFund led, joined by Hypersphere, Tykhe Ventures, Varrock Ventures, Breed VC, Echo Group, Amber Group, and WAGMI Ventures. axios.link/41TF43s

• Sequifi, a Lehi, Utah-based home service workforce platform, raised $6.7m in seed funding, per Axios Pro. Cervin Ventures led, joined by Frazier Group and Tokyo Black. axios.link/4mJbW7t

🌎 RenewCO2, a startup turning carbon dioxide into chemicals and fuels, raised $5m in seed funding led by apanese printing company DNP, per Axios Pro. axios.link/45yrXHf

• Payment Labs, an LA-based fintech, raised $3.25m in seed funding. Aperture Venture Capital led, joined by Capital Eleven and ESPMX. paymentlabs.io

• Creem, an Estonian developer of financial infrastructure for AI-native teams, raised €1.8m in pre-seed round led by Practica Capital. axios.link/45SE3Ko

⚡Yottar, a London-based electric grid mapping startup, raised $1m in pre-seed round led by Haatch. axios.link/3JBATD3

🚑 Advent International agreed to acquire health marketing and engagement firm PatientPoint from L Catterton, Littlejohn & Co., and Transformation Capital. Axios Pro flashback.

• August Equity invested in British law firm Higgs LLP. axios.link/4n0nD9u

• Bain Capital is backing the formation of Crestwell Underwriters, a commercial and residential managing general agent. axios.link/47et3t8

🚢 Cerberus Capital Management is partnering with South Korea's HD Hyundai on a new maritime investment strategy, with a particular focus on U.S. shipbuilding. axios.link/41mvHZX

• Clearlake Capital Group completed its take-private buyout of Wall Street data provider Dun & Bradstreet for $7.7b (including $3.6b in debt). axios.link/41UEzW5

• FalconPoint Partners acquired SMS, a provider of outsourced steel mill services. smsmill.com

• Fruition Partners acquired The Memory Co., a Phenix City, Ala.-based maker of sports and consumer-branded drinkware and home décor products. memorycompany.com

• Hartree Partners is in talks to buy French cocoa and coffee trader Touton. axios.link/4fQIcTw

🚑 NexPhase invested in skincare products maker Magic Science. axios.link/468OIBK

• Thoma Bravo agreed to buy call-center software maker Verint Systems (Nasdaq: VRNT) for around $2b (including debt), or $20.50 per share. axios.link/3JOUOhT

• OTG Acquisition I, a digital infrastructure SPAC, filed for a $200m IPO. axios.link/3Vhojvn

🚑 Tekscend Photomask, a Toppan (Tokyo: 7911) unit that manufactures photomasks for chipmaking, is targeting a $2b valuation in its Tokyo IPO, per Reuters. axios.link/4mYger8

• SK Finance, an Indian lender whose backers include TPG and Norwest Venture Partners, shelved domestic IPO plans due to low investor demand, per Bloomberg. axios.link/4lJqouI

🚑 AbbVie (NYSE: ABBV) agreed to buy a depression drug candidate from psychedelics-focused Gilgamesh Pharmaceuticals for upwards of $1.2b. Gilgamesh has raised over $70m from firms like Prime Movers Lab, Satori Capital, and Route 66 Ventures. axios.link/4fPxzjI

• Halma (LSE: HLMA) paid £129m to acquire Brownline, a Dutch provider of gyroscopic locating systems, from Mentha Capital and MaasInvest. axios.link/4n2eJsi

• First Quantum Minerals (TSX: FM) abandoned plans to sell minority stakes in its Zambian copper mines. axios.link/465Ldfn

• GIC may invest in data center assets owned by Australian property firm Goodman Group (ASX: GMG), per the Australian Financial Review. axios.link/4oUE5Km

🚑 MannKind (Nasdaq: MNKD) agreed to acquire cardiorenal drugmaker scPharmaceuticals Inc. (Nasdaq: SCPH) for upwards of $360m. axios.link/3UO1iQy

• The Pinault family of France is considering a sale of its 29% stake in listed German sneaker maker Puma, per Bloomberg. axios.link/4oIMYqa

🚑 Novisi Nirschl stepped down as a managing director of investment strategy at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. axios.link/45zJ6R1

• Emily Schillinger is stepping down as the American Investment Council's EVP of public affairs after more than seven years. Next week she'll join Edison Electric Institute as chief communications officer. axios.link/3HvS2xA

• Chip Stevens (ex-Aflac) and Tushar Behl (Alpha Wave) joined Glade Brook Capital as a partner and principal, respectively. gladebrookcapital.com