DataBank launched 20 years ago to build and operate data centers, when artificial intelligence was still widely regarded as science fiction. It's now riding the AI wave to more than 65 facilities and billions of dollars in private equity investment.

• But it has no plans to go public. Maybe ever.

CEO Raul Martynek cited three main reasons, two specific to data centers and one about the broader private markets:

1. DataBank and many of its peers regularly use the asset-backed securitization market, which lets them package their properties and customer contracts into bonds that can then be sold to insurers for low costs of capital.

• But those deals come with higher leverage levels than what Martynek believes most public-market REIT investors would accept.

2. Data centers throw off lots of cash, as desired by REIT yield-focused investors, but free cashflow can be a challenge for operators that are continuing to build.

• Were DataBank to go public, it may feel the need to pull back on its growth plans. Short-term gain for long-term loss.

3. Then are are the private secondary markets, which DataBank has tapped repeatedly. For example, the entire $2.2 billion invested in 2022 was a secondary.

• If investors or employees need liquidity, there are alternatives to IPO.

Further complicating matters are labor bottlenecks, which could become a drag on quarterly earnings calls. Big operators like DataBank have relationships with large general contractors, but there are only so many electricians and mechanical engineers to go around, particularly in certain markets.

• And then there are Trump's tariffs, which could raise prices and muck up supply chains for construction materials like steel and components like transformers.

"Ultimately I do think someone is going to go public, but I think it will be a bad decision," Martynek says.

BlackRock has agreed to acquire two ports serving the Panama Canal from Hong Kong's CK Hutchinson, as part of a larger $22.8 billion deal that includes 43 ports in 23 countries.

Why it's the BFD: This reads like a direct result of President Trump's focus on Chinese influence in the Panama Canal, despite CK Hutchinson's claims to the contrary.

• Trump lauded the deal last night during his address to Congress, without specifically naming GOP bugaboo BlackRock, although said it was just the start of "reclaiming the Panama Canal."
• Sources say that BlackRock briefed both the White House and Congress on the deal, which doesn't include any mainland China or Hong Kong ports.

Zoom in: Global Infrastructure Partners, which BlackRock bought last year to work on deals like this, reportedly is closing in on $25 billion for its fifth fund.

• BlackRock is an existing investor in CK Hutchinson, which is led by 96-year-old billionaire Li Ka-shing.

The bottom line: Li's hand might have been forced by Trump, but he'll be crying into a giant pile of opportunistic cash. Ports businesses could come under pressure from trade wars, and $22.8 billion is more than Hutchinson's entire market cap prior to the announcement.

• Epirus, a Redondo Beach, Calif., developer of anti-drone systems, raised $200m in Series D funding. 8VC and Washington Harbour Partners co-led, and were joined by Gaingels and General Dynamics Land Systems. axios.link/4ipe5To

• Peregrine, a decision-support platform for public safety and law enforcement agencies, raised $190m in Series C funding at a $2.5b valuation. Sequoia Capital led, and was joined by insiders Goldcrest Capital, Friends & Family Capital, Fifth Down Capital, OG Venture Partners, and Godfrey Capital. axios.link/4ks8u0c

• Quantexa, a British decision intelligence platform, raised $175m in Series F funding at a $2.6b post-money valuation. Teachers' Venture Growth led, and was joined by insider British Patient Capital. axios.link/41IeU44

• Darwinbox, an Indian HR platform, raised $140m co-led by Partners Group and KKR, with Gravity Holdings participating. axios.link/4i4ohkm

• Zeitview, an LA-based provider of visual AI solutions for critical infrastructure, raised $60m, per Axios Pro. Climate Investment led, and was joined by insiders Valor Equity Partners, Union Square Ventures, Upfront Ventures, Euclidean Capital, Energy Transition Ventures, Hearst Ventures, and YC. axios.link/3Dk5WR4

• Flowdesk, a French crypto market maker, raised $52m in Series B extension funding. HV Capital led, and was joined by Eurazeo, Cathay Innovation and ISAI VC. axios.link/4kr79GV

⚡ Tandem PV, a developer of perovskite solar panels, raised $50m in equity and debt funding, per Axios Pro. Eclipse Ventures led, the equity, and was joined by Constellation Energy, Planetary, Uncorrelated Ventures, and Trellis Climate. axios.link/3QHww9U

• Netforce, a French maker of stun guns for law enforcement, raised €45m from GEM. nexstun.com

• Across, an Ethereum interoperability startup, raised $41m in a token sale. Paradigm led, and was joined by Bain Capital Crypto, Coinbase Ventures, Multicoin Capital, and Sina Habinian. axios.link/3Xr4rHI

⚡ Atmosic Technologies, a Campbell, Calif., developer of tech for extending device battery life, raised $40m. Sutter Hill Ventures led, and was joined by Clear Ventures and Quantum Innovation Fund. axios.link/3F5JTOD

• Coalition, an SF-based cybersecurity-focused insurtech, raised $30m from Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance. axios.link/4bsO9UH

• Firsthand,, a developer of AI agents for brands and publishers, raised $26m in Series A funding, per Axios. Radical Ventures led, and was joined by FirstMark Capital, Aperiam Ventures, and Crossbeam Venture Partners. axios.link/4ipkq0X

• Auxia, a Palo Alto, Calif., agentic customer journey orchestration platform, raised $23.5m in seed and Series A funding. VMG Technology Partners led, and was joined by MUFG Innovation Partners, Incubate Fund, Vela Partners, and Stage 2 Capital. axios.link/4kn9ClQ

🌎 Epoch BioDesign, a London-based plastic waste upcycling startup, raised $18.3m in Series A funding. Extantia Capital led, and was joined by Inditex, Lowercarbon Capital, Happiness Capital, Kibo Invest, Day One Ventures. axios.link/4ipawwp

🚑 Heidi, an Australian AI scribe for clinicians, raised US$16m led by Headline, with participation from LocalGlobe, Anthology, Blackbird, HESTA, Possible Ventures, and Archangel Ventures. axios.link/4hbFwiu

⚡ Capow, a developer of in-motion electric charging systems for robots, raised $15m in Series A funding led by Toyota Ventures, per Axios Pro. axios.link/41HJzyn

⚡ VIE Technologies, a grid sensor startup, raised $15m in Series A funding from Energy Impact Partners, per Axios Pro. axios.link/41t9uZk

• Infrared Finance, a crypto staking protocol, raised $14m in Series A funding via a SAFT. Framework Ventures led, and was joined by Citizen X, Halo Capital, No Limit Holdings, NGC Ventures, and Selini Capital. axios.link/41EA82N

• CoverForce, a New York-based infrastructure platform for commercial insurance, raised $13m in Series A funding. Insight Partners led, and was joined by Nyca Partners. coverforce.com

• Knostic, a developer of access controls for generative AI, raised $11m. Bright Pixel Capital led, and was joined by SVCI, DNX Ventures, and Seedcamp. knostic.ai

⚡ Stargate Hydrogen, an Estonian electrolyzer manufacturer, raised €11m in Series A funding from Giga, UG Investments, and SmartCap Green Fund. axios.link/43gCkyJ

⚡ Glimpse, a Somerville, Mass., battery defect detection startup, raised $10m in Series A funding led by TDK led, and was joined by Ibex Mobility and Flybridge Capital Partners. axios.link/3F4j3qa

• MaxIQ, a San Ramond, Calif.-based customer journey management startup, raised $7.8m in seed funding. Dell Technologies Capital led, and was joined by Intel Capital. getmaxiq.com

🚑 GEM Health, a Minneapolis-based virtual sleep care startup, raised $7m in Series A funding. HealthTrend Capital and LFE Capital co-led, and were joined by insiders Base10 Partners and Mairs & Power VC. axios.link/41I9ohG

🌎 Mote, an LA-based developer of wood waste-to-hydrogen solutions, raised $7m in Series A funding co-led by Nella Nex and Preston-Werner Ventures, per Axios Pro. axios.link/41oo18Q

• Vals AI, an AI benchmarking startup, raised $5m from backers like Bloomberg Beta and Pear. vals.ai

• Copley, a Boston-based content optimization startup, raised $4.8m co-led by Asymmetric Capital Partners and Underscore VC. axios.link/41nND5I

🌎 Skyfora, a Finnish weather prediction software developer, raised €4m. Ugly Duckling Ventures and Lumo Labs co-led, and were joined by Voima Ventures and EIC Fund. axios.link/4i8JLNa

🌎 Telescope, a Norwegian climate risk platform for real estate companies, raised €3.7m in seed fnding. Scale Capital and Dreamcraft Ventures co-led, and were joined by Curiosity VC and OBOS Oppstart. axios.link/4h8rvSv

• Veeam, a Seattle-based data resiliency firm valued by VCs at $15b, secured a strategic investment from Microsoft. axios.link/4kFs4Xd

🚑 Ajax Health, a Menlo Park, Calif., medical device company backed by KKR, is forming a new heart failure device company called FlowMod in collaboration with Boston Scientific (NYSE: BSX). ajaxhealth.com

• Cleanova, an Irish portfolio company of PX3 Partners, agreed to acquire Micronics, a Chattanooga, Tenn.-based filtration products maker. cleanova.com

• EcoDataCenter, a Swedish developer of green data centers, raised €450m in equity from insider Areim. axios.link/43nkyK5

⛳ Merit Capital Partners invested in Carl's Place, a Milton, Wis.-based golf simulator maker backed by Fulton Capital. axios.link/4i2FeM4

🚑 Ntracts, a Tennessee health care contract management company backed by Accel-KKR, acquired Compliatric, a Salt Lake City-based health compliance management company. ntracts.com

• ORS Nasco, a portfolio company of Wynnchurch Capital, acquired R3 Safety, a Fairfield, Ohio-based wholesaler of PPE and safety products, from Bunzel. r3safety.net

• Rubicon Technology Partners acquired CollegeNET, a Portland, Ore., provider of higher ed software. collegenet.com

• Supreme Group, a portfolio company of Trinity Hunt Partners, acquired Kadiko, a brand strategy and creative agency. supremegroup.ai

• CoreWeave, a VC-backed cloud computing platform that just filed for an IPO, acquired Weights & Biases, an SF-based ML ops platform for a reported $1.7b. Weights & Biases had raised $250m from firms like Insight Partners, Trinity Ventures, Coatue, Felicis, Bloomberg Beta, Sapphire Ventures, and BOND.

• KKR agreed to sell Japanese supermarket chain Seiyu to Tokyo-listed Trial Holdings for $2.55b. axios.link/3F5xvhz

• Lone Star Funds completed its $2.3b sale of Collierville, Tenn.-based chemicals formulator AOC Resins to Nippon Paint (Tokyo: 4612). axios.link/4hg1RNb

• T-Mobile (Nasdaq: TRMUS) acquired Blis, a British provider of location-based ad targeting, for $175m in cash from LDC and Maven Capital Partners. axios.link/41HeElJ

🚑 FairJourney Biologics, a Portuguese portfolio company of Partners Group, acquired the South SF-based site of contract research organization Charles River Labs (NYSE: CRL). fjbio.com

• ICA Gruppen, a Swedish grocer, agreed yo sell its Baltic business to Denmark's Salling Group for €1.3b (excluding debt). axios.link/3F7idJl

🚑 Jazz Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: JAZZ) agreed to acquire Durham, N.C.-based oncology biotech Chimerix (Nasdaq: CMRX) for $935m, or $8.55 per share (72% premium over yesterday's closing price). axios.link/3F5opS6

• Kevin Rose has repuchased Digg, the social news site he founded in 2004, alongside Alexis Ohanian. axios.link/3XuJUlv

• StructureFlow, a VC-backed data visualization platform, acquired Blue J Diagramming, a visualization tool for accounting and tax experts. structureflow.co

⚡ Saudi Aramco is weighing a bit for a lubricants portfolio being sold by BP (LSE: BP), including Castrol, per Bloomberg. axios.link/3XoUXNi

🏀 Serena Williams became a minority owner in the Toronto Tempo, a new WNBA franchise. axios.link/4btkomt

• 8VC, led by Joe Lonsdale, raised $998m for its sixth flagship VC fund. 8vc.com

• Definition, a New York-based VC firm, is raising its second fund, per an SEC filing. It's investing out of an $80m debut fund.

• Foundation Capital raised $600m for its 11th flagship VC fund. axios.link/43mxlML

• LoftyInc Capital, an Africa-focused VC firm, held a $43m first close on its third fund. axios.link/4h4gbad

• ODIN + Co. was recently launched as a PE firm focused on driving revenue growth. It's led by John Gabbert, founder and ex-CEO of PitchBook, and former PitchBook exec Jasper Larsen. axios.link/3XuhIiR

• Wellington Management launched a real estate private credit platform, led by Ravi Anand (ex-PIMCO). wellington.com

• Andy Boyd, former director for the CIA's Center for Cyber Intelligence, joined AE Industrial Partners as an operating partner. axios.link/4kschL1

• Mike Ghaffary joined Burst Capital as a general partner. He previously was with Canvas Ventures. axios.link/43knxTC