Axios Pro Rata

February 26, 2026
📝 Back in the saddle after a week in Belize (a beautiful and delightfully bizarre country). Big thanks to Lucinda Shen for filling in. OK, let's get to it...
Top of the Morning
President Trump on Tuesday gave the longest State of the Union address ever, clocking in at 108 minutes.
- But he gave short shrift to artificial intelligence, mentioning it just twice.
Why it matters: AI is increasingly likely to upend how every American lives and works (or doesn't work), yet Washington, D.C. is mostly ignoring the long-term implications.
What he said: Trump's first AI comment was in brief reference to his wife's efforts on an AI-related education initiative.
- The second was more substantive, announcing a plan to make Big Tech build or buy its own electricity supplies for data centers.
- In all, around 200 words of a 10,600-word speech.
Zoom in: The data center electricity comments were instructive, in that they focused exclusively on a present-day concern.
- To be sure, it's a valid worry. Electricity prices rose nearly 7% between 2024 and 2025, more than doubling the overall inflation rate. Many view data centers as a contributing culprit, feeding AI's insatiable power demands.
- But it's a bit like focusing all climate change mitigation strategies on a single storm that's already formed.
The big picture: Even AI optimists who view p(doom) as a myth will acknowledge that enormous changes are coming — and coming quicker than most people realize. The sorts that may color almost every other thing that Trump discussed on Tuesday night.
- But so long as we win the "race with China" and keep electricity bills low, there's apparently nothing more to talk about. Leave that to universal basic income chats on Reddit.
- Then there are those of us who are more concerned. For example, I have a high school freshman with good grades and a strong motivation to succeed. But I struggle to think of a single career that will still exist for her when she's my age. White collar or blue collar. All I can come up with is professional athlete or another sort of live entertainer, but I don't think that's in the cards.
- Sure, I can just assume that this will be another industrial revolution where old jobs are supplanted by new ones. But that's just comforting conjecture.
The bottom line: We can prepare without panic. Instead we're punting.
The BFD
Victory Capital (Nasdaq: VCTR) this morning offered to buy London-based asset manager Janus Henderson Group (NYSE: JHG) for around $8.5 billion, topping a $7.4 billion bid last December from Trian Fund Management and General Catalyst.
Why it's the BFD: This could scuttle the latest expansion plans for General Catalyst, which has evolved from a pure-play VC shop into a diversified financial firm with IPO ambitions.
Zoom in: Victory is offering $57.04 per Janus Henderson share, consisting of $30 in cash and 0.35 shares of Victory common stock (as of yesterday's closing price), with Janus Henderson shareholders to own around 38% of the combined entity.
- Trian and GC's offer was for $49 per share in cash.
The bottom line: Let the bidding war commence.
Venture Capital Deals
⚡️ Shine Technologies, a Janesville, Wis.-based nuclear fusion startup, raised $240m. NantWorks led, joined by Fidelity, Sumitomo Corp. of Americas, Pelican Energy Partners, Deerfield Management, and Oaktree Capital Management. axios.link/4tWUq3E
• Allica Bank, a British digital business bank, raised $155m in Series D funding at a $1.2b valuation from Ventura Capital, GLG, Sona AM, TCV and Blue Owl. axios.link/3MtNxGj
• Revel, an LA-based unified software platform for hardware test and control, raised $150m in Series B funding. Index Ventures led, joined by Redpoint Ventures and insiders Thrive Capital, Felicis, Abstract Ventures, and Dylan Field. axios.link/40AAqGo
• Gambit Security, an Israel-based cyber resiliency platform, raised $61m in combined seed and Series A funding from Spark Capital, Kleiner Perkins, and Cyberstarts. axios.link/4aAxPSS
🚑 BreezeBio, a South SF-based mRNA diabetes therapy biotech, raised $60m in Series B funding led by Yuanta Investment and DSC Investment. axios.link/4rHFq8g
• Rowspace, an SF-based data AI platform for financial firms, raised $50m in seed and Series A funding from Sequoia Capital, Emergence Capital, Stripe, Conviction, Basis Set, and Twine Ventures. axios.link/3N3rlmr
• Harper, an SF-based insurance brokerage startup, raised $46.8m in Series A and seed funding. Emergence Capital led both, with participation from YC and Peak XV Partners. axios.link/4s57PEV
🚑 Alveus Therapeutics, a Philadelphia-based obesity and metabolic disease therapy developer, raised $37m in Series A extension financing from Jeito Capital and Novo Holdings. axios.link/4ckyFEJ
• Astelia, an Israeli exposure management startup, raised $35m in seed and Series A funding. Index Ventures and Team8 led, joined by Holly Ventures. axios.link/4aAhE89
⚡️ Chariot Defense, an SF-based battlefield power company, raised $34m in Series A funding. A16z led, joined by DCVC, LMNT, Marlinspike, Overmatch, Shield Capital, Ensemble, Trenches Capital, General Catalyst, and XYZ. axios.link/4udNn71
• Noda AI, a tactics orchestration platform for the U.S. defense and intelligence markets, raised $25m in Series A funding. Bessemer Venture Partners led, joined by Booz Allen Ventures, Draper Associates, Bloomberg Beta, and Alumni Ventures. axios.link/4cgenw2
• Koah, an SF-based "AdSense for AI," raised $20.5m in Series A funding led by Theory Ventures. axios.link/3OwYqYw
• Comp, a Brazilian HR software company, raised $17.3m in Series A funding. Khosla Ventures led, joined by Kaszek, Canary, Abstract Ventures, and Endeavor Catalyst. axios.link/4rvls0m
🚑 Third Way Health, an LA-based AI services partner for medical practices, raised $15m in Series A funding from Health Velocity Capital, per Axios Pro. axios.link/4aPN7SC
• Croissant, a Nashville, Tenn.-based fashion fintech, raised $14m from Portage, Third Prime, and George Roberts. axios.link/4qX4JBY
• Cicada, an NYC-based electronic trading platform, raised $13.5m in Series A funding. Citi led, joined by L4, Kaszek, Dila, and Crestone. axios.link/40zmQmE
🚑 Oska Health, a German hybrid care provider, raised €11m in seed funding. Capricorn Partners and SwissHealth Ventures led, joined by Revent, Calm Storm, LBBW Venture Capital, BMH, GoHub Ventures, and Aurum Impact. axios.link/4tRTjlT
• Callosum, a London-based developer of software to make chip architectures work together, raised $10.25m. Plural led, joined by the U.K.'s Advanced Research and Invention Agency. axios.link/4caa2dH
• BeyondMath, a London-based foundational AI model company, raised a $10m seed extension led by Cambridge Innovation Capital led, joined by insiders UP Partners, Insight Partners, and InMotion Ventures. axios.link/4c9dsgN
• Gushwork, a business discovery engine for AI search engines, raised $9m in seed funding. Susquehanna Asia VC led, joined by Lightspeed, B Capital, Seaborne Capital, Beenext, Sparrow Capital, and 2.2 Capital. axios.link/3MH1Gjr
• QuiverAI, a vector design and visual code generation startup, raised $8.3m in seed funding led by a16z. axios.link/46rRK45
• Elly, an NYC-based hiring platform, raised $8m. Sorenson Capital led, joined by Atomic and Next Wave Capital. axios.link/4qRBUa5
• Jest, an SF-based marketplace for messaging games, raised $7m in seed funding led by Innovation Endeavors. axios.link/4cbDDn5
🚑 Baba, a Medicare and Medicare Advantage patient advocacy platform, raised $6.5m in seed funding, per Axios Pro. General Catalyst led, joined by Genius Ventures, Soma Capital, Ground Up Ventures, and Triedge Investments. axios.link/4qPZ0xL
🚀 ISPTech, a German space propulsion tech startup, raised $6.5m in seed funding, per Axios Pro. Join Capital led, joined by High-Tech Gründerfonds, Faber, First Momentum Ventures, Lightfield Equity, Final Frontier Liftoff, Start-up BW Seed Fonds, and The German Aerospace Center. axios.link/4tWn98B
• LuminosAI, a Washington, DC- based governance platform focused on legal risk, raised $6m in seed funding. M13 led, joined by Bloomberg Beta, Hawktail, AME Cloud Ventures, Crosscourt, Octave, Great Oaks, and Fundrise. axios.link/4qSy2FN
• TBD, a Solana-based prediction market protocol, raised $3m in seed funding. CMT Digital and ParaFi led, joined by Jump Crypto. axios.link/4svA7sL
Private Equity Deals
• Azuria Water Solutions, a New Mountain Capital portfolio company, acquired wastewater infrastructure firm Waterline Renewal Technologies from Behrman Capital. axios.link/4rGNyWG
• Baird Capital acquired AutoLoto, an Idaho-based provider of tagout/lockout software for worksites. axios.link/4tTZkyp
• Blackstone and Centerbridge Partners are circling recreational yacht retailer MarineMax (NYSE: HZO), which already has an offer from Donerail Group, per Reuters. axios.link/3MHcv53
🎵 Bridgepoint invested in music investment platform GoldState Music. axios.link/3N02fF7
• Definian, a Renovus Capital Partners portfolio company, acquired Incyte Analytics, a Northville, Mich.-based data analytics consultancy. axios.link/3MYCbKx
🚑 EQT opted against making a takeover offer for U.K. gene therapy company Oxford Biomedica (LSE: OXB). axios.link/3MK9Asm
• ERT, backed by Macquarie Capital, acquired Sev1Tech, a provider of IT modernization solutions for U.S. government agencies, from DFW Capital Partners. axios.link/4se9hVR
🚑 GI Partners agreed to buy the CDMO business of Charles River Labs (NYSE: CRL), which also is selling some European discovery service assets to IQVIA (NYSE: IQV). axios.link/4ceGYSr
• Relation Insurance Services, backed by Aquiline Capital Partners, acquired the assets of Thorn Creek Insurance Services, a Springfield, Ill.-based farm insurer. axios.link/3MQ8bjN
• Summit Partners made a US$122m growth investment in Stay22, a Montreal-based content monetization company. axios.link/4sca89q
• Tavoron, backed by Fusion Capital Partners, acquired Doig Corporation, a Cedarburg, Wis.-based factory automation company. axios.link/4rCqqIE
• Terminus Capital Partners acquired Eventus, an Austin, Texas-based provider of trade surveillance and financial risk solutions, from VC backers like Jump Capital. axios.link/4tVrEAn
• Velocity One, backed by Charlesbank Capital Partners, acquired Kaney Aerospace, a Rockford, Ill.-based electromechanical actuation and motion control solutions. axios.link/4aE6mjm
• Vistria acquired Lumen, a Dallas-based managing general agent. axios.link/4tQMf9b
• Wynnchurch Capital agreed to acquire Arcosa Marine Products, a maker of inland barges, for $450m from Arcosa (NYSE: ACA). axios.link/3MQ8n2v
Public Offerings
• Fortress Value Acquisition Corp. V, a SPAC sponsored by Fortress Investment Group, raised $200m in its IPO. axios.link/4cfuVEu
• MOZAYYX Acquisition, a tech SPAC led by Benjamin Zucker (ex-R.F. Lafferty), raised $261m in an upsized IPO. axios.link/49WJlYw
• TRG Latin America Acquisitions, a SPAC led by Nicolas Rohatyn, raised $200m in its IPO. axios.link/402WCsx
Liquidity Events
🚑 Asahi Kasei (Tokyo: 3407) agreed to acquire Aicuris, a German developer of drugs for patients experiencing complications from immunologically driven conditions, for €780m. Aicuris had raised over $70m in VC funding from backers like Bayer Schering Pharma. axios.link/3MQPUTF
• Anthropic agreed to acquire Vercept, a Seattle-based desktop assistant that had raised around $16m from Fifty Years, Point Nine Capital and AI2 Incubator. axios.link/4aC5XxH
• EG Group, the U.K. gas station convenience store giant backed by TDR Capital, agreed to sell its French operations to billionaire co-founder Zuber Issa. axios.link/40tFGvs
⚡️ EnCap Flatrock Midstream is seeking to sell Houston-based gas pipeline company Momentum Midstream for over $5b, per Bloomberg. axios.link/4rCriwZ
• Equinix (Nasdaq: EQIX) and CPPIB are in talks to buy pan-Nordic data center operator atNorth from Partners Group for around $4b, per Bloomberg. axios.link/3ZTKgDd
• General Atlantic is selling a stake in ByteDance at a $550b valuation, per Reuters. axios.link/46mUWhm
• Habi, a Colombian proptech that's raised over $300m from firms like SoftBank and Homebrew, acquired Pulppo, a Mexican provider of client management tools for real estate brokers. Pulppo had raised over $5m from firms like DAAL and YC. axios.link/402h3pE
• LSI Industries (Nasdaq: LYTS) agreed to buy Royston, a Jasper, Ga.-based provider of retail fixtures, for $325m in cash and stock, from Industrial Opportunity Partners. axios.link/4cagmSt
More M&A
• BlueScope Steel (ASX: BLS), Australia's largest steel producer, rejected a sweetened A$15b takeover bid from SGH (ASX: SGH) and Indiana-based Steel Dynamics (Nasdaq: STLD). axios.link/40xf0tQ
• Dubai Aerospace Enterprise agreed to buy aircraft leasing firm Macquarie AirFinance for around $7b. axios.link/4aXkPWr
⚡️ Engie (Paris: ENGI) agreed to buy London-based electricity distributor UK Power Networks from Spain's CK Group for £10.5b. axios.link/4r0EMkV
🎵 Irenic Capital Management made an unsolicited $1.1b-$1.2b bid for independent music publisher Reservoir Media (Nasdaq: RSVR), per Bloomberg. axios.link/4tShCQF
• Tencent is in talks to buy a "small stake" in Hungry Studio, a Hong Kong-based gaming studio whose titles include Block Blast, per Bloomberg. axios.link/4aBR6mX
Fundraising
• Arcmont of London raised €1.5b for its second capital solutions fund. axios.link/4qYJoYX
🚑 Ascend Capital Partners, a health care-focused private equity firm, raised $791m for its second health care-focused PE fund. axios.link/4aVVWu9
• Greenbriar Equity Group raised $5.4b for its seventh PE fund. greenbriar.com
• Novacap raised nearly $3.8b for its seventh flagship tech buyout fund. axios.link/3P0gQ3Q
It's Personnel
• Agatha Kluk joined Orrick as a tech-focused partner. She previously was with Perkins Coie. axios.link/4aBohHl
• Susan Long McAndrews, who spent over 20 years as a partner with Pantheon, joined RedBird Capital Partners as a senior advisor. axios.link/4ck9KRH
• Permira named Giorgio Dinaro as head of its Milan office. axios.link/4cgDVZR
• Roy Wouters and John Arbuckle left BofA to join JPMorgan as co-head of health-care investment banking and co-head of North America biopharma M&A, respectively. JPM also promoted Andy Ham to the other co-head of North America biopharma M&A. axios.link/3P0VumY
Final Numbers

Fortune 500 CEOs ranked AI as the top risk to their industry in a new survey out this morning, Axios' Emily Peck reports.
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