A group of Congressional Democrats wants to stop private equity from investing in youth sorts, believing a ban would bring down costs and be a political winner with beleaguered parents.

Driving the news: Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) and others recently introduced the Let Kids Play Act (full text here).

• Private equity firms would be prevented from investing in youth sports — including leagues, facilities, tournaments, and targeted tech platforms — and forced to divest existing holdings within two years.
• It also would require firms to reimburse parents for previously collected "junk fees," eliminate debts, and make PE investors personally liable for any infractions that occur under their ownership.

Zoom in: PE firms can request exemption from "vulture capitalist" designation, but it's a steep hill. For example, they cannot have used debt to help finance their youth sports acquisition.

The big picture: Private equity interest in sports, including youth sports, is surging.

• So are youth sports expenses, with bill supporters claiming a 46% rise since 2019.

Zoom in: A Democratic aide acknowledges that correlation isn't necessarily causation, particularly in an era where other "experiences" like live concerts and pro sports have seen extreme price hikes.

• But he argues that there are several case studies in which private equity's playbook has been to create vertical integrations that can drive up prices.
• For example, owning not just the youth hockey clubs and leagues — but also the rinks in which they're required to play. Or owning competitive cheerleading competitions, plus the related apparel maker and even sometimes requiring the families to stay in certain hotels. Or locking kids into full-year contracts, rather than letting them play seasonally.
• "Private equity supercharges the most high-cost, damaging practices and then scales them up," he says. "Getting private equity out of youth sports doesn't solve everything, but it would be a strong start."

State of play: There are several youth sports deals said to be in market, including 3Step Sports and FloSports.

• League One Volleyball is fundraising and GTCR just bought LiveBarn.

Reality check: Democrats need Republican co-sponsors, which don't typically happen on private equity ban bills. Even if politically popular.

• Were the legislation to pass, sponsors could possibly side-step it by bringing their youth sports companies public.

The bottom line: Parents are pissed, even though many of them (us) are part of the problem. The question now is how many will turn that ire toward private equity.

A federal jury ruled that Elon Musk waited too long to file suit against OpenAI and top executives, who he'd accused of essentially stealing the research lab he helped launch and fund.

• Musk has vowed to appeal.

Why it matters: A Musk victory could have been further propellant for the SpaceX IPO — kneecapping a top rival and bolstering supporter claims that he's the smartest guy in the room.

• Instead, it remains a distraction.

State of play: SpaceX is expected to publicly file its S-1 within the next 48 hours.

The bottom line: "The trial cemented a growing public fear about AI: that the people racing to control the world's most powerful technology are driven less by humanity-saving ideals than by money, power and personal rivalries." — Madison Mills, Axios

• Decart, a real-time genAI research lab, raised $300m at nearly a $4b valuation. Radical Ventures led, joined by insiders Benchmark, Sequoia Capital, Zeev Ventures, and Aleph VC. axios.link/4nzXznl

• Rapido, an Indian ride-hail company, raised $240m at a $3b valuation. Prosus led, joined by WestBridge Capital and Accel. axios.link/4dewnXG

• Destinus, a Dutch drone and missile developer, is in talks to raise around €200m at a €5b+ valuation ahead of a planned IPO, per Sifted. axios.link/4fr8Ow7

🚑 Full-Life Technologies, a Chinese radiotherapeutics startup, raised $110m in Series D funding. Vivo Capital led, joined by SK Biopharmaceuticals, Chengwei Capital, HSG, Junson Capital, Yunion, Plaisance, Sky9 Capital, and TSG Capital. It also secured $40m in debt. axios.link/4tIefKy

• Fragile, a startup powering consumer hardware subscription programs, raised nearly $100m from Khosla Ventures, Lightspeed, and Restive Ventures, per Axios Pro. axios.link/4uRx6Ut

🚑 Nourish, an NYC-based metabolic health startup, raised $100m in Series C funding. Menlo Ventures led, joined by Thrive Capital, Index Ventures, JPMorgan Growth Equity Partners, Maverick Ventures, YC, BoxGroup, Atomico, Daybreak, and Operator Partners. axios.link/42IkGm0

• SiMa, a San Jose, Calif.-based chip developer, is in talks to raise more than $100m at a $1.4b valuation, per The Information. axios.link/3RdHw2s

• Viktor, an AI coworker that lives in Slack and Microsoft Teams, raised $75m in Series A funding. Accel led, joined by Bek Ventures, Kaya VC, Inovo VC and Tenacity Capital. axios.link/4feKL3J

• WIRobotics, a Seoul-based robotics company, raised $68m in Series B funding. JB Investment led, joined by InterVest, Hana Ventures, Smilegate Investment, SBVA, NH Investment & Securities, Company K Partners, GU Investment, and FuturePlay. axios.link/4fexckP

🚑 Accro Bioscience, a Chinese biotech focused on immune-mediated diseases, raised $50m in Series C funding. OrbiMed led, joined by TCG Crossover, LAV, Cenova Capital, and insiders Shenzhen Capital Group and Oriza Holdings. axios.link/4tFgSNv

• Lexroom, an Italian provider of AI infrastructure for legal professionals, raised $50m in Series B funding. Left Lane Capital led, joined by Base10 Partners, Eurazeo, Acurio Ventures, Entourage and View Different. axios.link/4ulC7os

• Relay, a provider of banking and money management software for small businesses, raised $50m from General Catalyst's Customer Value Fund, per Axios Pro. axios.link/4uVqbtx

• Unframe, a Cupertino, Calif.-based AI delivery platform for global enterprises, raised $50m in Series B funding, per Axios Pro. Highland Europe led, joined by insiders Bessemer Venture Partners, Craft Ventures, TLV Partners, Third Point Ventures, Cerca Partners, and Vintage Investment Partners. axios.link/4uWihjw

• Bunch, a Berlin-based provider of fund operations infrastructure for private markets, raised $35m in Series B funding. Portage led, joined by Illuminate Financial and follow-on from Motive Partners, Cherry Ventures, and Fintech Collective. axios.link/4wEhOUX

• Tomorrow.io, a Boston-based weather data company, raised $35m in Series F funding extension funding from insiders Pitango and Harel Insurance. axios.link/4nDBhRt

• Novella, an NYC-based wholesale insurance broker, raised $21m. Brewer Lane Ventures led, joined by Arch, Avid Ventures, Blank Ventures, Box Group, Crystal Venture Partners, SV Angel and Verissimo Ventures. axios.link/4tH3d8w

• Scope, a London-based AI workflow platform for the testing, inspection, certification market, raised $20m. Index Ventures led, joined by Susa Ventures, Entrepreneurs First and Syndicate 1. axios.link/4nDD6hd

• Blink, a hospitality employee experience platform, raised $17m from Enlightened Hospitality Investments. axios.link/4dB7AMl

• GGWP, a content moderation startup, raised $15m in Series A funding from Headline Asia, Smilegate, Korea Investment Partners, Sony Innovation Fund, Bandai Namco Entertainment, Samsung Ventures, SK Telecom Ventures, BitKraft Ventures, Makers Fund, Griffin Gaming Partners, and Riot Games. ggwp.com

• Hellbender, a Pittsburgh-based physical AI infrastructure startup, raised $12.5m in seed funding. Magarac Venture Partners and Veredas Partners led, joined by Mana Ventures, Gaingels, Sum VC, and the Active Angels Network. axios.link/4fsKmui

• Cosmico, an Italian future-of-work holding company, raised €12m in equity and debt funding. P101 SGR led, joined by Prana Ventures. axios.link/4wGGkoA

🚑 Vortex Imaging, a Sunnyvale, Calif.-based medical imaging startup, raised $12m from 10D Ventures, Entrée Capital, Harel T.E.C Partnership, Connecticut Innovations, and PhiFund Ventures. axios.link/4v1S0k9

🚑 Kin, a medical scribe startup, raised $9m in seed funding led by Maveron. axios.link/4wyWK24

• Aeon, a Hong Kong-based settlement layer developer for agents, raised an $8m pre-seed round. YZi Labs led, joined by IDG Capital, HashKey Capital, Stanford Blockchain Builders Fund, Oak Grove Ventures, SevenX Ventures, Alchemy Ventures, Draper Dragon, Contribution Capital, and UpHonest Capital. axios.link/4tLOhWN

• Supermeat, an Israeli lab-grown meat developer, raised $6m toward a targeted $10m Series A from Agronomics, New Agrarian Co., and Milk & Honey Ventures. axios.link/4dj7ytN

⚡ Elvy, a Swedish maker of home energy systems, raised €5.9m led by Essential Capital and Daft Capital. axios.link/4nVamkx

• Benji, an NYC-based API for loyalty partnerships, raised $6.25m in seed funding. Preface Ventures and Atinc led, joined by Great North Ventures, M25, and Hyde Park Venture Partners. withbenji.com

• Leadbay, an French B2B AI prospecting platform, raised $4.3m in seed funding from YC, Rebel Ventures, Roosh Ventures, Inovexus Ventures, TS Ventures, Alumni Ventures, Bright Ventures by Bright Data, Transpose Platform, and Deel Ventures. leadbay.ai

🌎 Melazyme, a Holladay, Utah-based precision fermentation startup, raised $2m in seed funding. SeaX Ventures led, joined by Stellaris Venture Partners and Plug and Play Ventures. axios.link/4dROXVGr

🌎 Resurrect Bio, U.K. developer of disease-resistant crops, added €2m to its Series A round. Corteva led, joined by Calculus Capital, Pymwymic, UKI2S, SynBioVen, and AgFunder. axios.link/4dC6a4j

• Gradiant, a Woburn, Mass.-based provider of water-cooling solutions for data centers, raised an undisclosed amount of Series E funding at a $2b valuation. Safar Partners and Hostplus Superannuation Fund led, joined by ClearVision Ventures. axios.link/4wDtJlT

• EMS, a portfolio company of Wynnchurch Capital, acquired American Metals Supply, a Tampa, Fla.-based aluminum products distributor for the patio and industrial end markets. axios.link/4diiMib

• FortyAU, backed by ASH Investment Partners, acquired Ronin Consulting, a Nashville-based software engineering and AI development firm. axios.link/4ulOTU9

⚡️Hall Capital acquired BatteryPlex, a Coral Springs, Fla.-based battery distributor. axios.link/4fv8uMR

• LMC Landscape Partners, a Trivest Partners portfolio company, acquired Dallas-based Prestige Landscape Services. axios.link/4dsaumr

🚑 PolyPeptide Group (Swiss: PPGN), a Swiss contract drugmaker with a $1.6b market cap, shortlisted EQT and IDG Capital for its second round of bidding, per Bloomberg. axios.link/4wEUd6r

🚑 Qualtrics, owned by Silver Lake and other PE firms, completed its $6.75b acquisition of health-care patient feedback firm Press Ganey Forsta from Ares Management and Leonard Green. axios.link/3VT6uDj

• Respida Capital agreed to buy Teletrac Navman, a Northbrook, Ill.-based telematics and asset management business, from Vontier (NYSE: VNT) at a $220m enterprise value. axios.link/49999jl

🚑 Salt Creek Capital acquired MML Diagnostics Packaging, a Troutdale, Ore.-based contract manufacturer and packager of in-vitro diagnostic and single-use medical devices. axios.link/4nDlClk

• Serent Capital acquired The Edge, a jewelry retail software company. axios.link/4tMJp3r

• Stonepeak agreed to buy the lease for Chicago's municipal parking meters from a Morgan Stanley-led group. axios.link/4tK2pQa

• BioMar, a Danish fish-feed company owned by Schouw & Co., plans to raise up to $423m in what would be the largest Copenhagen IPO since 2018. axios.link/4dTaRb2

• Analog Devices (Nasdaq: ADI) is in talks to buy Empower Semiconductor for $1.5b in cash, per Bloomberg. Empower is a San Jose, Calif.-based processor maker that's raised $235m from Fidelity, ADIA, Maverick Silicon, CapitalG, Atreides Management, Socratic Partners, Mesh Ventures, Walden Catalyst Ventures, and Knollwood. axios.link/4wD2dVv

• Anthropic acquired Stainless, an NYC-based dev tools maker, for more than $300m. Stainless had raised around $35m from a16z, Sequoia Capital, The General Partnership, Felicis, and MongoDB Ventures. axios.link/4dnqnKQ

• Intel (Nasdaq: INTC) and Qualcomm (Nasdaq: QCOM) each have held takeover talks with Tenstorrent, a Santa Clara, Calif.-based inference chipmaker that's raised over $1.8b in VC funding, per Bloomberg. axios.link/4wVBSm3

• KKR disclosed plans to sell its remaining 10.6% stake in Japanese chip gear maker Kokusai Electric (Tokyo: 6525). axios.link/4uX5Jsi

• Mistral, a French frontier lab valued by VCs at nearly $12b, acquired Emmi AI, an Austrian developer of simulation tech for industrial engineering that had raised €15m from Speedinvest, 3VC, Serena, and PUSH. axios.link/4dwVRya

🚑 Quince Therapeutics (Nasdaq: QNCX) agreed to a reverse merger with Orphai Therapeutics, a rare pulmonary disease biotech that had raised over $150m from firms like Gravity Ventures, Xiphos Bio, Yonghua Capital, YuanBio Venture Capital, Shenzhen Sangel Venture Capital, and 4Catalyzer. axios.link/3RiL9Ef

⚡️ Germany launched a sale process for bailed-out energy firm Uniper. axios.link/4tFCl8L

🚑 Neurocrine Biosciences (Nasdaq: NBIX) completed its $2.9b all-cash acquisition of Soleno Therapeutics. axios.link/4tIgFZQ

• Uber (NYSE: UBER) increased in stake in Delivery Hero to 19.5% plus options. axios.link/43mclo9

• The European Commission picked EQT to manage its €5b deep-tech Scaleup Europe Fund. axios.link/42HVFHK

🚑 Lauxera Capital Partners raised €520m for its second healthcare growth buyout and growth equity fund. axios.link/3PPBqEY

• Mouro Capital, a London-based VC firm, secured $400m from Banco Santander for its latest fund. axios.link/3RvAhms

• Plus Partners, a Spanish seed and pre-seed firm, has secured over €45m for its debut fund. pluspartners.vc

⚡️ Veriten raised $105 million in an initial close of its second energy-focused fund, which has a $250m hard cap, per Axios Pro. axios.link/4v1LY2V

• Gavin Christensen, founder and managing partner of Kickstart, was named chair of The National Venture Capital Association. nvca.org

• Elaine Kao joined Dechert as a Dallas-based partner in the law firm's corporate and securities practice. She previously was with McDermott Will & Emery. axios.link/4tM1tuT

Blackstone and Google this morning announced an AI cloud joint venture.

• It includes an initial $5 billion equity commitment from Blackstone, with plans to bring 500 MW of capacity online next year.

This could be a problem for CoreWeave, which went public last year at $40 per share and soon saw its stock price more than quadruple.

• Investors are selling on the deal news, with CoreWeave down 5% at today's open.