When President Trump issued his executive order on alt assets in 401(k) plans, one of the people cheering most loudly was Abdul Al-Asaad, CEO of a fintech startup called Basic Capital.

• "It's like we got a green light from the administration," he tells me. "It's not going to litigate if you attempt to reinvent how 401(k) plans work ... We wouldn't have had a different business plan had [Kamala] Harris won, but it would have been much more challenging."

Driving the news: Basic Capital, which lets workers use private credit to leverage their 401(k) accounts, today is announcing $25 million in Series A funding led by Forerunner and Lux Capital.

• Other backers include Henry Kravis, SV Angel, Box Group, HOF Capital, Inspired Capital, and Westbound Equity Partners.

The big picture: Trump and Al-Asaad share a common mission for 401(k) plans — using private capital to juice performance — albeit via very different methods.

• Basic Capital essentially wants to provide workers with a way to leverage appreciating assets (i.e., equity-heavy retirement accounts), rather than just for depreciating assets like homes and cars.

Zoom in: Semafor's Liz Hoffman has referred to the concept as a mortgage for your 401(k), unlike margin loans that are subject to regular revaluations.

• She also correctly identifies that private credit is a much less mature and tested product than is the home mortgage, let alone the traditional 401(k). In short, it's a less sturdy safety net.
• Much like Trump's plan, the Basic Capital thesis also carries an enormous amount of headline risk — regulators care much more about blowups that burn retail investors than those that only singe institutions.

What they're saying: Al-Asaad acknowledges the concerns about private credit, including high fees and low liquidity, but argues the risks of being unleveraged could be higher.

• "Why is it inherently bad to charge a high fee," he asks. "Shouldn't we only really care about after-fee returns? People so often focus on the small detail that's right in front of them, rather than the big picture."
• He also believes that as more of America's economy becomes private, investing only in publicly held companies becomes self-defeating.

Zoom out: Al-Asaad says that Basic Capital has secured a "high double-digit" number of customers since its May launch, with an average of around 100 employees. His goal is to move upmarket into companies with 500 to 2,000 employees.

The bottom line: 401(k) plans are changing. Fast.

MCR Group has agreed to help take Soho House (NYSE: SHCO) private for $2.7 billion, or $9 per share.

Why it's the BFD: This pairs one of America's largest hotel operators with one of its largest members' club operators.

Zoom in: Ron Burkle's Yucaipa Cos. will roll over its control stake into the deal, while Apollo will provide around $700 million in equity and debt. Ashton Kutcher also is involved and will take a board seat. Existing backer Goldman Sachs Alternatives will roll over most of its shares.

• Among the sellers would be Dan Loeb's Third Point, which in January objected to a different deal involving Burkle, calling it a "sweetheart" transaction and pushing for outside bids.

The bottom line: "The business has at times struggled with the balancing act of growing faster while keeping its exclusivity ... Company executives have said that they can boost growth by expanding locations, rather than ramping up the number of members at existing clubs." — Craig Karman and Ben Glickman, WSJ

• IVIX, an AI platform for stopping financial crime, raised $60m in Series B funding. O.G. Venture Partners led, joined by Insight Partners, Citi Ventures, Team8, Disruptive AI, Cardumen Capital, and Cerca. ivix.ai

🚑 Anocca, a Swedish immunotherapy startup focused on pancreatic cancer, raised around $46m. Mellby Gård led, joined by AMF and Ramsbury. axios.link/4oF4Xhl

• Tote.ai, an SF-based POS system for fuel and convenience stores, raised $22.6m. Cota Capital led, joined by Storm Ventures and Cervin Ventures. tote.ai

• Innerworks, a London-based developer of synthetic threat intelligence, raised $4m in seed funding. AlbionVC led, joined by Digital Currency Group, Founders Capital, Firestreak Ventures (Walter Kortschak), NVTBL Ventures, and Metaversal Ventures. axios.link/4mikWjF

• BetterPic, an Estonian AI imaging startup, raised $2.5m in seed funding led by MOC Capital and Shilling VC. betterpic.io

• Swept AI, an AI agent supervision startup, raised $1.4m in pre-seed funding. M25 led, joined by Wellington, BuffGold Ventures, Ann Arbor Spark, Service Provider Capital, and The Unicorn Group. swept.ai

• Advent International agreed to buy listed Swiss chipmaker U-blox for around $1.3b. axios.link/4fGQ224

⚡ Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners acquired Arizona-based Beehive Battery Energy Storage System from EDF. axios.link/4fCcDwu

• Finsbury Food, a U.K. bakery owned by DBAY Advisors, acquired a 70% stake in Lola's Cupcakes, a British maker of premium cupcakes and celebration cakes sector. axios.link/4oHBzXB

• Genstar Capital completed its purchase of a majority stake in New York-based lender First Eagle Investments. axios.link/4oLsjC0

🚑 Great Hill Partners acquired Texas-based Blue Cloud Pediatric Surgery Centers, from TPG's Rise Fund. bluecloudpsc.com

• Ideagen, a British QMS software firm owned by Hg, acquired Reactec, a provider of wearables for measuring vibration. ideagen.com

• Platinum Equity agreed to acquire Anuvu, a Lombard, Ill.-based provider of entertainment and high-speed connectivity for airlines. Sellers include Apollo. axios.link/4fGcbxr

• Thoma Bravo is in talks to buy Dayforce (NYSE: DAY), a Minneapolis-based HR software provider with an $8.44b market cap, per Bloomberg. axios.link/3UumaMF

No major IPOs are expected this week on U.S. exchanges.

• Cantor Equity Partners V, the 15th SPAC formed by Cantor Fitzgerald, filed for a $200m IPO. axios.link/3HuRNTq

• Gemini, a crypto exchange platform led by the Winklevoss twins, filed for an IPO that Renaissance Capital estimates could raise $400m. It reports a $282m net loss on $68m in revenue for the first half of 2025, and plans to list on the Nasdaq (GEMI). Backers include Morgan Creek Digital Assets. axios.link/3JkXT9k

🌎 Legence, a San Jose, Calif., sustainability consultancy owned by Blackstone, filed for an IPO. Earlier reports were that it could seek a $5b valuation. The company had a $25m net loss on $1.1b in revenue for the first half of 2025, and plans to list on the Nasdaq (LGN). axios.link/41NyAmB

• Musina, a South Korean fashion retailer backed by KKR, reportedly is weighing a local IPO at around a $7.2b valuation. axios.link/45DEyrA

⚡ Talon Capital, an energy SPAC formed by CSL Capital founder Charles Leykum, filed for a $225m IPO. axios.link/4oEiVA3

• Via Transportation, a New York-based provider of school buses and other municipal transportation, filed for an IPO that Renaissance Capital estimates could raise $500m. It reports a $38m net loss on $206m in revenue for the first half of 2025, and plans to list on the NYSE (VIA). Backers include Exor, 83North, and Pitango. axios.link/4oNpY9J

• Amphenol (NYSE: APH) agreed to buy cable assembly firm Trexon for $1b in cash from sellers like Audax Private Equity. axios.link/45z8i8N

• Arthur J. Gallagher (NYSE: AJG) completed its $13.45b acquisition of AssuredPartners, an Orlando, Fla.-based insurance broker, from Apax and GTCR. axios.link/41toRTd

• Permira and Warburg Pincus hired Evercore to find a buyer for U.K. wealth manager Evelyn Partners, which could fetch £2.5b, per the FT. axios.link/4fIKnbF

• Serve Robotics (Nasdaq: SERV) acquired Vayu Robotics, a Palo Alto, Calif.-based provider of urban robot navigation solutions that in 2023 raised $12.7m in seed funding led by Khosla Ventures. serverobotics.com

🚑 Curewell Capital, a health-care VC firm led by Pritzker Private Capital vets Michael Dal Bello and Ceron Rhee, is raising its debut fund with Probitas Partners as placement agent, per SEC filing. curewellcapital.com

• The Norrsken Foundation raised €57m for Norrsken Evolve, a European pre-seed fund. norrskenevolve.vc

• Kasia Karapuda joined the KU Endowment as head of private investments. She previously was director of investments with Oberlin College. axios.link/3HDl5z6

• Michael Melly joined Jefferies as head of APAC financial institutions, per Bloomberg. He previously was with JPMorgan. axios.link/4lqsy2h

• Charles Smead joined William Blair as managing director of private shares trading. He previously co-led marketplace at Forge Global. axios.link/3V59qMx