Boring companies are going public again, which may be an even stronger signal for the 2026 IPO market than is SpaceX.

Catch up quick: Three buzz-less companies priced successful IPOs last week, raising a combined $1.2 billion.

• Wealthfront may be the most notable, given that it's a 17-year-old tech unicorn that has nowhere near $500 million in annual revenue — a figure that some VCs have argued is the new IPO threshold.
• Shares barely budged on their first day of trading, but it still got out at the top of its range — adding cash to the balance sheet and starting the lockup clock for VC funds.
• The other two issuers were radiology firm Lumexa and Cardinal Infrastructure, which focuses on wet utility work. Solid businesses. Zero sex appeal.

Coming attractions: Hospital equipment company Medline is expected to raise more than $5 billion in an IPO this week, which would be the largest U.S. IPO in more than four years.

The big picture: The VC and PE pipelines are jammed full of these sorts of businesses, and this past week should be emboldening for both boards and bankers.

• Just because companies don't capture the public's imagination doesn't mean that they can't capture Wall Street's attention.
• If a bunch of boring companies come out, the 2026 issuance volume could be substantial — as opposed to just the dollar volume, which will be skewed by SpaceX.

The bottom line: The private markets are desperate for an IPO surge, even if some investors have exacerbated the drought via later and later stage financings.

• Fundraising has slumped, due in part to limited partners who won't write checks without seeing distributions. SpaceX should quiet a lot of that grumbling, but it can't solve the problem alone.
• So it's time to look into your portfolios. Find the company you don't talk about at parties. And take it public.

Dragoneer has raised $4.3 billion for its seventh venture capital fund, Axios has learned.

Why it's the BFD: It's an outlier in what has been an exceptionally slow year for VC fundraising, closing above its target after just a few months in market.

By the numbers: Dragoneer now has over $30 billion in assets under management, including a $12 billion evergreen fund that can back both private and public companies.

• The San Francisco-based firm raised $3.8 billion for its sixth private fund in 2022, and employs a concentrated investment model. Expect around 15 portfolio companies in the new fund.

The bottom line: Dragoneer has invested more than $3 billion into OpenAI, while other portfolio companies have included Airbnb, Datadog, DoorDash, Spotify, and Uber.

• Spinny, an Indian used cars marketplace, is raising around $160m in Series G funding from firms like Accel and WestBridge Capital Partners. TechCrunch reports that some proceeds would go toward efforts to acquire car services startup GoMechanic.

🚑 Impulse Dynamics, a Marlton, N.J.-based medical devices startup focused on heart failure, raised $158m from Sands Capital and Braidwell, as well as from returning backers at Redmile, Perceptive and Alger. axios.link/48D5fiP

🚑 Link Cell Therapies, a South SF-based oncology cell therapy startup, raised $60m in Series A funding. Johnson & Johnson led, joined by Samsara BioCapital, Sheatree Capital and Wing Venture Capital. linkcelltx.com

• Mirelo, a German developer of audio solutions for AI video, raised $41m in seed funding led by a16z and Index Ventures, per TechCrunch. axios.link/4oVQMTV

• Axion, a startup reducing product recalls and failures, raised $37m in Series B funding at a $300m valuation, per Axios Pro. Salesforce Ventures led, joined by Bessemer Venture Partners and Schneider Electric Ventures. axios.link/3KxUEwt

🚑 Auxira Health, a Chicago-based virtual cardiology startup, raised $7.8 million in seed funding, per Axios Pro. Route 66 Ventures and Abundant Venture Partners led, joined by DigiTx Partners, Ensemble Innovation Ventures, City Light Capital, and American Heart Association Ventures. axios.link/4oOhv4F

• Navier, a maker of AI agents for hardware design, raised $5.6m in seed funding from GV, HCVC, and YC. axios.link/3MAXMIA

🚑 Cayuga Biotech, a developer of treatments for hemorrhages, raised $5m in seed funding from Gopher Angels, Medical Angels, New York Ventures, NuFund Venture Group, Purchase Capital, SideCar Ventures, SOSV, TBD Angels, and Walnut Ventures. It also secured a $3m grant. axios.link/4rVxVLh

🚑 IVFmicro, a U.K. developer of tech for improving IVF outcomes, raised £3.5m in pre-seed funding led by Northern Gritstone. axios.link/4q1EdqY

• Aretum, a Renovus Capital Partners portfolio company, acquired Veterans Engineering, a Rockville, Md.-based provider of tech solutions to the VA. axios.link/44qDHus

• Collegiate Athletic Solutions, formed by RedBird Capital Partners and Weatherford Capital, is in talks to invest $500m into the Big 12 Conference, per Bloomberg. axios.link/4oUpCNd

☕ Coca-Cola (NYSE: KO) is in "last-ditch" talks to salvage a sale of U.K. coffee chain Costa Coffee to TDR Capital, per the FT. axios.link/48XwV0R

• Godspeed Capital acquired NextPoint Group, a Herndon, Va., provider of technology for the intelligence and defense communities. axios.link/4oZI8Uy

• Red River, a tech transformation company owned by Acacia Capital, acquired DoD-focused Invictus International Consulting. axios.link/48NRZ9L

🚑 SK Capital agreed to buy a majority stake in Swiss drug distributor Swixx Biopharma from HBM Healthcare Investments, Mérieux Equity Partners, and Stags Participations. axios.link/4j6EKWE

• Thoma Bravo is in talks to merge portfolio company Auctane (fka Stamps.com) with WWEX, a third-party logistics provider whose backers include CVC Capital Partners, Ridgemont Equity Partners, and PSG, per Bloomberg. Thoma Bravo would invest $500m of new equity into the combined business, which would be valued at up to $12b. axios.link/48NR1dD

Two IPOs on the U.S. calendar this week: Medical equipment maker Medine and tax advisory Anderson.

• Truhome Finance, an Indian shadow lender owned by Warburg Pincus, hired banks for a 2026 IPO, per Bloomberg. axios.link/3Ye5P0x

• Twelve Seas Investment III, a SPAC focused on global companies located outside the U.S., raised $150m in its IPO. axios.link/4j22N8i

The FTC sued to block Germany's Henkel from buying Colorado Springs, Colo.-based Liquid Nails from American Industrial Partners for $725m, arguing that the deal would violate antitrust law.

🚑 Cencora (NYSE: COR) agreed to buy a majority stake in cancer care network OneOncology for around $5 billion (including $1.3b of assumed debt) from backers like TPG. axios.link/44P6ZDp

• Cinven, KKR and Providence Equity Partners agreed to sell their 50% stake in Spanish telco MasOrange to Orange (Paris: ORA) for €4.25b. axios.link/4q86yMm

• ServiceNow (NYSE: NOW) is in talks to buy SF-based cyber exposure management company Armis for up to $7b, per Bloomberg. Armis has raised , $1.45b in VC funding, most recently at a $4.2b valuation, from firms like Insight Partners, CapitalG, One Equity Partners, General Catalyst, Alkeon Capital, Brookfield Technology Partners, and Georgian. axios.link/49gnNEL

🍷 Sycamore Partners sold Ste. Michelle Wine Estates at a loss to the Wyckoff family, per Bloomberg. axios.link/3MDnyvB

• TPG was wiped out on most of its $600m investment in cosmetics company Anastasia Beverly Hills, following a restructuring that cut its stake to 6% from 38%, per Bloomberg. axios.link/3YtGEa8

⚽ Italy's Agnelli family said it has no plans to sell soccer club Juventis, following a €1.1b all-cash approach from crypto company Tether. axios.link/4pVHfhb

• Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group of Japan is in talks to acquire a 20% stake in India's Shriram Finance for more than $3.22b. axios.link/45a8Q5z

• Basis Set Ventures is raising its sixth fund, per an SEC filing.

• Cross Creek Capital, a Utah-based direct and indirect VC firm, is raising up to $200m for its eighth fund, per an SEC filing.

• Viola Ventures, an Israeli VC firm, raised $250m for a pair of new funds. axios.link/49boO1Q

⚡ Jeff Bishop, cofounder and ex-CEO of Key Capture Energy, joined Vision Ridge Partners as an operating partner. axios.link/3L1I4pc

• CVC Capital Partners named Peter Rutland to a new president role. He's been with the firm since 2007. axios.link/3N05j3v

iRobot, the maker of Roomba vacuum cleaners, this morning filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and disclosed plans to be acquired by Chinese supplier Picea Robotics.

• This comes nearly two years after Amazon scrapped a $1.4 billion acquisition of iRobot, due to opposition from European antitrust regulators.

The Massachusetts-based company's shares crashed at today's open, losing more than 70% of their value.