David Bonderman, co-founder and nonexecutive chairman of TPG, passed away yesterday at the age of 82.

• "Bondo" was a private equity pioneer, as daring as his socks.
• He proved the skeptics wrong with TPG's first deal, buying Continental Airlines out of its second bankruptcy, and pushed U.S. private equity into Asia and climate investing before almost anyone else was ready.

Zoom in: Bonderman, who once worked as a security guard at the Space Needle while in college, brought an NHL expansion team to Seattle, and helped get the city's Climate Pledge Arena built.

• He also was a minority owner in the NBA's Boston Celtics, and a conservationist and preservationist whose legal work helped save New York City's Grand Central Station.

What TPG is saying: "His eye for detail, keen interest in people, ability to learn quickly and adapt, and even his love for music, travel, and fun are the foundation of TPG ... We will miss David terribly, but we'll honor his legacy by continuing to bring the same creativity and enthusiasm he brought to our work every day."

What his peers are saying: "David Bonderman was one of the most creative and innovative dealmakers since 1990. He had immense curiosity and a boundless energy pioneering new markets around the world. He was a life force in every way." — Steve Schwarzman, Blackstone

• "David was smart, creative and a risk taker who loved what he did. I always enjoyed being with him as he had great sense of humor and love of life." — George Roberts, KKR
• "David founded an excellent company in TPG which will endure for many years.  He was intelligent and clever as an investor, creating large gains for his investors over many years. A real pioneer in the alternative investment space." — Henry Kravis, KKR
• "A giant in the private equity world; one of the smartest and funniest people I have ever met. A real loss for the investment world." — David Rubenstein, Carlyle Group

What his kids are saying: "We are all grateful for having experienced his wisdom, wit, generosity, and love. His zest for life, and his passions, especially sports and music, were infectious. He was always there for his friends and family, and we will miss him greatly."

The bottom line: They broke the mold with Bondo. And then he broke it, too.

ServiceTitan, a Glendale, Calif.-based provider of tradesperson SaaS, raised $624.8 million in its IPO, pricing well above its planned range.

Why it's the BFD: There are no more excuses for other VC-backed unicorns (and their VCs) that keep cowering on the sidelines.

• Public market investors want what you're selling — with more demand than the investment bankers expected. And just to show this isn't a one-off, check out the share prices of Rubrik, Reddit, Astera Labs, Instacart, and Klaviyo.

By the numbers: ServiceTitan priced at $71 per share, above both its original proposed range ($52-$57) and its revised range ($65-$67).

• That's still below the Series H hurdle price of $84.57 per share, but the ratchet-based dilution is relatively minimal.
• ServiceTitan had raised over $1.4 billion in VC funding from backers like Iconiq, Bessemer Venture Partners, Battery Ventures, TPG, Thoma Bravo, and Index Ventures.
• It reports a $92 million net loss on $363 million in revenue for the first half of 2024, compared to a $104 million net loss on $292 million in revenue for the year-earlier period.

The bottom line: Coller Capital recently released LP survey data showing that 79% of respondents declined to reinvest with at least one of their GPs over the past year, and a majority expect to do so next year.

• This is what happens when distributions dry up, as we predicted back in April, and could grind the entire startup cycle to a halt. The hope now is that ServiceTitan has given everyone a jolt of confidence.

• Crusoe, an SF-based AI data center provider, raised $600m in Series D funding. Founders Fund led, and was joined by Fidelity, Long Journey Ventures, Mubadala, NVIDIA, Ribbit Capital, and Valor Equity Partners. axios.link/3VwlIyo

• Rebel Foods, an Indian dark kitchen network, raised $210m in Series G funding. Temasek led, and was joined by insider Evolvence. axios.link/3ZxQb0b

• Ayar Labs, a San Jose, Calif., provider of optical interconnect solutions for large-scale AI workloads, raised $155m. Advent Global Opportunities and Light Street Capital co-led, and were joined by AMD Ventures, Intel Capital, and NVIDIA. axios.link/3ZoZ4J6

🚑 Capstan Medical, a Santa Cruz, Calif., developer of minimally invasive treatments for heart valve disease, raised $110m in Series C funding. Eclipse led, and was joined by Yu Galaxy and Intuitive Ventures. axios.link/4g9uV7Y

• Upvest, a German investment API, raised €100m in Series C funding. Hedosophia and Sapphire Ventures co-led, and were joined by insiders Bessemer Venture Partners, BlackRock, Earlybird, HV Capital, Motive Ventures, and Notion Capital. axios.link/4iAbQ0u

• Gigs, a startup that helps companies launch their own mobile services, raised $73m in Series B funding led by Ribbit Capital, per Axios Pro. axios.link/3D8Qkj9

• Anybotics, a Swiss provider of robotic inspection solutions, raised $60m. Qualcomm Ventures and Supernova Invest co-led, and were joined by insiders Walden Catalyst, NGP Capital, Bessemer Venture Partners, Swisscanto, and Swisscom Ventures. axios.link/3VwautK

• CarDekho SEA, a Singaporean auto financing service platform, raised $60m at a $300m valuation from Navis Capital Partners and Dragon Fund. axios.link/4gm8vQM

🌎 Terradot, a Stanford, Calif., carbon removal startup, raised $58.2m in seed and Series A funding from Google, Microsoft, John Doerr, George Roberts, Sheryl Sandberg, Floodgate, Kleiner Perkins, Acre Venture Partners, Gigascale Capital, Valor Capital, and Ponderosa Ventures. axios.link/3BCQZIW

• Envinced, a Carlsbad, Calif.-based maker of accessibility dev tools, raised $55m. Insight Partners led, and was joined by M12, BGV, Capital One Ventures, Engineering Capital, and Vertex Ventures. axios.link/4iwlDnY

⚡ Becis, a Singaporean distributed energy services provider, raised $53m from FMO, KLP Norfund Investments, Pula Investments, and Siemens Financial Services. axios.link/4g4eKsu

⚡ SolarSquare, an Indian operator of distributed solar assets, raised $40m in Series B funding. Lightspeed led, and was joined by Lightrock, Elevation Capital, Lowercarbon, and Rainmatter. axios.link/3VzxtE6

• Bsport, a French provider of management software for boutique wellness studios, raised €30m in Series B funding, per Axios Pro. Base10 Partners and Octopus Ventures co-led, and were joined by Seventure Partners and Seed4Soft. axios.link/41CgQv8

• One Bio, a David, Calif.-based developer of a concentrated form of fiber, raised a $27m in Series A funding led by Alpha Edison, per Axios Pro. axios.link/4gsoHje

• NeuBird, an SF-based software and infrastructure reliability management startup, raised $22.5m in seed extension funding. M12 led, and was joined by Mayfield, Stepstone Group and Prosperity7 Ventures. axios.link/4iuv4EC

• Cartesia, an SF-based developer of state-space models, raised $22m led by Index Ventures. cartesia.ai

🚑 Pleno, a San Diego-based biological target detection startup, raised $25m in Series B funding from Deerfield Management, Foresite Capital, and Medical Excellence Capital. plenoinc.com

• Vapi, an SF-based AI voice startup, raised $20m in Series A funding. Bessemer Venture Partners led, and was joined by Abstract Ventures, AI Grant, Y Combinator, Saga Ventures, and Michael Ovitz. vapi.ai

• Stigg, an Israeli monetization platform for engineers, raised $17.5m in Series A funding. Red Dot Capital Partners led, and was joined by Unusual Ventures, Emerge Ventures, Redseed, and Cerca Partners. axios.link/3De8OyD

• Exabits, a San Mateo, Calif.-based "investment bank of GPUs," raised $15m in seed funding at a $150m valuation. Hack VC led, and was joined by insider Portal Ventures. exabits.ai

• TrueWind, a bookkeeping co-pilot, raised $13m in Series A funding co-led by Rho Capital and Thomson Reuters Ventures. axios.link/4gNXpUT

🚑 1m, a provider of risk management software for large health care orgs, raised $10m in Series A funding. Banner Health led, and was joined by the Cleveland Clinic, Stanford Health Care, St. Charles Health System, Carle Foundation, and First Derivative Capital. www.1mplatform.com

• Kast, a stablecoin-based neobank, raised a $10m seed led by Peak XV and HongShan. axios.link/41wyyjM

🚑 Lyfegen, a Swiss drug rebate management company, raised $5.7m in Series A funding. TX Ventures led, and was joined by aMoon. axios.link/3D40123

🚑 BioSapien, a UAE-based cancer treatment startup, raised $5.5m led by Global Ventures, with Data Holding participating. axios.link/3ZwA8Q7

• Laam, a Southeast Asia marketplace for consumers and fashion brands, raised $5.5m in seed funding. Disrupt.vc and Zayn VC co-led, and were joined by Graph Ventures and Zayn VC. axios.link/3OSMxJ8

🚑 Tuva Health, a Salt Lake City-based startup that cleans and analyzes health-care data, raised $5m in seed funding, per Axios Pro. Virtue led, and was joined by Box Group and YC. axios.link/3VA2MyI

• eSelf, an Israeli developer of conversational AI agents, raised $4.5m in seed funding. Explorer Investments led, and was joined by Ridge Ventures. axios.link/3VAOHky

⚡ CarbonX, a Dutch developer of graphite alternative for battery anodes, raised €4m. Energy Transition Fund Rotterdam led, and was joined by insiders Innovation Industries and Borski Fund. axios.link/3DniEOw

• Servicengine, a Danbury, Conn.-based provider of relocation management SaaS, raised $3.1m from Advantage Capital. servicengine.com

⚡ Concentro, a New York-based green energy financing startup, raised $3m in seed funding. Firstminute Capital led, and was joined by Silence VC, LifeX, Plug & Play, Avesta Fund, J Ventures, Contour Venture Partners, and Dorm Room Fund. axios.link/3ZOnm0G

• Superform, an onchain wealth app, raised $3m led by VanEck Ventures. superform.xyz

• Yampa, a French provider of autonomous AI agents for customer service, raised €3m in seed funding led by Partech. yampa.ai

• Ayan Capital, a London-based financing startup for the Islamic population, raised £2.8m led by Cur8 Capital. axios.link/3Vz1uUK

 ⚡ Powernaut, a Belgian developer of energy orchestration software for decentralized devices, raised €2.4m. Revent led, and was joined by Seedcamp, Pitchdrive, and Syndicate One. axios.link/3ZA14i0

• AIMon, an AI hallucination detection model, announced it raised $2.3 million in pre-seed funding co-led by Bessemer Venture Partners and Tidal Ventures. aimon.ai

• Paidly, a Rochester, N.Y.-based student loan assistance benefits startup, raised $2m in Series A funding from S30Build. meetpaidly.com

The Buffalo Bills and the Miami Dolphins each agreed to sell 10% ownership stakes to private equity, the first such deals since the National Football League changed its ownership rules this past summer.

• Arctos Partners led the Buffalo deal, which also included several individual venture capitalists, while Ares Management led the Miami deal.
• In a non-private equity transaction, the Philadelphia Eagles agreed to sell a minority stake at an $8.3 billion valuation.

🚑 AlpInvest and Sixth Street are sponsoring a €900m recap of Essential Pharma, a U.K. drugmaker owned by Gyrus Capital since 2019. axios.link/4fcDwFB

• Amulet Capital Partners acquired Theoria Management, a managing service org for senior living communities. axios.link/3ZPj49r

• Bain Capital is in advanced talks to buy Australian financial services firm Insignia Financial (ASX: IFL), per AFR. axios.link/3DlMrXT

• Bain Capital, KKR and Japan Industrial Partners each remain in the auction for non-core operations of Seven & I (Tokyo: 3382), which include general merchandising chain Ito-Yokado, supermarket operator York-Benimaru, per Nikkei. axios.link/4itJODF

• Broad Sky Partners bought Frontline Managed Services, an Atlanta-based provider of managed services for the legal industry, from BV Investment Partners. frontlinems.com

• Clear Peak Capital acquired ITsynch, an Orlando-based provider of fleet management software for the cruise and maritime industries. itsynch.com

• General Atlantic and MetLife will invest a combined $1b to launch Chariot Reinsurance, a Bermuda-based life and annuity reinsurance company in which each firm will have an initial 15% stake. axios.link/3VC8Arw

• The Riverside Company acquired CRTM, a German provider of consumables and equipment for cleanrooms, which will be merged with Riverside portfolio company Dastex. dastex.de

🚑 Story3 Capital Partners offered to buy medical apparel maker Figs (NYSE: FIGS) for more than $1b, per the WSJ. axios.link/4iB7LZV

• Warburg Pincus agreed to buy a minority stake in London's United Trust Bank at a £520m valuation. axios.link/49An154

• Comcast (Nasdaq: CMSCA) agreed to acquire Nitel, a Chicago-based managed services provider, from Cinven. axios.link/4fgpBhV

• LexisNexis Risk Solutions agreed to acquire IDVerse, a U.K.-based identity verification company that had raised around $45m from firms like Equable Capital and Oyak Group. axios.link/41pra9W  

• Archer Aviation (NYSE: AHCR) raised $430m from Wellington Management, 2PointZero and insiders Stellantis and United Airlines. It also launched a new defense program, in partnership with Anduril. axios.link/3BCMZrU

🚑 Bausch + Lomb (NTSE: BLCO) confirmed that it's exploring a sale, which is a bit like me confirming that I'm writing a newsletter. axios.link/4iyZRA3

• Gambling.com (Nasdaq: GAMB) agreed to buy betting news and data service OddsJam for $80m. axios.link/49GxjRi

🚑 Hepion Pharma (Nasdaq: HEPA) and Israel's Pharma Two B jointly terminated their reverse merger agreement. axios.link/49ARiAF

🚑 Lonza (Swiss: LONN) said it plans to exit its capsules and health ingredients business, although didn't explain how. axios.link/3ZEJzNE

• Warner Bros. Discovery (Nasdaq: WBD) announced a reorg that creates separate units for its linear TV assets and its studios/streaming business, in what could be a prelude to divestures or spinoffs (e.g., what Comcast just announced). axios.link/4fhWz1j

• Carlyle raised $7.1b for its third credit opportunities fund. carlyle.com

🚑 KHP Ventures of London raised £20m for a fund focused on mental health startups. axios.link/3OW082g

• Trucks Venture Capital raised $70m for its third transportation-focused fund, per Axios Pro. axios.link/3ZDKzBE