China's Quectel is one of the world's largest manufacturers of IoT cellular modules, a key chip component, with nearly a 40% market share. Now it's licensing out its manufacturing tech and source code to an Ohio-based startup called Eagle Electronics, in a reversal of how these cross-border relationships have traditionally worked.

Why it matters: This reflects the U.S. onshoring trend for semiconductors, which is expected to intensify if President-elect Trump makes good on his threat to put new tariffs on China-made products.

Driving the news: Eagle Electronics was formed by venture capitalists Mark Kvamme (chairman) and TJ Dembinski (CEO), and tells Axios that it's raised $14 million in initial capital led by their Ohio Fund, with Asymmetric Capital Partners also participating.

• It's subleased space in a Cleveland suburb to install a pair of lines that should be producing by next March. After that, it hopes to move into its own facility.
• Quectel will send around 30 employees to Ohio for two months to train new Eagle workers, many of whom are being sourced via partnerships with local community colleges.
• Applications including everything from hunting cameras to vehicle telematics.

What they're saying: "For this particular product the U.S. is dependent on China," Kvamme says. "You've already seen onshoring in terms of things like Intel's new plants, and semiconductor modules are the next part of the supply chain."

• He adds that the "only way to get to cost parity" is by licensing what he believes to be China's superior manufacturing tech in this area, particularly its automated testing capabilities, although acknowledges that Eagle's prices will initially be higher than are imports.

Full circle: Kvamme's father Floyd — who helped form National Semiconductor's beachhead in Silicon Valley before later becoming a venture capitalist — got a Thanksgiving Day chuckle out of his VC son's semiconductor pursuit.

The bottom line: Decoupling sometimes causes coupling.

BlackRock has agreed to buy private credit manager HPS Investment Partners for $12 billion in stock.

Why it's the BFD: This would make BlackRock one of the largest players in one of Wall Street's hottest markets, with around $220 billion in private credit assets.

Zoom in: Around one-quarter of the purchase price will be deferred for five years, while the amount of total shares could increase by 13% if certain financial performance milestones are met. The headline price includes up to $675 million in employee retention payments.

• HPS co-founders Scott Kapnick, Scot French and Michael Patterson would remain with BlackRock, joining its global executive committee and leading a new private financing solutions group
• The deal is expected to close in mid-2025, pending regulatory approvals. It also comes as Britain's antitrust authority said it will take a closer look at BlackRock's proposed $3.2 billion purchase of private markets data provider Preqin.

The bottom line: BlackRock has spent 2024 in alt asset bulk-up mode. It previously inked the Preqin deal, acquired Global Infrastructure Partners, and worked with Partners Group to develop a model portfolio for wealthy clients.

🚀 SpaceX is in talks for a secondary share sale at a $350 billion valuation, which is a planet-sized boost from prior talk of a $255 billion valuation, per Bloomberg.

• Tenstorrent, a Toronto-based AI chipmaker, raised US$700m. AFW Partners and Samsung Securities co-led, and were joined by Bezos Expeditions, LG Electronics, and Fidelity. axios.link/4feA0L7

• KPay, a financial management platform for SMBs in Asia, raised $55m in Series A funding led by Apis Partners. axios.link/3CWAeZM

• Yurts, a developer of AI chatbots for DoD and other high-security users, raised $40m in Series B funding. XYZ VC led, and was joined by Glynn Capital, Nava Ventures, Bloomberg Beta, and Mango Capital. axios.link/3ZhkKXG

🌎 ConnectDER, a Philadelphia-based provider of residential decarbonization solutions, raised $35m in Series D funding. Decarbonization Partners led, and was joined by MassMutual Ventures and insider Avista Development, Clean Energy Ventures, Energy Innovation Capital, Energy, LG Technology Ventures, and Zoma Capital. connectder.com

⚡ Acceleron Fusion, a Cambridge, Mass., developer of muon-catalyzed fusion energy, raised $24m in Series A funding co-led by Lowercarbon Capital and Collaborative Fund. www.acceleron.energy

🌎 Carbmee, a German provider of enterprise carbon management software, raised €20m in Series A funding. CommerzVentures led, and was joined by Fly Ventures. carbmee.com

• Partior, a Singaporean blockchain infrastructure startup, raised $20m in Series B extension funding from Deutsche Bank. axios.link/4gf4mhq

• Deblock. a crypto wallet startup, raised £13.3m in seed funding from Headline, Hoxton Ventures, Chalfen Ventures, and 20VC. axios.link/4gf4Y6t

• Vooma, an SF-based AI platform for freight brokers and carriers, raised $13m in Series A funding led by Craft Ventures. vooma.com

🚑 Oraki Oncology, a French precision oncology startup, raised €11m in seed funding. Singular led, and was joined by Bpifrance. axios.link/3CUXk33

• Brighty, a Swiss crypto-integrated digital finance platform, raised $10m from Futurecraft Ventures. axios.link/4gk3isB

• Pathway, a "live AI" startup, raised $10m in seed funding. TQ Ventures led, and was joined by Kadmos, Inovo, Market One Capital, and Id4. axios.link/3D6IyG9

🌎 SatVu, a British thermal imaging provider for emissions detection, raised £10m in equity funding. Adara Ventures and Molten Ventures co-led, and were joined by NOA, Lockheed Martin, Seraphim, Ridgeline, and Stellar Ventures. axios.link/3VjJOMm

• Kilter, a Norwegian precision weeder startup, raised $9.5m in Series A funding from Natural Ventures, Pymwymic, and NufarmCradle. axios.link/3ViesG6

• R2, a Chilean embedded lender, raised $9m in Series A extension funding. Hi Ventures and Cometa co-led, and were joined by Endeavor Catalyst, YC, and Gradient Ventures. axios.link/4fNXesm

• HUB2, a payments infrastructure startup focused on Francophone Africa, raised $8.5m in Series A funding. TLcom Capital led, and was joined by FMO, Enza Capital, Bpifrance, and Eric Barbier. axios.link/3ZfGSBF

⚡ Etalytics, a German energy-management startup, raised €8m in Series A funding. Alstin Capital led, and was joined by EBM-Papst and TF H IV Technologiefonds Hessen. axios.link/4eYYms7

🚑 Fello, a peer support startup focused on loneliness, raised $7.3m in seed funding, per Axios Pro. Backers include Glen Tullman's 62Ventures, The Capital Factory, Katalyst Capital, and Offline Ventures. axios.link/3Vly5Nn

• MakersHub, an SF-based order flow management startup focused on manufacturers, raised $7m in new seed funding co-led by QED Investors and TTV Capital, per Axios Pro. axios.link/4eYUozu

• Avant, a crypto yield protocol developer, raised $6.5m in seed funding from Superlayer, Avalaunch, GoGoPool, and Daybreak Digital. axios.link/3CQTZSi  

⚡ Reefilla, an Italian mobile charging and energy storage startup, raised €4.5m. CDP VC led, and was joined by HCapital, Azimut, Motor Valley Accelerator, and FinPiemonte. axios.link/49jHquZ

• NetBird, a German networked security startup, raised €4m in seed funding. InReach Ventures led, and was joined by Nauta and Antler. axios.link/3ZzTTrj

🌎 Everest Carbon, a developer of sensors for monitoring carbon removal, has launched and raised $3m, per Axios Pro. Backers include Carbon Removal Partners, Ponderosa Ventures, and Carbon Drawdown Initiative. axios.link/3ZAIg3q

• Bleap, a self-custodial stablecoin app, raised $2.3m in pre-seed funding led by Ethereal Ventures. axios.link/4gh0Fb4

• 4M Building Solutions, a cleaning and janitorial services company owned by O2 Investment Partners, acquired Hendersonville, Tenn.-based Covenant Building Service. 4-m.com

• AssetMark, a portfolio company of GTCR, acquired the turnkey asset management platform of Morningstar Wealth, which represents around $12b in assets. axios.link/4gh9L7I

• Berkshire Partners invested in RJW, a Woodridge, Ill., provider of retail logistics solutions for CPG brands. rjwgroup.com

• Inhabit, a Knoxville, Tenn., provider of property management software, secured a preferred equity investment from Blackstone Tactical Opportunities and insider Greater Sum Ventures. Other shareholders include Goldman Sachs, Insight Partners, and PSG. axios.link/41fWZlB

• Insight Partners bought a majority stake in Cosmo Tech, a French provider of AI simulation software for enterprise decision-making. axios.link/4i9o8g1

• KPS Capital Partners agreed to acquire Crane Co.'s (NYSE: CR) engineered materials business for $227m. axios.link/3B1rOzM

️‍🔥 Lone Star Funds completed its $3b carveout of Carrier Global's (NYSE: CARR) commercial and residential fire business. axios.link/3ySV4Y6

• Pacific Avenue Capital Partners acquired H.B. Fuller's (NYSE: FUL) flooring business for around $80m. hbfuller.com

• PDI Technologies, an Alpharetta, Ga.-based retail software provider backed by Insight Partners, Genstar Capital and TA Associates, acquired Comdata Merchant POS Solutions, a provider of point-of-sale hardware and software for truck stop merchants, from Corpay (NYSE: CPAY). pditechnologies.com

• Relation Insurance Services, a portfolio company of Aquiline Capital Partners, acquired the assets of SFBAG Employee Benefit Insurance Services. relationinsurance.com

• Summit Partners invested in UHY, an Albany, N.Y., provider of accounting, tax, consulting, and advisory services. uhy-us.com

• Sunland Asphalt, a Phoenix-based portfolio company of Huron Capital, acquired Henderson, Colo.-based Metro Pavers. sunlandasphault.com

• ServiceTitan, a tradesperson software firm, set IPO terms to 8.8m shares at $52-$57 per share (well below the Series H hurdle). It would have a  $4.9b initial market cap, were it to price in the middle, and plans to list on the Nasdaq (TTAN). It raised over $1.4b in VC funding from backers like Battery Ventures, Bessemer Venture Partners, Iconiq, TPG, Thoma Bravo, and Index Ventures. 

• Deel, a payroll and HR platform valued by VCs at over $12b, acquired Atlantic Money, a London-based money transfer service that had raised $7.5m from backers like Ribbit Capital, Kleiner Perkins, and Vlad Tenev. axios.link/418mDIS

• Sargent and Greenleaf, a portfolio company of OpenGate Capital, sold Louisiana-based Louisiana Premier Steel Doors & Frames to Sweden's Assa Abloy. axios.link/3VjUI4K

⚡ TotalEnergies (Paris: TTEF) is in advanced talks to buy German renewables developer VSB Group from Partners Group for around €2b, per Bloomberg. axios.link/3ZB4pyC

• Capitolis, an Israeli fintech for banks that last week raised $20m led by Citi, agreed to buy Capitalab, the compression and optimization business of BGC Group (Nasdaq: BGC). capitolis.com

Compass (NYSE: COMP) agreed to buy Christie's International Real Estate for $444m. axios.link/4eUxaL3

‍✈️ Denmark's government will pay around $4.5b for a 59.4% stake in Copenhagen Airports from pension system ATP, bringing its total position to 98.6%. axios.link/49yOgNz

⚡ ExxonMobil (NYSE: XOM) is seeking to sell its Singapore gas stations, which could fetch around $1b, per Bloomberg. axios.link/3ZgpiOc

🚑 GE HealthCare (Nasdaq: GEHC) agreed to buy the remaining 50% stake in Nihon Medi-Physics, a Japanese nuclear medicines maker, from Sumitomo Chemical (Tokyo: 4005). axios.link/3ZDwCVy

⚡ General Motors (NYSE: GM) is selling its stake in a new battery plant in Michigan to partner LG Energy. axios.link/3BaqgU1

• Teamworks, a Durham, N.C.-based sports software startup that's raised $175m from VCs, acquired NIL tech platform Basepath. axios.link/3Zz0WAD

• TreeHouse Foods (NYSE: THS) agreed to acquire certain assets from teamaker Harris Freeman & Co. for around $205m. axios.link/4fRPXYJ

🚑 XOMA Royalty (Nasdaq: XOMA) acquired Pulmokine, a Rensselaer, N.Y.-based biotech focused on pulmonary arterial hypertension, for $20m. pulmokine.net

• Alstin Capital, a German VC firm, raised €175m for its third fund. axios.link/41zkPsL

• President-elect Trump will nominate Warren Stephens, founder of investment bank Stephens Inc., as U.S. ambassador to Britain. axios.link/3ZB0D8r

• Andy Callahan, former CEO of Hostess Brands, joined Clayton, Dubilier & Rice as an operating advisor. axios.link/3ZAsdmc

• ICV Partners promoted Lloyd Metz and Zeena Rao to managing partners. icvpartners.com

🚑 Joseph Modisett is joining Evercore as a senior managing director focused on health care, after leading health-care investment banking for Morgan Stanley, per Bloomberg. axios.link/41hSKpw

• Lip-Bu Tan, founder of VC firm Walden International and current CEO of Cadence Design, is on the short-list to become Intel's new CEO, per Reuters. axios.link/3B1Hm6C

• Giorgiana Wegener joined Basalt Infrastructure Partners as a principal. She previously was with Infracapital. axios.link/4fUnQb9