Today's column is coming to you from Alan Neuhauser, who covers climate and energy tech for Axios Pro.

• It's a dispatch from last week's CERAWeek conference in Houston, which is basically Coachella for the energy industry. What he found there was striking:

Across dozens of conversations with investors, bankers, utilities and tech execs, not one person referred to pollution or zeroing out carbon emissions.

Why it matters: This is what climate surrender looks like.

Flashback: In 2022, conference host Dan Yergin kicked off the event by saying, "Net-zero is fundamental to the discussion that's going to unfold over CERAWeek."

Zoom in: Talk this year centered on fulfilling electricity demand unleashed by AI data centers, controlling electricity prices, and insulating markets from natural gas shocks triggered by the Iran war.

Between the lines: Climate startups and investors no longer expect to wholly displace fossil fuels. Instead, as energy demand grows, their goal is to fill part of it themselves.

What they're saying: "Impact right now, whether we like it or not, is avoiding backsliding — avoiding massive new demand becoming all gas, all the time, forever," says David Crane, CEO of climate-focused investment firm Generate Capital.

• "The shock in Europe is reverberating across the entire system," another climate-focused venture investor told me. "Governments are under real pressure to address the price of electricity."

Case in point: Even Generate, once the most prominent investor in climate-tech, has hitched much of its future to natural gas projects.

• "Green is not the immediate priority," Crane says.

Four criteria now matter for low-carbon startups: Undercutting incumbents on price, faster deployment, operational reliability, and scale to meet demand.

• Minimal carbon emissions? That's merely a nice-to-have.

Source: Giphy

KKR raised over $23 billion for its 14th North American buyout fund, which it began raising in June 2024 with a $20 billion target.

Why it's the BFD: It's the largest fund ever raised by KKR, one of the originators of private equity.

• The firm also claims it's the largest PE fund ever raised with an exclusive focus on North America.

The bottom line: This didn't come quick, but beating target in a sluggish fundraising environment is a notable win.

☕ Blank Street Coffee is in early talks to raise at least $100m at a $1b valuation, per the FT. axios.link/4c1F8lU

• Cognichip, an SF-based chip design startup, raised $60m led by Seligman Ventures. axios.link/3NUXU6E

• Monarch Quantum, a San Diego-based photonics hardware developer, raised $55m. Serendipity Capital led, joined by 55 North and Global Innovation Labs. axios.link/4cgbyKR

• Alcatraz, a Cupertino, Calif.-based data center access authorization startup, raised $50m in Series B funding from BlackPeak Capital, Cogito Capital, and Taiwania Capital. axios.link/41H284T

• Linx Security, an Israeli identity security and governance company, raised $50m in Series B funding. Insight Partners led, joined by Cyberstarts and Index Ventures. axios.link/4toBg5D

• Manna Air Delivery, an Irish consumer drone delivery startup, raised $50m from ARK Invest, Ireland Strategic Investment Fund, Schooner Capital, Coca-Cola HBC, and Molten Ventures. axios.link/4sNwI9a

⚡ Soma Energy, a provider of grid capacity to data centers, raised $7m in seed funding, per Axios Pro. Category Ventures led, joined by Haystack, Panache Ventures, TO VC, and Uncork Capital. axios.link/419ohsr

• Anvil Robotics, a Palo Alto-based "LEGO for robots," raised $5.5m from Matter Venture Partners. axios.link/4vciIHG

🚑 TippingPoint Biosciences, an SF-based drug discovery platform targeting epigenetic proteins, raised $4.5m. SOSV and LKS Fund led, joined by Sazze Partners, Freeflow Ventures, StoryHouse Ventures, Sontag Innovation Fund, American Cancer Society BrightEdge, XEIA, and WeCAN. axios.link/47CYLiX

• Numos, a provider of AI software for finance teams, raised $4.25m in seed funding, per Axios Pro. General Catalyst led, joined by Operator Collective. axios.link/4clgVby

• Earlyasset, a Park City, Utah-based provider of infrastructure for the VC secondary market, raised $2m in pre-seed funding. New Stack Ventures led, joined by Cervin Ventures. axios.link/4ciM4wh

• CenterOak Partners acquired Grismer Tire & Auto Service, a Dayton, Ohio-based operator of tire and automotive service centers. axios.link/4196a68

• Cook & Boardman Group, backed by Platinum Equity, acquired the assets of Assurance Media, a structured cabling, A/V systems, and premise security company. axios.link/4bVn2lC

• Court Square Capital Partners acquired CallTower, a South Jordan, Utah-based provider of communications and contact center solutions, from BV Investment Partners (which retains a minority stake). axios.link/4bP6sVW

• Godspeed Capital invested in GALT Aerospace, a San Diego-based defense tech startup. axios.link/4dV0p3g

• Infoshare+, an Omni Partners portfolio company, acquired Barbour Logic, a U.K. provider of automating penalty charge notices for local authorities. axios.link/4dXZz5S

• Oak Hill Capital acquired Guild Garage Group, an NYC-based residential garage door service provider. axios.link/4ck6uFd

⚡️ PK Cos., backed by DC Capital Partners, acquired Pro-Surve Technical Services, a provider of technical inspection for the industrial and energy sectors. axios.link/4m5v93z

• Stride Consumer Partners invested in Peachy, an NYC-based beauty services brand focused on preventative skin care. axios.link/4bQKujO

• TA Associates invested in iBase-t, a Lake Forest, Calif.-based provider of manufacturing operations software. axios.link/4c1dPIz

🚀 SpaceX has filed confidentially for what's expected to be the largest IPO ever, with expectations that Elon Musk's company will go public in June.

• Also, a correction from yesterday, as pointed out by A LOT of readers: Were SpaceX to allocate 30% of its IPO to retail investors, that would work out to around $22.5 billion, not the absurd figure I shared. Brain cramp? April 1 prank? Who's to say?

🚑 AGS Health, a revenue cycle management platform owned by Blackstone, filed confidential IPO paperwork in Mumbai, per Bloomberg. It could seek to raise up to $500m. axios.link/4scCtMt

• Arsenal Capital Partners sold ATP Adhesive Systems, a Swiss maker of adhesive tapes, to Germany's Henkel. axios.link/4toFv1c

• BASF acquired AgBiTech, an Australian biological crop protection solution company, from Paine Schwartz Partners. axios.link/3O20pE5

🌎 GFL Environmental acquired Frontier Waste Solutions, a Dallas-based non-hazardous solid waste and recycling services company, from Concentric Equity Partners and Summer Street Capital Partners. axios.link/487zcXq

• Intel (Nasdaq: INTC) agreed to acquire the 49% it doesn't own in an Irish fab JV from Apollo for $14.2b. axios.link/4v18Ikt

• Publicis (Paris: PUB) agreed to acquire sports marketing firm 160over90 from Silver Lake-backed Endeavor Group. axios.link/4m3xDQ6

🚀 Amazon (Nasdaq: AMZN) is in talks to buy satellite-based telco Globalstar (Nasdaq: GSAT), per the FT. The news sent Globalstar shares up nearly 14%, giving it an $8.8b market cap. axios.link/4chNxDb

• Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) completed its $2b cash-and-stock purchase of Innovator Capital Management, a Wheaton, Ill.-based provider of defined-outcome ETFs. BFD flashback.

• Franklin Templeton agreed to acquire 250 Digital, a crypto investment firm. The deal will be paid in part using BENJI tokens, which represent shares of its blockchain-based mutual fund. axios.link/4tegHIU

🌎 Forest Road Co. is launching an energy investment arm with $750m in initial capital commitments, per Axios Pro. axios.link/3PGVfy0

• L Squared Capital Partners raised a single-asset CV for BTX Precision, an Elk Grove, Ill.-based metal manufacturer. axios.link/3PXdmQa

• New Vintage Partners raised $82m for its debut secondaries fund. axios.link/4sQ20fA

• Caribou Honig "quasi-retired" to a partner emeritus role with SemperVirens VC. axios.link/3QeRwrt

Unilever investors are vomiting all over the company's plan to sell its food division to McCormick, wiping out nearly $10 billion of market cap in the past week.

• Shares hit an all-time high just this past February, but since then have fallen precipitously.
• Moreover, S&P cut its outlook from stable to negative, noting that the proposed deal would reduce Unilever's top-line and product diversity.