Trump Media & Technology Group, the owner of Truth Social, has begun charging up to $100,000 per month for early access to President Trump's posts.

Why it matters: There already were concerns that government insiders are trading on nonpublic information. Now the circle of mistrust has expanded to those willing and able to pay for a split-second edge on posts that can — and frequently do — jolt markets.

• It may not violate any laws or securities rules, but it sure feels like it should. Similar to the need for congressional stock trade rules.

The big picture: Trump has transformed his second term into the most lucrative venture of his long career, raking in more than $2.2 billion in 2025 from his family crypto empire, legal settlements and various licensing deals.

• Truth API is the logical endpoint of that profiteering: Trump's official communications, packaged and sold as a subscription.

Catch up quick: TMTG on Sunday launched an API that provides real-time access to data from President Trump and other "highest-ranking" accounts.

• It could cost between $60,000 and $100,000 per month. For context, TMTG generated $871,000 in the first quarter of 2026 and $3.68 million for all of 2025.

Zoom in: For quant traders, there could be big benefits of getting Trump posts even just milliseconds before rivals.

• A March 23 post postponing strikes on Iranian energy infrastructure sent Brent crude tumbling nearly 11%.
• Trump's March 2025 announcement of a U.S. crypto reserve drove XRP up 27% and added roughly $300 billion to the global crypto market.
• His threat last October to impose massive new tariffs on China sent the S&P 500 down 2.7%.

Behind the scenes: Subscription revenue would flow to TMTG, not to Trump himself.

• But Trump is the company's largest shareholder with around a 41% stake, which is held in a revocable trust with Donald Trump Jr. as sole trustee.
• TMTG's stock price is up more than 6% since announcing the API, giving the president a paper gain of more than $70 million.

What to watch: Were the API to become a major business line, it could theoretically prompt TMTG to pay dividends, with Trump the largest recipient.

• It also could make Truth Social more of a viable standalone business, were it to be spun off following a planned merger with nuclear company TAE, which is slated to close before year-end.

Disclosure: In 2023, TMTG sued 20 media organizations, including Axios, for defamation. Litigation is ongoing.

Bending Spoons (Nasdaq: BSP) has agreed to acquire Airtable, an SF-based relational database company, for $1.29 billion in cash. The implied equity value is $2.25 billion, including Airtable's cash and cash equivalents.

Why it's the BFD: This is one of the first major SaaSpocalypse sales, and an absolute crater for many of Airtable's venture investors.

By the numbers: Airtable had raised around $1.35 billion since its 2012 founding.

• $735 million in 2021 led by XN at an $11 billion pre-money valuation. Others on the deal included Silver Lake, Iconiq, Salesforce Ventures, and T. Rowe Price.
• $270 million round just months earlier led by Greenoaks at a $5.5 billion pre-money valuation.
• $185 million Series D round in late 2020 led by Thrive Capital at a $2.4 billion pre-money valuation.

The bottom line: Bending Spoons went public in July, with CEO Luca Ferrari telling me that "predictability" is the main characteristic he looks for in an acquisition target.

• Shares were up around 25% at yesterday's close, and higher in today's pre-market trading.

⚡️ Valar Atomics, an El Segundo, Calif.-based developer of small nuclear reactors, raised $1b in Series B funding at a $6b post-money valuation. Sequoia Capital led, joined by Atreides Management, Point72, and Snowpoint Ventures. Valar also secured a $200m credit facility. axios.link/3S8lE9q

• HappyRobot, an SF-based AI workforce management platform, raised $150m in Series C funding at a $1.2b valuation. Prysm Capital and Eurazeo led, joined by Bankinter, Kfund, Koch Disruptive Technologies, Orange, and Deutsche Telekom. axios.link/4zbTuv0

• Obsidian Security, a Newport Beach, Calif., startup that secures AI agents across third-party applications, raised $85m in Series D funding at a $1.1b post-money valuation. Crescent Cove Advisors led, joined by Greylock and Menlo Ventures. axios.link/4gbZImQ

• Oligo Security, an Israeli runtime security startup, raised $60m from Ballistic Ventures, Canon Capital, Greenfield Partners, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Red Dot Capital, and TLV Partners. oligo.security

• Convex, an SF-based reactive backend platform, raised $57m in Series B funding. Insight Partners led, joined by a16z and Spark Capital. axios.link/4g8GU86

🚑 QuantHealth, an Israeli provider of clinical trial simulation software, raised $45m in Series B funding, per Axios Pro. Qumra Capital led, joined by Pitango HealthTech, Sanofi Ventures, Artofin Venture Capital Fund, Bertelsmann Healthcare Investments, GC Ventures, NewHealth Ventures, Shoni Top Ventures, and Esplanade Ventures. axios.link/3Tx8RxK

⚡️ Ore Energy, a Dutch developer of long-storage batteries, raised $43m in Series A funding. Plural and HV Capital led, joined by Positron Ventures. axios.link/4fDhU8P

• Yellow Card, a stablecoin infrastructure provider, raised $40m from Standard Chartered, Sony Innovation Fund, Polychain Capital, and Blockchain Capital. axios.link/4gb7PA9

🚑 Inocras, a San Diego-based genome data and analytics startup, raised $31m from NDS, Aimed Bio, IMM Investment, Korea Investment & Securities, LoftyRock Investment, DT& Investment, Woori Investment & Securities, Shinhan Securities, DSC Investment, Dunamu & Partners, and InterVest. axios.link/3TC8Pof

🚑 Dash Bio, a Boston-based pharma lab services company, raised $30m in Series A funding. Oak HC/FT led, joined by Freestyle Capital and Swift Ventures. axios.link/45DrtyI

• Delightree, an SF-based operating system for franchises and brands, raised $25m from Innovius, Accel, Timber Grove Ventures, and Emergent, per Axios Pro. axios.link/4w4Xb2A

• LemonEdge, an NYC-based fund-accounting platform for private markets, raised $21m in Series A funding. Blackstone led, joined by BNY and Sidekick Partners. axios.link/4hLvKav

⚡️ Buzz Solutions, a provider of visual inspection products for utilities, raised $20m in Series A funding, per Axios Pro. S3 Ventures led, joined by insiders GoPoint Ventures, HearstLab, and Blackhorn Ventures. axios.link/4hdDLVM

• InvestiFi, an embedded digital investing platform, raised $20m. Vibe Credit Union led, joined by BankTech Ventures, Idaho Central Credit Union, Navari, United Financial Credit Union, Coastal Credit Union, Mid Minnesota Credit Union, Truity Credit Union, and Southpoint Credit Union. axios.link/3RRF9TB

• Advocate Technologies, a commercial insurance data platform, raised $18m in seed funding from Vestigo Ventures, Brewer Lane, and MetaProp, per Axios Pro. axios.link/4xbq4eC

• AEM, a U.K. maker of rare earth and magnet-free electric motors, raised £16m from Barclays Climate Ventures, PXN Ventures, Northstar Ventures, and Low Carbon Innovation. axios.link/4clZ1oL

• Bidbus, an Irvine, Calif.-based online automotive marketplace, raised $15m in Series A funding. Ibex Investors led, joined by Mucker Capital, Data Point Capital, FJ Labs, Motley Fool Ventures, and Walter Ventures. axios.link/4fCm8xt

⚡️ Matel Motion & Energy Solutions, an Indian maker of electric motors and powertrains, raised around $15m in Series B funding. UC Impower led, joined by Catamaran and Transition VC. axios.link/4yVZ7x2

• Intelligence (dba Design Arena), a crowdsourced benchmark for AI-generated design, raised $7.9m in seed funding. Index Ventures led, joined by Conviction, A*, and Valkyrie. axios.link/3RxPJiy

• Actualyze AI, a Simi Valley, Calif.-based enterprise AI use management platform, raised $7m in seed funding from Storm Ventures, Canaan Partners, Morado Ventures, and AME Cloud Ventures. axios.link/4fCuJQW

• Axum Capital Partners agreed to buy a control stake in performance hydration brand Barcode, in partnership with NBA player Victor Wembanyama. axios.link/4q1pM7S

• BV Investment Partners invested in Thomas & Co., a Nashville, Tenn.-based workforce compliance platform. axios.link/3Sg5Z81

• MML acquired a 25% stake of Mourant, a Jersey-headquartered law firm. axios.link/4wx5Goe

🚑 Nordic Capital agreed to acquire the medical business of BWX Technologies (NYSE: BWXT), including its stable medical isotopes unit, for up to $800m. axios.link/459fN6G

• PrimeSource Brands, a Clearlake portfolio company, acquired Starborn Industries, an Edison, N.J.-based provider of fastening solutions and installation systems for decking. axios.link/4cjpX8C

• Regional Rail, a short-line freight railroad operator owned by 3i, acquired the Massachusetts Central Railroad. axios.link/4fzyA13

🌎 Ridgemont Equity Partners acquired Entact, a provider of environmental remediation and geotechnical services. axios.link/3TF9Age

• Trinity Hunt Partners acquired Northline Industrial, a Redford, Mich.-based industrial aftermarket MRO. axios.link/4cgEF02

• Wind Point Partners acquired Eze Castle Integration, a managed services provider for alt investment firms and investment banks, from H.I.G. Capital. axios.link/4wboI2D

• 1776 Acquisition, a SPAC targeting tech-enabled businesses, filed for a $150m IPO. axios.link/4hdMerQ

• ARC Group Securities Acquisition I, a SPAC led by ARC Group execs, raised $150m in its IPO. axios.link/4qKTkWZ

• BOA Acquisition II, a SPAC targeting real estate and infrastructure, raised $125m in a downsized IPO. axios.link/48drjkd

🚑 Infinx, a health care RCM company backed by KKR and Norwest Venture Partners, is weighing an India IPO that could raise up to $300m, per Bloomberg. axios.link/4wq3Chb

🐶 Open Farm, a Canadian pet food brand, is prepping a Toronto IPO, per Bloomberg. Backers include General Atlantic, Encore Consumer Capital, and Howard Schultz. axios.link/4yWOdqV

• Cortec Group is seeking to sell A1 Garage Door Service, a Phoenix-based provider of residential garage door maintenance services, per PE Hub. axios.link/455PmyN

• Deel, valued by VCs at $17b, acquired Clarity, an NYC-based deepfake security startup that had raised over $300m from Walden Catalyst Ventures, Bessemer Venture Partners, Fusion, Secret Chord Ventures, Ascend Ventures, and Flying Fish Partners. axios.link/4yWWgnu

⚡️ EnCap Flatrock agreed to sell Houston-based Momentum Midstream to The Williams Cos. (NYSE: WMB) for up to $5.5b in cash and stock. axios.link/4fQG1Qs

• Razer, a gaming hardware company, acquired StreamElements, an Israeli livestreaming platform that had raised $111m from firms like SoftBank, PayPal, State of Mind Ventures and Pitango First. axios.link/3Rq3vnm

• Versant Media Group (Nasdaq: VSNT) completed its $530m cash purchase of golf simulator maker Full Swing from Bruin Capital. axios.link/4p6ZUa6

Paramount Skydance CEO David Ellison today penned an NYT op-ed in support of his company's deal to buy Warner Bros. Discovery, which is being challenged by state AGs.

• Buildstr, a San Antonio-based cloud services engineer partner, acquired Senzu Cloud, a Dunwoody, Ga.-based cloud service firm. axios.link/4xmeJbK

• Prologis (NYSE: PLD) agreed to acquire industrial real estate peer Segro (LSE: SGRO) for £14.3b. axios.link/3RSBnJF

🚑 Supernus Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: SUPN) and Indivior Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: INDV) agreed to merge in an all-stock deal of brain drug developers. axios.link/4yWNDcD

• TF1 (Paris: TFI), a French broadcaster, hired Rothschild to find a buyer for its production and distribution arm, per Reuters. axios.link/4fMxy0B

• Adams Street Partners raised $2.7b for its eighth global secondaries fund, plus $2.3b for other secondaries programs. axios.link/4w5OTrl

• Kingswood Capital Management, an LA-based midmarket PE firm, raised $3.1b for its fourth flagship fund and $900m for its first small-cap opportunities fund. axios.link/4yQ6je5

• Nextalia of Italy raised over €1.1b for its second PE fund. axios.link/4yXleDo

• Blueprint Equity hired Kaila Russell (ex-Candidate Labs) as director of talent and Paul Koch (Soundful) as head of AI. onblueprint.com

• Takeo Ikemori joined Blue Owl Capital as co-head of its Japanese business. He previously was with Barclays. axios.link/4yVBJ2F

• Alex LaPolice joined Lightspeed as an NYC-based partner. He previously was with Summit Partners. axios.link/454NGpb

• Left Lane Capital promoted Arjun Kapur and Paddy Dillon to investing principals, Alex Wu to partner of talent, Erica Amatori to partner of platform, Liz Atkisson to SVP of finance and compliance, and Elizabeth Donovan to VP of IR and biz dev. leftlane.com

• Graham Littlehale joined Felicis as a partner. He previously was with Point72 Ventures. axios.link/4btnhFc

• Marie Suesse joined TA Associates as chief human capital officer. She previously was with Värde Partners. axios.link/4xiLJ4x

• Dylan Tornay joined Evercore as a senior managing director of equity capital markets. He most recently was with Citi. axios.link/4xguv7R

BP is seeking to sell Archaea, which captures and sells gas from landfills and dairy farms, four years after buying it for $4.1 billion.

• Just days ago, BP also announced efforts to sell its U.K. North Sea assets.
• It's all part of a strategic reset by new CEO Meg O'Neill, including a retreat from the climate transition plan BP launched in 2020.

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