Axios Pro Rata

October 30, 2024
Top of the Morning
When Kamala Harris began rolling out her economic agenda in August, she began with food prices. A literal kitchen-table issue.
- This included a proposed "price-gouging" ban, which was misinterpreted as price controls, and enhanced scrutiny of mergers in the food and grocery sectors.
Zoom out: The vice president could have reasonably assumed at the time that her case would be bolstered — in terms of both substance and attention — by the FTC's efforts to block Kroger from buying rival supermarket giant Albertsons for nearly $25 billion.
- Were the FTC to prevail, it would be a feather in her regulatory cap. Were the FTC to lose, it would highlight the need for more stringent rules.
Fast forward: The federal trial ended more than six weeks ago, with final briefings submitted more than a month ago, but there's yet to be a ruling.
- Judge Adrienne Nelson said at the time that she would work "as expeditiously as possible, because everyone is anticipating a decision."
Zoom out: For context, the recent antitrust case between Capri and Tapestry ended after Kroger-Albertsons, and we got a ruling last week.
- We're also past time JetBlue/Spirit Air decision timeline. Even the landmark Microsoft antitrust case in 1999 got an initial finding in 45 days after closing arguments, a mark Nelson could hit this Friday.
Elsewhere: Two state-level trials over the Kroger-Albertsons deal recently wrapped up — one in Colorado and one in Washington — although an FTC victory could make those cases moot.
The bottom line: It's entirely possible that Nelson, a Biden appointee, will rule in the upcoming days. Or even the upcoming hours.
- But her sluggishness has deprived Harris of a talking point. And delayed the grocery industry from knowing how big their giants can grow.
The BFD
xAI is in talks to raise "several billion dollars" at around a $40 billion valuation, just five months after it raised $6 billion at a $24 billion valuation, per the WSJ.
Why it's the BFD: This illustrates how frontier model developers are the most capital-intensive startups ever, leaving early-aughts cleantechs in their digital dust.
- It also comes as Google reported blowout earnings, which means it may not be the AI pushover that many in Silicon Valley had come to believe.
The big variable: Musk has been promised a "cost-cutting" role in a prospective Trump administration, kind of akin to what Charles Grodin did in the movie "Dave."
- This all might be a campaign lark, particularly given Musk's fuzziness on the math, but at some point the multi-company CEO will be stretched too thin. And that could create added risk for xAI investors, particularly at a $40 billion mark.
The bottom line: These deals are structured like venture capital, have missions similar to project finance, and are valued like large-cap private equity.
Venture Capital Deals
• DoorLoop, a Miami provider of property management software, raised $100m in Series B funding led by JMI Equity. axios.link/4e4F5VA
• Sana, a Swedish developer of enterprise AI agents, raised $55m at a $500m valuation led by NEA, with Menlo Ventures participating. It also acquired workflow automation startup CTRL. axios.link/4hjGM4p
• Regal, a New York-based maker of contact center software, raised $40m in Series B funding. Emergence Capital led, and was joined by Founder Collective and Homebrew. regal.ai
⚡ Neara, an Australian AI grid startup, raised US$31m in Series C funding led by EQT, per Axios Pro. Other backers include Partners Group, Square Peg Capital, Skip Capital, and Prosus Ventures. axios.link/4fmk1ee
• Zinc, an Indian education savings startup, raised $25.5m in seed funding. Nexus Venture Partners led, and was joined by Quona Capital, EDBI, Global Ventures, and Saison Capital. axios.link/4e6d8fS
• Tabs, a New York-based revenue automation platform for B2B companies, raised $25m in Series A funding, per Axios Pro. General Catalyst led, and was joined by Primary Ventures and Lightspeed Venture Partners. axios.link/3YoXtmo
• Biild, an Austin, Texas-based provider of financial solutions for commercial subcontractors, raised $17.5m. LL Funds and MissionOG co-led, and were joined by RJT Credit, Ulysses Management, and HighSage Ventures. billd.com
• Speakeasy, an API creation and testing startup, raised $15m in Series A funding, per Axios Pro. FPV Ventures led, and was joined by insiders GV and Quiet Capital. axios.link/4fpzryw
• Infinite Machine, an e-scooter maker, raised $9.3m in seed funding. A16z led, and was joined by Adjacent, Necessary Ventures, and Nico Rosberg. axios.link/40q91Iu
🚑 Vara, a German breast cancer detection startup, raised $8.9m co-led by IBB Ventures, Smart Family Office, and FJH. axios.link/4fmFYKf
• Sapien, a developer of financial analysis bots, raised $8.7m in seed funding. General Catalyst led, and was joined by Neo. axios.link/3NNzPLn
• Gig Wage, a Dallas-based payment platform for the gig economy, raised $8.3m in Series A extension funding from Discover, Motley Fool, and Chartline Capital Partners. gigwage.com
• iGent AI, a London-based software engineering AI startup, raised £6.3m in seed funding. HV Capital led, and was joined by XTX Ventures, TwinPath, 10x Founders, and Dhyan. igent.ai
🚑 Cornerstone, a provider of health-care data cleaning software, raised $5m in seed funding, per Axios Pro. Acrew Capital led, and was joined by insiders Initiate Ventures and Healthy Ventures. axios.link/3YGtEPt
• Latii, a New York-based construction industry supply chain startup, raised $5m in seed funding. Leadout Capital led, and was joined by Era Ventures, Act One, Nine Four Ventures, and RADV. axios.link/3UqwV2E
🚑 Toothio, a Scottsdale, Ariz., dental staffing tech startup, raised $5m, per Axios Pro. Craft Ventures and NVP Capital co-led, and were joined by Rho Capital, Marketplace Capital, Roosh Ventures, Burst Capital, Revere Partners, Karman Ventures, AZ Crown, and Connexa Capital.axios.link/48ptIX9
• UnitPlus, a German cash management solution for SMEs, raised €4.7m in seed funding. VC Pact led, and was joined by Seed X. axios.link/4fo41sk
• Final Boss Sour, a maker of gaming-themed sour snacks, raised $3m in seed funding led by Science Inc. axios.link/4f3R3A1
• Finfra, an Indonesian lending infrastructure startup, raised $2.5m led by Cento Ventures, with participation from Accion Venture Lab, Z Venture Capital, and Matiss Ansviesulis. axios.link/3Uqx6Lm
• Wobby, a Belgian knowledge platform, raised $1.2m in seed funding from Shaping Impact Group: SI3 fund, V-Ventures, and imec.istart. axios.link/4hmf2Ml
Private Equity Deals
• Accent Equity acquired Brimer, a Norwegian maker of products and tech for the fish-processing industry. axios.link/4e7k8tb
• ADQ, an Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund, completed its purchase of a minority stake in auction house Sotheby's. axios.link/3NM6Ebx
🏈 Arctos Partners is in talks to buy a minority stake in the NFL's Buffalo Bills, per Bloomberg. axios.link/4e5Q2X2
• Bain Capital agreed to buy an 80% stake in AQ Compute, the data center subsidiary of Germany's Aquila Group. axios.link/40lweM5
• Bridgepoint agreed to buy Eckoh (LSE: ECK), a British provider of payments and customer engagement software, for £169m. axios.link/3C3PMdD
🎵 Concord Music, a portfolio company of Blackstone, raised $850m in debt financing backed by its music assets. axios.link/4f5lLsK
• CVC Capital Partners completed its purchase of around a 50% stake in Epicor, an Austin, Texas, industry-specific business software firm, from Clayton, Dubilier & Rice. epicor.com
• ECI Partners invested in IGG, a British provider of pensions trusteeship and governance services. axios.link/3Yp7AaO
• Fujitec (Tokyo: 6406), a Japanese elevator maker with around a $2.5b market cap, has spoken with EQT and other PE firms about a possible buyout, per the FT. axios.link/3NLwiwV
• GDS Holdings (Nasdaq: GDS), a Chinese data center operator, raised $1b in Series B funding for its non-China operations led by Coatue, with Baupost Group also participating. axios.link/40n39Qg
• Hyve Group, an events company backed by Providence Equity Partners and Searchlight Capital Partners, acquired HLTH, a health-care conference organizer. axios.link/3NIobRJ
• Neuberger Berman invested in Mariner, an Overland Park, Kan.-based financial services firm backed by Leonard Green & Partners. mariner.com
Public Offerings
• Swiggy, an Indian food delivery company, is seeking to be valued at up to $11.3b in an IPO next month. That's more than its last private round, but a 57% discount to rival Zomato. axios.link/4f5aNDn
Liquidity Events
• FactSet (NYSE: FDS) agreed to buy Toronto-based IR tech provider Irwin from K1 Investment Management. axios.link/48po5Iu
• Preston Hollow Community Capital, a Dallas-based municipal finance lender, is weighing a sale process, per Bloomberg. Backers include Stone Point Capital, HarbourVest Partners, and TIAA. axios.link/4hmmbMP
More M&A
⚡ Brookfield agreed to buy minority stakes in four U.K. wind farms from Denmark's Ørsted for around $2.27b. axios.link/4e8HGO8
• Siemens is nearing an agreement to buy Altair Engineering (Nasdaq: ALTR), a Troy, Mich.-based engineering software firm with nearly a $9b market cap, per Bloomberg. axios.link/48ng3Qp
• Vivendi's (Paris: VIV) supervisory board approved the French media giant's plan to split into four companies, with a shareholder vote on Dec. 9.
Fundraising
• BBG Ventures raised $60m for its second fund. axios.link/3YHWkaE
Berkshire Partners raised $7.8b for its 11th private equity fund. berkshirepartners.com
• Blackstone raised $22b for a new direct lending fund, per Bloomberg. axios.link/40o29eF
• Brookfield plans to raise $2b for a Middle East-focused fund, with around half coming from Saudi Arabia's PIF, per Bloomberg. axios.link/3Yn8Tad
• Crosscut Ventures raised $100m for its latest fund. axios.link/3CcXmm9
• Janngo Capital, an Africa-focused VC firm, raised €73m for its second fund. axios.link/3C5NaMo
• Proximity launched as an early-stage VC firm co-led by Neil Sirni (ex-Roc Nation head of new ventures) and actress Olivia Wilde. axios.link/3AjmHub
• Resurge Growth Partners of London is raising €120m to back "VC orphans," early-stage European and Israeli startups whose growth has stagnated, per Sifted. axios.link/4fGieB5
• Socium Ventures, the corporate venture arm of Axios owner Cox Enterprises, launched a $300m second fund. sociumventures.com
• Tamarack Global, an early-stage VC firm focused on deep tech, raised $72m for its second fund, per Axios Pro. axios.link/40qLmrs
• Thomas H. Lee Partners is raising its 10th flagship buyout fund, per an SEC filing.
🌎 Verdane, a Norwegian PE firm, raised €700m for its second decarbonization fund. verdane.com
It's Personnel
• Charlotte Palmer joined Integra Global Advisors to co-lead VC fund-of-funds program. She previously was with British Business Bank. axios.link/3YhPdEA
Final Numbers


The U.S. economy grew at a 2.8% annualized rate in the third quarter, according to an initial print from the Commerce Department. Go deeper.
Thanks for reading Axios Pro Rata, and to copy editor Bryan McBournie! Please ask your friends, colleagues, and self-checkout helpers to sign up.
Sign up for Axios Pro Rata



