It's been an inauspicious start for TikTok U.S., the $14 billion social media spinout whose top backers include Oracle, Silver Lake, MGX, and former owner ByteDance.

• Some users have accused TikTok U.S. of censoring certain content, including mentions of ICE and Jeffrey Epstein.
• The company denied wrongdoing, instead claiming that a data center power outage caused a series of unintended technical failures — most of which have since been rectified.

Neither scenario does much to inspire confidence in new management, because both play into preconceived narratives.

• If there's been censorship, something California Gov. Gavin Newsom pledged to investigate, it validates worries about a giant social media platform being controlled by ardent Trump supporters like Oracle's Larry Ellison. Let alone via a deal brokered by the White House.
• If it was tech failure, it validates worries that none of the buyers have deep experience running a social network — and the broader unknowns of trying to cleave off its U.S. operations.

These issues aren't likely to bother the average TikTok U.S. user, but top creators are paying attention — and any sort of significant exodus could cause eyeball and revenue deterioration.

• Just to emphasize the sort of ecosystem dollars we're talking about, top TikToker Khaby Lame just signed a $975 million deal to license his brand for the next three years.

Meanwhile, we're learning a bit more about the spinout transaction.

• Many of ByteDance's investors received partial liquidity rather than becoming direct investors in the new joint venture, per sources familiar. It's unclear if everyone had a choice.
• They still have indirect exposure via ByteDance's 19.9% stub, but aren't among those who also acquired nearly a one-third stake in TikTok U.S.
• The "exiting" group appears to include such firms as Sequoia Capital, NEA, Carlyle, KKR, TCV, Baillie Gifford, Dragoneer, SoftBank, and Tiger Global.

The bottom line: National security risk has been mitigated. Execution risk remains.

Waabi, a Toronto-based developer of autonomous driving solutions, raised US$750 million in Series C funding led by insiders Khosla Ventures and G2 Venture Partners.

• It also secured up to $250 million in milestone-based investment from existing investor Uber, as part of a new robotaxi partnership.

Why it's the BFD: This would be the largest funding ever for a Canadian startup, if the Uber earnouts come through, and is the latest example of AI being applied to the physical world.

Other investors included NVentures, Volvo, Porsche, BlackRock, Radical Ventures, HarbourVest Partners, Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, and Incharge Capital,

The bottom line: "It's obvious that the physical AI moment is here. Autonomy is the first application where scale is going to happen." — Waabi founder and CEO Raquel Urtasun tells Axios' Joann Muller

Anthropic reportedly doubled its fundraise target to $20b, while OpenAI reportedly may secure another $30b from SoftBank.

🚑 Cellares, a South SF-based cell therapy manufacturing platform, raised $257m in Series D funding. BlackRock and Eclipse led, joined by T. Rowe Price, Baillie Gifford, Duquesne Family Office, Intuitive Ventures, EDBI, Gates Frontier and insiders DC Global Ventures, DFJ Growth, and Willett Advisors. axios.link/4bWIGre

• Zero Hash, a crypto and stablecoin infrastructure firm, is in talks to raise $250m at a $1.5b valuation after walking away from a potential acquisition by Mastercard, per CoinDesk. axios.link/3NKzHiU

• Flapping Airplanes, a frontier data efficiency lab, raised $180m from firms like GV, Sequoia Capital, and Index Ventures. axios.link/3NTDfzk

• Property Finder, a property portal in the Middle East and North Africa, raised $170m from firms like Mubadala and Beco Capital. axios.link/4qnG49H

• Vention, a Canadian software and hardware platform for automation and robotics, raised US$110m from investors including Investissement Québec, Desjardins Capital, Fidelity Investments Canada, and NVentures. axios.link/4rfi9d7

• Mesh, a crypto payments network, raised $75m in Series C funding at a $1b valuation. Dragonfly Capital led, joined by Paradigm, Moderne Ventures, Coinbase Ventures, SBI Investment and Liberty City Ventures. axios.link/4t8QRam

🌍 Redwood Materials, a Nevada-based battery recycling and grid storage firm, raised $75m in Series E extension funding from Google and insiders like Capricorn and Goldman Sachs. axios.link/4q5myhR

• Factify, an Israeli developer of a "post-PDF" document standard, raised $73m in seed funding. Valley Capital Partners led, joined by John Giannandrea, Ken Moelis, and Peter Brown. axios.link/4q0lHiB

• Rogo, an NYC-based maker of AI agents for dealmakers and investors, raised $75m in Series C funding at a $750m valuation, per Axios Pro. Sequoia Capital led, joined by JPMorgan, Thrive Capital, and Khosla Ventures. axios.link/45zA71E

🚑 Gyde, an Austin, Texas-based health insurance brokerage, raised $60m, per Axios Pro. Lightspeed led, joined by Optum Ventures, Crystal Venture Partners, Virtue, MVP Ventures, and undisclosed endowments. axios.link/3LDVBDZ

• Lunar, a Nordic challenger bank, raised €46m from Heartland, Orbit Alliance and 100A. axios.link/45CNT3I

• Phia, a shopping app, raised $35m. Notable Capital led, joined by Khosla Ventures and insider Kleiner Perkins. axios.link/4qJhfWz

• Fiddler AI, a Palo Alto-based observability and security platform, raised $30m in Series C funding. RPS Ventures led, joined by Lightspeed, Lux Capital, Insight Partners, Capgemini Ventures, Dallas VC, Dentsu Ventures, Mozilla Ventures, LG Technology Ventures, Benhamou Global Ventures, and LDV Partners. axios.link/4pYp9tN

• Adaptive6, an NYC-based provider of cloud cost governance solutions, raised $28m in Series A funding. USVP led, joined by New Era Capital Partners, Forgepoint Capital, Pitango VC, and Vertex Ventures. adaptive6.com

• Slice, an equity compliance and management startup, raised $25m in Series A funding, per Axios Pro. Insight Partners led, joined by TLV Partners, R-Squared Ventures, Jibe Ventures and law firms Fenwick and Cooley. axios.link/3M0no1j

🚑 Antheia, a Menlo Park, Calif.-based biosynthesis company, raised $24m in Series C extension funding led by Athos KG and America's Frontier Fund. axios.link/4jZXTd0

• Checkbox, a startup that sorts in-house legal requests, raised $23m in Series A funding, per Axios Pro. Touring Capital led, joined by Peak XV, Conductive Ventures, Tidal Ventures, and Five V Capital. axios.link/4qMsXzO

• BoldVoice, a voice coaching platform for non-native English speakers, raised $21m in Series A funding. Matrix led, joined by Flybridge, Xfund, Corazon Capital, Alumni Ventures, Umami Capital, and YC. boldvoice.com

• Datatruck, a Chicago-based transportation management system for long-haul fleets, raised $12m in Series A funding led by Avenue Growth Partners, per Axios Pro. axios.link/3Z4WA2Y

• Chamelio, an NYC-based in-house legal intelligence platform, raised $10m in seed funding led by Work-Bench and Emerge. axios.link/4bnmLcG

🚑 Climatic, an NYC-based respiratory wellness startup, raised $10m in seed funding, per Axios Pro. Lerer Hippeau led, joined by BBGV, Brand Foundry, Cade Ventures, Good Friends, and Space Station. axios.link/4rgxpXb

🌍 Modern Milkman, a U.K. sustainable grocery delivery startup, raised £10m led by Salica Investments. axios.link/3NC73AF

• Risotto, a Berkeley, Calif.-based help desk automation startup, raised $10m in seed funding. Bonfire Ventures led, joined by YC, 645 Ventures, Ritual Capital, and Surgepoint Capital. axios.link/4k5Eesk

• Snout, an LA-based pet health billing platform, raised $10m in Series A funding (plus secured $100m in debt). Footwork led, joined by Bread and Butter Ventures, Pear, and Restive Ventures. axios.link/4a2kdhA

🌍 Co-reactive, a German developer of CO2-negative materials tech, raised €6.5m in seed funding. HTGF led, joined by NRW.Bank, HBG Ventures, AFI Ventures, and Evercurious VC. axios.link/4rjVyMK

• Paraglide, an agentic AI startup focused on accounts receivable, raised $5m in seed funding. Bessemer Venture Partners and DN Capital led, joined by Born Capital and The Nordic Web Ventures. axios.link/45x7WQY

• CVector, an NYC-based industrial AI startup, raised $5m in seed funding. Powerhouse Ventures led, joined by Fusion Fund, Myriad Venture Partners, and Hitachi. axios.link/4jZ505u

• Amlon Group, a Heartwood Partners portfolio company, acquired Mastermelt America, a Sweetwater, Tenn.-based company that processes and treats complex industrial waste streams. axios.link/3ZBw5lR

• Bain Capital acquired APP Jet Center, a provider of aviation services at supply-constrained U.S. airports, from Ridgewood Infrastructure. axios.link/3Z3iAv5

• The Chernin Group acquired a minority stake in Goalhanger, a London-based media and production company. axios.link/4rjWVuS

🐴 CVC Capital Partners acquired a control stake in Equine Network, as U.S. equestrian-based sports league, for around $300m. axios.link/4ajVDdq

• Excellere Partners acquired Hinterland, a Riviera Beach, Fla.-based provider of underground water infrastructure maintenance and repair solutions. axios.link/46d3irt

• LevelBlue, a Dallas-based portfolio company of WillJam Ventures, acquired Eden Prairie, Minn.-based cybersecurity company Fortra. axios.link/49HXsAL

• PaperTech, a May River Capital portfolio company, acquired Bake-Best Trays, a Redmond, Ore.-based maker of pressed paperboard trays. axios.link/4bmOSZu

🚑 Resonetics, backed by Carlyle and GTCR, acquired Resolution Medical, a Fridley, Minn.-based medical manufacturer, from Arcline Investment Management. axios.link/4rhA0Ag

SpaceX reportedly may seek a $1.5 trillion valuation for its IPO in late June, timed to be around Elon Musk's birthday (which is on a Sunday) and the planetary alignment of Jupiter and Venus.

• ClearThink 1 Acquisition, a financial services SPAC led by William Brock (Iron Rock), filed for a $150m IPO. axios.link/4q0YpsA

🚑 Eikon Therapeutics, a Millbrae, Calif.-based live-cell microscopy startup, set IPO terms to 17.65m shares at $16-$18. It would have an $858m market cap, were it to price in the middle, and plans to list on the Nasdaq (EIKN). The pre-revenue company raised over $1b — yes, more than its proposed market cap — from firms like Lux Capital (17.3% pre-IPO stake), Foresite Capital (12.4%), Column Group (12.6%), Innovation Endeavors (9.4%), Soros Capital, and General Catalyst. axios.link/4rgFUkW

• Audax hired JPMorgan to find a buyer for BlueCat Networks, a Toronto-based cybersecurity firm that could fetch more than US$1.5b, per Reuters. axios.link/3NVNymx

• CD&R is seeking to sell Indicor, a Charlotte, N.C.-based industrials firm that could fetch more than $6b, per the FT. axios.link/4a20te2

🚑 SK Capital Partners agreed to sell the controlled drug substance businesses Noramco to CDMO Siegfried Holding (Swiss: SFZN). axios.link/4q0Q3kM

🚑 Sword Health, a Draper, Utah-based virtual physical therapy provider valued by VCs at $4b, acquired rival Kaia Health for $285m. Kaia raised over $120m from firms like 3VC, Optum Ventures, Eurazeo, Balderton Capital, Heartcore Capital, Symphony Ventures, and Alpha Protocol Ventures. Sword also is seeking $500m in new funding. axios.link/49Wg5jb

• Acacia Mining Enterprises, owner of Turkey's largest open-pit copper mine, is on the block for up to $1b, per Bloomberg. axios.link/4k8Ysla

• Goldon Brothers acquired bankrupt U.K. fashion brand LK Bennett. axios.link/3NBLq3p

• Odeko, an NYC-based provider of ordering and supply chain software to restaurants and cafes, acquired District Distribution, a Washington, D.C.-based food and beverage distributor. Odeko has raised more than $280m in VC funding. axios.link/4rcNMnB

• Odgers acquired Ridgeway Partners, U.S.-based executive search firm focused on financial services and board advisory. axios.link/49JkDL3

• Prosperity Bancshares (NYSE: PB) agreed to buy rival Texas lender Stellar Bancorp (NYSE: STEL) for $2b in cash and stock. axios.link/4q6MzNY

• Scotts Miracle-Gro (NYSE: SMGO) agreed to sell most of its cannabis supply unit to Vireo Growth (CNQ: VREO). axios.link/4q8gaWZ

• 18 West Capital Partners, led by Adam Klotz (ex-Columbia Pacific Advisors) and Zach Greenberg (KKR) is targeting $50m for its debut fund, per an SEC filing.

• b2venture of Switzerland raised €150m for its fifth fund. axios.link/4k7ZCgL

• Hetz Ventures of Israel is targeting $140m for its fourth fund, per an SEC filing.

• Jannick Schilling (ex-Founders Fund) is raising $10m for a debut fund, per an SEC filing

• Taiwan's government plans to merge four state-backed asset managers into a single group with around $12b in AUM. axios.link/3Mdb4Lj

• Grace Cassy, co-founder of CyLon, joined Ten Eleven Ventures as a partner. axios.link/3Z4L87E

• Taylor Cavanah, former PetDesk CEO, joined Blueprint Equity as the firm's first operating partner. axios.link/4k8Zpde

• Infinity Capital Partners promoted John Champagne to partner and chief investment officer. axios.link/49UrAI0

• Christophe Vulliez joined France's Capza as head of private debt. He previously was with Diagonal Capital. axios.link/4t2fS6K

📬 Consumer confidence as at its lowest point in 12 years, driven down by concerns over prices and jobs, Axios' Neil Irwin writes.