Some quick notes before I head to the airport, which hopefully will have enough air traffic controllers...

💰 Not too big to fail: The White House considers private assets to be "very important" but not "systemically important."

• That's according to SEC chair Paul Atkins, speaking yesterday at a Managed Funds Association event, and reflects recent efforts to enable more retail investor access to private equity, credit, etc.
• The big question, of course, is if increased democratization of private assets would make them a systemic risk — and if the SEC is developing metrics to watch for that tipping point.
• So far, it just seems to be focused on the pedal without even checking to see if the brakes work.

🤖 Speaking of which: Atkins wasn't asked, and didn't address, whether the AI mega-blobs are beginning to pose a systemic risk. But concerns about this circular economy — enabled by both private and public capital dealmaking — do seem to be gaining traction.

🤗 Why can't we be friends? There may be a detente in the battle between syndicated loans and private credit, and not just because some Wall Street banks are dipping their toes into the latter.

• The solution is hybrid financing, which is appearing in an increasing number of large deals.
• Per Bloomberg: "It's an arrangement that works out well for private equity firms and their companies, allowing them to stretch leverage, push more aggressive terms and drive pricing down."

💬 Follow-up: David Sacks joined me at BFD San Francisco in May 2024, before he became AI czar or even had formally endorsed Donald Trump. The first part of our conversation was about a new startup he co-founded called Glue, an aspiring Slack killer that was notable for its AI integration and lack of noisy channels.

• Today, Glue is announcing a $20 million Series A round and a revised approach.
• Abstract Ventures led the round, joined by Chapter One, Hack VC, Goldcrest Capital, and Sacks' Craft Ventures.

CEO Evan Owen tells me that Glue has refocused around MCP (model context protocol), after learning that it was an "uphill battle" to get all of a company's internal information synced. The result, he claims, is an agentic experience that lets Glue obtain contextual information and take actions across third-party apps.

• After watching a demo, I asked Owen how long it might be until such workplace collaboration tools don't really involve human workers — just agents instructing other agents.
• His reply: "We firmly believe that for agents to be successful, they need human guidance. Agents over time will take on more work, but will still need humans in the loop to correct and give feedback."

SoftBank has agreed to buy the robotics unit of Swiss engineering firm ABB for nearly $5.4 billion in cash.

Why it's the BFD: There is surging interest in the intersection of AI and the physical world, even though most AI attention so far has focused on chatbots and slop suppliers.

Zoom in: ABB Robotics generated $2.3 billion in 2024 revenue and employs around 7,000 people.

• ABB previously planned to spin out the division into a separately listed company.

The bottom line: "[SoftBank] is not new to robotics. In 2012, SoftBank took a majority stake in a French company called Aldebaran. Two years later, the two companies launched a humanoid robot called Pepper — a bet that ultimately flopped, but robotics has now re-emerged as a key focus for the Japanese giant." — Arjun Kharpal, CNBC

🚑 Soufflé Therapeutics, a Newton, Mass.-based RNA biotech, raised $200m in Series A funding from Bessemer Venture Partners, Arch Venture Partners, Vida Ventures, and Polaris Partners. axios.link/43ascXf

🚑 Jupiter Endovascular, a Menlo Park, Calif.-based developer of endovascular procedures tech, raised over $40m in Series B funding. Sonder Capital led, joined by Senvest Management and LB Investment. axios.link/46VoWQB

🚑 Lumen Bioscience, a Seattle-based biologic drugmaker, raised $30m in Series C extension funding led by WestRiver Group, per Axios Pro. axios.link/4h5dTJs

🚑 Phagos, a Paris-based biotech fighting bacterial disease with bacteriophages, raised €25m in Series A funding from CapAgro, Hoxton Ventures, CapHorn, Demeter, Acurio Ventures, Citizen Capital, Entrepreneurs First, Founders Capital, and Station F. axios.link/3KZLjwV

• Quilter, an LA-based developer of autonomous PCB layout, raised $25m in Series B funding. Index Ventures led, joined by Benchmark, Coatue, and Root Ventures. quilter.ai

🚑 AeroRx Therapeutics, a La Jolla, Calif.-based biotech focused on chronic respiratory diseases, raised $21m in Series A funding. Avalon BioVentures led, joined by Correlation Ventures and Alexandria Venture Investments. axios.link/4nyLaPA

🌍 Membrion, a Seattle-based industrial wastewater treatment startup, raised $20m in Series B1 funding from Pangaea Ventures, PureTerra Ventures, Ecolab, W. L. Gore & Associates, The Lewis Family Office, Safar Partners, Lam Research, Indico Ventures, and Giantleap Capital. axios.link/4qhP7dt

• Northbeam, an El Segundo, Calif.-based video marketing tech startup, raised $15m from HighPost Capital. axios.link/4obFoTX

• Realm.Security, a Boston-based data security startup, raised $15m in Series A funding, per Axios Pro. Jump Capital led, joined by Glasswing Ventures and Accomplice. axios.link/3VVgXhG

• TransCrypts, a blockchain-based digital identity startup, raised $15m in seed funding, per Axios Pro. Pantera Capital led, joined by Lightspeed, Alpha Edison, Motley Fool Ventures, California Innovation Fund, and Tomer London. axios.link/3WyUGGp

• Invigilator, a South African remote student assessment platform, raised $11m led by Kaltroco. axios.link/48RDuDu

• Arcjet, a security software dev kit for in-production apps, raised $8.3m in Series A funding. Plural and Ott Kaukver led, joined by insiders a16z and Seedcamp. arcjet.com

• Cyberwave, an Italian platform for integrating AI agents with robots, raised €7m led by United Ventures. axios.link/4nLgESI

• AltStore, a third-party app store focused on Europe, raised $6m in Series A funding from Pace Capital. axios.link/4308ayE

• Appy AI, a Denver-based business creation platform, raised $5m in seed funding led by Four Rivers and Founder Collective. axios.link/3KxJUxJ

• Dragonfly, a London-based software discovery platform, raised £2.6M in pre-seed funding. Episode 1 led, joined by Dreamcraft and Portfolio Ventures. axios.link/43arI3n

• Resourcly, a German provider of inventory streamlining software, raised €2.7m in seed funding led by Project A. axios.link/46GfTV2

• Nexcade, a London-based provider of automation AI for freight forwarders, raised $2.5m in pre-seed funding. Connect Ventures led, joined by MMC Ventures, Entropy Industrial Capital, and Inovia. axios.link/4q0iikY

• Ewake, a Paris-based software reliability improvement startup, raised €2m in seed funding. Connect Ventures led, joined by 2100 Ventures, Notion Capital, Insiders, and 50partners. axios.link/4gZaAn3

🚑 OraLiva, a Durham, N.C.-based cancer diagnostics startup, raised $2m in seed funding. Preetpal Sidhu led, joined by DCVC, RTP Angel Fund, and the NYU Innovation Venture Fund. oraliva.com

🚑 Datamonk, a Dutch medical imaging data migration startup, raised $1.9m in pre-seed funding led by HealthyCapital and Nina Capital. axios.link/3KFMpxQ

• Avance Investment Management invested in Barchemy, a Donora, Pa.-based maker of better-for-you chocolate and confectionery ingredients. axios.link/4gVyEqM

⚡️ Commonwealth Electrical Technologies, backed by Broad Sky Partners, acquired NuWave Energy Solutions, a Norwell, Mass.-based energy-efficiency company. axios.link/46HrCmj

• Constant Contact raised additional capital from insider Clearlake Capital Partners. axios.link/3INySDY

• Harkness Capital Partners invested in Premier Fence, a Canton, Mass.-based commercial fencing provider. premier-fence.com

• Janus Henderson opposes Advent International's $1.3b deal for Swiss chipmaker U-blox, in which it has a 5% stake, per Bloomberg. axios.link/3IxiZl2

• Mari, a live events business acquisition platform led by Ari Emanuel, raised $2b from RedBird Capital Partners, QIA, Apollo, and Ares Management. axios.link/4gXxrzc

• Mountaingate Capital acquired a majority stake in Chicago-based corporate communications firm Walker Sands from Stone-Goff Partners. axios.link/4pWRa6e

🚑 Platinum Equity agreed to acquire the products and health care services unit of Owens & Minor (NYSE: OMI), which will retain a 5% stake, for $375m. axios.link/48Sr1PW

⚡️ Provident Energy Management, backed by Northleaf Capital Partners, acquired PowerStream Energy Services, a provider of sub-metering and billing solutions, from Alectra Energy Services. axios.link/4mXOz9J

🚑 Redwood Family Care Network, backed by Webster Equity Partners, acquired Eagles Wing, a provider of support services to individuals with developmental disabilities. axios.link/48gunw1

• Riata Capital Group invested in Government Window, a Kennesaw, Ga-based provider of payments software for local and state governments. axios.link/48mlp0a

• Smith System, backed by MidOcean Partners, acquired Utilimarc, a Minneapolis-based fleet analytics and benchmarking company. axios.link/48kGfwV

• Softrax, backed by Teleo Capital Management, acquired BluLogix, a McLean, Va.-based provider of subscription billing and revenue management software. axios.link/4mXGCRI

• TZP Group invested in youth lacrosse organization True Lacrosse. axios.link/4odetHy

• Westland Insurance, a Canadian portfolio company of Ontario Teachers, acquired Calgary-based Beneficial Insurance Solutions. axios.link/4gW5vfa

• WSB, a GHK Capital portfolio company, acquired CAS, an Austin-based civil engineering firm. axios.link/4pV3u7j

🚑 BillionToOne, a Menlo Park, Calif., precision diagnostics company, filed for an IPO. It reports a $4m net loss on $125.5m in revenue for the first half of 2025, and plans to list on the Nasdaq (BLLN). It's raised over $400m from Hummingbird Ventures, Libertus Capital, Neotribe Ventures, Premji Invest, Neuberger Berman, Adams Street Partners, Baillie Gifford, Civilization Ventures, Libertus Capital, and Fifty Years.axios.link/4o7jJfB

• MMC Ports, Malaysia's largest port operator, is postponing its IPO to next year, per Bloomberg. axios.link/4hjntZv

• CoreWeave (Nasdaq: CRWV) agreed to acquire Monolith, a London-based provider of AI engineering software that had raised over $18m from firms like Insight Partners and Pentech Ventures. axios.link/3VUK44G

⚡ Itron (Nasdaq: ITRI) agreed to acquire Urbint, a Miami-based provider of infrastructure risk assessment software, for $325m. Urbint raised over $130m from Energize Capital, S2G Ventures, National Grid Partners, Blue Bear Capital, Climate Investment, Energy Impact Partners, and Zoma Capital. axios.link/3ICKM3w

• Marlin Equity Partners hired Evercore to explore a sale of Medius, a Swedish accounts payable software firm that could fetch around $2b, per Bloomberg. axios.link/4o77cZw

• Qualcomm (Nasdaq: QCOM) agreed to acquire Arduino, an Italian open-source hardware and software company that had raised nearly $60m from firms like CDP Venture Capital, Anzu Partners, and Arm. axios.link/48OzPGv

• TopBuild (NYSE: BLD) acquired Specialty Products and Insulation, a Charlotte-based distributor and fabricator of mechanical insulation solutions, for $1b in cash, from Incline Equity Partners. axios.link/46TSA8T

• Confluent (Nasdaq: CLFT), a data streaming company with a $7.2b market cap, is exploring a sale after inbound interest, per Reuters. axios.link/3VVTbSv

• Helsing, a German defense-tech startup valued by VCs at $13.6b, agreed to acquire Australian underwater drone maker Blue Ocean. axios.link/4h34tht

• Lynn Forester de Rothschild is seeking to sell her family's entire 26.7% stake in The Economist, per Axios. axios.link/48lPEEu

🚑 Zimmer Biomet (NYSE: ZBH) completed its $177m purchase of Austin-based orthopedic robotics company Monogram Technologies. axios.link/4kCnHuA

• Ares Management raised $5.3b for its third infrastructure secondaries fund. axios.link/3L04C9n

⚡ Energy Impact Partners closed its third flagship fund with $1.4b. axios.link/4mSbdA8

• Manulife Investment Management raised $5.5b for its third infrastructure fund. axios.link/4oaX2Y1

• Origin Ventures raised $140m for its sixth fund. originventures.com

• Caitlin Brodie joined Permira as a managing director of North American capital formation. She previously was with Carlyle. axios.link/4o6wHKz

• Pierre-Dimitri Gore-Coty, Uber's former global head of delivery, joined VC firm Plural as a partner. axios.link/46RfKOJ

• Hideaki Kiyomori joined Canada's Northleaf Capital Partners as managing director of Japan biz dev. He previously was a director of private alts at AllianceBernstein. axios.link/3Iz9QZd

• Michael Nash joined Hunter Point Capital as a senior partner. He previously co-founded Blackstone's real estate debt strategy. axios.link/3IMHhaK

• Travis Pittman joined Leon Capital Group as a managing partner of strategic investments. He previously was with Portage Point Partners and Houlihan Lokey. axios.link/48OAB6n

• Peter Scher is retiring next spring as vice chair of JPMorgan Chase. axios.link/43aaUtl

• Apurva Shah is joining Blackstone as its first India-based private credit exec. He previously was with Deutsche Bank. axios.link/4q0ibpn

• Slow Ventures promoted Yoni Rechtman to partner. axios.link/46GFDAx

San Francisco Fed president Mary Daly tells Axios that she supports more rate cuts this year, arguing that labor market deterioration is more severe than are inflation increases.

• We didn't get a September jobs report due to the government shutdown, but ADP put out a painful print and Carlyle yesterday estimated that just 17,000 jobs were created.
• Inflation remains above the Fed's 2% target, but Daly says she's become more optimistic that tariff-related price increases won't result in a prolonged uptick.