Hundreds of billions of dollars have been invested into the development of autonomous fleets, including ride-hail apps, sensors, and self-driving software.

• But the robotaxi revolution's next layer isn't about AI, writes Axios' Joann Muller. It's about real estate.

Why it matters: This is a big investment opportunity, including for those who missed out on the first ride.

• Or for VCs burned by earlier, consumer-focused EV charging efforts.

Joann writes: The key to operating a successful AV network is maximizing vehicle "uptime."

• Robotaxis plugged into an EV charger, or waiting to be serviced, aren't earning fares. They need depots for cleaning and charging — highly efficient ones that minimize "dead miles" between rides.
• Think of it like a WiFi mesh network, but for an entire city, says Ming Maa, co-founder and CEO of Moove AV, which manages and dispatches Waymo robotaxis in Phoenix and Miami.

State of play: Some AV depots are likely to be converted industrial sites, similar to what Revel did with a former Pfizer plant in Brooklyn for EV rideshare drivers. Or parts of existing parking structures, depending on the electricity access.

• Within those sites will be other new technologies. Like the multi-bay, hands-free charging solution being developed by Rocsys — a Dutch startup that yesterday announced $13 million in Series A extension funding led by Capricorn Partners.

The bottom line, per Joann: AV infrastructure is like the early days of railroads.

• The first investors were speculators, and many got buried. The real fortunes came later when industrialists consolidated rail lines and introduced operating discipline.

Lazard (NYSE: LAZ) has agreed to acquire Campbell Lutyens, a London-based private markets advisor.

Why it's the BFD: This is the largest acquisition in Lazard's 178-year history, and reflects how private market deals have become a fast-flowing revenue stream for Wall Street.

Zoom in: Campbell Lutyens was founded in 1988 and has fund placement, secondary advisor, and GP capital advisory units.

• The deal is valued at up to $660 million. This includes $575 million that's payable in part at closing, with the rest coming two years later. There's also $85 million in potential earnouts.

The bottom line: "The merger is expected to bolster the combined company in different parts of the rates cycle. Lazard's M&A and restructuring practice will help bankers in the private capital business, and vice-versa, deepening relationships with financial sponsors and investors." — Bloomberg

• Anthropic "has received multiple preemptive offers" to raise around $50b at an $850b-$900b valuation, per TechCrunch. axios.link/4tLM3HM

• Flourish, a new "energy-efficient" AI startup from Meta vet Thomas Reardon, is raising capital at a $2.5b valuation, per Bloomberg. Lux Capital, where Reardon is a venture partner, and GV are part of $500m in initial commitments. axios.link/4w1I0bG

• SoftBank plans to create and list a standalone AI and robotics company in the U.S. that could be valued at around $100b, per the FT. It would be called Roze, and could float later this year. axios.link/4w1II8Q

• Rogo, an NYC-based AI platform for finance, raised $160m in Series D funding. Kleiner Perkins led, joined by Sequoia Capital, Thrive Capital, Khosla Ventures, JPMorgan Growth Equity Partners, BoxGroup, Mantis VC, Jack Altman, Evantic, and Positive Sum. axios.link/48Q7Vtd

• Hightouch, an SF-based marketing AI startup, raised $150m in Series D funding at a $2.75b post-money valuation. Goldman Sachs Alternatives and Bain Capital Ventures led, joined by Iconiq, Sapphire Ventures, Amplify Partners, YC and TD7. axios.link/48shs9x

• Netomi, an SF-based customer service startup, raised $110m. Accenture Ventures led, joined by Adobe Ventures, WndrCo, SLW, Naver Ventures, Metis Strategy, and Fin Capital. axios.link/4ujzu6a

• JuliaHub, a Cambridge, Mass.-based agentic AI platform for hardware engineering, raised $65m in Series B fuinding. Dorilton Capital led, joined by General Catalyst, AE Industrial Partners, and Bob Muglia. axios.link/4tIDZYl

🚑 Axoft, a Cambridge, Mass.-based brain-computer interface startup, raised $55m in Series A funding. C.P. Group Innovation led, joined by Alumni Ventures, the Stanford President's Venture Fund, Hillhouse Investment, and Gaorong Ventures. axios.link/420zKer

⚡ CMBlu Energy, a German startup maker of long-duration batteries, raised €50 million in Series C funding led by Samsung Ventures at a valuation north of €1b, per Axios Pro. axios.link/4w1Fe6g

• Legora, a collaborative AI platform for lawyers, raised $50m in Series D extension funding, bringing its total to $600m at a $5.6b post-money valuation. New backers are Atlassian, NVentures, Airtree, Barclays, Geodesic, Insight, Liberty Global, and Nikesh Arora. axios.link/4uif5OX

🚑 Vivacta Bio, a Chinese developer of CAR-T cell therapies, raised $50m in Series A and A+ funding. Loyal Valley Capital and Decheng Capital led, joined by OrbiMed, Hankang Capital, Eisai Innovation, and C&D Emerging Industry Equity Investment. axios.link/3QvAnu5

• Casa, an AI platform for residential handymen, raised $20m in Series A funding. Forerunner Ventures led, joined by Neo, Berenthal Veture Partners, and Travis Kalanick. axios.link/4mXygLu

• Featherless, an SF-based platform for running open-source AI, raised $20m in Series A funding. AMD Ventures and Airbus Ventures led, joined by BMW i Ventures, Kickstart Ventures, Panache Ventures, and Wavemaker Ventures. featherless.ai

🚑 Photon, an NYC-based prescription marketplace, raised $16m in Series A funding, per Axios Pro. Healthier Capital led, joined by Notation, Flare Capital, and Evidenced. axios.link/4w1F3rC

• Pmtbox, an Orem, Utah-based provider of back-end payments software for merchants, raised $15m in seed funding, per Axios Pro. Tandem Ventures led, joined by Element Ventures and Cynosure Investment Partners. axios.link/49lDJGi

• Definity, an agentic data engineering platform, raised $12m in Series A funding. GreatPoint Ventures led, joined by Dynatrace, StageOne Ventures, and Hyde Park Venture Partners. axios.link/4cWUR6q

🚑 Lighthouse Pharmaceuticals, an SF-based biotech with an Alzheimer's disease candidate, raised $12m in Series A funding led by Double Point Ventures. axios.link/4n7KIbO

🚑 Tacalyx, a German cancer biotech, raised €11 million seed extension funding from Boehringer Ingelheim Venture Fund, Kurma Partners, High-Tech Gründerfonds, Eurazeo, Creathor Ventures, and Thuja Capital. axios.link/4ej0dLC

• Blomma, an SF-based career coaching platform, raised $5m in seed funding led by Felicis Ventures. axios.link/3QE2tmN

• Online Oceans, a U.K. maritime defense startup, raised £4m led by Seraphim Space. axios.link/4vXUrW0

• Mosaic SoC, a Swiss developer of perception chips for spatial computing, raised $3.8m in pre-seed funding. Founderful led, joined by Kick Foundation. axios.link/3PdXCbw

• Dreambase, an analytics platform built for Supabase, raised $3.7m in seed funding. Felicis Ventures led, joined by Active Capital, FirstMile Ventures, Darkmode Ventures, Angel Collective, Earl Grey Capital, and Mercury Fund. axios.link/4uj77VV

• Certifyde, an NYC-based AI adoption platform, raised $2m in seed funding from K5 Global and Flamingo Capital. axios.link/4cFKAwz

• Apax Partners is the frontrunner to buy CloserStill Media, a U.K. trade show operator that could fetch over £1.2b, from Providence Equity Partners, per Reuters. axios.link/4ujaegz

⚡ Ares Management acquired a stake in the Rover natural gas pipeline, which begins in Appalachia and runs 700 miles, from Blackstone. axios.link/4n1hk6J

• Catchment Capital acquired Vertech Industries, a Phoenix-based industrial systems integrator. axios.link/496xQg7

• CVC Capital Partners led a €210m investment — including both equity and debt — for Lipton Teas and Infusions. axios.link/4t6GDFY

• DCC (LSE: DCC) rejected a 4.95b takeover approach from KKR and Energy Capital Partners. axios.link/492C2gS

• Engineering Resource Group, a Godspeed Capital Management portfolio company, acquired Haltom Engineering, a Memphis-based MEP engineering consultancy. axios.link/4vYIMpN

🐮 Falfurrias Management Partners invested in protein producer Young American Food Brands (fka Miami Beef). axios.link/3PaAyKL

• Finsbury Food Group, a DouglasBay Capital portfolio company, acquired Flower & White, a U.K. maker of lower-calorie sweet treats and snack bars. axios.link/3OD7pYC

• Hamilton Lane and GCM Grosvenor agreed to buy a 49.9% stake in the Illinois-based Big Sky Wind facility. axios.link/4cCbu8w

• iAltA, an NYC-based private markets infrastructure firm backed by WestCap, acquired Precept, a wealth tech platform, from Proof Partners. axios.link/4n1NP4P

⚡ OpenGate Capital agreed to acquire the EMEA unit of Total Safety, a Houston-based provider of safety and compliance solutions for petrochemical, oil and gas, from Littlejohn & Co. axios.link/4cRyjDX

• Persona Triangle, a portfolio company of Exeter Street Capital Partners, acquired Sheer Service and EVO Door & Window Service, a West Palm Beach, Fla.-based windows and doors services group. axios.link/3QPLVZ1

• Urban Armor Gear, backed by HKW, acquired Nomad, a Santa Barbara, Calif.-based mobile accessories maker. axios.link/4tb9ucl

🚀 VertiGIS, a German geographic info systems software company owned by Battery Ventures, paid around £87m to acquire 1Spatial, a geospatial data management software provider that had been listed in London. axios.link/4eSOkfx

🚑 Avalyn Pharma, a Boston-based developer of inhaled therapies for rare respiratory diseases, raised $300m in its IPO. The Phase 2 company priced 16.7m shares at $18, versus plans to offer 11.8m at $16-$18. It has an $813m fully diluted valuation, plans to list on the Nasdaq (AVLN), and raised $386m from firms like F-Prime, Eventide, Norwest Venture Partners, Novo Holdings, Perceptive Advisors, S.R. One, Vida Ventures, and Wellington. axios.link/4ujsK8m

• Aussie Aussie Acquisition, a SPAC led by Alexander Tsui (Melissas Makeover), filed for a $100m IPO. axios.link/4ePeZK7

• GSR V Acquisition Corp., a SPAC led by Gus Garcia (ex-BofA) and Lewis Silberman (ex-Oppenheimer), filed for a $200m IPO. axios.link/4tC6Ehu

• RRE Ventures Acquisition, a SPAC formed by RRE Ventures, raised $250m in its IPO. axios.link/4twucnB

• West Enclave Merger, a Latin America-focused SPAC, raised $100m in its IPO. axios.link/46LydvC

• CIC, backed by the Chinese government, may seek to sell its 10% stake in London's Heathrow airport over concerns about the rising costs of building a third runway, per the FT. axios.link/426D9s3

• KKR is exploring a sale of Flora Foods Group, the spreads business it carved out of Unilever in 2017, per the FT. It could fetch around $10b. axios.link/4tImHup

• Quadrant Private Equity and Oaktree Capital Management reportedly hired Goldman Sachs to find a buyer for New Zealand radio broadcaster MediaWorks. axios.link/421QOAL

• Engine Capital is urging government contractor KBR (NYSE: KBR) to explore a sale rather than its current split plans, per the WSJ. axios.link/3QCHIIg

⚡ MARA Holdings (Nasdaq: MARA) agreed to acquire Long Ridge Energy & Power, including its power plant in Hannibal, Ohio, from ‌FTAI Infrastructure (Nasdaq: FIP) for $1.5b (including debt). axios.link/4ujvnXM

• Martin Marietta (NYSE: MLM) agreed to acquire New Frontier Materials, a Maryland Heights, Mo.-based aggregates-led producer, from Declaration Partners. axios.link/3QCM3ew

• OppFi (NYSE: OPFI) agreed to acquire Glendale, Ariz.-based BNCCORP and its BNC National Bank subsidiary for $130m in cash and stock. axios.link/4tOqnuI

🚑 Teva Pharmaceuticals (TAE: TEVA) of Israel agreed to acquire Emalex Biosciences, a Chicago-based Tourette syndrome biotech, for up to $900m. Emalex had raised over $380m from firms like Bain Capital Life Sciences, Valor Equity Partners, Paragon Biosciences, and Fidelity. axios.link/4t0fvIJ

🎵 Universal Music Group (AMS: UMG) agreed to sell half its stake in Spotify (NYSE: SPOT) to help fund a €1b share buyback program. This comes amid UMG's pursuit by Bill Ackman, who said the company should sell its entire Spotify stake to support €1.5b in share buybacks. axios.link/429uvJp

• 137 Ventures raised $700m for a pair of funds, one for primary investments and the other for founder/employee tenders. axios.link/4dg6ir3

• BMW i Ventures launched a new $300m fund. axios.link/4tBx82J

• Crescent Cove Advisors raised $446m for its fourth tech growth capital fund. axios.link/48AF6k9

• Earlybird VC of Germany raised €360m for its eighth early-stage fund. axios.link/4eSL5ET

• Investindustrial raised €1.5b for its fourth lower midmarket PE fund. axios.link/4cVwdTs

• Ridgeline Ventures raised over $180m for its second fund. ridgelinevc.com

• Ares Management promoted Peter Ogilvie to COO and head of strategy. axios.link/42yKTmS

• Kevin Mohr joined Greybull Stewardship as CFO and operating partner. He previously was with The Dutra Group. axios.link/4tACcnY

• Katy Nelson, a former partner at a16z, joined Helena Capital as a general partner. axios.link/4cHjdlQ

• Karim Tannir stepped down as head of HSBC's regional banking unit in MENA to join Citigroup in Dubai. axios.link/4tJVB6b

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