Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios
Venture Capital
• Scale AI, an SF-based data-labeling startup, is weighing a tender offer that could value it as high as $25b, per Business Insider. Go deeper
• ReliaQuest, a Tampa, Fla.-based security operations company, raised $500m at a $3.4b valuation. EQT, KKR and FTV Capital led with participation from Ten Eleven Ventures, and Finback Investment Partners. Go deeper
• AttoTude, a Menlo Park, Calif.-based data center connection startup, raised $50m in Series B funding led by Mayfield with participation from Sutter Hill Ventures, Canaan Partners, and Wing Venture Capital. Go deeper
🚑 Venteur, an SF-based ICHRA administrator, raised $20m in Series A funding led by Informed Ventures and American Family Ventures with participation from Morgan Health, Ingeborg Investments, Catalyst by Wellstar, and Plug and Play. Go deeper
🌏 Persefoni AI, a Tempe, Ariz.-based provider of sustainability management software, raised $23m in Series C funding from TPG Rise, Rice Investment Group, Clearvision Ventures, and NGP Energy Technology Partners. Go deeper
⚡ BetterFleet, an Ann Arbor, Mich.-based provider of fleet management software, raised $15m from Aligned Climate Capital, Ecosystem Integrity Fund, and Remarkable Ventures Climate. Go deeper
• Equal Parts, an Austin, Texas-based insurance agency acquisition platform, raised $10m co-led by Equal Ventures and Max Ventures. equalparts.ai
🚑 Orthobrain, a Cleveland-based orthodontics startup, raised $7.5m led by CareCapital and JumpStart Ventures, with participation from JobsOhio. Go deeper
• Ambient, an AI-infused blockchain, raised $7.2m in seed funding from a16z, Delphi Digital, and Amber Group. Go deeper
• Sturdy, a Portland, Ore.-based customer intelligence platform, raised $6m in seed funding led by Voyager Capital with participation from Fortson VC and Grotech Ventures. Go deeper
• ControlTheory, an Austin, Texas-based observability platform, raised $5m in seed funding from Silverton Partners. Go deeper
🌎 LeakZon, an Israeli water leak detection developer for utilities, raised $5m in Series A funding led by Peal Holdings. Go deeper
⚡DeCharge, an Indian EV charging network, raised $2.5m in seed funding led by Lemniscap, joined by Colosseum, Daedalus Angels, EV3 Labs, Echo Fundraiser Chainyoda Jedis, and Levitate Labs. Go deeper
⚡ Evident Battery, a Watford, Mass.-based battery inspection tech developer, raised $3.2m in seed funding led by Ibex Investors, joined by Nationwide Ventures, Automotive Ventures and Avesta Fund. Go deeper
🚑 Acuity Behavioral Health, an Atlanta-based data-driven operations platform for inpatient psychiatric care providers, raised a $1.5m seed funding round led by Valor Ventures. Go deeper
Private Equity
• Delta Utilities, backed by Bernhard Capital Partners, acquired CenterPoint Energy's regulated natural gas local distribution companies in Louisiana and Mississippi. Go deeper
🌎 Goldman Sachs Alternatives acquired Atlas-SSI Holdings, a Monticello, Miss.-based water management equipment supplier. atlas-ssi.com
• Rampart Exterior Services, a Huron Capital portfolio company, acquired Port Enterprises, a provider of commercial roofing services in Texas. rampartexteriors.com
• The Riverside Co. invested in DAWGS, a Chicago-based provider of door and window guards for securing vacant properties. dawgsinc.com
• Sequoia Financial Group, an Ohio-based wealth manager backed by Kudu Investment Management and Valeas Capital Partners, completed its purchase of Carlson Capital Management, a Northfield, Minn.-based investment advisory with $3.8b in client assets. sequoia-financial.com
• T-Mobile (Nasdaq: TMUS) and EQT acquired Lumos, a High Point, N.C.-based fiber-to-the-home provider. Go deeper
Public Offerings
• MasOrange, Spain's largest mobile network operator, is considering an IPO in 2026, per the FT. Backers include KKR, Cinven, and Providence Equity Partners. Go deeper
Liquidity Events
• Comcast (Nasdaq: CMSCA) completed its purchase of Nitel, a Chicago-based managed services provider, from Cinven. Go deeper
M&A
• Cantor Fitzgerald agreed to buy Canaccord Genuity's (TSX: CF) U.S. wholesale market-making business. Go deeper
• Cellnex Telecom (Madrid: CLNX) is seeking to sell a majority stake in its Swiss unit, which could fetch up to €2b, per Bloomberg. Go deeper
• Qualcomm (Nasdaq: QCOM) is weighing a takeover bid for British semiconductor company Alphawave (LSE: AWE), per Reuters. Go deeper
Fundraising
• Linden Capital Partners raised $400m for its second structured capital fund. Go deeper
• Iron Prairie Ventures raised $15m for a fund focused on industrial sector digitization. Go deeper
Credit
🌏 Divert, a Concord, Mass.-based food waste company, raised $90m in project debt from Nuveen Energy Infrastructure Credit for a food waste facility in Lexington, N.C. Go deeper
⚡ Energy Vault (NYSE: NRGV), developer of energy storage systems, closed $28m in project financing for a micro-grid project in Calistoga, Calif. Go deeper
Bankruptcies
🌎 CTN Holdings, (fka Aspiration Partners), an LA-based sustainability banking services company, filed for bankruptcy, per Bloomberg. Its investors included Leonardo DiCaprio, Oaktree, and Flourish Ventures. Go deeper
⚡️Li-Cycle, a listed Canadian lithium battery recycler that received a $475m DoE loan to build a New York factory, warned it could go out of business. Investors include Glencore, LG Chem and LG Energy Solution, per PitchBook. Go deeper
It's Personnel
• Rahm Emanuel, considered a 2028 presidential contender, is rejoining Centerview Partners, per Semafor. Go deeper
- Erin Brodwin, Katie Fehrenbacher, Ryan Lawler, Alan Neuhauser, and Aaron Weitzman contributed to this report.
