Illustration: Brendan Lynch/Axios
Venture Capital
💊 Chai Discovery, an SF-based AI drug discovery startup, raised $70m in Series A funding. Menlo Ventures led, joined by Yosemite, DST Global Partners, SV Angel, Avenir, DCVC and insiders Thrive Capital, OpenAI, Dimension, Neo, Lachy Groom, and Fred Ehrsam. Go deeper
• Capitolis, an NYC-based capital markets fintech, raised $56m. Barclays, BNP Paribas, and JPMorgan led, joined by Canapi Ventures, 9Yards Capital, and Greenfield Partners. Go deeper
• Stavtar, a New York-based spend management platform for alt asset managers, raised $55m in Series A funding from Elephant. Go deeper
⚡️DISA Technologies, a Casper, Wyoming-based developer of mineral recovery and uranium remediation tech, raised $30m in Series A extension funding. Evok Innovations led, joined by Constellation Technology Ventures, Valor Equity Partners, Veriten, and Halliburton Labs. Go deeper
• Tavily, a New York-based startup connecting AI agents to the web, raised $20m in Series A funding led by Insight Partners. Go deeper
• Endex, a New York City-based AI financial modeling business, raised $14m led by OpenAI Startup Fund. Go deeper
🌎 Tanso, a German environmental compliance software developer, raised €12m in Series A funding led by HenQ and Fortino Capital, with participation from Capnamic and UVC Partners. Go deeper
• Docyt, a Santa Clara, Calif.-based accounting automation startup, raised $12m led by Pivot Investment Partners. Go deeper
• August, a New York-based legal paperwork automation startup, raised $7m in seed funding led by NEA and Pear VC. Go deeper
• Lava Payments, a billing platform for AI agents, raised $5.8m in seed funding. Lerer Hippeau led, joined by Harlem Capital, Streamlined Ventures, and Westbound. Go deeper
⚡️ Hylenr, an Indian developer of industrial heat systems powered by low-energy nuclear reactions, raised $3m in pre-Series A funding led by Valour Capital and Chhattisgarh Investments. Go deeper
🌎 AlterEco Pulp, an Italian sustainable packaging producer, raised €3.5m in seed funding led by Eureka! Venture, joined by Azimut Eltif and Open Venture. Go deeper
Private Equity
⚡️ Brookfield Renewable acquired a 19.7% indirect equity stake in Florida Progress, which owns regional utility Duke Energy Florida, for $6b. Go deeper
• AVS Bio, an Arlington Capital Partners portfolio company, acquired the Dutch subsidiary of ImmunoPrecise Antibodies (Nasdaq: IPA) for $12m. Go deeper
• KKR acquired DentalXChange, an Irvine, Calif.-based provider of revenue cycle management solutions for dentists, from Bregal Sagemount. Go deeper
• Poalim Equity invested in Glassbox, an Israeli provider of digital experience analytics for financial institutions. Go deeper
• Rocscience, a Canadian portfolio company of TA Associates, acquired Rockfield, a U.K. provider of numerical modeling software for the energy and mining markets. Go deeper
• TA Associates is weighing a potential sale of Unit4, a Dutch enterprise software maker, that could seek a $4.7b valuation. Go deeper
Public offerings
• Carro, a Singapore-based used-car online marketplace, is preparing for a U.S. IPO as early as 2026 that could raise up to $500m at a valuation above $3b, per Reuters. Go deeper
• Ennismore, a hotel venture backed by Acor, is weighing a U.S. IPO. It was last valued at $2.3b. Go deeper
• Figure, a blockchain-powered lending and securitization startup, confidentially filed for IPO. Go deeper
Liquidity
💊 The FTC sued to block Edwards Lifesciences' (NYSE: EW) $945m acquisition of JenaValve, an Irvine, Calif.-based maker of transcatheter aortic valve replacement systems.
- JenaValve has raised over $500m in funding from investors including Bain Capital Life Sciences, Rosetta Capital, Pictet, QIA, Innovatus Capital Partners, Peijia Medical. Go deeper
M&A
• Dwpbank acquired Berlin-based lemon.markets, a digital brokerage and custody platform that had raised $30m from investors including CommerzVentures, Creandum, Lakestar, and Lightspeed Venture Partners. Go deeper
🌎 Carbon DC, a Canadian EV charging systems provider, acquired Elywhere North America, the Portland, Ore.-based arm of Norwegian EV charging tech developer Elywhere AS. Go deeper
• MasterBrand (NYSE: MBC) agreed to merge with American Woodmark (Nasdaq: AMWD), creating a $3.6b cabinetry maker. Go deeper
💊 Novartis (NYSE: NVS) is weighing a takeover of Avidity (Nasdaq: RNA), a rare diseases biotech, per the FT. Shares of Avidity rose 25% Wednesday, valuing it at $5.5b. Go deeper
It's Personnel
🌎 Curtis Brockelman and Keith Oldewurtel were named executive chairman and board member, respectively, of Prosper Water, a Miami-based sustainable water treatment developer. Go deeper
🚑 Nathan Hubbard was named CEO at Flatiron Health, succeeding Carolyn Starrett, who is stepping down. Hubbard was previously chief business officer at the company. Go deeper
🌎 Bill Vasquez was named COO of Paladin EnviroTech, a Tampa-based provider of sustainable IT equipment disposal. Vasque was Americas GM for SKtes. Go deeper
- Ryan Barwick, Natalie Breymeyer, Erin Brodwin, Colin Campbell, Katherine Davis, Katie Fehrenbacher, Ryan Lawler, Chris Metinko, Alan Neuhauser, Dan Primack, and Brock E.W. Turner contributed to this report.
