Illustration: Gabriella Turrisi/Axios
Venture Capital
• Modular, a Palo Alto-based AI software development platform, raised $250m at a $1.6b valuation. US Innovative Technology Fund led, joined by DFJ Growth, GV, General Catalyst, and Greylock. Go deeper
• Cohere, a Canadian AI model startup, raised $100m valuing it at $7b. The Business Development Bank of Canada and Nexxus Capital Management invested. cohere.com
💊 Sparrow Pharmaceuticals, a developer of cardiometabolic drugs, raised $95m in Series B funding. RA Capital Management and Forbion led, joined by insiders OrbiMed, RiverVest, and USVP. Go deeper
• Enter, a Brazilian legal AI startup, raised $35m in Series A funding led by Founders Fund and Sequoia Capital at a $350m valuation. Go deeper
• Emergent, an SF-based vibe coding platform for small businesses, raised $23m in Series A funding. Lightspeed led, joined by YC, Together, and Prosus. Go deeper
🚑 AmplifyMD, a Los Gatos, Calif.-based provider of integrated virtual care tools for hospitals, raised $20m in Series B funding led by Forerunner Ventures with participation from F-Prime, Greylock, Tau Ventures, and Memorial Hermann Health System. Go deeper
• DEXA, a Dayton, Ohio-based autonomous drone delivery startup, raised $15m in seed funding. G2A Investment Partners led, joined by Venture 53 and Tech Square Ventures. droneexpress.com
• Track3D, an SF-based construction intelligence startup, raised $10m in Series A funding. Ironspring Ventures and Zacua Ventures led, joined by insiders Shadow Ventures and Monta Vista Capital. Go deeper
💊 FYR Bio, a Missoula, Mont.-based biotech developing precision medicine tools, raised $8m from investors. The Sontag Innovation Fund, Yuvaan Tiwari Foundation and Two Bear Capital participated in the unlabeled round. Go deeper
• Navigator, a British digital advertising platform, raised £4m from IW Capital. Go deeper
Private Equity
• Alchemer, a Louisville, Colo.-based portfolio company of KKR, acquired Chatmeter, a San Diego-based provider of customer intelligence and brand reputation software for multilocation businesses, from PSG. Go deeper
• Haveli Investments completed its $1.5b acquisition of Couchbase, a San Jose, Calif.-based developer data platform. Go deeper
• Com Laude, owned by PX3 Partners, agreed to acquire Markmonitor from Newfold Digital, a Jacksonville, Fla.-based web and commerce technology company backed by Clearlake Capital Group and Siris Capital Group. Go deeper
• Solifi, a Minneapolis-based fintech owned by TA Associates, acquired DataScan, a Carrollton, Texas-based provider of wholesale finance and inventory risk management. Go deeper
• Vitesse Systems, backed by Trive Capital, acquired Spacetime Engineering, a ground antenna technology used in military and commercial satellite networks. Go deeper
• RevSpring, a Frazier Healthcare portfolio company, agreed to acquire Kyruus, a Boston-based group focused on health provider data, search, and scheduling. Kyruus had raised over $190m from firms like Highland Capital Partners, Providence Ventures, Francisco Partners, F-Prime Capital, Salesforce Ventures, and Echo Health Ventures. Go deeper
Public Listings
⚡ Fermi, an energy infrastructure REIT cofounded by former U.S. Energy Secretary Rick Perry, set IPO terms to 25m shares at $18-$22. It would have a $13b market cap, were it to price in the middle, and plans to list on the Nasdaq (FRMI). Go deeper
• PhonePe, an Indian payments and financial services firm, filed for a domestic IPO that could raise $1.5b at a $15b valuation. Backers include Walmart, General Atlantic, Ribbit Capital, Temasek, TVS Capital, and Tiger Global. Go deeper
Fundraising
• Grays Peak Capital launched its second fund, Grays Peak Private Credit Fund II (GPPC GovCon), a credit vehicle focused on the government and defense ecosystem in North America. It's seeking $500m. Go deeper
🌎 BNVT Capital, a London-based VC firm, is raising $150m to invest in AI-centric startups, including those in climate. Go deeper
M&A
• Nestle (Swiss: NESN) hired Morgan Stanley to review its vitamins business, per Bloomberg. Go deeper
⚡️Mirion, an Atlanta-based radiation detection provider, agreed to acquire Paragon Energy Solutions, a Fort Worth, Texas-based parts supplier for the nuclear power industry, from Windjammer Capital Investors for ~$585m cash. Go deeper
It's Personnel
⚡️Kit Ahuja joined Pxt, a Paramus, N.J.-based EPC focused on EV charging, energy storage and renewables, as chief growth and operations officer. Ahuja was VP of technology and operations at Voltera. Go deeper
⚡️Joerg Burzer was promoted to CTO of Mercedes-Benz. Burzer was head of production; he succeeds Markus Schaefer, who oversaw the automaker's shift to EV production. Go deeper
⚡️Julius Genachowski and Rohan Patel joined Overture VC, a D.C.-based climate-focused venture firm, as venture partners. Genachowski is a former FCC chairman and senior advisor at The Carlyle Group; Patel is former VP for global policy and business development at Tesla. Go deeper
⚡️Robert Harmon joined The Nuclear Company, a Lexington, Ky.-based nuclear power developer, as chief legal officer. Harmon was general counsel and corporate secretary at Icon. Go deeper
• Sara Roure joined KSL Capital Partners as head of EMEA capital formation. She previously was with Goldman Sachs Asset Management. Go deeper
Odds & Ends
⚡️The U.S. Department of Energy will cancel $13b+ in green energy funds, per Energy Secretary Chris Wright. The agency declined to specify which funds. 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.
