Illustration: Maura Losch/Axios
Venture Capital
• Beast Industries, the company formed by YouTube creator Jimmy Donaldson, raised $200m from Ethereum treasury company Bitmine. Go deeper
• Tulip, a Boston-based provider of factory automation software, raised $120m in Series D funding at a $1.3b valuation led by Mitsubishi Electric. Go deeper
• Higgsfield, an SF-based AI video generation startup, raised $80m in Series A extension funding at a $1.3b valuation from Accel, GFT Ventures, and Menlo Ventures. Go deeper
• Hydrosat, a Washington-based thermal imagery startup, raised $60m in Series B funding. Hartree Partners, Subutai Capital Partners and Space 4 Earth led, joined by Truffle Capital, Luxembourg Future Fund, OTB Ventures, Blue Bear Capital, Statkraft Ventures, Cultivation Capital, and Santa Barbara Venture Partners. Go deeper
• TaleMonster Games, a Turkish gaming studio, raised $30m in Series A funding. Arcadia Gaming Partners and a16z led, joined by Point72 Ventures and General Catalyst. Go deeper
• Otto Sport AI, an operating system for youth sports organizations, raised $16.5m in seed funding led by Rally Ventures and Mamba Growth Equity. Go deeper
• Transition Metal Solutions, an SF-based metal extraction company, raised a $6m seed led by Transition Ventures. Go deeper
• Slips, an LA-based P2P betting company, raised a $3.5m seed led by Las Olas Capital and Sunset Bay Capital. Go deeper
• RouteSense, a Salt Lake City-based payments data analytics company, raised a $2m pre-seed round led by Redbud VC, with participation from FOVC, Cultivation Capital, Service Provider Capital, and the University of Missouri AACE Fund. Go deeper
Private Equity
• GracoRoberts, a CM Equity Partners portfolio company, acquired Sky Mart, a Miami-based distributor of aerospace lubricants. Go deeper
• Infoblox, backed by Vista Equity and Warburg Pincus, agreed to acquire Axur, a Brazilian cybersecurity company focused on external threat disruption and continuous threat exposure management. Go deeper
• Lime Rock Partners invested in Athena Energy Partners, a Houston-based oil and gas firm focused on assets in South Texas. Go deeper
• Platinum Equity acquired Tongrun International, a Bonham, Texas-based sheet-metal contract manufacturer. Go deeper
• Purpose Legal, a Blue Sage Capital portfolio company, acquired Hire Counsel, a provider of managed review and legal staffing services. Go deeper
• RelayFireandSafety, backed by The Riverside Co., acquired AC&M Fire Equipment, an Acton, Mass.-based provider of fire extinguisher services. Go deeper
M&A
⚡ Devon Energy (NYSE: DVN) and Coterra Energy (NYSE: CTRA) are exploring a potential merger, per Reuters. Go deeper
It's Personnel
• Amir Malayery, formerly with Industry Ventures, joined Insight Partners as managing director to lead secondaries strategy. Go deeper
• Artemis, a Boston-based PE firm focused on industrial tech, promoted Jesse Moran and Nick Reyes to partner and principal, respectively. The firm also hired Mark Mueller (ex-CBIZ) as finance manager. Go deeper
• Brad Ramsey, former CMO at Pirate Ship, was named CMO at Shippo. Go deeper
• Corey Peters, CFO and COO at Yukon Partners, was promoted to partner. Go deeper
• Jason Henderson and Mariano Malvicino joined Stellex Capital Management as head of portfolio talent and director of portfolio talent, respectively. Go deeper
• Pam Kaufman joined Gap (NYSE: GAP) as EVP and chief entertainment officer. She previously was with Paramount. Go deeper
• Paul Lehman, former head of the bank trust group at Dimensional Fund Advisors, was named head of bank asset management distribution at SEI (Nasdaq: SEIC). Go deeper
• Tuukka Paavola, former CFO of Nightingale Health, was named CFO at Bioretec. Go deeper
• Shane Porzio, former VP and global business head for Kaolin Minerals, was named COO at Ionic Mineral Technologies. Go deeper
• Zina Bash and Travis Kavulla joined Base Power as chief legal officer and head of policy, respectively. Go deeper.
• Julia Travaglini was promoted to head of the Boston incubator for Greentown Labs. Go deeper
Colin Campbell, Katherine Davis, Katie Fehrenbacher, Ryan Lawler, Alan Neuhauser, Chris Metinko, Dan Primack, Erin Brodwin, Natalie Breymeyer and Brock E.W. Turner contributed to this report.
