Illustration: Natalie Peeples/Axios
Venture Capital
• Plata, a Mexican digital bank, raised a $405m Series C round at a $5b valuation. Bicycle Capital led, joined by QIA, BTG Pactual, Valor Capital Group, Kora, Hedosophia, Spice Expeditions, and Audeo Ventures. Go deeper
• Zūm, a Redwood City, Calif.-based student mobility platform, raised $100m from TPG at a $1.7b valuation. Go deeper
• Ulysses, an SF-based unmanned underwater vehicle company, raised $46m. The $38m Series A was led by Andreessen Horowitz, joined by Booz Allen Ventures and Harpoon Ventures. The $8m seed was led by Pebblebed, joined by Genius Ventures, Lowercarbon Capital, Superorganism, and ReGen Ventures. theoceancompany.com
• Expo, an SF-based developer tooling startup, raised a $45m Series B. Georgian led, joined by Leadout Capital, A.Capital Ventures, and Red Swan Ventures. Go deeper
• Nas.com, an NYC-based AI platform for "solopreneurs," raised $27m in Series A funding. Khosla Ventures led, joined by 500 Global. Go deeper
• Sennos, a Durham, N.C.-based sensing and automation platform for the fermentation and fluid-processing industries, raised $20m. TomEnterprise led, joined by Jan Ståhlberg. Go deeper
• InsightFinder, a Durham, N.C.-based IT stability and AI reliability startup, raised $15m led by Yu Galaxy. Go deeper
• Lua, a London-based startup for building and managing agent workforces, raised $5.8m. Norrsken22 led, joined by Flourish Ventures, 20VC, P1 Ventures, Phosphor Capital, and YC. Go deeper
• GetWhys, a Boise, Idaho-based B2B marketing company, raised $5.2m. Epic Ventures led, joined by CEAS Investments, the Portland Seed Fund, Next Frontier Capital, Tuesday Capital, and Capital Eleven. Go deeper
⚡️ NOC Energy, a Houston-based provider of electric heat for cement plants, raised $2.7m in seed funding. 360 Capital led, joined by SOSV and Desai VC. Go deeper
Private Equity
• BTX Precision, owned by L Squared Capital Partners, acquired Maitland Engineering, a South Bend, Ind.-based maker of high-precision small components. Go deeper
• Engage2learn, a Leeds Equity Partners portfolio company, acquired Education Elements, a San Carlos, Calif.-based K–12 education consultancy. Go deeper
🚑 Stellus Rx, a portfolio company of WindRose Health Investors, acquired Tria Health, a provider of pharmacist-led chronic condition support for self-insured employers. Go deeper
⚽ Kingdom Holding agreed to acquire a majority stake in Al Hilal Football Club from Saudi PIF, at a $373.2m valuation. PIF also holds a stake in Kingdom. Go deeper
Liquidity
• International Paper (NYSE: IP) agreed to acquire Longview, Wash.-based North Pacific Paper Company from One Rock Capital Partners for $360m. Go deeper
M&A
• Brkthru, a Southfield, Mich.-based media and marketing services company, acquired Gigawatt, a Milwaukee, Wis.-based media partner for agencies and brands. Go deeper
⚡️ Uranium Royalty (Nasdaq: UROY), a Canadian uranium royalty company, agreed to buy Lakewood, Colo.-based Sweetwater Royalties in a deal that values it at $1.9b. Top Sweetwater shareholder Orion Resource Partners will get a 43% stake in the combined company; Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan will hold about 16%. Go deeper
Odds & Ends
⚡️ EDP, a Portuguese utility and power developer, paused three U.S. offshore wind projects in California, Massachusetts and New York, citing regulatory uncertainty under President Trump. Go deeper
⚡️ Freedom Forever, a Temecula, Calif.-based residential solar installer, filed for bankruptcy, listing assets of $100m-$500m and estimated debts of $500m-$1b. Go deeper
⚡️ Kinnevik recorded an 83% writedown of its stake in Swedish green steelmaker Stegra after it sat out a $1.7b rescue package for the company. Go deeper
⚡️ The Trump administration is preserving billions of dollars in funding for hydrogen production hubs and carbon-removal projects it had threatened to cancel, per Bloomberg. Go deeper
- It also plans to approve loans for the next five to 10 nuclear reactors in the U.S. Go deeper
