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Sila CEO chats physical AI and $1.4B loan

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Exclusive: Silicon Data raises $30.5M

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Proficient drives auto hauler consolidation

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Driving the day

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Final word

AI's growing impact on the physical world is giving next-gen batteries a boost, says Gene Berdichevsky, CEO of battery materials maker Sila. 

Why it matters: After the data center boom, the AI economy's focus will shift to battery-heavy industries like drones, robotics and satellites.

Driving the news: Sila last week announced a conditional commitment for a $1.4 billion loan from the Department of Defense's Office of Strategic Capital.

Sila plans to spend "the vast majority of the funds" building out capacity to make its silicon carbon anodes at its factory in Moses Lake, Washington, says Berdichevsky.

A smaller portion of the loan will help Sila build a lithium-ion battery cell manufacturing facility — its first move into full battery-cell production — for these emerging applications.

How it works: Sila's anode can juice up a lithium-ion battery, adding energy density, which translates to longer use or lighter weight.

What they're saying: "We aren't necessarily looking to become a battery company, but if that's what America needs, we will step in and fulfill some of that," says Berdichevsky, an early Tesla employee and the principal engineer of the Tesla Roadster battery.

The intrigue: The DOD loan is aimed at helping the U.S. compete with China, which controls the world's markets for graphite, anode material processing, and lithium-ion battery cell production. 

"The graphite bottleneck is very real," says Berdichevsky.

Catch up quick: Founded in 2011, Sila has raised over $1 billion from Sutter Hill Ventures, T. Rowe Price, Bessemer Venture Partners, Coatue, and Perry Creek Capital.

Sila started operating its battery materials factory in Moses Lake last year, with the first phase of capacity at 1 to 2 GWh. 

What's next: The loan will help Sila build out its factory, going from producing "single-digit" GWh to "tens" of GWh, Berdichevsky says.

Over the next five to seven years, the goal is to expand to a couple hundred GWh of production.

1. Sila CEO chats physical AI and $1.4B loan

Silicon Data, a financial data platform for the AI economy, raised $30.5 million in Series A funding led by the Valor Atreides AI Fund, CEO Carmen Li tells Axios Pro.

Why it matters: Surging GPU prices are making compute a precious commodity.

Follow the money: CME Group, DRW, F-Prime, Samsung, VanEck, Further, Jump, Tectonic, Wintermute, Breed, Hack, Blank VC, Sancus Ventures and SoGal Ventures all participated in the round.

A few more investors will likely join, although Li doesn't expect a significant bump in the total amount raised. The company has raised about $40 million since its 2024 founding.

How it works: Silicon Data offers GPUs, tokens and memory indices, performance benchmarks, and other market data to financial institutions, exchanges, and AI infrastructure companies.

The New York-based company ingests millions of data points daily from about 100 sources — including hyperscalers, neo-clouds and GPU marketplaces — to provide real-time pricing, capacity, and rental rates.

State of play: Earlier today, Silicon Data and CME Group announced plans for two futures contracts tracking hourly Nvidia GPU rental costs. Those are set to launch in October, pending regulatory review.

2. Exclusive: Silicon Data raises $30.5M

Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios. Stock: Getty Images

Proficient Auto Logistics yesterday announced plans to acquire auto hauler Hansen & Adkins for $130 million, with a close expected within weeks.

Why it matters: Proficient, already the largest non-union U.S. auto hauler, will surpass unionized rival United Road to become the largest in North America.

Follow the money: The purchase price includes about $75 million of assumed debt, $52 million in cash and $3 million in Proficient common stock.

Los Alamitos, Calif.-based Hansen & Adkins is eligible for up to $22.1 million in additional earnouts.

Proficient plans to offer $75 million of convertible senior notes due 2033 in a private offering, to restructure debt.

What they're saying: "We are stricken by the fact that a #2 player just purchased a #3 player in a consolidated industry for a fully-baked 3.8x EBITDA multiple," Stifel analysts wrote in an investor note.

"After significant disruption and market pressure in 2024 and 2025, we believe the next 12 months is the company's 'prove it' moment," the analysts added.

Zoom in: The deal will nearly double Proficient's fleet size and revenue — adding 725 company-owned trucks, about $400 million in annual revenue, and more than 900 drivers and other workers.

Catch up quick: Jacksonville, Fla.-based Proficient made nine acquisitions before this week's deal. It went public in 2024 after a $180 million roll-up of four carriers. 

3. Proficient drives auto hauler consolidation

📑 Exclusive: Axle raises $17.5M for data clearinghouse (Ryan Lawler)

Insurance data is fragmented, making it difficult to access and verify.

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The deal gives the air taxi business a "deep bench of defense expertise."

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4. Driving the day

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👉 GO HERE TO CATCH UP on deals since this morning's Pro Rata, including:

River AI, an open-source AI startup led by xAI co-founder Igor Babuschkin, raised $1.1b led by General Catalyst and AMP PBC, with Nvidia, AMD Ventures, YC, and Temasek participating. Go deeper 

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 eToro (Nasdaq: ETOR) agreed to acquire TradeZero, a U.S.-focused online brokerage serving active traders, for up to $231m in cash and stock. Go deeper

5. 🚨 Deals Deals Deals!

"In a span of weeks, Paramount agreed to halt the merger until a court decision or until June 2027, [then] asked for a November trial, and is now back with another attempt to blackmail the state into letting an illegal deal through. Paramount has lost the plot as it continues to lose in court."

— California Attorney General Rob Bonta, responding to Paramount CEO David Ellison's threat to move the company out of his state amid continued legal challenges to its Warner Bros. Discovery takeover plan.

August 11, 2026

1. Sila CEO chats physical AI and $1.4B loan