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Scoop: Form Energy cuts valuation

The Form Energy logo is displayed on a darkened smart-phone screen.

CodeRabbit weighing deals 

Two men stand on a balcony by the water, smiling at the camera. Left: glasses, blue shirt; right: dark denim shirt. A blue sky and a distant bridge are in the background.

Exclusive: Principal Mineral buys Conductive Group 

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Driving the day

🚨 Deals Deals Deals!

Final numbers

Long-duration battery developer Form Energy raised its latest funding at a $1.75 billion pre-money valuation, Axios Pro has learned. 

That's down from about $3 billion pre-money in October 2024. 

Why it matters: More conventional battery technologies have gotten cheaper and longer-lasting while Form has developed its technology.

Follow the money: Form announced a $750 million Series G round today led by T. Rowe Price, bringing its total capital raised to $2 billion.

Context: The low-carbon energy startup uses rust to create batteries that store electricity for days instead of hours.

The long-anticipated tech would allow utilities and tech firms to fill power gaps created by intermittent wind and solar power.

Yes, but: Potential investors weren't convinced that utilities and tech firms, scrambling to meet breakneck electricity demand, would risk grid and data-center reliability for unproven energy tech.

"What does it take for a developer of a $100 billion project to take a bet on a new technology? They just can't afford to be late or miss project timelines," one source tells Axios Pro.

The Somerville, Mass.-based startup meanwhile has said its project backlog has quadrupled this year to 80 gigawatt-hours.

Inside the room: The round, which Axios Pro scooped in January, was moving slowly until reactor developer X-Energy and geothermal power company Fervo Energy posted big IPOs in April and May.

"When the market opened up, people just piled in," one source says.

What we're watching: Form Energy tapped JPMorgan and Jefferies to lead an IPO, Axios Pro reported in June.

"The vast majority of what I do is public market investing. For better and for worse, those things go up and down every day," says Vineet Khanna, investment analyst and vice president at T. Rowe Price.

He declined to comment on the round's valuation.

1. Scoop: Form Energy cuts valuation

Form Energy has raised more than $2 billion since its launch in 2017. Photo illustration: Thomas Fuller/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

CodeRabbit has already started looking at dealmaking as the code review space takes off thanks to AI, CEO Harjot Gill tells Axios Pro.

Driving the news: The San Francisco-based startup raised a $143 million Series C round at a $1.5 billion post-money valuation, announced today. 

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Axios Pro: There's been dealmaking in the space. Will you be looking for opportunities with the new cash?

Gill: "There are a few opportunities we've been tracking, and some of the proceeds might go into M&A. Nothing's definitive yet, but that's a real possibility.

Adjacent spaces will be something of definite interest given how much the [software development life cycle] is reordering...We see bottlenecks emerging in [continuous integration and deployment], bottlenecks emerging in collaboration."

On the other hand, have you been approached by suitors?

"On and off. If we had got acquired, it would have happened long back. An exit does not excite us. 

We are feeling more and more confident that this is going to be a massive, massive opportunity in the market. Hopefully, we can be the next Atlassian or the next Datadog, if not bigger."

You seem to raise every year, so is another one likely in 12 months?

"If the historical fundraise is a precedent, then very likely we'll be raising in 12 months."

2. CodeRabbit weighing deals

CodeRabbit founders Harjot Gill, left, and Guritfaq Singh. Photo: Courtesy of CodeRabbit

Principal Mineral acquired Conductive Group, a nickel composite electromagnetic shielding producer, CEO Adam Johnson tells Axios Pro exclusively.

What's next: The Dallas-based critical minerals supplier is profitable but is considering more M&A and a Series B raise in the next 12 months, Johnson says.

"We're already engaged in those conversations," he adds.

The big picture: Venture-backed Principal Mineral has embarked on a buying spree to become the preeminent North American provider of critical materials for printed circuit boards and advanced electronics.

Zoom in: Conductive Group produces key aerospace security materials for missile, radar and avionics, communications and electronic warfare systems. Terms of the deal weren't disclosed. 

Catch up quick: Principal Mineral raised a $280 million Series A led by Overmatch Ventures and the New Industrial Corp. in June.

It acquired copper-clad laminates manufacturer Isola Group the same month.

It also acquired and reopened the Camden Copper facility in Kershaw County, S.C. — North America's sole producer of electrodeposited copper foil.

3. Exclusive: Principal Mineral buys Conductive Group

👀 Scoop: PE firms circle Trimble's transportation unit (Colin Campbell)

Buyer appetite remains strong for transportation management systems.

💧Exclusive: Princeton Critical Minerals raises $16M (Alan Neuhauser)

Its technology accelerates evaporation to boost lithium production.

💊 Exclusive: Remepy raises $36M Series A (Natalie Breymeyer)

Its software aims to extend the commercial life of existing medicines.

👨‍💻 CodeRabbit hits $1.5B valuation (Chris Metinko)

The startup raised $143 million to help review AI-built code.

🎗️Oncology biotech InduPro raises $77M (Natalie Breymeyer)

Cancer drugmakers are commanding outsized share of biotech VC dollars.

🔔 Vogenx raises $81M in IPO (Natalie Breymeyer)

The modestly-financed biotech priced at the top of its range. 

🧬 AI brings savings to clinical trials: study (Adriel Bettelheim)

It can reduce direct operating costs by up to $5.6 million in late-stage trials.

 💰The currency of the AI age (Emily Peck)

OneChronos is one startup developing a compute futures marketplace. Axios Pro flashback

4. Driving the day

Animated illustration of a steering wheel that turns back and forth before turning into a clock that moves from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and then changing back.

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

Aureka Biotechnologies, a Laguna Hills, Calif.-based developer of biological foundation models for drug discovery, raised $100m in Series B funding. Granite Asia led, joined by HighLight Capital, MPCi and NRL Capital. Go deeper

Trajectory, an SF-based AI lab focused on continual learning, raised $40m at a $300m valuation led by Sequoia Capital, per The Information. Go deeper

Team8 Capital raised more than $365m in new funds, including $265m for its third fund and more than $100m for a follow-on investment fund. Go deeper

5. 🚨 Deals Deals Deals!

Data: Axios research; Chart: George Moriarty/Axios

Sports deals are on a tear, with today's Los Angeles Lakers announcement the latest sign of the frenzy.

Catch up quick: Venture capitalist Josh Kushner and former Disney CEO Bob Iger agreed to buy the Lakers at a $12.5 billion valuation.

It's a dizzying ownership turnaround, as billionaire Mark Walter purchased a control stake last October from Jeanie Buss at a $10 billion valuation.

That was the most ever paid for a pro sports club.

6. Final numbers

Form Energy has raised more than $2 billion since its launch in 2017. Photo Illustration: Thomas Fuller/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

August 12, 2026

1. Scoop: Form Energy cuts valuation