Axios Pro Rata: Biotech bomb
Illustration: Allie Carl/Axios
Cleaning out the notebook as we head into the last full weekend of October...
💊 Biotech bomb: The White House yesterday proposed to restrict deals between U.S. and Chinese biotech companies, arguing that they could pose national security threats.
- It's a very wide net, in terms of both structure and sector.
- Deals subject to the new rules would include equity, debt, and joint ventures for almost all pharma compounds and their delivery systems, plus brain-computer interfaces, biomanufacturing equipment and other life sciences tools.
- One notable exception appears to be licensing deals, which have been on the rise.
- This can't go into effect until after the public comment period ends on Dec. 7, and there's at least some thought the final version could get watered down. Maybe Trump is coming in hot to gain leverage on China, which last week floated its own biopharma restrictions (also with the licensing carveout).
😱 Public pain: No matter what happens with Anthropic — which has less than a week to file if it wants to go public by Thanksgiving — this has been a disappointing year for U.S. IPOs.
- Yes, proceeds already hit an all-time record — thanks largely to SpaceX, which generated over half of them. But the actual number of U.S. IPOs is down 34% from last year and almost surely will be the third-weakest year in the past decade.
✨ Speaking of Anthropic's IPO: NYC Comptroller Mark Levine made headlines last week by publicly asking the company to delay the offering,
- Levine, who oversees more than $300 billion of public employee retirement funds, tells me that he believes companies like Anthropic should be public — just not yet.
- His top concern is that Anthropic hasn't solved the existential threats it claims to pose, which would create massive shareholder risks. And given that Anthropic would get into indexes early, under new rules adopted for SpaceX, fiduciaries like Levine have basically no choice but to become a major shareholder.
- Anthropic has argued that being public will enhance safety through forced transparency, but Levine worries that being public also could tip the company's internal north star from safety to growth.
🚨 New firm alert: Megalith has been launched by Michael Romero, who spent the past 13 years in IR and ops for Lightspeed Venture Partners, and former Coatue investor Preston Moore. Expect it to focus on co-investments in early-stage tech startups.
🔄 Diamond butterfingers: Andreessen Horowitz has rebranded its a16z Crypto business to a16z Frontier, to focus on a broader batch of startups in markets that may take years to develop.
- This comes just five months after the group raised $2.2 billion for its fifth fund — less than half of what it raised for Fund IV in 2022 — with the new fund's limited partners voting to support the change.
- Well, at least most of them did. Word is that Fund V might no longer be exactly $2.2 billion, although I've been unable to learn the new number.
- Also worth noting that Ali Yahya, a general partner with the group, is leaving to launch a new company. He'd been with a16z since 2017.
Illustration: Brendan Lynch/Axios
Warhound, a developer of genetically engineered military dogs, raised $200 million in seed funding at a $1.2 billion post-money valuation.
Why it's the BFD: This is a real thing. Or at least the idea and dollars are.
Zoom in: The plan would be to breed dogs that are exceptionally equipped for tasks like bomb detection — which normie dogs already do.
- It's the brainchild of Ben Lamm, whose Colossal Biosciences "de-extincts" species like dire wolves, and Anduril's Palmer Luckey.
Investors include In-Q-Tel, Sequoia Capital, ARK Invest, Franklin Templeton, 8VC, USIT, Bob Nelsen, Breyer Capital, CAZ Investments, Neogenesis, Builders VC, and Lux Capital.
The bottom line: Palmer Luckey has talked publicly about creating "super soldiers," albeit via tech advancement rather than genetic engineering. But if it's good enough for man's best friend...
Apex, an LA-based satellite maker, is in talks to raise around $500m at a $4b valuation, per Bloomberg. Washington Harbour Partners would lead, joined by a16z and XYZ Venture Capital. axios.link/4Bmsl9x
Xona, a Burlingame, Calif.-based provider of commercial navigation infrastructure in low-Earth orbit, raised $250m in Series D funding at a $2.45b post-money valuation led by Future Ventures. axios.link/4jBzI6S
🚑 Pathos AI, an NYC-based precision oncology startup, raised $237m in Series E funding at a $3b post-money valuation. Bristol Myers Squibb led, joined by insiders like NEA, Revolution, and Builders VC. axios.link/4i42ZWr
🚑 Warp Sciences, a Cambridge, Mass.-based chemistry CRO, raised $215m. Lightspeed led, joined by Premji Invest, Mayfield, IVP, Lux, Conviction, Menlo Ventures, 01 Advisors, Standard, Lowercarbon Capital, Gigascale Capital, Angular Ventures, Scribble Ventures, Uncork Capital, Innovation Endeavors, Matter VP, Zero Shot Fund, SignalFire, and Moxxie Ventures. axios.link/47uOjK1
🚑 Star Therapeutics, an SF-based hematology and immunology biotech, raised $200m. OrbiMed and Janus Henderson led, joined by Agent Capital, Catalio Capital Management, Cormorant Asset Management, New Leaf Venture Partners, NYBC Ventures, RA Capital Management, Redmile, Sofinnova Investments, and Soleus Capital. axios.link/4zPQJio
Tractian, an Atlanta-based AI platform for asset-heavy industries, raised $130m in Series D funding at a $1.4b valuation. Sapphire Ventures and M&G's Catalyst led, joined by N47, General Catalyst, Bosch Ventures, 53 Stations, Monashees, Endeavor Catalyst, Norte Ventures, and YC. axios.link/4slQxVy
Formic, a physical AI commercialization platform, raised $40m in Series B funding, per Axios Pro. Mercato Partners led, joined by Light Ray Ventures, Lightscape Partners, and Citi. It also secured $10m in asset-backed financing from S2G Investments. axios.link/4zJy0VC
Mave, an Israeli agentic security operations platform, raised $28m in Series A funding. Red Dot Capital Partners led, joined by Lumir Growth Partners. It also disclosed a $6m seed round led by Dell Technologies Capital and Emerge Ventures. axios.link/4BiRgec
Slingshot Insurance, a Minneapolis-based embedded insurance startup, raised $27m in seed funding led by Rally Ventures and Skyward Group. axios.link/4BrtcWM
Modelyo, an Israeli data security startup, has raised $17m led by OlivTree. axios.link/47Cczd5
Indurex, an Israeli industrial cybersecurity company, raised €7m. Contrarian Ventures led, joined by Axeleo Capital and Curiosity. axios.link/4zP3Tw5
Marc, an NYC-based real estate spend intelligence platform, raised $5m in seed funding led by Work-Bench and MXV Capital. axios.link/4jBBepA
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🚑 Appasamy Associates, backed by Warburg Pincus, acquired German ophthalmic surgical equipment maker RUCK. axios.link/4iAIHUI
Aeromax Group, backed by Chimney Rock Equity Partners, acquired Loutech, a Chino, Calif.-based maker of aerospace parts. axios.link/4zG6oki
Goldman Sachs Alternatives agreed to buy a majority position in Celnor, a British TICC firm, from Inflexion (which retains a stake). axios.link/4skpx8R
🚑 LGM Pharma, backed by New Harbor Capital, acquired Sannova Analytical, a Somerset, N.J.-based contract research lab. axios.link/4shoRRw
Paine Schwartz Partners invested in First Day Life, an Austin, Texas-based maker of branded vitamins and supplements. axios.link/4yZnTMl
Pilot Fiber raised more than $330m in financing from Fengate Asset Management, with some proceeds being used to buy Boldyn Networks' metro fiber business in New York and New Jersey. axios.link/4shSPVA
Port Jersey Logistics Network, a portfolio company of Maxwell Street Capital Partners, acquired Fond du Lac, an Edison, N.J.-based provider of transportation services to wine, spirits, and food customers. axios.link/3W3qiqS
🚑 Real Diagnostics, backed by HCAP Partners,acquired SimplyTest, a German provider of saliva-based diagnostic tests. axios.link/4ieIHbw
Sequoia Financial Group, backed by Kudu Investment Management and Valeas Capital, acquired Quish, a Boulder, Colo.-based family office and wealth management firm. axios.link/4i1I86h
Stonepeak acquired Chicago Parking Meters, operator of Chicago's on-street parking system, from Morgan Stanley Infrastructure Partners, Allianz, and Abu Dhabi Investment Authority. axios.link/4ibqlbt
Tide Rock acquired Electro-Spec, a Franklin, Ind.-based plating and surface finishing company. axios.link/4iD73fB
🚑 Lycia Therapeutics, an SF-based biotech targeting disease-causing extracellular proteins, raised $317.5m in its IPO. It priced 17.6m shares at $18, versus plans to offer 14.7m at $16-$18. The Phase 1 company will list on Nasdaq (LYCA) and had raised over $330m from firms like Versant Ventures, Venrock, Redmile, RTW Investments, Janus Henderson, Blue Owl, Balyasny Asset Management, Adage Capital Management, HBM Healthcare Investments, OrbiMed, Eli Lilly, Franklin Templeton, and Invus. axios.link/4skZ1Mt
🚑 Ares Management is seeking to sellmedical group Duly Health and Care, which it acquired for $1.45b in 2017, per 9fin. axios.link/4shxfRj
🚑 Gilead Sciences (Nasdaq: GILD) agreed to acquire the oral inflammation drug program of PepStar Therapeutics for $1.275b in cash upfront. axios.link/4yyofZl
Harlem Children's Zone acquired Goalsetter, a financial literacy tech startup that had raised over $25m from firms like Mass Mutual Ventures and Seae Ventures. It is the nonprofit's first acquisition of a tech startup. axios.link/48aNshL
Rivian (Nasdaq: RIVN) acquired Third Dimension, a 3D models developer that in 2024 raised $7m from Felicis, Soma Capital, Abstract Ventures, Stratus Ventures Management, Nkechi Iregbulem, Solari Capital, MVP Ventures, and Salt Funds Management. axios.link/4z6zHMQ
Bose acquired headphone maker Skullcandy from Mill Road Capital. axios.link/4zOASAE
David's Bridal, owned by Cion Investment, plans to spin off and take public Pearl,its AI-based wedding planner, at a $350m valuation. axios.link/4zLywCm
⚡ Shell (NYSE: SHEL) and ExxonMobil (NYSE: XOM) hired BofA to sell Infineum, a chemicals JV that could fetch around $8b, per the FT. axios.link/4jBKhXw
Seaya raised €600m for a fund focused on European startups. axios.link/4jB2mou
Matthew Kaness, former CEO of ModCloth and GoodwillFinds, joined venture firm Canaan Partners as an advisor. axios.link/3WHhnvp
Stephanie Zhan, a partner with Sequoia Capital, is launching her own early-stage AI fund. axios.link/4iALQUs
Investors are growing concerned that Big Tech's insistence on pouring more and more capital into data centers could end up costing them in the long run, as evidenced by Meta's stock drubbing yesterday, Axios' Matt Phillips reports.
A MESSAGE FROM WESTERN ALLIANCE’S INNOVATION BANKING GROUP, MEMBER FDIC
Growing companies need more than capital. Hear how Hadrian's CFO found a banking team that understood the company's vision, bought into its thesis and brought industry expertise that helped support growth. See why Western Alliance stood out.
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