Happy Wednesday. Here’s what we’ve got today…

• A look at this week’s unrest at Social Capital

• The deal sheet, plus abandoned CVC, HPS merger talks

Social Capital, the venture firm led by Chamath Palihapitiya, has fired two of its partners, according to a letter sent to limited partners.

Jay Zaveri and Ravi Tanuku were terminated on Sunday in an apparent dispute over the firm’s investment in an AI startup known as Groq. In the letter, Palihapitiya said the firm “became aware of a situation” last week and launched an internal probe on the matter. On Thursday, the firm hired Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz to escalate the investigation.

Social Capital backed Groq, a startup developing custom low-latency chips for AI models, via investments in $52 million and $60 million convertible notes across 2017 and 2018. The company’s most recent valuation of $1.1 billion was set in a 2021 Series C led by Tiger Global and D1 Capital.

Axios reports Groq is currently in discussions over a new round of fundraising, expected to be a meaningful valuation step-up from its Series C.

Early speculation on the cause of the Social Capital partnership disagreement has centered on a recent special purpose vehicle marketed by Zaveri and Tanuku, which offered to sell investors an allocation in the firm’s Groq stake.

In a statement provided to Bloomberg, Tanuku’s lawyer said “A number of employees invested in and worked on the SPV. Mr. Tanuku firmly believes that he has acted with the utmost integrity during his tenure at Social Capital and throughout his career, as will be substantiated when the full facts come to light.”

Social Capital yesterday posted on Twitter “We have terminated the employment of two of our employees due to employee-specific circumstances. We have no further comments at this time.”

The firm said it will begin work to transition portfolio company board seats held by the former partners.

Chamath

Social Capital continues to manage some outside money, though is now primarily run as a family office for Palihapitiya. The firm had attempted to raise new capital from limited partners in 2022 but announced earlier this year it had halted those efforts.

A former Facebook executive, Palihapitiya notched a series of early venture wins with investments in companies including Yammer and Slack. He later achieved a level of fame and notoriety, particularly with retail investors, through his work as the self-proclaimed “Spac King,” launching a series of blank check entities that saw mixed performance in deals to take public companies including Virgin Galactic, Opendoor, and Sofi, among others.

In recent years, Palihapitiya has maintained an active online presence, co-hosting the technology-focused All-In Podcast and delivering a steady stream of reaction-inducing commentary.

On the lighter side – self-comparisons to Warren Buffett, posts of his own shirtless pictures, and an often-ridiculed quip on his exploits as a venture capitalist: “I'm in the arena trying stuff. Some will work, some won't. But always learning.”

Less well-received were public statements made in 2022 on Uyghur human rights: “Nobody cares what’s happening with the Uyghurs. Every time I say that I care about the Uyghurs, I’m really just lying.”

• Brookfield is in talks to acquire a significant stake in Optus, an Australian telecom, from owner Singtel, in a deal that could be worth up to A$18 billion.

• Li Ning is considering a take-private bid for his namesake sportswear company, Li Ning Co., at a potential valuation of around $7.3 billion.

• Nidec (TSE: 6594) and KPS Capital Partners are each preparing second-round bids for Siemens' Innomotics large motors business that could fetch around $3.3 billion.

• Nordic Capital is preparing to sell Regnology, a technology and payments company, that could be worth around €3 billion.

• National Bank of Canada is considering a sale of Cambodian lender ABA Bank, with a potential valuation north of $2 billion.

• Dai-ichi Life Holdings has agreed to acquire Benefit One, a Japanese employee benefits provider, from Pasona Group for $2 billion.

• Kimmeridge Energy Management submitted an improved $2.1 billion bid for SilverBow Resources, a South Texas-based oil and gas producer.

• Hg is preparing to sell Trackunit, a Danish IoT solutions provider for the construction industry, with a potential valuation of around $1 billion.

• Novartis AG (SWX: NOVN) exercised an option to acquire the inflammation-focused subsidiary of IFM Therapeutics for up to $835 million, including an upfront payment of $90 million.

• ArcelorMittal (ENXTAM: MT) agreed to acquire a 28.4% stake in Vallourec (ENXTPA: VK) for €955 million from Apollo Global Management.

• Elliott Management and Brookfield are considering the sale of non-core assets of Nielsen that could be worth around $1 billion, per Bloomberg.

• Immedica, a Nordic specialty pharma company owned by Impilo, is preparing for a sale process that could value the business at around $500 million.

• Amadeus (BME: AMS) acquired Voxel, an electronic invoicing and B2B payment solutions provider backed by Carat Venture Partners, for €118 million.

• Patient Square Capital has agreed to acquire substantially all of NanoString Technologies' assets for $220 million as part of a court-supervised sales process under Section 363 of the Bankruptcy Code.

• HCAP Partners acquired four behavioral health businesses in the Northeastern United States.

• Peak Rock Capital acquired CCFF, a provider of food safety and quality management software.

• BlackRock acquired a portfolio of 38 solar and solar plus storage projects from Excelsior Energy Capital.

• Intuit acquired Proper Finance, a financial software solutions company.

• Linus Health, a digital brain health company backed by Morningside Ventures, acquired Aural Analytics, a developer of speech and language analysis software.

• Mahana acquired Cara Care, a digital health company backed by Asabys Partners and J&J Innovation.

Portfolio Company Add-Ons

• Executive Platforms, a portfolio company of Falfurrias Capital Partners, acquired Board.org for $103 million.

• True Environmental, a portfolio company of Halle Capital Management, acquired Sundance Consulting, an environmental consulting firm.

• DirectMed Imaging, backed by NMS Capital, acquired Titanium Medical Imaging, a Houston-based provider of medical imaging equipment and services.

• Galderma, EQT’s Swiss dermatology business, set terms for its local IPO that imply a valuation north of $14 billion.

Tech, Vertical SaaS, & Misc. Enterprise

• Applied Intuition, a developer of autonomous vehicle software, raised $250 million in Series E funding at a $6 billion valuation. Lux Capital, Elad Gil, and Porsche Investments Management led, with participation from Andreessen Horowitz, General Catalyst, and Bond Capital.

• Nozomi Networks, a provider of operational technology and IoT security, raised $100 million in Series E funding from Mitsumi Electric and Schneider Electric, among others.

• Empathy, a grief and loss support platform, raised $47 million in Series B funding led by Index Ventures, with participation from General Catalyst, Entrée Capital, Latitude, Brewer Lane, and strategic investors Allianz, MassMutual Ventures, MetLife, New York Life Ventures, Securian Financial, and Sumitomo.

• Eye Security, an SME-focused cybersecurity firm, raised €36 million in Series B funding led by J.P. Morgan Growth Equity Partners, with participation from existing investors Bessemer Venture Partners and TIN Capital.

• Nanonets, an AI startup focused on back-office process automation, raised $29 million in Series B funding led by Accel, with participation from Elevation Capital and Y-Combinator.

• Tavus, an AI-powered video creation platform, raised $18 million in Series A funding led by Scale Venture Partners, with participation from Sequoia Capital, Y Combinator, and HubSpot.

• Kaedim, developer of AI-driven 3D asset creation software, raised $15 million in Series A funding led by A16z Games, with participation from Pioneer Fund.

• Axion Ray, a provider of AI-enabled product cycle management solutions for consumer product, automotive, and healthcare clients, raised $17.5 million in Series A funding led by Bessemer Venture Partners, with participation from Carrier, Sierra Ventures, Siemens Technology Accelerator, RTX Ventures, Amplo, and Inspired Capital.

• DBOS, a cloud-native database operating system startup, raised $8.5 million in seed funding from Engine Ventures, Construct Capital, Sinewave, and GutBrain Ventures.

• Bene Bono, a mobile marketplace for surplus agricultural and food production, raised $11.3 million in Series A funding from AXA Venture Partners, 2050, and previous backers Stride VC and Project A.

• Prescient AI, a developer of marketing optimization software using AI and machine learning, raised $10 million in Series A funding. Headline and CEAS Investments led, with participation from Blumberg Capital and Focal VC.

• SuperAGI, a developer of large agentic models (LAMs) and full-stack artificial general intelligence (AGI) solutions, raised $10 million in Series A funding led by Newlands VC, with participation from Kae Capital.

• Blockus, a provider of web3 gaming tech solutions, raised $4 million in pre-seed funding led by Maple VC, with participation from Altos Ventures.

Fintech

• Perfios, an Indian provider of fintech credit underwriting solutions, raised $80 million in new funding from Ontario Teachers’ Venture Growth.

• Eclipse Labs, a blockchain infrastructure company developing Ethereum Layer 2 scaling solutions on Solana, raised $50 million in Series A funding. Placeholder and Hack VC co-led, with participation from Polychain Capital, Delphi Digital, Maven 11, DBA, Apollo-managed funds, and Fenbushi Capital, among others.

• Vouch, a provider of business insurance for high-growth companies, raised $25 million in Series C-1 funding led by Ribbit Capital.

• Elixir, a decentralized network enriching liquidity across orderbook exchanges, raised $8 million in Series B funding at an $800 million valuation. The round was co-led by Mysten Labs and Maelstrom, with participation from Manifold, Arthur Hayes, Amber Group, GSR, and Flowdesk.

• NFTfi, an NFT lending and liquidity protocol, raised $6 million in Series A1 funding. Placeholder VC led, with participation from Maven 11, Launch Labs, Kahuna Ventures, Brevan Howard, The LAO, Reciprocal, a16z, Hash, Bloccelerate, Cypher, Punks DAO, and Flamingo DAO.

Media & Consumer

• Liquid Death, an eco-friendly canned water and beverage company, raised $67 million at a $1.4 billion valuation, from SuRo Capital, Live Nation, and Grays Creek Capital, among others.

• Murphy's Naturals, a manufacturer of natural insect repellent and outdoor lifestyle products, raised $8 million in Series B funding led by Point King Capital, with participation from Emil Capital Partners.

Healthcare & Life Sciences

• Zephyr AI, a healthcare technology company specializing in precision medicine, raised $111 million of Series A funding. Revolution Growth led, with participation from Eli Lilly, Jeff Skoll, and EPIQ Capital Group.

• CodaMetrix, a healthcare revenue cycle management platform, raised $40 million in Series B funding. Transformation Capital led and was joined by SignalFire and Frist Cressey.

• Tierra Biosciences, a developer of AI-guided cell-free production platforms, raised $11.4 million in Series A funding. Material Impact led, with participation from Prosus Ventures, In-Q-Tel (IQT), Hillspire, Freeflow Ventures, Creative Ventures, and Social Capital.

• Foundation Health, a developer of healthcare technology for telehealth and digital pharmacy solutions, raised $6 million in seed funding. Garry Tan’s Initialized Capital and Transpose Platform co-led, with participating from Tuesday VC, Alt Capital, Box Group, Liquid Ventures, and angel investors Paul Johnson and Meghan Fitzgerald.

• Nest Health, a healthcare company specializing in value-based family medical care, raised over $4 million in an extended seed round from SpringTide, Alumni Ventures, Ochsner Ventures, 8VC, the Blue Venture Fund, MVP, 2047 Health, and Gaingels.

• HawkCell, a developer of MRI technology for veterinary care and preclinical research, raised €5 million ($5.68 million) in Series A funding led by MIG Capital.

• Sooma Medical, a developer of tDCS-based depression treatments, raised $5.5 million from Nordics-based Voima Ventures, Verge HealthTech Fund, and Stephen Industries.

• Milu Health, a healthtech company using AI to drive healthcare cost savings, raised $4.8 million in seed funding led by Andreessen Horowitz Bio + Health, with participation from BoxGroup, PagsGroup, and 81 Collection.

Industrials, Greentech, & Other

• CarbonCapture, a climate tech and direct air capture startup, raised $80 million in Series A funding led by Prime Movers, with participation from Amazon Climate Pledge Fund, Aramco Ventures, Siemens Financial Services, Idealab X, and Marc Benioff’s TIME Ventures.

• Bear Robotics, a developer of service robots for the food industry, raised $60 million in Series C funding from LG Electronics.

• Lohum, an Indian producer of sustainable energy transition materials via integrated battery recycling, raised $54 million in Series B funding from Singularity Growth, Baring Private Equity, Cactus Venture Partners, and Venture East.

• Quaise Energy, a developer of deep geothermal energy technologies, raised $21 million in Series A1 funding. Prelude Ventures and Safar Partners led, with participation from Mitsubishi Corporation and Standard Investments.

• Packfleet, a developer of electric delivery vans and routes, raised $10 million in Series A funding. General Catalyst and Voyager co-led, with participation from existing investors Creandum, Entree Capital, and Founder Collective.

• Telo, a developer of compact-sized electric trucks, raised $5.4 million in seed funding from Spero Ventures, and Neo.

• Inflexion raised a new $2.2 billion fund focused on European minority stakes.

• KSL Capital Partners raised $2 billion for its sixth flagship fund.

• GoldenTree Asset Management raised $1.4 billion for its debut private credit fund.

• Gauge Capital raised $1.4 billion for its fourth middle market buyout fund.

• Fulcrum Equity Partners raised $372 million for its fifth fund.

• Peak XV Partners, formerly Sequoia Capital’s India business, launched a new early-stage GP stakes platform named Peak XV Anchor Fund.

1. The private equity tie-up that could have been.

• Liz Hoffman’s shares a scoop on talks over a CVC and HPS merger that fell apart late last year. — Semafor

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