Joulent Secures $1.75B Strategic Investment from National Grid
Private company dealmaking stayed active this week, led by Joulent's $1.75B strategic investment from National Grid and a slate of sizable raises across energy infrastructure, enterprise software, AI development, geothermal power, and sports media.This week's private company news:Jeff Bezos' Blue Origin is raising outside capital for the first time, in a round valuing the rocket company at $130B, sources told.Some of the biggest capital raises by private companies this week include:Joulent– The technology-driven energy company developing multi-gigawatt power infrastructure to meet the accelerating demands of American industry and innovation said that National Grid has agreed to a $1.75B strategic minority investment in the company. Publicly-traded companies operating in the same space include NextEra, Constellation Energy, and GE Vernova.LeapXpert– The Governed Communication Intelligence company announced a $180M growth investment led by Riverwood Capital. Publicly-traded companies operating in the same space include Microsoft, Proofpoint, and Commvault.8090– The AI-native software factory founded by Chamath Palihapitiya raised $135M. The fundraise was led by Salesforce. Publicly-traded companies operating in the same space include ServiceNow, Palantir, and Atlassian.Quaise Energy– The developer of utility-scale superhot geothermal energy announced the first close of its Series B financing, raising $134M with additional equity and debt capital expected to close imminently. The round was led by Prelude Ventures, with strategic investments from JERA and Idemitsu, two of Japan's largest energy companies. Publicly-traded companies operating in the same space include Calpineand Ormat Technologies.The Premier Lacrosse League– The company announced the closing of a $100M Series E financing round led by Ares and Joe Tsai. Publicly-traded companies operating in the same space include Disney, TKO Group, and MSG Sports.Unicorns to watch this week:Anthropic– The company continues to be one of the most strategically important AI companies globally, with accelerating enterprise adoption. It has recently closed multibillion dollar funding cycle over the past year; expanding Claude enterprise deployments and model distillation partnerships. Publicly-traded companies operating in the same space include Alphabet, Microsoft, and Amazon.Rippling– The company continues to disrupt legacy HR/payroll stacks with unified workflows. Publicly-traded companies operating in the same space include Workday, Paycom, and ADP.Anduril Industries– The autonomous defense systems, AI-powered surveillance, and drone tech company continues to be one of the fastest growing defense unicorns, reshaping procurement with software first systems. It has recently won multiple Department of War contracts, with expanding Lattice OS deployments across U.S. and allied defense programs. Publicly-traded companies operating in the same space include RTX, Northrop Grumman, and Lockheed Martin.Databricks– The software company focused on data analytics and AI continues to be a core player in enterprise AI infrastructure and a likely future IPO candidate. Publicly-traded companies operating in the same space include Snowflake, MongoDB, and Palantir.Redwood Materials– The company is positioned at the center of U.S. battery materials reshoring and EV sustainability, and it has recently secured major supply agreements with automotive OEMs and is expanding Nevada and South Carolina facilities. Publicly-traded companies operating in the same space include Li-Cycle, Albemarle, and Tesla.IPOs to watch:Jersey Mike's Subs– The company has filed an initial public offering of shares of Class A common stock. Morgan Stanley, Jefferies, and J.P. Morgan are acting as global coordinators and joint bookrunning managers for the offering.Kardigan– The company has filed an initial public offering of shares of its common stock. JP Morgan, Jefferies, Leerink Partners, and TD Cowen are acting as the underwriters for the offering.Inspire Brands – The company announced that it has confidentially submitted a draft registration statement on Form S-1 with the Securities and Exchange Commission relating to the proposed initial public offering of its common stock. Inspire Brands expects to use the net proceeds of the proposed offering to repay outstanding indebtedness under its existing term loan facility and pay offering fees and expenses.Tarsier Pharma Ltd.– The company filed for an initial public offering of its ordinary shares. The prospectus stated, "Tarsier Pharma is developing TRS01 and TRS02, novel product candidates based on dazdotuftide, a new molecule with a new mechanism of action for uveitis and uveitic glaucoma. We are attempting to address a significant, underserved market opportunity and have engaged closely with the FDA on our clinical development strategy, including a Special Protocol Assessment agreement for our planned pivotal trial... Although we are still early in this journey, I believe we have the technology, the team, the discipline, and the persistence required to build an enduring company.""Private Markets" is The Fly's recurring series of stories on the latest moves in the private sector, largest unicorn companies and initial public offerings to watch. Fly subscribers, add $PRIVATE to your portfolio for alerts on breaking news in the startup and venture capital space.
