Anduril Secures $1.5B in Funding, Boosting Valuation to $14B; Round Led by Founders Fund and Sands Capital

Venture Capital

• Anduril, a defense technology startup, secured $1.5 billion in a funding round, elevating its valuation to $14 billion. The round was led by Founders Fund and Sands Capital.

• CloudPay, a global leader in enterprise payroll solutions, raised $120 million in a funding round spearheaded by Blue Owl Capital.

• SYSO, a market operator specializing in renewable energy and battery storage assets, completed a $14.5 million Series B round, led by Kimmeridge.

• Chariot, a payments platform focused on Donor-Advised Funds (DAFs), raised $11 million in a funding round led by Maveron.

• Eden, a Mexican startup leveraging AI for medical data analysis, secured $10 million in funding, with Sierra Ventures leading the round.

• Feeling Great, a mental health app, raised $8 million in a seed round led by Learn Capital and TitleTownTech.

• VSParticle, a nanotechnology startup advancing the energy sector, secured $7.1 million in a Series A2 extension, led by NordicNinja and Plural.

Private Equity

• Trend Micro, a Japanese cybersecurity firm valued at $7.3 billion, is exploring a potential sale after receiving takeover interest.

• Thoma Bravo is reportedly preparing to sell gym software provider ABC Fitness, aiming for a $3 billion valuation, including debt.

• Vedanta, an Indian conglomerate, has paused the sale of its $2.5 billion steel business following a $1 billion share sale.

• Russia has blocked Turkish brewer Anadolu Efes from acquiring AB InBev's stake in their $1.3 billion Russian joint venture.

• Houlihan Lokey has reached an agreement to acquire boutique investment bank Waller Helms Advisors.

• SPE Capital is set to acquire African payments firm OMOA from Adenia Partners.

IPO

• FirstCry, an Indian baby products retailer, attracted $3.4 billion in orders for its $501 million IPO in India.

• CenterPoint Energy, impacted by recent storms, announced a $250 million follow-on public offering (FPO) and is also considering a bond sale.

• AI chipmaker Black Sesame International saw its shares drop 27% on its trading debut after pricing its $133 million Hong Kong IPO near the lower end of the range.

• Dutch telecom giant Veon is planning to sell a 20% stake in its Pakistani subsidiary, Jazz, through a local IPO.