⚡Demand for data center power just made this “supercapacitor” startup a unicorn. Skeleton Technologies, an Estonian startup making high-power systems for AI infrastructure, was backed by Siemens to expand in the US. Read more about how Datacenter Power Needs Are Redrawing the Energy Storage Map.
Plus: Anduril’s latest tender offer, Berkshire Hathaway invests in Bending Spoons (again), and more ⬇️
More LPs are using secondary-market valuations to help determine how accurately GPs mark their assets.
The conclusions they reach are influencing how some institutional investors deploy capital, according to several advisers in the market.
The price of a secondary deal reflects what a buyer is actually willing to pay for an asset as of the reference date. If there is a consistent gap between how a manager marks its assets and what they sell for on the secondary market, it could well be a red flag.
More deal flow from rising secondary activity means more comparable transactions, which should make pricing more efficient. This is particularly true for “flow name” funds managed by the best-known managers, whose stakes trade regularly.
“We’re seeing more LPs using secondaries as a liquidity tool, whether that’s selling out of funds or GP families or even strips of commitments to right-size exposure,” said Nick Best, a managing director in Campbell Lutyens’ secondary advisory team.
At the same time, the regulatory spotlight has shifted to valuations. In late September, staff at the Securities and Exchange Commission issued a statement stating that it is insufficient for private funds to rely on GP-provided valuations.
Successful carve-outs require more than executing the deal. Explore practical insights to help connect financial, operational and planning considerations—and turn complex ideas into strategies you can put to work.
PE firm Thurston Group is weighing the sale of Alpha Aesthetics Partners, a California-based medical spa chain that provides aesthetic medical treatments such as Botox injections and chemical skin peels, according to people familiar with the matter.
If successful, the deal would be a milestone in a corner of healthcare where PE firms have struggled to exit after years of consolidation. Alpha could be put on the auction block as soon as 2027, the people said.
Alpha was formed in 2023 and has grown to operate 37 locations nationwide, according to its LinkedIn profile. In January, Manulife Investment Management led a $93 million debt investment in the Sacramento-area business.
PE firms have piled into med spas since the pandemic, drawn by the recurring nature of treatments such as injectables and skin rejuvenation, and by the fact that patients tend to pay up front rather than rely on insurance to cover the cost.
As these investments mature, as many as 25 platform companies are expected to come to market in 2027 and 2028, according to advisers in the space.
Few fully scaled med-spa investments have been successfully exited, leaving a lack of comparable transactions to benchmark against.
LaserAway, a 219-clinic med-spa chain backed by Ares Management and Seidler Equity Partners, hired Harris Williams earlier this year to explore a sale that would have valued it at more than $2 billion, according to people familiar with the matter.
Momentum is building behind deep tech areas in European venture, with most of the fastest-growing verticals for VC investment falling into the category.
According to PitchBook’sQ3 2026 European Venture Report, space tech and advanced manufacturing posted the biggest gains in terms of deal value this year. The former is currently pacing 273.8% above last year’s total, while the latter is on track to surpass 2025 by 188.7%.
The verticals have benefited from increasingly large rounds from startups, including satellite operator Iceye, which raised €1 billion in June, and AI-driven materials discovery specialist CuspAI’s $450 million Series B.
Robotics and drones also made the list of Europe’s fastest-growing VC verticals, with investment reaching €8.7 billion in the first nine months of the year, compared to €5 billion in 2025’s annual total. Defense tech has helped to push the vertical to new heights and led to sizeable rounds for startups such as drone maker Quantum Systems, which raised a $1.2 billion Series D in July.
The surge in deep tech investments coincides with Europe’s push for sovereign technology to reduce its dependence on the US, particularly in areas such as semiconductors and defense.
• If America stops building data centers, it could head toward a recession, warns BlackRock’s Larry Fink. “So much of our economy is based on the buildout of this capex,” he said. [CNBC]
• Companies are building “robot gyms” to solve a data deficit. Training robots requires much more data than training a chat model, and robotics startups are getting creative with their solutions to the shortage. [Financial Times]
• US defense tech startups see Taiwan as a major opportunity to build drones without Chinese involvement in the supply chain, sparking mutually beneficial partnerships for players in both countries. [The Wall Street Journal]
PEOPLE
Sachin Katti is leaving his role as head of computing capacity at OpenAI.
VC DEALS
Defense tech company Anduril launched an employee tender offer at a $90 billion valuation, Bloomberg reported.
AI infrastructure startup Modal secured a $750 million Series D led by Accel at a $15.75 billion valuation.
Skeleton Technologies, a developer of power systems for AI infrastructure, received an investment led by Siemens at a $1 billion valuation.
Data center connectivity chip builder Salience Labs raised a $125 million Series B led by Bullhound Capital.
Albert, a startup developing a chemistry operating system for product research and development, raised a $55 million Series B led by TCV.
Workforce security platform developer Harmonic Security secured a $50 million Series B led by Crosspoint Capital Partners.
Zenzap, which is building an internal AI messaging app for companies, raised a $33 million Series A led by Bessemer and Lightspeed.
Biotech startup Altay Therapeutics, which focuses on treatments for a specific type of muscular dystrophy, raised a $37 million Series A led by Sound Bioventures and HealthCap.
Pluto Security, a cybersecurity startup focused on AI tool adoption in enterprises, secured a $34 million Series A led by Jump Capital.
Scuba, the developer of a shared context engine for teams using AI agents, emerged from stealth with $34 million across two funding rounds: a seed round led by IVP and Accel, and a pre-seed round led by Accel.
Duvo, the developer of an enterprise operating system, secured a $32 million Series A led by Balderton Capital.
India-based Scimplify, which develops an AI-powered chemical manufacturing platform, raised a $25 million round led by Hitachi Ventures.
Causa Prima, a Madrid-based developer of an agent-to-agent network for finance teams, raised a $20 million seed investment led by Base10 Partners.
Barcelona-based quantum computing startup Qilimanjaro Quantum Tech secured €19.6 million in the first close of its Series A led by Indra Group.
Biotech Undecimal Bio raised an $18 million seed round led by 4BIO Capital and IQ Capital.
Agentic healthcare operating system developer Confido Health raised a $12.5 million Series A expansion led by Z47.
Sonilo, a startup focused on generative audio models, raised an $11 million round led by B Capital.
PE DEALS
Archimed purchased a majority stake in Genetica Bioscience, a Brazilian provider of bio-based industrial wastewater treatment.
New Mountain Capital-backed engineering company Consor acquired ConeLabs, the developer of an inspection platform for critical infrastructure.
Ardian-backed Hy24 agreed to acquire Hynamics, a Paris-based clean hydrogen developer, from state-owned utility Electricite de France, Bloomberg reported.
Gryphon Investors-backed Vivify Specialty Ingredients acquired AuNutra Industries, which specializes in botanical and nutritional ingredients for supplements.
Capital Machine, a metal fabrication machinery service provider backed by Rotunda Capital Partners, acquired KC Robotics, a robotic systems integration company.
PSG is backing the combination of Paris-based Microsoft cloud services provider Be-Cloud with its German portfolio company QualityHosting to create a pan-European cloud platform developer for small and medium-sized businesses.
Ares Management acquired a significant minority stake in UK-based energy storage developer Statera Energy‘s operational portfolio.
Warburg Pincus-backed data center operator Princeton Digital Group is seeking a $1.2 billion loan for its data center campus development in Malaysia, Bloomberg reported.
EXITS
Blackstone agreed to sell California skincare brand ZO Skin Health to Swiss dermatology company Galderma for $1.5 billion, Bloomberg reported.
Hillhouse Investment-backed NOTA, which operates luxury vacation homes in Japan, is planning a Tokyo IPO as soon as the end of this year, Bloomberg reported.
FUNDRAISING
Pear VC closed on $333 million for its fifth fund dedicated mostly to pre-seed and seed investments.
INVESTORS
Berkshire Hathaway invested an additional $330 million in publicly listed tech company and acquirer Bending Spoons.
Nvidia is planning to invest in four French startups: Doctolib, Entalpic, Genesis AI and Pigment.
Cleveland-based activist investor Ancora Holdings Group, which has a more than 4% stake in Big Yellow, has urged the London-listed self-storage company’s board to explore a sale.
CHART OF THE DAY
Evergreen fund net asset value has topped $650 billion, a small but growing slice of private capital even as drawdown fundraising has declined for five consecutive years.
Private capital is splitting into two camps. Some sponsors are sticking with the familiar. Others are rethinking fund structures to address liquidity and evolving investor needs. Explore four creative solutions expanding the private capital toolkit.
