Good day. The venture market slowed last week, new data shows, indicating an immediate impact of the broader economic uncertainty on private markets.

The number of venture deals done in the U.S. last week dropped 24% versus the weekly average for the previous 13 weeks, according to data from CB Insights. The research firm recorded 104 U.S. venture deals between April 7 and April 11, down from the previous weekly average of 137 investments.

CB Insights also noted a less dramatic decline of 12.5% in acquisitions of venture-backed startups last week, compared with the weekly average since the start of the year. The M&A count is less telling, since there is generally more weekly variance in those stats than in venture deals, said Jason Saltzman, head of insights at the firm. The firm tracks transactions signed in that period, he said.

“While investors are used to the ‘normal’ uncertainty of startups, last week’s roller coaster introduced a different type of uncertainty that had a direct and constantly changing impact on portfolios and dollar values in bank accounts,” Saltzman said.

Read the full article at this link. 

And now on to the news...

AI Tries Predicting Tariff Impacts. Artificial intelligence was supposed to be a boon for helping companies navigate the impact of disruptions to their supply chains. But even this groundbreaking tech has its limits—and wasn’t ready for the far-reaching, on-and-off tariffs from President Trump, WSJ’s CIO Journal reports.

• Businesses contending with ongoing uncertainty want help from their supply-chain technology providers. In recent weeks, a number of vendors have rolled out AI features intended to gauge the impact of new tariffs. There is one problem: Tech can’t forecast what Trump will do next.

A former fruit farming executive is pushing for information from Maine’s largest public pension about its backing of his now-bankrupt company, putting a spotlight on laws surrounding what private funds must disclose about their investment decisions, WSJ Pro Private Equity’s Rod James reports.

• Daniel Gerawan, former chief executive of private-equity-backed Prima Wawona, is suing the Maine Public Employees Retirement System after the pension manager declined to provide certain information he and his attorney requested related to the pension’s investment in the farming company.

Blackstone is teaming up with two big traditional asset managers to develop investment products, a move that could extend its reach into the portfolios of everyday investors, The Wall Street Journal reports.

• The private-markets giant has formed an alliance with Vanguard and Wellington Management, with the goal of offering individuals access to multiasset portfolios, with private and public assets, that have otherwise only been available to institutional investors, the companies said.

People

Scout Ventures appointed Zach Beecher as a partner. He joins the national security-focused firm from America's Frontier Fund.

General Catalyst hired Yuri Sagalov as a managing director to lead the firm’s seed efforts in the U.S. The firm also promoted Amrita M. and Lyman Bullard to partners.

Push Security, a browser-based identity threat detection and response provider, appointed Chris Tilton as chief marketing officer. He was most recently CMO at Probely.

Mainspring Energy, a Menlo Park, Calif.-based linear generator manufacturer, secured $258 million in Series F financing led by General Catalyst. Tom Linebarger and Bethany Mayer will join the company’s board.

Hammerspace, a San Mateo, Calif.-based data infrastructure platform for AI, said investors including Altimeter Capital and ARK Invest provided a $100 million strategic growth capital investment.

Marshmallow, a London-based car and van insurance provider for people moving to the U.K., picked up $90 million in equity and debt led by Portage, bringing the company’s valuation to over $2 billion.

Stitch, a South Africa-based payments infrastructure startup, scored a $55 million Series B round led by QED Investors.

LightSource Labs, a San Francisco-based enterprise procurement platform, emerged from stealth with $33 million in seed and Series A funding co-led by Lightspeed Venture Partners and Bain Capital Ventures.

Nyobolt, a U.K.-headquartered developer of fast-charge systems for AI warehouses and heavy-duty vehicles, landed a $30 million investment from IQ Capital and others.

Virtue AI, a San Francisco-based AI security and compliance platform, collected $30 million in seed and Series A funding from investors including Lightspeed Venture Partners.

Loti AI, a startup specializing in voice, facial recognition and deepfake detection technology, closed a $16.2 million Series A round led by Khosla Ventures.

Blue Onion, a New York-based financial data infrastructure builder, raised $10 million in Series A funding led by Viola FinTech.

Liminal, a New York-based real-time intelligence platform for complex markets and regulated industries, grabbed $8.5 million in Series A funding led by Noro-Moseley Partners.

Hexium, an Austin, Texas-based nuclear energy startup, emerged from stealth with $12 million in funding, including an $8 million seed round co-led by MaC Venture Capital and Refactor.

• Inside Mark Zuckerberg’s failed negotiations to end antitrust case
   
• Nvidia says U.S. implements chip export restrictions to China, warns of $5.5 billion charge
   
• Big banks alarmed after their regulator gets hacked
   
• Japan regulator orders Google to stop anticompetitive practices
   
• American Airlines to provide free wi-fi, joining race to court connected travelers
   

• Figma, ignores the fear, files paperwork for an IPO (TechCrunch)
   
• How Elon Musk stopped loving cars and left Tesla in the lurch (The Information)

This newsletter was compiled by Yuliya Chernova and Zachary Cole.

WSJ Pro Venture Capital is a premium service of The Wall Street Journal. We cover venture capital and the global startup ecosystem. Share your tips, comments and questions: vcnews@wsj.com

The Team: Matthew Strozier, Yuliya Chernova, Brian Gormley, Angus Loten and Marc Vartabedian.

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