Venture capitalists are betting big on pickleball

There. I said it. I have jumped on the bandwagon with your mother and every venture capitalist in the world. I sometimes wait over an hour for a court to open up at the park near my house. And, apparently, I have become part of the problem for the ever-growing herd of people who claim the sport is ruining their lives.

Since the pandemic, pickleball has become the fastest-growing sport in the country. Its meteoric rise has sparked conspiracy theories over who may be profiting from the “propaganda machine” behind it. Celebrity investors are pouring millions into the sport. Pickleball-focused magazines on the sport want to make sure you know that Stephen Colbert and all his famous friends are playing, too.

All of this chatter is, in part, what led our very own Jackson Fordyce from the deal section to challenge two venture capital firms in his city of Austin, Texas, to a little friendly competition, which Fortune captured on video.

Make sure to watch the match between Silverton Partners and LiveOak Venture Partners, who go toe-to-toe in Fortune’s first rendition of the “venture capital pickleball league.” After the game, Jackson sat down with the players to talk about venture in Austin and what sectors investors are most bullish on for the next five years. You can watch the full video here.

TikTok pays up…It’s no longer just free videos on TikTok. As part of the company’s new “Creativity Program Beta,” or CPB, TikTok is paying creators to publish videos over 60 seconds. Some of those video makers told Fortune they are making thousands of dollars per month—with one TikToker paying off his mortgage from payouts. Are creators going to go full-time? And will the new program alleviate some of the turmoil between TikTok and its creators that has defined the platform? My colleague Alexandra Sternlicht has the story here.

One more thing…The Term Sheet team is heading out to Park City this weekend for Fortune’s Brainstorm Tech conference, where you’ll be hearing from top technology and media leaders, operators, entrepreneurs, innovators, and influencers—some of them quite controversial—for a dynamic exchange of ideas. I’ll be interviewing former vice president Al Gore and drone CEO Andreas Raptopoulos from Matternet. And Anne and I will be hosting a Term Sheet breakfast roundtable on Tuesday. If I don’t run into you out on the mountain biking trails on Monday, make sure to drop me a note so I can say hello.

See you tomorrow,

Jessica Mathews
Twitter: @jessicakmathews
Email: jessica.mathews@fortune.com
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Jackson Fordyce curated the deals section of today’s newsletter.

VENTURE DEALS

- Neko Health, a Stockholm-based preventative health care technology company, raised €60 million ($65.14 million) in Series A funding. Lakestar led the round and was joined by Atomico and General Catalyst. 

- Kaar Tech, a Chennai, India-based digital transformation consulting company, raised $30 million in funding from A91 Partners.

- Topkey, a Nashville-based financial operating system for vacation rental and hospitality property management companies, raised $5.1 million in seed funding. Felicis led the round and was joined by a16z, Y Combinator, Assurant Ventures, Grit Partners, Liquid2 Ventures, Derive Ventures, and Kindergarten Ventures.

PRIVATE EQUITY

- Ardian acquired a 50% stake in MXT Holdings, a Mexico City-based telecommunications infrastructure company. Financial terms were not disclosed.

- Monroe Capital acquired Horizon Technology Finance Management, a Farmington, Conn.-based venture debt lending company. Financial terms were not disclosed.

- P3 Services, a Stellex Capital Management portfolio company, acquired Anchor Plumbing, a San Antonio-based plumbing services company. Financial terms were not disclosed. 

EXITS

- An affiliate of ArcLight Capital Partners agreed to acquire the commercial distributed generation business of Duke Energy, a Charlotte, N.C.-based energy holding company. The deal is valued at $364 million.  

OTHER

- Corlytics acquired Clausematch, a London-based policy and procedure management platform. Financial terms were not disclosed.

FUNDS + FUNDS OF FUNDS

- Altas Partners, a New York- and Toronto-based private equity firm, raised $4 billion for a fund focused on growth company acquisitions. 

- Mercuri, formerly GMG Ventures, a London-based venture capital firm, raised £50 million ($63.48 million) for a fund focused on U.K.-based seed stage media companies using A.I. 

PEOPLE

- Northzone, a London-, New York-, and Stockholm-based venture capital firm, hired Molly Alter as a partner. Formerly, she was with Index Ventures.

- Nyca Partners, a New York-based venture capital firm, hired Laura Simione as head of capital formation and investor relations. Formerly, she was with Bramshill Investments.