Though there have been one-off requests in the interim, those have been aimed at a single sector. However, it was time for a full-fledged refresh, YC group partner Dalton Caldwell told Term Sheet in an exclusive interview.

“We had a lunch conversation where we said, ‘Hey, we should write new ones of these, because we’ve noticed that some of the things people are applying with are a bit repetitive, and now we want to add some spice to the system.”

I asked Caldwell how it’s done—how does YC decide what should (or shouldn’t) make the list? I imagined something quite serious, but this sounds like a pretty informal, chatty process. This time, 12 partners sat in a conference room with Mediterranean takeout, as YC group partner Jared Friedman took out his laptop, and away they went.

The result is an RFS that’s 20 categories long (and was being updated until late yesterday afternoon). Some examples of categories include “applying machine learning to robotics,” “bring manufacturing back to America,” “a way to end cancer,” and “new enterprise resource planning software.” (If someone out there’s looking for an ‘in’ with Caldwell, he’s fired up about the last one.) 

This RFS tradition dates back to 2009, but there’s no set time for the RFS to come out—it could be weeks, months, or years between posts. But looking back at that first RFS, it feels to me like a time capsule, a snapshot of what that investors were optimistic about more than 14 years ago, like “Development on Handhelds,” “Future of Journalism,” and “Things Built on Twitter.”

Founders should think of the RFS as the entrepreneur’s version of a creative writing prompt. Caldwell can’t stress this point enough—these categories from YC aren’t meant to be prescriptive. They’re instead meant to be what Caldwell describes as “inspirational jumping off points” or, in some cases, offer a potential founder permission to pursue something that’s not obvious. 

“What happens to founders is they feel both implicit and explicit pressure from people they know, to make sure they’re working on something that’s fashionable,” said Caldwell. “There’s this self-censorship. Often, when someone gets into YC, they need to change their idea. We’ll say, ‘Wait, you’re not doing the idea that’s right under your nose, where you’re the world’s expert’…Usually, their answer is some version of ‘We didn’t think the idea would be fashionable enough.’”

And, yes, there are AI categories in this new RFS—I press Caldwell on this, since AI is as fashionable as it gets. 

“We didn’t overthink it,” he said. “AI is a cool, enabling technology and we love it—hooray, now you have to apply it to something. It doesn’t exist in a vacuum.”

One Term Sheet takeaway for prospective YC applicants: Have fun.

“This is a light-hearted, whimsical conversation that we have internally,” Caldwell said. “This isn’t our ten-year analyst report on what we think the major trends are…These are intentionally a little bit idiosyncratic.”

Private equity’s public wins…For PE’s biggest names, this earnings season can be summed up in one phrase: better-than-expected. TPG’s transaction fees hit record highs. And at a skittish time for Wall Street, consider Apollo, where shares are up about 20% year-to-date, or KKR is up about 17% in that period (as of 4:30 PM PT yesterday).

See you tomorrow,

Allie Garfinkle
Twitter: @agarfinks
Email: alexandra.garfinkle@fortune.com
Submit a deal for the Term Sheet newsletter here.

Joe Abrams curated the deals section of today’s newsletter.

VENTURE DEALS

- Bob W, a Helsinki, Finland-based designer of tech-enabled aparthotels, raised €40 million in Series B funding. Evli Growth Partners led the round and was joined by others. 

- Skylo Technologies, a Mountain View, Calif.-based direct-to-device satellite connectivity provider, raised $37 million in funding. Intel Capital and Innovation Endeavors led the round and was joined by BMW i Ventures, Next47, Samsung Catalyst Fund, and Seraphim Space.

- Meter, a San Francisco-based provider of enterprise internet infrastructure, raised $35 million in funding. Sam Altman and Lachy Groom led the round and were joined by Sequoia, John Bicket, Sanji Biswas, and Diane Greene.

- Sudo Biosciences, a Carmel, Ind.-based biopharmaceutical company developing medicines for multiple sclerosis, psoriasis, and other conditions, raised $30 million in a Series B extension from Dementia Discovery Fund, Leaps by Bayer, and UPMC Enterprises.

- Marqo, a Melbourne, Australia, London, U.K., and San Francisco-based AI-powered vector search platform, raised $12.5 million in Series A funding. Lightspeed Venture Partners led the round and was joined by Blackbird VC, January Capital, and Rob Skillington.

- Quilter, a Los Angeles, Calif.-based developer of circuit board design automation technology, raised $10 million in Series A funding. Benchmark led the round and was joined by Coatue and existing investors. 

- Groover, a Paris, France and New York City-based music promotion platform, raised $8 million in Series A funding. OneRagtime, Trind, Techmind, and Mozza Angels led the round and was joined by Partech, Bpifrance’s Tech & Touch fund, Verve Ventures, and Frenchfounders.

- Anatomy Financial, a San Francisco-based provider of AI-powered financial automation solutions for medical and healthcare billing companies, raised $7.6 million in funding from Lightspeed Venture Partners, Meridian Street Capital, Live Oak Ventures, Cambrian Ventures, Peterson Ventures, and angel investors.

- Seal Security, a Tel Aviv, Israel-based platform designed to improve thes security of software supply chains, raised $7.4 million in seed funding. Vertex Ventures Israel led the round and was joined by Crew Capital, PayPal Alumni Fund, and Cyber Club London.

- KTrust, a Tel Aviv, Israel-based Kubernetes security platform, raised $5.3 million in seed funding from Awz Ventures. 

- Civic Roundtable, a Boston, Mass.-based secure platform for government workers, raised $5 million in seed funding from General Catalyst.

- Zylon, a Madrid, Spain-based AI assistant designed for businesses without the need for AI technical teams, raised $3.2 million in pre-seed funding. Felicis led the round and was joined by LifeX Ventures, Gypsy, and angel investors.

PRIVATE EQUITY

- Crimson Phoenix, backed by Godspeed Capital Management, acquired TekMasters, a Chantilly, Va.-based provider of IT solutions to government agencies and Seaford Consulting, a Reston, Va.-based provider of IT solutions to government agencies. Financial terms were not disclosed.

- Foundation Source, a portfolio company of GTCR, acquired PG Calc, a Cambridge, Mass.-based operator of charitable giving technology and administration. Financial terms were not disclosed.  

- Hub International, backed by Blackstone, Finback Investment Partners, Leonard Green & Partners, and Altas Partners, acquired Mitchell Sandham, an Ontario, Canada-based insurance brokerage. Financial terms were not disclosed. 

- Salesloft, backed by Vista Equity Partners, acquired Drift, a Boston, Mass.-based AI-powered platform designed to create personalized buyer experiences. Financial terms were not disclosed.

- Sixth Street Partners acquired a minority stake in Blue Stream Fiber, a Coral Springs, Fla.-based provider of broadband and television products. Financial terms were not disclosed.

- Timoneer Strategic Partners acquired a majority stake in Solid Restoration, an Escondido, Calif.-based restoration services provider. Financial terms were not disclosed. 

EXITS

- Clayton Dubilier & Rice acquired Shearer’s Foods, a Massillon, Ohio.-based contract manufacturer and private label supplier in the snack industry, from Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan Board. Financial terms were not disclosed.

- Tuckahoe Holdings acquired Gateway Dealer Network, a St. Louis, Mo.-based industrial equipment provider, from Brightstar Capital Partners. Financial terms were not disclosed.

OTHER

- Gilead Sciences (NAS: GILD) agreed to acquire CymaBay Therapeutics (NAS: CBAY), a Newark, Calif.-based developer of therapeutics for liver disease and other conditions, for $4.3 billion.

- Walmart (NYSE: WMT) is in talks to acquire Vizio (NYSE: VZIO), an Irvine, Calif.-based smart TV designer and retailer, for more than $2 billion, per The Wall Street Journal.

- LPL Financial Holdings (NAS: LPLA) agreed to acquire Atria Wealth Solutions, a New York City-based wealth management solutions holding company. Financial terms were not disclosed.

IPOS

- TPT Global Tech, a San Diego, Calif.-based media content hub, plans to raise $50 million in an offering of 7.7 million shares priced at $6.50 on the Nasdaq. The company posted $5 million in revenue for the year ending September 30, 2023. Stephen J. Thomas backs the company. 

FUNDS + FUNDS OF FUNDS

- AIX Ventures, a San Francisco-based venture capital firm, raised $202 million for its second fund focused on early-stage AI companies. 

PEOPLE

- FTV Capital, a San Francisco-based growth equity firm, promoted Arun Singh, Tommy Tighe, and Shoma Nishikawa to principal.

- Greenfield Partners, a Tel Aviv, Israel-based venture capital firm, promoted Raz Mangel to partner.

- GV (Google Ventures), a Mountain View, Calif.-based venture capital firm, promoted Anthony Philippakis as general partner.