China's Quectel is one of the world's largest manufacturers of IoT cellular modules, a key chip component, with nearly a 40% market share. Now it's licensing out its manufacturing tech and source code to an Ohio-based startup called Eagle Electronics, in a reversal of how these cross-border relationships have traditionally worked.

Why it matters: This reflects the U.S. onshoring trend for semiconductors, which is expected to intensify if President-elect Trump makes good on his threat to put new tariffs on China-made products.

Driving the news: Eagle Electronics was formed by venture capitalists Mark Kvamme (chairman) and TJ Dembinski (CEO), and tells Axios that it's raised $14 million in initial capital led by their Ohio Fund, with Asymmetric Capital Partners also participating.

• It's subleased space in a Cleveland suburb to install a pair of lines that should be producing by next March. After that, it hopes to move into its own facility.
• Quectel will send around 30 employees to Ohio for two months to train new Eagle workers, many of whom are being sourced via partnerships with local community colleges.
• Applications including everything from hunting cameras to vehicle telematics.

What they're saying: "For this particular product the U.S. is dependent on China," Kvamme says. "You've already seen onshoring in terms of things like Intel's new plants, and semiconductor modules are the next part of the supply chain."

• He adds that the "only way to get to cost parity" is by licensing what he believes to be China's superior manufacturing tech in this area, particularly its automated testing capabilities, although acknowledges that Eagle's prices will initially be higher than are imports.

Full circle: Kvamme's father Floyd — who helped form National Semiconductor's beachhead in Silicon Valley before later becoming a venture capitalist — got a Thanksgiving Day chuckle out of his VC son's semiconductor pursuit.

The bottom line: Decoupling sometimes causes coupling.

BlackRock has agreed to buy private credit manager HPS Investment Partners for $12 billion in stock.

Why it's the BFD: This would make BlackRock one of the largest players in one of Wall Street's hottest markets, with around $220 billion in private credit assets.

Zoom in: Around one-quarter of the purchase price will be deferred for five years, while the amount of total shares could increase by 13% if certain financial performance milestones are met. The headline price includes up to $675 million in employee retention payments.

• HPS co-founders Scott Kapnick, Scot French and Michael Patterson would remain with BlackRock, joining its global executive committee and leading a new private financing solutions group
• The deal is expected to close in mid-2025, pending regulatory approvals. It also comes as Britain's antitrust authority said it will take a closer look at BlackRock's proposed $3.2 billion purchase of private markets data provider Preqin.

The bottom line: BlackRock has spent 2024 in alt asset bulk-up mode. It previously inked the Preqin deal, acquired Global Infrastructure Partners, and worked with Partners Group to develop a model portfolio for wealthy clients.