The AI Power Trade
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From billion-dollar rounds to market-defining shifts, we deliver the intelligence powering the global investment landscape, moving investors and innovators forward. At 8alpha.ai, we’re not waiting for the future of capital, we’re building it. Stay sharp, stay curious, and stay ahead.
STARTUPS
ROUNDS AND UNICORNS
The Week’s 10 Biggest Funding Rounds: Anduril Leads Varied Lineup Of Large Deals (Crunchbase, 5 minute read)
Anduril Industries (Defense Tech): Raised $5B in Series H funding at a $61B valuation, doubling its valuation from $30.5B less than a year ago. The round was led by Andreessen Horowitz and Thrive Capital, bringing total funding to $11.4B
VoltaGrid (Energy): Secured a $1B strategic investment from Halliburton and Blackstone, including $775M in new capital and a $225M secondary share purchase. The company provides mobile natural gas generators for data centers and industrial use
Mind Robotics (Robotics): Raised $400M in financing led by Kleiner Perkins, pushing total funding above $1B. The AI robotics startup launched in 2025 as a Rivian spinout
Cowboy Space (Space Tech): Closed a $275M Series B at a $2B valuation. The company develops rockets and satellite infrastructure for AI computing in space
Oishii (Indoor Farming): Raised $150M in Series C funding led by Sparx Asset Management, bringing total funding to $370M since its founding in 2016
Mega-seed rounds make headlines—and potentially hurt startups (PitchBook, 4 minute read)
Investors are increasingly debating the rise of massive AI seed rounds, warning that too much capital too early could reduce founder discipline and encourage inefficient growth. AI startups including Advanced Machine Intelligence ($1.03B), World Labs ($1B), and Ineffable Intelligence ($1.1B) have already raised record-breaking seed rounds, fueling concerns that FOMO-driven funding could push startups to scale too quickly before validating their business models
Despite the mega-rounds, the median U.S. seed round has remained around $3M over the past two years
Investors argued that tighter funding can improve focus, efficiency, and execution
Smaller rounds may reduce excessive spending and improve long-term discipline
Q1 2026 AI funding blows past 2025 total with three deals accounting for 67% of capital (PitchBook, 6 minute read)
AI startups raised a record $255.5B globally in Q1 2026, already surpassing the full-year 2025 total. However, funding remains highly concentrated: OpenAI, Anthropic, and xAI accounted for $172B, or roughly 67% of all AI funding, while the remaining $83.5B was spread across 1,543 deals. Much of the capital came from sovereign wealth funds, hyperscalers, and large institutions rather than traditional VC firms
OpenAI raised $122B from investors including Amazon, Nvidia, and SoftBank, while Anthropic raised $30B from GIC, MGX, and BlackRock
Anthropic’s annualized revenue reportedly grew from $14B to $30B in two months, while OpenAI surpassed $25B
Governments, hyperscalers, and Wall Street firms are playing a larger role in financing frontier AI companies
3 charts to catch up on the OpenAI-Anthropic rivalry (PitchBook, 5 minute read)
Anthropic is reportedly finalizing a funding deal at a $930B valuation, surpassing OpenAI’s $852B valuation for the first time and intensifying the race toward a potential AI IPO. Investors appear increasingly willing to pay a premium for Anthropic’s growth profile, with PitchBook estimating a 9.0x equity return ratio for Anthropic versus 4.9x for OpenAI. Anthropic has also gained momentum in enterprise adoption
Ramp’s May 2026 AI Index showed 34.4% of U.S. businesses using Anthropic, slightly ahead of OpenAI’s 32.3%, marking the first crossover on record
Anthropic’s annualized revenue reportedly exceeded $30B, while gross margins improved to 70%+, up from 38% a year earlier
The round is reportedly backed by Dragoneer, Greenoaks, Sequoia, and Altimeter, highlighting continued capital concentration in frontier AI
ECONOMIC SNAPSHOT
From a ‘board of trade’ to Boeing planes, what did Xi and Trump actually agree to? (CNN, 5 minute read)
The Trump-Xi summit in Beijing produced early signs of stabilization in U.S.-China relations, though many details remain unresolved. The two countries agreed to create a “board of trade” and “board of investment” to manage economic tensions more predictably after years of trade conflict. The White House also said China agreed to purchase at least $17B annually in U.S. agricultural products through 2028 and make an initial purchase of 200 Boeing aircraft, while maintaining an earlier commitment to buy 25 million metric tons of soybeans. Beijing, however, described the outcomes as “preliminary”
The talks signal an effort to reduce volatility after years of declining trade and investment flows
Chinese purchases of U.S. agricultural goods fell to $8.4B last year, versus $24.4B in 2024, while tariffs and export controls disrupted supply chains and technology trade
Both sides discussed tariff reductions and cooperation, though disputes around semiconductors and advanced technology remain unresolved
For Trump, Soaring Prices Test Voters’ Finances and Patience (The New York Times, 9 minute read)
Rising inflation and fuel costs tied to the Iran war are increasingly pressuring U.S. consumers, households, and policymakers. U.S. inflation recently reached its highest level in about three years, while gasoline prices climbed to roughly $4.52 per gallon, up more than 40% year-over-year (AAA). Consumer confidence also fell to a record low, while Americans are taking on more debt and saving less, reflecting growing financial strain. At the same time, employers still added 115,000 jobs in April, beating expectations, though analysts warn the labor market is gradually softening
Economists warn that high energy prices could slow growth, weaken spending, and keep inflation elevated despite resilient markets
Most forecasters expect U.S. GDP growth below 3%, versus White House projections above 6%
Markets increasingly expect the Fed to keep interest rates higher for longer
U.S. Debt Is Now Bigger Than the Economy. That’s Not the Real Problem (The New York Times, 9 minute read)
U.S. federal debt has now surpassed 100% of GDP for the first time since World War II, reigniting concerns about the country’s long-term fiscal path. The Congressional Budget Office projects publicly held debt could rise to 175% of GDP by 2056, while rising interest rates are making the debt increasingly expensive to finance. Thirty-year Treasury yields recently reached 5.12%, their highest level since 2007, up from roughly 1% in 2020, and federal net interest payments now exceed the size of the U.S. defense budget
The White House proposed a record $1.5T defense budget for 2027, while the Senate advanced a $72B immigration package
Economists warn that rising deficits and borrowing costs could eventually constrain growth and fiscal flexibility
Markets have not yet fully priced in a major debt-related shock
IPO & EXITS
Cerebras Shares Soar In First Day On Nasdaq (Crunchbase, 4 minute read)
Cerebras Systems surged in its Nasdaq debut, with shares closing up 68% at $311.07, after opening at $350 and pricing at $185 per share, giving the AI chipmaker an estimated $86B valuation. The company raised at least $5.55B in the IPO, making it one of the largest AI-related public offerings in recent years. Cerebras, which develops AI computing chips and large-scale AI systems, previously filed for an IPO in September 2024 before withdrawing the offering a year later to continue raising private capital
Cerebras generated $510M in 2025 revenue, up 76% year-over-year and more than 6x higher over two years
The company previously raised about $2.85B in equity funding and $1.85B in debt financing, with major venture backers including Fidelity (11.3%)
Cerebras has also secured partnerships with major technology companies including OpenAI, Meta, AWS, and IBM
Fervo rides data center energy boom with 35% IPO pop (PitchBook, 4 minute read)
Fervo, the geothermal startup backed by Breakthrough Energy Ventures and other major investors, surged 35% in its Nasdaq debut, closing at $36.54 per share after pricing its IPO at $27. The company raised $1.89B in the offering, highlighting strong investor demand for energy infrastructure tied to the AI data center boom. Fervo sold 70 million shares, and the IPO consisted entirely of newly issued company stock
Despite just $138K in 2025 revenue and a $57.8M loss, Fervo’s contracted revenue backlog reached $7.2B by year-end
Fervo also signed a 3-gigawatt power agreement with Google for AI data centers
The IPO highlights growing investor demand for energy infrastructure tied to AI growth
SpaceX said to plan public IPO filing as soon as Wednesday (Fortune, 4 minute read)
SpaceX is reportedly preparing to publicly file for its long-awaited IPO as soon as this week, with plans to begin marketing in early June and potentially list on Nasdaq under the ticker SPCX by June 12. The company is seeking to raise as much as $75B at a valuation above $2T, which would make it the largest IPO in history. Major banks including Bank of America, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan, Morgan Stanley, and Citi are leading the offering
SpaceX has become one of the world’s most valuable private companies through Starlink, rocket launches, and AI
Launch and Starlink revenue is expected to approach $20B in 2026, while xAI may generate less than $1B
The IPO is expected to be a major market event for Musk’s space and AI ecosyste
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Happy reading,
8alpha.ai’s Research & Investment Team
