Stableton Navigator | SoftBank Invests in OpenAI, Revolut's Wealth App, Chime’s IPO Led by Morgan Stanley
Andreas Bezner, CFA
Stableton | ?????? ?????? ???? ???????????? ???????? ???????????????? ???? ?????? ?????????????????? | Guiding investors with innovative, low-cost, and semi-liquid private market investments | Co-Founder & CEO
This week, we're diving into some of the boldest moves in tech and finance. From a game-changing investment in AI to a wealth management app shaking up the fintech scene, there's no shortage of momentum. Keep scrolling…
THIS WEEK’S BREAKING NEWS
SoftBank to invest $500 million in OpenAI
SoftBank is set to invest $500 million in OpenAI, contributing to a $6.5 billion funding round that values OpenAI at $150 billion. SoftBank, through its Vision Fund, joins investors like Thrive Capital and Microsoft. This move comes after SoftBank’s $14 billion investment in WeWork and signals its shift toward AI. (1)
MARKET UPDATE
Beijing’s push to dethrone Nvidia in AI
China is pressuring local firms to reduce reliance on Nvidia’s AI chips, particularly the H20 line, which has driven Nvidia's stock down by 3.9%. In the second quarter of 2024, Nvidia still managed to generate $3.7 billion (12% of its revenue) from China, despite U.S. sanctions. The country’s AI chipmakers, like Huawei and Cambricon, are positioned to gain market share under Beijing’s push to foster domestic alternatives. (2)
Can Huawei overtake Nvidia in China’s AI race?
Huawei has distributed samples of its Ascend 910C processor to large Chinese tech firms as an alternative to Nvidia’s AI chips, following U.S. sanctions that limit Nvidia's advanced chip exports to China. Huawei's Ascend chips are gaining traction, training 50% of China’s top AI models, while Nvidia’s stock dipped 3.9% in response. (3)
PORTFOLIO & CO-INVESTMENT UPDATE
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PORTFOLIO NEWS
OpenAI’s CTO departure
Mira Murati is leaving after 6.5 years, having led significant developments like speech-to-speech AI and OpenAI's model releases. OpenAI, currently valued at $150 billion, is raising $6.5 billion in funding. Her decision to leave follows several other high-profile departures as OpenAI seeks to raise $6.5 billion at a $150 billion valuation. (4)
SpaceX to the rescue
SpaceX successfully launched a Crew Dragon capsule to rescue two astronauts, Sunita Williams and Barry Wilmore, stranded on the ISS due to thruster failures in their Boeing Starliner spacecraft. The SpaceX capsule docked with the ISS at 10:30 PM UK time, but the astronauts won't return until February 2025. By the time of their return, Williams and Wilmore will have spent eight months in space. (5)
Revolut enters the retail wealth game
Revolut is spinning off its €8.5 billion ($9.5 billion) wealth management division into a standalone app, Revolut Invest, offering 5,000 assets including stocks, ETFs, commodities, and bonds. Currently in testing in Greece, Denmark, and the Czech Republic, it targets retail investors. With 3 million existing users and assets under management tripling from €3 billion to €8.5 billion in 2023, Revolut is positioning itself to rival eToro and Robinhood in the global market. (6)
Revolut sees 5x growth in Malta-based business customers in a year
With €3.7 million in monthly transactions, Revolut now serves 56,000 business clients across 49 countries. This growth aligns with Malta's increasing fintech adoption, with Revolut managing €775 million in Italian business volume, €668 million in Spain, and €456 million in Romania. The company also expanded its platform to streamline services and provide business-friendly financial tools. (7)
Epic Games is suing Samsung
Epic Games is suing Samsung, alleging that its "Auto Blocker" feature, introduced in July 2024, obstructs app installations by increasing the steps from 15 to 21, which negatively impacts app completion rates. Epic’s app store, with over 10 million installations, has faced reduced growth due to these new hurdles. Tim Sweeney, CEO of Epic, claims that these measures hinder competition, adding to ongoing legal battles with Google and Apple. (8)
领英推荐
Morgan Stanley to lead Chime’s IPO
Chime has chosen Morgan Stanley to lead its IPO, expected in 2025. After being valued at $25 billion during the 2021 fintech boom, Chime delayed previous IPO plans due to market conditions. Going public would provide Chime with capital to expand further, but also increase scrutiny on its business model and spending, particularly its marketing costs. (9)
Russia is banning Discord
Russian authorities are set to ban Discord, citing law violations, though no specific details have been provided. The platform has between 30-40 million users in Russia, and outages have already affected many, with users turning to VPNs to maintain access. A fine of 3.5 million roubles was imposed on Discord for failing to block restricted information, with the ban potentially happening "in the coming days." This will significantly impact the gaming community, as Russian developers rely heavily on Discord for international communication and support. (10)
CHART OF THE WEEK
Deal activity in private equity is making a solid recovery, with 2024 seeing a steady increase in both deal count and value. While we’re not quite back to the peak levels of 2021, the market is gaining steam, showing that private equity is alive and kicking. For investors, this uptick means more opportunities to jump into secondary deals—offering flexibility and liquidity in a space where capital is increasingly active.
THE UNTOLD UNICORN STORY
SpaceX: Making humanity multiplanetary
SpaceX has revolutionized space travel since its founding by Elon Musk in 2002. Focused on cutting space transportation costs and enabling Mars colonization, the company has pioneered innovations with its Falcon and Starship rocket families. By developing reusable rockets, SpaceX has significantly lowered launch expenses and made space more accessible, increasing the frequency of missions.
Fun Fact: In December 2010, SpaceX's Dragon capsule embarked on its maiden test flight with a secret and quirky payload—a wheel of cheese. This humorous choice was a nod to a famous Monty Python sketch and was kept under wraps until the capsule successfully returned to Earth. The cheese traveled the entire mission inside Dragon, from its launch in Florida to its splashdown in the Pacific Ocean. (12)
QUESTION OF THE WEEK
How is the portfolio of the Stableton Unicorn Top 20 Fund managed to maintain the target allocation of 5% for each of the 20 holdings?
Stableton maintains an active dialogue with 100+ deal-sourcing partners to track deal flow continuously. When processing new subscriptions or redemptions, we aim to adjust the portfolio by reducing the largest active share—defined as the biggest deviation from the target 5% allocation.
At any given time, Stableton is managing two to ten direct secondary transactions, carefully balancing share availability, transaction pricing, and moving the portfolio closer to equal-weight allocations.
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Sources
1 - Financial Times, 2 - Bloomberg, 3 - South China Morning Post, 4 - CNN, 5 - Sky News, 6 - Bloomberg, 7 - Times of Malta, 8 - Wired, 9 - Fortune, 10 - PC Gamer, 11 - Investopedia, 12 - Space
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