Stableton Navigator | xAI Raises $5B, Revolut Reaches 50M Users, Shein Targets ￡50B IPO

Big moves. Bold plans. This week, we’re spotlighting the companies shaping tomorrow—whether it’s AI pushing boundaries, fintech reaching milestones, or fast fashion eyeing a massive debut. Let’s dive into the stories behind the numbers and the strategies driving the next wave of innovation…

THIS WEEK’S BREAKING NEWS

xAI secures $5 billion in funding

xAI has doubled its valuation to $50 billion after securing $5 billion in a recent funding round. The company plans to acquire 100,000 additional Nvidia chips to enhance its AI models, positioning itself as a formidable competitor to OpenAI. Notable investors include the Qatar Investment Authority, Andreessen Horowitz, Valor Equity Partners, and Sequoia Capital. (1)

MARKET UPDATE

China's DeepSeek-R1 challenges OpenAI's AI benchmarks

DeepSeek, a Chinese AI research firm backed by quantitative traders, has introduced DeepSeek-R1, a reasoning AI model rivaling OpenAI’s o1. It matches o1 on benchmarks like AIME and MATH, excelling in planning and complex problem-solving but showing vulnerabilities in logic games like tic-tac-toe and security flaws, including susceptibility to jailbreak prompts. (2)

Huawei targets 2025 for AI chip mass production

Huawei plans to commence mass production of its advanced AI chip, the Ascend 910C, in early 2025, despite U.S. trade restrictions. These sanctions have limited access to essential lithography equipment, resulting in a current yield of only 20% for the 910C, below the 70% needed for commercial viability. The company is prioritizing strategic orders to navigate these challenges. (3)

PORTFOLIO & CO-INVESTMENT UPDATE

Explore All Top 20 Global Tech Unicorns in One Portfolio

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PORTFOLIO NEWS

Google’s Anthropic stake avoids merger probe scrutiny

The U.K.’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has cleared Alphabet’s multi-billion-dollar investments in Anthropic, ruling out material influence over the startup. Despite Alphabet’s $2.3 billion funding and reliance on Google’s infrastructure, the CMA found no evidence of board-level control or competition concerns, as Anthropic’s U.K. turnover remains below ￡70 million ($88.5 million). (4)

Anthropic’s Claude AI models now accessible within Snowflake's platform

Snowflake and Anthropic have announced a partnership to integrate Anthropic's Claude AI models into Snowflake's AI Data Cloud. This collaboration enables Snowflake customers to build and fine-tune AI applications directly within their secure environment, leveraging Claude's advanced capabilities for tasks such as data analysis and visualization. The integration aims to enhance AI-driven insights and operational efficiency for enterprises. (5)

OpenAI faces lawsuit from ANI for unsanctioned content usage

Indian news agency ANI has filed a lawsuit against OpenAI in a New Delhi court, alleging unauthorized use of its content for training ChatGPT without permission. ANI also claims that OpenAI attributed fabricated news stories to its publication. OpenAI maintains that it uses publicly available data under fair use principles and denies any copyright infringement. The court has issued a notice to OpenAI to respond to the accusations, with the next hearing scheduled for January 2025. (6)

ChatGPT's voice mode now live on the web

OpenAI has expanded ChatGPT's Advanced Voice Mode to its web platform, enabling users to engage in natural, voice-based conversations directly from their browsers. This feature, previously limited to mobile applications, enhances accessibility and user experience by allowing seamless voice interactions without the need for additional software. (7)

ChatGPT enters classrooms: OpenAI's guide sparks debate

OpenAI has released a comprehensive teacher's guide to ChatGPT, aiming to assist educators in effectively integrating AI into their classrooms. The guide offers practical strategies for leveraging ChatGPT to enhance learning experiences. However, some educators express skepticism, voicing concerns about potential overreliance on AI and the necessity of maintaining critical thinking skills among students. (8)

OpenAI is thinking about making its own browser

OpenAI is exploring a browser launch to challenge Google's dominance, combining ChatGPT's conversational AI with web functionality. It has hired former Chrome developers and pitched "Natural Language Web" to transform user interaction with websites. With ChatGPT's 300M weekly users, OpenAI aims to redefine web engagement and expand its AI ecosystem. (9)

Revolut eyes U.S. banking license for global growth

Revolut CEO Nik Storonsky signaled a renewed effort to secure a U.S. banking license, highlighting the need to compete in a credit-driven market. Storonsky admitted past mistakes in avoiding regulation and emphasized Revolut’s evolution into a global financial powerhouse. The fintech giant, valued at $45 billion, now boasts 50 million customers globally, aiming for 100 million users and $100 billion in revenue annually. (10)

Revolut reaches 50 million users globally

Revolut has surpassed 50 million global customers, adding over 10 million this year alone. In Switzerland, the fintech now serves more than 900,000 users. The company reported a consolidated turnover of €2.1 billion and a pre-tax profit of €503 million in 2023. Founder and CEO Nik Storonsky aims to double the customer base to 100 million, positioning Revolut as the world's leading digital bank. (11)

Shein targets ￡50B IPO on London Exchange

Shein plans to launch an IPO on the London Stock Exchange in early 2025, aiming for a valuation of approximately ￡50 billion. The company is collaborating with U.S. investment banks Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, and Morgan Stanley to facilitate the listing. Originally considering a U.S. listing, Shein shifted to London due to regulatory challenges in the United States. The IPO is poised to be one of London's largest in a decade but has raised concerns over the company's labor practices and environmental, social, and governance (ESG) credentials. (12)

NASA taps SpaceX, Blue Origin for lunar deliveries

NASA has assigned SpaceX and Blue Origin to deliver key infrastructure to the Moon: SpaceX will transport a pressurized rover by 2032, and Blue Origin will deliver a lunar habitat by 2033. These missions aim to establish a sustainable human presence on the lunar surface, supporting the Artemis program's long-term objectives. (13)

SpaceX’s Starship set for 25 launches next year

The FAA's draft environmental assessment signals potential approval for SpaceX to conduct up to 25 Starship launches annually from Starbase, Texas, starting in 2025. This includes an equal number of landings for the Super Heavy booster and Starship upper stage, aligning with SpaceX’s vision of rapid, reusable spaceflight. The proposal marks a significant leap in the Starship program’s scalability, potentially revolutionizing human space exploration and orbital payload capabilities, as SpaceX continues to push industry boundaries. (14)

CHART OF THE WEEK

A notable trend: fewer companies are listed on major stock exchanges in the UK, Germany, and the US. Since the mid-1990s, listings have sharply declined across these markets, with the UK and US seeing particularly steep drops. In the UK, listings fell from over 4,000 in the late 1960s to below 1,000 by 2022. The US shows a similar pattern, peaking around the mid-1990s before dropping to just above 4,000. Germany, while smaller in scale, followed a similar trajectory after reaching a peak in the early 2000s. This decline reflects changing dynamics in capital markets, possibly driven by the appeal of private funding options, increasing regulatory costs, and evolving business models that favor staying private.

THE UNTOLD UNICORN STORY

Anthropic: AI research and products that put safety at the frontier

Founded in 2021 by former OpenAI employees, Anthropic develops reliable, interpretable, and steerable AI systems to ensure advanced AI benefits humanity. Known for pioneering AI safety and ethics, Anthropic has attracted significant investment and established itself as a field leader.

Fun Fact: Claude, Anthropic's chatbot, uses a unique "Constitutional AI" approach, training with ethical guidelines from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and child-friendly rules. This ensures Claude's interactions are ethical and universally acceptable, making it safer and more predictable than other chatbots. (16)

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WHAT'S NEXT

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Sources

1 - Wall Street Journal, 2 - TechCrunch, 3 - Reuters, 4 - TechCrunch, 5 - Snowflake, 6 - Reuters, 7 - TechCrunch, 8 - TechCrunch, 9 - The Information, 10 - Bloomberg, 11 - Finews, 12 - Technode, 13 - Space, 14 - Space, 15 - Anakin, 16 - New York Times

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