Wealt Roundup #53

Good morning ??

Welcome to the new edition of Wealt Weekly Roundup.

This week's highlights include SpaceX's Starlink reaching 4 million subscribers, Anthropic’s $40 billion valuation in the new funding round, NASA will cover the Crew-9 mission launch on September 28, the UK’s CMA cleared Amazon's $4 billion investment in Anthropic, and Meta, alongside Groq, launching the Llama 3.2 AI model. We also cover the value of investing in late-stage startups.

Stay informed with Roundup – your guide to finance and tech trends!

Highlights from Wealt

Looking for exclusive insights on private markets and expert investing tips? The Wealt Blog is your go-to source! Dive into special, deep investigations and access valuable information about private markets. Check out our latest posts:

• ?? Why Companies Are Staying Private Longer – Discover why more businesses delay their IPOs and what it means for investors.
• ?? Value Investing in Late-Stage Startups – Learn how to find high-growth opportunities in startups before they go public.
• ?? Mastering the Market with Private Investments – A guide to maximizing returns through strategic private investments.
• ?? The Rise of Private Equity Secondaries Market – Get insights on why the private equity secondaries market is booming and how you can benefit.

Stay informed, stay ahead—explore the latest posts today!

Portfolio news

SpaceX's Starlink has reached 4 million subscribers, adding 1 million since May 2024. With nearly 6,000 satellites in around 100 countries, Starlink is projected to generate $6.6 billion in revenue this year, helping fund SpaceX’s Starship development. Starlink dominates the satellite internet market, outpacing competitors like Viasat and SES.

Read more.

NASA’s SpaceX Crew-9 mission launched on September 28, 2024, from Cape Canaveral, carrying NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov to the ISS. The spacecraft is expected to dock after 28.5 hours.

Watch live.

Read more.

In its latest funding round, Anthropic seeks a $40 billion valuation backed by major investors like Amazon and Google. The AI startup focuses on ethical AI development, using "constitutional AI" to ensure safety and interpretability, distinguishing itself from competitors like OpenAI.

Read more.

The U.K.’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA ruled that Amazon's $4 billion investment in AI startup Anthropic doesn't qualify for antitrust scrutiny, as it falls below the required market thresholds. This decision is part of a wider trend of regulatory reviews of Big Tech’s strategic investments in AI startups.

Read more.

xRx by 8090, powered by Groq, is an open-source framework for building multimodal AI solutions that handle inputs and outputs like text, audio, and images. It uses Groq’s fast AI inference for real-time interactions, enabling natural, human-like experiences across multiple formats. xRx includes a dynamic UI, reasoning agents, safety guardrails, and supporting applications in healthcare, customer service, and more.

Read more.

Meta and Groq have launched Llama 3.2, expanding their open-source AI ecosystem with new vision and text models. Groq’s fast AI inference technology powers these models, enabling developers to create advanced AI applications with incredible speed and scalability. This partnership continues to drive innovation and support the developer community.

Read more.

Market updates

• ?? Big Tech companies like Microsoft and Amazon are embracing nuclear power to meet the growing energy demands of data centres while balancing their sustainability commitments. However, challenges with public acceptance and regulatory hurdles persist.
• ?? Starting October 29, 2024, GitHub will offer data residency for EU customers using GitHub Enterprise Cloud. This feature will allow organizations to control where their code is stored to meet security and compliance needs. GitHub plans to expand this feature to other regions.
• ?? Microsoft has introduced "Correction," a tool designed to reduce AI-generated hallucinations by cross-referencing outputs with trusted sources. Still, experts warn that it may not fully solve the problem and could lead to overconfidence in AI’s accuracy.
• ?? The EU’s AI Pact has gained over 100 signatories, including Amazon, Google, Microsoft, and OpenAI. It encourages companies to adopt voluntary AI governance and compliance measures ahead of the AI Act’s deadlines, though notable companies like Apple, Meta, and Nvidia have not yet joined.
• ?? Meta Connect 2024—Meta has launched new AI features on WhatsApp and Messenger, such as voice interaction, photo editing, and business tools, making its AI more interactive and useful across platforms.
• ??? Google's revised Privacy Sandbox ad targeting plan has raised competition concerns from the UK's CMA, delaying its implementation over fears it could further entrench Google's dominance in the ad tech market.
• ?? Open AI has the busiest week:

?? OpenAI CEO Sam Altman's latest post presents AI as a transformative solution to global challenges, but many view his claims as overly optimistic and question AI's realistic impact.

?? Three top executives at OpenAI, including Chief Research Officer Bob McGrew and VP of Research Barret Zoph, announced their departures shortly after CTO Mira Murati's exit, as CEO Sam Altman assured staff that leadership changes were part of the company's natural evolution amid its rapid growth and transition.

?? OpenAI's shift from a nonprofit to a for-profit business has led to the departure of over 20 executives amid internal conflicts over its mission, chaotic leadership, and rising competition from rival AI companies.

?? OpenAI's VP of global affairs, Anna Makanju, claimed that the new o1 model is "virtually perfect" at correcting bias. Still, internal data shows mixed results, with o1 performing worse than GPT-4o in some bias tests and facing speed, cost, and broader usability issues.

?? OpenAI CEO Sam Altman revealed that a psychedelic retreat in Mexico "significantly changed" his mindset, helping him become calmer and improving his quality of life, joining other Silicon Valley executives like Elon Musk in embracing psychedelics as a way to manage stress and improve mental well-being.

?? OpenAI is expected to close a $6.5 billion funding round by next week as the company transitions to a for-profit model, despite internal challenges like burnout, technical delays, and rushing the safety testing of its flagship GPT-4o model to compete with Google.

• ?? Chime has selected Morgan Stanley to lead its planned IPO in 2025, following a previous valuation of $25 billion and a recent settlement with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
• ?? Drata laid off 9% of its workforce, around 40 employees, to streamline operations ahead of a potential IPO despite strong growth and a $2 billion valuation. Some see the layoffs as more symbolic than impactful.
• ?? Cerebras Systems plans to raise up to $1 billion through an IPO, targeting a $7-8 billion valuation. Its filing is expected this week, and Citigroup will lead the offering.

Wealt blog spotlight

This week’s selected blog is Value Investing in Late-stage Startups.

Value investing in late-stage startups involves purchasing stocks or assets at prices below their intrinsic value. These investments offer high growth potential with lower risk than early-stage investments. Late-stage startups, closer to profitability, are often sold at deep discounts compared to public companies, providing a valuable opportunity for investors. Large PE and VC funds are increasingly active in the secondary market, buying stakes in these startups. Individual investors can apply similar strategies through platforms like Wealt Club, gaining access to late-stage startup investments at lower minimums.

Read more.

Stay ahead of the curve…

We will continue to be here every week. Stay tuned for more in your inbox or on LinkedIn. To learn more about wealth management and Wealt, join our community and drop us a ??.

With warm regards and enthusiastic spirits,

Wealt Team ???