IPO season is here — and private markets are breaking at the seams.
This week on Trading Places: Cerebras just had one of the best IPOs in years, pricing way above range and popping 68% on day one. SpaceX is targeting June 12th for its Nasdaq listing — and the prospectus drops next week. Anthropic raised $30B at a $900B valuation (up from ~$350B just three months ago) — and then told SPV operators to back off. And Anduril closed a $5B round at $61B, doubling its valuation in under a year.
Then Dave and Aman sit down with Clara Vydyanath, a secondaries veteran who's spent eight years at Forge and Hiive, to break down what's actually happening in the SPV market — who's legit, who's a scammer, and what CFOs should be doing right now. Plus: retail VC part two, where Aman pits AngelList's USVC (Naval Ravikant + Ankur Nagpal) against Cathie Wood's Ark Ventures. One of them has a track record problem.
Timestamps:
cold open
[ tech news and vc ]
00:53 - Warsh confirmed as new Fed chair 🪑
03:32 - Hormuz "you shall not pass" 🚢🧙♂️
07:05 - Cerebras blockbuster IPO 📈
12:28 - SpaceX IPO date around June 12 🚀
15:56 - Anthropic raises $30B @ $900B valuation 💰
28:30 - Anduril closes $5B @ $61B 🛫
30:07 - [ intvw: Clara Vydyanath, 2ndry advisor ]
What she learned at Hiive & Forge 🧠
33:52 - SPVs and Anthropic ✋
39:43 - What will happen after IPO summer 🔮
44:20 - Wild West of 2ndries is only beginning 🤠
46:00 - CFOs tender offer playbook 📕
58:50 - [ val corner: retail VC part 2 ]
Closed end funds: AngelList & Ark Invest 📝
1:00:33 - AngelList USVC portfolio breakdown 😇
1:02:35 - ARKK Ventures Ark Invest portfolio breakdown 🌈
1:05:10 - Portfolio strategy and fees faceoff 🥊
1:06:00 - Ankur Nagpal vs Cathie Wood 🤺
1:10:10 - second takes 😂
[ links ]
[ invest = https://practicalvc.com ]
[ trading places socials = www.linktr.ee/tradingplacespod ]
[ clara vydyanath = https://www.linkedin.com/in/clara-vydyanath-cfa-cpa-14287316/ | https://x.com/ClaraVydyanath ]
[ aman verjee = https://www.linkedin.com/in/aman-verjee | https://x.com/amanverjee ]
[ dave mcclure = https://www.linkedin.com/in/davemcclure | https://x.com/davemcclure ]
Thank you for watching
#tradingplacespodcast #SpaceX #ClaraVydyanath #davemcclure #SpaceXIPO
