This week on Trading Places, Dave McClure and Aman Verjee break down Nvidia's expanding AI ecosystem, a billion-dollar stake plus exclusive licensing with Poolside, an investment in data supplier Mercor at $20B, and a bet on Perplexity as it raises at $30B. Plus: OpenAI's CFO signals a 2027 IPO, Chinese open-weight models overtake closed models in usage, the Cursor and OpenRouter deals officially close, investors cash out big while Sam Bankman Fried sits out his winnings in jail, fresh mega-rounds for Lovable, Higgsfield, and Lambda, PitchBook's Emily Zheng on the secondary market, and Aman's valuation corner on sports-franchise economics after the Lakers sold for a record $12.5B.
Timestamps:
00:00 - cold open
01:06 - [ tech and vc news ]
Aman plays the US Open and book launch 🎾
03:15 - Nvidia moves $19B on their open AI ecosystem 💰
09:08 - leaked timeline for OpenAI IPO ⏲️
10:45 - the Anthropic vs. OpenAI horserace 🐎
18:50 - open weight AI models usage is growing 📈
22:43 - investors cash out big on SpaceX-Cursor acquisition 🤑
25:00 - SBF sat out his big win in jail 🔐
26:45 - OpenRouter acquired by Stripe 🧾
30:11 - Lovable at $13B 💪
30:30 - Higgsfield raises at $5B 🚀
33:53 - Lebron bonds 🏀
37:01 - [ intvw: Emily Zheng, PitchBook ]
the state of the VC secondary market 🤔
39:45 - the next top-10 VC secondary startups 🏪
43:40 - the top sectors in Q2 2026 🎩
45:02 - potential trouble in the SPV market 😟
52:10 - the future of tender offers👂
57:45 - 2027 predictions 🗓
59:51 - the changing nature of the IPO 🔃
1:03:02 - [ valuation corner: Lakers sell for $12.5B ]
Lakers sale price breaks NBA record 🏅
1:04:30 - tax benefit to owning a sports franchise 📑
1:06:30 - breaking down the most valuable sports teams 🏟
1:09:11 - how different leagues manage revenue ⚾️
1:12:17 - why the Cowboys are the most valuable team in sports 🏈
[ links ]
[ invest = https://practicalvc.com ]
[ trading places socials = www.linktr.ee/tradingplacespod ]
[ emily zheng = https://www.linkedin.com/in/emzheng/ | https://x.com/EMZheng47 ]
[ 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 ]
Disclaimer: This is not investment advice. We may hold positions in companies discussed. Do your own research.
#Nvidia #AI #VentureCapital #Perplexity #PrivateMarkets
