Markets hit all-time highs in 11 trading days. Someone shorted oil 20 minutes before Trump spoke. SpaceX wants to raise $75B at a $2T valuation. And an autonomous naval defense startup just hit a $9.25B valuation — and almost no one's talking about it.
Dave and Aman break down the biggest stories in venture and tech: the OpenAI executive exodus, why Stripe and Databricks still won't IPO, the continuation vehicle boom reshaping VC fund structures, and a deep valuation dive on Saronic — the defense tech company building autonomous warships for the US Navy.
Timestamps:
00:00 — Cold open
00:36 — Tech & VC news
01:56 — OpenAI C-suite exodus 💨
05:52 — Markets ATH despite Iran War 🚀
11:56 — How to price the SpaceX IPO 🤔
19:53 — Cerebras IPO is greenlit 🟢
21:43 — VC top 15 mega raise 💰
25:48 — Iconiq: celebrity wealth advisor to the stars 📸
27:27 — Stripe, Databricks, Canva IPO mirage 👻
30:15 — Continuation vehicle boom 🚖
33:26 — Valuation Corner: Saronic @ $9.25B 🛳
41:44 — Second takes
[ links: ]
[ invest = https://practicalvc.com ]
[ trading places socials = www.linktr.ee/tradingplacespod ]
[ 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 ]
#VentureCapital #SpaceXIPO #StartupValuation #TechInvesting #Saronic
