The AI arms race just got a lot more interesting. Moonshot's Kimi K3 is topping leaderboards ahead of proprietary US models, DeepSeek is raising at a $71B valuation ahead of its own IPO, and Anthropic is quietly lining up bankers for a Q4 listing that could value the company at $2-3 trillion.
Meanwhile SpaceX has broken its IPO price, Stripe just made a $53B run at PayPal, and European defense tech is heating up with Helsing's $18B raise.
Then Adam Crawley (Augment) and Marcelo Ballvé (Sacra) join to break down the new Augment Power 20 — how the rankings are built, who's moving up (hello Neuralink and Crusoe), and their bold predictions for Q3.
We close out with a Valuation Corner deep dive on Crusoe, the neo-cloud infrastructure company reportedly raising at a $30B valuation, and where it fits into the broader AI stack.
0:00 - cold open
00:53 - [ tech and vc news ]
2:00 - post-IPO SpaceX: big flop? 📉
5:39 - Anthropic races to Q4 IPO 💰
7:26 - Chinese AI vs. US models 🇨🇳🇺🇸
14:26 - DeepSeek raises $1.5B @ $71B 🤖
16:15 - Stripe bids $53B for PayPal, not enough? 💸
22:49 - the European Anduril: Helsing 🛩️
24:46 - [ intvw: adam crawley @augment & marcelo ballvé @sacra ]
27:24 - how Power 20 rankings are calculated 💡
33:02 - most active 💪 Power 20 companies Q2 '26
40:08 - largest risers 📈 in price gains
42:15 - bold predictions for Q3 🔮
54:37 - [ valuation corner: crusoe @ $30B ]
55:03 - rapid revenue growth 🚀
58:29 - the AI "stack" breakdown 🍰
1:01:11 - pick-and-shovel play ⛏️
1:05:07 - second takes 😂
[ links ]
[ invest = https://practicalvc.com ]
[ trading places socials = www.linktr.ee/tradingplacespod ]
[ adam crawley = https://www.linkedin.com/in/adam-crawley-b2146753/ | https://x.com/adamcrawley1 ]
[ augment = https://augment.market/ ]
[ marcelo ballvé = https://www.linkedin.com/in/marceloballve/ | https://x.com/ballve ]
[ sacra = http://sacra.com/ ]
[ 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
**Please note: Inclusion in the Augment Power 20 does not predict future performance and should not be considered investment advice. For informational purposes only. Augment Markets, Inc. is a technology company offering software and data services with securities-related services offered through its wholly-owned but separately managed subsidiary Augment Capital, LLC, Member of FINRA/ SIPC. Read our full disclosure statement here.
#tradingplacespodcast #sacra #augmentmarkets #davemcclure #secondarymarket
