🧱 LEGO has outperformed gold as a long-term collectible

Researchers analyzed more than 2,000 LEGO sets over 30 years and found retired sets delivered average annual returns of up to 11%.

One example is Café Corner, which sold for about $400 in 2007 and is now worth roughly $8,900 on the secondary market.

Most sets are discontinued after 1 to 2 years, turning them into collectibles. Some of the strongest performers come from Star Wars, Harry Potter, and Batman themes.

✔️ @venture

💰 Trump administration’s Intel stake is up more than 420%

The US government bought a 10% stake in Intel in August 2025 for about $8.9B at $20.47 per share.

With Intel stock recently trading near $108, that position is now worth more than $46B, leaving an unrealized gain of over $40B.

President Trump said the investment alone has generated tens of billions of dollars for the United States in just a few months.

The government’s semiconductor bet is turning into one of the most profitable public investments in recent years.

✔️ @venture

Tesla’s up 6,322% since this headline.

✔️ @venture

🤖 OpenAI launches a $14B AI deployment machine with Wall Street

OpenAI has officially launched DeployCo, a joint venture backed by $4B from 19 investors including TPG, Advent, Bain Capital, Brookfield, Goldman Sachs, SoftBank, and Bain & Company.

The vehicle is valued at $14B and will acquire consulting and engineering firms to help private equity portfolio companies roll out ChatGPT and other OpenAI tools.

The structure reflects a simple reality: selling AI to enterprises still requires armies of engineers and consultants.

Investors are guaranteed a minimum 17.5% return, with upside capped.

✔️ @venture

📱 OnlyFans sells 16% stake at a $3.15B valuation

OnlyFans has sold a 16% stake to Architect Capital for $535M, valuing the company at $3.15B.

The platform generated $1.4B in net revenue and $684M in pre-tax profit in 2024, with total gross revenue reaching $7.2B.

Founder Leonid Radvinsky died earlier this year, and his widow now controls the business.

One of the internet’s most profitable platforms has finally brought in outside investors.

✔️ @venture

🤔 Most companies now pay for more than one AI provider

According to YipitData, fewer than 20% of businesses use just one paid AI provider.

The majority are paying for multiple models at the same time, combining tools from companies like OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google.

As AI becomes part of core workflows, companies are choosing the best model for each task instead of relying on a single vendor.

✔️ @venture

🚀 Cowboy Space gets $275M to build data centers into rockets

Cowboy Space has secured $275 million to build space-based data centers. The company is valued at $2 billion and plans its first launch in 2028.

Its hardware is designed to fit directly inside a rocket’s second stage. Each unit is expected to weigh 20 to 25 tons and provide 1 megawatt of power for about 800 onboard GPUs.

The idea depends on heavy-lift rockets. Falcon 9 cannot carry that much, but Starship is being built for payloads at that scale.

Robinhood co-founder Baiju Bhatt is aiming at one market only.

Space is starting to look like another option for compute.

✔️ @venture

⛔️ GameStop tries to buy eBay for $56B and gets rejected

eBay has rejected GameStop’s $56 billion takeover offer, calling it “neither credible nor attractive.” The bid was split between cash and stock and included a proposed $20 billion debt commitment from TD Bank.

GameStop CEO Ryan Cohen wants to combine eBay’s marketplace with GameStop’s 600 U.S. stores and lead the merged company himself. eBay’s board said the financing is too uncertain and the deal could hurt the company’s long-term growth.

The gap between the two businesses is large. eBay is worth roughly 4 times more than GameStop and already runs with a 31% EBITDA margin, compared with 10% at GameStop.

For now, the market is treating this as an ambitious letter, not a real deal.

✔️ @venture

👑 15 CEOs Fly to China with Trump on Trade Talks

About 15 CEOs from major companies flew to China with Trump to discuss trade relations. The group includes Tim Cook, Elon Musk, Larry Fink, and Jensen Huang, who joined almost last minute.

They met with Xi Jinping to talk about lowering trade tensions and tariffs for more balanced relations. Huang’s presence is notable given recent export restrictions on chips that have strained ties.

The talks could affect China’s access to US hardware markets. Huang opposes chip import limits, highlighting how AI technology is now a geopolitical issue.

✔️ @venture

⚡️ Nvidia tops $5.5T valuation

Nvidia hit a $5.5 trillion market cap, surpassing all countries' GDP except the US and China.

✔️ @venture

Google has produced a large number of startup founders in absolute terms.

But when adjusted for every 10,000 former employees, DeepMind, OpenAI, and Palantir generate the highest number of founders who go on to build unicorns.

The strongest startup factories are not always the largest companies.

✔️ @venture

📉 The market’s “40% concentration” warning is back

A Bank of America chart is making the rounds again. It shows the top 10 AI stocks now account for about 40% of the S&P 500, near the same concentration seen before past market bubbles.

Two things are worth noting.

First, a major correction is always possible. The current bull market has run for years, and many investors feel the cycle is mature. But markets can stay extended far longer than expected. The same argument was common before COVID, and the rally continued.

Second, concentration alone is a weak signal. Large companies control a much bigger share of the economy than they did decades ago. If business is more concentrated, stock indices will be more concentrated too.

That does not remove risk.

It does change what “normal” looks like.

✔️ @venture

🟢 US Allows 10 Chinese Firms to Buy Nvidia H200 Chips

The US has authorized about 10 Chinese companies, including Alibaba, Tencent, and ByteDance, to purchase up to 75,000 Nvidia H200 chips each under US licensing rules.

These chips are critical for AI development, but China has imposed restrictions on buying foreign hardware since January and plans to continue supporting its emerging domestic production.

China sees the US move as a way to control its main competitor by limiting chip supply to maintain Nvidia's influence and revenue without ceding full technological advantage.

The AI race is no longer just about models but about controlling supply chains.

✔️ @venture

🚀 Google discusses SpaceX launches for orbital AI data centers

Google is in talks with SpaceX to launch hardware for its Suncatcher project, according to The Wall Street Journal. The first test mission is planned for early 2027.

Google wants to build a network of satellites equipped with its own TPU chips. The satellites would run on solar power and exchange data through optical links.

The 2027 mission with Planet Labs will send two prototypes into orbit to test radiation exposure, temperature swings, and communication between satellites.

The next data center race may start above Earth.

✔️ @venture

✂️ Cisco cuts 4,000 jobs while reporting record revenue

Cisco is laying off nearly 4,000 employees, about 5% of its workforce, even as it reports record quarterly revenue and double-digit growth.

The company says the cuts will help shift spending toward AI and cybersecurity. Cisco also plans to expand internal use of AI across the business.

The move follows a broader pattern in tech. Companies are using strong earnings to fund larger infrastructure bets while reducing headcount.

More revenue no longer means more employees.

✔️ @venture

🤖 OpenAI Considers Legal Action Against Apple

OpenAI is reportedly preparing to sue Apple over a stalled partnership that began in 2024. The deal promised deep integration of ChatGPT across Apple's ecosystem and new subscription revenue, but sources say ChatGPT's presence remains limited and renegotiations have stalled.

Apple integrated ChatGPT into Apple Intelligence and Siri, allowing ChatGPT subscriptions via iPhone settings. However, Apple is now testing AI models from Google Gemini and Anthropic's Claude, aiming for a multi-model platform.

OpenAI's claims are not about exclusivity but about broken expectations. The shift risks reducing OpenAI from a key partner to just one of several AI providers in Apple's ecosystem.

✔️ @venture

🤖 Anthropic forecasts US-China AI race to 2028

Anthropic says AI leadership depends on access to compute, chips, and infrastructure, not just model quality. The US holds an edge but China is close to the frontier.

They outline two scenarios: the US keeps its lead through export controls and infrastructure growth, or China catches up and shapes global AI standards.

Anthropic notes frontier AI is dual-use tech, impacting chatbots, cybersecurity, military systems, and scientific research acceleration.

✔️ @venture

On this day in 1997: Amazon went public.

A $1,000 investment in the IPO would be worth $3.5 million today.

✔️ @venture

SpaceX is now expected to raise up to $75 billion in its IPO, potentially debuting as soon as June 12.

This would be 2.5 times larger than Saudi Aramco's IPO, the current largest IPO ever.

Nothing in history has come close to what SpaceX is about to achieve.

✔️ @venture

😺 OpenAI sued over alleged sharing of ChatGPT data with Meta and Google

A new class action lawsuit claims OpenAI shared user chats and personal data with Meta and Google through tracking tools such as Meta Pixel and Google Analytics.

The complaint says this may have included chat queries, email addresses, and user IDs. Plaintiffs argue OpenAI did this without proper consent and violated California privacy laws.

The case matters because people use ChatGPT for deeply personal conversations, including mental health, legal, and financial topics.

AI products are starting to look more like the rest of the internet.

Private conversations may not be as private as users assume.

✔️ @venture

🤖 Anthropic nears $900B valuation in new $30B funding round

Anthropic has agreed terms for a $30 billion round that would value the company at $900 billion, according to the Financial Times.

The round is expected to be led by Dragoneer, Greenoaks, Sequoia, and Altimeter. Each could invest more than $2 billion.

The deal comes just 3 months after Anthropic raised $30 billion at a $350 billion valuation.

Anthropic’s annualized revenue is reportedly close to $45 billion, up from $9 billion at the end of last year. That pace has pushed the company ahead of OpenAI on some revenue measures.

The company is turning growth into capital almost as fast as it turns capital into compute.

AI financing is now moving in $30 billion steps.

✔️ @venture