Dave and Aman break down a packed week in VC and tech — from macro headwinds threatening the IPO window to the big question of whether SpaceX and Tesla are quietly becoming one company.The Private Mag7 gets a full ranking debate: SpaceX is comfortably #1 at over a trillion, but Anduril's surprise $20B DoD contract has it punching into the top three. OpenAI just raised the biggest private round ever — so why is the CMO telling everyone to stop doing side quests?Valuation Corner goes deep on the prediction market arms race. Kalshi hit $260M revenue in 2025 and is now running at a $1.5B run rate. Polymarket is still early on monetization but sitting on massive on-chain activity. Both just crossed $20B valuations. Dave and Aman stack them up against DraftKings and FanDuel — and make their call.Plus: Kraken pulls its IPO, PayPal finally launches stablecoins in 70 countries, and a $55M prop bet on Cardi B turns into a legal mess.00:00 — cold open[ tech and vc news ] 0:33 — "you shall not pass" straits of hormuz ✋2:58 — private mag7 rankings 🏆6:04 — elon terafab in austin 🔋7:21 — Tesla x SpaceX super merger? 🤝10:26 — OpenAI abandons sidequests 🫳11:41 — who will take no. 7 🔔14:57 — Kraken freezes IPO plan 🥶16:25 — PayPal expands stablecoin 🌏[ valuation corner: prediction markets ] 18:07 — Kalshi vs. Polymarket 🥊20:15 — the incumbents: DraftKings & FanDuel 👴🏻27:42 — which is best bet? 💰28:40 — the tale of cardi b 💃30:45 — 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 #DaveMcclure #AmanVerjee #TradingPlacesPodcast