Welcome back to Trading Places, the weekly show covering the biggest stories in venture capital, private markets, AI, IPOs, and secondaries.

This week, Jeff Bezos and Blue Origin make headlines with a $10B raise at a $130B valuation, igniting the next chapter in the battle with Elon Musk and SpaceX. We also break down OpenAI’s new multi-model strategy, the growing threat from open-weight AI models, Meta’s move into hyperscale cloud computing, Kalshi’s explosive valuation, and much more.

Then we’re joined by Shawn Bercuson, Founder & CEO of Earlyasset Capital, for an in-depth conversation about the future of venture secondaries, liquidity, SPVs, private market investing, and why the next decade could fundamentally reshape private capital markets.

Timestamps:

00:56 — [ tech and vc news ]

03:05 — setter top 30: the secondary scoreboard 🏆

07:53 — ⁠us vs anthropic ceasefire 🤝

12:11 — openai ships gpt-5.6: sol / terra / luna 🌕

13:24 — china vs us ai: does cheap/open reset the race 🌏

19:15 — meta back: low-cost models, rentable compute 🔋

21:17 — $SKHY raises $26B, mkt cap >$1T 💾

23:25 — blue origin: $10b on $130b 🚀

26:33 — kalshi raising at $40b, polymarket lagging 🎲

30:29 — [ intvw: Shawn Bercuson @ Earlyasset Capital ]

⁠from groupon to secondaries: an origin story 🍩

38:45 — bull vc: liquidity for distressed shares 🐂

43:30 — the law of 30 (really 50) 📏

46:18 — dailypay, SPVs, and the anthropic fallout ⚠️

58:20 — ⁠⁠the private market in ‘27 and ‘28 🔮

1:01:08 — [ valuation corner: Reflection AI @ $25B ]

the raise and the team 💰

1:04:35 — deepseek vs reflection: revenue and multiples 🇨🇳

1:07:05 — mapping the ai landscape: cost vs efficacy 🗺️

1:10:00 — coding assistants and the verdict on reflection 🤖

[ links ]

[ invest = https://practicalvc.com ]

[ trading places socials = www.linktr.ee/tradingplacespod ]

[ shawn bercuson = https://www.linkedin.com/in/shawnbercuson | https://earlyasset.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

#tradingplacespodcast #vcsecondary #SteveBercuson #davemcclure #BlueOrigin

DeepSeek just raised $7.4B at a $50B valuation 🇨🇳and there's no cap table access. It's structured through an SPV, no voting rights, no board seats. CEO Liang Wenfeng put in $3B of his own money and controls the vehicle.

Meanwhile Anthropic is trading above $1T on the secondary market despite Mythos getting staged by the government, and SpaceX just locked in its Nasdaq 100 slot with a $2T valuation on a float of only ~6%.

Plus: Michael O'Keefe of CAZ Investments breaks down how a $12B GP stakes portfolio actually gets built.

00:00 – cold open

00:54 –  [ tech and vc news ] 

02:33 – SpaceX joins Nasdaq-100 🚀

08:39 – Anthropic hits $1T valuation & IPO outlook 💸

14:45 – OpenAI builds its own chip + 2027 IPO delay 🤖

18:07 – AI memory demand surges (Micron wins, Apple/customers pay more) 💾

20:24 – Cerebras falls below its IPO price 📉

22:46 – AI token costs rising; customers shift to Chinese open-weight models 🔄

28:24 – Bending Spoons targets ~$19–20B IPO on profitable roll-up strategy 🥄

32:56 –  [ intvw: Michael O’Keefe @ CAZ ]  

33:22 – CAZ manages $12B AUM 💰

36:04 – What is GP stake investing? 📊

44:19 – Typical check sizes & fund sizes

45:45 – How GP stakes are valued 📈

56:52 – Where CAZ is investing today: AI, energy, sports 🤖

1:00:05 – The secondary market boom 🔥

1:02:45 – [ valuation corner: DeepSeek @ $50B ]

1:03:40 – Largest seed round ever? 🏆

1:04:45 – SPV mechanics & stockholder structure 🛠️

1:07:40 – Users and revenue growth 📈

1:10:25 – DeepSeek vs. OpenAI comparison 🆚

[ links ]

[ invest = https://practicalvc.com ]

[ trading places socials = www.linktr.ee/tradingplacespod ]

[ michael o’keefe = https://www.linkedin.com/in/mjoii/ | https://cazinvestments.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

#tradingplacespodcast #SpaceX #ClaraVydyanath #davemcclure #SpaceXIPO

SpaceX just finished its first week as a public company. Anthropic just had its newest model frozen by the US government. And Jeff Bezos just raised $12B for a startup that's been alive for about a year.

Dave and Aman break it all down — from SpaceX IPO mechanics and gamma squeeze risk, to the Dario vs. Washington standoff that could derail the Anthropic IPO, to Bezos's $41B physical AI bet, a massive Salesforce acquisition of a 500 Startups alum, and why Mistral and Cohere just became the Dr. Pepper of AI.

Plus: the Valuation Corner returns with Powerlaw (PWRL) — the new retail-accessible VC fund from Ben Black and Mike Dinsdale backed by Acadian. Dave and Aman break down the portfolio, the price-to-NAV, and whether it's worth the ride.

00:48 - [ tech news and vc ]

02:58 - oil down, defense up 🚀

10:31 - SpaceX week one on the tape 📈

15:15 - Anthropic gets frozen 🧊

30:30 - SaaS enters valuation winter ❄️

33:42 - Bezos bets $12B on an AI engineer 🤖

36:30 - Mistral doubles to $23B 💸

42:15 - Saronic unmanned ship saves lives 🛟

43:20 - [ val corner: PWRL Ben Black ]

how Power Law gives retail a chance 🙏

46:06 - portfolio breakdown 💼

47:15 - strategy pros and cons 👍👎

49:29 - manager accolades 💐

[ 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 ]

Thank you for watching

#spacex #anthropic #mistralai #secondaries #venturecapital

The SpaceX IPO just happened. Dave and Aman break down the grades, the winners, and what comes next — then sit down with CJ Gustafson, recovering tech CFO and founder of Mostly Metrics, to dig into the private market pricing mechanics that most investors get completely wrong.

This week: SpaceX Day 1 results and the $75B raise that dwarfed an entire year of VC-backed IPOs. The updated Private Mag Seven — who stays, who goes public, and who replaces them. OpenAI vs. Anthropic: which IPO is actually stronger and at what price. Google raising $80B in equity (not debt) with Berkshire Hathaway coming in. Cognition at $26B and the AI coding land grab.

——

00:36 - [ tech news and vc ]

01:52 - Big 3 Race to Go Public 🏁

04:15 - Google $85B Equity Raise 💰

22:48 - SaaSpocalypse Over? 🫨

29:46 - AI-coding Cognition Raises $1B 💸

32:32 - Databricks Past $134B & Revolut Past $100B 🚀

40:01 - [ intvw: CJ Gustafson, recovering tech CFO ]

44:32 - Raising $1B in 18 Months 💸

46:16 - SaaS Multiples: From 20x to 4x and the Road Back 📉

1:17:00 - Stay Private, Get to $1B ARR Before You IPO 🏰

1:20:26 - [ val corner: Aman grades SpaceX IPO ]

1:25:12 – What happens to stock price next 6 months 🤔

1:29:45 – Who made the most money 🤑

——

[ links ]

[ invest = https://practicalvc.com ]

[ trading places socials = www.linktr.ee/tradingplacespod ][ cj gustafson = https://www.linkedin.com/in/cj-gustafson-13140948/ | https://x.com/cjgustafson ]

[ run the numbers podcast https://www.youtube.com/@RuntheNumberswithCJ ]

[ 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 ]

Trading Places is the only VC secondary podcast on the internet. Hosted by Dave McClure and Aman Verjee of Practical Venture Capital.

Subscribe for weekly coverage of private markets, AI company valuations, and the deals most investors never see coming.

#spacex #spacexipo #spacexstock #secondaries #venturecapital

Aman read all 308 pages of the SpaceX S-1 so you don't have to. This week we break down every major number, surprise, and buried Easter egg in the filing — plus the biggest IPO week in recent memory across the AI holy trinity.

SpaceX is pricing around June 12 and could open at a $2T+ valuation. We walk through all three business segments (Connectivity, Space, AI), the $28.5 trillion TAM claim, Elon's compensation plan that pays out $583B if he colonizes Mars, the unusual staggered lock-up structure, and the two breadcrumbs in the S-1 that suggest a SpaceX-Tesla merger could be coming.

We also cover Anthropic's monster quarter ($10.9B in Q2 revenue, profitable, raising at $900B), OpenAI rushing to beat them to IPO after winning the Musk lawsuit, NVIDIA's $81B print growing 85% YoY, Mercury's $200M Series D at $5.2B, the US government taking equity stakes in quantum companies, and Nasdaq Private Markets suing Hiive over secondary market plumbing.

A lot happened this week.

00:43 - [ tech news and vc ]

08:04 - Anthropic profitable, $900B looks cheap 🤯

13:38 - OpenAI rushes to IPO after courtroom win 🏃‍♂️‍➡️

17:53 - NVIDIA $82B print $80B buyback 💰🫲

22:20 - Mercury $200M Series D @ $5.2B 🏦

25:35 - US Govt = Quantum VC ⚛️

29:05 - NPM sues Hiive over 2ndry plumbing 🪠

30:58 - [ val corner: 308 page SpaceX S-1 ]

31:06 - SpaceX S-1 highlights 📸🔦

35:56 - $28T TAM includes Martians 🌎🌍🌏🌖✨

37:00 - 3 core biz units: Connectivity, Space, AI 3️⃣

47:05 - SpaceX-Tesla merger? 🤔

50:10 - board members revealed 👤

53:48 - unusual staggered lock-up period 🔐

1:01:00 - Dave sings a whole new Mars 🎶

[ 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 ]

Thank you for watching

#spacexs1 #spacexipo #spacex #secondaries #venturecapital

IPO season is here — and private markets are breaking at the seams.

This week on Trading Places: Cerebras just had one of the best IPOs in years, pricing way above range and popping 68% on day one. SpaceX is targeting June 12th for its Nasdaq listing — and the prospectus drops next week. Anthropic raised $30B at a $900B valuation (up from ~$350B just three months ago) — and then told SPV operators to back off. And Anduril closed a $5B round at $61B, doubling its valuation in under a year.

Then Dave and Aman sit down with Clara Vydyanath, a secondaries veteran who's spent eight years at Forge and Hiive, to break down what's actually happening in the SPV market — who's legit, who's a scammer, and what CFOs should be doing right now. Plus: retail VC part two, where Aman pits AngelList's USVC (Naval Ravikant + Ankur Nagpal) against Cathie Wood's Ark Ventures. One of them has a track record problem.

Timestamps:

cold open

[ tech news and vc ]

00:53 - Warsh confirmed as new Fed chair 🪑

03:32 - Hormuz "you shall not pass" 🚢🧙‍♂️

07:05 - Cerebras blockbuster IPO 📈

12:28 - SpaceX IPO date around June 12 🚀

15:56 - Anthropic raises $30B @ $900B valuation 💰

28:30 - Anduril closes $5B @ $61B 🛫

30:07 - [ intvw: Clara Vydyanath, 2ndry advisor ]

What she learned at Hiive & Forge 🧠

33:52 - SPVs and Anthropic ✋

39:43 - What will happen after IPO summer 🔮

44:20 - Wild West of 2ndries is only beginning 🤠

46:00 - CFOs tender offer playbook 📕

58:50 - [ val corner: retail VC part 2 ]

Closed end funds: AngelList & Ark Invest 📝

1:00:33 - AngelList USVC portfolio breakdown 😇

1:02:35 - ARKK Ventures Ark Invest portfolio breakdown 🌈

1:05:10 - Portfolio strategy and fees faceoff 🥊

1:06:00 - Ankur Nagpal vs Cathie Wood 🤺

1:10:10 - second takes 😂

[ links ]

[ invest = https://practicalvc.com ]

[ trading places socials = www.linktr.ee/tradingplacespod ]

[ clara vydyanath = https://www.linkedin.com/in/clara-vydyanath-cfa-cpa-14287316/ | https://x.com/ClaraVydyanath ]

[ 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

#tradingplacespodcast #SpaceX #ClaraVydyanath #davemcclure #SpaceXIPO

Anthropic is now reportedly running at a $44B ARR pace, secondary markets are valuing it north of $1T, and demand is turning into full-scale FOMO.

This week on Trading Places, Dave McClure and Aman Verjee break down:

00:00 — cold open

00:39 — [ tech and vc news ]

01:53 — Markets ATH during Iran war 💥

06:45 — SpaceX + Anthropic $4B deal 🤝

10:51 — New NASDAQ rules benefit SpaceX 🔔

15:21 — Anthropic raising $50B @ $900B, ARR accelerating 📈

18:20 — Sam and Elon courtroom drama 🍿

23:21 — Cerebras IPO 20x oversubscribed 🥊

25:14 — SaaS-pocalypse continues ⛈️📉

27:47 — [ valuation corner: retail VC part 1 ]

Non-accredited investors want private stock 🙏

29:11 — Robinhood Ventures w/ Sarah Pinto & Vlad Tenev 1️⃣

30:15 — Fundrise w/ Ben Miller 2️⃣

33:00 — D/XYZ w/ Soheil Prasad 3️⃣

36:39 — Which would Dave pick? 🤔

41:35 — [ VC secondary 101 w/ dave mcclure ]

What is secondary? 🌈

43:03 — Size of the market 📈

44:53 — Why people buy/sell 🤷‍♂️

47:41 — What are Secret Stallions 🐴

48:45 — Three deal strategies 🧠

[ 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 ]

Thank you for watching

#tradingplacespodcast #secondary101 #vcsecondary #davemcclure #anthropicstock

Anthropic is accelerating at a pace the tech world has never seen.

In Episode 33 of Trading Places, Dave McClure, Aman Verjee, Marcelo Ballvé (Sacra), and Adam Crawley (Augment) break down the AI valuation frenzy, OpenAI’s growing pressure, hyperscaler spending, Cohere’s international AI strategy, and whether SpaceX’s trillion-dollar valuation has completely detached from fundamentals.

Timestamps:

[ tech and vc news ]

00:53 – Iran hits markets 💥

05:00 – Hyperscalers $700B AI CapEx 💸

12:31 – Anthropic raises $50B at $900B+ 🚀

13:51 – Musk vs Altman courthouse battle 🥊

18:22 – OpenAI eyes 2027 IPO 👀

21:35 – Cerebras IPO imminent 🏁

23:18 – Founders Fund $6B with 25% GP commit 😮

25:41 – Sierra raises $950M at $15.8B 🚀

29:16 – GameStop bids $56B for eBay 💰

31:39 – [ intvw: Marcelo Ballve @ SACRA + Adam Crawley @ Augment ]

33:16 – Why Anthropic beat OpenAI 🏆

35:35 – Defense tech crashes the top 20 🛡️

41:06 – SpaceX at $2T — vibes or fundamentals? 🚀

47:35 – Most stretched valuation on the list 😬

54:51 – Retail VC fund trap 👎

1:02:24 – AGI in 18 months? 🤖

1:04:23 – [ valuation corner: Cohere @ $7B ]

1:05:40 – Canadian roots and team 🇨🇦

1:09:45 – Aleph Alpha German acquisition 🇩🇪

1:10:01 – The anti-US & anti-China play 🙅‍♂️

1:13:08 – 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 #cohere

Anthropic just crossed a $1 trillion valuation… and may have officially passed OpenAI.

Meanwhile, Elon Musk is making moves—SpaceX is partnering with (and possibly acquiring) Cursor in a $60B deal, while OpenAI races to stay competitive with new releases like GPT-5.5 and Images 2.0.

This week on Trading Places, Dave McClure and Aman Verjee break down one of the wildest weeks in AI, venture capital, and secondary markets:

— The Fed shakeup and what it means for interest rates

— Iran war tensions and global market implications

— Anthropic’s meteoric rise past OpenAI

— SpaceX’s massive AI bet with Cursor

— OpenAI’s latest product push

— AngelList opening venture capital to retail investors

— The rise of prediction markets like Polymarket and Kalshi

Plus: a deep dive into Cursor—the fastest-growing SaaS company ever—and why SpaceX wants it.

00:00 – cold open

[ tech and vc news ]

01:22 – Warsh fed chair moves Up 🪑

03:52 – Iran war ends when 🤔

06:15 – Anthropic $1T valuation 💰

08:10 – Cursor & SpaceX engage 👰‍♀️

14:21 – OpenAI launches GPT 5.5 + images 2.0 🚂

17:54 – AngelList launches USVC 💸

25:11 – Polymarket & Kalshi double down 🎲

29:25 – [ valuation corner: Cursor @ $50B ]

what is Cursor 🤖

31:24 – CEO & MIT team 👥

33:12 – Why SpaceX wants Cursor & vice versa 💍💒

38:23 – early investors a16z + Thrive 🤑

39:56 – Sam Bankman-Fried almost won big 🙅‍♂️

[ spv: Equitybee ]

44:27 – why we invested in Equitybee 🐝

46:15 – how you can join the SPV 👍

46:53 – spinal cap debut 🎶

[ links: ]

[ equitybee SPV invest = https://practicalvc.com/eb ]

[ 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 ]

#cursorspacex #spacexcursor #venturecapital #secondarymarkets #secondaries

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