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Sunday Insights

Alphabet, SpaceX Spur Record U.S. Equity Sales

By Valida Pau · Jul 19, 2026 8:00am PDT

U.S. stock sales are on track for a record this year, as massive offerings from SpaceX, Alphabet and others push totals past a 2021 high. More sales are coming. Anthropic is headed for an initial public offering as soon as September. And bankers are pitching other public tech companies on issuing more stock. These include Intel, after the... U.S. stock sales are on track for a record this year, as massive offerings from SpaceX, Alphabet...

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Sunday Insights

The Hot Equity Trade Spreading Through the AI Boom

By Yueqi Yang and Valida Pau · Jul 12, 2026 10:01am PDT · 1 comment

It’s shaping up to be a big year for equity capital markets bankers, between SpaceX’s record-breaking debut and already public companies issuing stock at a rapid clip. One often overlooked part of the market is also active, fueled in part by the capital demands of the AI boom. At-the-market offerings, a type of share sale by public companies... It’s shaping up to be a big year for equity capital markets bankers, between SpaceX’s...

Sunday Insights

Walmart’s Amazon-Sized Ads Opportunity

By Catherine Perloff · Jul 5, 2026 8:01am PDT

Walmart isn’t generally thought of as an advertising business, but the retail giant now makes more money selling ads than small social media firms like Snap or Pinterest do. And judging by the growth of its ad business in recent years, along with its acquisition of companies aimed at bolstering that business, it’s positioned to become an even... Walmart isn’t generally thought of as an advertising business, but the retail giant now makes...

The 10 Biggest Ad Firms Now Include Five From China

By Martin Peers · Jun 28, 2026 8:00am PDT · 2 comments

Sunday Insights

The 10 Biggest Ad Firms Now Include Five From China

By Martin Peers · Jun 28, 2026 8:00am PDT · 2 comments

Advertising was once primarily a subsidy for news and entertainment media, such as television, magazines and newspapers. Nowadays, it’s more of a subsidy for online services and increasingly for merchants looking to boost their razor-thin operating margins. At the same time, Chinese firms have become a much bigger part of the market. Both trends... Advertising was once primarily a subsidy for news and entertainment media, such as television,...

Sunday Insights

SpaceX’s 74-Day IPO Sets Pace for OpenAI, Anthropic

By Cory Weinberg · Jun 21, 2026 8:00am PDT · 2 comments

SpaceX’s strong first week of trading made one thing clear: Racing through its IPO at warp speed cost it nothing. The company went from initial confidential filing to listing in just 74 days, much faster than other tech IPOs in recent years, including those of CoreWeave, Figma and Airbnb, an analysis of securities filings shows. Initial public... SpaceX’s strong first week of trading made one thing clear: Racing through its IPO at warp speed...

Sunday Insights

OpenAI, Anthropic Employees Have Already Cashed Out About $14 Billion

By Julia Hornstein · Jun 14, 2026 8:00am PDT · 2 comments

Anthropic and OpenAI have some pressing reasons to go public. But they have already relieved some of the pressure that typically pushes companies toward initial public offerings: employees anxious to cash out their equity. The two AI model companies have allowed early employees and investors to sell a combined $14 billion in shares over the last... Anthropic and OpenAI have some pressing reasons to go public. But they have already relieved some...

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Sunday Insights

In Anthropic vs. OpenAI Race to IPO, First Doesn’t Necessarily Mean Best

By Valida Pau · Jun 7, 2026 8:00am PDT · 1 comment

Anthropic’s filing of its initial public offering paperwork last week means the maker of Claude Code has pulled slightly ahead of OpenAI as the two go head-to-head with their planned IPOs. While bankers and lawyers say there are good reasons for a company to beat its rival to the public markets, especially if it fears its rival’s offering will... Anthropic’s filing of its initial public offering paperwork last week means the maker of Claude...

Why Forward Deployed Engineers Are the Rage

By Laura Bratton and Kevin McLaughlin · May 31, 2026 8:00am PDT · 5 comments

Sunday Insights

Why Forward Deployed Engineers Are the Rage

By Laura Bratton and Kevin McLaughlin · May 31, 2026 8:00am PDT · 5 comments

AI researchers may have the hottest job in tech, but forward-deployed engineers who put the AI to good use are becoming indispensable too. The military-inspired job title, which Palantir began using in the context of business software more than a decade ago, has spread to all corners of the industry. Last week, for instance, Meta formed a new... AI researchers may have the hottest job in tech, but forward-deployed engineers who put the AI to...

Sunday Insights

As SpaceX and OpenAI Prepare for Public Debuts, What Recent IPO History Signals

By Julia Hornstein · May 24, 2026 8:00am PDT · 1 comment

Smart-ring maker Oura and crypto company Blockchain.com said last week they had filed paperwork to go public, adding to a growing number of companies, including OpenAI, that are making moves to list in the wake of SpaceX’s upcoming mega initial public offering. If recent history is any guide, the startups closely tied to AI will do well. For the... Smart-ring maker Oura and crypto company Blockchain.com said last week they had filed paperwork...

Sunday Insights

Anthropic and OpenAI’s Share of AI Startup Revenues Rises to 89%

By Amir Efrati and Stephanie Palazzolo · May 17, 2026 7:00am PDT · 5 comments

Anthropic and OpenAI are widening the revenue gap between themselves and the rest of the AI startup field. A group of 34 leading startups in that sector, including Anthropic and OpenAI, is generating nearly $80 billion in annualized revenue, or $6.6 billion per month, from selling AI applications or access to the models that power such apps,... Anthropic and OpenAI are widening the revenue gap between themselves and the rest of the AI...

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Sunday Insights

Tech’s AI Margin Math Is Getting Messier

By Meredith Mazzilli and Shane Burke · May 10, 2026 8:01am PDT · 3 comments

Tech companies from Spotify to Uber to Airbnb told investors on their March-quarter earnings calls that AI was making their workers more productive, allowing them to ship more code and handle more customers with the same or fewer employees. Many companies are seeing profit margin improvement as AI is helping them do more while holding their... Tech companies from Spotify to Uber to Airbnb told investors on their March-quarter earnings...

Art by Mike Sullivan

SpaceX IPO Set to Drive Billions in Tech Stock Sales

By Cory Weinberg and Valida Pau · May 3, 2026 8:00am PDT · 4 comments

Art by Mike Sullivan

Sunday Insights

SpaceX IPO Set to Drive Billions in Tech Stock Sales

By Cory Weinberg and Valida Pau · May 3, 2026 8:00am PDT · 4 comments

A jet painted with SpaceX logos ferried nearly 200 investors from the largest Wall Street funds from Newark, N.J., to the southern tip of Texas a week and a half ago for a multiday presentation from executives. The airplane was so full it couldn’t fit everyone who wanted to get on, said an investor on the trip. The massive initial public... A jet painted with SpaceX logos ferried nearly 200 investors from the largest Wall Street funds...

Art via Mike Sullivan

Sunday Insights

Atlassian and HubSpot Join Shift From AI Flat Fees

By Laura Bratton and Aaron Holmes · Apr 26, 2026 8:00am PDT · 14 comments

Dozens of enterprise software firms have shifted away from charging customers flat, per-user subscription fees as AI threatens their seat-based pricing model. By the end of 2025, 79 of the 500 software companies tracked by former OpenView partner Kyle Poyar, including HubSpot, Adobe and Salesforce, had begun charging customers additional fees... Dozens of enterprise software firms have shifted away from charging customers flat, per-user...

Sunday Insights

China’s 10 Most Important Chip Design Firms

By Qianer Liu · Apr 19, 2026 8:00am PDT · 2 comments

Ask Washington’s most plugged-in politicians and lobbyists which Chinese chip company is the biggest threat to Nvidia and you’ll hear one name: Huawei Technologies. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang has repeatedly cited Huawei’s rising prominence in both private meetings with lawmakers and public forums. Huawei has become shorthand for China’s... Ask Washington’s most plugged-in politicians and lobbyists which Chinese chip company is the...

Sunday Insights

Atlassian and Figma Lead the R&D Arms Race

By Laura Bratton · Apr 12, 2026 8:00am PDT · 4 comments

Wall Street’s sell-off of enterprise software stocks resumed in earnest late last week, sending stocks such as ServiceNow and Snowflake down around 8% or so on Friday, as jitters over the impact of new AI tools on older software firms intensified. But the panic may be too indiscriminate. One way of sorting out which software firms may have more... Wall Street’s sell-off of enterprise software stocks resumed in earnest late last week, sending...

The Vibe Coding Effect? Apple’s App Store Saw 84% Jump in New Apps in Quarter

By Aaron Tilley · Apr 5, 2026 8:00am PDT · 1 comment

Sunday Insights

The Vibe Coding Effect? Apple’s App Store Saw 84% Jump in New Apps in Quarter

By Aaron Tilley · Apr 5, 2026 8:00am PDT · 1 comment

For much of the last decade, the number of new apps launching in Apple’s App Store each year went into a tailspin, falling a whopping 48% between 2016 and 2024, according to data from research firm Sensor Tower. At least that was the case until last year. In 2025, the number of new apps that showed up in the App Store globally suddenly exploded,... For much of the last decade, the number of new apps launching in Apple’s App Store each year went...

Sunday Insights

SpaceX Hype Boosts Stocks in Its Crosshairs

By Theo Wayt · Mar 29, 2026 8:00am PDT · 5 comments

Stocks in rocket launch and satellite companies have surged over the past year, as SpaceX’s soaring private valuation and steps toward what could be a record-smashing initial public offering drums up enthusiasm for all things outer space. But most of the companies whose stocks have been rocketing are at risk if SpaceX solidifies its lead in... Stocks in rocket launch and satellite companies have surged over the past year, as SpaceX’s...

Sunday Insights

Data Center Deals Puncture Tech’s M&A Slump

By Valida Pau · Mar 22, 2026 8:06am PDT · 1 comment

This year hasn’t lived up to the high expectations of the bankers and lawyers that advise tech companies on acquisitions. One major culprit is fear of AI-driven irrelevance, which has paralyzed corporate CEOs, according to some bankers and lawyers gathered in New Orleans for the annual Tulane Corporate Law Institute conference. “I have a lot of... This year hasn’t lived up to the high expectations of the bankers and lawyers that advise tech...

Sunday Insights

Figma and HubSpot CEOs Say They Aren’t Fazed by Risks From AI Agents. Their Disclosures Say Otherwise

By Laura Bratton · Mar 15, 2026 8:00am PDT · 7 comments

Leaders at enterprise app makers such as Figma, Workday and HubSpot have downplayed threats from AI that could crimp their growth, a concern that has pressured their stocks for months. But the securities filings those leaders sign every quarter are beginning to note the competitive risks the companies face from AI agents, which their customers... Leaders at enterprise app makers such as Figma, Workday and HubSpot have downplayed threats from...

Thrive, Andreessen Horowitz Head Fastest-Growing VC Firms

By Julia Hornstein · Mar 1, 2026 8:00am PST · 1 comment

Sunday Insights

Thrive, Andreessen Horowitz Head Fastest-Growing VC Firms

By Julia Hornstein · Mar 1, 2026 8:00am PST · 1 comment

The biggest venture capital funds are getting even bigger. In the past three years, the top firms have raised billions of dollars—in some cases more than half the total amount they’ve raised in their lifetimes. Take Thrive Capital, which in February said it had raised $10 billion in new funds. The backer of OpenAI and Stripe has raised... The biggest venture capital funds are getting even bigger. In the past three years, the top firms...