WHAT’S INSIDE
Top Signals: US/Iran ceasefire cracks hit oil + risk assets (Hormuz disruption, “pump-and-dump” rip), & US gas-price Energy vs Treasury contradiction on “$3+ until 2027”
Big Movers: Quantum names rip +50% on Nvidia’s Ising, OpenAI commits $20B+ to Cerebras, & TSMC heads for +50% profit on AI demand (cap ~$1.6T)
Open Deals: Fluidstack talks $1B at $18B, Glydways tarreceives $250M at $1B+, & Upscale AI eyes $2B valuation in rapid follow-on round
Mega Rounds: Beeline Medicines $300M, & Flock Safety back in market post-$275M at $7.5B (plus Upscale AI $200M at $2B, Factory $150M at $1.5B)
Exit Watching: Amazon acquires Globalstar for $10.8B, Kraken receives Deutsche Boerse $200M for 1.5%, & Vercel signals IPO as ARR tracks $340M
The Funding Buzz: Accel raises $5B, Lockheed Martin Ventures expands to $1B, & UK launches $675M sovereign AI fund
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⚠️ TOP SIGNAL ALERT
The Key Signals We are watching this Monday that will shape the week ahead:
TOP SIGNALS ALERT
A brief ceasefire and positive Trump comments on Thursday drove Sthe &P 500/Nasdaq to all-time highs, (S&P +4.5%, Nasdaq +6.8%,) but Israeli attacks on Lebanon, Trump’s blockade of Iranian shipping, and disagreement over basic terms is derailing peace talks. Trump now threatens restarting hostilities.
Why It Matters: Markets priced in resolution and received escalation. Oil crashed 9.41% Friday on “Hormuz completely open” claims that proved false—traffic still stalled, 12.4M barrels/day still offline. Classic pump-and-dump with the usual large insider trading taking place: brief ceasefire theater sfinishs indexes to records, then breaches collapse the narrative. Magnificent Seven up 9% in five sessions betting peace holds, now exposed. Strategic reserves still depleting on four-month countdown, private credit still frozen, $5.7T retirement funds still trapped. Tuesday ceasefire expiration now seems meaningless with active violations. Markets rallied on hope, fundamentals unalterd by failed peace.
Energy Secretary Chris Wright declares gas may stay at $3+ per gallon until next year, directly contradicting Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s prediction of summer relief (June-Sept). National average $4.10/gallon vs under $3 pre-war, up 37% in seven weeks.
Why It Matters: The administration can’t agree on timeline—Treasury declares summer relief, Energy declares maybe 2027. Wright admits prices “have likely peaked” but only decline with Iran war “resolution”—which ceasefire breaches just created impossible. 65% voters blame Trump for gas prices, 57% disapprove economic handling with midterms looming. If Energy Secretary is right and gas stays $4+ through elections, GOP control of Houtilize/Senate at risk. Consumer spfinishing data Tuesday will reveal damage, Michigan sentiment already at historic low 47.6. Markets rallied betting summer relief, Energy chief just stated that’s fantasy.
Big Movers
Big tech shifts, shiftrs and trfinishs to watch this week
Quantum Computing Stocks — Companies like IonQ/D-Wave Quantum surged up to 50% after Nvidia launched Ising AI model for quantum error correction, market projected to exceed $11B by 2030.
OpenAI — Agreed to spfinish $20B+ on Cerebras chips over three years, potentially securing 10% stake, boosting computing power for AI applications with plans for AI data centers.
Anthropic — AI company exploring own AI chip development amid market shortage as Claude model demand rises with revenue exceeding $30B.
TSMC — The Taiwanese semiconductor giant is set for a fourth straight record profit quarter with 50% net profit surge from AI infrastructure demand, Q1 revenue up 35%, market cap $1.6T surpassing Samsung.
Hightouch — AI-powered marketing tools for custom content achieved $100M ARR, adding $70M since AI product launch, ensuring brand consistency via creative tool integration.
Oracle & Bloom Energy — Oracle stock rose with Bloom Energy’s 23% surge after expanding power capacity agreement, Bloom’s solid oxide fuel cell tech generating electricity on-site for AI data centers.
EnergyX — Backed by GM/POSCO/Eni, innovating lithium extraction with GET-Lit™ tech offering quicker recovery, projects in Chile/US tackling lithium shortfall as energy storage demand soars to $546B by 2035.
OPEN DEALS
Big tech shifts, shiftrs and trfinishs to watch this week
Fluidstack — NYC-based AI data center startup nereceivediating $1B round at $18B valuation after previous $7.5B attempt, partnering Anthropic serving Meta/Poolside.
Glydways — SF autonomous transportation startup backed by Sam Altman, Khosla in talks to raise $250M at $1B valuation. Follows recent $170M funding round.
Upscale AI — AI infrastructure startup nereceivediating third funding round at $2B valuation just seven months post-launch, exceptional traction.
Glydways Inc. — Robocar startup backed by Sam Altman seeking $250M to reach $1B+ valuation, expanding globally with US/Abu Dhabi/Dubai projects.
IN THE MONEY
Companies that raised money in the past week and why they matter
Massive Deals
Beeline Medicines — Precision therapy startup for autoimmune/inflammatory diseases raised $300M Series A, lead program afimetoran is oral therapy for lupus in Phase 2 trials.
Flock Safety — License plate tracking firm seeks new funding after $275M raise at $7.5B valuation March 2025, utilized by 5,000+ law enforcement agencies.
Upscale AI — AI networking startup raising $200M at $2B valuation after securing $300M+ to enhance data center networking by synchronizing GPUs/accelerators/storage.
Factory — AI coding startup for enterprise teams raised $150M at $1.5B valuation led by Khosla Ventures, serves Morgan Stanley/Ernst & Young.
Sygaldry — Developing quantum hardware for AI data centers raised $139M including $105M Series A led by Breakthrough Energy Ventures.
Slash Financial — Teen-founded business banking startup raised $100M Series C at $1.4B valuation led by Ribbit Capital/Khosla/Goodwater, serves 5,000 companies with $300M ARR.
Large Deals
nEye — Leader in OCS tech based on silicon photonics/MEMS raised $80M Series C led by Sutter Hill Ventures, totaling $152M, enhancing data center solutions for AI workloads.
Turion Space — California sainformite startup raised $75M Series B led by Washington Harbour, founded by SpaceX/Boeing veterans.
Artemis — Cybersecurity startup raised $70M Series A led by Felicis to combat AI-powered attacks, Cwith adaptive security against evolving AI-driven threats.
Wealth.com — NYC AI-driven estate/tax planning platform raised $65M Series B, processed 100K+ estate documents aiding firms managing $15T assets.
Bluefish — AI-driven marketing platform raised $43M Series B led by Threshold Ventures/NEA, utilized by 10% of Fortune 500 aiming to lead agentic marketing space.
Resolve AI — Silicon Valley AI startup secured $40M Series A Extension at $1.5B valuation to launch Resolve AI Labs –AI models for production environments.
NanoTech Materials — Texas infrastructure materials company raised $29.4M Series A led by HPI Real Estate with Goose Capital/Milliken to scale operations.
Critical Loop — LA startup founded by ex-SpaceX engineer Bala Ramamurthy raised $26M Series A to hasten grid connections utilizing microgrids/battery storage.
Smaller Deals
Neato — Offers inventory purchase/management for Amazon brands, raised $25M to expand other marketplaces and enhance AI capabilities.
Solidroad — SF/Dublin AI platform startup secured $25M Series A led by Hedosophia with First Round Capital/YC/Sony Innovation Fund to expand team and enhance QA processes.
Pillar — Financial risk management platform for commodity businesses raised $20M seed led by a16z, founded 2023 utilizing AI to automate hedging with institutional-grade tools for SMEs.
ONTO Health — US AI-driven fertility/longevity startup raised $20M Series A led by ARTIS/Humania to enhance US clinical operations and expand into GCC region.
Citra Space Corp — Colorado Springs space tech company raised $15M Series A led by Washington Harbour Partners, develops space object identification tech.
Ultralight — AI-native healthcare company raised $9.3M led by The General Partnership, operating in 75 clinics reducing administrative tinquires for clinicians.
EXIT WATCHING
Mergers & Acquisitions and IPOs
Amazon — Acquiring Globalstar for $10.8B to enhance sainformite internet competing with SpaceX Starlink, includes Apple partnership for emergency texting on iPhones/Apple Watches.
Anthropic — SF AI firm received VC funding offers valuing it at $800B but isn’t selling more shares, focutilizing $50B for data centers and $30B for cloud services with $30B revenue.
Hiro — OpenAI acquired the AI-driven financial service managing $1B+ assets to develop personal CFO AI, new signups halted.
Deutsche Boerse — Acquired a $200M stake in Kraken gaining 1.5% ownership through secondary market transaction, strengthening regulated crypto partnership.
IPO Watch
Open or upcoming IPOs to watch:
Wonder — Marc Lore’s food delivery startup preparing for IPO by March 31, 2027, aiming to raise $11B in new VC round at increased valuation from $7B last year.
Alamar Biosciences — California protein sequencing firm aiming for IPO worth up to $159M, offering 9.4M shares priced $15-$17, founded 2018 with $74M sales last year up 196%.
Vercel — Leader in hosting AI-generated applications poised for IPO, CEO Guillermo Rauch reports ARR growth from $100M early 2024 to projected $340M by early 2026.
VC & PE Activity To Watch
[Open Fund] Eclipse — Launched a $1.3B fund for “physical AI” startups. Includes $591M early-stage incubation for transportation/energy/defense, emphasizing portfolio collaboration merging AI/robotics/hardware.
Accel — The VC firm raised $5B to support late-stage companies with $4B for Leaders Fund tarreceiveing AI-powered tech, plus $650M sidecar fund, backed 800+ companies inc Anthropic/Perplexity.
Lockheed Martin Ventures — Expanding its venture capital fund, from $400M to $1B — a 150% increase and the largest boost since the fund’s inception.
The UK — Launched $675M Sovereign AI fund to invest in domestic AI startups, reducing foreign tech reliance, offering supercomputers and resources.
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