Consider the newly public 'buy now, pay later' company Klarna, which recently IPO'd at $40 per share and offers direct exposure to the consumer credit market. Monitor OpenAI for news regarding a potential IPO, which would provide a landmark opportunity to invest directly in the leader of the AI revolution. The defense tech sector is

Klarna

• The consumer credit and "buy now, pay later" company recently went public through an Initial Public Offering (IPO) on September 10, 2025.
• The IPO price was $40 per share, valuing the company at $15.1 billion.
• As of September 12, 2025, the stock was trading at $42.74 per share, which is a 6.85% increase from its IPO price, giving it a market cap of $16.15 billion.
• This valuation is a significant recovery from its June 2022 funding round valuation of $6.7 billion, but still well below its peak 2021 valuation of $45 billion.

Takeaways

• Klarna is now a publicly traded stock, offering a direct way for investors to get exposure to the "buy now, pay later" market.
• The current market price is above the IPO price, indicating positive initial market reception.
• The fact that the valuation is far from its 2021 peak could be seen in two ways: it might be more reasonably valued now, or the market may still be cautious about its long-term growth compared to the hype of 2021.

OpenAI

• The leading AI company behind ChatGPT has an annualized revenue of $12 billion from 800 million weekly active users.
• It signed a massive $300 billion cloud computing contract with Oracle to support its immense data center needs.
• The company's valuation in the private secondary market is $507.3 billion.
• OpenAI and its major partner, Microsoft, have agreed on a path for OpenAI to potentially become a public benefit corporation, which could pave the way for an eventual IPO.

Takeaways

• OpenAI remains the dominant force in the AI industry, with staggering revenue and user growth.
• The potential for an IPO is a major development. Investors looking to own a piece of the leading AI company should watch for news on its transition to a public benefit corporation and any subsequent public listing plans.
• Its massive valuation reflects its market leadership but also represents very high expectations for future growth.

SpaceX

• The private space exploration and satellite internet company, led by Elon Musk, has a secondary market valuation of $413.6 billion.
• It is acquiring wireless spectrum licenses from EcoStar for approximately $17 billion ($8.5 billion in cash and $8.5 billion in SpaceX stock).
• This strategic move is designed to significantly expand its Starlink satellite internet service into the direct-to-cell 5G market, boosting network capacity.

Takeaways

• SpaceX is aggressively expanding its business beyond rocket launches into the global telecommunications market, directly challenging traditional cell providers.
• The company continues to be one of the most valuable private companies in the world, with its valuation growing in private markets.
• This acquisition signals a major push to make Starlink a dominant player in mobile data, a potentially huge new revenue stream.

Anduril

• A defense technology company specializing in AI and autonomous systems.
• It secured a major $1.1 billion, five-year contract with Australia for its Ghost Shark uncrewed undersea vehicles.
• It also won a $159 million contract with the U.S. Army to develop a next-generation mixed reality and night vision system for soldiers.
• Its private secondary market valuation is $51.9 billion, a 70.3% increase since its February 2025 funding round.

Takeaways

• Anduril is successfully winning large, long-term government contracts from the U.S. and its allies, providing a stable and growing revenue base.
• The company is at the forefront of the "defense tech" trend, applying modern AI to military applications.
• The rapid increase in its private market valuation reflects strong investor confidence and successful execution on its contracts.

Databricks

• An AI data management and analytics company for large enterprises.
• It recently finalized a $1 billion funding round at a massive $100 billion valuation.
• The company's annual revenue run rate is over $4 billion, a 50% year-over-year increase.
• It has 650 customers who each spend over $1 million annually.
• The valuation represents a 25x revenue multiple, which is a high premium.

Takeaways

• Databricks is a dominant, late-stage pre-IPO company that is essential for many large corporations implementing AI.
• It demonstrates both massive scale (over $4B in revenue) and high growth (50% YoY).
• While a very strong company, the $100 billion valuation is steep. Potential investors in a future IPO would be paying a premium price based on high expectations for continued growth.

Other Pre-IPO AI & Tech Companies

• Cognition: The AI startup behind the Devon AI Agent for software engineering. It raised $400 million at a $10.2 billion valuation, joining the elite "AI decacorn" club. This shows strong investor belief in its potential to automate coding tasks.
• Replit: An AI coding platform that raised $250 million at a $3 billion valuation, nearly tripling its value in a year. Its annualized revenue exploded from $2.8 million to $150 million in less than a year, showing incredible growth.
• Mistral AI: A leading French AI company, seen as a European competitor to OpenAI. It raised $1.5 billion from chip-tech giant ASML at an $11.7 billion valuation. It is a key player in the "sovereign AI" trend, where nations seek to build their own AI capabilities.
• Ramp: A corporate finance software provider that has reached $1 billion in annualized revenue and is cash flow positive. Its recent funding round valued it at $22.5 billion. It is a top-tier fintech company showing both rapid growth and profitability.
• Perplexity: An AI search company challenging Google. It raised $200 million at a $20 billion valuation. Its revenue is growing extremely quickly, indicating it's gaining traction as a new way to search the web.
• Thinking Machines Lab: A new AI company founded by former top researchers from OpenAI. It raised an impressive $2 billion seed round at a $12 billion valuation. It aims to create more open and reproducible AI, positioning itself as a significant new competitor in the space.

Takeaways

• The pre-IPO market for AI companies is extremely hot, with valuations soaring based on rapid revenue growth and technological breakthroughs.
• Key themes include AI for coding (Cognition, Replit), sovereign AI (Mistral), AI-powered search (Perplexity), and enterprise AI infrastructure (Databricks).
• The podcast mentions that AG Dillon & Co offers single-stock funds for financial advisors to invest in pre-IPO companies like Anduril, XAI, and others, providing a potential access route to these private companies.