E241: SpaceX $800b tender and $1.5 trillion IPO, Disney into OpenAI for $1b, Boom Supersonic jet turbines for data centers, + more
E241: SpaceX $800b tender and $1.5 trillion IPO, Disney into OpenAI for $1b, Boom Supersonic jet turbines for data centers, + more
Podcast17 min 48 sec
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Note: AI-generated summary based on third-party content. Not financial advice. Read more.
Quick Insights

Broadcom (AVGO) is a key beneficiary of the AI boom, securing over $21 billion in custom chip orders from AI company Anthropic. This massive spending on AI infrastructure also presents a strong bullish case for Anthropic's key cloud partners, Alphabet (GOOGL) and Amazon (AMZN). In media, The Walt Disney Company (DIS) has a new potential growth catalyst after partnering with OpenAI to monetize its vast library of characters. Investors should also watch Match Group (MTCH), as its Hinge app is successfully using AI to boost user engagement, which could offset weakness in its Tinder brand. Finally, while private, investors should monitor news around SpaceX for a potential landmark IPO as soon as 2026.

Detailed Analysis

SpaceX (Private)

  • A new tender offer is being marketed at a reported $800 billion valuation. This is approximately double the valuation from a secondary sale in summer 2026.
  • Management is considering an IPO as soon as mid to late 2026, with a rumored valuation of $1.5 trillion.
    • The potential IPO could raise over $30 billion, which would make it the largest IPO on record, surpassing Saudi Aramco's $29 billion raise.
  • Revenue forecasts are strong: $15 billion in 2025, growing to $22-$24 billion in 2026.
  • Starlink is the primary growth driver, expected to contribute the majority of revenue, potentially reaching $20 billion on its own.
  • The $1.5 trillion IPO valuation implies a 62.5x price-to-sales multiple, which is very high, nearing the multiples of software companies like Palantir.
  • Risk factors mentioned include competition from Jeff Bezos's Blue Origin and technical challenges related to radiation.

Takeaways

  • SpaceX is one of the most valuable and anticipated private companies in the world, with its valuation growing at an explosive rate.
  • The potential 2026 IPO would be a landmark event for the stock market. Investors interested in pre-IPO opportunities should monitor news around this very closely.
  • The company's valuation is heavily dependent on the continued success and massive growth of its Starlink satellite internet division.
  • While the growth story is compelling, the potential IPO valuation is extremely high, suggesting investors would be paying a significant premium for future growth.

The Walt Disney Company (DIS)

  • Disney has entered a three-year licensing partnership with OpenAI, which includes a $1 billion equity investment into the AI company.
  • The deal allows users of OpenAI's Sora and ChatGPT to generate content and images using over 200 characters from Disney, Marvel, Pixar, and Star Wars.
  • Disney will also feature curated AI-generated content from Sora on its Disney+ streaming service.
  • This partnership is a strategic move to leverage its vast library of intellectual property (IP) with cutting-edge AI technology.

Takeaways

  • This is a significant bullish signal for Disney, showing the company is proactively embracing AI to create new revenue streams and user experiences.
  • By licensing its valuable IP to OpenAI, Disney is monetizing its assets in a new way and positioning itself at the forefront of AI-generated content.
  • Investors should see this as a potential new growth catalyst for Disney, helping it innovate beyond its traditional media and theme park businesses.

OpenAI (Private)

  • Secured a $1 billion investment from Disney as part of a major strategic partnership.
  • Enterprise adoption is surging, with ChatGPT message volume up 8x since November 2024 and deeper integration into complex business workflows.
  • Launched GPT-5.2, a new model that sets new performance highs in coding, math, and reasoning, aiming to improve reliability for professional use.
  • Hired Denise Dresser, the former CEO of Slack, as its new Chief Revenue Officer to spearhead its enterprise sales strategy.
  • Despite explosive growth, the company faces extremely high infrastructure costs (cited at $1.4 trillion commitment) and has a long path to profitability.

Takeaways

  • OpenAI continues to solidify its leadership in the AI industry, attracting major corporate partners like Disney and showing massive growth in enterprise usage.
  • The hiring of a seasoned executive like Denise Dresser signals a serious focus on turning its user growth into durable, long-term revenue.
  • While not publicly traded, OpenAI's performance and partnerships are key indicators for the entire AI sector. Its high costs highlight the capital-intensive nature of building leading AI models.

Broadcom (AVGO)

  • It was revealed that AI company Anthropic was the previously unnamed customer behind a $10 billion order for Broadcom's custom AI chips.
  • Anthropic has since placed an additional $11 billion order, underscoring the massive demand for specialized AI hardware.
  • Broadcom also secured a fifth, unnamed custom chip customer with a $1 billion order.
  • The transcript noted that Broadcom shares were down 7.39% in the context of an article, which could be a point of interest for investors looking for an entry point.

Takeaways

  • Broadcom is a critical "picks and shovels" play in the AI boom, directly benefiting from the massive infrastructure spending by AI leaders like Anthropic.
  • The company's success in securing large, multi-billion dollar custom chip orders demonstrates its strong competitive position in the semiconductor market, beyond general-purpose GPUs.
  • For investors, Broadcom represents a key way to gain exposure to the growth of AI infrastructure.

Anthropic (Private)

  • The AI company has placed enormous orders for custom AI chips from Broadcom, totaling $21 billion ($10 billion + $11 billion).
  • Announced a massive cloud partnership with Google described as being worth "tens of billions of dollars," providing access to up to one million Google TPUs.
  • The company is pursuing a multi-cloud, multi-chip strategy, using hardware from Google (TPUs), Amazon (Trainium), and NVIDIA (GPUs).

Takeaways

  • Anthropic is spending aggressively to build the massive computing power needed to compete at the highest level of the AI industry.
  • Its multi-provider strategy is a smart move to avoid being dependent on a single hardware supplier (like NVIDIA) and to leverage the best technology from different sources.
  • As a private company, it's not directly investable, but its spending provides a strong bullish signal for its key suppliers: Broadcom (AVGO), Alphabet/Google (GOOGL), and Amazon (AMZN).

Match Group (MTCH)

  • The parent company of Hinge and Tinder is backing Overtone, a new AI and voice-driven dating service founded by Hinge's departing CEO.
  • This move comes as its flagship app, Tinder, has reported nine straight quarters of paying subscriber declines.
  • Its other major app, Hinge, is successfully using AI features to drive a 15% increase in matches and is on track to reach $1 billion in revenue by 2027.

Takeaways

  • Match Group is actively using AI as a strategy to combat user fatigue and re-ignite growth across its portfolio of dating apps.
  • Investors should watch whether the AI-driven initiatives at Hinge and the new investment in Overtone can offset the declines at Tinder and return the overall company to subscriber growth.
  • The success of Hinge's AI features is a positive sign that technology can improve the core user experience and business metrics.

Boom Supersonic (Private)

  • The supersonic jet company is commercializing its turbine technology by selling it for use in data centers.
  • It has already secured a $1.25 billion order from data center developer Caruso for 29 turbines.
  • The company raised $300 million to scale this new business line, with first deliveries expected in 2027.
  • Profits from this turbine business will be used to fund the development of its primary goal: the Overture supersonic aircraft.

Takeaways

  • This is a clever strategic pivot that provides Boom with a near-term, high-demand revenue stream to fund its long-term, high-risk vision for supersonic travel.
  • By selling power generation equipment to the booming data center industry (which itself is fueled by AI), Boom has de-risked its business model significantly.
  • This makes the company a more stable and interesting long-term investment prospect in the private markets.

Other Private Company Highlights

  • Airwallex (Private): A global payments fintech that raised $330 million at an $8 billion valuation. It is growing rapidly, projecting to exceed $2 billion in annual revenue within 12 months, and is aggressively expanding into the U.S. market. A key pre-IPO fintech to watch.
  • Revolut (Private): The digital bank offered to buy back shares from former employees at a $52.5 billion valuation, a 30% discount to its last funding round valuation of $75 billion. This could indicate valuation sensitivity as it still works towards a key UK banking license.
  • Harvey (Private): A legal AI startup whose valuation has soared 2.7x in one year to $8 billion. It has strong traction with major law firms and has surpassed $100 million in annualized recurring revenue (ARR), positioning it as a leader in the vertical AI software space.
  • 1X (Private): A humanoid robotics company that has a deal with private equity firm EQT to deploy up to 10,000 robots in industrial settings. This is a major validation for the use of humanoid robots in the real world and a shift from its previous consumer focus.
  • Worldcoin (WLD): A cryptocurrency project attempting to build a "proof of humanity" system using iris scans. Its success is entirely dependent on its ability to scale user adoption, which remains a major challenge (<20 million scans vs. a goal of 1 billion). The concept is compelling as a defense against AI bots, but the investment risk is tied to its ability to overcome the friction of user sign-ups.
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Episode Description
Send us a text Invest in pre-IPO stocks with AG Dillon & Co. Contact aaron.dillon@agdillon.com to learn more. Financial advisors only. www.agdillon.com 00:00 - Intro 00:06 - SpaceX Tender Offer & IPO Plans 00:43 - SpaceX Revenue Outlook 01:54 - Airwallex $330M Raise 02:54 - Disney $1B OpenAI Investment 03:53 - OpenAI Enterprise Adoption Surge 04:54 - OpenAI GPT-5.2 Launch 05:54 - OpenAI Hires Slack CEO as CRO 06:28 - Meta Acquires Limitless 07:50 - Harvey $160M Round 08:44 - Cohere Enterprise Momentum 09:38 - Overtone AI Dating Launch 10:29 - Boom Supersonic Turbine Pivot 11:38 - Revolut Employee Buyback 12:42 - 1X Technologies EQT Deal 13:42 - Port $100M Series C 14:42 - Harness $240M Series E 15:50 - Anthropic $21B Broadcom Orders 16:48 - World Updates App with New Features
About This Week in Pre-IPO Stocks
This Week in Pre-IPO Stocks

This Week in Pre-IPO Stocks

By AG Dillon & Co

This Week in Pre-IPO Stocks reports on pre-IPO stock research, trends, trading, and venture capital funds. Visit www.agdillon.com for more.