Stableton Navigator | SpaceX's Tender Offer, OpenAI's Major Partnership, and Anthropic's Government AI

IT’S WEDNESDAY AGAIN

Welcome to this week's edition of the Stableton Navigator. Discover how OpenAI’s News Corp partnership will revolutionize AI journalism. Learn why European generative AI startups are breaking VC records and explore OpenAI’s innovative CriticGPT model. Get the scoop on 2024's hot IPOs like Shein and Databricks, and read about SpaceX's $843M NASA contract, OpenAI's service restrictions, and Anthropic’s AI for the U.S. government.  

THIS WEEK’S BREAKING NEWS
SpaceX nears $210B valuation in tender offer

SpaceX is planning a tender offer to sell insider shares at $112 each, raising the company's valuation to a record $210 billion, making it one of the highest-valued private companies globally. This increase from its previous $180 billion valuation reflects strong investor demand and SpaceX's successful ventures, including a significant $843 million contract from NASA (more on this below).¹

MARKET UPDATE
Generative AI fuels European VC records

European generative AI startups have seen unprecedented VC investment in 2024, breaking records with significant funding increases. This surge highlights a stark contrast with other sectors, where startup valuations are declining. The enthusiasm for generative AI is driven by its revolutionary potential and investor euphoria.²

OpenAI Wants AI to Help Humans Train AI

OpenAI is using AI to help humans train AI, enhancing the reinforcement learning with human feedback (RLHF) technique. The new model, CriticGPT, fine-tunes GPT-4 to assist human trainers, especially in code assessment, improving reliability and accuracy. This approach could extend beyond coding, aiming to make AI models smarter and more aligned with human values.³

Key IPOs to Watch in 2024

The 2024 IPO market is expected to recover with major IPOs like Shein ($66B), Stripe ($50B), Databricks ($43B), Fanatics ($31B), and Chime Financial ($25B). The market's performance will be influenced by the Federal Reserve's potential interest rate cuts, geopolitical tensions, and ongoing trade wars. Notable trends include a focus on profitability and sustainable growth, driven by robust investor demand and favorable economic conditions.⁴

PORTFOLIO & CO-INVESTMENT UPDATE
Gain early access to the next generation of industry-leading private companies

Stableton's co-investment program and our portfolio products offer unique opportunities to invest in the most promising businesses before they go public.

Contact us today to express your interest and start receiving information about our latest offerings.

PORTFOLIO NEWS
Shein juggles London, HK for £50bn IPO

Shein is ambitiously targeting a £50 billion valuation through a London IPO while keeping Hong Kong as a strategic backup. Founder Sky Xu aims for a year-end IPO to capitalize on the company's explosive growth. Despite regulatory challenges, Shein is navigating geopolitics and maintaining strong momentum, demonstrating resilience and strategic foresight.⁵

OpenAI & News Corp elevate ChatGPT

OpenAI has entered a multi-year partnership with News Corp, granting access to current and archived content from News Corp's extensive portfolio, including The Wall Street Journal, Barron's, MarketWatch, and The Times. This collaboration aims to enhance ChatGPT's responses with high-quality journalism, ensuring high standards and factual accuracy in AI-driven content.⁶

SpaceX secures $843M NASA contract for ISS

NASA has awarded SpaceX an $843 million contract to safely deorbit the International Space Station after 2030 due to structural wear and tear. SpaceX will develop a deorbit vehicle to ensure the ISS's controlled destruction, marking a transition to future commercial space endeavors. This collaboration aims to mitigate risks associated with the station's decommissioning and sustain low Earth orbit operations.⁷

AI for good: Anthropic targets Government

Anthropic has launched its Claude AI models for U.S. government use via AWS Marketplace and GovCloud. These models aim to improve citizen services, streamline document reviews, and enhance policymaking with data-driven insights. Exemptions in its usage policy allow Claude to support tasks like combating human trafficking and identifying covert influence, while prohibiting harmful uses like disinformation and weaponry.⁸

UK License Within Reach for Profitable Revolut

Revolut is nearing approval for a UK banking license following the release of its delayed 2021 financial results, which showed a first full-year profit of £26 million on £636 million in revenue. The license, expected within weeks, will enable Revolut to expand its services, including lending and customer deposit protections, significantly enhancing its competitive edge in the fintech sector.⁹

STABLETON NEWS
From conversations to collaborations

We had an incredible time at IMpower Incorporating FundForum in Monaco, engaging with top leaders and discussing the democratization of private markets. Key highlights included networking at Morningstar's soiree and 30+ meetings with allocators. Exciting times ahead as we transform these connections into long-term partnerships. Stay tuned!

CHART OF THE WEEK
VC’s growing war chest

The chart shows a consistent increase in venture secondary dry powder from 2021, reaching $35B in 2024, indicating a growing focus on venture investments within the secondary market. Despite a slight overall decline in total secondary dry powder from its peak of $235B in 2023 to $231B in 2024, the venture segment continues to attract more capital, highlighting potential growth and liquidity opportunities in venture assets.

THE UNTOLD UNICORN STORY
Deel: Payroll for global teams

Founded in 2019, Deel is a global payroll and compliance platform that helps businesses hire and manage remote workers in over 150 countries. This makes building a global team simple. Its user-friendly interface and strong features make it a popular choice. Companies of all sizes use Deel to manage their remote workforce. Deel has grown quickly and attracted significant investment.¹⁰

Fun Fact: After graduating from MIT, Alex Bouaziz and Shuo Wang saw their friends struggle with visa issues and local labor laws, preventing them from getting high-paying jobs. This inspired them to create Deel, aiming to eliminate hiring borders. They started by solving their own challenges, and today, Deel simplifies every aspect of managing a global team.¹¹

WEEKLY Q&A
Can there be a performance fee in an underlying SPV for a specific deal?

There are no performance fees at our SPV level or in the Stableton Unicorn offering. We prioritize transparency and simplicity. Our investment structures are straightforward, with minimal layers. Where we gain exposure to target companies indirectly through third-party SPVs, we focus on structures without management or performance fees.

However, there may be cases, typically below 10% of NAV, where we opt for SPVs with performance fees, depending on availability, transaction price, and other fees. Thanks to the size of our investments, we are usually able to negotiate better fee conditions than an investor would obtain by approaching such third-party SPVs alone. Our goal is always to maximize returns while minimizing costs and complexity.

EVENTS
Will you be around? Let us know so we can say hello!

• Israel Private Markets Summit - Tel Aviv (July 16)

• IPEM - Paris (September 9-10)

• Prestel & Partner Family Office Forum - Wiesbaden (September 11-12)

• AIM Summit - Dubai (October 1-22)

• Europe Family Office Summit - Rome (October 24-25)

• AltsUK - London (October 26)

And, of course, we’re always happy to have you over at our main office in Zurich, Switzerland.

WHAT’S NEXT
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