TL;DR

OpenAI nears $20B ARR and GPT-5 launch; Joby buys Blade passenger unit; Bullish files $4.2B IPO.

Highlights

• Joby Aviation acquires Blade Air Mobility ’s passenger unit for up to $125M, gaining 12 urban terminals and accelerating eVTOL rollout in the US and Europe 1.
• Bullish, a Peter Thiel-backed crypto exchange, files for a NYSE IPO at a $4.2B valuation after doubling trading volumes and acquiring CoinDesk 2.
• Singapore’s GIC acquires 25% of MasOrange-Vodafone’s Spanish fiber JV, valuing the platform at €6–7B and expanding GIC’s European digital infrastructure exposure 3.
• Amphenol to acquire CommScope ’s Connectivity and Cable Solutions business for $10.5B, targeting growth in AI-driven broadband and data center infrastructure 5.
• XOMA Royalty acquires distressed biotechs HilleVax and LAVA Therapeutics via cash-and-CVR deals, continuing its strategy of buying royalty interests in late-stage assets 4.
• OpenAI reports ChatGPT nearing 700M weekly users, $13B ARR, and $8.3B in new funding; expects $20B ARR by year-end 7.
• OpenAI signals imminent GPT-5 launch with new “Universal Verifier”; Microsoft, Google , and Anthropic prepare competing model upgrades 8.
• Anthropic blocks OpenAI from Claude Code API for policy violations and begins internal testing of Claude Opus 4.1 10.
• Cloudflare blocks Perplexity AI for alleged stealth web crawling, reflecting increased friction over data access for AI model training 11.
• Meta’s $1.5B pay offer fails to recruit Thinking Machines’ Andrew Tulloch, highlighting rising costs and competition for top AI talent 13.
• Palantir wins $10B US Army AI software contract, consolidating multiple deals and strengthening its government AI position 14.
• Nvidia cleared to resume H20 AI chip sales to China, but faces declining market share as local competitors advance 15.

Commentary

AI and digital infrastructure continue to dominate deal flow and capital allocation. OpenAI’s rapid user growth, $8.3B capital infusion, and anticipated GPT-5 release reinforce investor appetite for scale and defensibility in foundational AI platforms 78. The intensifying rivalry—evidenced by Anthropic’s API block and model upgrade cycle 10, as well as escalating talent wars 13—suggests that technical differentiation and proprietary data access are becoming critical for early- and growth-stage AI startups. VC investors should expect continued high valuations for leading AI and infrastructure players, but also growing execution and regulatory risks.

On the infrastructure side, large-scale M&A is reshaping connectivity and data platforms. Amphenol ’s $10.5B acquisition of CommScope ’s CCS unit 5 and GIC’s €1.6–1.8B investment in Spain’s largest fiber JV 3 point to sustained demand for bandwidth and digital backbone assets as AI workloads scale. These moves may open secondary opportunities for startups in fiber, data center management, and edge computing, but also raise the bar for capital requirements and operational scale.

Strategic exits and roll-ups remain active in mobility and biotech. Joby ’s acquisition of Blade ’s passenger business accelerates the commercialization path for urban air mobility 1, offering a case study in how infrastructure and customer networks can drive value for VC-backed companies. XOMA’s acquisition of distressed biotechs for royalty streams highlights ongoing liquidity options for late-stage or cash-constrained ventures, especially those with valuable IP or pipeline assets 4.

Friction over data access—illustrated by Cloudflare ’s block of Perplexity 11 and Anthropic’s API dispute with OpenAI 10—signals a tightening environment for AI startups reliant on third-party data. Investors should closely monitor evolving terms of service and regulatory developments, as these could materially impact the scalability and competitive moat of emerging AI companies.