TL;DR

Perplexity AI hits $18B valuation; GENIUS Act establishes U.S. stablecoin rules; Meta ramps AI infrastructure.

Highlights

• Perplexity AI’s valuation jumps to $18B after $100M funding extension; annualized revenue now $150M, up from $35M in August 2024 1.
• Meta plans 5-GW “Hyperion” AI cluster, recruits Apple AI talent, and signals multi-year, large-scale compute investment 6.
• Amazon cuts hundreds of AWS jobs; Scale AI lays off 14% of staff amid sector-wide tech workforce reductions 7.
• Trump signs GENIUS Act, establishing first U.S. federal stablecoin rules; stablecoin market projected to reach $2T by 2028 2.
• SEC considers “innovation exemption” for asset tokenization, aiming to lower compliance costs for blockchain-based finance 3.
• Charles Schwab to launch spot Bitcoin and Ethereum trading for 40M clients, expanding crypto access in mainstream finance 10.
• Sonic Labs launches Spark, an AI-powered no-code builder for Web3 apps, aiming to lower entry barriers for blockchain projects 8.
• ARC releases ARC-AGI-3 benchmark preview; leading AI models score 0% on interactive reasoning tasks 9.
• Talen Energy acquires two PJM gas plants for $3.5B to meet rising AI/data center power demand 14.
• UK powers up Isambard-AI supercomputer as part of a £1B sovereign AI initiative, expanding national compute capacity 15.
• BP sells U.S. onshore wind unit to LS Power, reallocating capital to oil and gas projects 12.
• Reckitt Benckiser sells majority stake in Essential Home business to Advent for $4.8B, retains 30% stake 13.

Commentary

This week’s updates highlight continued momentum in AI infrastructure, digital assets, and regulatory clarity—each with direct implications for venture deal flow and portfolio strategy. Perplexity AI’s rapid valuation and revenue growth 1, along with Meta ’s massive compute buildout and talent acquisition 6, reinforce the ongoing capital intensity and competition in foundational AI. These moves will keep pressure on early-stage AI startups to differentiate, while also driving up demand (and cost) for specialized talent and compute resources.

Regulatory progress in digital assets is notable. The GENIUS Act delivers long-awaited U.S. stablecoin rules, providing a framework for both large and small issuers and potentially unlocking new institutional and consumer fintech opportunities 2. The SEC’s exploration of an “innovation exemption” for asset tokenization could further accelerate the migration of traditional finance onto blockchain rails, lowering compliance costs for startups and boosting the appeal of infrastructure and compliance-focused ventures 3. Charles Schwab ’s entry into spot crypto trading signals mainstream adoption, which may compress margins for pure-play exchanges but broadens the market for crypto infrastructure and custody solutions 10.

Operational discipline remains a theme. Amazon ’s AWS layoffs and Scale AI’s workforce reduction reflect a sector-wide focus on efficiency, even as AI and automation drive new business 7. For VCs, this underscores the need to scrutinize burn rates and prioritize startups with clear paths to profitability or defensible technology. The ARC-AGI-3 benchmark preview, where leading models failed new reasoning tests, is a reminder that significant technical hurdles remain—potentially favoring investment in enabling tools, data infrastructure, and evaluation platforms 9.

Elsewhere, energy and compute infrastructure are increasingly central to the AI and data economy. Talen Energy ’s $3.5B gas plant acquisition is a direct response to surging data center demand 14, while the UK’s Isambard-AI supercomputer launch reflects government-level commitments to domestic AI research capacity 15. These moves may open secondary opportunities for startups in energy optimization, hardware, and sovereign tech. BP ’s wind divestiture 12 and Reckitt’s consumer portfolio transaction 13 indicate ongoing corporate portfolio rebalancing, which could generate additional deal flow for growth and PE investors.