TL;DR

Meta eyes $10B+ Scale AI deal; Nvidia projects $200B revenue; Bitcoin tops $106K on major raises.

Highlights

• Meta is in advanced talks to invest over $10B in Scale AI, targeting a $25B valuation—potentially the largest-ever external AI deal for Meta and among the biggest private rounds 1.
• Nvidia holds 87.7% of the AI accelerator market, projects $200B revenue for 2025, and is lobbying for relaxed U.S. export restrictions to China amid Huawei competition 11.
• OpenAI launches a major ChatGPT voice upgrade and expands deployments in higher education; Cal State rolls out ChatGPT to 460,000 students amid a 5.8% graduate jobless rate and warnings of significant entry-level job automation 6.
• Bitcoin reaches $106,000; Metaplanet raises $5.4B and Strategy Inc. $1B to expand Bitcoin holdings, with Strategy now holding 580,995 BTC (~$61B) and launching a 10% dividend preferred stock 27.
• Tether CEO confirms no IPO plans and calls a $515B valuation "bearish," despite market speculation 8.
• Cetus Protocol relaunches after a $220M exploit, restoring 50% of TVL on Sui with $37M in new liquidity and compensation for users 9.
• Google ’s Gemini AI Overviews faces criticism for hallucinations and has caused a 40–60% drop in publisher click-through rates 10.
• Westinghouse announces a $75B plan to build 10 AP1000 nuclear reactors in the U.S. by 2030, following a Trump executive order to accelerate licensing 4.
• JAB Holding considers a stake sale and IPO for Pret A Manger, confirming public listing plans as the chain operates 700 shops globally 3.
• China partially eases rare earth export controls for the EU ahead of U.S.-China trade talks; rare earth supply remains a priority for global manufacturing 13.
• U.S. and China resume trade talks in London after a 90-day tariff pause; tech export controls, student visas, and rare earths are key issues 14.
• U.S. May CPI estimated at 2.5% as S&P 500 tops 6,000; Fed expected to hold rates steady. ECB signals end of rate-cut cycle with deposit rate at 2% 1512.

Commentary

The week is marked by large-scale capital flows into AI and digital assets, with Meta ’s possible $10B+ investment in Scale AI standing out as a signal of continued appetite for foundational AI infrastructure plays 1. This mirrors the scale of recent strategic investments by Microsoft and Amazon, and further cements the trend of hyperscalers driving up late-stage valuations for core AI companies. The deal, if completed, will likely set a new price anchor for advanced AI startups, influencing both primary and secondary market activity 1.

Nvidia ’s sustained dominance in AI hardware, with an 87.7% market share and a projected $200B in annual revenue, continues to define the compute landscape 11. The company’s push for looser export controls to China reflects ongoing geopolitical risk for deeptech and hardware startups, especially as Chinese competitors like Huawei struggle with technical and adoption barriers. For VCs, this underscores the importance of monitoring policy shifts that could affect supply chains, exit timelines, and valuations in the AI stack 11.

In digital assets, Bitcoin ’s new highs and the aggressive accumulation by Metaplanet and Strategy Inc.—including innovative financing vehicles like perpetual preferreds—demonstrate growing institutionalization and new capital market structures in crypto 27. Tether’s decision to remain private, despite massive valuation speculation, highlights the continued lack of public exit options in stablecoins and the preference for private capital 8.

Elsewhere, OpenAI’s rapid rollout of advanced AI voice and education tools is accelerating adoption but also intensifying concerns about job displacement, especially in entry-level roles 6. Google ’s Gemini AI hallucination issues and the resulting hit to publisher traffic reinforce the risks for content and adtech startups reliant on traditional distribution 10. Meanwhile, the relaunch of Cetus Protocol after a major exploit and the continued recovery of DeFi platforms on Sui highlight both the resilience and ongoing risks in emerging blockchain ecosystems 9.

Macro conditions remain fluid: U.S.-China trade negotiations, rare earth supply, and the end of the ECB’s rate-cut cycle all contribute to a more stable but still uncertain environment for dealmaking 131412. VC investors should focus on late-stage AI and digital asset infrastructure, monitor regulatory and geopolitical risk, and watch for pre-IPO or secondary liquidity in consumer and fintech names.