TL;DR

Meta seeks $29B for AI infra; SEC clears Solana/Ethereum ETFs; Bitcoin ETF volume tops $1T.

Highlights

• Meta seeks $29B ($3B equity, $26B debt) from Apollo , KKR , and others to fund U.S. AI data center expansion 1.
• Meta hires OpenAI’s Trapit Bansal, offering up to $100M packages as AI talent competition intensifies 3.
• SEC clears REX-Osprey Solana and Ethereum staking ETFs, expanding regulated crypto ETF options in the U.S. 2.
• U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs surpass $1T in trading volume; BlackRock’s Bitcoin ETF fee income overtakes its S&P 500 ETF 10.
• Ric Edelman urges advisors to allocate up to 40% of portfolios to crypto, citing institutional adoption 14.
• SharpLink Gaming expands its fully staked Ethereum treasury to 188,478 ETH (~$461–$474M) 11.
• Neuralink unveils a faster brain-implant robot and demos multi-user telepathic gaming; human testing ongoing 4.
• Tesla completes first fully autonomous, unsupervised car delivery (Model Y, 17 miles, no human intervention) 6.
• Xiaomi’s YU7 electric SUV secures 289,000 first-hour orders, pressuring Tesla ’s China market share 7.
• Apple spends over $500M on Bay Area real estate, expanding office footprint as peers downsize 9.
• Canada orders Hikvision to shut down operations on national security grounds 15.
• Ex-PBOC official predicts China will produce 100+ DeepSeek-level AI advances in 18 months 13.
• SpaceX sets new pad turnaround record with 80th Falcon 9 launch of 2025 5.

Commentary

Meta ’s move to raise $29B—primarily through private credit and equity from major players like Apollo and KKR —signals continued demand for large-scale private capital in AI infrastructure 1. This approach, alongside Meta ’s aggressive recruitment of top AI talent from OpenAI with compensation packages up to $100M, underlines the cost and intensity of competing in foundational AI 3. For VCs, this is likely to drive up early-stage AI startup valuations, especially for teams with proven technical depth, and could create more exit opportunities via acqui-hires or strategic M&A.

In digital assets, regulatory momentum is clear: the SEC’s approval of Solana and Ethereum staking ETFs broadens institutional access beyond Bitcoin and Ether 2. Spot Bitcoin ETFs have now surpassed $1T in trading volume, and BlackRock’s product is out-earning its flagship S&P 500 ETF 10. Ric Edelman’s call for higher crypto allocations and SharpLink’s ongoing accumulation of staked ETH reflect growing mainstream and institutional adoption 1411. For venture investors, this is likely to fuel further deal activity in crypto infrastructure, staking, custody, and compliance solutions.

On the hardware and automation front, Neuralink’s improved surgical robot and Tesla ’s first unsupervised autonomous vehicle delivery both demonstrate technical progress but remain at early stages of commercialization 46. Xiaomi’s strong EV pre-orders and Apple ’s significant Bay Area real estate investment indicate that select incumbents are still deploying capital into physical assets and ecosystem expansion, even as others retrench 79. This could raise the bar for hardware startups seeking growth capital or strategic partnerships.

Geopolitical and regulatory scrutiny remains a factor: Canada’s expulsion of Hikvision and China’s projected AI advances amid U.S. chip restrictions highlight ongoing tech decoupling 1513. Cross-border startups should monitor policy risk closely, particularly in AI, hardware, and security sectors.