TL;DR

Saudi’s $10B AI fund launches; Telegram-xAI $300M Grok deal; Shein files for $50B Hong Kong IPO.

Highlights

• Saudi Arabia’s Humain launches a $10B AI VC fund, targets 7% of global AI training by 2030, and secures $23B in deals with Nvidia, AMD, and AWS 1.
• Telegram partners with Elon Musk’s xAI in a $300M deal to embed Grok chatbot for 1B+ users, sharing 50% of subscription revenue 2.
• Shein pivots to Hong Kong IPO, targeting $50B valuation after London listing stalls due to Chinese regulatory delays and global trade headwinds 3.
• Eli Lilly acquires SiteOne Therapeutics for up to $1B, gaining a lead NaV1.8 pain drug, intensifying competition with Vertex in non-opioid pain management 4.
• Toyota invests $250M in Joby Aviation , raising its stake to 15.3% as Joby targets commercial eVTOL air taxi service in Dubai by 2026 5.
• Strive Asset Management raises $750M PIPE (potentially $1.5B) for Bitcoin purchases; Japan’s Metaplanet issues $50M in zero-interest bonds to buy more BTC 6.
• OpenFX, Palla, and Conduit raise over $73M for cross-border payments; Cart.com secures $50M for international expansion, now valued at $1.6B 7.
• Wander, a luxury travel marketplace, raises $50M Series B (total funding $100M+), expands to 1,000+ locations 8.
• Farcaster launches $120/year Pro subscription with NFT, has raised $180M, and reinvests proceeds into user rewards 9.
• Anthropic appoints Netflix ’s Reed Hastings to its board, strengthening governance at the $61.5B AI startup behind Claude 10.
• OpenAI previews “Sign in with ChatGPT” for third-party apps, targeting its 600M MAUs for identity and authentication 11.
• Y Combinator-backed Emergent launches invite-only, Claude 4-powered no-code app platform for full-stack app development 12.
• Odyssey debuts AI-powered interactive video streaming 3D worlds, backed by $27M and Pixar’s Ed Catmull on the board 13.
• FactoryAI launches Droids, $40/month autonomous AI coding agents integrating with GitHub, Slack, and other dev tools 14.
• Biogen and City Therapeutics announce a $1B RNAi CNS partnership, with $16M upfront and $30M investment, targeting next-gen RNAi therapies 15.

Commentary

Capital flows into AI infrastructure are accelerating, with Saudi Arabia’s $10B Humain fund and $23B in strategic tech deals highlighting the growing role of sovereign capital in shaping the global AI landscape 1. The fund’s focus on AI infrastructure and model training capacity, alongside partnerships with Nvidia, AMD, and AWS, will likely drive up demand and valuations for startups in compute, chips, and data center segments. This could create new exit paths for growth-stage companies as sovereign-backed vehicles seek scale and vertical integration 1.

The AI application layer is seeing rapid consolidation and distribution plays. Telegram’s $300M deal with xAI embeds Grok into a billion-user platform, giving xAI immediate scale and Telegram a new revenue stream 2. OpenAI’s move into authentication with “Sign in with ChatGPT” signals intent to compete in consumer identity, leveraging its 600M MAUs 11. Anthropic’s addition of Netflix ’s Reed Hastings to its board brings seasoned governance as the company scales 10. For VCs, startups with proven user traction and enterprise integration will be best positioned as platform consolidation accelerates.

Fintech and crypto infrastructure remain active. Cross-border payment startups OpenFX, Palla, and Conduit collectively raised over $73M, reflecting continued investor appetite for cost-efficient, programmable payments 7. Cart.com ’s $50M round for global expansion and Strive’s $750M PIPE for Bitcoin accumulation indicate growing institutional interest in both payments and digital assets, though regulatory and volatility risks persist 67.

Healthcare deal activity remains robust, with Eli Lilly ’s $1B acquisition of SiteOne Therapeutics (NaV1.8 pain drug) and Biogen ’s $1B RNAi CNS partnership with City Therapeutics 415. These transactions underscore ongoing pharma demand for differentiated clinical assets and platform technologies, supporting healthy exit prospects for early-stage biotech.

AI-native software and content creation tools are gaining traction. Emergent’s no-code app builder 12, FactoryAI’s autonomous coding agents 14, and Odyssey’s interactive AI video streaming 13 show investor interest in platforms that automate or augment software development and media. These segments may see increased deal flow as enterprise adoption grows.