Highlights

• Epic Games to launch zero-fee initiative in June 2025, allowing Spotify, Patreon, and others to bypass Apple App Store fees; major court ruling challenges Apple’s fee structure 1.
• Apple faces $900M cost increase from U.S. tariffs, accelerates supply chain shift to India and Vietnam; announces $100B stock buyback and strong services growth 4.
• Movement Labs suspends co-founder after $38M MOVE token dump scandal; Coinbase to halt MOVE trading amid market manipulation concerns 2.
• U.S. considers easing Nvidia AI chip sales to UAE, driving Nvidia shares up 5% as UAE pledges $1.4T in U.S. investment 3.
• Amazon launches Nova Premier, a new AI model for image/video processing; Microsoft prepares to host Elon Musk’s Grok AI on Azure, signaling competitive AI platform dynamics 6.
• Judge allows Elon Musk’s lawsuit against OpenAI to proceed on fraud claims, with expedited trial before March 2026 5.
• UK’s FCA to ban retail investors from borrowing to buy cryptocurrencies, tightening consumer protection in digital assets 7.
• Kraken posts $472M Q1 revenue (+19% YoY), $187M EBITDA, acquires NinjaTrader for $1.5B ahead of IPO; expands into traditional finance futures trading 9.
• Aurora launches fully driverless trucking service in Texas, serving Uber Freight and Hirschbach; plans expansion to El Paso and Phoenix by year-end 10.
• Tether mints $2B USDT , posts $1B Q1 profit, and grows treasury to nearly $120B in U.S. Treasuries; circulating supply up by $7B in Q1 11.
• TikTok fined €530M by Irish regulator for illegal EU user data transfers to China, escalating regulatory scrutiny in Europe 12.
• SPAC market heats up: Anthony Pompliano-led SPAC files $200M IPO; Cantor and Cartesian price $240M deals each, with April SPAC IPOs raising $2.6B—the busiest in three years 15.

Commentary

This week’s news cycle underscores a rapidly shifting landscape for venture investors, with regulatory, technological, and macroeconomic forces reshaping deal dynamics across sectors. The Epic Games court victory and subsequent zero-fee initiative signal a potential inflection point in the app economy, opening the door for startups and growth-stage companies to retain more revenue and challenge entrenched platform economics 1. Apple ’s supply chain pivot and tariff-driven cost pressures, coupled with robust services growth, highlight both the risks and opportunities for startups in hardware, logistics, and SaaS ecosystems as global supply chains fragment and digital services expand 4.

In crypto and fintech, the Movement Labs scandal and UK FCA’s clampdown on leveraged retail crypto investing reinforce the sector’s ongoing maturation and regulatory scrutiny 27. The MOVE token debacle is a stark reminder of the reputational and operational risks facing early-stage Web3 ventures, while Kraken’s strong financials and NinjaTrader acquisition show that established players are leveraging volatility and M&A to position for public market exits 29. Tether ’s ballooning reserves and continued dominance in stablecoins suggest that infrastructure plays in digital assets remain robust, though regulatory and compliance risks are rising, as seen in the U.S. Treasury’s action against Huione Group and the EU’s fine against TikTok 1112.

AI remains a central theme, with Amazon and Microsoft’s moves to expand model hosting and infrastructure, and the U.S. potentially easing Nvidia chip exports to the UAE 36. These developments point to intensifying competition for AI talent, compute, and enterprise customers—factors that will drive valuations and deal flow in both core AI and adjacent verticals. The legal battle between Musk and OpenAI, alongside Neuralink’s FDA breakthrough, highlights the volatility and opportunity in frontier tech, where regulatory clarity and IP positioning can make or break early-stage bets 514.

The resurgence in SPAC issuance, led by crypto and tech influencers, signals renewed appetite for alternative exit vehicles and late-stage capital formation. Oversubscription and upsizing of deals suggest that liquidity is returning to growth-stage venture and crossover rounds, but investors should remain cautious of quality and long-term sustainability 15.

VCs should closely monitor regulatory shifts (especially in fintech/crypto and data privacy), supply chain realignments, and the evolving AI platform wars. The interplay between regulatory risk, platform economics, and technological disruption will create both headwinds and tailwinds for portfolio companies and new investments. Expect continued volatility in valuations and exit timing, with outsized opportunities for those able to anticipate and adapt to these macro and sectoral shifts.