TL;DR

Anthropic secures $2.5B credit line; Apollo, Blackstone target $12T 401(k)s; OpenAI launches Codex.

Highlights

• Anthropic secures $2.5B five-year credit line, reports $2B Q1 revenue, maintains $61.5B valuation1.
• OpenAI launches Codex AI coding agent in ChatGPT for Pro, Enterprise, and Team users5.
• Cognichip raises $33M seed (Lux, Mayfield) for AI chip design; Moonvalley raises $53M for AI video tools6.
• US and UAE agree to 500,000 Nvidia AI chips/year and a 5GW AI campus in Abu Dhabi; UAE to invest $1.4T in US over 10 years7.
• Apollo Global Management, Inc. , Blackstone Inc. , and Empower expand private market access to $12T in 401(k) assets; Blackstone seeks $5.6B, Ensemble Health up for $12B sale2.
• Charter to acquire Cox for $34.5B, forming the largest US cable provider3.
• Berkshire Hathaway exits Citigroup and Nubank, doubles Constellation Brands, holds $347.7B cash; Buffett to retire at year-end12.
• Galaxy Digital lists on Nasdaq as GLXY, stock falls 5% on debut; plans tokenization and 400MW data center10.
• XSY raises $5M for Unity, a delta-neutral synthetic USD stablecoin on Avalanche; WLFI’s USD1 stablecoin reaches $2.2B and expands cross-chain1314.
• U.S. Senate nears passage of GENIUS Act, a bipartisan stablecoin bill restricting Big Tech and foreign issuers15.
• Mark Cuban’s Harbinger Sports Partners launches $750M fund to buy minority stakes in NBA, NFL, MLB teams4.
• Rocket Lab wins $300M NASA launch contract; Virgin Galactic beats Q1 estimates, stock surges 55% on 2026 flight plans11.
• Canadian Tire to acquire Hudson’s Bay brand IP for $30M, pending court approval9.
• Strathcona makes C$5.93B hostile bid for MEG Energy to consolidate Canadian oil sands8.

Commentary

AI continues to draw significant capital and strategic attention. Anthropic’s $2.5B credit line, doubling of annualized revenue, and $61.5B valuation highlight the ongoing willingness of institutional lenders to back leading AI players, even as competition intensifies1. OpenAI’s Codex launch and Cognichip’s $33M seed round for AI-driven chip design further illustrate the sector’s rapid product cycles and persistent early-stage funding in both software and hardware56. The US-UAE Nvidia chip agreement and Abu Dhabi’s planned 5GW AI campus signal growing international demand for compute infrastructure, with sovereign capital and geopolitical alliances now shaping the AI supply chain7.

Private market access is broadening as Apollo Global Management, Inc. , Blackstone Inc. , and Empower target $12T in 401(k) assets, a move that could increase liquidity and expand the investor base for late-stage VC-backed companies2. Blackstone’s $5.6B fundraise and the $12B Ensemble Health sale point to robust deal activity and evolving exit strategies2. Charter’s $34.5B acquisition of Cox3 and Strathcona’s hostile bid for MEG Energy8 reinforce the trend of consolidation in mature sectors, which may create new exit or partnership opportunities for growth-stage companies in related verticals.

Digital assets and DeFi infrastructure are maturing, with XSY and WLFI both launching and expanding stablecoin products1314, and the U.S. Senate nearing passage of the GENIUS Act to regulate stablecoins and restrict Big Tech issuers15. Galaxy Digital’s Nasdaq listing, despite a soft debut, and its plans for tokenization and data center expansion, reflect the ongoing convergence of crypto and traditional finance10. Regulatory clarity could accelerate institutional adoption and new business models in digital assets.

Elsewhere, Mark Cuban’s $750M Harbinger Sports Partners fund4 and Canadian Tire’s acquisition of Hudson’s Bay IP9 show continued interest in differentiated asset classes. Rocket Lab’s $300M NASA contract and Virgin Galactic’s earnings beat and future flight plans demonstrate that space and aerospace remain active for both public and private investors11.