TL;DR

OpenAI IPO possible post-restructuring; ClickHouse raises $350M; e.l.f. acquires Rhode for $1B.

Highlights

• OpenAI CFO says IPO is possible post-restructuring, but not guaranteed; Delaware AG hires bank for independent equity valuation amid legal scrutiny; Microsoft invested $13B 15.
• ClickHouse raises $350M Series C at $6.35B valuation, with 300% revenue growth and $100M credit facility to expand AI-native analytics 2.
• E.l.f. Beauty to acquire Hailey Bieber’s Rhode for up to $1B (~4.7x trailing revenue), marking a significant DTC skin care exit e.l.f. Beauty, Inc. 3.
• Byju’s faces $533M fraud allegations, app delisted from Google Play, and insolvency case advances in India; valuation now effectively zero 4.
• Northrop Grumman Corp. invests $50M in Firefly Aerospace’s Eclipse rocket, targeting commercial and national security launch markets; first launch planned for 2026 6.
• Chalk raises $50M Series A at $500M valuation to accelerate real-time AI inference platforms for enterprises 7.
• NTT Docomo to acquire 66% of SBI Sumishin Net Bank for $2.9B, expanding into fintech and BaaS; NTT also takes 8.91% stake in SBI Holdings Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, Inc American Depositary Shares (each representing 3/5th of a share of common stock) 8.
• Twenty One Capital raises total $685M, will publish proof of $3.6B Bitcoin - United States Dollar reserves; Tether - United States Dollar and SoftBank among backers 9.
• SharpLink Gaming raises $425M to acquire 120,000 Ethereum - United States Dollar for treasury; Joseph Lubin joins board; SharpLink Gaming Ltd. Ordinary Shares stock up 1800% 10.
• VivoPower raises $121M led by Saudi prince to build XRP treasury and plans digital asset spinoffs; shareholder vote June 18 11.
• Quebec’s Nord Quantique claims 1,000-fold reduction in quantum error-correcting qubits, potentially lowering hardware barriers for quantum computing 12.
• China’s DeepSeek open-sources 685B-parameter AI model, approaching OpenAI o3 performance and increasing global LLM competition 13.

Commentary

AI infrastructure and data platforms continue to command strong VC interest, as evidenced by ClickHouse’s $350M Series C at a $6.35B valuation 2 and Chalk’s $50M Series A 7. Both rounds, led by top-tier investors, highlight ongoing demand for scalable, real-time analytics and inference tools as enterprises race to integrate proprietary data into AI workflows. OpenAI’s restructuring and the Delaware AG’s independent valuation process signal that legal and governance complexity will remain a factor for late-stage AI companies considering public markets, potentially affecting timelines and deal structuring 15.

In digital assets, corporate treasury adoption is accelerating. SharpLink’s $425M raise to acquire 120,000 Ethereum - United States Dollar 10, VivoPower’s $121M XRP-focused placement 11, and Twenty One Capital’s $685M round (with public proof of $3.6B in Bitcoin - United States Dollar reserves) 9 reflect a shift toward crypto as a balance sheet asset. These moves, backed by institutional and strategic investors, could spur further fintech and infrastructure innovation, but also introduce volatility and regulatory risk to cap tables and M&A activity.

On the consumer side, e.l.f. Beauty, Inc. ’s $1B acquisition of Rhode demonstrates continued appetite for high-growth, brand-driven DTC exits at healthy multiples, especially in categories resonating with Gen Z and millennials 3. In contrast, Byju’s collapse—amid fraud allegations and insolvency proceedings—serves as a cautionary tale for governance and risk in high-growth emerging market startups 4.

Elsewhere, Northrop Grumman Corp. ’s $50M investment in Firefly’s Eclipse rocket 6 and NTT Docomo’s $2.9B acquisition of SBI Sumishin Net Bank Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, Inc American Depositary Shares (each representing 3/5th of a share of common stock) 8 signal ongoing strategic moves by corporates into space and fintech infrastructure, respectively. Meanwhile, technical advances such as Nord Quantique’s quantum error correction breakthrough 12 and DeepSeek’s open-sourced LLM 13 are likely to influence both startup formation and competitive dynamics in deep tech.