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Practical Venture Capital
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a very bad ๐Ÿ’ฉpodcast about VC secondaries broken unicorns โค๏ธโ€๐Ÿฉน๐Ÿฆ„ & busted carry ๐Ÿ“‰๐Ÿ™ˆ

  1. DeepSeek's $50B Round, OpenAI's Delayed IPO, and the GP Stakes Market with CAZ Investments

    6 hrs ago

    DeepSeek's $50B Round, OpenAI's Delayed IPO, and the GP Stakes Market with CAZ Investments

    DeepSeek just raised $7.4B at a $50B valuation ๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ณand there's no cap table access. It's structured through an SPV, no voting rights, no board seats. CEO Liang Wenfeng put in $3B of his own money and controls the vehicle. Meanwhile Anthropic is trading above $1T on the secondary market despite Mythos getting staged by the government, and SpaceX just locked in its Nasdaq 100 slot with a $2T valuation on a float of only ~6%. Plus: Michael O'Keefe of CAZ Investments breaks down how a $12B GP stakes portfolio actually gets built. 00:00 โ€“ cold open 00:54 โ€“  [ tech and vc news ]  02:33 โ€“ SpaceX joins Nasdaq-100 ๐Ÿš€ 08:39 โ€“ Anthropic hits $1T valuation & IPO outlook ๐Ÿ’ธ 14:45 โ€“ OpenAI builds its own chip + 2027 IPO delay ๐Ÿค– 18:07 โ€“ AI memory demand surges (Micron wins, Apple/customers pay more) ๐Ÿ’พ 20:24 โ€“ Cerebras falls below its IPO price ๐Ÿ“‰ 22:46 โ€“ AI token costs rising; customers shift to Chinese open-weight models ๐Ÿ”„ 28:24 โ€“ Bending Spoons targets ~$19โ€“20B IPO on profitable roll-up strategy ๐Ÿฅ„ 32:56 โ€“  [ intvw: Michael Oโ€™Keefe @ CAZ ]   33:22 โ€“ CAZ manages $12B AUM ๐Ÿ’ฐ 36:04 โ€“ What is GP stake investing? ๐Ÿ“Š 44:19 โ€“ Typical check sizes & fund sizes 45:45 โ€“ How GP stakes are valued ๐Ÿ“ˆ 56:52 โ€“ Where CAZ is investing today: AI, energy, sports ๐Ÿค– 1:00:05 โ€“ The secondary market boom ๐Ÿ”ฅ 1:02:45 โ€“ [ valuation corner: DeepSeek @ $50B ] 1:03:40 โ€“ Largest seed round ever? ๐Ÿ† 1:04:45 โ€“ SPV mechanics & stockholder structure ๐Ÿ› ๏ธ 1:07:40 โ€“ Users and revenue growth ๐Ÿ“ˆ 1:10:25 โ€“ DeepSeek vs. OpenAI comparison ๐Ÿ†š [ links ] [ invest = https://practicalvc.com ] [ trading places socials = www.linktr.ee/tradingplacespod ] [ michael oโ€™keefe = https://www.linkedin.com/in/mjoii/ | https://cazinvestments.com/ ] [ aman verjee = https://www.linkedin.com/in/aman-verjee | https://x.com/amanverjee ] [ dave mcclure = https://www.linkedin.com/in/davemcclure | https://x.com/davemcclure ] Thank you for watching #tradingplacespodcast #SpaceX #ClaraVydyanath #davemcclure #SpaceXIPO

    1hr 12min
  2. SpaceX Surges, Anthropic Stumbles, and Bezos Bets $12B

    23 June

    SpaceX Surges, Anthropic Stumbles, and Bezos Bets $12B

    SpaceX just finished its first week as a public company. Anthropic just had its newest model frozen by the US government. And Jeff Bezos just raised $12B for a startup that's been alive for about a year. Dave and Aman break it all down โ€” from SpaceX IPO mechanics and gamma squeeze risk, to the Dario vs. Washington standoff that could derail the Anthropic IPO, to Bezos's $41B physical AI bet, a massive Salesforce acquisition of a 500 Startups alum, and why Mistral and Cohere just became the Dr. Pepper of AI. Plus: the Valuation Corner returns with Powerlaw (PWRL) โ€” the new retail-accessible VC fund from Ben Black and Mike Dinsdale backed by Acadian. Dave and Aman break down the portfolio, the price-to-NAV, and whether it's worth the ride. 00:48 - [ tech news and vc ] 02:58 - oil down, defense up ๐Ÿš€ 10:31 - SpaceX week one on the tape ๐Ÿ“ˆ 15:15 - Anthropic gets frozen ๐ŸงŠ 30:30 - SaaS enters valuation winter โ„๏ธ 33:42 - Bezos bets $12B on an AI engineer ๐Ÿค– 36:30 - Mistral doubles to $23B ๐Ÿ’ธ 42:15 - Saronic unmanned ship saves lives ๐Ÿ›Ÿ 43:20 - [ val corner: PWRL Ben Black ] how Power Law gives retail a chance ๐Ÿ™ 46:06 - portfolio breakdown ๐Ÿ’ผ 47:15 - strategy pros and cons ๐Ÿ‘๐Ÿ‘Ž 49:29 - manager accolades ๐Ÿ’ [ links ] [ invest = https://practicalvc.com ] [ trading places socials = www.linktr.ee/tradingplacespod ] [ aman verjee = https://www.linkedin.com/in/aman-verjee | https://x.com/amanverjee ] [ dave mcclure = https://www.linkedin.com/in/davemcclure | https://x.com/davemcclure ] Thank you for watching #spacex #anthropic #mistralai #secondaries #venturecapital

    52 min
  3. The SpaceX IPO Report Card, OpenAI vs. Anthropic, and the Private Market No One Talks About | CJ Gustafson w/ Guest CJ Gustafson

    16 June

    The SpaceX IPO Report Card, OpenAI vs. Anthropic, and the Private Market No One Talks About | CJ Gustafson w/ Guest CJ Gustafson

    The SpaceX IPO just happened. Dave and Aman break down the grades, the winners, and what comes next โ€” then sit down with CJ Gustafson, recovering tech CFO and founder of Mostly Metrics, to dig into the private market pricing mechanics that most investors get completely wrong. This week: SpaceX Day 1 results and the $75B raise that dwarfed an entire year of VC-backed IPOs. The updated Private Mag Seven โ€” who stays, who goes public, and who replaces them. OpenAI vs. Anthropic: which IPO is actually stronger and at what price. Google raising $80B in equity (not debt) with Berkshire Hathaway coming in. Cognition at $26B and the AI coding land grab. โ€”โ€” 00:36 - [ tech news and vc ] 01:52 - Big 3 Race to Go Public ๐Ÿ 04:15 - Google $85B Equity Raise ๐Ÿ’ฐ 22:48 - SaaSpocalypse Over? ๐Ÿซจ 29:46 - AI-coding Cognition Raises $1B ๐Ÿ’ธ 32:32 - Databricks Past $134B & Revolut Past $100B ๐Ÿš€ 40:01 - [ intvw: CJ Gustafson, recovering tech CFO ] 44:32 - Raising $1B in 18 Months ๐Ÿ’ธ 46:16 - SaaS Multiples: From 20x to 4x and the Road Back ๐Ÿ“‰ 1:17:00 - Stay Private, Get to $1B ARR Before You IPO ๐Ÿฐ 1:20:26 - [ val corner: Aman grades SpaceX IPO ] 1:25:12 โ€“ What happens to stock price next 6 months ๐Ÿค” 1:29:45 โ€“ Who made the most money ๐Ÿค‘ โ€”โ€” [ links ] [ invest = https://practicalvc.com ] [ trading places socials = www.linktr.ee/tradingplacespod ][ cj gustafson = https://www.linkedin.com/in/cj-gustafson-13140948/ | https://x.com/cjgustafson ] [ run the numbers podcast https://www.youtube.com/@RuntheNumberswithCJ ] [ aman verjee = https://www.linkedin.com/in/aman-verjee | https://x.com/amanverjee ] [ dave mcclure = https://www.linkedin.com/in/davemcclure | https://x.com/davemcclure ] Trading Places is the only VC secondary podcast on the internet. Hosted by Dave McClure and Aman Verjee of Practical Venture Capital. Subscribe for weekly coverage of private markets, AI company valuations, and the deals most investors never see coming. #spacex #spacexipo #spacexstock #secondaries #venturecapital

    1hr 33min
  4. I Read the 308-Page SpaceX S-1 So You Donโ€™t Have To

    26 May

    I Read the 308-Page SpaceX S-1 So You Donโ€™t Have To

    Aman read all 308 pages of the SpaceX S-1 so you don't have to. This week we break down every major number, surprise, and buried Easter egg in the filing โ€” plus the biggest IPO week in recent memory across the AI holy trinity. SpaceX is pricing around June 12 and could open at a $2T+ valuation. We walk through all three business segments (Connectivity, Space, AI), the $28.5 trillion TAM claim, Elon's compensation plan that pays out $583B if he colonizes Mars, the unusual staggered lock-up structure, and the two breadcrumbs in the S-1 that suggest a SpaceX-Tesla merger could be coming. We also cover Anthropic's monster quarter ($10.9B in Q2 revenue, profitable, raising at $900B), OpenAI rushing to beat them to IPO after winning the Musk lawsuit, NVIDIA's $81B print growing 85% YoY, Mercury's $200M Series D at $5.2B, the US government taking equity stakes in quantum companies, and Nasdaq Private Markets suing Hiive over secondary market plumbing. A lot happened this week. 00:43 - [ tech news and vc ] 08:04 - Anthropic profitable, $900B looks cheap ๐Ÿคฏ 13:38 - OpenAI rushes to IPO after courtroom win ๐Ÿƒโ€โ™‚๏ธโ€โžก๏ธ 17:53 - NVIDIA $82B print $80B buyback ๐Ÿ’ฐ๐Ÿซฒ 22:20 - Mercury $200M Series D @ $5.2B ๐Ÿฆ 25:35 - US Govt = Quantum VC โš›๏ธ 29:05 - NPM sues Hiive over 2ndry plumbing ๐Ÿช  30:58 - [ val corner: 308 page SpaceX S-1 ] 31:06 - SpaceX S-1 highlights ๐Ÿ“ธ๐Ÿ”ฆ 35:56 - $28T TAM includes Martians ๐ŸŒŽ๐ŸŒ๐ŸŒ๐ŸŒ–โœจ 37:00 - 3 core biz units: Connectivity, Space, AI 3๏ธโƒฃ 47:05 - SpaceX-Tesla merger? ๐Ÿค” 50:10 - board members revealed ๐Ÿ‘ค 53:48 - unusual staggered lock-up period ๐Ÿ” 1:01:00 - Dave sings a whole new Mars ๐ŸŽถ [ links ] [ invest = https://practicalvc.com ] [ trading places socials = www.linktr.ee/tradingplacespod ] [ aman verjee = https://www.linkedin.com/in/aman-verjee | https://x.com/amanverjee ] [ dave mcclure = https://www.linkedin.com/in/davemcclure | https://x.com/davemcclure ] Thank you for watching #spacexs1 #spacexipo #spacex #secondaries #venturecapital

    1hr 1min
  5. $900B Anthropic, SpaceX IPO Date, and the SPV Wild West w/ Clara Vydyanath | Trading Places Pod EP35

    21 May

    $900B Anthropic, SpaceX IPO Date, and the SPV Wild West w/ Clara Vydyanath | Trading Places Pod EP35

    IPO season is here โ€” and private markets are breaking at the seams. This week on Trading Places: Cerebras just had one of the best IPOs in years, pricing way above range and popping 68% on day one. SpaceX is targeting June 12th for its Nasdaq listing โ€” and the prospectus drops next week. Anthropic raised $30B at a $900B valuation (up from ~$350B just three months ago) โ€” and then told SPV operators to back off. And Anduril closed a $5B round at $61B, doubling its valuation in under a year. Then Dave and Aman sit down with Clara Vydyanath, a secondaries veteran who's spent eight years at Forge and Hiive, to break down what's actually happening in the SPV market โ€” who's legit, who's a scammer, and what CFOs should be doing right now. Plus: retail VC part two, where Aman pits AngelList's USVC (Naval Ravikant + Ankur Nagpal) against Cathie Wood's Ark Ventures. One of them has a track record problem. Timestamps: cold open [ tech news and vc ] 00:53 - Warsh confirmed as new Fed chair ๐Ÿช‘ 03:32 - Hormuz "you shall not pass" ๐Ÿšข๐Ÿง™โ€โ™‚๏ธ 07:05 - Cerebras blockbuster IPO ๐Ÿ“ˆ 12:28 - SpaceX IPO date around June 12 ๐Ÿš€ 15:56 - Anthropic raises $30B @ $900B valuation ๐Ÿ’ฐ 28:30 - Anduril closes $5B @ $61B ๐Ÿ›ซ 30:07 - [ intvw: Clara Vydyanath, 2ndry advisor ] What she learned at Hiive & Forge ๐Ÿง  33:52 - SPVs and Anthropic โœ‹ 39:43 - What will happen after IPO summer ๐Ÿ”ฎ 44:20 - Wild West of 2ndries is only beginning ๐Ÿค  46:00 - CFOs tender offer playbook ๐Ÿ“• 58:50 - [ val corner: retail VC part 2 ] Closed end funds: AngelList & Ark Invest ๐Ÿ“ 1:00:33 - AngelList USVC portfolio breakdown ๐Ÿ˜‡ 1:02:35 - ARKK Ventures Ark Invest portfolio breakdown ๐ŸŒˆ 1:05:10 - Portfolio strategy and fees faceoff ๐ŸฅŠ 1:06:00 - Ankur Nagpal vs Cathie Wood ๐Ÿคบ 1:10:10 - second takes ๐Ÿ˜‚ [ links ] [ invest = https://practicalvc.com ] [ trading places socials = www.linktr.ee/tradingplacespod ] [ clara vydyanath = https://www.linkedin.com/in/clara-vydyanath-cfa-cpa-14287316/ | https://x.com/ClaraVydyanath ] [ aman verjee = https://www.linkedin.com/in/aman-verjee | https://x.com/amanverjee ] [ dave mcclure = https://www.linkedin.com/in/davemcclure | https://x.com/davemcclure ] Thank you for watching #tradingplacespodcast #SpaceX #ClaraVydyanath #davemcclure #SpaceXIPO

    1hr 10min
  6. Anthropic's $44B Revenue Run Rate, SpaceX's $75B IPO Problem, and the Retail VC Trap | Ep 34

    14 May

    Anthropic's $44B Revenue Run Rate, SpaceX's $75B IPO Problem, and the Retail VC Trap | Ep 34

    Anthropic is now reportedly running at a $44B ARR pace, secondary markets are valuing it north of $1T, and demand is turning into full-scale FOMO. This week on Trading Places, Dave McClure and Aman Verjee break down: 00:00 โ€” cold open 00:39 โ€” [ tech and vc news ] 01:53 โ€” Markets ATH during Iran war ๐Ÿ’ฅ 06:45 โ€” SpaceX + Anthropic $4B deal ๐Ÿค 10:51 โ€” New NASDAQ rules benefit SpaceX ๐Ÿ”” 15:21 โ€” Anthropic raising $50B @ $900B, ARR accelerating ๐Ÿ“ˆ 18:20 โ€” Sam and Elon courtroom drama ๐Ÿฟ 23:21 โ€” Cerebras IPO 20x oversubscribed ๐ŸฅŠ 25:14 โ€” SaaS-pocalypse continues โ›ˆ๏ธ๐Ÿ“‰ 27:47 โ€” [ valuation corner: retail VC part 1 ] Non-accredited investors want private stock ๐Ÿ™ 29:11 โ€” Robinhood Ventures w/ Sarah Pinto & Vlad Tenev 1๏ธโƒฃ 30:15 โ€” Fundrise w/ Ben Miller 2๏ธโƒฃ 33:00 โ€” D/XYZ w/ Soheil Prasad 3๏ธโƒฃ 36:39 โ€” Which would Dave pick? ๐Ÿค” 41:35 โ€” [ VC secondary 101 w/ dave mcclure ] What is secondary? ๐ŸŒˆ 43:03 โ€” Size of the market ๐Ÿ“ˆ 44:53 โ€” Why people buy/sell ๐Ÿคทโ€โ™‚๏ธ 47:41 โ€” What are Secret Stallions ๐Ÿด 48:45 โ€” Three deal strategies ๐Ÿง  [ links ] [ invest = https://practicalvc.com ] [ trading places socials = www.linktr.ee/tradingplacespod ] [ aman verjee = https://www.linkedin.com/in/aman-verjee | https://x.com/amanverjee ] [ dave mcclure = https://www.linkedin.com/in/davemcclure | https://x.com/davemcclure ] Thank you for watching #tradingplacespodcast #secondary101 #vcsecondary #davemcclure #anthropicstock

    1hr 3min
  7. Anthropic at $900B, OpenAI Slipping | Sacra & Augment Power 20 Private Companies | Cohere Valuation | Ep 33

    7 May

    Anthropic at $900B, OpenAI Slipping | Sacra & Augment Power 20 Private Companies | Cohere Valuation | Ep 33

    Anthropic is accelerating at a pace the tech world has never seen. In Episode 33 of Trading Places, Dave McClure, Aman Verjee, Marcelo Ballvรฉ (Sacra), and Adam Crawley (Augment) break down the AI valuation frenzy, OpenAIโ€™s growing pressure, hyperscaler spending, Cohereโ€™s international AI strategy, and whether SpaceXโ€™s trillion-dollar valuation has completely detached from fundamentals. Timestamps: [ tech and vc news ] 00:53 โ€“ Iran hits markets ๐Ÿ’ฅ 05:00 โ€“ Hyperscalers $700B AI CapEx ๐Ÿ’ธ 12:31 โ€“ Anthropic raises $50B at $900B+ ๐Ÿš€ 13:51 โ€“ Musk vs Altman courthouse battle ๐ŸฅŠ 18:22 โ€“ OpenAI eyes 2027 IPO ๐Ÿ‘€ 21:35 โ€“ Cerebras IPO imminent ๐Ÿ 23:18 โ€“ Founders Fund $6B with 25% GP commit ๐Ÿ˜ฎ 25:41 โ€“ Sierra raises $950M at $15.8B ๐Ÿš€ 29:16 โ€“ GameStop bids $56B for eBay ๐Ÿ’ฐ 31:39 โ€“ [ intvw: Marcelo Ballve @ SACRA + Adam Crawley @ Augment ] 33:16 โ€“ Why Anthropic beat OpenAI ๐Ÿ† 35:35 โ€“ Defense tech crashes the top 20 ๐Ÿ›ก๏ธ 41:06 โ€“ SpaceX at $2T โ€” vibes or fundamentals? ๐Ÿš€ 47:35 โ€“ Most stretched valuation on the list ๐Ÿ˜ฌ 54:51 โ€“ Retail VC fund trap ๐Ÿ‘Ž 1:02:24 โ€“ AGI in 18 months? ๐Ÿค– 1:04:23 โ€“ [ valuation corner: Cohere @ $7B ] 1:05:40 โ€“ Canadian roots and team ๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ฆ 1:09:45 โ€“ Aleph Alpha German acquisition ๐Ÿ‡ฉ๐Ÿ‡ช 1:10:01 โ€“ The anti-US & anti-China play ๐Ÿ™…โ€โ™‚๏ธ 1:13:08 โ€“ second takes ๐Ÿ˜‚ [ links ] [ invest = https://practicalvc.com ] [ trading places socials = www.linktr.ee/tradingplacespod ] [ adam crawley = https://www.linkedin.com/in/adam-crawley-b2146753/ | https://x.com/adamcrawley1 ] [ augment = https://augment.market/ ] [ marcelo ballvรฉ = https://www.linkedin.com/in/marceloballve/ | https://x.com/ballve ] [ sacra = http://sacra.com/ ] [ aman verjee = https://www.linkedin.com/in/aman-verjee | https://x.com/amanverjee ] [ dave mcclure = https://www.linkedin.com/in/davemcclure | https://x.com/davemcclure ] Thank you for watching **Please note: Inclusion in the Augment Power 20 does not predict future performance and should not be considered investment advice. For informational purposes only. Augment Markets, Inc. is a technology company offering software and data services with securities-related services offered through its wholly-owned but separately managed subsidiary Augment Capital, LLC, Member of FINRA/ SIPC. Read our full disclosure statement here. #tradingplacespodcast #sacra #augmentmarkets #davemcclure #cohere

    1hr 14min
  8. Anthropic Hits $1T, OpenAI Struggling, Elon Reloads with $60B Cursor Deal | Trading Places Podcast E32

    30 Apr

    Anthropic Hits $1T, OpenAI Struggling, Elon Reloads with $60B Cursor Deal | Trading Places Podcast E32

    Anthropic just crossed a $1 trillion valuationโ€ฆ and may have officially passed OpenAI. Meanwhile, Elon Musk is making movesโ€”SpaceX is partnering with (and possibly acquiring) Cursor in a $60B deal, while OpenAI races to stay competitive with new releases like GPT-5.5 and Images 2.0. This week on Trading Places, Dave McClure and Aman Verjee break down one of the wildest weeks in AI, venture capital, and secondary markets: โ€” The Fed shakeup and what it means for interest rates โ€” Iran war tensions and global market implications โ€” Anthropicโ€™s meteoric rise past OpenAI โ€” SpaceXโ€™s massive AI bet with Cursor โ€” OpenAIโ€™s latest product push โ€” AngelList opening venture capital to retail investors โ€” The rise of prediction markets like Polymarket and Kalshi Plus: a deep dive into Cursorโ€”the fastest-growing SaaS company everโ€”and why SpaceX wants it. 00:00 โ€“ cold open [ tech and vc news ] 01:22 โ€“ Warsh fed chair moves Up ๐Ÿช‘ 03:52 โ€“ Iran war ends when ๐Ÿค” 06:15 โ€“ Anthropic $1T valuation ๐Ÿ’ฐ 08:10 โ€“ Cursor & SpaceX engage ๐Ÿ‘ฐโ€โ™€๏ธ 14:21 โ€“ OpenAI launches GPT 5.5 + images 2.0 ๐Ÿš‚ 17:54 โ€“ AngelList launches USVC ๐Ÿ’ธ 25:11 โ€“ Polymarket & Kalshi double down ๐ŸŽฒ 29:25 โ€“ [ valuation corner: Cursor @ $50B ] what is Cursor ๐Ÿค– 31:24 โ€“ CEO & MIT team ๐Ÿ‘ฅ 33:12 โ€“ Why SpaceX wants Cursor & vice versa ๐Ÿ’๐Ÿ’’ 38:23 โ€“ early investors a16z + Thrive ๐Ÿค‘ 39:56 โ€“ Sam Bankman-Fried almost won big ๐Ÿ™…โ€โ™‚๏ธ [ spv: Equitybee ] 44:27 โ€“ why we invested in Equitybee ๐Ÿ 46:15 โ€“ how you can join the SPV ๐Ÿ‘ 46:53 โ€“ spinal cap debut ๐ŸŽถ [ links: ] [ equitybee SPV invest = https://practicalvc.com/eb ] [ trading places socials = www.linktr.ee/tradingplacespod ] [ aman verjee = https://www.linkedin.com/in/aman-verjee/ | https://x.com/amanverjee ] [ dave mcclure = https://www.linkedin.com/in/davemcclure | https://x.com/davemcclure ] #cursorspacex #spacexcursor #venturecapital #secondarymarkets #secondaries

    48 min
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About

a very bad ๐Ÿ’ฉpodcast about VC secondaries broken unicorns โค๏ธโ€๐Ÿฉน๐Ÿฆ„ & busted carry ๐Ÿ“‰๐Ÿ™ˆ

Information

  • Creator
    Practical Venture Capital
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    39
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    ยฉ Practical Venture Capital
  • Show Website
    trading places

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