trading places

Practical Venture Capital
  • 5.0 (4)
  • Investing
  • Updated Weekly

a very bad 💩podcast about VC secondaries broken unicorns ❤️‍🩹🦄 & busted carry 📉🙈

  1. 1d ago

    Anthropic S1 Leaked, ElevenLabs Hits $22B, Oura Pulls $2.2B IPO & How Midterms Will Impact AI

    $518B in compute commitments and 80 pages of risk factors These are just some of the surprising numbers from Anthropic’s leaked S1. In this episode of Trading Places, Dave McClure and Aman Verjee break it all down. Will their $2T IPO still happen before Thanksgiving? Plus, the 10-year Treasury broke 5% for the first time in nearly 20 years — what that means for the IPO market. They also cover the debt behind the AI data center boom, the AI safety incidents raising product liability questions, and what a Senate flip could mean for AI and crypto policy. Plus: Oura pulls its IPO, AMD’s $8.2B acquisition of World Labs and ElevenLabs doubling to $22B in an employee tender. Then, Dave discusses secondary market trends with Sam Lawson, co-founder and managing partner of Flywheel Capital. In Valuation Corner, Aman breaks down the >$20B nuclear startup industry. He covers how Aalo Atomics compares to its competitors and why nuclear demand is booming. 00:46 - [ tech and vc news ] interest rates reach 20-year high 05:24 - surprising numbers from Anthropic S1 leak 12:14 - rising costs of AI data center buildout 18:03 - soaring AI safety concerns 22:13 - how midterms will impact AI 27:53 - Oura pulls $2.2B IPO 32:29 - chipmaker AMD $8.2B World Labs acquisition 34:53 - ElevenLabs doubles valuation to $22B 40:06 - [ intvw: Sam Lawson, Managing Partner @ Flywheel ] 48:56 - reasons for starting Flywheel 1:00:37 - state of the venture secondary market 1:00:52 - secret stallions 1:05:55 - VC market trends and predictions 1:17:59 - [ valuation corner: nuclear startup Aalo @ $3B ] nuclear startup industry valued at over $20B 1:22:04 - forces driving nuclear demand 1:24:44 - will the nuclear startup boom stick? #VentureCapital #Anthropic #AISafety #Secondaries #NuclearEnergy

    Anthropic S1 Leaked, ElevenLabs Hits $22B, Oura Pulls $2.2B IPO & How Midterms Will Impact AI

  2. Sep 24

    Meta's Muse Agent Hits #1, Anthropic Eyes a $2T IPO, a Fed Hike & Shield AI at $20B | Trading Places Podcast Ep49 ft. Dan Gray (Odin)

    In this episode of Trading Places, Dave McClure and Aman Verjee break down the week's biggest stories in tech and venture. First, the Fed's first rate hike under new chair Warsh and what >$90 oil could mean for the midterms. Then they get into Anthropic moving its IPO to November, OpenAI's potential $1.2 trillion pre-IPO round, and Aman's theory on the real reason AI giants are calling for regulation. They also cover Nscale's neocloud IPO, the growth of European AI with Mistral and Cohere, and Meta's Muse agent passing ChatGPT in App Store downloads. Dave then sits down with Dan Gray, research lead at Odin. Dan breaks down all current trends in venture, and provides a compelling bear case on upcoming AI IPOs. In Valuation Corner, Aman breaks down autonomous defense tech company Shield AI's reported $20B raise: how it compares to Anduril and Saronic, what its founders bring, and why investing in defense is trending right now. 1:06 - [ tech and vc news ] 3:29 - Fed rates jump to 4%, gas @ $4.50/gal 8:16 - Anthropic delays IPO; OpenAI raising @ $1.2T 12:00 - Does AI need govt regulation? 16:54 - Nscale files for IPO 20:45 - EU AI rising: Mistral @ $24B, Cohere @ $20B 24:07 - Gemini joins AI hacker club 25:33 - Meta launches AI agent Muse; Instinct raising @ $10B 33:47 - [ intvw: Dan Gray, research lead, Odin ] 39:48 - Venture has eaten the IPO 41:19 - Shifting VC strategies 58:45 - How AI could upend VC industry 1:13:39 - Contrarian take on upcoming AI IPOs 1:13:21 - [ valuation corner: Shield AI seeks $20B ] 1:17:08 - Impressive founding brothers 1:18:30 - Why VC defense investment is growing 1:22:18 - Breaking down world-wide defense budgets Trading Places is the world's worst podcast about VC secondaries, private markets and high-growth technology companies. Subscribe for weekly coverage of private-company valuations, tender offers, secondary transactions, IPOs and venture capital liquidity. [ links ] [ invest = https://practicalvc.com ] [ trading places socials = www.linktr.ee/tradingplacespod ] [ dan gray = https://www.linkedin.com/in/dangjr/ | https://x.com/credistick ] [ 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 ] Disclaimer: This is not investment advice. We may hold positions in companies discussed. Do your own research. #ShieldAI #DefenseTech #VentureCapital #Anthropic #PrivateMarkets

    Meta's Muse Agent Hits #1, Anthropic Eyes a $2T IPO, a Fed Hike & Shield AI at $20B | Trading Places Podcast Ep49 ft. Dan Gray (Odin)

  3. Sep 18

    AI Giants Hit the Breaks, Harvey AI Hits $15.5B, Oura Files for a $16B IPO and more w/ Dave McClure & Aman Verjee

    Dario Amodei says the industry needs to "pace the frontier." Sam Altman and Elon agreed. Dave and Aman aren't buying the official story. They break down why slowing down might be good for business, and why they would welcome government regulation. The macro backdrop compounds things. Oil's back over $100, the 10-year just touched 5% for the first time since 2023, and the national deficit keeps rising past $40 trillion. Dave and Aman debate whether Washington will ever get serious about the debt, or whether AI-driven growth is the only way out. Additionally: Oura is reportedly eyeing a $16B IPO, a wave of AI mega-rounds landed: Cognition at $48B, Crusoe at $30B, Shield AI at $20B. And corporate tender offers are on pace to hit 600 deals this year as companies stay private longer and look for new ways to give employees liquidity. Plus: a Valuation Corner deep-dive on Harvey AI, the legal-tech company that just raised at $15.5B. Aman breaks down Harvey's founding story, and discusses how they might protect themselves from ruin against the AI giants. [ Tech & VC News ] 03:07 ⁠state of the economy: oil, interest rates, and inflation all up 06:25 importance of reducing the deficit 08:13 ⁠AI leaders hit the brakes 20:27 ⁠why AI giants want to be regulated 25:22 upcoming Oura IPO 28:34 ⁠mega-round raises for a host of AI companies 38:09⁠ ⁠tender offer boom 43:30 [ Valuation Corner: Harvey AI @ $15.5B ] 45:42 ⁠founder stories 47:43 ⁠breaking down the legal AI ecosystem 50:07 ⁠⁠Harvey vs AI giants 57:30 ⁠⁠tribute to a legend: Bill Draper [ 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! #amanverjee #VentureCapital #PrivateMarkets #davemcclure #bigbubbletrouble

    AI Giants Hit the Breaks, Harvey AI Hits $15.5B, Oura Files for a $16B IPO and more w/ Dave McClure & Aman Verjee

  4. Sep 3

    Anthropic's $30T Claim, NVIDIA's Blowout, and the AI Bubble Debate

    Anthropic had a massive week. The company is targeting $30 trillion in potential revenue, roughly the size of US GDP. A federal judge also struck down the Trump administration's attempt to label Anthropic a "supply chain risk,” a major hurdle cleared ahead of its IPO. The company also locked in a $45B compute deal with Enscale. Its AI infrastructure spending now tops $150B. Nvidia had a big week too. The company posted a blowout $96B Q2 and purchased Hugging Face for $13B. Dave and Aman break down why Nvidia has shifted strategy. It's now fortifying the entire open-source AI ecosystem so no single LLM provider gets too much leverage. Additionally: New details on that recent OpenAI hack of Hugging Face. Chinese open-weight models keep gaining user share. Meta settles a landmark $17B social-media addiction lawsuit - its implication for the industry going forward. Dave and Aman also break down Elon’s latest move. Plus: a wide-ranging interview with Hoxton Ventures' Hussein Kanji on building a European venture firm from scratch, and a Valuation Corner deep-dive on Neoclouds. [ links ] [ invest = https://practicalvc.com ] [ hussein kanji =⁠ ⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/hkanji⁠ |⁠ ⁠⁠https://x.com/hkanji⁠ ] [ 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! #husseinkanji #amanverjee #VentureCapital #PrivateMarkets #davemcclure

    Anthropic's $30T Claim, NVIDIA's Blowout, and the AI Bubble Debate

  5. Aug 28

    NVIDIA's AI Empire: Chips, Startups, and Jensen Huang's Endgame

    This week on Trading Places, Dave McClure and Aman Verjee break down Nvidia's expanding AI ecosystem, a billion-dollar stake plus exclusive licensing with Poolside, an investment in data supplier Mercor at $20B, and a bet on Perplexity as it raises at $30B. Plus: OpenAI's CFO signals a 2027 IPO, Chinese open-weight models overtake closed models in usage, the Cursor and OpenRouter deals officially close, investors cash out big while Sam Bankman Fried sits out his winnings in jail, fresh mega-rounds for Lovable, Higgsfield, and Lambda, PitchBook's Emily Zheng on the secondary market, and Aman's valuation corner on sports-franchise economics after the Lakers sold for a record $12.5B. Timestamps: 00:00 - cold open 01:06 - [ tech and vc news ] Aman plays the US Open and book launch 🎾 03:15 - Nvidia moves $19B on their open AI ecosystem 💰 09:08 - leaked timeline for OpenAI IPO ⏲️ 10:45 - the Anthropic vs. OpenAI horserace 🐎 18:50 - open weight AI models usage is growing 📈 22:43 - investors cash out big on SpaceX-Cursor acquisition 🤑 25:00 - SBF sat out his big win in jail 🔐 26:45 - OpenRouter acquired by Stripe 🧾 30:11 - Lovable at $13B 💪 30:30 - Higgsfield raises at $5B 🚀 33:53 - Lebron bonds 🏀 37:01 - [ intvw: Emily Zheng, PitchBook ] the state of the VC secondary market 🤔 39:45 - the next top-10 VC secondary startups 🏪 43:40 - the top sectors in Q2 2026 🎩 45:02 - potential trouble in the SPV market 😟 52:10 - the future of tender offers👂 57:45 - 2027 predictions 🗓 59:51 - the changing nature of the IPO 🔃 1:03:02 - [ valuation corner: Lakers sell for $12.5B ] Lakers sale price breaks NBA record 🏅 1:04:30 - tax benefit to owning a sports franchise 📑 1:06:30 - breaking down the most valuable sports teams 🏟 1:09:11 - how different leagues manage revenue ⚾️ 1:12:17 - why the Cowboys are the most valuable team in sports 🏈 [ links ] [ invest = https://practicalvc.com ] [ trading places socials = www.linktr.ee/tradingplacespod ] [ emily zheng = https://www.linkedin.com/in/emzheng/ | https://x.com/EMZheng47 ] [ 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 ] Disclaimer: This is not investment advice. We may hold positions in companies discussed. Do your own research. #Nvidia #AI #VentureCapital #Perplexity #PrivateMarkets

    NVIDIA's AI Empire: Chips, Startups, and Jensen Huang's Endgame

  6. Aug 19

    Anthropic vs. OpenAI: Inside the $2 Trillion IPO Race

    This week on Trading Places, Dave McClure and Aman Verjee break down the Anthropic roadshow numbers and leaked internal forecasts, Nvidia securing a $500B financing coalition of six Wall Street giants, and the SpaceX $60B acquisition of Cursor. Plus: the Canva growth slowdown rattles its IPO case, Databricks becomes a top-5 private company at $190B, and Aman celebrates the NYC launch of his new book, A Brief History of Financial Bubbles. 00:00 – cold open 00:45 – [ tech and vc news ] 00:56 – Aman’s “History of Financial Bubbles” book launch 📖 01:20 – are we in a bubble right now? 🫧 02:00 – Anthropic IPO in Sept/Oct? ⏳️ 05:30 – ⁠⁠Nvidia mobilizes $500B with 6 Finance Giants 🏢 11:22 – AI race: Anthropic is Secretariat, OpenAI is Twice a Prince 🏇 12:06 – potential timeline for OpenAI IPO 🤷‍♂️ 14:22 – SpaceX acquires Cursor for $60B 🤑 16:11 – Canva growth rates slow down, valuation cut 😢 20:55 – Stripe acquires OpenRouter for $7B 💳 22:41 – Silver Lake takes Workday private 🔐 24:26 – Databricks valued at $190B 💰 26:17 – Kalshi and Cognition raise at $40B valuation each 🏅 29:02 – [ valuation corner: Hadrian @ $8B ] 33:00 – solving long-standing problems in weapons manufacturing 🏹 33:28 – can set up new production lines in months, not years 🏭 35:00 – signed massive contract with US Navy 🚢 [ 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 ] Disclaimer: This is not investment advice. We may hold positions in companies discussed. Do your own research. #Anthropic #IPO #VentureCapital #DefenseTech #PrivateMarkets

    Anthropic vs. OpenAI: Inside the $2 Trillion IPO Race

  7. Aug 13

    Bending Spoons at $30B: Brilliant Roll-Up or Overvalued? + SpaceX, Airtable & VC News

    Is Bending Spoons really worth nearly $30 billion? This week on Trading Places, Dave McClure and Aman Verjee break down the Italian software roll-up after its $2.25B acquisition of Airtable — and ask whether buying challenged SaaS companies at 3–4x revenue can justify Bending Spoons trading around 10x revenue. Timestamps: 00:39 - [ tech and vc news ] 02:00 - historic Q2 earnings💲 05:18 - SpaceX stock rises 📈 09:53 - ⁠Elon scores AI wins after Grok 'miss' 💪 11:44 - Nvidia partners with Elon 💽 15:55 - Elon is planning the largest building in the world 🏢 18:10 - SpaceX buys Cursor 🚀 19:47 - OpenAI slashes prices  🔖 22:34 - Pitchbook Q2 report on VC Secondary Market 🛍 29:54 - Zach Dell starts energy company: Base Power @$13B🔌 30:38 - defense-tech startup Hadrian on the rise @8B 🪖 31:06 - AI power crunch fuels Valar Atomics @$6B ⚛️ 34:45 - Palmer Luckey joins Elon, Bezos and Dorsey 🏦 37:57 - Bending Spoons buys Airtable 💰 42:14 - the SaaSpocalypse is real 🧟‍♂️ 47:25 - [ valuation corner: Bending Spoons, Luca Ferrari ] 49:09 - unconventional background of Milan-based founder Luca Ferrari 🇮🇹 50:03 - buying up famous internet names 🏚 50:38 - determining if their current value is justified 🤔 52:26 - recent acquisition of Airtable 💨 54:14 - why the Bending Spoons business model makes sense 👍 57:35 - second takes 😂[ 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 ] Disclaimer: This is not investment advice. We may hold positions in companies discussed. Do your own research.

    Bending Spoons at $30B: Brilliant Roll-Up or Overvalued? + SpaceX, Airtable & VC News

  8. Aug 6

    Can Helsing Become Europe’s Anduril? Inside Its $18B Valuation

    Is Helsing becoming Europe’s answer to Anduril? In this episode of Trading Places, Dave McClure and Aman Verjee break down the German defense technology company’s new $18 billion valuation, its AI-powered autonomous systems, its battlefield testing in Ukraine, and the growing pressure on Europe to build its own defense capabilities. Aman compares Helsing’s software-first model with Anduril’s vertically integrated hardware-and-software approach—and explains why Helsing’s limited access to the U.S. defense market may be the biggest factor determining whether its valuation is justified. Dave also sits down with Kelly Rodriques, CEO of Forge Global, now part of Charles Schwab, to discuss the rapidly expanding private secondary market. 00:00 – cold open 00:47 – [ tech and vc news ] 02:41 – The Fed votes to hold rates steady 🏦 07:20 – Q2 Earnings Week: how big tech did last quarter 📈 09:22 – how big tech makes their money - diagramed 📊 12:08 – Situational Awareness - Aschenbrenner loses his shirt 😢 16:11 – the highly volatile Korean stock market 🇰🇷 18:14 – SpaceX shares unlock August 6 🚀 22:14 – Anthropic and OpenAI models hack into systems of other companies 🚨 25:37 – Big Tech employee tender offers 🧾 29:44 – Uber founder's new company and jet ski commute 🚤 32:51 – [ intvw: Kelly Rodrigues, Forge Global ] 33:19 – his journey into private markets 👔 35:57 – why companies stay private longer now 🔐 37:00 – the new secondary market "middle world"🏬 40:20 – the Forge customer type 🙋‍♂️ 46:30 – how to buy private companies on Forge 💳 49:00 – why Charles Schwab bought them out💲 57:04 – what SpaceX IPO can teach AI giants 🛰️ 1:05:15 – predictions for markets in coming year 🕔 1:06:58 – [ valuation corner: Helsing @ $18B ] 1:07:12 – the Munich-based company raised $1.8B 🇪🇺 1:07:45 – inspired by Clausewitz 🪖 1:11:45 – how military budgets are changing 💶 1:12:32 – how Helsing compares to Anduril and Saronic 🚁 Trading Places is the world’s worst podcast about VC secondaries, private markets and high-growth technology companies. Subscribe for weekly coverage of private-company valuations, tender offers, secondary transactions, IPOs and venture capital liquidity.[ links ] [ invest = https://practicalvc.com ] [ trading places socials = www.linktr.ee/tradingplacespod ][ kelly rodriques = https://www.linkedin.com/in/kelly-rodriques-9b49418 | https://x.com/frgeglobal ] [ 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 ] Disclaimer: This is not investment advice. We may hold positions in companies discussed. Do your own research. #Helsing #DefenseTech #VentureCapital #PrivateMarkets #Anduril #SpaceX #ForgeGlobal

    Can Helsing Become Europe’s Anduril? Inside Its $18B Valuation
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About

a very bad 💩podcast about VC secondaries broken unicorns ❤️‍🩹🦄 & busted carry 📉🙈

Information

  • Creator
    Practical Venture Capital
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    51
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Practical Venture Capital
  • Show Website
    trading places

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