Anthropic’s $30B Funding Round, Anduril Eyes $60B Valuation, SpaceX's $50B IPO Plan

This week shows how capital and control are scaling together. Anthropic’s $30B round at a $380B valuation, Anduril’s push toward $60B, and SpaceX’s potential $50B dual-class IPO reflect how financing and governance are converging at the top of private tech. Let’s dive in…

THIS WEEK’S BREAKING NEWS

Anthropic raises $30B in Series G

Anthropic raised $30B in Series G at a $380B post-money valuation, led by GIC and Coatue, with participation from D. E. Shaw, Dragoneer, Founders Fund, ICONIQ, MGX, and prior commitments from Microsoft and NVIDIA. Run-rate revenue reached $14B, growing over 10x annually for three consecutive years. Claude Code exceeds $2.5B run-rate, while over 500 customers now spend more than $1M annually. (1)

STABLETON MORNINGSTAR PITCHBOOK UNICORN 20 STRATEGY

The Stableton Morningstar PitchBook Unicorn 20 strategy is the world’s first passive, systematic, and semi-liquid approach to investing in the Top 20 privately held tech companies before they go public.

This strategy offers a straightforward and cost-effective way to gain exposure to leading private technology companies within a single portfolio. With no performance fees and enhanced liquidity, it offers a unique alternative to traditional private market investments.

PORTFOLIO NEWS

Anduril eyes $60B valuation amid revenue surge

Anduril is reportedly in talks to raise new capital at a near $60B valuation, doubling its last private round as of June. The funding would support construction of its first large-scale weapons manufacturing facility and further development of an autonomous fighter jet. Revenue is expected to reach about $2B in 2025, driven by US Department of Defense and allied contracts. (2)

Rune Technologies' TyrOS powers Anduril’s $99.6M NGC2 rollout

Rune Technologies has joined Anduril’s $99.6M Next-Generation Command and Control prototype for the U.S. Army, integrating its TyrOS predictive logistics platform into Anduril’s NGC2 architecture. TyrOS enables tactical-level sustainment by ingesting edge-generated sensor data and operating in denied or low-bandwidth conditions. The six-month effort, evaluated with the 4th Infantry Division, targets division-level scalability. (3)

Anthropic expands education push with CodePath partnership

Anthropic is partnering with CodePath to integrate Claude and Claude Code into AI curricula across more than 1,000 U.S. institutions, including community colleges, HBCUs, and Hispanic-serving schools. The move intensifies competition with Google, OpenAI, and Microsoft in higher education distribution. A recent employer survey found 75% expect graduates to have AI experience, underscoring curriculum urgency. (4)

Anthropic commits $20M for bipartisan AI regulation push

Anthropic is donating $20M to Public First Action ahead of the 2026 elections, backing candidates across parties who support AI regulation. The group plans to raise $50–75M and support 30–50 candidates, contrasting with the $125M raised by pro-AI PAC Leading the Future. A Gallup survey cited found 80% of respondents favor AI safety rules. (5)

Applied Intuition UK wins DSTL swarm contract

Applied Intuition UK has secured its first UK contract since opening its London office in May 2025, leading a consortium under DSTL’s Software Defined Swarms program to deliver an autonomy test bed for ground-launched, near-surface drone swarms. The effort combines simulation and live trials using Evolve Dynamics’ WOLFE-NATO drone. The initiative supports the British Army’s “20-40-40” priority, targeting 80% uncrewed combat power. (6)

Deel, MoonPay pilot stablecoin payroll for 40,000 firms

MoonPay, through its Iron subsidiary, is partnering with Deel to enable approximately 40,000 UK and EU firms to pay employees in stablecoins directly into digital wallets, ahead of a planned U.S. rollout. The service targets Deel’s payroll network, which processed about $22B in 2025. The move extends MoonPay’s infrastructure push beyond consumer crypto into enterprise payroll rails. (7)

Figure advances humanoid autonomy with Helix 02

Figure unveiled Helix 02, enabling full-body humanoid autonomy through a layered System 0, 1, 2 architecture operating up to 1 kHz. In a four-minute kitchen demo, the robot completed 61 continuous actions without resets. System 0, trained on 1,000+ hours of human motion, replaces 109,504 lines of C++ code, supporting coordinated loco-manipulation and tactile sensing integration. (8)

Kraken replaces CFO ahead of public listing

Kraken has dismissed CFO Stephanie Lemmerman ahead of its planned U.S. IPO, shifting her into a strategic advisory role after 16 months. The move follows a confidential IPO filing in November and comes after the firm raised $800M at a $20B valuation. Leadership adjustments occur as Kraken’s finance function evolves alongside broader institutional interest in crypto infrastructure listings. (9)

Kraken aligns with Wyoming through Trump Accounts

Kraken will sponsor a “Trump Account” for every child born in Wyoming in 2026, following the SEC’s withdrawal of its 2023 enforcement case. The Treasury provides $1,000 per eligible child until 2028, with outside contributions permitted, though Kraken has not confirmed matching terms or asset allocation. The move signals deeper alignment with Wyoming’s pro-crypto regulatory framework ahead of midterm elections. (10)

Neuralink files $8.2M Texas facility upgrade

Neuralink has filed for an $8.2M renovation of its 37,607-square-foot Austin-area facility, covering office and manufacturing upgrades under the “ATX1 – Third Floor Tenant Improvement” project. Construction is scheduled from March 2 to May 25. The remodel follows $15.7M in 2024 filings and a prior $16M campus expansion near Tesla’s Gigafactory. (11)

OpenAI joins $100M Pentagon drone challenge

OpenAI has partnered with two unnamed defense-tech firms selected for the Pentagon’s $100M drone swarm challenge, contributing voice-to-command translation using open-source models. The six-month, phased competition aims to prototype software enabling autonomous drone coordination across air and sea domains. OpenAI will not control targeting or weapons integration, limiting its role to command translation. (12)

OpenAI hires OpenClaw creator Peter Steinberger for AI agents

OpenAI is hiring OpenClaw creator Peter Steinberger, with CEO Sam Altman stating the agent will remain open source under a foundation supported by OpenAI. OpenClaw gained rapid traction as an autonomous task agent and is spreading in China through integrations with DeepSeek and Baidu. The move comes as OpenAI, recently valued at $500B, competes with Anthropic, valued at $380B. (13)

Ramp brings real-time AI bookkeeping with Accounting Agent

Ramp launched Accounting Agent, an AI agent that auto-codes transactions in real time and automates month-end close workflows. Trained on millions of transactions and tailored to each business, it enables finance teams to close books three times faster on average and save 40+ hours per month. Only 2% of teams currently rely primarily on AI for transaction coding. (14)

Revolut commits $280M to Australia expansion

Revolut plans to invest $280M over five years to expand in Australia, where it has surpassed 1 million customers since launching in 2020. Transaction volumes rose 235% over the past year, and customers have saved A$250M in FX fees. The fintech now employs 100+ locally and is seeking Australian Deposit Institution authorization. (15)

Apollo taps Revolut for EU wealth distribution

Apollo is in early discussions with Revolut to distribute private market funds to EU customers via the fintech’s forthcoming private markets platform. Revolut, which has over 70 million users, may also onboard other managers. Apollo raised $4B from wealth channels in Q4, bringing its individual AUM to $50B as it targets $150B by 2029. (16)

Vietnam approves SpaceX Starlink license

Vietnam has granted SpaceX’s Starlink a license to provide fixed and mobile satellite internet services, including approval to use radio frequencies and equipment. The authorization follows last year’s trial approval and comes ahead of an expected US visit by Vietnam’s leader To Lam. Launch timing remains unclear as trade negotiations between the US and Vietnam continue. (17)

SpaceX, xAI enter $100M Pentagon drone contest

SpaceX and xAI are among a small group selected for the Pentagon’s $100M drone swarm challenge, a six-month, multi-phase competition to develop voice-controlled autonomous swarming software across air and sea domains. xAI previously secured a $200M Pentagon contract and is recruiting cleared engineers. OpenAI is supporting a separate bid, while SpaceX and xAI are expected to collaborate across the full stack. (18)

SpaceX plans dual-class structure for $50B IPO

SpaceX is considering a dual-class share structure for its planned IPO, potentially raising up to $50B, to preserve founder control for Elon Musk through super-voting shares. The company is also adding board members ahead of listing. The IPO would help fund AI data centers in space and a lunar factory, following SpaceX’s acquisition of xAI. (19)

Stripe integrates x402 for USDC agent payments

Stripe has launched a preview of machine payments by integrating Coinbase’s x402 protocol, enabling AI agents to pay in USDC on Base via Stripe’s PaymentIntents API. CoinGecko simultaneously adopted x402 for $0.01-per-call API access across 18,000+ tokens and 250 networks. The move coincides with reports of a $140B Stripe tender valuation. (20)

xAI reshuffles leadership post $250B merger

Elon Musk announced a reorganization at xAI following its merger with SpaceX, which valued xAI at $250B and the combined entity at $1.25T. The restructuring includes staff departures, including co-founders Jimmy Ba and Yuhuai Wu. xAI will now operate across four core teams focused on Grok, coding models, image generation, and a new “Macrohard” enterprise emulation initiative. (21)

OTHER NEWS

Google backs Apptronik’s $520M humanoid push

Apptronik raised $520M at a $5B valuation, bringing its Series A to $935M, to commercialize its Apollo humanoid robots ahead of competitors, including Tesla’s Optimus. Co-led by B Capital and Google, the funding supports scaling production and facility expansion. Apollo pilots are underway with Mercedes-Benz, GXO, and Jabil, while projected 2027 volumes target $80,000 per unit. (22)

Disney pressures ByteDance over Seedance 2.0

ByteDance said it will strengthen safeguards on its AI video tool Seedance 2.0 after Disney issued a cease-and-desist letter alleging use of a “pirated library” of Marvel and Star Wars characters. The Motion Picture Association and Sag-Aftra accused the tool of mass copyright infringement. ByteDance stated it respects IP rights and is enhancing protections. (23)

Mistral tops $400M amid Europe AI push

Mistral’s annualized revenue run rate has surged to over $400M from $20M a year ago, with a target to exceed $1B ARR by year-end and more than 100 enterprise customers. Valued at nearly €12B, the company raised €1.7B in September and will invest €1.2B in a 23MW Swedish data center to strengthen Europe’s sovereign AI capacity. (24)

Polymarket, Kaito launch AI attention markets

Polymarket is partnering with Kaito AI to launch “attention markets” that let users trade on social media-driven mindshare and sentiment metrics across platforms like X, TikTok, and YouTube. Polymarket processed over $3B in January volume, while pilot Kaito-powered markets saw $1.3M and $90K traded. Kaito has raised $10.5M at an $87M valuation. (25)

Saudi-backed Savvy targets ByteDance’s Moonton

Saudi Arabia’s Savvy Games Group is in advanced talks to acquire ByteDance’s Moonton for about $6B. Moonton, bought by ByteDance in 2021 for a reported $4B, operates Mobile Legends: Bang Bang with 110M monthly active players. Backed by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, Savvy continues deploying tens of billions to build a global gaming and esports platform. (26)

CHART OF THE WEEK

The recovery in US IPO activity signals that public markets are reopening after a prolonged reset. Listings have climbed steadily since mid 2023, moving well above the trough reached after the 2022 collapse. Confidence is returning as inflation stabilizes, rates peak, and investors regain appetite for growth. The prospect of large scale technology listings adds further momentum. Planned IPOs from companies such as SpaceX, OpenAI, and Anthropic suggest that the next phase of the cycle will be driven by category defining leaders rather than speculative volume.

This rebound does not eliminate the appeal of remaining private. Many of the strongest technology companies are choosing to scale further before listing, using secondaries to manage liquidity along the way. The Stableton Morningstar PitchBook Unicorn 20 provides exposure to private blue-chip tech leaders as public markets reopen and valuation gaps between private and public markets begin to narrow.

THE UNTOLD UNICORN STORY

Anduril: Defense technology reimagined

Co-Founder of Anduril, Palmer Luckey, at Anduril HQ in California. (27)

Founded in 2017, Anduril applies software-first engineering to defense challenges, accelerating the deployment of autonomous systems for force protection and surveillance. Its core platform, Lattice, connects sensors and autonomous vehicles so a single operator can manage air, land, and maritime systems at scale. By pairing low-cost, modular hardware with an adaptive software stack, Anduril replaces slow, bespoke defense programs with systems that can evolve through continuous iteration.

Its flagship products include Roadrunner and Roadrunner-M, reusable autonomous aircraft for counter-UAS and short-range air defense, and Fury, an uncrewed combat jet designed to operate alongside manned fighters. Together, they reflect a “Moneyball” military model focused on affordability, scale, and speed of deployment, a strategy driving new U.S. Department of Defense contracts as Anduril transitions from prototyping to full production. (28)

Fun Fact: Founder Palmer Luckey previously founded Oculus, a virtual reality headset, which popularized the VR industry before he turned to defense technology. Anduril now combines that product engineering mindset with defense procurement to scale autonomous systems.

Did you know? Anduril is one of the 20 companies in our Stableton Morningstar PitchBook Unicorn 20 strategy, a systematic, index approach that aims to outperform public benchmarks with low-cost fees, and without a performance fee. Click below for more information.

SOURCES

1 - Anthropic, 2 - Bloomberg, 3 - Business Wire, 4 - The Wall Street Journal, 5 - CNBC, 6 - Calibre Defence, 7 - The Block, 8 - eWEEK, 9 - PYMNTS, 10 - Decrypt, 11 - Yahoo Finance, 12 - Bloomberg, 13 - CNBC, 14 - PR Newswire, 15 - Retail Banker International, 16 - Bloomberg, 17 - Business Times, 18 - Bloomberg, 19 - Bloomberg, 20 - The Block, 21 - The Wall Street Journal, 22 - CNBC, 23 - The Guardian, 24 - Financial Times, 25 - Forbes, 26 - Financial Times, 27 - WIRED, 28 - Aspen Security