Anduril Hits $61B Valuation, SpaceX Nears $1.75T IPO, Kraken’s $20B Capital Push

The next generation of market leaders is preparing for scale. Anduril scales autonomous defense at a $61B valuation, SpaceX advances toward a historic $1.75T IPO, and Kraken expands its financial infrastructure while preparing for public markets. Let’s dive in…

THIS WEEK’S BREAKING NEWS

Anduril hits $61B valuation after $5B defense tech raise

Anduril raised $5B at a $61B valuation, nearly doubling its value in under a year as defense spending increasingly shifts toward software-driven warfare systems. The company generated $2.2B in 2025 revenue, secured a potential $20B US Army contract for its AI-enabled Lattice platform, and continues scaling manufacturing through its Arsenal-1 facility as venture capital accelerates into defense technology. (1)

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STABLETON NEWS

Read the Q1 2026 report on private tech

Q1 2026 was a historic quarter for private markets. SpaceX filed for what could be the largest IPO in history (2), AI investment as a share of GDP surpassed every prior technology cycle (3), and the global secondary market continued to grow with volumes on pace to exceed $250 billion (4).

The latest Stableton Private Blue-Chip Tech Navigator breaks down the developments that defined the first quarter of 2026. It covers market conditions, major funding rounds, valuation shifts, and liquidity trends, alongside data on the Stableton Morningstar PitchBook Unicorn 20 strategy.

As private tech matures into an institutional asset class, we prioritize keeping you updated on the data behind all the major shifts. We put this report together so you can see exactly where the market stands and where it’s heading.

View the full Q1 2026 report below.

PORTFOLIO NEWS

British Army selects Anduril for autonomous Apache support

Anduril UK was selected for the next phase of the British Army’s Project NYX, a program developing autonomous aircraft to operate alongside Apache helicopters in contested environments. The platform combines collaborative mission autonomy, hybrid-electric propulsion, and modular open-system architecture to expand strike capabilities and survivability. The project also strengthens Anduril’s UK industrial footprint through local manufacturing, sovereign supply chains, and partnerships across British aerospace and defense technology. (5)

Vatican taps Anthropic co-founder for AI encyclical launch and global ethics debate

Pope Leo XIV will publish an encyclical focused on “the protection of the human person in the age of artificial intelligence,” marking the first major text of his papacy. The Vatican invited Christopher Olah to participate in the launch, signaling deeper engagement between religious institutions and AI leaders as debates intensify around labor displacement, regulation, and autonomous warfare. (6)

Anthropic’s Mythos flags systemic cyber risks

Anthropic will brief the Financial Stability Board on cyber vulnerabilities uncovered by its Claude Mythos AI model after a request from Andrew Bailey. Anthropic said Mythos identified thousands of high-severity flaws across major operating systems and browsers, prompting regulators and financial institutions to accelerate cyber defense reviews amid concerns AI-driven attacks could trigger broader financial instability. (7)

Japan pursues Anthropic access to counter AI cyber threats

Japan is negotiating with Anthropic for access to its Claude Mythos AI model as concerns grow over AI-enabled cyberattacks targeting critical systems. Japanese officials aim to use the model to strengthen defenses against threats linked to China and Russia, while G7 finance ministers and regulators prepare coordinated discussions on systemic cyber risks posed by advanced frontier AI systems. (8)

Databricks powers AI across Digital Turbine’s billion-device network

Digital Turbine partnered with Databricks to integrate Databricks Genie Spaces and Databricks Apps into its mobile AI infrastructure. The collaboration enables Digital Turbine to process behavioral signals across 80K+ apps and more than one billion devices, accelerating AI-driven targeting, predictive modeling, and deployment of production-ready agent-based mobile applications at scale. (9)

Databricks brings GPT-5.5 into enterprise agent workflows

Databricks introduced GPT-5.5 into enterprise agent workflows after the model achieved a new benchmark record on OfficeQA Pro, Databricks’ test for complex document-based AI tasks. GPT-5.5 reduced errors by 46% versus GPT-5.4 and became the first model to exceed 50% accuracy, showing significant gains in parsing scanned PDFs, retrieval reliability, and multi-step workflow orchestration. (10)

Databricks launches student AI program and career pipeline through campus fellowship

Databricks launched its Student Fellows program to develop university talent in AI, data engineering, and computer science through hands-on platform training, certifications, and campus leadership initiatives. The program positions students to run hackathons, tech talks, and study groups while creating pathways into internships and careers tied to the broader Databricks customer and partner ecosystem. (11)

Deel signs new Arsenal sleeve deal following Rwanda exit

Arsenal F.C. signed Deel as its new sleeve sponsor in a multi-year agreement beginning in the 2026/27 season, replacing the club’s controversial Visit Rwanda partnership, reportedly worth $13.5M annually. The deal expands Deel’s existing relationship with Arsenal as the club deploys Deel’s HR platform internally while Premier League sponsorship economics shift ahead of gambling advertising restrictions. (12)

Kraken parent cuts staff and raises capital ahead of planned IPO

Kraken parent Payward is cutting roughly 150 jobs while raising capital at a reported $20B valuation ahead of a planned IPO. The company, which confidentially filed with the SEC in November, is simultaneously accelerating acquisitions, including $1.5B for NinjaTrader, as it expands its trading and payments infrastructure before pursuing a public listing when market conditions improve. (13)

Kraken shifts wrapped Bitcoin infrastructure to Chainlink CCIP

Kraken will migrate its $266M wrapped Bitcoin product, kBTC, from LayerZero to Chainlink’s CCIP interoperability protocol following the $292M Kelp DAO exploit linked to vulnerabilities in LayerZero infrastructure. The move expands an industry-wide shift away from LayerZero as major crypto platforms prioritize enterprise-grade cross-chain security and risk management after the Lazarus Group-linked attack. (14)

OpenAI launches national ChatGPT Plus program in Malta

OpenAI signed an agreement with Malta to provide residents with one year of ChatGPT Plus access after completing a free AI training course. The initiative, which also includes Maltese citizens abroad, marks the first nationwide program of its kind and reflects growing government efforts to accelerate AI literacy and adoption across the workforce and education system. (15)

Elon Musk loses lawsuit over OpenAI’s nonprofit transition

Elon Musk lost his lawsuit against OpenAI after a California jury unanimously ruled he filed the case too late. The closely watched trial examined OpenAI’s transition from nonprofit origins to a company now valued at $852B, while highlighting intensifying competition between OpenAI, xAI, and other frontier AI developers ahead of potential mega-IPO activity. (16)

OpenAI reshuffles leadership ahead of unified AI platform push

OpenAI appointed cofounder Greg Brockman to permanently lead product strategy as the company consolidates ChatGPT, Codex, and its API business into a unified AI platform. The restructuring comes as OpenAI pushes toward an “agentic” product strategy, expands enterprise offerings, and simplifies operations ahead of a potential IPO amid growing competition from Anthropic and Google. (17)

Revolut wins UK approval for private wealth expansion

Revolut received UK regulatory approval to offer leveraged products, managed portfolios, and private wealth services as it expands further into affluent client segments. The move strengthens Revolut’s increasingly diversified revenue model, which generated £1.7B in pre-tax profit on £4.5B in revenue last year, while supporting longer-term ambitions for a potential public listing targeted at a reported $200B valuation. (18)

Revolut launches physical crypto card in EU amid usage surge

Revolut launched its first physical crypto debit card, a Dogecoin-themed product with an LED payment display, as crypto-linked card usage continues to rise across the industry. Daily crypto card transactions have recently exceeded 100,000, while Revolut expands its digital asset ecosystem through Polygon integration, banking licenses, and broader crypto payment infrastructure across Europe and the UK. (19)

SpaceX accelerates Nasdaq IPO toward June debut at $1.75T valuation

SpaceX is targeting a June 12 Nasdaq listing under ticker SPCX after accelerating its IPO timeline following a faster-than-expected SEC review. The company is reportedly seeking to raise about $75B at a $1.75T valuation, positioning the offering to become the largest IPO in history and a major catalyst for renewed large-cap technology listings and index inclusion activity. (20)

SpaceX approves 5-for-1 split ahead of near $2T IPO

SpaceX approved a 5-for-1 stock split ahead of its expected IPO, lowering the implied fair market value per share from $526.59 to roughly $105.32. The move comes as the company prepares for a potential June listing that could raise up to $75B at a valuation exceeding $2T, positioning the offering as the largest IPO in market history. (21)

Grok Build marks xAI’s push into coding agents

xAI launched Grok Build, a coding agent positioned to compete with products like Anthropic’s Claude Code, initially offering access to SuperGrok Heavy subscribers paying $300 per month. The release comes as xAI attempts to close performance gaps in coding AI while navigating leadership turnover, reputational challenges, and integration with SpaceX following their February merger. (22)

OTHER NEWS

ByteDance stake anchors HSG’s $3B continuation fund

HSG closed a $3B continuation vehicle anchored by its stake in ByteDance, enabling some US investors to exit the politically sensitive holding. The fund attracted backing from Abu Dhabi-based Lunate and Singapore state investors, highlighting continued Middle Eastern and Asian appetite for large-scale private technology exposure despite geopolitical scrutiny. (23)

Celonis adds MIT-backed decision intelligence via Ikigai acquisition

Celonis launched its Celonis Context Model, a real-time operational layer designed to improve enterprise AI reliability, while acquiring Ikigai Labs to add forecasting and simulation capabilities. The deal also gives Celonis exclusive rights to MIT-licensed patents and expands integrations across Anthropic, Databricks, Microsoft, Oracle, AWS, and Snowflake ecosystems. (24)

Cerebras stock drops after $5.5B blockbuster AI chip IPO

Cerebras Systems fell 10% in its first full trading day after completing the largest US tech IPO since 2019, raising $5.5B at a valuation that briefly approached $95B. The company’s Wafer Scale Engine 3 chips target AI inference and training workloads, though analysts questioned the long-term scalability and flexibility of its wafer-scale architecture relative to Nvidia’s broader GPU ecosystem. (25)

OpenAI partnership drives Cerebras toward $47B valuation

Cerebras Systems is preparing to go public at a $47B valuation after securing a major compute agreement with OpenAI. The deal gives OpenAI access to 750 megawatts of AI compute over three years, potentially generating $27B in revenue for Cerebras, while OpenAI receives warrants that could eventually represent roughly 10% of the company’s equity. (26)

Apex partners with Plaid on ACATS infrastructure automation

Apex Fintech Solutions partnered with Plaid to modernize brokerage account transfers by combining Plaid’s data connectivity with Apex’s ACATS infrastructure and risk engine. The integration aims to reduce transfer errors, automate account linking, and simplify operational workflows, reflecting broader demand for real-time, API-driven infrastructure across digital investing and wealth management platforms. (27)

OpenAI expands ChatGPT finance using Plaid infrastructure

OpenAI launched a personal finance experience inside ChatGPT that lets Pro users connect bank, brokerage, and credit card accounts through Plaid integrations spanning more than 12,000 financial institutions. The rollout adds AI-powered budgeting, portfolio tracking, and spending analysis capabilities, positioning ChatGPT further into consumer finance and digital wealth management workflows. (28)

Replit resolves App Store fight ahead of AI rollout

Replit released its first iOS update in four months after resolving an App Store dispute with Apple over executable code policies. The update brings Replit’s new Agent 4 AI coding system to iPhone users, adding support for parallel agents, collaborative merge flows, and mobile-based creation of apps, videos, and documents ahead of Apple’s upcoming AI-focused developer conference. (29)

Anthropic pushes Claude into pharmaceutical AI workflows with SandboxAQ

SandboxAQ integrated its drug discovery models into Anthropic’s Claude platform, allowing pharmaceutical researchers to run advanced molecular simulations and chemistry workflows through natural language prompts. The partnership lowers technical barriers for enterprise biotech teams while expanding Claude’s position in scientific and industrial AI applications beyond coding and general productivity use cases. (30)

Shield AI deepens Taiwan defense AI partnership via Thunder Tiger

Shield AI partnered with Thunder Tiger to integrate Shield AI’s Hivemind autonomy software across Taiwan’s maritime and aerial unmanned systems, beginning with autonomous surface vessels. The collaboration includes simulation, hardware, and live-sea testing as Taiwan expands asymmetric defense capabilities and coordinated AI-enabled multi-agent operations in contested maritime environments. (31)

CHART OF THE WEEK

AI adoption separates leaders from the rest

The gap between high-performing organizations and the broader market is becoming more defined by how deeply AI is embedded into operations. Leading companies are far more likely to view AI as a driver of enterprise-wide transformation. This divergence shows that AI compounds advantages for early adopters while widening the performance gap for those moving more cautiously. Value creation is shifting toward companies that can integrate AI across products, processes, and decision-making at scale.

This dynamic is reflected in private markets, where many of the most advanced AI-native companies are still scaling outside public view. As transformation becomes a defining factor of long-term performance, capital continues to concentrate around businesses leading this shift. The Stableton Morningstar PitchBook Unicorn 20 strategy is positioned alongside these companies, focusing on private blue-chip technology leaders where AI-driven transformation is already translating into sustained growth.

THE UNTOLD UNICORN STORY

Anduril: Defense technology reimagined

Co-Founder of Anduril, Palmer Luckey, at Anduril HQ in California. (32)

Imagine being able to send money anywhere in the world as quickly as a message. That’s the promise of Ripple Labs, the San Francisco-based company using blockchain to modernize global payments. Founded in 2012, Ripple developed the XRP Ledger, a decentralized network that enables financial institutions to settle cross-border transactions in seconds and at a fraction of traditional costs. Its enterprise-grade solutions focus on transparency, speed, and regulatory alignment, bridging the gap between banks and the digital-asset economy.

In 2025, Ripple turned a page in its history. The company settled its long-running SEC case, agreeing to a $125M civil penalty, and announced a $700M share buyback at USD 175 per share, which is widely viewed as reaffirming confidence in its long-term strategy. With an expanding network of banking and fintech partners worldwide, Ripple continues to refine the plumbing of global finance through institutional-grade blockchain infrastructure. (33)

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 - Reuters, 2 - Financial Times, 3 - NBC, 4 - William Blair, 5 - Anduril, 6 - The Guardian, 7 - Financial Times, 8 - Japan Today, 9 - PR Newswire, 10 - OpenAI, 11 - Databricks, 12 - Sports Pro, 13 - Bloomberg, 14 - Decrypt, 15 - Reuters, 16 - AL Jazeera, 17 - WIRED, 18 - Financial Times, 19 - The Block, 20 - Reuters, 21 - Bloomberg, 22 - Engadget, 23 - Bloomberg, 24 - Techzine Europe, 25 - CNBC, 26 - Financial Times, 27 - Finovate, 28 - TechCrunch, 29 - Mashable, 30 - TechCrunch, 31 - Shield AI, 32 - WIRED, 33 - Aspen Security