AnalytixInsight

Markets rebounded last week, Dow Jones rose 1.3%, S&P 500 gained 2.4%, Nasdaq was up 3.9%. Markets saw a mix of earnings beats, strategic financings, and notable M&A across tech, crypto, and AI this week. OpenAI is planning a US$500 billion secondary share sale after hitting US$12 billion annualized revenue. Palantir reported 48% revenue growth, and raised guidance. Carro, Bullish, and Figure Technology are advancing U.S. IPO plans. Apple pledged an additional US$100 billion to U.S. manufacturing to avoid tariffs, leading to one its largest weekly gains. TSMC and Korean chipmakers secured tariff exemptions. Tesla granted Elon Musk a US$23.7 billion stock award. Amazon and Meta projected lower U.S. tax bills under new legislation. ChatGPT reached 700 million weekly active users, and ChatGPT 5 has begun rolling out to mixed reviews. Uber repored Waymo robotaxis outperformed 99% of human drivers by trip volume. The FAA proposed rules to ease drone delivery operations. The U.S. Navy is soliciting designs for ultra-large AUVs, while space policy shifted with an accelerated NASA plan for a lunar nuclear reactor. In Canada, Sophic clients, Cybeats Technologies closed a $3.24 million LIFE offering, Kraken Robotics filed a 25-month base shelf prospectus to preserve financing flexibility, and Renoworks Software posted Q2 revenue up 18% YoY, with recurring revenue up 29% and improved working capital. Shopify stock gained 19% on 31% revenue growth and no tariff impact, unveiling new AI-powered merchant tools. Mogo sold nearly half of its WonderFi stake for $13.8 million ahead of the Robinhood acquisition, using proceeds to expand its Bitcoin holdings under a $50 million board-approved allocation strategy. Ripple acquired Toronto stablecoin payments platform Rail for $275 million, while U.S. telehealth firm Doximity bought Montréal’s Pathway Medical for $87 million. Blue J secured a $167.4 million Series D to scale its AI-powered tax research platform, and TeamLinkt raised $8.3 million Series A for sports administration software.

After some mixed earnings, weak jobs data, and at the beginning of the seasonally soft period in post US election year for second term Presidents, markets had a tough close to the week. For the week, Dow Jones declined 2.9%, S&P 500 lost 2.4%, and Nasdaq composite was down 2.2%. Figma’s IPO debuted strongly, closing at a market cap of US$47 billion, significantly surpassing its initial IPO price. Ambiq Micro also enjoyed a strong IPO, closing up 61%, highlighting robust investor appetite for AI-driven companies. Klarna is considering reviving its IPO plans following recovery in fintech stocks. OpenAI secured a US$8.3 billion round, forecasting annualized revenue of US$20 billion by year-end, while Anthropic pursued new financing at a US$170 billion valuation. Cerebras, an AI chipmaker, sought a US$1 billion in new funding, delaying its IPO plans amid regulatory scrutiny. Earnings were mixed, Meta was a winner, while Amazon was not. Apple’s quarterly revenues exceeded expectations, driven by strong iPhone sales, and CEO Tim Cook hinted at potential AI acquisitions. Microsoft briefly reached a market capitalization of US$4 trillion, powered by robust Azure cloud sales driven by AI. Meta’s revenues grew 22%, fueled by digital advertising strength and AI investments. Canada’s AI leader Cohere partnered with BCE Inc. to deliver AI solutions through Bell Canada’s AI data centers, aiming to bolster Canada’s sovereign AI capabilities. Yaletown Partners successfully closed a first tranche of $100 million for its third Innovation Growth Fund, targeting digital infrastructure startups. Sophic Client, Boardwalktech reported its fiscal 2025 results, showing revenue of US$4.8 million, a decline from US$6.0 million the previous year due to the non-renewal of two major SaaS customers. The company raised a total of $1.3 million via LIFE Offerings to support its working capital and growth initiatives.

Last week, Dow Jones gained 1.3%, S&P 500 rose 1.5%, and Nasdaq composite was up 1%. Next week, Microsoft, Meta, Amazon, and Apple will all report earnings. Comments on AI monetization and capital spending will likely set the tone for large tech stocks, and the broader market. Several prominent companies moved toward IPOs amid rising investor optimism. Figma set its IPO price range between US$25-$28 per share, targeting a valuation around US$16 billion, slightly below Adobe’s earlier US$20 billion bid. Crypto custody firm BitGo and tax software provider Avalara both confidentially filed for IPOs, signaling renewed confidence in public market conditions. Nasdaq CEO Adena Friedman echoed this sentiment, citing strong performance by recent large-cap listings, including Chime and CoreWeave, as driving optimism through 2026. The AI sector attracted significant financings as AI startups raised US$104 billion in the first half of 2025, driven by OpenAI’s historic US$40 billion round and Meta’s US$14.3 billion investment in Scale AI. OpenAI also revealed itself as the client behind Oracle’s massive US$30 billion annual data-center services contract, underpinning its ambitious Stargate project. Alphabet significantly raised its capital expenditure forecast due to growing Cloud demand, and Tesla reported weaker-than-expected quarterly results as vehicle sales declined. Lastly, ServiceNow impressed investors with strong quarterly revenue growth fueled by increased adoption of AI-enhanced solutions, lifting its share price over 7%. Amazon acquired wearable AI startup Bee, highlighting ongoing interest in conversational AI, and Jeff Bezos is reportedly exploring acquiring CNBC. In Canada, Sophic Client, Cybeats Technologies announced a $3 million financing through a Beacon Securities-led LIFE offering, and Boardwalktech closed the second tranche of a private placement raising a total of around $750K. XTAO, successfully raised $31 million from digital-asset venture capitalists and commenced trading on the TSXV.

Last week, Dow Jones declined less than 0.1%, S&P 500 rose 0.6%, and Nasdaq composite gained 1.5%. Investors aggressively allocated funds into U.S. tech stocks at the fastest rate in 16 years, despite geopolitical tensions and market volatility. Nvidia became the first company to reach a valuation of US$4 trillion. Crypto asset manager Grayscale confidentially filed for a U.S. IPO, following Circle’s successful public debut. Elon Musk suggested Tesla shareholders would vote on whether to invest in his AI initiative, xAI, after reports surfaced regarding SpaceX’s planned US$2 billion investment into the same entity. Uber unveiled plans for significant investments in Lucid Motors and Nuro, collaborating on the deployment of over 20,000 robotaxis by 2026. Apple committed a US$500 million investment toward rare earth magnet production, partnering with MP Materials. Meta Platforms announced expansive multi-gigawatt data center projects in Ohio and Louisiana. Robinhood reported that nearly half of its new coding is generated by AI tools, highlighting swift adoption in software engineering. The past few weeks saw a revival of financing announcements in the Canadian innovation sector totalling nearly $200 million following an extended period of low activity. Sophic Capital client Kraken Robotics successfully completed a $115 million bought deal. BTQ Technologies closed a $40 million brokered LIFE financing. Volatus Aerospace announced two separate fully subscribed LIFE offerings totaling $15 million. Gatekeeper Systems (GSI-TSXV) initiated a $10 million bought deal private placement. Sophic client Plurilock Security secured a major $2.54 million AI cybersecurity contract with a NASDAQ-listed enterprise and was named a Certified Services Partner by global cybersecurity leader Forcepoint. EMERGE Commerce’s newly acquired golf brand Tee 2 Green (T2G) exceeded expectations, achieving 34% revenue growth and rapidly surpassing its upfront acquisition cost, reflecting robust synergies and targeted marketing execution. The Company also issued a positive Q2 pre-announcement, and held an investor update call.