AnalytixInsight

Last week, Dow Jones rose 0.95%, S&P 500 lost 1%, and Nasdaq composite fell 3.5%, despite Friday’s bounce. Both Nasdaq and S&P 500 have almost given up their post US election gains. General Catalyst, the powerhouse venture capital firm, is reportedly considering an IPO. Shein’s profits dropped by more than a third last year, adding to the Company’s challenges ahead of a long-planned London IPO. Stripe struck a deal with investors to finance a tender offer for current and former employees to sell shares at a US$91.5 billion valuation. Stripe’s valuation had fallen to US$50 billion in March 2023. Anthropic is finalizing a US$3.5 billion fundraising round that values the company at US$61.5 billion. Nvidia projected 65% revenue growth in its April quarter on strong chip orders. Apollo Global is in talks to lead a US$35 billion debt financing by Meta to build data centers in the U.S. Meta is also planning to launch a standalone AI app. Microsoft said its plan to spend US$80 billion on data centers “remains on track”. Alibaba will spend US$53 billion on cloud and AI over next three years. Apple plans US$500 billion in US investment, 20,000 research jobs in next four years. Figure will reportedly start ‘alpha testing’ its humanoid robot in the home in 2025, earlier than expected. In Canada, Cohere’s annualized revenue hit US$70 million, up more than 3x since last March. In news, pertaining to Sophic clients, Boardwalk announced a Non-Brokered Life Offering, for up to $1.5 million. The Company also recently reported Third Quarter Fiscal 2025 financial results. The Company’s pipeline continues to scale with several engagements in the latter stages; and cost savings initiatives are tracking ahead of guidance. Kraken received $34 million of SeaPower battery orders. Plurilock launched new offerings to strengthen cyber resilience. American Aires teamed up with former UFC fighter Tim Kennedy’s Apogee Schools to create first US-based EMF-friendly schools.

Last week, after the S&P 500 hit record highs on Wednesday, major indices suffered reversals and ended the week down. Dow Jones was down 2.5%, S&P 500 fell 1.7%, Nasdaq composite lost 2.5% owing to growing concerns about U.S. consumer softness. The billion-dollar startup bubble is deflating, and more than US$1 trillion in value is locked up in companies with dwindling prospects, according to industry sources. X is in talks with investors to raise fresh equity capital at the US$44 billion valuation at which Musk bought the social media firm, then known as Twitter, in 2022. Austin-based defense startup Saronic has raised a US$600 million Series C to build an autonomous ship factory called “Port Alpha,” quadrupling its valuation to US$4 billion from its last round. Palantir’s surging stock fell 10% after reports of Pentagon budget cuts. OpenAI has topped 400 million users, despite DeepSeek’s recent emergence. Microsoft on Wednesday announced a new quantum computing chip called “Majorana 1” that it said is more reliable than previous quantum computers. The chip reflects a scientific breakthrough in the quantum computing field and could be used to train and run large AI models in “years, not decades,” the company said. In Canada, Shopify expanded its Affirm partnership to bring BNPL offerings to Canadian merchants. Ottawa-based Hyperlume raised US$12.5 million in seed funding to commercialize its data-centre interconnection technology. Sophic Clients had an eventful week. Intermap closed its $12 million financing. Legend Power reported Q1 F2025 financial results, an improved balance sheet, and new sales partnerships. Kraken took the top spot on the 2025 TSX Venture 50 list. Plurilock secured multiple high-profile government sales in The U.S. and Canada, and also signed a US$800,000 contract with a leading US hospital. Minnesota Timberwolves, and Aires Tech launch pioneering “EMF-Friendly Venue” tech.

Last week, though volatile, ended on a positive note. Dow Jones closed the week up 0.55%, S&P 500 gained 1.5%, and Nasdaq composite rose 2.6% — all three major indices are approaching all time highs. The Market has been range-bound since mid-December, a break above could signal a move to further upside from a technical point of view. Turo on Thursday withdrew its plans for an IPO. Elon Musk’s AI company, xAI, is said to be in talks to raise US$10 billion in a round that would value xAI at US$75 billion. Trump officials asked TSMC to weigh taking a stake in Intel’s chip factories. French President Emmanuel Macron said in an interview with France 2 TV Sunday that he expects companies and funds to invest US$100 billion in artificial intelligence projects in the county. Super Micro’s stock surged after outlining ambitious 2026 targets, assuring investors it will avoid delisting. Robinhood’s crypto business powered a revenue surge. Coinbase also reported strong revenue and profit growth. Airbnb’s stock rose 14% in after-hours trading after the company said Q4 rose 12%, exceeding its guidance. Alibaba’s stock closed 8.5% higher in Hong Kong Wednesday, following reports of the e-commerce giant’s partnership with Apple, which also continues to work with Baidu to power AI on iPhones in China. Apple and Meta, are both reportedly exploring humanoid robots. In Canada, Shopify indicated that its free cash flow margin could shrink to the mid-teens in Q1, down from 22% in Q4. Sophic Client American Aires launched the Aires Certified Spaces (ACS) standard for creating authorized EMF-friendly physical spaces, as part of strategic efforts to expand brand awareness and grow sales by leveraging more mass market exposure. Vancouver-based quantum startup Photonic published a paper detailing a new quantum error correction method. Major media companies sued Cohere for alleged copyright infringement.

Last week, Dow Jones fell 0.5%, S&P 500 lost 0.2%, and Nasdaq composite was down 0.5%. Tariff headlines, mixed earnings and economic data made for a choppy week. Cybersecurity company SailPoint is hoping to go public, in a US$11.5 billion IPO. Crypto exchange, Gemini, is also weighing an IPO. Anduril is in talks to invest about US$2.5 billion at a US$28 billion pre money valuation — more than 2x its last financing announced in August. President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Monday to create a sovereign wealth fund for the U.S., telling reporters later that it could buy part of TikTok. Palantir stock rose 23% after-hours after reporting a strong Q4 and providing strong guidance. Amazon reported 10% sales growth, shares were roughly flat in after hours trading on Thursday. Google’s revenue growth slowed slightly, and shares fell 7% as investors still await the company’s AI boost. Shares of AMD dropped nearly 9% in after-hours trading as investors reacted to the company’s tepid sales forecast. Roblox shares plunged 11.1% after the gaming platform fell short of Wall Street’s bookings and daily active user estimates. Bill Ackman said his hedge fund owns 30.3 million shares of Uber as it started building a position in January. In Canada, Converge Technology Solutions will be acquired for $5.50/sh in cash, representing ~56% and 57% premiums to the closing price and 30-day VWAP on the last trading day prior to the announcement of the transaction. Lightspeed will remain public company after a strategic review. Sophic Client, Intermap announced a $5 million Bought Deal offering. Sophic Client, Cybeats closed the final tranche of its Non-Brokered Offering, raising over $2 million in total proceeds. Sophic Clients Boardwalktech, and Plurilock announced progress with their businesses. Canada’s StackAdapt raised $235 million for its AI-based programmatic platform, in one of the largest Canadian start up funding rounds.