Startups

Anthropic And OpenAI Are So Desperate For Compute They Let Broadcom Finance Their Own Chips For Them

radhikanadig@benzinga.com — Thu, 04 Jun 2026 08:05:55 +0000

Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO) CEO Hock Tan said Wednesday the company is helping finance custom artificial intelligence chips for large language model developers, highlighting the enormous infrastructure costs facing AI companies such as Anthropic and OpenAI as they race to scale their models.

In the company’s second-quarter earnings call on Wednesday, Tan said Broadcom was partnering with Apollo Global Management (NYSE:APO) and Blackstone (NYSE:BX) to create an AI XPU platform that will fund custom AI chips for LLM developers, helping them secure the massive computing capacity needed to train and deploy increasingly advanced AI models.

Apollo, Blackstone To Help With Financing

The initiative is expected to deploy more than 20 gigawatts of compute capacity by 2028, with Apollo launching the platform’s first $35 billion tranche.

Tan said the effort is aimed at addressing rapidly growing demand from AI customers, which are consuming increasingly large volumes of tokens as model usage scales.

“….creating in partnership with guys, with the best balance sheets around, a vehicle to basically have these chips funded for these ...

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Wall Street's Biggest Bank To Reportedly Make Rare Retail Push For SpaceX's Historic $75 Billion IPO

Eva Mathew — Thu, 04 Jun 2026 08:02:38 +0000

JPMorgan Chase (NYSE:JPM) CEO Jamie Dimon will reportedly pitch SpaceX‘s upcoming initial public offering to thousands of the bank’s wealthy clients at a special event in New York on Thursday.

Dimon will be joined by JPMorgan executives Mary Erdoes and Marianne Lake, while SpaceX Chief Operating Officer Gwynne Shotwell and Chief Financial Officer Bret Johnsen are also expected to attend, Bloomberg reported, citing reviewed invitations. More than 2,500 clients are expected to participate, either in person or via broadcasts across roughly 90 locations in 26 states, according to the report.

JPMorgan did not immediately respond to Benzinga‘s request for comment.

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Microsoft's AI Chief Says Company Is 'Less Concerned' About Google, Meta And OpenAI As Anthropic Battle Heats Up— 'We've Closed An Enormous Gap...'

Namrata Sen — Wed, 03 Jun 2026 12:29:26 +0000

Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) has unveiled a series of new AI models in a bid to compete with Anthropic.

Mustafa Suleyman, Microsoft’s AI chief, told The Financial Times that the company’s superintelligence team is focusing more on enterprise use cases, developers, and coding, akin to Anthropic’s approach, and is ” "less concerned" about the consumer-centric strategies of Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) (NASDAQ:GOOGL), Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META), and OpenAI.

At Microsoft’s Build conference on Tuesday, Suleyman unveiled seven new AI models, including a reasoning-focused system that Microsoft says delivers coding performance comparable to Anthropic’s Opus 4.6.

However, the executive acknowledged that Anthropic remains ahead despite Microsoft’s rapid progress over the past six months. He noted that the AI startup has already released two more advanced models since Opus 4.6, giving it a lead of several months in the race.

"We've closed an enormous gap in six months,” Suleyman said.

Microsoft’s AI lab also presented an “ultra-efficient” coding model fine-tuned for the group’s GitHub developer platform. Suleyman is confident that the amalgamation of a coding and reasoning model will aid Microsoft in creating autonomous bots capable of performing tasks for users, thereby providing a substantial ...

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As OpenAI, SpaceX And Anthropic Eye Blockbuster IPOs, Goldman CEO Says 'Greed Mode' Is Back And Liquidity Won't Be A Problem

Namrata Sen — Wed, 03 Jun 2026 10:06:39 +0000

Goldman Sachs‘ (NYSE:GS) CEO, David Solomon, has stated that investors are now in “greed mode”, as markets prepare for a significant fundraising wave from large artificial intelligence firms.

On Tuesday, Solomon told CNBC that there is sufficient capital for the upcoming initial public offerings (IPOs) of OpenAI, Anthropic, and SpaceX. “There’s plenty of liquidity in the system if the world continues to remain as optimistic,” Solomon said. “We are definitely in a moment where there’s more greed than there is fear.”

The remarks come as investors prepare for a surge in high-profile equity offerings, marking one of the busiest issuance periods in years. Solomon, whose bank, Goldman Sachs, is involved in several of these deals, brushed aside concerns about the market’s capacity to absorb the influx of supply.

He cited Alphabet‘s (NASDAQ:GOOGL) (NASDAQ:GOOG) strong stock performance after announcing an $80 billion equity raise as a sign that investor appetite for AI remains robust. “The stock is trading very well,” Solomon said. “This is the first actual concrete data point for bringing something of this ...

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OpenAI's Sam Altman Is Reportedly Backing A Little-Known Startup That Wants To Bring AI Into The Physical World

Namrata Sen — Tue, 02 Jun 2026 12:30:47 +0000

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman is reportedly backing an AI startup named Alfred.

The startup, led by former employees of Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA) and Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META), is also receiving financial backing from Khosla Ventures, SV Angel, and Chapter One, among others, reported Business Insider on Monday.

Alfred is aiming to raise funds at a $40 million valuation. The startup, co-founded by Ankit Ukil, a former Tesla designer, and Dömötör Gulyas, an ex-engineer at Meta Reality Labs, is focusing on the development of physical AI. This innovative field aims to integrate AI into machines that navigate the real world, such as robots.

The sector of physical AI has been attracting investors, with startups in the field raising approximately $5.3 billion in venture capital funding in April alone. Alfred’s team includes designers and engineers from Tesla, Ford Motors (NYSE:F), and Honda Motors. The startup, ...

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Bernie Sanders Wants Americans To Own 50% Of OpenAI, xAI And Anthropic In Sweeping New Bill— Here's What That Means

Namrata Sen — Tue, 02 Jun 2026 11:14:11 +0000

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt) has proposed a bill aimed at granting the American public ownership in the nation’s leading artificial intelligence (AI) companies.

Sanders, on Monday, has put forth the American AI Sovereign Wealth Fund Act proposal. This proposed legislation would establish a federal fund, not filled with cash, but with stock, procured through a one-time equity transfer of 50% from AI companies such as OpenAI, Anthropic, and xAI to the government.

The fund would hold voting shares and have equal board representation in each company, thereby having the power to veto decisions considered detrimental to the public.

He contends that AI, trained on the collective knowledge and labor of Americans, often without consent or compensation, should share its financial rewards with the public instead of concentrating wealth among AI leaders such as Elon Musk, Sam Altman, Dario Amodei, and others.

The fund’s revenue would be directly distributed to Americans as cash payments. As ...

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Deal Dispatch: Fertitta Entertainment Buys Caesars For $17.6 Billion, Arsenal Capital Buys Velcro Brands, Teaneck Surgical Center Bankruptcy

Caroline Ryan — Fri, 29 May 2026 18:15:15 +0000

New On The Block

Largo Inc. (NASDAQ:LGO) plans to evaluate strategic alternatives for its 100%-owned tungsten assets. The evaluation process is expected to include joint ventures, asset-level financing, minority investments, sale or spin-out opportunities to unlock value for Largo shareholders while preserving the company’s focus on its core vanadium and ilmenite operations in Brazil.

Monro, Inc. (NASDAQ:MNRO), a provider of automotive repair and tire services, is in consultation with financial and legal advisors to review strategic alternatives, including asset sales, refinancing, or a sale of the entire company.

Fortune Brands Innovations, Inc. (NYSE:FBIN), a home, security, and digital products company, has initiated a formal strategic review of its Fiberon composite decking business. The process will "explore a range of strategic alternatives while Fiberon continues to execute against its near-term commercial priorities and support and service customers," the company said.

CollPlant Biotechnologies (NASDAQ:CLGN) is initiating discussions with “several leading strategic players to explore potential collaborations, primarily in the medical aesthetics field,” CEO Yehiel Tal said. “These discussions are focused on the potential joint development and commercialization of next-generation dermal filler product candidates incorporating CollPlant’s rhCollagen technology in combination with hyaluronic acid and additional components. We are actively advancing these discussions and, while no assurance can be provided, remain encouraged by the level of interest and the progress achieved to date.”

Updates From The Block

Fertitta Entertainment is buying Caesars Entertainment (NASDAQ:CZR) in an all-cash deal valued at about $17.6 billion, which includes roughly $11.9 billion of assumed debt. Caesars shareholders will receive $31 per share. Fertitta is financing the deal with a mix of equity, assumed debt, and new debt financing arranged by a group of 10 banks. Shareholders must still approve the transaction. The Carano family, which owns about 5% of Caesars, will roll part of their stake into the new company. Once completed, Caesars’ shares will be delisted from NASDAQ. The deal includes a "go-shop" period through July 11, allowing Caesars to seek and evaluate alternative offers.

DigitalBridge (NYSE:DBRG) has agreed to acquire energy and infrastructure private equity firm ArcLight Capital Partners for $1.05 billion, including $650 million upfront. The deal is also contingent on Softbank completing its acquisition of DigitalBridge. The combined valuation of ...

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SpaceX IPO Valuation Trimmed To $1.8 Trillion As Elon Musk Prepares For Blockbuster Debut: Report

Namrata Sen — Fri, 29 May 2026 07:32:26 +0000

SpaceX, founded by billionaire Elon Musk, has reportedly adjusted its IPO valuation target to at least $1.8 trillion, from a previously estimated $2 trillion valuation.

The firm is lowering its valuation based on consultations with advisors, investors and feedback from other stakeholders, as per a Bloomberg report on Friday.

Discussions are underway, and the firm could decide to increase its valuation target later, the report stated.

SpaceX is likely to begin formal marketing of the IPO on June 4, and the final IPO price is expected to be set on June 11. However, the timeline can be subject to delays, according to Bloomberg.

SpaceX did not immediately respond to Benzinga’s request for comments.

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Anthropic Hits $965 Billion Valuation In Latest Funding Round, Surpassing OpenAI

Caroline Ryan — Thu, 28 May 2026 20:48:39 +0000

Anthropic overtook OpenAI as the world's most valuable startup after raising $65 billion in Series H, valuing the company at $965 billion.

Altimeter Capital, Dragoneer, Greenoaks and Sequoia Capital led the funding round.

"This funding will help us serve the historic demand we are experiencing, stay at the research frontier, and bring Claude to more of the places where work happens,” said Krishna Rao, Chief Financial Officer of Anthropic.

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Capital Group, Coatue, D1 Capital Partners, GIC, ICONIQ, and XN co-led the effort.

Significant investors in this round include AMP PBC, Baillie Gifford, Blackstone, Brookfield, D.E. Shaw Ventures, DST Global, Fidelity Management & Research Company, General Catalyst, Insight Partners, Jane Street, Lightspeed Venture Partners, MGX, ...

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AI Coding Trade Showing Cracks? Claude Code, Codex Growth Suddenly Slows As Budgets May Be Running Dry, Researcher Says: 'It's Clear That Growth...'

radhikanadig@benzinga.com — Thu, 28 May 2026 13:00:02 +0000

Artificial intelligence coding tools such as Anthropic's Claude Code and OpenAI Codex showed signs of slowing after surging earlier this year, with independent AI researcher Rihard Jarc citing infrastructure limitations and softer enterprise spending.

“It’s clear that growth for coding tools such as Claude Code has decelerated from the pace it was since the start of the year. It might be compute- constrain related or due to many clients blowing their full-year AI budgets,” Jarc said in a post on X Wednesday.

It's clear that growth for coding tools such as Claude Code has decelerated from the pace it was since the start of the year.

It might be compute- constrain related or due to many clients blowing their full-year AI budgets.

Monitoring this trend very closely with all the alt… pic.twitter.com/cufZ3PUXqr

— Rihard Jarc (@RihardJarc) May 26, 2026

Claude Code, OpenAI Codex Growth Appears To Plateau

Daily installs of AI coding tools showed that ...

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Why Ramp And Rippling Suddenly Trade Like Pre-IPO Companies

Caroline Ryan — Wed, 27 May 2026 20:40:59 +0000

Secondary investors are beginning to treat shares of fintech Ramp and workforce management firm Rippling less like speculative startup bets and more like future IPO stocks.

Forge Global said Q1 2026 was a "defining quarter" for the late-stage VC-backed private market, as capital became increasingly concentrated in top-tier names despite volatility in public equities. Forge's fintech basket gained 0.68%, primarily driven by Ramp, which gained 2.14%, the report stated.

Secondary-market investors and research notes from platforms such as Forge often point to a cluster of "pre-IPO" trading signals, including tighter pricing spreads, repeat institutional participation, lower employee selling pressure, and more stable demand in secondary transactions.

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Investors aren't just betting on growth anymore — they're betting on which private companies could realistically become durable public-market winners. Ramp ...

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Elon Musk's SpaceX Just Landed A Massive $2 Billion Space Force Deal To Build America's Military Satellite Backbone

Namrata Sen — Wed, 27 May 2026 10:48:24 +0000

SpaceX has secured a $2.29 billion contract from the U.S. Space Force entailing the construction of a high-speed satellite communications network, the Space Data Network (SDN) Backbone.

The SDN Backbone is a resilient network architecture built to deliver high-capacity, low-latency data transport for the military, with the vendor expected to provide a fully operational prototype by the end of 2027.

The SDN will play a key role in enabling near real-time data transfer between missile warning and tracking sensors and interceptors, forming a critical part of the Trump administration's Golden Dome missile defense initiative.

“The SDN Backbone leverages the best of commercial innovation and delivers a strong foundation for the SDN mission set — a huge benefit and enabler for our warfighters,” said Space Force Colonel Ryan Frazier, the acting portfolio acquisition executive overseeing the program.

The SDN Backbone will integrate with the Space Development Agency's Transport Layer to support secure data transport for current and future Department of Defense ...

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Stord Scores $250 Million In Backing From Kleiner Perkins, Founders Fund, Strike Capital And Others

Caroline Ryan — Tue, 26 May 2026 18:41:34 +0000

Stord has closed a $250 million Series F at a $3 billion valuation and rolled out Stord Labs, a new robotics and AI initiative.

Investors participating in the round included Strike Capital, Kleiner Perkins, Founders Fund, Franklin Templeton, Baillie Gifford, G Squared, Bond, and Lux, among others. The company said in a press release that the financing serves as fuel for expanding what it calls a "physical intelligence layer" that ties together fulfillment operations, software, and data for independent merchants.

Stord's founder and CEO, Sean Henry, said the company aims to help brands match the delivery experience consumers associate with Amazon Prime.

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Elon Musk's SpaceX Pushed For Starlink Fee Hike During Iran War— And The Pentagon Caved As No Rival Matched Its Reach: Report

Namrata Sen — Tue, 26 May 2026 13:44:04 +0000

Elon Musk’s SpaceX had reportedly requested a price hike from the Pentagon for the use of its Starlink network during the Iran war, leading to tensions between the two.

Senior officials from SpaceX have claimed that the Pentagon has been undercompensating for their satellite Wi-Fi network connection, which plays a key role in guiding U.S. kamikaze drones, reported Reuters on Tuesday.

The military had been shelling out around $5,000 per terminal, while the service they were availing was valued closer to $25,000, as per Reuters’ sources and Pentagon documents.

The disagreement is centered on the use of Starlink on LUCAS suicide drones, a cost-effective U.S. model comparable to Iran’s Shahed. The Pentagon and SpaceX also differ on the pricing for a plan to provide direct-to-cell connections with Starlink, similar to 5G service, to assist Iranian citizens in circumventing government-imposed communication blackouts.

Despite the Pentagon’s objections, it eventually conceded to SpaceX’s proposed price increase, nearly doubling the cost of each LUCAS drone. The Pentagon is now exploring other competitors, ...

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SpaceX's Orbital Solar Push Has Elon Musk Thinking Bigger Than Ever— He Says The '10X' Trend Will Last For Years

Namrata Sen — Tue, 26 May 2026 10:06:52 +0000

SpaceX Founder, Elon Musk, anticipates a steady surge in space solar power, according to his recent post.

On Monday, Musk responded to a post by David Holz, founder of MidJourney, highlighting SpaceX’s escalating solar power capacity in space. Holz noted the company’s progression from 10 megawatts across 3000 gen1 Starlink satellites to 100 megawatts with 7000 gen2 satellites. He also mentioned the upcoming generation, gen3, which is expected to generate 1000 megawatts.

“SpaceX is basically 10xing space solar every few years!” Holz wrote.

Musk concurred with this observation, stating, “This trend will continue for many years.”

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