Alternative Investing Report - October 15, 2025

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*as of 10/14; Sources: S&P, BTC, FTSE, DJRE, CL50

It’s been clear for awhile that the AI boom is propping up the VC world, as the sector accounted for nearly 40% of all deals in Q3 and has captured the bulk of the capital raised this year. It now seems that it’s not just VC that is relying on AI — it may be driving the growth of the stock market as well as the entire U.S. economy. A Harvard economist estimated the 92% of all GDP growth this year came from AI, and without AI, growth would have been a paltry 0.1%. This has led to a chorus of people such as Jeff Bezos, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, JPMorgan’s Jamie Dimon, and the IMF, Bank of England and Bank of America all warning that AI is in a bubble.

➨ TAKEAWAY: With how dependent the U.S. economy has been on AI so far this year, the fears that the AI bubble could burst and send the economy into a tailspin are valid. There are some parallels to the dot-com boom and bust of the late 90s/early 2000s, but the scenarios are different in some ways as well. A lot of the investment into AI is coming from massive tech companies that can afford to burn some of their profits on speculation. And if there is a market correction, just remember, while there was a dot-com bust, the Internet hardly disappeared, and it’s not likely AI is going away anytime soon.

📊 Small businesses less optimistic: The NFIB Small-Business Optimism Index dropped by 2 points in September, falling to 98.8, with the Uncertainty Index jumping to its 4th highest reading of all-time.

🪙 Crypto fundraising record: Crypto startups raised $3.5 billion last week, even in the midst of the market chaos, setting a new weekly record. Of the 28 rounds raised, 12 were for blockchain services companies, and 6 went to centralized finance projects.

🚀 Wayve’s potential megaround: The self-driving startup and Waymo competitor is in talks to raise $2 billion at a $8 billion valuation from Microsoft and Softbank, a month after securing a $500 million investment from Nvidia.

💵 Goldman Sachs buys VC firm: The Wall Street powerhouse is expanded its alternative asset footprint by acquiring Industry Ventures, a VC firm with $7 billion in AUM. Goldman is paying $665 million up front, with $300 million more in potential performance bonuses through 2030.

🎨 Abu Dhabi Frieze: The prestigious art fair brand Frieze announced that it is launching a new fair next November in Abu Dhabi, highlighting the growing importance of the Middle East in the art market.

🎾 Carlos Alcaraz racket: A signed tennis racket used in the World #1’s 2023 Wimbledon-winning match could break the all-time record for a tennis racket when it closes for bidding this Sunday.

While the rest of the crypto market had a rough week that included last Friday’s “flash crash” that saw prices fall dramatically, Bittensor bucked the trend and rose more than 40%. Bittensor is a decentralized platform for advancing artificial intelligence by rewarding developers training models with TAO tokens. One catalyst for the price jump was Grayscale filing Form 10 with the SEC for its Bittensor Trust, a step towards making it a reporting company, something that Grayscale has already done for its Bitcoin and Ethereum trusts. Additionally, the TAO treasury company TAOX raised an additional $11 million to increase its holdings, boosting buying demand. It is a strong sign for the token that it not only weathered the recent crypto crash, but surged in spite of it.