Alternative Investing Report - December 18, 2025

*as of 12/17 Sources: S&P, BTC, FTSE, DJRE, CL50

The medical supply company Medline (Nasdaq: MDLN) went public yesterday in the biggest IPO of the year and the largest U.S. IPO since 2021, raising $6.3 billion at a valuation of $37 billion. By the day’s end, the share price rose 41% to $41 per share, giving the company a market cap of $54 billion. All told, the offering is one of the largest private equity-backed IPOs of all-time.

➨ TAKEAWAY: In 2021, private equity firms Blackstone, Carlyle, and Hellman & Friedman acquired a majority stake in Medline at a $30 billion valuation, so this result is a big win for them. It is also a strong sign for the IPO market, which is poised for a big 2026 with companies such as SpaceX, OpenAI, Anthropic, and Databricks rumored to be going public.

Vincent's Slava Rubin and Sacra's Jan-Erik Asplund discussed Ramp, OpenEvidence, Apptronik, Whop, and Shield AI, five of the hottest pre-IPO companies in the asset class - and how investors can get access to them.

Presented by the Fundrise Innovation Fund.

🤖 OpenAI and Amazon: The top AI startup is reportedly in talks with Amazon about a potential $10 billion investment that could include an agreement to use the tech giant’s chips. Amazon is already a major investor into Anthropic, and could be an option for investors looking to get AI exposure in the public markets.

🏡 Most affordable cities: Two St. Louis suburbs top the list of the most affordable cities in the country based on median sale price versus median income, followed by Detroit and two Louisiana cities.

🏢 Multifamily vacancy rate: The U.S. multifamily vacancy rate rose from 6.6% to 7.0% in Q2, with the rate highest in the South at 9.0% and lowest in the Northeast at 5.2%.

🪙 Crypto shift: The recent market crash has caused many crypto investors to become more cautious, eschewing riskier plays such as digital asset treasuries or crypto mining stocks for emerging risk management strategies.

👜 Birkin prices falling: The average resale premium for Hermès Birkin and Kelly handbags has dropped from 2.2x in 2022 to 1.4x this year, but the brand still generates the most demand in the luxury sector.

🎨 George Washington portrait: One of the original portraits of the first President used for the $1 dollar bill will be auctioned at Christie’s next month, with a high estimate of $1 million.

One of the features of Gen AI is that it reduces the costs and barrier to entry in a number of industries, but particularly in creative fields like graphic design and video creation, which can be effective tools in today’s social media-dominated world. One downside is that it has put a number of creative jobs in jeopardy, but another, less-discussed downside is how easy it is for bad actors to spread propaganda. Extremist terrorist and militant groups are now experimenting with AI to create realistic photos and deepfake videos to manipulate the discourse and recruit new members. This is going to lead to calls for stronger regulations, as well as the risk of AI becoming associated with hate groups and propaganda, both of which could harm the nascent industry.