Alternative Investing Report - February 9, 2026

*as of 2/8, Sources: S&P, BTC, FTSE, DJRE, GOLD

In the last two weeks, multiple big tech companies have announced massive spending plans to build out AI infrastructure this year, with Amazon committing $200 million, Alphabet $185 million, Meta $135 billion, and Microsoft $105 billion. This combined $650 billion of spending is roughly 60% higher than last year’s number, and has driven stock prices of “picks and shovels” companies like Nvidia and Broadcom even higher. The increased commitment is also a strong sign for investors into data centers and industrial real estate and related industries.

➨ TAKEAWAY: Equities investors have responded with skepticism to these plans, with big tech stocks dropping in the last week as part of a broader risk-off trend. Previous historical periods of massive capital expenditures have tended to lead to stock market bubbles, and there are a lot of concerns that AI is heading in the same direction.

In the newest episode of Smart Humans, Slava Rubin and Adam Katz discuss their predictions for 2026 in private markets, covering pre-IPO startups, art & collectibles, crypto, and real estate. They discuss the potential resurgence of IPOs, the rebound in the art market, the volatility expected in the crypto landscape, and why 2026 will be a good year for real estate investing. The conversation highlights key investment strategies and trends to watch in the coming year across the four asset classes.

🏡 Slowest housing market: A decade ago, Austin, TX, was regularly named the hottest housing market in the country, but now it ranks as the coldest. The Texas town has more than twice as many sellers as buyers, and homes that spend the longest time on the market before selling. Rounding out the top five are all markets in Texas and Florida - Fort Lauderdale, San Antonio, Miami, and West Palm Beach.

🔥 Geothermal energy: With the U.S. electrical grid load expected to increase by 25% over the next four years, in part due to AI’s vast energy demands, geothermal energy startups could become the next big VC play, following the recent trajectory of nuclear energy startups.

🎨 Rembrandt drawing sale: A small drawing of a lion by the Dutch artist sold for a staggering $17.9 million, breaking the record for any Rembrandt drawing, and becoming one of the most expensive drawings ever sold at auction.

🚀 Late-stage rounds keep growing: Only 15% of funding rounds of Series C and beyond in 2025 were for $30 million or less, down from 57% of rounds that size a decade ago. VC firms are concentrating their capital on bigger startups they see as surer things, rather than spreading their bets around to more companies.

🪙 $40 billion accident: The South Korean crypto exchange Bithumb accidentally sent 620,000 bitcoin ($40 billion) to users instead of 620,000 South Korean won ($424), but recovered 99.7% of the distributed coins, which means it might have been a $120 million mistake.

💵 Private credit and flippers: As housing prices have fallen in previously hot markets around the country, foreclosure rates on private loans taken out by house flippers have skyrocketed, hurting both private lenders and local housing markets.

This week: Bitcoin Investor Week in New York City, which should be interesting given crypto’s downslide last week.

Tuesday: NFIB small business optimism index; U.S. retail sales report released.

Wednesday: U.S. jobs report released after a slight delay.

Thursday: Existing home sales report released.

Friday: Consumer price index (CPI) and core CPI inflation reports released.

Saturday: Valentine’s Day.

Sunday: Goldin’s 2026 Pokémon Auction, featuring the most expensive Pokémon card ever, which has already hit $6.3 million.