Alternative Investing Report - May 16, 2025

*as of 5/15; Sources: S&P, BTC, FTSE, DJRE, 30YM

Still smarting from the failure of its centerpiece $70 million Giacometti sculpture to sell earlier this week, Sotheby’s held its Now and Contemporary Evening auction last night. It achieved in $127.1 million in sales, above the $101 million pre-sale low estimate, with 38 of 41 lots selling, and 16 going above their high estimate. Notably, six of the nine Roy Lichtenstein artworks for sale exceeded pre-sale estimates. Meanwhile, Christie’s held its contemporary art auction on Wednesday, bringing in $96.5 million compared to the pre-sale low estimate of $77 million with 36 of the 42 lots selling.

➨ TAKEAWAY: The results were solid, if unspectacular, which could describe most of the auctions this week. The two auctions also continued a number of trends that have developed over the week, with the first being the relative success of female artists. While Marlene Dumas got the headlines for setting a record for a living female artist at the Christie’s auction, a number of other women set personal records, including Simone Leigh and Emma McIntyre. Danielle McKinney saw works at both auctions sell for way above high estimates. Additionally, lower-priced works tended to fare better compared to expectations than higher-priced works, as collectors have opted for relatively more affordable pieces.

In this episode of Smart Humans, Vincent founder Slava Rubin and Sacra co-founder Jan-Erik Asplund did a deep dive into Glean, the multi-billion dollar AI startup helping to companies get the most out of their enterprise data. They looked at Glean’s growth trajectory, the competitive landscape and a possible IPO timeline.

🏡 Pending sales drop: Pending U.S. home sales fell 3.4% in the past four weeks to the lowest level on record for this time of year excluding 2020 in the immediate aftermath of the pandemic. New listings are up 5.1% year-over-year and total inventory is up 14.3%, indicating that the lack of demand is more to blame for the market slowdown than the lack of supply.

🚀 Databricks buying Neon: The AI and data analytics startup Databricks is acquiring open source database company Neon for $1 billion, as it seeks to build out its technology capabilities before a potential IPO.

🪙 Crypto companies expanding to U.S.: The government’s pro-crypto stance has encouraged crypto firms to expand their U.S. presence, and the London-based algorithmic crypto trading company Wintermute is just the latest - following big hitters like Binance, Circle, and eToro.

💵 iCapital expands its reach: The private fintech company acquired Citi Wealth’s alternative investment fund platform, which includes more than 180 private market funds across a number of asset classes.

📊 PPI report: The Producer Price Index fell by 0.5% in April, and is up 2.4% on an annual basis, another sign that inflation is cooling. However, the impact of trade policy is likely to push those numbers up in coming months.

🤖 Harvey AI’s valuation growth: The legal startup is raising $250 million at a $5 billion valuation, a significant gain over its $3 billion valuation from February, as its revenue has increased 50% this year.

🚜 Farmland demand grows: As public markets remain volatile, investors are increasingly targeting farmland, a traditionally more stable asset class.

⚾ Derek Jeter home run ball: The Yankee legend’s game-winning home run ball from Game 4 of the 2001 World Series is being auctioned next month with a starting bid of $305,000.

Monday: 📊 Americans’ top investments
Tuesday: 🎨 Christie’s auctions, 🏡 Market downturn?
Wednesday: 📊 CPI Report, 🎨 Art auctions
Thursday: 🚀 Upcoming IPOs, 🏡 Rental market

Have a great weekend!