Alternative Investing Report - May 20, 2026

*as of 5/19; Sources: S&P, BTC, FTSE, DJRE, GOLD

Google announced a number of AI developments at its I/O conference, introducing a new Gemini model, a new AI agent called Gemini Spark, and Omni, a world model that will be able to generate and edit video. As a result, the search giant is making the biggest change to its search bar in its history, marking the beginning of a new AI-powered era in browsing the web. Google also announced a new $5 billion partnership with asset manager Blackstone to build AI infrastructure powered by Google’s own AI chips, creating a direct competitor to Nvidia.

➨ TAKEAWAY: While a lot of attention in the AI space has gone to private companies like OpenAI, Anthropic and xAI, major tech incumbents like Google could also be big winners. Google has flown under the radar a bit, even as its Gemini model continues to perform well compared to ChatGPT and Claude, but anyone looking for AI exposure should consider investing.

🏡 Pending home sales are up: April saw a 1.4% monthly increase in pending home sales in the U.S., and a 3.2% increase year-over-year. The uptick comes despite lingering economic uncertainty and a rise in mortgage rates, which bodes well if and when mortgage rates start to come down. The markets with the highest yearly increases in pending sales were Boston, Miami, and Oklahoma City.

🚀 Quantum funding slowing: Quantum computing startups have raised $1.2 billion so far this year, well below the pace of last year’s record-setting $4.1 billion. The potential IPO for leading private company Quantinuum could help juice interest in the sector, which still has the potential to be “the next AI.”

🎨 Strong day sales: Last week’s modern art day sales at Sotheby’s had strong sell-through rates and beat expectations, with several new artist records. While generally overshadowed by the flashier and pricier evening sales, day sales are also a good barometer of the art market’s health, especially at relatively lower price points.

🪙 ETF outflows: Bitcoin ETF products had net outflows of nearly $1 billion last week, while Ethereum ETFs had net outflows of $249 million. On the other hand, both Solana and XRP products saw net inflows, with $55 million and $67 million, respectively.

🏢 Office construction stalling: U.S. office construction activity has hit a 14-year low, which should lead to a better leasing environment in a world with lowered demand due to hybrid work. Q1 saw positive net absorption and leasing volume rise by 7.5% year-over-year.

💵 Groundfloor adds private credit: The investing platform best known for its real estate debt offerings is now offering investors access to private credit products, including a consumer credit option offering a 10% annual return with quarterly distributions.

In a down week for crypto, the biggest gainer in the top-100 tokens by market cap was Hyperliquid, the native token of the decentralized exchange of the same name. HYPE has now more than doubled in price since dropping to $21 in January, though it is still below its all-time high set in last September. Hyperliquid has reached the top-10 in market cap despite being only 18 months old, as it has attracted a lot of trading volume on its perpetual futures contracts, such as those on oil prices. This week, the company Trade.XYZ launched a Pre-IPO perpetual market on the platform to allow investors to bet on SpaceX’s valuation, and is planning to launch more markets for other top Pre-IPO companies. The more trading volume these markets attract, the better the HYPE token will perform. There is a battle brewing, however, between Hyperliquid and the companies behind traditional markets, as CME and NYSE parent ICE are lobbying U.S. officials to restrict Hyperliquid’s 24/7 markets.