Alternative Investing Report - June 1, 2026

*as of 5/31, Sources: S&P, BTC, FTSE, DJRE, GOLD

Q1 was a record-setting quarter for defense tech, with $19.8 billion raised across 262 deals. This blistering pace of fundraising put the sector on pace to break funding records set last year, led by Saronic’s $1.8 billion raise. The momentum has continued throughout Q2, with Anduril’s $5 billion raise earlier this month and True Anomaly’s $600 million round in April. And late last week, reports that the U.S. government is considering taking stakes in drone companies sent publicly traded shares surging and undoubtedly juiced the valuation of private companies as well.

➨ TAKEAWAY: Defense tech had already become one of the hottest sectors in VC in the past couple of years, but the war in Iran and continuing conflict in Ukraine has only attracted more investor dollars, particularly in the fast-growing drone vertical. The conflicts have also clarified what the future of defense may look like, and there are clear winners and losers emerging. There is some concern that the sector is overheating, with some drone companies becoming meme stocks of sorts, but the tailwinds are still strong.

In the newest episode of Smart Humans, guest host Eric Cantor talks with Slava Rubin about his outlook for the market, investment strategies, and picks for the next three years.

🤖 Anthropic finalizes fundraise: The AI startup has now surpassed its rival OpenAI in value, as it raised a massive $65 billion round at a $965 billion post-money valuation. Anthropic has seen a meteoric rise, as its valuation sat at $61 billion just fifteen months ago and $380 billion in February. The company’s revenue has grown 5x to $47 billion of annual recurring revenue (ARR), and it is reportedly close to operating at a profit.

🪙 Bitcoin price slump: The cryptocurrency has seen its value drop by around 10% in the past two weeks, and investors are backing away, with net ETF outflows nearing record-highs.

🏢 Rents growing slowly: The average U.S. apartment rent rose by 0.2% in May, and is up 0.7% year-over-year, a slower pace than last May. The Midwest remains the strongest region for annual rent growth, though San Francisco and San Jose are the top two markets nationwide.

🏡 AI boosting SF: Speaking of San Francisco, the recent AI boom is spilling over into its real estate market, sending housing prices even higher. The median house price in the city is now above $2 million, and the Bay Area has seen the highest annual appreciation of any region in the country.

💵 More private credit withdrawals: It seems that as quickly as wealthy individual investors were pouring capital into private credit funds, they are now retreating, with Apollo’s president recently noting the trend.

🎨 Lucian Freud painting to be sold: Later this month at a blockbuster sale of modern art in London, the British painter’s “Sleeping by the Lion Carpet” will be auctioned for the first time with a high estimate of $47 million.

Tuesday: The NHL’s Stanley Cup Finals between the Las Vegas Golden Knights and Carolina Hurricanes begins.

Wednesday: The NBA Finals start; ADP’s private employment report will be released.

Friday: The U.S. jobs report will be released.

Saturday: The French Open women’s singles final; The Belmont Stakes will be held; Goldin’s May Elite Sports Auction featuring a number of six-figure sports cards; the 82nd anniversary of D-Day.

Sunday: The French Open men’s singles final; F1’s Monaco Grand Prix will be held.