Alternative Investing Report - July 7, 2025

*as of 7/6; Sources: S&P, BTC, FTSE, DJRE, GOLD

The biggest news of the last week in alternative investing was the launch of tokenized shares of private companies, with Robinhood offering its non-U.S. members access to SpaceX and OpenAI and the investing platform Republic offering “mirror” tokens for four startups - SpaceX, OpenAI, Anthropic, and Epic Games. However, OpenAI’s CEO Sam Altman pushed back, saying that the Robinhood tokens are not equity in the company, and emphasized that there is no partnership. Meanwhile, Public co-CEO Leif Abraham posted about why his platform has not offered tokenized shares of private companies, highlighting the risks it poses to investors.

➨ TAKEAWAY: It can be difficult for any investor to get access to shares of top private companies, and particularly difficult for retail investors, as minimum investments are often six figures and above. Any mechanism that can open up this market to everyone is going to have high demand and also come with great scrutiny, especially as these are not actual shares of the company, but more like a derivative with unclear backing. Still, if these tokens do mimic actual shares, there is high upside for investors, and it could open up the pre-IPO market in a significant way.

In this episode of Smart Humans, Slava Rubin and Sacra founder Jan-Erik Asplund discuss the rise of Anduril, the defense technology startup that has disrupted traditional defense contracting with innovative products and a unique business model. They explore the evolution of Anduril's offerings and how the company has positioned itself as a potential sixth prime contractor in the defense sector. The discussion also covers Anduril's revenue growth, competition with established defense primes, and the opportunities and risks it faces in the global market, as well as its IPO prospects.

🤖 AI dominating VC: AI-related startups have captured 64% of all U.S. venture capital investment so far in 2025, and 53% of all capital invested globally. In Q2, more than one-third of all U.S. VC investment went to just five companies - Scale AI, World View, Anduril, Thinking Machines, and Safe Superintelligence.

⚾ Trading card record sales: An estimated $305 million was spent on trading cards online in June, an all-time record for a single month, with the second-most transactions ever recorded.

💵 PE report: U.S. private equity deal value and activity is on pace to increase in 2025, but fundraising activity has declined, with the number of new funds on pace for the lowest total in a decade.

🏡 Canadian demand drops: The number of Canadians searching for U.S. homes is down 26% year-over-year, a trend that could hurt the market in cities with large numbers of international buyers.

🪨 Martian meteorite: The largest known meteorite from Mars is coming to the auction block at Sotheby’s next week, with an estimated price tag of $2 million - $4 million.

🚀 Agrifoodtech funding plummets: Agrifoodtech startups raised $5.1 billion in 551 deals in the first half of 2025, compared to $8.1 billion over 1,187 deals in H1 2024. It represents a 37% decline and is the lowest H1 total since 2015.

Today: Paris fashion week begins.

Tuesday: NFIB small business optimism index released.

Wednesday: The 90-day deadline set by President Trump for other countries to negotiate trade agreements expires - Trump has said he will not extend the deadline.

Thursday: Sotheby’s Fashion Icons auction, including the original Hermès Birkin bag.

Friday: Heritage’s Summer Sports Catalog auction, which features a 1917 Babe Ruth card expected to go for more than $300,000.

Weekend: Wimbledon women’s final (Saturday) and men’s final (Sunday).