*as of 8/17; Sources: S&P, BTC, FTSE, DJRE, GOLD

After spotlighting AI infrastructure startups yesterday, it’s time to take a look at another red-hot sector, drone defense tech companies. A number of companies worldwide have recently raised new funding rounds at huge increases in valuation, led by Portuguese startup Tekever, which is reportedly raising €500 million ($578 million) at a €5.5 billion ($6.36 billion) valuation — a 5x rise in value since its Series B round in May 2025. Ukranian drone specialist Uforce is reportedly in talks to raise new capital at a valuation surpassing $4 billion, which would quadruple its value. We previously covered Neros’ $250 million funding round that tripled its valuation to $2.5 billion in less than a year. Finally, anti-drone technology startup Cambridge Aerospace closed a $300 million round at valuation of $3.4 billion, more than triple its $1 billion valuation from March.

➨ TAKEAWAY: Shares of private drone and anti-drone companies are in high demand, as part of the surge of interest in the greater defense tech ecosystem. Pre-IPO investors looking for exposure to this potentially high-growth sector should diversify as much as possible, as picking winners is difficult. Getting shares of multiple companies will lower the overall risk and increase the chances of picking one that sees exponential growth.

🏡 Homebuilder confidence edges up: The National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index gained 1 point to move to 35, on a scale where 50 represents average sentiment. High mortgage rates and lower buying demand has kept the index below 50 for the sixteenth straight month.

🚀 Databricks megaround: The AI software company closed a $5 billion funding round at a $190 billion valuation, up nearly 50% from its last funding round six months ago. The company said that its revenue has hit an annualized rate of $7 billion, a 80% gain year-over-year.

💵 BCRED seeing red: Blackstone’s flagship private credit fund has reportedly recorded $1.85 billion in unrealized losses in the first half of the year, more than triple its total loss for all of 2025. It has also seen a significant increase in redemption requests and a decline in its net asset value.

🏢 Net-lease properties in demand: Investment into net-lease properties - those where tenants pay a portion or all of the building expenses - grew 13% year-over-year, with industrial properties seeing a 28% gain and office properties suffering a 21% loss in volume.

🪙 Gemini struggles: The crypto exchange reported a $107.7 million net loss and a 38% decline in core exchange revenue in Q2, leading its shares to drop by more than 7% to near all-time lows. This decline is a concerning development for private crypto companies, particularly exchanges such as Kraken.

🤖 Higgsfield fundraise: The AI video startup raised $400 million at a $5.4 billion valuation, more than quadruple its $1.3 billion valuation from January, as its revenue has grown 35x in the past year.

If one private island isn’t enough, then this is the listing for you. It’s for four private islands in Michigan located in the waters just north of Lake Huron near the United States/Canada border. For just $2.3 million you could be the owner of Burnt, Wilson, Claw, and Harris Islands, which total 520 acres, 80% of which are protected lands. The 2,130 square foot house on Burnt Island was remodeled in 2018 and has 3 beds, 2 baths with 270-degree water views and two docks. The listing comes with a truck, tractor, two boats and a slip in De Tour Village, a 9-mile journey away.