Happy Monday. The spacetech sector has lifted off, DeepSeek is raising another megaround, senior housing is in high demand, and a multi-million dollar Cooper Flagg card is coming to auction. Let’s dive in!
🎫 Attend: Today at 11 AM, our next investor briefing focusing on nuclear and alternative energy startups such as Commonwealth, TerraPower, and Helion.
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📈 WEEKLY MARKETS
🚀 SPACE SECTOR
Space tech startups are experiencing an unprecedented surge in VC funding, with Crunchbase reporting $20.3 billion in capital deployed to the sector so far in 2026, already surpassing last year’s record-high. Pitchbook reported a similar trajectory, with $11.5 billion in VC funding in H1, again more than it recorded in all of 2025. The differences come with how each source categorizes certain startups, but both point to significant growth. Additionally, even setting aside SpaceX’s record-setting IPO, the aerospace and defense sector is seeing more exits and liquidity, with PE-backed exits hitting $26.8 billion so far compared to $17.7 billion last year.
➨ TAKEAWAY: While SpaceX’s stock is still hovering around its IPO price, it is worth remembering that its market cap is still nearly $2 trillion and made institutional investors a lot of money. It makes sense that investors of all stripes are interested in investing in space-related companies, particularly when current exit activity shows that there is a path to liquidity. For those who want to learn more, we covered space tech investment opportunities in our latest investor briefing earlier in the month.
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📺 UPCOMING EVENT
Join Vincent’s Slava Rubin and Sacra’s Jan-Erik Asplund for a discussion on why nuclear and alternative energy have become compelling sectors in Pre-IPO investing. Featuring Commonwealth Fusion Systems, TerraPower, X-energy, Helion Energy, and more, they’ll explore the technologies, market forces, and capital driving the next generation of energy companies, and why investors are paying close attention.
Today at 11 AM ET
📰 NOTABLE NEWS
🤖 DeepSeek fundraise: The Chinese AI startup is raising $7.4 billion at a $74 billion valuation, just months after its last fundraise and less than six months after it was valued at $10 billion. This latest funding round comes as the company is reportedly planning to go public on Shanghai’s stock exchange.
🏢 Senior housing surging: The senior housing sector drew more than $12 billion of investor capital in Q1, the most in at least twenty years, and per-unit pricing is up 30% since the start of 2025. As the population ages, institutional buyers are targeting senior housing, with 86% of those surveyed planning to increase their allocation to the sector.
🏀 Cooper Flagg card: The 1 of 1 Rookie Debut Patch Autograph of the NBA’s reigning Rookie of the Year is going to be auctioned at Fanatics Collect next month, and could approach the all-time record of $5.1 million for a modern basketball card.
🏡 Active inventory still growing: The number of listings on the U.S. housing market is up 4% year-over-year and hit the highest level since December 2019. The median listing price is now down 2.1% in the same time period, and prices have been declining on an annual basis for nearly eight straight months.
🪙 Polish crypto scandal: The President of the Polish Olympic Committee was one of those detained as part of an investigation into the cryptocurrency exchange Zondacrypto, which collapsed in April, and whose founder went missing in 2022.
🎨 Foujita market heating up: Sotheby’s Hong Kong is holding its first ever single-artist sale for the Japanese-French artist Léonard Tsuguharu Foujita, who was active in the early 20th century. Foujita works have been gaining popularity, particularly in Asia, over the past decade.
📆 LOOKING FORWARD
Today: Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent meets with G20 finance ministers and central bank governors in North Carolina.
Tuesday: Job Openings & Labor Turnover survey released.
Wednesday: ADP’s private employment report released.
Friday: U.S. jobs report for August will be released.
Next Monday: Labor Day holiday in the U.S., markets will be closed.
