Alternative Investing Report - September 23, 2025

*as of 9/22; Sources: S&P, BTC, FTSE, DJRE, CL50

The chipmaker Nvidia, the most valuable company in the world, is set to invest up to $100 billion into OpenAI, whose recently rumored stock sale would make it the most valuable private company in the world. OpenAI will use the capital to expand its collection of data centers, which will power the deployment of Nvidia systems to train and run OpenAI’s models. The news caused Nvidia’s shares to rise by nearly 4% on the day.

➨ TAKEAWAY: The AI infrastructure boom is showing no signs of cooling off, and now the world’s most valuable public company and arguably the most valuable private company are teaming up to expand further. OpenAI will have to continue its exponential growth to justify its rising valuation and the sheer amount of capital it has raised and is deploying.

In this episode of Smart Humans, Slava Rubin talks with Mark Klein, founder and CEO of SuRo Capital, about the evolution of IPOs, the current market landscape, and the future of private markets.

There were half a million more sellers than buyers in the U.S. housing market in August, one of only two months since 2013, along with June 2025, to see such a wide discrepancy. The number of sellers is actually falling, but there are the fewest number of buyers since 2013, not counting the beginning of the pandemic. Texas and Florida continue to be the strongest buyer’s markets in the country, with Miami and Austin having the biggest imbalances between sellers and buyers.

➨ TAKEAWAY: With both sellers and buyers choosing to sit on the sidelines, the housing market continues to be in a holding pattern. There is some hope that falling mortgage rates could lead to an uptick in activity and entice more buyers to jump into the market. If that happens, and supply continues to drop, the housing market could quickly become more balanced.

🚀 Oura’s big fundraise: The maker of the wearable Oura ring is raising an $875 million round at a valuation of $10.9 billion, more than double its $5 billion valuation from last December. The healthtech startup has doubled its revenue in 2025 and projects to grow by another 50% in 2026.

🪙 Crypto liquidations: Nearly $2 billion in long positions in the crypto market were liquidated yesterday, as the total market hit a two-week low and Bitcoin and Ethereum continued to fall, though the price of both tokens stabilized by the end of the day.

🏀 Basketball cards overtake baseball cards: More than half of the top 50 most expensive sports card sales of the year have been basketball cards, double the number that were baseball cards. CardLadder’s Basketball Index is up 29% in 2025, while its Baseball Index is up 17%.

🏢 Multifamily absorption surges: With construction slowing but demand for apartments rising, there was a net absorption — a measure of how many units are occupied or vacated — of more than 116,000 units in Q2, one of the strongest quarters of the 21st century.

🎨 Frida artwork could set record: Frida Kahlo’s 1940 painting “El sueño (La cama)” could sell for up to $60 million and shatter the all-time record for an artwork by a female artist when it goes on the block at Sotheby’s in November.

🎬 Downtown Abbey auction: Memorabilia from the long-running show and film series generated $1.85 million in sales at Bonhams, nearly six times the pre-sale expectations.

The late legendary filmmaker David Lynch’s home and art studio has hit the market for a cool $15 million. The 2.3 acre property contains three mid-century modern residences totaling 10 bedrooms and 11 bathrooms, and contain an editing suite, workshop, and a private screening room. The house was featured in Lynch’s 1997 film “Lost Highway” and the association with the director is sure to drive interest in the property.