Good Morning! Elon Musk’s xAI raised a fresh $6 billion of funding, pushing its valuation to $24 billion. But Tesla shareholders are being asked to reject Musk’s $56 billion payday. Google’s AI is under fire for errors, such as saying that elephants have five feet and mistakenly identifying Obama as the first Muslim president. Wall Street is about to see its biggest trading change in years, and the SEC approved ether ETFs. Plus how private equity rolled Red Lobster, and how to build new habits in two minutes. 

Ready to save hours on your expense reports (automatically)? Request a demo of BILL and get a free YETI cooler.

_{SQUEEZ OF THE DAY}

Bark Air

Bark Air just dropped one of the most exclusive ways to get your dogs to come on vacation with you in style.

On commercial airlines, larger dogs generally have to ride in the cargo hold - which can be stressful and dangerous for pets, and unsettling for owners. But Bark Air has the solution. 

For $6,000 to $8,000 a ride (or $12,000 - $16,000 per round trip) you can ride a private charter jet with your dog (one human companion can accompany). All together, the chartered flights can accommodate 10 passengers and their dogs - making it perfect for celebrities or families moving across the country. 

And, in turn, each dog gets a spa day in-flight, including treats, grooming, and showers. And for dogs with anxiety, a flight attendant will provide pheromone-infused cushions to calm them down. So far, the company’s CEO says they’ve sold over 100 tickets and received over 15,000 route requests. 

Bark Air just made its inaugural flight from New York to Los Angeles last week. And while the price tag of $6,000 is steep - it’s significantly cheaper than what it would cost for an individual pet owner to charter a flight.

Takeaway: Pet owners willing to shell out almost $10k per ride might make you think we’re due for another rate hike. But it just goes to show that the pet industry is becoming big business. Bark Air is advertising as being all about the experience - and it seems like even after a week, demand is already pretty high. 

_{PRESENTED BY BILL}

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Demo BILL by the end of the month and get a YETI cooler on the house.

_HEADLINES

Top Reads

• Musk’s xAI raised $6 billion in fresh funding (Reuters)

• Tesla shareholders advised to reject Musk's $56 billion pay (YF)

• Google criticized as AI Overview makes obvious errors (CNBC)

• Wall Street is about to see its biggest trading change in years (CNN)

• SEC approves ether ETFs, signaling change for crypto in the U.S. (Axios)

• How private equity rolled Red Lobster (NBC)

• Private equity's tangled fundraising knot (Axios)

• Nvidia's stock split isn't something for investors to ignore (YF)

• Blackstone's Steve Schwarzman backs Trump (Axios)

• Citigroup asks 600 staffers to return to office full-time (YF)

• Citi isn’t the only one with a fat finger problem (WSJ)

• The rise and rise of LiveNation (Axios)

• Oil prices bounce back from three-month lows but book a loss for the week (CNBC)

_{CAPITAL PULSE}

Markets Rundown

Tech stocks led the markets higher to close a volatile week.

Movers & Shakers

• (+) Deckers ($DECK) +14% after the Uggs maker beat sales estimates.

• (+) Coinbase ($COIN) +9% after new rules about ether ETFs were passed.

• (–) Workday ($WDAY) -15% after the company cut subscription revenue guidance.

Private Dealmaking

• Genmab completed its $1.8 billion acquisition of ProfoundBio

• Royalty Pharma invested $575 million into Cytokinetics

• Syre, a textiles recycler, raised $100 million

• Summit Partners invested $72 million in OneStock

• Grey Wolf Therapeutics, an immune-focused biotech, raised $50 million

• Atropos Health, a clinical support startup, raised $33 million

For more PE, VC & M&A deals, subscribe to our Buysiders newsletter.

_{BOOK OF THE DAY}

Your Face Belongs To Us

New York Times tech reporter Kashmir Hill was skeptical when she got a tip about a mysterious app called Clearview AI that claimed it could, with 99 percent accuracy, identify anyone based on just one snapshot of their face.

The app could supposedly scan a face and, in just seconds, surface every detail of a person’s online life: their name, social media profiles, friends and family members, home address, and photos that they might not have even known existed.

If it was everything it claimed to be, it would be the ultimate surveillance tool, and it would open the door to everything from stalking to totalitarian state control. Could it be true?

In this riveting account, Hill tracks the improbable rise of Clearview AI, helmed by Hoan Ton-That, an Australian computer engineer, and Richard Schwartz, a former Rudy Giuliani advisor, and its astounding collection of billions of faces from the internet.

The company was boosted by a cast of controversial characters, including conservative provocateur Charles C. Johnson and billionaire Donald Trump backer Peter Thiel—who all seemed eager to release this society-altering technology on the public.

Google and Facebook decided that a tool to identify strangers was too radical to release, but Clearview forged ahead, sharing the app with private investors, pitching it to businesses, and offering it to thousands of law enforcement agencies around the world.

Facial recognition technology has been quietly growing more powerful for decades. This technology has already been used in wrongful arrests in the United States. Unregulated, it could expand the reach of policing, as it has in China and Russia, to a terrifying, dystopian level.

“This is the most fun you can have reading a real-life nightmare.”

_{DAILY VISUAL}

~40% of US Homes Don’t Have a Mortgage

_{PRESENTED BY RYSE}

Less than 3 weeks left to invest in this smart home startup

The ball-park isn’t the only place to look for home runs. Best Buy has a proven record of placing early bets on home-tech products that go on to dominate the market.

• Ring - acquired by Amazon for $1.2B

• Nest - acquired by Google for $3.2B

Early investors in these companies are sitting on some serious returns - but for the rest of us, there's still a chance to get in on the action with RYSE.

History tends to repeat itself, and RYSE's launch in +100 Best Buys points towards their company being the next home run.

Their Smart Shade tech is poised to dominate an industry growing at 50% annually, and there's still time to invest in their $1.50/share public offering.

The window to invest is closing - learn more here.

_{DAILY ACUMEN}

Balanced Optimism

In times of chaos, adopting a mindset of radical optimism can help us navigate challenges with grace.

This involves believing that circumstances can improve through effort and maintaining a calm composure in difficult situations.

Even when you’re working on pls fixes at 3am.

However, it's important to avoid toxic positivity, which can suppress authentic emotions.

Instead, embrace meliorism—the belief that while conditions can be improved, it requires personal and collective effort.

This balanced approach encourages realistic hope, resilience, and a deeper understanding of our own agency and interconnectedness.

_{ENLIGHTENMENT}

Short Squeez Picks

• Why the ‘two minute’ rule is the key to habit building

• A blueprint for dealing with terrible bosses

• How to improve your overall satisfaction at work

• How to spot executive ego dysfunction

• How to find million dollar business ideas that work

_{MEME-A-PALOOZA}

Memes of the Day