Good Morning! Welcome back to the grind and days of circling back. Hindenburg Research started 2025 with a bang, dropping a short-seller report on Carvana, titled a A Father-Son Accounting Grift For The Ages.

Jobless claims hit an eight-month low, big banks keep winning with relaxed regulation, and there’s hope the new administration will keep it rolling.

A bunch of states raised the minimum wages to start 2025, inflation is crushing NYC’s dating scene with some complaining it costs, $1,000 to figure out if you like someone, and the New Orleans terror suspect has a Deloitte connection.

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_{SQUEEZ OF THE DAY}

Nvidia's $1B VC Portfolio

Nvidia may have carried the S&P 500 over the past few years, but the company isn’t just a chipmaker - it turns out they’re one of the largest AI investors in the world. In 2024, the semiconductor company invested $1 billion into AI startups and corporate deals.

Last year, Nvidia backed 50 start-ups, up from 39 the year before, and the company poured cash into “core AI” companies that are also heavy buyers of the company’s GPUs. 

With all the talk that Nvidia’s growth can’t be sustained, Microsoft, Google, and Amazon are cutting their reliance on GPUs, and competitors are starting to catch up, Nvidia’s going on offense. The chipmaker is trying to fund, innovate, and control the tech scene. It’s all about feeding its ecosystem and developing smaller AI firms into key revenue sources.

For example, Applied Digital was a company teetering on bankruptcy before Nvidia threw the company a $160 million lifeline investment. The move not only saved Applied - it also preserved Nvidia’s own chip sales and ensured its revenue wouldn't go under.

Ever since the AI gold rush kicked off a few years ago, Nvidia has amassed a $9 billion cash reserve and its putting it to use. Some of Nvidia's latest investments include Run:ai, Nebulon, OctoAI, and a bunch of other AI software companies. They also invested in Elon Musk’s xAI as well as OpenAI and Cohere.

But it’s not without controversy. There’s a fine line between investing billions to create an ecosystem and creating a monopoly - and regulators in the U.S., Europe, and China are concerned about the dominance and whether it’s truly merit-based competition.

Takeaway: With a $3.4T market cap and coming off a 170% stock price increase in 2024, it’s clear that heading into 2025, Nvidia is still the kingpin of the AI industry. They’re making strategic investments, and are showing no sign of slowing down. And it’s not just about innovation - they’re going on offense as both a tech supplier and investor while its competitors struggle to catch up.

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_HEADLINES

Top Reads

• Hindenburg shorts Carvana, accusing firm of 'grift for the ages' (YF)

• 'X Money' payment system to launch in 2025 (Fox)

• Jobless claims hit 8-month low (AP)

• Broccoli sold at Walmart recalled in 20 states over listeria concerns (Fox)

• Big banks are on a regulatory winning streak (Axios)

• States raise minimum wages for '25 (NPR)

• New Orleans terror suspect had Deloitte ties; firm assisting authorities (Fox)

• Air taxi maker Volocopter files for insolvency (Axios)

• Why Trump is antsy about the coming debt ceiling fight (YF)

• NYC men complain dating is too expensive with inflation (NYP)

• Crypto stocks jump as market speculation picks up to start 2025 (CNBC)

• Stonks just keep going up, despite the pessimists (Axios)

_{CAPITAL PULSE}

Markets Rundown

Stocks Edge Lower to Start the Year

Equity markets finished Thursday in the red, reversing earlier gains as global markets presented a mixed picture. Asia declined on weaker-than-expected December manufacturing data from China, while European markets were mostly higher, driven by strength in energy stocks.

The 10-year Treasury yield dropped to 4.56%, reflecting bond market softness, while the U.S. dollar extended its gains against major currencies. Commodities saw upward movement, with both WTI oil and gold trading higher.

Jobless Claims Tick Down

Initial jobless claims fell to 211,000 last week, beating estimates of 220,000, and continuing claims declined to 1.84 million, below expectations of 1.89 million. Weekly jobless claims have stabilized around 223,000, reflecting a steady labor market.

With unemployment at 4.2%, disposable income remains supportive of consumer spending. A gradually cooling labor market is expected to moderate wage growth, contributing to easing inflation pressures in the months ahead.

Manufacturing Readings Beat Estimates

The PMI rose to 49.4 in December, surpassing forecasts and improving from September's low of 47.3. While still in contractionary territory, the trend has steadily improved.

Services PMI, which covers the bulk of the economy, indicates expansion, providing support for the soft-landing narrative and highlighting resilience in economic growth.

Private Dealmaking

• DCP Capital bought Sun Art Retail for $1.6 billion

• MetLife Investment Management bought PineBridge for $1.2 billion

• Thomson Reuters bought SafeSend, an e-sign software provider, for $600 million

• KoBold Metals, an EV battery mineral company, raised $537 million

• Calo, a ready-to-eat meals service, raised $25 million

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

_{NEIGHBORHOOD WATCH}

Real Estate Digest

Mortgage rates have ticked up again, hovering just under 7%, significantly higher than this time last year. While affordability challenges persist, buyers are showing greater eagerness to enter the market, as reflected in the rise in pending home sales. The gradual increase in inventory in a supply-starved market is also expected to help ease upward pressure on home prices as we head into 2025.

Latest News

• Top 2024 US Office Deals Show Survival Strategy in Brutal Market

• The Housing Market Should Pick Up This Year

• US Pending Home Sales Hit 21-Month High in November

• These Are the Most Expensive Neighborhoods for Renters in NYC

• Housing Shortage Eases with Four-Year High Jump

New Listings

• 130 William St Apt: PH60B New York, NY:  3 Bed / 3.5 Bath - $6,995,000

• 522 Kings Road Chelsea London, United Kingdom: 4 Bed / 4.5 Bath - $8,136,756

• 200 Caravelle Dr Dillon, CO: 5 Bed / 5.5 Bath -  $3,595,000

• 300 Biscayne Boulevard, 8001, Miami, FL: 4 Bed / 4.5 Bath - $9,727,600

• Rte de Morel Apt: 501 Les Allues, France: 5 Bed / 5.5 Bath - $8,851,910

Fill out this form if you're looking to buy, sell, rent or invest.

_{BOOK OF THE DAY}

The Thinking Machine

In June of 2024, spurred by the frenzy of investment following the launch of ChatGPT, and thirty-one years after its founding in a Denny’s restaurant, Nvidia became the most-valuable corporation on Earth.

In The Thinking Machine, acclaimed journalist Stephen Witt recounts the unlikely story of how a manufacturer of video game components shocked Silicon Valley by conquering the market for AI hardware, and in the process re-invented the computer.

Essential to Nvidia’s meteoric success is its visionary CEO Jensen Huang, who more than a decade ago, on the basis of a few promising scientific results, bet his entire company on AI.

Through unprecedented access to Huang, his friends, his investors, and his employees, Witt documents for the first time the company’s epic rise and its iconoclastic CEO, who emerges as a compelling, single-minded, and ferocious leader, and now one of Silicon Valley’s most influential figures.

The Thinking Machine is the story of how Nvidia evolved from providing components for circuit boards to supplying hundred-million-dollar supercomputers.

It is the story of a determined entrepreneur who defied Wall Street to push his radical vision for computing, in the process becoming one of the wealthiest men alive.

It is the story of a revolution in computer architecture, and the small group of renegade engineers who made it happen.

And it’s the story of our awesome and terrifying AI future, which Huang has billed as the “next industrial revolution,” as a new kind of microchip unlocks hyper-realistic avatars, autonomous robots, self-driving cars, and new movies, art, and books, generated on command.

“The riveting account of Nvidia, the tech company that has exploded in value for its artificial intelligence computing hardware, and Jensen Huang, Nvidia’s charismatic, uncompromising CEO.”

_{DAILY VISUAL}

VC Fundraising Falls After Fed Started Raising Rates

_{DAILY ACUMEN}

Workout While Traveling

Stay fit while traveling with this quick, adaptable body-weight workout.

Simple Routine (3–4 sets of 8–12 reps):

• Squats: Add slow lowering, holds, or jumps.

• Lunges: Step back, pause, or jump-switch legs.

• Push-Ups: Modify tempo, hold low, or try clapping push-ups.

• Single-Leg Deadlifts: Add balance or weights.

• Rows: Use a resistance band for pulls.

20 minutes of movement keeps you strong and energized wherever you are.

_{ENLIGHTENMENT}

Short Squeez Picks

• 7 tech gadgets I couldn't live without in 2024

• 7 reasons to use Canva over PowerPoint

• 6 tactics people use to invest in romantic relationships

• Common behaviors that make smart people look uneducated

• The 2 Michelin-recognized restaurants in NYC subway stations

_{MEME-A-PALOOZA}

Memes of the Day