Good Morning! MrBeast is looking to raise $200 million at a $5 billion valuation… not bad for a 26-year-old YouTuber. FTX’s bankruptcy bill is approaching $1 billion, making it one of the most expensive since Lehman. PE deals are down 53% YoY, as fading rate-cut optimism dampens activity.

Spring break just got a lot pricier—the average trip now costs $8K+, double what you’d have paid in 2019. Slack went dark Wednesday, and how YouTube became podcast king.

Plus: Amazon’s new Alexa is AI-powered and costs $19.99/month, and Citi’s CEO Jane Fraser just axed the bank’s DEI goals, less than three years after setting them.

Hiring abroad? Stay compliant with Deel’s International Hiring Guide.

_{SQUEEZ OF THE DAY}

Nvidia Keeps AI Alive

Nvidia crushed earnings yet again - smashing expectations with a 78% revenue surge in Q4. Amid worries about potential DeepSeek fallout, Nvidia even issued bullish guidance for the next quarter. 

Nvidia reported $39.33 billion in revenue vs. $38.05 billion expected, and EPS at $0.89 vs. $0.84 estimated. Looking ahead, Nvidia projects $43 billion in Q1 revenue, 3.6% above Wall Street’s estimates.

And it’s all thanks to Nvidia’s Blackwell AI chip lineup, and production is ramping up faster than any product in company history. The firm’s CFO confirmed a "significant ramp" in sales, with Blackwell already generating $11 billion in Q4 revenue. 

While Nvidia’s revenue explosion isn’t fading, the hypergrowth phase is still cooling. Year-over-year revenue growth of 65% this quarter is down from the 262% growth rate a year ago. Gross margins took a minor hit (73%, down three percentage points YoY) due to more complex and expensive AI chips. 

But, Huang and team are unfazed, citing new AI models that could demand up to 100x more computing power.

Nvidia’s dominance is undeniable, but competition is still looming. Tech giants like Amazon, Microsoft, and Google are developing their own AI chips, and startups like DeepSeek are pushing efficiency gains. But Huang doesn’t seem too concerned, telling investors: "Just because the chip is designed doesn’t mean it gets deployed." The real battle? AI inference (the next phase of AI adoption) where Nvidia’s hardware is expected to still be crucial.

Takeaway: Nvidia isn't merely capitalizing on the AI surge; it's actively shaping the industry's trajectory. Although growth rates are normalizing, the demand for AI computing remains robust. The successful rollout of Blackwell is poised to be a significant narrative in 2025, and with $33.7 billion allocated for share buybacks, Nvidia's confidence in its stock is evident.

How did the stock react? It bounced between green and red in after-hours trading, ultimately settling up a modest +0.2% at the time of writing. At this point, Nvidia might have to smash estimates by 50% just to get more than a shrug from Wall Street.

_{PRESENTED BY DEEL}

Warning: May Cause Excessive Knowledge of Global Labor Laws

Managing an international team sounds exciting—until it’s time to deal with cross-border payroll, local tax laws, and compliance regulations.

Deel’s International Hiring Guide takes the guesswork out of global team management, helping you stay compliant and avoid costly mistakes.

Here’s what’s inside:

• Country-Specific Compliance: Avoid fines with tailored insights on local labor laws.

• Tax & Employment Laws Simplified: Make sense of the legal maze with ease.

• Payroll Best Practices: Ensure your team gets paid on time, every time.

Stay focused on growth—let Deel handle the complexity of international payroll.

_HEADLINES

Top Reads

• YouTube star MrBeast is raising money at a $5 billion valuation (MSN)

• FTX’s bankruptcy nears $1B in costs, one of most expensive in history (BB)

• Private equity's lowered expectations (Axios)

• Amazon unveils revamped Alexa with AI features for $19.99 per month (CNBC)

• Egg prices could rise by 41.1% this year, USDA estimates (Axios)

• Spring break spending is spiking (BB)

• Eli Lilly to invest $27 billion in new U.S. manufacturing (CNBC)

• Lutnick pushes back on critics of visa plan: 'Huge money for America' (Fox)

• Citi diversity u-turn signals Wall Street’s retreat under Trump (YF)

• Slack outage takes down widely used messaging app (CBS)

• Tropicana is in big financial trouble (CNN)

• The Fed’s favorite recession indicator is flashing a danger sign again (CNBC)

• The AI data center boom is a job creation bust (WSJ)

• The rampant growth of private credit may have an unlikely beneficiary: banks (CNBC)

• BNY, America’s oldest bank, signs multiyear deal with OpenAI (WSJ)

• Costco announces big expansion across America (Fox)

• How YouTube became podcast king (BB)

_{CAPITAL PULSE}

Markets Rundown

Mixed Close and Rotation Trends Highlight Diversification

Stocks closed mixed on Wednesday, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq posting modest gains while the Dow Jones declined.

Despite recent market softness tied to economic growth concerns, solid corporate earnings have offered some reassurance.

Treasury yields edged lower, with the 2-year yield dropping 0.02% to 4.1% from recent highs of 4.3%, reflecting expectations of two Federal Reserve rate cuts in June and September.

Market rotations persist, as mega-cap tech stocks underperform while value and cyclical sectors—energy, health care, and financials—gain traction.

Globally, European and Chinese markets are outpacing the U.S. and Canada, emphasizing the value of diversification across growth, value, and international holdings.

Periodic pullbacks of 5% to 15% remain typical, and with no recession or rate hikes in sight, these dips present opportunities for long-term investors to rebalance portfolios across sectors, regions, and asset classes within an ongoing bull market.

Movers & Shakers

• (+) Super Micro Computer ($SMCI) +12% after successful filing of delayed financial reports.

• (+) Workday ($WDAY) +6% because of revenue and profit beat thanks to AI.

• (–) Instacart ($CART) -12% after disappointing sales; a soft earnings outlook.

Private Dealmaking

• Eikon Therapeutics, a cell microscopy startup, raised $351 million

• OrganOx, an organ transplant technologies developer, raised $142 million

• Baseten, a cloud infrastructure startup, raised $75 million

• Sanas, an AI voiceover company, raised $65 million

• Raise, a crypto platform for gift cards, raised $63 million

• 73 Strings, a data insights platform, raised $55 million

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

_{BOOK OF THE DAY}

Who Better Than You?

Whether you’re just starting out or ready to make a major move, Who Better Than You? is a wildly entertaining roadmap to being successful in an unpredictable world, featuring behind-the-scenes Hollywood lessons, empowering guidance, and indispensable encouragement.

From Stomp the Yard to Ride Along to Girls Trip and many more, Will Packer’s films have collectively grossed more than $1 billion at the box office, with ten opening at number one!

To outsiders, the unabashed confidence that has driven him since his college days—when he was trying to sell a micro-budget indie film—may look like arrogance. To Packer, that’s just what it took to make it on his own terms.

With Who Better Than You?, Packer has created the success toolkit he wished he’d had back then, filled with illuminating and laugh-out-loud stories as well as practical advice, such as:

1. Be arrogant! The highest-achieving people have “healthy arrogance”: Superior confidence not only in themselves and their abilities but also in their predestined success. You too can unlock this level of confidence.

2. Convince people your goals are essential and vital. It is crucial to assure others that your success benefits both you and them.

3. It’s the work you put in when nobody’s watching that makes everyone pay attention later. No single person on the planet is more deserving of achieving their wildest dreams than you. But it will never happen until you act accordingly in every aspect of your life.

It’s time for you to start producing your own blockbuster life—by first believing there is no one more worthy of it than you.

“The billion-dollar Hollywood producer provides a master mentorship by sharing secrets to success honed from working with the biggest stars in the world.”

_{DAILY VISUAL}

Trump's New Favorite Indicator

_{PRESENTED BY MAINSHARES}

Acquire and Scale a Business In 12 Months

If you’re a finance professional, MBA grad, or ex-corporate juggernaut–AND want to buy/scale a profitable SMB this year–apply to FORGE (April 2nd-6th). 

Unlike other SMB accelerators, the FORGE team trains you for the mayhem you’ll face before and after buying a business:

• Learn to identify + acquire the right target in 1 year instead of 2-3

• Streamline your capital raise through the Mainshares investor network and affiliated broker-dealer

• Decrease your liquidation risk with their Owner Success team

Does it work? Mainshares stands behind FORGE so completely that they credit back 100% of tuition when you close a deal with them.

Apply today and join FORGE for 5 transformative days in Austin, TX.

_{DAILY ACUMEN}

Declutter for Clarity

Decluttering goes beyond simply organizing your surroundings—it’s a powerful way to restore mental clarity, boost emotional well-being, and regain control over your life.

Whether it’s a chaotic desk piled with papers, a phone buzzing with constant notifications, or a schedule crammed with commitments, clutter in any form saps your energy and muddies your focus.

Studies reveal that clutter doesn’t just annoy us; it can reduce life satisfaction, heighten stress, and even worsen anxiety or depression.

Fortunately, you don’t need a drastic life reset to see change.

Start with small, manageable actions: tidy a single drawer, mute unnecessary alerts, or cut one time-wasting task from your day.

These modest efforts spark a ripple effect, gradually reshaping your environment and mindset.

By tackling your physical space, digital distractions, and overscheduled hours, you’re not just decluttering—you’re paving the way for a calmer, more focused, and liberated version of yourself.

_{ENLIGHTENMENT}

Short Squeez Picks

• If you use any of these phrases, you sound emotionally immature

• The 10 happiest cities in America

• Questions to ask yourself when you’re not being productive 

• 7 habits to stay focused in a world full of distractions

• Single people aren’t as happy as those in relationships

_{MEME-A-PALOOZA}

Memes of the Day