Good Morning! The C-suite at OpenAI is clearing out faster than a Black Friday sale with CTO Mira Murati and two other execs leaving the company. The org is also considering giving Sam Altman a 7% stake (~$10 billion) in a restructured for-profit business. In other AI news, Google reportedly paid $2.7 billion to rehire the AI genius who left after the company refused to release his chatbot. NYC Mayor Eric Adams was indicted on federal charges related to a campaign finance case. Jamie Dimon is calling taking a private equity job while working at JPMorgan “unethical.” Plus, why companies are rapidly firing Gen-Z employees.

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Private Equity Hits the Dance Floor

Latin music is hotter than ever across the globe, and it looks like private equity wants in on the party (or fiesta).

Bresh, the entertainment company behind massive Latin dance parties, is catching the attention of global audiences—and even Messi is a fan.

Now, Bresh is partnering with media and entertainment private equity firm Carroll Street Capital to fuel its international expansion. Although Bresh may still be niche outside Latin America, its nearly 3 million Instagram followers hint at its growing global appeal.

With plans to open an office in LA, expand further in the U.S. and Mexico, and break into the Asian market, Bresh is poised for rapid growth.

Eduardo Garcia Fernandez, co-founder of Carroll Street Capital declined to disclose the value of the deal or the amount that will be invested in the coming years but says Bresh “will have the resources to grow and keep doing what they do best.”

Founded in Argentina, Bresh already hosts over 500 events annually across 100+ cities in 20 countries. The U.S. and Mexico are seen as key markets for their next phase of expansion.

Takeaway: The partnership between Bresh and Carroll Street is at a time when Latin music is at an all-time high on the global charts. Bad Bunny, Karol G, Peso Pluma and Shakira are some of the most popular artists worldwide. So, Bresh is hoping its private equity partnership provides the resources to expand Latin dance parties into new markets. And who knows - maybe you’ll see Messi at a Bresh party.

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_HEADLINES

Top Reads

• OpenAI CTO Mira Murati announces she’s leaving the company (CNBC)

• OpenAI to remove non-profit control and give Sam Altman equity (YF)

• Google paid $2.7B to rehire AI genius who left (WSJ)

• NYC Mayor Eric Adams indicted on federal charges in campaign finance case (CNBC)

• Dimon says taking private equity job while working at JPMorgan is ‘unethical’ (YF)

• Here’s why companies are rapidly firing Gen Z employees (NYP)

• Sanofi reportedly gets PE bids for consumer health unit (Axios)

• Meta unveils $299 Quest 3S VR headset, Orion AR glasses prototype (CNBC)

• Private equity is calling in the experts to fix companies they can’t sell (YF)

• A college taps Wall Street playbook to rival Ivies on admissions (BB)

_{CAPITAL PULSE}

Markets Rundown

Market Commentary

Stocks closed mostly lower on Wednesday, with the S&P 500 down 0.2% and the Dow dropping 0.7%.

Utilities and technology were the only sectors to post gains, while energy stocks lagged, falling about 2% due to a drop in oil prices.

Asian markets were mostly higher, driven by Chinese equities gaining from new stimulus measures.

The U.S. Treasury yield curve steepened, with the 10-year yield rising to 3.79%.

Investors are now focusing on Friday’s PCE inflation data, which is expected to show a 2.3% increase in headline inflation year-over-year.

Housing prices remain resilient despite higher mortgage rates, but easing mortgage rates could slow home-price appreciation as more inventory comes to market.

Markets are watching for signs that cooling inflation and labor market conditions could help reduce inflationary pressures in the months ahead.

Movers & Shakers

• (+) Progress Software ($PRGS) +12% after the software company beat earnings.

• (+) Hewlett-Packard Enterprise ($HPE) +5% after Barclays upgraded the cloud-as-a-service company.

• (–) General Motors ($GM) -5% after a downgrade by Morgan Stanley.

Private Dealmaking

• EGYM, a connected fitness startup, raised $200 million

• WhatFix, a digital transformation firm, raised $125 million

• Celestia Foundation, a blockchain network, raised $100 million

• Supabase, a database management system, raised $80 million

• Sublime Systems, a green cement startup, raised $75 million

• Pyka, an electric planes developer, raised $40 million 

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

_{BOOK OF THE DAY}

Offshore

How do the rich keep getting richer, while dodging the long arm of the law? From playboy billionaires avoiding taxes on private islands to Russian oligarchs sailing away from sanctions on their superyachts, the ultra-rich seem to live in a different world from the rest of us.

That world is called offshore. Hidden from view, the world’s ultra-rich can use offshore finance to escape tax obligations, labor and environmental safety regulations, campaign finance rules, and other laws that get in their way.

In Offshore: Stealth Wealth and the New Colonialism, sociologist Brooke Harrington reveals how this system works, as well as how it degrades democracy, the economy, and the public goods on which we all depend.

Harrington spent eight years infiltrating this secretive world by training as a wealth manager, traveling from glossy European and North American capitals to developing countries in South America and Africa, to islands in the Indian Ocean, Caribbean, and South Pacific regions. 

Through interviews with dozens of wealth managers in nineteen countries, Harrington uncovered how this global network of offshore financial centers arose from the remnants of colonialism and has created a new, hidden imperial class

This engrossing deep dive reveals what offshore finance costs all of us, and how it has colonized the world―not on behalf of any one country, but to benefit a largely invisible empire of a few thousand billionaires, who help themselves to the best society has to offer while sticking us with the bill.

As politicians struggle to address the deepening economic and political inequality destabilizing the world, Harrington’s exposé of the offshore system is a vital resource for understanding the most pressing crises of our time.

“An eye-opening account of offshore finance: a secretive system making the rich richer while corroding democracy, capitalism, and the environment.”

_{DAILY VISUAL}

Boeing’s Free Fall

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_{DAILY ACUMEN}

Fear of Failure

Fear of failure isn’t really about failure itself—it’s about fearing the emotions that come with it, like anxiety, shame, or disappointment.

Many high-achievers, despite their outward success, continue to struggle with self-doubt because they’re more afraid of feeling like a failure than actually failing.

Confidence, however, isn’t the absence of fear; it’s the belief that you can handle fear and still move forward.

Think of Olympic athletes—despite fear, they perform because they trust their ability to manage it.

Overcoming fear of failure isn’t about avoiding fear but learning to tolerate and navigate it. 

By shifting your focus from avoiding negative emotions to embracing them as part of the process, true confidence emerges.

The key isn’t to stop feeling fear—it’s to stop running from it.

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Short Squeez Picks

• A 3-step guide to giving negative feedback

• The new pedestrian bridge that just opened in East River Park

• Charming ways to start a conversation with literally anyone

• Why bars are the worst place to meet a potential mate

• Why most job seekers don’t get hired

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Memes of the Day