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Tuesday, April 8, 2026 | Private Markets Intelligence
Good morning. A California startup wants to turn night into day using orbital mirrors—and scientists representing 2,500 researchers across 30 countries are sounding the alarm. That's ambitious, especially since the company is seeking regulatory approval to eventually launch 50,000 satellites. But investors have already put $35M behind the vision.
—Alberto, Founderscrowd
In today's rundown:
Startup seeks approval to light up Earth from space
Anthropic's revenue run-rate hits $30B (surpassing OpenAI)
SpaceX allocates large IPO chunk to retail investors
North America VC funding jumps 190% to $253B in Q1
Read time: 4 minutes
MARKETS: YEAR-TO-DATE
MARKETS: YEAR-TO-DATE
Stock data as of market close, cryptocurrency data as of 6:00pm ET.
Stock data as of market close, cryptocurrency data as of 6:00pm ET.
Markets: With the stock market closed for Good Friday yesterday, investors got a day of rest to catch their breath after a week of volatility that ended with a rally. One group that likely appreciated the pause was Micron Technology's shareholders, since the company has been getting hammered ever since Google announced an innovation that investors fear could dampen demand for memory chips (though it's still up for the year).
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LATEST DEVELOPMENTS
🪩 Orbital mirrors startup seeks FCC approval to illuminate Earth
Image source: Reflect Orbital / Founderscrowd
Founderscrowds: California startup Reflect Orbital is seeking FCC approval to launch thousands of orbital mirrors that would redirect sunlight for paying customers on Earth after dark—and top scientists are sounding the alarm.
The details:
Reflect Orbital, founded in 2021 with $35M in funding, is building satellites with large mirrors designed to redirect sunlight onto Earth's surface after dark
Earendil-1, its demo satellite, would deploy 60-foot mirrors from a 625 km orbit to illuminate 5 km ground targets, with a target launch this year
Presidents of four international scientific societies, representing 2,500+ researchers in 30+ countries, have sent letters of concern to the FCC
The company reports receiving 260K+ service requests for uses including construction, public events, and a $1.25M Air Force contract
Target deployment: 50,000 satellites by 2035
Why it matters: Critics warn that a single company, with one federal agency's approval, could reshape the night sky for everyone on Earth. Scientists cite "major adverse health consequences" for humans and massive disruption for hundreds of species. Yet the startup has already secured military contracts and hundreds of thousands of commercial requests—proving market demand exists regardless of environmental concerns. For private markets investors, this represents the tension between frontier technology opportunities and regulatory risk that defines early-stage deep tech investing.
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
🤖 Anthropic surpasses OpenAI with $30B revenue run-rate
Founderscrowds: Anthropic has surpassed OpenAI and other top AI labs in run-rate revenue, while securing a multi-gigawatt TPU deal with Google and Broadcom that extends through 2027.
The details:
Over 1,000 business customers now spend $1M+ annually on Anthropic's AI platform
Anthropic's run-rate leans more heavily on recurring enterprise spend, while OpenAI's reflects broader usage-based revenue extrapolated at current pace (both report revenue slightly differently)
Under the expanded deal, Anthropic will have access to approximately 3.5 gigawatts of compute capacity by 2027
Broadcom will produce future Google TPUs and expand its Anthropic partnership to match the 3.5 GW capacity target
Broadcom shares rose 3.6% in late trading Monday following the announcement
Anthropic's recent Claude 4.5 and 4.6 models have been significantly preferred by users versus OpenAI's latest offerings
Why it matters: The AI race is shifting from raw capabilities to enterprise monetization. Anthropic's $30B run-rate—built primarily on recurring enterprise contracts rather than consumer subscriptions—validates the B2B AI business model. More importantly, the multi-gigawatt compute deal with Google and Broadcom signals massive infrastructure investment that creates downstream opportunities across chip manufacturing, data center development, and energy infrastructure. When an AI company secures 3.5 GW of computing capacity, it's not just buying servers—it's triggering billions in capital deployment across the entire supply chain.
PUBLIC MARKETS
🚀 SpaceX earmarks large IPO allocation for retail investors
Image source: Bay area
Founderscrowds: SpaceX plans to reserve a substantial portion of its June IPO for retail investors globally, while hosting approximately 1,500 investors at a June 11 event—an unusually inclusive approach for a company of its scale.
The details:
Week of June 8: SpaceX will launch its IPO roadshow with executives and bankers pitching to institutional investors
June 7: Approximately 125 analysts from 21 banks are scheduled to meet with SpaceX leadership
June 11: Company will host roughly 1,500 investors at a dedicated event
Retail investors in the UK, EU, Australia, Canada, Japan, and Korea will be eligible to participate in the IPO
CFO Bret Johnsen confirmed the large retail allocation is by design: "Retail investors have been incredibly supportive of us and of Elon for a long time, and we want to recognize that"
Why it matters: SpaceX's retail-friendly IPO strategy breaks from traditional tech offerings that prioritize institutional allocations. For private markets investors who backed SpaceX pre-IPO (some at valuations as low as $500M in early rounds), the June listing represents a massive liquidity event. Early Founders Fund investors who put $20M into SpaceX in 2008 saw that stake grow to approximately $1.5B—a 75x return captured entirely in private markets before public listing. The IPO is the exit, not the entry point—reinforcing why the highest returns in companies like SpaceX, Anthropic, and Stripe happen before they go public.
VENTURE CAPITAL
💰 North America VC funding surges 190% to $253B in Q1
Founderscrowds: North American venture capital funding jumped 190% year-over-year to $253 billion in Q1 2026, driven almost entirely by AI megadeals, while overall deal volume dropped 26%.
The details:
AI funding increased approximately 4x to $221 billion in Q1
Megadeals driving the surge: OpenAI, Anthropic, xAI, and Waymo raised the majority of AI capital
Despite record funding amounts, total deal count fell 26% year-over-year
The average deal size increased dramatically as capital concentrated in fewer, larger rounds
Non-AI sectors saw relatively flat or declining investment compared to Q1 2025
Why it matters: Venture capital is experiencing extreme bifurcation—record amounts of money flowing to a handful of AI infrastructure companies, while smaller deals and non-AI sectors face capital constraints. For private markets investors, this creates two distinct opportunities: (1) access to AI megadeals through SPVs and secondaries at companies like Anthropic and xAI, or (2) backing overlooked sectors where valuations remain reasonable because capital dried up. When $221B of the $253B total went to AI, every other category is being underpriced by comparison.
Want to access SpaceX?
While NASA returns to the moon, private aerospace contractors like SpaceX, Lockheed Martin suppliers, and defense technology companies continue raising capital at pre-IPO valuations. Premium members get direct access to these opportunities with full investment memos and transparent terms.
This week's Premium access:
Defense technology benefits from the proposed $1.5T military budget
Healthcare convergence opportunities (Abbott/Mayo Clinic backing Whoop at $10B)
Late-stage tech companies preparing for 2027 IPOs
QUICK HITS
📰 Everything else in private markets today
Grayscale analysts suggest a durable crypto bottom may be forming, with altcoins positioned to benefit more than Bitcoin from upcoming market catalysts—the crypto market is down 43% from peak.
Tesla announced plans to acquire a majority stake in Chinese battery manufacturer CATL, seeking to secure supply chain control as EV competition intensifies globally.
Stripe is reportedly processing secondary transactions at $70-80B implied valuations, signaling potential 2027 IPO timing as the payments giant approaches 15 years since founding.
Reddit shares fell 8% after the company disclosed slower-than-expected ad revenue growth in Q1, raising questions about post-IPO social media monetization.
Databricks confidentially filed for IPO with target valuation above $55B, joining the growing queue of late-stage tech companies preparing to go public.
Klarna CEO Sebastian Siemiatkowski confirmed the buy-now-pay-later company is targeting a late 2026 IPO, potentially at valuations below its 2021 peak.
COMMUNITY
🎓 What we're watching: Private markets access before public listings
Premium members this week: Access to SpaceX secondary opportunities before June IPO, Anthropic growth equity at $30B run-rate valuation, and energy infrastructure plays benefiting from AI compute buildout.
That's it for today's private markets rundown!
We'd love to hear your feedback on today's newsletter so we can continue improving the Founderscrowd experience for you.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Nailed it
⭐️⭐️⭐️ Average
⭐️ Needs work
See you Thursday,
Alberto, Jose, and the FC Team ☕
Founderscrowd
P.S. Premium members get exclusive access to SpaceX pre-IPO secondaries this week. If early Founders Fund investors made 75x in private markets before the June listing, what's the opportunity in the final months before public trading begins?