News linked to this event type.
According to TechFlow Research, Morgan Stanley's August 18 Internet Weekly Report pointed out that the internet sector overall fell 1% last week, with Amazon and Google leading the decline with drops of 4% and 2% respectively. The current valuations of Amazon, Google, and Meta are 20x, 17x, and 19x 2026 earnings per share respectively, representing a discount of 7% to 14% compared to their respective five-year averages. The internet sector's overall NTM EV/EBITDA is at a 7% discount to the five-year average, but NTM EV/Sales remains at a 19% premium. If stock-based compensation (SBC) is treated as a cash expense, the median EV/EBITDA for the digital media, e-commerce, and travel sectors will increase by approximately 36%, 30%, and 44% respectively. The report judges that the AI ROIC debate remains the core focus of the market. There is not yet a consensus to buy at current low valuation levels, as the market has fundamental disagreements on the return on AI capital expenditure. If AI spending continues to erode profit margins, valuations may compress further; conversely, if market confidence in ROIC recovers, valuations are expected to recover. Morgan Stanley believes the internet sector is likely to remain range-bound until the AI return on investment debate shows a clearer direction.
According to Bloomberg, AI startup Temporal Technologies Inc. is negotiating a new funding round, with a pre-money valuation of at least $12 billion and a financing size of approximately $500 million. The company primarily provides an open-source orchestration platform to help developers prevent failures in complex code. The funding round has not yet been completed, and specific details may still change.
据 Fortune 报道，成立仅两年的 AI 原生会计平台 Rillet 宣布完成 1 亿美元 C 轮融资，估值达 10 亿美元，本轮由 ICONIQ 领投，Sequoia Capital、Andreessen Horowitz、Oak HC/FT 等老股东跟投，Bain Capital Ventures、Battery Ventures 等新投资方参与，公司累计融资总额已超 2 亿美元。 Rillet 定位为首个真正 AI 原生的会计平台，主打以 AI Agent 替代传统人工会计流程，可并行处理数百项操作，并生成完整审计追踪。目前已服务超 600 家客户，涵盖 Neuralink、Mercor 等头部 AI 企业，约 40%客户来自科技行业以外。
According to the SEC official website, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission formally proposed the new rule "Regulation Crypto Assets" on August 18, 2026, aiming to create a dedicated securities offering framework for investment contracts involving crypto assets. The specific content includes two registration exemptions: first, a single fundraising cap of $5 million within four years; second, a fundraising cap of $75 million every 12 months (requiring financial statements and continuous information disclosure). Additionally, the rules also establish conditional safe harbor provisions, under which crypto assets meeting the conditions will not be deemed securities under "investment contracts". SEC Chairman Paul S. Atkins stated that this move aims to provide compliant financing paths for crypto entrepreneurs, reduce the motivation for projects to operate offshore, and expand participation opportunities for U.S. investors. The proposal will be open for a 60-day public comment period after publication in the Federal Register.
Odaily News: The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has proposed rules related to crypto assets, aiming to establish a clear framework for eligible investment contracts and provide a targeted securities offering regime for token issuances, enabling related entities to raise funds while retaining investor protection measures. The proposed rules would allow crypto companies to issue up to $5 million in tokens over four years, or up to $75 million in tokens within 12 months, and provide a safe harbor to prevent cryptocurrencies from being deemed "investment contracts." Issuers would be required to disclose financial statements and provide ongoing reporting. The SEC did not include the previously anticipated "innovation exemption" for crypto stocks. The proposal comes just days after the U.S. Senate failed to advance the Digital Asset Market Clarity (CLARITY) Act; the public will have 60 days to submit comments after the proposal is published in the Federal Register. SEC Chair Paul Atkins stated that congressional legislation remains essential for establishing rules that can be applied over the long term, and the SEC will continue to support Congress in advancing the CLARITY Act to President Trump. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) plans to discuss cryptocurrency, AI, and prediction market regulation on Thursday. (Cointelegraph)
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Tuesday proposed new rules that would allow crypto projects to raise funds without full securities registration. The proposed "crypto asset regulation" includes two exemptions: projects raising no more than $5 million over a 4-year period, and issuers raising no more than $75 million every 12 months, subject to filing financial statements and ongoing reports. Both exemptions require information disclosure and remain subject to federal anti-fraud and anti-manipulation rules. The proposal also includes a conditional safe harbor, allowing issuers to "decouple" crypto assets from the investment contracts under which they were issued, provided SEC conditions are met. SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce stated that the exemptions will not cover all types of crypto projects, and the Commission will refine the rules based on market developments. The SEC canceled a related meeting last week citing "unforeseen scheduling issues," and resumed advancing the proposal days later. (Decrypt)
Odaily News: Fox Business crypto reporter posted on X platform that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has formally proposed Regulation Crypto Assets, establishing a new framework for crypto asset fundraising in the United States. The proposal would allow certain issuances to raise up to $5 million cumulatively over four years or up to $75 million annually without SEC registration; establish a conditional safe harbor for crypto assets after key management responsibilities of the issuer conclude; and exempt relevant issuances from certain state securities registration requirements. The proposal has now entered a 60-day comment period.
Odaily News: This issuance was conducted by Ripple Prime, Ripple's non-bank prime brokerage arm, with proceeds to be used for working capital and U.S. business expansion. KBRA assigned the notes a BBB investment-grade rating, and Ripple Prime plans to further expand multi-asset clearing, financing, and prime brokerage services.
According to Bloomberg, people familiar with the matter said that Shenzhen-based robotics company LimX Dynamics has confidentially filed for a Hong Kong initial public offering, planning to raise up to $300 million. The company is working with CITIC Securities to advance the transaction. This move comes as several Chinese robotics companies prepare to go public.
Odaily News In a recent interview on Cointelegraph's program Chain Reaction, Lucas Sum, Head of Stock Market Development at Gate, stated that crypto and stocks are quietly converging and increasingly becoming part of the same macro trade. He pointed out that the correlation between the crypto market and the Nasdaq index is currently higher than the five-year average, with the correlation coefficient once exceeding 0.8. Market sentiment is generally cautious at present, with more funds staying in low-risk assets such as stablecoins, as investors await clearer catalysts.Lucas Sum believes that the core narrative of the next market cycle may no longer be "crypto vs. Wall Street," but rather traditional financial assets accelerating their entry into the digital financial system through on-chain infrastructure. The scale of RWA has grown from approximately $12 billion a year ago to over $30 billion, while the scale of tokenized U.S. Treasury bonds has also reached approximately $15 billion, indicating that on-chain financial infrastructure continues to expand. Meanwhile, macro liquidity, real yields, and regulatory clarity remain key factors influencing the performance of risk assets. Against this backdrop, investors' focus is shifting from single-asset allocation to coordinated allocation across multiple asset classes. Lucas Sum noted that Gate is continuously expanding its stock business, currently covering U.S., Hong Kong, and Korean stock markets, with plans to extend further into more global markets to provide the necessary infrastructure for multi-asset investment.
According to TechFlow Research, Morgan Stanley's August 16 research report noted that Reuters reported PE giant Silver Lake is in talks to acquire Workday, driving a collective surge in the software sector last Friday. Workday has a market cap of approximately $50 billion. If acquired at a 30% to 40% premium, the valuation would be approximately 5x 2027 P/S ratio and 16x 2027 free cash flow, both below historical averages. Morgan Stanley believes this indicates software stocks may have become cheap enough to entice PE firms to re-enter the market; if the deal materializes, it will boost sector valuations. The report also noted that while open-source models suppress token prices, hyperscalers can still maintain 20% to 60% ROIC on their proprietary compute. Investor surveys show 52% expect increased divergence within software stocks, with bulls numbering approximately twice that of bears. Morgan Stanley expects Cursor's annualized ARR to reach $8 billion by year-end and $33 billion by 2030, maintaining an Underweight rating on Netcompany. PE returning to acquisitions, cost layering of open-source models, and investor confidence repair—these three signals indicate software sector valuations have been compressed to a critical point.
According to Cointelegraph, Edward Zimbardi, the alleged mastermind behind a $165 million cryptocurrency Ponzi scheme, was deported back to the United States by Fijian authorities recently after hiding in Fiji for over a year, following coordination between the FBI and the U.S. Department of State, and will appear for trial in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia. Prosecutors allege that between June 2022 and August 2023, he illegally raised over $165 million in crypto assets by promising investors a fixed monthly return of 25% under the name "The Crypto Program". The raised funds were not used for the promised ad package business, but were misappropriated for over $34 million in high-risk forex trading, repaying early investors with new funds, and at least $10 million in personal expenses, including purchasing real estate, luxury vehicles, and paying alimony. Zimbardi currently faces 12 counts of wire fraud, 12 counts of money laundering, and 1 count of conspiracy to commit money laundering, totaling 25 federal charges.
Nasdaq-listed company Zhibao Technology (Ticker: ZBAO) completed a USD 154.7 million PIPE financing, with investors making full payment using 2,380 Bitcoins (valued at a benchmark price of USD 65,000 per coin as of July 30). The financing issued 442 million PIPE units at a price of USD 0.35 per unit, each unit consisting of one share of Class A ordinary stock and one two-year warrant, with an exercise price of USD 0.35 per share. 395.6 million units were delivered at closing, and the remaining 46.32 million units are to be delivered pending shareholder approval, without additional consideration.
Odaily News AI voice-to-text startup Wispr Flow has completed a $280 million Series B funding round at a valuation of $2 billion, led by Menlo Ventures, with participation from Notable Capital, NEA, Neo Ventures, and others. In November last year, Wispr Flow completed a $25 million Series A extension round at a valuation of $700 million. Following this round, the company's total cumulative funding has reached $361 million.Wispr Flow primarily provides AI voice dictation tools for writing and office scenarios. (Reuters)
According to Bloomberg, Google's parent company Alphabet launched its inaugural Australian dollar bond issuance on August 18, planning to raise approximately 5 billion Australian dollars (approximately 3.6 billion US dollars), with the funds raised to be used to address continuously rising AI infrastructure expenditures. The issuance is underwritten by institutions including Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ), offering Australian dollar notes with four maturities, with the longest maturity reaching 20 years.
Odaily News: As Anthropic prepares for an IPO, its annualized revenue run rate had surpassed $65 billion (approximately 92 trillion KRW) as of the end of July, representing a more than sevenfold increase from the end of last year. The figure was disclosed in regular operating data reports shared with major investors.Anthropic's full-year 2025 revenue has already exceeded $9 billion, reaching $47 billion in May this year. Preliminary second-quarter revenue surpassed $11.5 billion, compared to $787 million in the same period last year—a roughly 15-fold increase. Adjusted operating profit is expected to turn profitable.Anthropic has hired Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs as lead underwriters for its IPO, with JPMorgan also participating in the transaction. Following its latest funding round, the company is valued at $965 billion, one of the highest valuations among private companies. (ETNews SW)
Odaily News - Digital infrastructure company HIVE Digital Technologies' high-performance computing division, BUZZ High Performance Computing, has signed a five-year AI cloud services contract worth approximately $350 million with an undisclosed investment-grade enterprise client. The contract is expected to generate approximately $70 million in additional annual revenue, bringing BUZZ HPC's annualized revenue to approximately $180 million. BUZZ HPC will deploy 2,016 NVIDIA Blackwell Ultra GPUs, utilizing the GB300 NVL72 system, NVIDIA Quantum-X800 InfiniBand networking, and VAST Data storage. The cluster is expected to become operational later this year at Bell's AI Fabric facility in Merritt, British Columbia, Canada, which runs on renewable hydroelectric power and closed-loop liquid cooling technology. HIVE estimates the project's capital expenditure at approximately $185 million, which will be funded through previously announced financing and new equipment debt. The company expects daily revenue of approximately $500,000 from its HPC and AI business once the cluster is fully operational, and plans to achieve $200 million in annualized GPU cloud services revenue by year-end. The company holds approximately 400 megawatts of capacity in Canada, which can support over 120,000 GPUs over the next two years. (Bitcoin.com News)
Odaily News: Zhibao Technology announced the completion of a private placement raising 2,380 Bitcoin, with participation from non-U.S. investors. The company plans to hold the related assets in accordance with its Bitcoin treasury strategy, and will liquidate a portion of them to fund business development and expansion.
According to Bloomberg, SoftBank Group invested $200 million in Swiss startup Gravis Robotics. The company is headquartered in Zurich and primarily develops autonomous driving software for construction machinery. Gravis Robotics stated that this financing is a Series A round, but did not disclose the company valuation.
According to CNBC, credit card issuer Synchrony Financial is partnering with OpenAI and plans to allow consumers to use its issued store-branded credit cards to directly purchase goods within ChatGPT. Synchrony issues credit cards for brands such as Amazon, Walmart, and Lowe's. The collaboration aims to embed financing, payment, and rewards features into the AI chatbot shopping process.