Hi there, this is your daily ☕️ Finpresso.
In today's newsletter:
💰 OpenAI in talks to raise at $1.2T
🪙 Crypto's regulatory clarity stalls as Senate rejects bill
🛒 Atome deal pushes Grab deeper into fintech
🏭 SK Hynix in talks to make memory chips at Intel
📈 US 10-year yield hits highest since 2007
Plus: 🌍 10 macro news, 🏢 9 corporate news, and 📑 6 research & reports.
| 💰 OpenAI in talks to raise at $1.2T LINK |
- OpenAI is in early talks with investors on a new funding round that would value the ChatGPT maker at more than $1.2 trillion, a step ahead of its planned initial public offering.
- The talks, started by investors, hinge on IPO timing, with the cash giving OpenAI room to delay its listing by one or two quarters and to fund more acquisitions after buying startups like Jony Ive's io and developer-tools maker Astral.
- The raise could vault OpenAI past rival Anthropic, valued at $965 billion in May, as Anthropic prepares its own Nasdaq IPO as soon as October seeking to match or beat SpaceX's record $86.3 billion June offering.
| 🪙 Crypto's regulatory clarity stalls as Senate rejects bill LINK |
- The US Senate voted to block the Clarity Act, stalling the crypto industry's bid for comprehensive rules after the motion drew just 50 votes for and 49 against, well short of the 60 needed to advance.
- The setback rippled across crypto markets, with bitcoin down 3%, Coinbase shares off 8% and stablecoin issuer Circle down 10%, as the failed vote likely pushes clearer rules into next year amid the broader sell-off.
- The bill would have split oversight between the SEC and CFTC and set registration and anti-money-laundering rules, but stalled after Democrats said Republican ethics concessions failed to address crypto profits by President Trump and his family.
| 🛒 Atome deal pushes Grab deeper into fintech LINK |
- Grab is buying a controlling stake in Singapore-based buy now, pay later firm Atome Financial in a $1.49 billion deal, folding its lending business into Grab's financial services arm to expand credit across Southeast Asia.
- Atome operates in Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines, Indonesia and Thailand and serves 25 million cumulative users, adding its AI-based digital lending and merchant network to Grab's payments, digital banking and insurance operations alongside ride-hailing.
- Grab framed the deal around profitability in its financial services segment, noting 68% of its driver-borrowers accessed formal credit for the first time last year, with half saying they did so to avoid "predatory" lenders.
| 🏭 SK Hynix in talks to make memory chips at Intel LINK |
- SK Hynix is in talks with Intel to manufacture its memory chips in the U.S. for the first time, Reuters reported yesterday, lifting both companies' shares in premarket trading.
- Options under discussion include SK Hynix leasing part of Intel's Ohio plant or forming a joint venture with Intel and major cloud firms, though sources described the talks as exploratory with no decisions made.
- A deal would hand Intel a marquee customer for its foundry business under CEO Lip-Bu Tan, but manufacturing advanced high-bandwidth memory could draw opposition from South Korea, which treats the technology as sensitive; SK Hynix's Seoul-listed stock is up 400% over the past year.
| 📈 US 10-year yield hits highest since 2007 LINK |
- The interest rate on 10-year US government debt touched 5.04%, its highest since 2007, before easing, as a fresh jump in oil prices deepened worries that inflation is set to accelerate.
- The move tracks Brent-style wholesale oil climbing above $109 a barrel from around $86 in late August, after concerns over Saudi Arabia's ability to export, stoking bets the Fed under Kevin Warsh will raise rates.
- Heavy borrowing by tech giants funding data centres is adding pressure, lifting yields; the Treasury has been buying back bonds to push rates down, an intervention Secretary Scott Bessent called "successful."
🌍 Macro News
- Bank of Japan is expected to raise rates quarter point to 1.25% tomorrow. LINK
- UK inflation likely rose to 3.1% in August, fueled by fuel and electronics. LINK
- ECB opened applications with the deadline set for October. LINK
- Commerce ordered Kalshi to remove AI-compute tracker over national security concerns. LINK
- Brent rose $3.70 as Saudi pipeline shutdown tightened supplies around Hormuz. LINK
- Bank of England expected to halt 20- and 30-year gilt sales after selloff. LINK
- House committee released crypto tax bill ahead of Wednesday vote. LINK
- Washington urges Mexico to tighten AI-server origin rules under USMCA. LINK
- ADNOC buys discounted Iraqi crude, preserving domestic oil for Hormuz-bypassing exports. LINK
- Thune is open to diesel export ban as US prices hit record. LINK
🏢 Corporate News
- Altera confidentially filed for IPO potentially raising over $2 billion. LINK
- Factory raised $200 million at a $5 billion valuation. LINK
- Goldman raised $11.7 billion across private-equity strategies, including $9.6 billion fund. LINK
- Revolut won Colombia banking license, clearing final hurdle for local launch. LINK
- DOJ charged two Robinhood engineers over alleged trades ahead of crypto listings. LINK
- Enova abandoned Grasshopper takeover, citing political pressure and unclear regulatory standards. LINK
- OpenAI bought Glass Imaging for more than $300 million. LINK
- DoorDash is investing $425 million in Wonder through acquisition and funding. LINK
- Meta launched paid subscriptions across platforms, priced from $2.99 to $499 monthly. LINK
📈 Stocks
| ▲ Biggest winners |
| Skyworks Solutions rose 14% after Apple launched its foldable Duo iPhone and CEO confirmed the $22 billion Qorvo merger will close this calendar year. LINK |
| Forgent Power Solutions rose 10% after reporting fiscal Q4 revenue of $462 million, up 94% year-over-year, and raising FY2027 revenue guidance to $2.4–$2.6 billion. LINK |
| Qorvo rose 9% after Skyworks CEO confirmed at Goldman Sachs Communacopia conference that their $22 billion merger cleared U.S. regulatory hurdles and is on track to close by year-end. LINK |
| ▼ Biggest losers |
| Circle Internet Group fell 11% after the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act's approval probability plummeted to 16-19% ahead of a critical Senate cloture vote. LINK |
| Coinbase Global fell 10% after the SEC sued Coinbase for allegedly operating as an unregistered securities exchange. LINK |
| BitMine Immersion Technologies fell 8% after announcing a $500 million at-the-market equity offering. LINK |
📑 Research & Reports
- SemiAnalysis says only 2.3 gigawatts face genuine delays despite data-center restrictions. LINK
- BofA raised 2030 global chip-sales forecast to $3.2 trillion. LINK
- BIS study finds Bitcoin value estimates vary sixfold depending on transaction counting. LINK
- Experian finds 54% consumers accept AI agents applying for credit. LINK
- Standard Chartered set $10 end-2030 ARB target, citing tokenization growth. LINK
- Citi says companies prioritize unlocking trapped cash as supply disruptions persist. LINK