"No buyers for an $850 billion valuation stock"—Distortions in the private equity market and the speculation of investors flocking to Anthropic

According to the latest Bloomberg report, while OpenAI has completed a historic funding round, pushing its valuation past $850 billion (approximately 130 trillion yen), it has also been revealed that Elon Musk's SpaceX has filed confidential paperwork for what could be its largest IPO to date.

However, behind the glamorous top-line figures, structural challenges that investors must monitor are coming to light, such as the severe bottleneck in "data centers," which are the lifeline of AI development, and the escalating threats of cybersecurity. This article explains the "tectonic shifts" in the technology market that can be read from the latest headlines.

1. OpenAI's historic funding and the "distortion" of the private equity market

As the champion of generative AI, OpenAI is absorbing unprecedented amounts of capital from the market to cover the massive costs of securing computing resources and data centers.

1-1. $122 billion in funding and flexibility for an IPO

According to Bloomberg, OpenAI has completed a staggering $122 billion funding round. This scale surpasses any previous startup funding, corporate acquisition, or even major IPO.

OpenAI's CFO stated that this capital "provides the company with maximum flexibility." They now have every option on the table: carefully assessing market conditions and the path to profitability to determine the timing of an IPO, or remaining a private company for the foreseeable future.

1-2. Why Anthropic is preferred in the secondary market

However, an unexpected phenomenon is occurring in the secondary (private equity trading) market. Even when investors try to sell their OpenAI shares, they cannot find buyers, and instead, demand for its rival, Anthropic, is surging.

The background to this is a "valuation gap." While OpenAI's valuation has reached $852 billion, Anthropic's valuation remains at $38 billion. Hedge funds and investors are thinking, "If Anthropic raises more capital in the future and closes this valuation gap (scales up), I want to get in early and reap the profits."

2. The blind spot of AI infrastructure: Data centers and power bottlenecks

While AI models are becoming more sophisticated, the construction of the physical infrastructure that supports them is reaching its limits.

2-1. Supply chain issues causing delays for half of all projects

Currently, AI ambitions are facing the realistic walls of "power" and "physical infrastructure." It has been reported that "about half" of the data centers planned for construction this year are expected to be delayed or canceled.

The primary reason is a shortage of critical electrical equipment needed to operate data centers and an excessive reliance on imports from overseas, including China. A paradox has emerged where the U.S., which promotes "America First" and aims to beat China in the AI race, is dependent on China for the critical components needed to build its infrastructure.

2-2. AI infrastructure as a national project

Kevin Frazier of the Cato Institute points out regarding this situation that "we need to view the construction of AI infrastructure as a national challenge."

Data centers are not just IT facilities; they are critical infrastructure equivalent to the next-generation "highways" and "ports" that support the internet, commerce, healthcare, and even national security. He states, "Today's AI is the least capable it will ever be, and today's data centers are the least efficient," and urges the strengthening of the power grid for the next generation and the urgency of domestic infrastructure investment.

3. A turning point for cybersecurity and Anthropic's code leak

The spread of AI agents is also bringing a "paradigm shift" to the field of cybersecurity.

3-1. Leak of "Claude Code" due to human error

At Anthropic, an incident occurred where the source code behind the coding assistant "Claude Code" was accidentally made public. This was not a hack, but purely a "human error." Although no customer data was leaked, the fact that the code was exposed to millions of eyes increased the risk of vulnerabilities being discovered.

3-2. AI agents accelerating cyberattacks

Cybersecurity expert Kevin Mandia warns about this situation from a more macro perspective.

"In times of technological transition, malice is always executed faster than goodwill. Within the next two years, AI agents will become the main force on the 'offensive side' of cyberspace."

AI agents think for themselves, learn, and launch attacks at computer processing speeds. To counter this, there is no choice but to eliminate human intervention (human-in-the-loop) and build systems that defend autonomously using AI. We are now at the dawn of 'fully autonomous cyber warfare.'

4. Toward the largest IPO in history: SpaceX's confidential filing

There has also been a historic move in space development, another massive frontier for technology investment.

4-1. A $1.75 trillion valuation, an unprecedented listing plan

It has been reported that SpaceX, led by Elon Musk, has filed a confidential IPO application, aiming for a listing as early as June. Its valuation is said to be a staggering $1.75 trillion, with fundraising expected to be in the $50 billion to $75 billion range. If realized, this would be the largest IPO in history in terms of both capital raised and valuation.

Bloomberg reporter Ed Ludlow mentions a completely new possibility for one of the purposes of this massive fundraising: "securing funds for data centers (AI infrastructure) in outer space."

Summary: The "essence" of technology that investors should grasp

The historic fundraising by two giant companies, OpenAI and SpaceX, indicates that investment in next-generation infrastructure such as AI and space has entered a new phase.

However, behind the superficial frenzy lie "distortions in private equity valuations seen in Anthropic," "fragility in the power and component supply chains for data centers," and "new security threats brought about by AI."

Investors and business professionals need to step back from superficial discussions about simply "which AI model is better" and quickly shift their perspective to the physical infrastructure that supports it (power, semiconductors, data centers) and the distortions that arise during the process of social implementation (security, regulation). Correctly grasping the "veins of water" where massive capital flows will be the greatest weapon for winning in the next growth market.

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