Episode 17 of the Trading Places Pod featuring Javier Avalos of Caplight is out now!This week: the IRS as your hidden secondary buyer, why banks need private market solutions, how platform acquisitions are reshaping secondaries, and whether AI companies are in a bubble or just getting started. Plus, Oracle's cash flow crisis, TikTok's $38B deal, and why mega VC funds might be destroying returns.Hosts Dave McClure and Aman Verjee dive deep with Javier Avalos, CEO and co-founder of Caplight, on the explosive growth in VC secondary markets, transaction data from $3.5B+ in deals, and why 83% of trading volume concentrates in just 15 companies. Javier shares insights on SPV structures, fee loads that make no sense, and why secondary markets are becoming the third leg of the exit stool alongside IPOs and M&A.[ timestamps ]0:00 – cold open1:04 – intro[ tech & vc news ]02:05 – TikTok new owners 🕺07:07 – 2025 AI hype cycle review 🤪10:02 – Tomasz Tunguz on AI junk bonds 🗑️

12:33 – Elon launches DATA CENTERS IN SPACE!!! 🚀🛰️14:29 – Lightspeed $9B megafund ⚡️16:53 – Dragoneer raises $4.3B 🐉17:39 – OpenAI $750B val & deal with Amazon 💃21:51 – Databricks $134B valuation 🧱23:22 – Waymo $100B val drive 🚕24:14 – Lovable, Unconventional & Notion 💰30:18 – [ intvw: Javier Avalos / Caplight ]30:27 – from Forge to Caplight 👨‍💼35:30 – top 20 startups vs the rest 🌎36:26 – $3.5B closed trade data in 2025 💵39:07 – concentrated VC funds 🎅🏼40:10 – good SPV check list ✅[ val corner: xAI @ $230B ]1:15:11 – what actually is xAI? 🤖1:18:02 – financial analysis 📊1:21:34 – xAI big backers 🧑‍🧑‍🧒1:24:48 – which Elon company to back? 💸Links:[ trading places podcast = www.linktr.ee/tradingplacespod ][ javier avalos = https://www.linkedin.com/in/javier-avalos-caplight ][ caplight = https://framer.caplight.com ][ aman verjee = https://www.linkedin.com/in/aman-verjee/ | https://x.com/amanverjee ][ dave mcclure = https://www.linkedin.com/in/davemcclure/ | https://x.com/davemcclure ]Pod Highlights This Week:Secondary markets = new exit option: Javier reveals Caplight is tracking $3.5B in closed trades in 2025—up 50% YoY—making secondaries a viable third leg alongside IPOs and M&AConcentration is extreme: Top 5 companies = 54.7% of all trading volume; top 20 = over 80%; if you're not in the top 50, you're less than 10% of the marketAI pure play thesis: Only place to get direct AI model exposure—public markets bundle it with advertising, cloud, social mediaBanks racing to acquire platforms: Schwab/Forge ($660M), Morgan Stanley/EquityZen, Goldman/Industry Ventures—if you don't have a private markets solution for clients, you're behindSPV explosion: Now 50% of market activity (up from 15% in 2021) as mega AI rounds require co-investment vehicles—but beware triple-layer 4-and-40 structuresOracle's cash flow crisis: Went from $14B free cash flow (2021) to NEGATIVE as CapEx commitments balloon—bet on OpenAI backfiring?AI bubble or justified?: 25% of volume but 50%+ buyer interest; if more sellers come to market, 2026 could see even more dealsMega funds destroying returns?: Lightspeed $9B, Dragoneer $4.3B—history shows mega funds underperform smaller strategic fundsNotion's patient playbook: Raised at $11B in 2021 bubble (100x revenue), then grew revenue 10x to "only" 20x multiple—rare flat round successx.ai at $230B: Is this about Elon's network or fundamentals? Valor, Ira, Jensen, Sequoia, a16z all in—do you bet with or against them?Javier's insider wisdom: "If you're buying a triple-layer SPV with 3-and-30 that closes in 24 hours, just say no—there's no FOMO worth that"#davemcclure #tradingplacespod #vcsecondaries #secondarymarket #caplight #javieravalos #forgeglobal #schwab #openai #oracle #AI #venturecapital #SPVs #privateequity #liquidityevent #unicorns #spacex #stripe #databricks #xai #elonmusk #secondaries #techvc