This Week in Pre-IPO Stocks - Market Update - May 12, 2023 - E45

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Pre-IPO Stock Market Update - May 12, 2023 | BofE rejects Revolut, Crypto industry (Coinbase) vs SEC, Shein raises a down round, Montana bans TikTok, OpenAI's Altman at Congress

00:29 | BofE rejects Revolut
- The Bank of England plans to reject Revolut's UK banking license application over balance sheet concerns.
- Revolut attributes the issue to auditor concerns about revenues.
- Revolut’s last primary round was in Jul 2021 at $33b. They’re currently trading at a $15.6b in the secondary market.

01:15 | Crypto industry (Coinbase) vs SEC
- The SEC rejects Coinbase's request for new regulations in the crypto industry, stating that swift guidance is not mandatory.
- Coinbase filed a lawsuit to compel the SEC to respond to its rulemaking petition seeking clarity on applying securities rules to cryptocurrencies.
- SEC Chair Gary Gensler considers most tokens as securities and believes they should comply with existing securities laws, warning Coinbase of potential actions related to securities law violations.

02:17 | Shein raises a down round
- Shein secures $2 billion in its latest funding round, resulting in a valuation of $66 billion, a decrease from its previous $100 billion valuation in October 2022.
- The decrease is attributed to declining tech-company share prices and increased scrutiny from U.S. lawmakers on labor and environmental practices.
- Despite the lower valuation, Shein remains focused on growth, aiming for a 40% increase in revenue this year. The funding round was co-led by Sequoia Capital, General Atlantic, and the U.A.E. sovereign-wealth fund Mubadala. 

03:08 | Montana bans TikTok
- Montana becomes the first US state to ban TikTok, citing national security concerns and "dangerous activities" on the platform.
- The ban, effective from January 1, prohibits TikTok's operation in Montana and restricts mobile app stores from offering the app.
- TikTok plans to challenge the law, arguing that it infringes on First Amendment rights, and emphasizes its commitment to defending users' rights both within and outside Montana.
- ByteDance, TikTok's parent company, is valued at $211 billion in the secondary market and is the largest globally-backed private VC company.

04:22 | OpenAI's Altman at Congress
- OpenAI's CEO, Sam Altman, addressed Congress, highlighting the organization's mission to ensure that artificial general intelligence benefits humanity.
- Altman recognized both the potential of AI in addressing global challenges and the risks associated with it, such as job displacement and bias.
- OpenAI recently raised $300 million at a $28 billion valuation in April 2023.

05:27 | Big capital raises
- Vesttoo | Series D, $1.75b valuation
- UVeye | $100m Series D, $800m valuation
- BillGO | $94m Series B, $500m valuation
- Noveon | $12m Series B1, $435m valuation
- Rewind | $83m Series A, $350m valuation

07:25 | Pre-IPO stocks -0.76% for the week, S&P 500 -0.21%. 
- YTD pre-IPO stocks trail the S&P by 24%.
- Kraken is up 5.17% YTD. N26 is flat for the year. 7 pre-IPO stocks are down 20%+; Airtable, Stripe, Epic Games, Discord, Flexport, Chime, and Brex.
- This week. Databricks +5.64%. SpaceX +4.08%. Airtable +2.12%. Deel -4.35%. Rippling -7.31%. Stripe -9.87%.