Top story for the morning: Anthropic raises up to $15 billion, SpaceX prepares $1.5 trillion IPO

Anthropic has raised up to $15 billion at a company valuation of $350 billion amid explosive growth in AI businesses. SpaceX is considering an IPO in mid-2026 to raise up to $50 billion at a valuation of $1.5 trillion - potentially the largest offering in history. On these and other topics - in our review of key events for the morning of January 28.

Anthropic has closed a new funding round above its initial $10 billion target - totaling between $10 billion and $15 billion at a company valuation of $350 billion, CNBC has confirmed. The round is led by Coatue and Singapore's sovereign wealth fund GIC; Sequoia Capital is also participating. The amount could rise if Microsoft and Nvidia join the deal, having previously announced possible investments of up to $5 billion and $10 billion, respectively.

Founded in 2021 by OpenAI natives led by CEO Dario Amodei, Anthropic is known for Claude models and the Claude Code programming tool, which has surged in popularity. According to Amodei, Anthropic's revenue approached $10 billion last year.

Gold hit an all-time high, rising above $5200 an ounce amid a weakening U.S. dollar and investors' withdrawal from sovereign bonds and currencies, Bloomberg reports. The metal has risen more than 20% since the beginning of the year, breaking through the $5000 level for the first time, while silver has gained more than 50% over the same period. Pressure on the dollar has intensified due to geopolitical risks, a sell-off in Japanese bonds and expectations of a looser Fed policy.

Markets are also alarmed by the actions of US President Donald Trump's administration - from threats of new tariffs to attacks on the Fed's independence. Against this backdrop, demand for protective assets is growing: central banks and ETFs are stepping up purchases of gold, volatility of Comex futures has reached its highest since 2020, and even cryptocurrency companies are joining the rally - Tether has become the largest private holder of gold in the world, Bloomberg writes.

Amazon mistakenly sent out an email to employees in its cloud division about "organizational changes," effectively confirming that it is preparing for large-scale layoffs. According to CNBC, the company may announce more layoffs in its corporate staff, including AWS and its retail business, as early as this week. In the letter, AWS top executive Colleen Aubrey acknowledged that the decisions are "difficult" but necessary for the company's future.

The company's layoffs will continue the wave that began in October 2025, when Amazon announced the layoff of 14,000 employees and allowed continued layoffs in 2026 due to management optimization and AI growth. In parallel, the company is reorganizing its grocery business, closing Fresh and Go stores and betting on Whole Foods and online delivery.

Elon Musk suggested timing the IPO of SpaceX to mid-June 2026 - to the rare convergence of the planets Jupiter and Venus and his own birthday, reports the Financial Times (FT), citing sources. The company expects to raise up to $50 billion at a valuation of about $1.5 trillion, which would make the offering the largest in history.

According to the FT, SpaceX is already preparing for a deal with major banks, but the timing and parameters of the IPO remain preliminary and depend on market conditions and regulators. The company needs to go public to raise funds for the development of the Starship super-heavy launch vehicle, the development of Starlink and projects related to AI; earlier SpaceX discussed a partial sale of shares at a valuation of about $800 billion.

China's only specialized fund for silver - UBS SDIC Silver Futures Fund - has suspended trading after a surge in demand that pushed the premium to the underlying asset to unsustainable levels, Bloomberg writes. Trading was halted until 10:30 a.m. Beijing time, with subscriptions for new units also frozen; the premium to silver futures in Shanghai reached about 36%.

The management company warned that such a premium is "unsustainable" and investors risk significant losses in the event of a market reversal. Demand for silver in China has surged, with domestic prices trading at a premium to global benchmarks, even including VAT, and spot prices jumping more than 50% since the start of the year.

Citigroup forecasts spot silver prices to rise to a record $150 an ounce within three months, after the metal rose almost 50% in January, Bloomberg writes. The bank's analysts note strong demand from China and believe even higher prices will be needed to stimulate sales from current holders, calling silver "gold squared".

Quotes have already hit a record, reaching $117.71 per ounce after jumping 14%, the highest intraday gain since the 2008 crisis. The rally is supported by physical demand and speculative buying in a relatively illiquid market; with the gold/silver price ratio returning to 2011 lows, silver could theoretically rise to $170/oz despite outflows from ETFs and futures speculators selling.

- Japan's broad Topix index was down 0.5 percent, while the Nikkei 225 was little changed in Jan. 28 trading.

- Hong Kong's Hang Seng index was up 2.39%. Mainland China's CSI 300 index was up 0.56%.

- In South Korea, the Kospi index was up 1.54% and the Kosdaq was up 4.59%.

- Australia's S&P/ASX 200 was little changed.

- S&P 500 futures were up 0.36%, Nasdaq Composite futures were up 0.83% and Dow Jones Industrial Average exchange-traded contracts were little changed.

This article was AI-translated and verified by a human editor