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Plaid is reportedly considering an initial public offering and has held early discussions with banks after securing an $8B valuation earlier this year, while Minted is said to be exploring a sale that could value the design platform at about $1B as it works with JPMorgan following inbound interest.This week's private company news:Plaid, the technology company whose network helps fintech apps connect to customer accounts, is considering an initial public offering, Bloomberg's Bailey Lipschultz and Paige Smith, citing people familiar with the matter. The company has held preliminary discussions with banks about a potential IPO, the people said. Plaid secured an $8B valuation in a funding round earlier this year, Bloomberg News reported.Minted is exploring a sale that could value the stationery, art and home decor design platform at around $1B after receiving inbound interest, according to sources familiar with the matter, Reuters' Abigail Summerville, Milana Vinn and Sabrina Valle. The company, which is backed by investment firm Permira, has been working with JPMorgan on the process, the sources said, requesting anonymity to discuss a private matter. The sources cautioned that a sale is not guaranteed and Minted could decide to remain independent.Before directing employees to develop a standalone prediction market app, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg explored acquiring Kalshi and met with CEO Tarek Mansour, but discussions did not progress despite growing interest in prediction markets, NPR's Bobby Allyn. According to some people with knowledge of the discussions, Mansour would not move forward with a sale and others have indicated Meta considered the legal and ethical questions surrounding Kalshi too messy.Erebor Bank is in talks to raise funds at a valuation of at least $8B, as deposits grow rapidly at the politically connected startup that received its bank charter only five months ago, Bloomberg's Todd Gillespie and Natasha Mascarenhas report. The bank, launched by Anduril Industries founder Palmer Luckey and backed by investor Peter Thiel, has had conversations with potential investors about a valuation that could roughly double the $4.35B level it secured at the end of last year, according to people familiar with the matter.Some of the biggest capital raises by private companies this week include:Reed Semiconductor– The company announced the completion of an upsized, oversubscribed $100M funding round with participation from several leading global semiconductor companies. Publicly-traded companies operating in the same space include Intel, AMD, and Nvidia.Higharc– The homebuilding AI company for the full design-to-construction lifecycle, announced it has raised a $95M Series C led by global software investor Insight Partners. The round brings Higharc's total funding to more than $170M. Publicly-traded companies operating in the same space include Autodesk, Trimble, and Procore.Straiker– The Agentic Security company announced a $64M Series A, bringing its total funding to $85M. The round was led by Marathon Management Partners, Citi Ventures, Illuminate Financial, and Workday Ventures, with continued support from Bain Capital Ventures and Lightspeed. Publicly-traded companies operating in the same space include CrowdStrike, SentinelOne, and Palo Alto Networks.Patronus AI– The company announced a $50M Series B led by Greenfield Partners and unveiled its Digital World Models, a new class of large-scale simulation environments designed to help AI systems train, evaluate, and improve across complex digital workflows. The round included participation from existing investors Notable Capital, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Datadog, Samsung, Factorial Capital, Gokul Rajaram, and leading AI and software executives. Publicly-traded companies operating in the same space include Unity, PTC, and Ansys.Allium– The leading blockchain data platform for enterprises, announced it has raised $40M in Series B funding. The round was led by Amplify Partners, with participation from existing investors Kleiner Perkins and Theory Ventures. Publicly-traded companies operating in the same space include Coinbase, Block, and IBM.Unicorns to watch this week:Lovable– The startup offering an AI-powered "vibe-coding" platform that enables users with little or no technical background to build apps and websites via natural language is valued at $1.8B. Publicly-traded companies operating in the same space include Appian, Pegasystems, and ServiceNow.Statsig– With a valuation of about $1.1B, the platform provides experimentation, feature flagging, and product analytics for engineering/product teams. Publicly-traded companies operating in the same space include Amplitude.Chaos Industries– The defense tech / national security startup building advanced detection, radar, monitoring and communications systems is valued at about $2B. Publicly-traded companies operating in the same space include L3Harris Technologiesand Northrop Grumman.Huntress– The company valued at $1.5B Provides managed detection & responseand threat hunting tools for SMBs and mid market enterprises. Publicly-traded companies operating in the same space include CrowdStrike, SentinelOne, and Palo Alto Networks.Hume AI– The conversation AI platform is valued at $1.1B and focuses on building emotionally aware conversational AI models and voice interfaces. Publicly-traded companies operating in the same space include SoundHoundand Nuance.Other IPOs to watch:Bending Spoons– The technology company whose main businesses include AOL, Brightcove, Eventbrite, Evernote, Harvest, komoot, Remini, StreamYard, Vimeo, and WeTransfer, announced that it has publicly filed a registration statement on Form F-1 with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission relating to a proposed initial public offering of its ordinary shares.Kardigan– The company has filed an initial public offering of shares of its common stock. JP Morgan, Jefferies, Leerink Partners, and TD Cowen are acting as the underwriters for the offering.Inspire Brands– The company announced that it has confidentially submitted a draft registration statement on Form S-1 with the Securities and Exchange Commission relating to the proposed initial public offering of its common stock. Inspire Brands expects to use the net proceeds of the proposed offering to repay outstanding indebtedness under its existing term loan facility and pay offering fees and expenses.Tarsier Pharma Ltd.– The company filed for an initial public offering of its ordinary shares. The prospectus stated, "Tarsier Pharma is developing TRS01 and TRS02, novel product candidates based on dazdotuftide, a new molecule with a new mechanism of action for uveitis and uveitic glaucoma. We are attempting to address a significant, underserved market opportunity and have engaged closely with the FDA on our clinical development strategy, including a Special Protocol Assessment agreement for our planned pivotal trial... Although we are still early in this journey, I believe we have the technology, the team, the discipline, and the persistence required to build an enduring company.""Private Markets" is The Fly's recurring series of stories on the latest moves in the private sector, largest unicorn companies and initial public offerings to watch. Fly subscribers, add $PRIVATE to your portfolio for alerts on breaking news in the startup and venture capital space.

Cboe data suggests bullish flow in ServiceNow (NOW), with shares up $6.53, or 6.58%, near $105.81. Options volume roughly in line with average with 245k contracts traded and calls leading puts for a put/call ratio of 0.27, compared to a typical level near 0.48. Implied volatility (IV30) is higher by 1.3 points near 70.54, in the highest 10% of observations over the past year, suggesting an expected daily move of $4.70. Put-call skew flattened, suggesting a modestly bullish tone, following an upgrade to Buy at Guggenheim.

The major averages closed lower as markets gauged the likelihood of a Fed rate hike this year and how much room is left on the AI trade. Markets kicked off the second half of 2026 with a bit of a cautious tone after a powerful second-quarter rally. Semiconductor names such as Micron, SanDisk, Nvidia, and Broadcom slid to start the quarter after their massive year-to-date rallies as investors took some profits and rotated to other areas.Get caught up quickly on the top news and calls moving stocks with these five Top Five lists.1. STOCK NEWS:Nikereportedbut guided for Q1 revenue to declineBloombergthat Metais building a cloud business to sell access to AI computing, while NPR reported that Meta had explored buying prediction market app KalshiAlcoaSouth32'sbauxite, alumina, and aluminum assets for $4.1BKrogerGiant Eagle for $1.65BQualcommbriefly jumped after thethat SpaceXhas a prototype of a handset-like AI device, though Elon Musk called the report "utterly false," resulting in Qualcomm giving up the gains2. WALL STREET CALLS:GuggenheimSalesforce, ServiceNowand Check Pointto Buy, calling the fatal AI bear case on software a "hallucination"RBCDow Inc.to Sector Perform on falling polyethylene pricesWedbush sees SpaceXas "major hyperscaler,"coverage with an Outperform rating and $190 price targetLockheed Martinto Buy at CitiSimon Propertyto Peer Perform at Wolfe3. AROUND THE WEB:South Korea's antitrust regulator is alleging that Googleabused its dominant position in the Android app marketplace to restrict competition, affecting an estimated 14.16 trillion won in revenue and potentially resulting in corrective measures and financial penalties from the Korea Fair Trade Commission, Reuters saysCMA CGM is close to a deal to buy FedEx'sthird-party logistics business for $1.4B in cash, FT reportsParamount Skydancehas offered remedies to address EU concerns related to its acquisition of Warner Bros, Reuters saysOpenAI engineers earlier this month told some colleagues they had figured out a way to more than halve the cost of inference, The Information reportsMicrosoftintends to announce layoffs soon as it continues efforts to lower costs, Business Insider says4. MOVERS:Evolvincreases afterof its hardware and software subscription agreement with TD GardenDLocalgains in New York after UBSthe stock to Buy from NeutralGrindrhigher after Morgan Stanleythe stock to OverweightOptimumlower after its subsidiarypreliminary results of its tender offerShutterstockfalls after Getty Imageswith the company5. EARNINGS/GUIDANCE:General Millsreported, provided guidance for FY27, and said it is targeting $3B in cost savings by FY30FactSetand backed its guidance for FY26Genius Group, with revenue higher year-over-yearMSC Industrial, with EPS and revenue beating consensusProgress Software, provided guidance for Q3, and raised its outlook for FY26INDEXES:The Dow fell 13.96, or 0.027%, to 52,305.24, the Nasdaq lost 173.69, or 0.66%, to 26,040.03, and the S&P 500 declined 16.13, or 0.22%, to 7,483.23.

The major averages were mixed near noon as investors weigh renewed uncertainty in the Middle East against continued strength in the broader economy. Markets are starting the second half of 2026 with a bit of a cautious tone after a powerful second-quarter rally. Semiconductor names such as Micron, SanDisk, Nvidia, and Broadcom are slipping to start the quarter after their massive rallies year-to-date as investors look to take in some profits following strength in the sector.Get caught up quickly on the top news and calls moving stocks with these five Top Five lists.1. STOCK NEWS:Nikereportedbut guided for Q1 revenue to declineBloombergthat Metais building a cloud business to sell access to AI computing, while NPR reported that Meta had explored buying prediction market app KalshiAlcoaSouth32'sbauxite, alumina, and aluminum assets for $4.1BKrogerGiant Eagle for $1.65BGeneral Millsreported, provided guidance for FY27, and said it is targeting $3B in cost savings by FY302. WALL STREET CALLS:GuggenheimSalesforce, ServiceNowand Check Pointto Buy, calling the fatal AI bear case on software a "hallucination"RBCDow Inc.to Sector Perform on falling polyethylene pricesWedbush sees SpaceX as "major hyperscaler,"with an Outperform rating and $190 price targetLockheed Martinto Buy at CitiSimon Propertyto Peer Perform at Wolfe3. AROUND THE WEB:South Korea's antitrust regulator is alleging that Googleabused its dominant position in the Android app marketplace to restrict competition, affecting an estimated 14.16 trillion won in revenue and potentially resulting in corrective measures and financial penalties from the Korea Fair Trade Commission, Reuters saysCMA CGM is close to a deal to buy FedEx'sthird-party logistics business for $1.4B in cash, FT reportsParamount Skydancehas offered remedies to address EU concerns related to its acquisition of Warner Bros, Reuters saysOpenAI engineers earlier this month told some colleagues they had figured out a way to more than halve the cost of inference, The Information reportsMicrosoftintends to announce layoffs soon as it continues efforts to lower costs, Business Insider says4. MOVERS:Evolvincreases after announcing aof its hardware and software subscription agreement with TD GardenDLocalgains in New York after UBSthe stock to Buy from NeutralGrindrhigher after Morgan Stanleythe stock to OverweightOptimumlower after its subsidiary announced preliminary results of itsShutterstockfalls after Getty Imageswith the company5. EARNINGS/GUIDANCE:FactSetand backed its guidance for FY26Genius Group, with revenue higher year-over-yearMilestone Scientific, with CEO Eric Hines commenting, "We are highly encouraged by our preliminary second-quarter top-line results"MSC Industrial, with EPS and revenue beating consensusProgress Software, provided guidance for Q3, and raised its outlook for FY26INDEXES:Near midday, the Dow was up 0.59%, or 308.43, to 52,627.63, the Nasdaq was down 0.32%, or 82.93, to 26,130.79, and the S&P 500 was up 0.18%, or 13.86, to 7,513.22.