Anthropic & SpaceX Partnership, GameStop Buying eBay & Data Centers In Your House

0:00Robert Croak:You are tuning in to the Rich Habits Radar, our Friday episode of the Rich Habits Podcast, where every Friday morning we're coming at you with the biggest headlines impacting you and your money. This episode is brought to you by VCX, the public ticker for private tech. My name is Austin Hankwitz. I'm joined by my co-host Robert Croak. And the three things sitting at the top of our Rich Habits Radar this week include Anthropic taking over Elon Musk's supercomputer, the US and Iran closing in on a deal to hopefully end the war and Google killing Fitbit and replacing it with a$99 whoop competitor.

0:37Robert Croak:And be sure to stick around to the end where we talk about NVIDIA's plan to put a data center in your house. No, we're not joking.

0:44Austin Hankwitz:We are definitely not joking. And this is going to be an awesome episode. So many cool things to talk about and cover. So let's start out by Anthropic, the company behind Claude, one of the most popular AI assistants in the world just announced it will use all of the computing capacity at SpaceX's Colossus One data center in Memphis, Tennessee. That's 300 megawatts of power and more than 220 ,000 NVIDIA GPUs, including H200s and the next generation GB200 accelerators coming online by the end of this month.

1:18Robert Croak:So let's explain why this is such a big deal. Starting with the backstory, Colossus One was originally built by Elon Musk's XAI company to train Grok, their AI chatbot. It launched in September 2024 at a former Electrolux factory in South Memphis, of course, Memphis, Tennessee there. But in February of 2026, SpaceX merged with XAI. So Musk is now building Colossus 2, a much bigger facility in Memphis's Whitehaven neighborhood, and SpaceX has already shifted its AI operations from Colossus 1 to this new Colossus 2, which means Colossus One has capacity to spare. Now, enter Anthropic into the equation.

2:01Austin Hankwitz:Yeah, this comes at a critical moment for Anthropic. The company has been compute starved. You've seen it all over the headlines. And demand for Claude has exploded. Annualized revenue grew from$1 billion in December of 2024 to roughly$30 billion by the end of March 2026, which is just crazy, crazy revenue. Claude Code alone, their AI coding tool, is doing over$2.5 billion in annualized revenue, but they've been throttling back users because they physically don't have enough GPUs to serve everyone. This deal, Anthropix says, will substantially increase their capacity, and they've already announced higher usage limits for Cloud Code and Cloud API.

2:42Robert Croak:That's been one of Elon Musk's priorities with the company for a while now. There's been no details formally announced, but the fact that it was mentioned publicly signals both companies are thinking about a long-term partnership.

2:55Austin Hankwitz:And the timing on all of this matters because SpaceX filed confidentially with the SEC on April 1st for an IPO targeting evaluation between$1.75 trillion and$2 trillion. That really just blows my mind every single time. The public S1 is expected by late May with a roadshow set for the week of June 8th, a major revenue-generating compute deal with one of the hottest AI companies on the planet. That's exactly the kind of story you want to tell investors right before that IPO when you go public.

3:27Robert Croak:And speaking of Anthropic, there's been rumors of a$50 billion fundraise at a up to$900 billion valuation for that company, which is much more valuable than OpenAI's most recent valuation. I think it was$852 billion. So lots of chatter, a little chit-chat here and there. So, Robert, why don't you break it down for everyone? What does this mean for you and your money?

3:49Austin Hankwitz:Yeah, this deal is a perfect snapshot of where the AI industry is heading right now. Demand is outstripping supply so dramatically that the most well-funded AI companies in the world are making deals with competitors just to get access to those GPUs. Anthropic and Musk companies are not natural allies, and Musk has been publicly critical of Anthropic's leadership in the past. But when your compute's starved and someone has 220 ,000 idle GPUs, ideology takes a backseat to infrastructure.

4:18Robert Croak:Yeah, and for your portfolio, the obvious beneficiary here is NVIDIA. Every one of these announcements, Colossus 1, Colossus 2, the$700 billion plus CapEx spend that we talked about last week, all of it traces back to NVIDIA hardware. It's funny, I was on X and I saw NVIDIA, the real at NVIDIA X account, sort of quote tweeted Anthropik's announcement and was like, happy to be the one to supply this, right? Like they're like, they're the ones. It's all back to NVIDIA. Their GPUs are the backbone of every AI data center on the planet. Now beyond NVIDIA, the semiconductor supply chain companies are just as important.

4:56Robert Croak:Micron for memory, Broadcom for networking, TSMC for fabrication. All of these names benefit from the insatiable demand we're seeing with AI.

5:05Austin Hankwitz:The bigger takeaway for me is that the AI race is consolidating around a handful of massive players. OpenAI has Microsoft. Anthropic now has SpaceX and Amazon. Google has DeepMind in-house. Meta is building its own. So if you're a smaller AI company without access to hundreds of thousands of GPOs, you're simply going to get squeezed out. The compute haves are pulling further ahead of the compute have-nots. And that divide is only going to widen.

5:32Robert Croak:I could not agree more, which is why we're seeing a flurry, right? $700 billion, Robert, of CapEx spend right now from these hyperscalers. Let's now jump to our second story with the potential deal to end the war between the U.S. and Iran. The White House believes it's getting close to an agreement framework for detailed nuclear negotiations. According to Axios, the U.S. expects Iranian responses on several key points this week. Two U.S. officials and two other sources briefed on the issue say that this is the closest that the two sides have been to an agreement since the war began, which I think is good news.

6:07Robert Croak:I don't want war. I don't think anyone wants war.

6:09Austin Hankwitz:In its current form, the memo would declare an end to the war in the region and a start of a 30-day period of negotiations on a comprehensive long-term agreement.

6:18Robert Croak:Iran would commit to a moratorium on nuclear enrichment. The duration is being actively negotiated, but sources say somewhere between 12 and 15 years as the likely landing spot. Iran said five, U.S. said 20, and maybe they'll meet somewhere in the middle there. Any Iranian violation would automatically extend it. When it expires, Iran would only be able to enrich about three and a half percent, which is the civilian reactor grade, well below weapons grade. Iran would also commit to never seek a nuclear weapon, agree not to operate underground nuclear facilities, and submit to enhanced inspections, including snap inspections by UN inspectors.

6:58Austin Hankwitz:And here's the headline that would have been unthinkable six months ago. Two sources claim Iran would agree to remove its highly enriched uranium from the country entirely. One source said an option being discussed is moving the material to the United States, which is crazy to me, but that sounds amazing. That has been a key American demand that Tehran has rejected up until now.

7:19Robert Croak:In exchange for this, the United States would gradually lift sanctions and release billions of dollars in frozen Iranian funds held all around the world. Both sides would gradually lift restrictions on transit through the Strait of Hormuz during that 30-day negotiation period. And if the talks collapsed, U.S. forces could restore the blockade or resume their military action.

7:40Austin Hankwitz:Secretary of State Marco Rubio said this is highly complex and technical and called some of Iran's top leaders, and I'm quoting, insane in the brain. The White House believes the Iranian leadership is divided and may be hard to forge consensus across the different factions. U.S. officials have expressed optimism about deals at several points during this war and have yet to reach one. So nothing has been agreed upon yet. So, Austin, this is a big deal. This could really move the markets and everything else. Tell our listeners, what does this mean for you and your money?

8:11Robert Croak:Yeah, I mean, if the deal holds, single most important macro development of the year, right? The Strait of Hormuz handles roughly 20 % of the world's petroleum, 20 % of global liquefied natural gas. When it was effectively shut down earlier this year, Brent crude, which is like the price of oil, essentially went from the low 70s to the high 110 range. Gasoline has spiked. CPI, which is essentially the inflation index that re-accelerated to 3.3%. The Fed's hands were tied in the most recent meeting because they said, listen, this isn't a demand side. This is a supply side and we can't help the supply.

8:47Robert Croak:We can only impact demand. Now, by unwinding that even gradually over the coming 30 days, that would remove the biggest inflationary shock for the year thus far, which hopefully leads us to rate cuts. Who knows?

9:01Austin Hankwitz:For your portfolio, the beneficiaries are clear. Airlines like Spirit rest in peace, cruise lines, consumer discretionary, anything where fuel costs compressed margins. Delta, United, Southwest, Royal Caribbean, they all get an immediate tailwind from cheaper oil. Consumers get relief at the pump, which means more discretionary spending, which means retail and restaurants benefit too. So this is great news if it happens.

9:25Robert Croak:I want to double click on the pump thing, Robert, because I've seen literally in the last like three days or five friends put on their Instagram stories that they're spending 60 or 70 dollars to fill up their gas tank at the pump when normally they would only be spending, call it 30, 40 dollars. Right. So they're spending an extra 30 or 40 dollars just to fill up their tank every week. That's 30 or 40 dollars that doesn't get spent at Chili's or Texas Roadhouse or at, you know, Lululemon. Not that anyone's buying Lululemon stuff for 30 bucks these days. But you know what I'm saying, right? It's like the more money that goes to one thing that we all have to spend money on, which is fuel for our vehicles and transportation, that is money that can't go and be spent somewhere else.

10:04Robert Croak:And so those companies that rely on that discretionary spending, the person that says, yeah, let's go eat out this taco Tuesday for Cinco de Mayo, right? That restaurant that was hoping that people would go, you know, pull up to their restaurant or spend money to whatever it is with that extra$30 or$40, they don't have it in their budget anymore because it's already spent at the pump. So I think this is going to be a really big deal if we can get these gas prices down. I love to see this. The deal's not done, though. Iran's reviewing the proposal. There are hardliners in Tehran who just don't want to negotiate on all this stuff.

10:36Robert Croak:So again, this is not done yet. But progress is progress, and that's what I'm excited about.

10:41Austin Hankwitz:And we will definitely make sure to keep you guys abreast of everything that is happening with this because it touches all of us throughout all aspects of our finances because little leaks do sink ships. and seeing$5 a gallon gas is really difficult. Now, Austin, before we jump into our third story, support for the show comes from VCX, the public ticker for private tech. For generations, American companies have moved the world forward through their ingenuity and determination. And for generations, everyday Americans could take a part of that journey through perhaps the greatest innovation of all, the U.S.

11:15Austin Hankwitz:stock market.

11:16Robert Croak:It didn't matter if you were a factory worker in Detroit or a farmer in Omaha, anyone can own a piece of the great American companies. But now that's changed. Today, our most innovative companies are staying private rather than going public. The result is that everyday Americans are excluded from investing and getting left further behind while a select few reap all the benefits. Until now.

11:37Austin Hankwitz:Introducing VCX, the public ticker for private tech. VCX by Fundrise gives everyone the opportunity to invest in the next generation of innovation, including the companies leading the AI revolution, space exploration, defense tech, and so much more.

11:52Robert Croak:Visit getvcx.com for more information. That's getvcx.com. Carefully consider the investment material before investing, including objectives, risks, charges, and expenses. This and other information can be found in the fund's prospectus at getvcx.com. This is a paid sponsorship. Robert, I wonder if we see Anthropic raise at that$900 billion valuation that they're rumored to be doing here. And VCX has about 20, I think, or 25 % ownership, right? like call it a fourth, a fifth, whatever it might be of the fund entirely is in Anthropic, what that markup might do for that market net asset value. It'd be really cool to see that.

12:31Robert Croak:So I'm definitely keeping an eye on this one.

12:33Austin Hankwitz:Yeah, I think so too, because it will move the needle and get that MNAV price more in line with where it should be. So we'll definitely keep an eye on that. And I'm excited as well, since we are both holders of VCX.

12:45Robert Croak:Now let's go jump to our third story of the week, which is Google launching Fitbit Air. A$99 screenless fitness band that looks, feels, and functions almost exactly like a whoop. You guys have probably seen these W-H-O-O-P. It's like a little bracelet people wear. Really popular. I had one. I didn't really like it that much. It was also very expensive. Now, the one that Google has launched here, the Fitbit Air, has no screen, has no buttons, just a small modular sensor that pops out of the band and can be swapped into different straps, wristbands, chest straps, or whatever you want to wear it with.

13:20Austin Hankwitz:This is definitely a step in the right direction. RIP Whoop. It weighs 5.2 grams without the band and 12 grams with it. It's 25 % smaller than the Fitbit Lux and 50 % smaller than the Inspire band. And here's the kicker. It costs$99. No subscription required for the core features. So this is something for us all to keep an eye on.

13:43Robert Croak:I think that's interesting you said no subscription because Whoop charges$199 up to$359 per year just for the subscription. And that's on top of the hardware. So the Whoop MG band itself is$360. So you get the full Whoop experience, you're paying$500 to$700 to get your Whoop going on. Google's offering a competing product for $100 flat, no subscription fee, no nothing, just buy it once, get all the access.

14:11Austin Hankwitz:And the Fitbit Air packs an optical heart rate sensor, gyroscoped accelerometer, blood oxygen sensor, and skin temperature sensor for sleep tracking. It's waterproof to 50 meters. Battery life is seven days with a five minute charge, getting you one full day of use. And it can work alongside of a Pixel watch and you wear the watch during the day and the air for sleep and workouts if you want. So this thing sounds magical. I'm definitely going to want to check it out.

14:39Robert Croak:Yeah, not just a hardware story. This is a platform story because on May 19th, Google plans to kill the Fitbit app entirely. It's being consolidated into a new app that they're calling Google Health, along with Android's Health Connect. The Fitbit premium subscription is being rebranded as Google Health Premium, and the AI health coach that's been in beta since October is now rolling out completely to the public.

15:02Austin Hankwitz:Google's VP of Health and Home told The Verge that the goal is to become a health platform that works with any device, not just Fitbit and Pixel hardware. Eventually, they want Google Health to work with Apple Watches, Garmin's, Whoops, and Aura Rings. They want to consolidate the fragmented world of health data, where your fitness metrics are all in one app, your medical records are in another, your nutrition is in a third, into one single platform with AI-powered coaching. Sounds incredible.

15:32Robert Croak:Robert, nearly half a million users participated in the Google Health beta and Google received over a million pieces of feedback. The final version will add back missing features like cycle tracking, a more accurate sleep algorithm, and what they describe as a less chatty AI coach. So Robert, what does this mean for you and your money?

15:49Austin Hankwitz:This is Google doing what Google does best, using distribution and price to commoditize a competitor's core product. We'll build a great business by charging premium prices for a screenless band plus a subscription for insights and Google just undercut them on price by 70 to 80 % and bundled it all into a platform that already has a billion Android users as potential customers.