LMT News & Events

A Morgan Stanley (MS) broker for U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth tried to make a major investment in big defense names in the weeks leading up to the U.S.-Israeli attack on Iran, the Financial Times' Paul Murphy, Harriet Agnew, Joshua Franklin, and James Politi report, citing three people familiar with the matter. The broker reached out to BlackRock (BLK) in February about investing millions of dollars in the asset manager's Defense Industrials Active ETF shortly before the U.S. launched strikes in Iran, the authors say. The inquiry on behalf of Hegseth was flagged internally at BlackRock, the authors note, citing people familiar with the matter. The aforementioned ETF's largest holdings include RTX (RTX), Lockheed Martin (LMT), and Northrop Grumman (NOC), all of which count the U.S. government as their biggest customers, as well as Palantir (PLTR), according to FT.

As part of a historic funding round, OpenAI said it is raising an additional $10B. Meanwhile, Nvidia-backed Reflection is reportedly in talks to secure $2.5B in funds at a $25B valuation.This week's private company news:Nvidiabacked startup Reflection is in discussions to raise $2.5B at a valuation of $25B, Berber Jin and Kate Clark of The Wall Street Journal, citing people familiar with the matter. The company is looking to build a network of "open source" AI models, which can be used and repurposed by businesses, labs, and universities as needed. JPMorgan Chaseis in talks to participate in the round, the sources added.AMD-backed Vultr, one of the oldest independent cloud providers, is seeking to raise at least $1B in new capital so it can compete with a growing list of startups scrambling for cash to meet the surging demand for AI computing power, The Information's Miles Kruppa, Anissa Gardizy and Valida Pau.Some of the biggest capital raises by private companies this week include:OpenAI– The company said it is raising $10B from investors as part of its historic funding round. Publicly traded companies in the space include Nvidia, Microsoft, and Alphabet.Shield AI– The company announced it is raising $1.5B in Series G funding at a $12.7B post-money valuation and $500M in fixed-return preferred equity financing. The Series G is led by Advent International and co-led by the Strategic Investment Group of JPMorganChase'sSecurity and Resiliency Initiative, with participation from existing investors Snowpoint Ventures, Innovation X Advisors, Riot Ventures, Disruptive, Apandion, and others. A portion of the proceeds will help fund the company's planned acquisition of Aechelon Technology, a Sagewind Capital portfolio company. Publicly traded companies in the space include AeroVironment, Kratos Defense, and Lockheed Martin.Convene Hospitality Group– The global hospitality platform at the intersection of corporate conferences, meetings and experiential events announced it secured $230M in strategic growth capital. The latest funding is provided by new lender, TPG, as well as an additional equity investment from current shareholders, including Ares funds. Publicly traded companies in the space include CBRE Groupand Airbnb.Halter– The global agtech company said it raised $220M in Series E funding at a $2B valuation. Publicly traded companies in the space include Deere, Trimble, and AGCO.Oasis Security– The company announced it raised $120M in a Series B round led by Craft Ventures. Publicly traded companies in the space include CyberArk, Okta, and Zscaler.Unicorns to watch this week:Positron– The AI semiconductor startup, now valued at $1B after a $230M Series B, is riding the AI‑hardware wave with custom chips. Publicly traded companies in the space include Nvidia, AMD, and Intel.Skyryse– The semi‑automated flight operating systems, valued at $1.1B after a $300M Series C, is major player in autonomous aviation infrastructure. Publicly traded companies in the space include Garmin, Honeywell, and Textron.TRM Labs– The blockchain intelligence and analytics platform used by crypto firms and regulators to investigate fraud and financial crime is valued at approximately $1B. Publicly traded companies in the space include Coinbase, Block, and Marathon Digital.Midi Health– Valued at about $1B, the virtual care platform focused on menopausal and midlife women's health has recently raised a $100M Series D. Publicly traded companies in the space include Teladoc Health, Hims & Hers, and CVS Health.Lunar Energy– The maker of home battery systems enabling residential energy storage and grid independence closed a $102M Series D at a valuation of $1B. Publicly traded companies in the space include Tesla, Enphase Energy, and SolarEdge.IPOs to watch:Pershing Square USA, or PSUS- The closed end investment company managed by Pershing Square Capital Management, L.P., announced that it has publicly filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission a registration statement on Form N-2 relating to a proposed initial public offering of its common shares of beneficial interest. Concurrently with the filing of the N-2 Registration Statement, Pershing Square Inc., the prospective parent company of PSCM, publicly filed a registration statement on Form S-1 with the SEC relating to a proposed initial public offering of its common stock.Student Living EduVation– The company filed with the SEC for an initial public offering by the company of 3.75M ordinary shares. The company stated, "We are offering 3,750,000 Ordinary Shares on a firm commitment basis. We anticipate that Offering price of the Ordinary Shares will be between $4.00 and $6.00 per Ordinary Share. The Resale Shareholders are also offering 5,880,000 Ordinary Shares to be sold pursuant to the Resale Prospectus."Liftoff Mobile– The company announced that it has confidentially submitted a draft registration statement on Form S-1 with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission relating to the proposed initial public offering of its common stock. The total number of shares to be offered and the price range for the proposed offering have not yet been determined. The offering is subject to market and other conditions and the completion of the SEC's review process.Cerebras Systems– The AI chipmaker Systems has picked Morgan Stanley to lead its initial public offering, which could raise about $2B in a listing as soon as April, people familiar with the matter told Bloomberg's Ryan Gould, Bailey Lipschultz and Anthony Hughes. Cerebras, which withdrew its previous IPO registration in October, has filed fresh paperwork for an IPO and is set to meet with analysts and prospective investors this month, the report added.OpenAI– The company is accelerating its plans for a public listing as rivalry with Anthropic intensifies, now planning on listing in Q4 of this year, Berber Jin, Corrie Driebusch, and Kate Clark of The Wall Street Journal. OpenAI is holding discussions with Wall Street banks about a potential initial public offering and has hired several executives to oversee its finance team, sources told the Journal.SpaceX- Elon Musk's SpaceX is said to be weighing a confidential IPO filing as soon as March and could seek a valuation over $1.75 trillion in the offering, sources told Bloomberg. The company is moving forward with plans for the biggest-ever listing and expects to submit its draft IPO registration to the Securities and Exchange Commission in March, which would keep it on track for a June listing, the sources are reported to have said. SpaceX could seek a valuation in the IPO of more than $1.75 trillion, some of the sources are said to have added."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.

Catch up on the top industries and stocks that were impacted, or were predicted to be impacted, by the comments, actions and policies of President Donald Trump with this daily recap compiled by The Fly.CEASEFIRE:Citing a report on Israel's Channel 12, Bloomberg's Marissa Newman and Sebastian Tong write that U.S. officials are looking for a one-month ceasefire with Iran to negotiate its nuclear program and help end the war. Among the goals of the 15-point plan are for Iran to dismantle it's a nuclear program, commit to never developing nuclear weapons, ending support for militias, and reopening the Strait of Hormuz, the report states. Bloomberg's reporting further states that in exchange, Iran would receive U.S. assistance in developing its civilian nuclear program.Turkey, Egypt and Pakistan officials are looking to bring U.S. and Iranian officials to negotiating table in the next 48 hours, though the positions of both sides remain far apart, The Wall Street Journal.E15 WAIVER:The White House is getting ready to expand the opportunity of higher-ethanol E15 gasoline this summer by waiving the fuel from U.S. volatility requirements, Bloomberg's Jennifer Dlouhy and Elizabeth Elkin report, citing people familiar with the matter. The EPA is slated to brief industry stakeholders on the planned approach on Wednesday, the authors note. Publicly traded companies in the ethanol space include Ecopetrol, Alto Ingredients, Rex American, and Green Plains.GOLDEN DOME SOFTWARE:Anduril Industries and Palantirare members of a group developing software to run U.S. President Donald Trump's planned Golden Dome antimissile shield, the Wall Street Journal's Drew FitzGerald, citing people familiar with the matter. The companies belong to a consortium of defense and tech firms, which also includes Lockheed Martin, RTX, and Northrop Grumman, that seeks to have the Golden Dome software ready for testing in summer 2026, FitzGerald says.LICENSE:After discovering a large smuggling scheme, U.S. lawmakers have demanded the commerce department to suspend Nvidia'slicense to export AI chips to China and south-east Asian countries, Demetri Sevastopulo of The Financial Times. Republican Senator Jim Banks and Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren urged "immediate action" related to the "diversion of advanced American AI chips to China." In the letter, the senators wrote, "We urge all necessary and appropriate actions, including the immediate pausing, suspension, or other reconsideration of all active export licenses covering advanced Nvidia AI chips and server systems destined for... China as well as for intermediaries in south-east Asia, including Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam and Singapore."GATEWAY ON PAUSE:As part of its "Ignition" event on Tuesday, NASA announced a series of transformative agencywide initiatives designed to achieve President Donald J. Trump's National Space Policy and advance American leadership in space. "These actions reflect the urgency of the moment, but also the tremendous opportunity ahead for world-changing science and discovery," NASA said. "NASA is committed to achieving the near-impossible once again, to return to the Moon before the end of President Trump's term, build a Moon base, establish an enduring presence, and do the other things needed to ensure American leadership in space. This is why it is essential we leave an event like Ignition with complete alignment on the national imperative that is our collective mission. The clock is running in this great-power competition, and success or failure will be measured in months, not years," said NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman. "If we concentrate NASA's extraordinary resources on the objectives of the National Space Policy, clear away needless obstacles that impede progress, and unleash the workforce and industrial might of our nation and partners, then returning to the Moon and building a base will seem pale in comparison to what we will be capable of accomplishing in the years ahead." Looking beyond Artemis V, NASA announced March 24 it will begin to incorporate more commercially procured and reusable hardware to undertake frequent and affordable crewed missions to the lunar surface, initially targeting landings every six months, with the potential to increase cadence as capabilities mature. To achieve an enduring human presence on the Moon, NASA also announced a phased approach to building a lunar base. As part of this strategy, the agency intends to pause Gateway in its current form and shift focus to infrastructure that enables sustained surface operations. Despite challenges with some existing hardware, the agency will repurpose applicable equipment and leverage international partner commitments to support these objectives. Publicly traded companies in the space include Intuitive Machines, Voyager Technologies, Rocket Lab, and AST SpaceMobile.INDUSTRY ADVISORY BOARD:Lightbridgeannounced that it has been selected to serve on the Industry Advisory Board of a $6M nuclear materials research project funded by the U.S. Department of Energy's Nuclear Energy University Program. The project, awarded to The Pennsylvania State University under DOE's University Nuclear Research Infrastructure Revitalization program, will advance the study of nuclear materials critical to the development and safety assessment of next-generation reactors. Lightbridge joins X-Energy, Westinghouse Electric Company, and Kairos Power on the advisory board.PRECISION STRIKE MISSILES:In a decisive move to guarantee American overmatch against any adversary, Lockheed Martinand the Department of War announced a framework agreement to accelerate the production of Precision Strike Missiles. The agreement builds on a previous $4.94B contract award from the U.S. Army last year and together, these actions will quadruple PrSM production capacity. This initiative directly supports the national imperative to build a more lethal, resilient and ready fighting force, backed by a stronger, advanced industrial base. The agreement includes the ability to negotiate a multi-year contract up to seven years, should Congress grant multi-year authority, contingent upon future congressional authorization.SUPPLIER FRAMEWORK AGREEMENT:Honeywellannounced it has signed a supplier framework agreement with the U.S. Department of War to rapidly increase the production of critical defense technologies. This agreement includes a $500M multi-year investment to upgrade the company's production capacity. Under this agreement, Honeywell Aerospace will ramp production of the following: Navigation systems: Honeywell is a global leader in resilient navigation technology, particularly in challenging environments. The company's wide range of inertial navigators can be found in diverse industries across the aerospace, defense and industrial markets. Honeywell Aerospace navigation systems are critical enablers on most precision munition platforms globally. Assure actuators: Honeywell Assure missile maneuverability actuation and electronic control systems are the most precise and speed-responsive systems available. These actuators are used for interceptor, tactical and other strategic high-performance missiles. Electronic Warfare solutions: Electronic Warfare solutions from Honeywell Aerospace provide critical functionality on U.S. military platforms from fighter jets to the Surface Electronic Warfare Improvement Program and on AMRAAM missiles. Advanced technologies also support Signals Intelligence and Electronic Intelligence domains.