Welcome to this week’s Market Pulse, your 5-minute update on key market news and events, with takeaways and insights from the Sidekick Investment Team.

Today, we’re looking at SpaceX preparing for a 2026 IPO that could make Elon Musk the world’s first trillionaire, Meta abandoning open source AI for its next model, and the FCA promising pro-growth regulatory changes.

But first, our number of the week…

$40 billion

That’s how many Treasury bills the Federal Reserve plans to start buying each month, according to a recent statement from America’s central bank. Following evidence of recent funding strains, this move will begin pumping liquidity into the US financial system.

Sidekick Takeaway: The Fed’s bill-buying operations are an essential part of the financial plumbing that helps power the world’s largest capital markets. In the near term, this injection of liquidity could help reassure investors and support stock prices, especially following the Fed’s recent rate cut.

Only have a minute to read? Here’s the TL;DR:

• SpaceX is preparing for a 2026 IPO that could raise over $30 billion and make Elon Musk the world’s first trillionaire. While rockets are SpaceX’s most high-profile business, the company earns more money from its Starlink satellite internet service. However, Musk’s political activities could be a risk factor for any potential listing.
• Following disappointing reviews of Llama 4, Meta is reportedly planning to abandon its open-source AI approach with its next model, Avocado. The pivot comes as Zuckerberg spends billions on AI talent, with closed-source models (which users pay to access) needed to justify the massive investment. 
• In a letter to Keir Starmer, FCA boss Nikhil Rathi promised pro-growth measures in 2026, including reformed venture capital rules, easier lending to small businesses, and finalised digital asset frameworks. However, his plans didn’t mention investor education, which could be key to promoting UK capital markets engagement.

It’s important to note that the content of this Market Pulse is based on current public information which we consider to be reliable and accurate. It represents Sidekick’s view only and does not represent investment advice - investors should not take decisions to trade based on this information.

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Stratospheric Wealth: Musk Could Become Trillionaire on SpaceX IPO

Many analysts have long assumed that SpaceX – Elon Musk’s rocket firm – would remain private forever.

Musk has resisted taking SpaceX public, in part due to frequent frustrations with securities law surrounding Tesla and X.

Now, however, Musk’s space ambitions are growing. As a result, SpaceX’s need for capital is growing, too. 

According to recent reports, the company is preparing for a 2026 IPO that could raise over $30 billion. 

That money would be used to fund new projects like space-based data centres, while also potentially making Musk the world’s first trillionaire.

SpaceX’s business: Not just rockets

Launching rockets is the most visible part of SpaceX’s business. But the company actually makes most of its money elsewhere:

• SpaceX is estimated to have earned $8 billion from its Starlink satellite internet service in 2024, compared to about $4 billion from rocket launches.
• In fact, the company’s rocket business has encountered a number of recent hurdles, with America’s space agency opening SpaceX’s contract to competition from other private firms. 
• Regardless, SpaceX will likely benefit from a substantial retail premium at listing, with a potential valuation of about $1.5 trillion.

If SpaceX went public at that valuation today, Musk’s wealth could immediately soar to about $950 billion. 

By the time the firm potentially goes public in mid-to-late 2026, he could easily be the world’s first trillionaire.

Sidekick Takeaway: Musk’s recent political activities will doubtless be a risk factor for any SpaceX IPO, especially given the company’s reliance on government contracts for its rocket business. However, the firm’s listing appears to be driven by necessity, with private markets no longer sufficient to fund SpaceX’s future aims.

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Change of Tune: Meta Quietly Pivots From Open Source AI

When it comes to AI innovation, Meta has long been something of an outlier.

While firms like Alphabet and OpenAI released proprietary models, Meta did just the opposite. The company’s Llama series of LLMs are open-source tools. 

CEO Mark Zuckerberg has repeatedly argued that this approach would lead to faster innovation, saying that Meta is ‘committed’ to open source AI. 

Faced with the reality of AI economics, however, Zuckerberg now appears to be changing his tune. Meta’s next LLM – dubbed Avocado – will likely be a closed-source model.

Enormous AI investment requires closed source

Meta’s new approach has yet to be fully confirmed by the company. But it follows leaked internal reports following the disappointing launch of Llama 4:

• The company’s latest model was generally viewed as a disappointment, prompting Zuckerberg to spend billions to catch up to competitors.
• That spending spree included personally recruiting leading AI researchers for a handpicked ‘superintelligence’ team, with individual pay packages exceeding $100 million. 
• For investors, all that spending requires the potential for profit, something that’s proven challenging with open source models.

Meta maintains that AI has already made the company’s advertising operations stronger. 

But charging for access to a closed-source model could be necessary to close the profit gap – even if it involves a reversal from the company’s previous statements. 

Sidekick Takeaway: While Meta once stood out for its open source offering, the company will now be one of many firms competing in the closed source LLM space. As a result, its next model will need to demonstrate a substantial improvement to stand out against rivals like Gemini and ChatGPT.

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Growing Up: FCA Plans Pro-Growth Changes in 2026

The Financial Conduct Authority has long been criticised for hampering the UK’s economic growth.

Many of the UK’s economic challenges are structural. However, as the country’s main financial regulator, the FCA’s rules do have an impact on growth and innovation.

Historically, regulators have resisted loosening the rules. But this week, FCA boss Nikhil Rathi indicated that this attitude was changing. 

In a letter to Keir Starmer, Rathi promised more pro-growth measures in 2026, following a number of smaller updates this year.

FCA plans moderate – but meaningful – changes

None of the FCA’s planned changes is dramatic. But altogether, they add up to meaningful improvements. 

These changes include:

• Reforming capital raising rules for venture capital and alternative investment funds.
• Making it easier for lenders to provide capital to small businesses and early-stage firms.
• And perhaps most intriguingly, finalising digital asset rules – including a framework for sterling-denominated stablecoins. 

Notably absent, however, was discussion of expanding access to investor education – which could be one of the strongest avenues to promote engagement with the UK’s capital markets.

Sidekick Takeaway: Driving economic growth has many variables, most notably including monetary and fiscal policy. Nonetheless, financial regulation can play a meaningful role in the growth equation, and it’s encouraging to see the FCA take positive steps toward a pro-growth stance. 

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Notices

Sidekick Money Ltd is a company registered in England and Wales (No. 13882980). Sidekick Money Ltd is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FRN 984829). Our address is 21-33 Great Eastern St, London, EC2A 3EJ.

𝘗𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘳, 𝘪𝘯𝘷𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘣𝘦 𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘴 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘮. 𝘠𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘤𝘢𝘱𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘭 𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘵 𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘬 - 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘷𝘢𝘭𝘶𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘪𝘯𝘷𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘨𝘰 𝘶𝘱 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘮𝘢𝘺 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘱𝘶𝘵 𝘪𝘯.