After four months of volatile consolidation and pullback, the Nasdaq has hit a new all-time high. The 'Magnificent Seven' stocks have receded from the spotlight, while biotech and AI agents have taken the lead. What is the core logic driving this rotation in the U.S. equity market?

On June 1, the Nasdaq reached an intraday high of 27,190.21 points; it wasn’t until September 22 that the index climbed further to an intraday peak of 27,288.79 points. During this nearly four-month period, capital reallocation has already taken place—U.S. equities are no longer primarily supported by the 'Magnificent Seven' or the semiconductor sector. According to data compiled by the Every Day Economic News (hereinafter referred to as EDE News), from June 1 to September 22, the software industry ETF (IGV) fell approximately 0.9%, the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index declined roughly 2.1%, and the Roundhill Magnificent Seven ETF (MAGS)—which tracks the 'Magnificent Seven'—rose only about 3.9% cumulatively. In contrast, the cybersecurity ETF (CIBR) gained approximately 9.0%, with CrowdStrike rising nearly 28% and Zscaler surging over 30% since early June. Biotechnology was the top-performing sector, with the Nasdaq Biotechnology Index rising roughly 21.9% over the same period. Goldman Sachs attributes this rally to large pharmaceutical companies replenishing their pipelines amid looming patent expirations, increased merger-and-acquisition activity, and innovation in new drugs—particularly in weight-loss therapies, oncology, and neuroscience. On June 9, GSK announced its $10.6 billion acquisition of U.S.-based oncology drug developer Nuvalent; on June 25, Germany’s Merck announced its $11.3 billion acquisition of Bio-Techne. By mid-year, cumulative M&A value in the biotech industry had reached approximately $78 billion—nearly double the full-year 2025 projection. Large pharma firms, seeking to counter future patent cliffs and bolster R&D pipelines, have grown more aggressive in acquiring late-stage assets from smaller biotech companies. Regulatory conditions are also improving. On June 17, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) reversed its prior stance and agreed to allow uniQure to seek accelerated approval for its Huntington’s disease gene therapy using existing trial data—prompting the company’s stock to surge over 75% intraday. Subsequently, the FDA permitted Regenxbio’s rare-disease gene therapy to pursue an accelerated approval pathway. RBC Capital Markets notes that concerns stemming from FDA leadership instability and regulatory uncertainty are waning, and the agency’s increasingly flexible posture is a key driver behind the biotech sector’s re-rating this year. Additionally, on August 19, Moderna and Merck jointly announced successful late-stage clinical trial results for their personalized mRNA cancer vaccine. Moderna’s stock surged as much as 160% that day. AI-driven drug discovery is also gaining momentum. On August 5, Schrödinger launched “Bunsen,” an AI agent for molecular discovery, and signed an agreement with Bristol Myers Squibb to deploy Bunsen across its R&D infrastructure. On September 16, Novo Nordisk and Anthropic announced a collaboration to leverage Claude and Claude Science for drug discovery, scientific reasoning, biological research, and targeted drug development workflows. The two parties also plan to co-develop tailored solutions addressing specific drug-discovery challenges raised by Novo’s scientists. On September 21, Iambic filed for an IPO in the United States. This AI-powered oncology drug developer—backed by NVIDIA and Qatar Investment Authority—has raised approximately $462 million to date.

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【Kevin Kelly: AGI Won’t Emerge Within the Next Decade; Spatial Intelligence Will Be a Key Breakthrough Direction for AI】 On September 21, at the 20th Anniversary Forum of the CEO Program at Cheung Kong Graduate School of Business, Kevin Kelly—the founding editor-in-chief of Wired magazine and author of Out of Control—offered around 15 AI-related predictions. He stated that true artificial general intelligence (AGI) will not appear for at least the next decade. In his view, spatial intelligence will be one of AI’s most important breakthrough directions over the next five years; 99% of AI in the future may be ‘invisible’—operating silently in the background, collaborating among themselves rather than interacting directly with humans. He particularly highlighted the convergence of personal AI agents with smart glasses; he also estimated that fully mature, widely deployable humanoid robots remain roughly a decade away; and he emphasized that AI won’t simply ‘eliminate jobs,’ but rather restructure them. (Tonghuashun Finance) 【OpenAI Urges Global Coordination to Establish Complementary National and International AI Standards】 In a blog post published on September 21, OpenAI stated that developing safe artificial intelligence requires establishing international technical standards—especially to define which categories of incidents involving AI models must be reported, clarify how countries can cooperate on AI development, and improve access to computing power needed for such technologies. OpenAI suggested advancing this work through existing national AI safety agencies in multiple countries. It also called for standards to address AI’s growing autonomous capabilities. (Tonghuashun Finance) 【Tesla’s Latest FSD Version Crashes: Mistakes Lens Glare for Camera Dirt—Officially Acknowledged as a Bug】 Tesla’s newly rolled-out Full Self-Driving (FSD) v14.3.9 software introduced a bug causing numerous owners to receive erroneous alerts stating, “Front-facing camera is dirty,” even when both the windshield and camera lens were completely clean. This issue emerged en masse following Tesla’s early-September rollout of FSD v14.3.9. Some owners shared customer-service responses on X, confirming these warnings stem from a known software bug. Tesla’s service department is proactively canceling in-store cleaning appointments for affected owners and notifying them via message that no visit is necessary—as the alerts originate from a known bug. (Ifeng.com) 【NVIDIA-Backed AI Drug Discovery Firm Iambic Files for U.S. IPO】 On September 22, Iambic Therapeutics—a U.S.-based AI drug discovery company backed by NVIDIA and Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund—filed for its initial public offering (IPO) in the United States. Founded in 2019 (originally named Entos), Iambic is advancing a pipeline of candidate drugs developed using its AI platform, targeting solid tumors. Its most advanced candidate, IAM1363, is currently undergoing early-stage clinical trials for treating solid tumors including breast cancer. (Ruishou Analysis 👈 Click here for more details) 【Huachao Shenko Completes RMB 200-Million Pre-A Round】 On September 22, non-invasive AI brain-computer interface company Huachao Shenko (BCI-Sonics) announced completion of a RMB 200-million Pre-A financing round. This round was co-led by Sequoia China and Yunqi Capital, with participation from Bilin Star Investment, Yuanhe Holdings, Xuhui Science & Technology Investment, and Deshi Investment. Existing investors Matrix Partners China and Delian Capital continued their follow-on investments.

Nvidia-backed Iambic Therapeutics Launches IPO as Biotechs Buck Market Gloom

3 days ago

Nvidia-backed Iambic Therapeutics launches an IPO targeting $159.4 million funding, valuing the AI-driven drugmaker at up to $805.8 million amid cautious market conditions.

reuters

2026-09-21

Nvidia, QIA-backed Iambic Therapeutics files for US IPO as biotech boom rolls on

2026-10-08

Nvidia-backed Iambic Therapeutics Launches IPO as Biotechs Buck Market Gloom

Nvidia-backed Iambic Therapeutics Launches IPO as Biotechs Buck Market Gloom

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