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Prateek Gupta steps up as vice president at BlackRock
GURUGRAM: Prateek Gupta has climbed another rung on the global finance ladder, taking on the role of vice president at BlackRock. The elevation marks a significant milestone in his five-and-a-half-year journey at the world’s largest asset manager.
In his new role, Gupta will focus on driving strategic initiatives, strengthening investment and analytical capabilities, and supporting BlackRock’s broader mission to deliver forward-looking financial solutions. In simpler terms, he will help the firm think sharper, move faster and invest smarter.
Sharing the news, Gupta said, “I’m happy to share that I’m starting a new position as vice president at BlackRock. Big shoes to fill, and ready to step in.” It is a line that neatly sums up both the scale of the role and his confidence in taking it on.
Gupta joined BlackRock in 2020 as an analyst and steadily rose through the ranks, moving to associate in 2023 before earning his latest promotion in January 2026. Based in Gurugram, he has worked across research-driven and analytical roles that sit at the heart of modern investing.
An alumnus of the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur, Gupta holds a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering, a background that explains his comfort with complex systems and precision thinking. His early career included stints at WorldQuant, GE Healthcare and Tata Motors, where he worked on projects ranging from financial research to vehicle safety and rescue frameworks.
From engineering classrooms to global capital markets, Gupta’s trajectory reflects a blend of rigour, curiosity and adaptability. At BlackRock, that mix has clearly paid off.
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UK’s OnlyFans seeks US investor at $3bn valuation after owner’s death
The adult video platform is seeking stability after the death of its billionaire owner
LONDON: OnlyFans is looking for a new partner. The London-based adult video platform is in advanced talks to sell a minority stake of less than 20 per cent to Architect Capital, a San Francisco-based investment firm, in a deal that would value the business at more than $3bn (£2.2bn).
The move is driven by an urgent need for stability. Leonid Radvinsky, the Ukrainian-American billionaire who owned OnlyFans, died of cancer last month at the age of 43, leaving the future of one of Britain’s most profitable privately held businesses suddenly uncertain.
The choice of Architect Capital is not arbitrary. The firm has deep expertise in financial services, which aligns neatly with OnlyFans’ ambitions to offer banking products to its creators, many of whom have long struggled to access basic financial services because of the nature of their work.
The numbers behind OnlyFans are, by any measure, staggering. The platform posted revenues of $1.4bn in the year to 30th November 2024, with a pre-tax profit of $684m, up four per cent on the prior year. Payments to creators totalled $7.2bn over the same period, a rise of nearly ten per cent. Radvinsky personally collected $701m in dividends from the business in 2024 alone, on top of more than $1bn in such payments he had already received. The platform, run through its parent company Felix International, hosts 4.6m creator accounts, with performers keeping 80 per cent of subscription proceeds and the platform pocketing the remaining 20 per cent. It has 377m fan accounts in total.
The current minority stake talks represent a notable scaling back of ambitions. In January, OnlyFans was reported to be in discussions with Architect about selling a majority stake of 60 per cent. Before that, the company had explored a sale to a consortium led by Forest Road Company, a Los Angeles-based investment firm. Neither deal materialised.
OnlyFans has built an enormously lucrative business on content that mainstream finance has long refused to touch. Now, with its owner gone and a $3bn valuation on the table, it is looking for the kind of respectable institutional backing that might finally persuade the banks to take its calls.
