Dealmaker by The Information Staff

Two times/week

Dealmaker

By The Information Staff

Reporters Cory Weinberg and Katie Roof tell you what’s coming next, who’s winning—and who’s losing—in the high-stakes world of startup investing.

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Recent Editions

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The Under-the-Radar Investors That Wrote Massive Checks to Databricks

By Cory Weinberg · Dec 17, 2024 3:31pm PST

Many of the investment firms that wrote some of the largest checks into Databricks’ record-smashing $10 billion fundraising haul announced Tuesday are among the tech world’s best known venture names, such as Andreessen Horowitz, Thrive Capital and Insight Partners.Then there’s an investment giant that is expected to wire at least $300 million to... Many of the investment firms that wrote some of the largest checks into Databricks’...

President-elect Donald Trump. Photo by Getty.

The Tech Insiders Who Could Join Trump’s Orbit

By Natasha Mascarenhas · Dec 12, 2024 4:37pm PST

The list of venture capitalists and Silicon Valley insiders joining the next presidential administration is growing. Just this week, President-elect Donald Trump named Jacob Helberg, an adviser to Palantir Technologies and husband to Keith Rabois, a Khosla Ventures managing director, as a top economic policy and trade official. Helberg follows... The list of venture capitalists and Silicon Valley insiders joining the next presidential...

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CoreWeave’s IPO Prep Kicks Into Gear; Is SpaceX’s Valuation Rational?

By Cory Weinberg · Dec 10, 2024 3:21pm PST

The big venture-backed initial public offering this week is a bit like meat and potatoes—it’s filling but not all that exciting. ServiceTitan, the Bessemer and Battery Ventures-backed software seller to electricians and plumbers, is expected to price its IPO Wednesday and begin trading on Nasdaq on Thursday with a market capitalization somewhere... The big venture-backed initial public offering this week is a bit like meat and potatoes—it’s...

Tomasz Tunguz. Photo via Flickr/Collision.

Why One Enterprise Investor Is Newly Exuberant on Crypto

By Natasha Mascarenhas · Dec 5, 2024 3:26pm PST · 2 comments

Tomasz Tunguz. Photo via Flickr/Collision.

Why One Enterprise Investor Is Newly Exuberant on Crypto

By Natasha Mascarenhas · Dec 5, 2024 3:26pm PST · 2 comments

Silicon Valley’s holiday party season is in full swing. But instead of having endless conversations about artificial intelligence, I’ve been bombarded by venture capitalists with renewed excitement for cryptocurrency startups. To sum up the mood: One startup founder made a toast when Bitcoin crossed $100,000 on Wednesday. Investor Tomasz... Silicon Valley’s holiday party season is in full swing. But instead of having endless...

When Databricks Will Be As Big as Snowflake; A Sleeper Fintech IPO Candidate

When Databricks Will Be As Big as Snowflake; A Sleeper Fintech IPO Candidate

By Cory Weinberg · Dec 3, 2024 3:42pm PST · 2 comments

Ali Ghodsi is taking aim at giants. The Databricks CEO is no longer just sniping at $60 billion competitor Snowflake, but has ambitions for his company to be as big as $300 billion Salesforce, according to Jon Victor’s profile on the everywhere-at-once computer science professor. Reading the piece, I couldn’t help but think about the... Ali Ghodsi is taking aim at giants. The Databricks CEO is no longer just sniping at $60 billion...

Michelle Volz. Photo via Andreessen Horowitz.

Andreessen Horowitz ‘Dynamism’ Partner to Launch Solo Fund

By Natasha Mascarenhas · Nov 26, 2024 3:18pm PST

More new venture managers are trying to raise new funds, bucking a slump in venture capital fundraising. The latest: Michelle Volz, a partner at Andreessen Horowitz on the American Dynamism team, is leaving the firm and raising her own fund to invest in the same type of startups, according to a person with direct knowledge of the fundraising... More new venture managers are trying to raise new funds, bucking a slump in venture capital...

Together AI, Lambda Extend Funding Rush; Singapore to Back Wiz

Together AI, Lambda Extend Funding Rush; Singapore to Back Wiz

By Natasha Mascarenhas and Sri Muppidi · Nov 21, 2024 4:47pm PST

We’ve spent more than a year covering back-to-back financings of artificial intelligence startups. There’s no sign that trend is letting up, at least for startups that compete with major cloud providers by renting out servers with chips made by Nvidia, whose quarterly earnings report this week showed the AI party is still going strong.Together... We’ve spent more than a year covering back-to-back financings of artificial intelligence...

Databricks CEO Ali Ghodsi and ServiceTitan CEO Ara Mahdessian. Photos via Flickr and ServiceTitan.

Databricks’ $8 Billion Ask; ServiceTitan IPO Winners

By Cory Weinberg · Nov 19, 2024 3:00pm PST · 2 comments

Databricks CEO Ali Ghodsi and ServiceTitan CEO Ara Mahdessian. Photos via Flickr and ServiceTitan.

Databricks’ $8 Billion Ask; ServiceTitan IPO Winners

By Cory Weinberg · Nov 19, 2024 3:00pm PST · 2 comments

Good afternoon from Las Vegas, where I’m writing this newsletter from a hotel room with a Strip view of the Encore, the hotel where bankers, investors and tech executives will slide from meeting to meeting at Goldman Sachs’ annual private tech confab. Say hi if you’re there. (I’ll be one of the many bald guys roaming around, but I’m younger than... Good afternoon from Las Vegas, where I’m writing this newsletter from a hotel room with a Strip...

Forward's CarePod. Photo via Forward.

The Unicorn Hangover Lingers; Ben Horowitz’s Post-Election Sniping

By Natasha Mascarenhas and Jon Victor · Nov 14, 2024 3:46pm PST

Another day, another multibillion-dollar valuation for a generative AI startup! Today it’s Synthesia, a video-generation startup that’s near a $2 billion price tag in a round led by New Enterprise Associates, we scooped Thursday. Given the firehose of AI deals, it’s easy to forget that plenty of startups aren’t as lucky – and could be... Another day, another multibillion-dollar valuation for a generative AI startup! Today it’s...

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An Inside Round for Accel; What's Next for Databricks

By Cory Weinberg · Nov 12, 2024 3:21pm PST

Venture capital firms have a lot of money to invest but relatively few maturing startups have proven their worth. So firms are doubling down on the startups they see as winners—which is sending valuations soaring, sometimes in just a few months.The latest example: Cyera, a cloud cybersecurity firm, is finalizing a deal to raise new funding from... Venture capital firms have a lot of money to invest but relatively few maturing startups have...

J.D. Vance. Photo via Getty

A Venture Capitalist Heads to the White House

By Kate Clark · Nov 7, 2024 3:00pm PST

A venture capitalist is stepping into one of the highest offices in the U.S.—the vice presidency—but whether he’ll be a friend or foe to Silicon Valley is still unclear. Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance should know what helps startups and their investors, thanks to his five years working in venture capital. During that time, he made early-stage... A venture capitalist is stepping into one of the highest offices in the U.S.—the vice presidency—...

NVCA President, Bobby Franklin. Photo via YouTube/NYSE.

Venture’s Presidential Agenda; Sarah Guo’s Next Fund

By Kate Clark · Nov 5, 2024 3:26pm PST

NVCA President, Bobby Franklin. Photo via YouTube/NYSE.

Venture’s Presidential Agenda; Sarah Guo’s Next Fund

By Kate Clark · Nov 5, 2024 3:26pm PST

Silicon Valley venture capitalists are at odds over who they want to win this presidential race, but there is growing consensus on the need for the next president to replace Lina Khan as head of the Federal Trade Commission. Such a change, venture capitalists hope, could lead to more acquisitions and reinvigorate venture capital investments.“... Silicon Valley venture capitalists are at odds over who they want to win this presidential race,...

Photos via Shutterstock

Why Nvidia Could Back XAI

By Kate Clark and Natasha Mascarenhas · Oct 31, 2024 1:03pm PDT · 2 comments

Few are as skilled, and quick, as Elon Musk at raising capital—billions of dollars, no less. But if there’s one constant in Musk’s fundraising strategy, it’s that he often changes the details of a round at the last minute. Take the latest process to raise money for his 18-month-old artificial intelligence startup, xAI. Representatives of... Few are as skilled, and quick, as Elon Musk at raising capital—billions of dollars, no less. But...

Participants at the 2024 Future Investment Initiative conference in Riyadh today. Photo via Getty.

At ‘Davos in the Desert,’ It’s ‘AI or Die’

By Kate Clark · Oct 29, 2024 3:00pm PDT

Few conferences are able to gather a more powerful group of finance and tech moguls than Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, which sponsors the annual Future Investment Initiative, also known as “Davos in the Desert.” This year’s conference, held this week in Riyadh, has so far featured Elon Musk, SoftBank’s Masayoshi Son, Ben Horowitz,... Few conferences are able to gather a more powerful group of finance and tech moguls than Saudi...

HRZ Han River co-founder Chris Koh. Photo via HRZ Han River.

Coupang Co-Founder’s $100 Million VC Fund Wants to Fund the ‘Korea Graph’

By Kate Clark · Oct 24, 2024 3:00pm PDT

New venture capitalists are climbing a wall of skepticism when they raise new funds, particularly as they compete with established firms like General Catalyst, which just raised $8 billion. Even veterans of some of the most successful startups are finding it tough.That was the case for Chris Koh, co-founder of Korean e-commerce giant Coupang. He... New venture capitalists are climbing a wall of skepticism when they raise new funds, particularly...

Stripe CEO and co-founder, Patrick Collison. Photo via Getty.

Stripe’s Crypto Deal Provides Momentary Relief to Investors

By Kate Clark · Oct 22, 2024 3:15pm PDT

Stripe CEO and co-founder, Patrick Collison. Photo via Getty.

Stripe’s Crypto Deal Provides Momentary Relief to Investors

By Kate Clark · Oct 22, 2024 3:15pm PDT

Stripe’s announcement that it was buying cryptocurrency payments startup Bridge delivered a dose of optimism to venture capitalists this week. The deal is poised to become the largest-ever crypto acquisition and punctuated a particularly dreary market for mergers and public offerings.The purchase values the two-and-a-half-year-old company at... Stripe’s announcement that it was buying cryptocurrency payments startup Bridge delivered a dose...

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Photo via Adobe.

General Catalyst Plans First Investment in Saudi Arabia

By Kate Clark and Natasha Mascarenhas · Oct 17, 2024 1:11pm PDT

General Catalyst is swiftly widening its global footprint. On the heels of acquiring two smaller venture firms in India and Germany, the firm plans to lead an investment in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia-based financial technology startup Lean Technologies, according to a person with direct knowledge of the firm’s investments.The deal would represent... General Catalyst is swiftly widening its global footprint. On the heels of acquiring two smaller...

Photo via Adobe

Five Red Flags Hanging Over Venture Capital

By Kate Clark · Oct 15, 2024 3:20pm PDT · 2 comments

The artificial intelligence boom has provided a nice distraction from the reality of the venture capital industry, where cracks beneath the surface continue to grow. The latest edition of PitchBook’s quarterly report on the venture business paints a concerning portrait and offers a bleak projection: “the dam created by the headwinds of high... The artificial intelligence boom has provided a nice distraction from the reality of the venture...

Elad Gil. Photo via Getty

Elad Gil’s Latest AI Bet Is in Health

By Kate Clark and Stephanie Palazzolo · Oct 10, 2024 4:14pm PDT

The boom in artificial intelligence funding has extended into the healthcare sector, where startups are developing generative AI tools to improve patient care.Abridge, a six-year-old startup that uses AI to transcribe doctors’ conversations with their patients, is raising $250 million at a valuation of $2.5 billion before the investment,... The boom in artificial intelligence funding has extended into the healthcare sector, where...

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VC Investors Are Excited About Prediction Markets (Again)

By Yueqi Yang · Oct 8, 2024 3:30pm PDT · 1 comment

Photo via Getty

VC Investors Are Excited About Prediction Markets (Again)

By Yueqi Yang · Oct 8, 2024 3:30pm PDT · 1 comment

At the end of the last decade, one of the early ways investors and founders thought they could harness blockchain technology was to run prediction markets. Proponents believed blockchain would help ensure payouts to winners, without the need to find a bookie and argue over results. Those efforts largely failed because those sites were... At the end of the last decade, one of the early ways investors and founders thought they could...