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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Why Some AI Startups Are Tapping Investment Banks

By Kate Clark · Aug 15, 2024 3:25pm PDT

Wall Street is finding its way into the deluge of artificial intelligence deals as more AI founders enlist banks to help with fundraising.One of the latest is Lambda Labs. The startup, which rents out servers of Nvidia chips, is working with JPMorgan Chase on its latest fundraising, which is targeting $800 million, according to a person pitched... Wall Street is finding its way into the deluge of artificial intelligence deals as more AI...

Liquid AI's co-founders. Left to right: Ramin Hasani, Mathias Lechner, Alexander Amini and Daniela Rus. Photo via YouTube/MIT CSAIL.

Moonshot Bets Test Investors’ AI Appetite

By Aaron Holmes · Aug 13, 2024 3:19pm PDT · 1 comment

Venture capital investors are quite willing to pour money into artificial intelligence startups with largely unproven products. So it’s notable when some investors view a startup as too much of a crazy bet.That’s a taste of the response my colleagues and I have seen when we started to ask about Liquid AI. The one-year-old startup, spun off from... Venture capital investors are quite willing to pour money into artificial intelligence startups...

Image by Getty.

The Recession Fears Looming Over VC’s Booming July

By Kate Clark · Aug 8, 2024 3:15pm PDT

Global venture funding reached $23 billion last month, up 20% compared to July 2023, according to Crunchbase data. Judging from the numerous funding announcements that arrived in my inbox this morning, those increases look poised to continue. However, investors are wary a recession could hamper the turnaround.First the positives: Anduril just... Global venture funding reached $23 billion last month, up 20% compared to July 2023, according to...

OpenAI co-founder John Schulman. Photo via UC Berkeley.

The AI Founder Exodus

By Kate Clark · Aug 6, 2024 3:30pm PDT · 1 comment

OpenAI co-founder John Schulman. Photo via UC Berkeley.

The AI Founder Exodus

By Kate Clark · Aug 6, 2024 3:30pm PDT · 1 comment

There must be something in the air in Silicon Valley, because founders are leaving their companies left and right. OpenAI, still recovering from its board’s short-lived ouster of CEO Sam Altman, has seen a steady stream of co-founders depart this year. The latest example is John Schulman, who’s joining rival artificial intelligence company... There must be something in the air in Silicon Valley, because founders are leaving their...

Leslie Feinzaig. Photo via Flickr.

The Seed Investor Who Launched ‘VCsForKamala’

By Kate Clark · Aug 1, 2024 3:05pm PDT · 1 comment

Leslie Feinzaig, a venture capitalist and founder of the community group Female Founders Alliance, buys web addresses often, usually shortly after she develops a new idea. “I have an embarrassingly long list of URLs,” she said in an interview Thursday afternoon. However, few of these URLs have sparked a movement in venture capital quite... Leslie Feinzaig, a venture capitalist and founder of the community group Female Founders...

Photo via Getty.

AI Anxiety and Political Spats Hang Over Silicon Valley

By Kate Clark · Jul 30, 2024 3:47pm PDT

There was a palpable sense of trepidation in the air in San Francisco and on Sand Hill Road during my latest visit last week.Venture capitalists are increasingly stressed by the frenetic pace of artificial intelligence deals, which they say resembles the frenzied check-writing of 2021. They are also growing more concerned about the lack of... There was a palpable sense of trepidation in the air in San Francisco and on Sand Hill Road...

Reid Hoffman. Photo by Kimberly White/Getty.

Reid Hoffman On His ‘Key Mission’ until November

By Natasha Mascarenhas · Jul 25, 2024 3:00pm PDT · 1 comment

While we’re more than three months away from the election, there is no shortage of political squabbles, monologuing and grandstanding in every corner of Silicon Valley. I checked in with one of tech’s most outspoken Democrats, Reid Hoffman, who plans to co-host or host a fundraiser for Vice President Kamala Harris as soon as September,... While we’re more than three months away from the election, there is no shortage of political ...

Vice President Kamala Harris arriving in Milwaukee this morning. Photo by Jim Vondruska/Getty. (edited)

Venture Capitalists Swap AI Valuations for Political Debates

By Kate Clark · Jul 23, 2024 3:00pm PDT · 2 comments

Vice President Kamala Harris arriving in Milwaukee this morning. Photo by Jim Vondruska/Getty. (edited)

Venture Capitalists Swap AI Valuations for Political Debates

By Kate Clark · Jul 23, 2024 3:00pm PDT · 2 comments

Greetings from San Francisco, where unprecedented political chaos has forced venture capitalists into political debates.Last week, it seemed as if all of Silicon Valley had rallied behind former President Donald Trump. Now, Silicon Valley’s Democrats are becoming more vocal, with a candidate they can openly support in Vice President Kamala... Greetings from San Francisco, where unprecedented political chaos has forced venture capitalists...

Hans Swildens. Photo By Liz Hafalia/The San Francisco Chronicle via Getty.

What to Do With Startups Whose Revenue Has Stalled

By Cory Weinberg · Jul 18, 2024 3:00pm PDT

Even with a dormant market for initial public offerings, shareholders in mature and highly valued startups still have been able to cash out if their startups are growing at a rapid clip. They’ve had the opportunity to sell shares in secondary rounds at fast-growing Figma, Databricks, Canva and Scale AI. Some investors are getting the chance... Even with a dormant market for initial public offerings, shareholders in mature and highly valued...

Former president Donald Trump at the Republican National Convention Monday. Photo by Bloomberg via Getty.

A Tipping Point for Tech’s Trump Support

By Kate Clark, Natasha Mascarenhas and Cory Weinberg · Jul 16, 2024 3:37pm PDT · 1 comment

Luis Silva, CEO and founder of CloudWalk, at Web Summit Rio in April. Photo via YouTube.

A Latin American Payments Startup Tries to Defy the Fintech Slump

By Natasha Mascarenhas and Kate Clark · Jul 11, 2024 2:41pm PDT

Fintech startups have suffered a difficult fundraising climate for two years, after a cocktail of rising interest rates and cooler e-commerce spending made capital harder to come by. But one startup based in São Paulo is trying to defy the slump with an ambitious new fundraise.CloudWalk, a Latin America–focused fintech startup that sells... Fintech startups have suffered a difficult fundraising climate for two years, after a cocktail of...

Marc Andreessen. Photo by Getty

Sequoia, Andreessen at Odds Over Chip Shortage

By Kate Clark · Jul 9, 2024 3:05pm PDT · 2 comments

Marc Andreessen. Photo by Getty

Sequoia, Andreessen at Odds Over Chip Shortage

By Kate Clark · Jul 9, 2024 3:05pm PDT · 2 comments

The two most influential venture capital firms, Sequoia Capital and Andreessen Horowitz, have very different perspectives on demand for the most important resource for artificial intelligence companies: graphics processing units. Andresseen Horowitz is stockpiling them and renting them to startups, I reported this morning, which suggests... The two most influential venture capital firms, Sequoia Capital and Andreessen Horowitz, have...

Left to right: Peter Fenton, Eric Vishria, Sarah Tavel, Chetan Puttagunta and Victor Lazarte.

In Benchmark’s New Era, Expect More of the Same

By Kate Clark · Jul 2, 2024 3:45pm PDT

The Benchmark of today is nothing like the Benchmark of 1995, the year the storied venture capital firm behind Uber, Twitter and Snap was founded. At least that’s what its five partners maintain in a new letter to limited partners, which details its plan to raise another $425 million fund. To underscore the change, Benchmark is calling its... The Benchmark of today is nothing like the Benchmark of 1995, the year the storied venture...

Tom Loverro, general partner at IVP. Photo by Christian Grattan/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images.

It’s Time for Startups to ‘Get Responsibly Aggressive’

By Kate Clark · Jun 27, 2024 3:25pm PDT

Early last year, venture capitalist Tom Loverro offered a grim prediction. He wrote that a mass extinction event was coming for startups that would make the 2008 financial crisis “look quaint.” At the time, he told companies to reduce expenses through layoffs and focus on survival rather than keeping their valuations high. Now he’s back... Early last year, venture capitalist Tom Loverro offered a grim prediction. He wrote that a mass...

Zepto delivery drivers near New Delhi, India. Photo via Shutterstock.

Indian Delivery Star Discusses $5 Billion Valuation

By Kate Clark · Jun 25, 2024 3:31pm PDT

Last week, I reported that Zepto, an Indian instant-delivery company, was closing a new round at a valuation of $3.6 billion, the first financing for a non–artificial intelligence startup I’ve written about in ages. Since then, I’ve learned the company is already in discussions with investors about raising more, at a higher valuation, as U.S.... Last week, I reported that Zepto, an Indian instant-delivery company, was closing a new round at...

Jai Das, Co-founder, President and Partner, Sapphire Ventures. Photo by Getty

With IPOs Off Limits, Software Investors Pin Hopes on PE Buyouts

By Akash Pasricha · Jun 20, 2024 3:00pm PDT

Jai Das, Co-founder, President and Partner, Sapphire Ventures. Photo by Getty

With IPOs Off Limits, Software Investors Pin Hopes on PE Buyouts

By Akash Pasricha · Jun 20, 2024 3:00pm PDT

Hi, it’s Akash. I’ve been in Toronto at the Collision Conference, Canada’s annual technology convention. It drew more than 37,800 attendees, along with big names like Vinod Khosla and the country’s own artificial intelligence royalty, Cohere CEO Aidan Gomez, as well as the “godfather of AI,” Geoffrey Hinton.Last year at this event, AI was still... Hi, it’s Akash. I’ve been in Toronto at the Collision Conference, Canada’s annual technology...

Photo via Zepto.

A Former YC Partner Makes a Big Bet on Rapid Delivery

By Kate Clark · Jun 18, 2024 3:05pm PDT · 1 comment

The last time I wrote about a startup—outside artificial intelligence—raising money at a higher valuation than in its last round was in May 2022, when blockchain analytics startup Chainalysis raised funds at an $8.6 billion valuation. That’s why I was intrigued to hear about a round that doubled the valuation of Zepto, an Indian rapid-delivery... The last time I wrote about a startup—outside artificial intelligence—raising money at a higher...

A Samsung 32GB DDR5 128GB RDIMM chip. Photo by Bloomberg via Getty Images.

Samsung Values Chip Customer Tenstorrent at $2 Billion

By Kate Clark · Jun 13, 2024 3:13pm PDT

For the last two years, we’ve broken a lot of news about cloud giants Microsoft and Google elbowing out traditional venture firms to invest huge sums in artificial intelligence startups that are also their customers. A similar dynamic is playing out in hardware startups.Samsung, the second-largest smartphone maker in the world, is... For the last two years, we’ve broken a lot of news about cloud giants Microsoft and ...

Photo via Shutterstock

BeReal's Surprising Sale Is a Positive Sign for Startups

By Kate Clark · Jun 11, 2024 3:35pm PDT · 2 comments

BeReal was the hot app among venture capitalists and Gen Zers in 2022, a feat it used to lasso a $585 million valuation from Coatue Management and DST Global that year. The app’s once-scorching growth has cooled—yet it still managed to sell itself to French gaming company Voodoo for $537 million. In this era of fire sales, that’s cause for a... BeReal was the hot app among venture capitalists and Gen Zers in 2022, a feat it used to lasso a...

Photo via Getty Images

Is This the Best Time to Invest in China? Its VC Funds Hope So

By Jing Yang and Juro Osawa · Jun 6, 2024 3:03pm PDT

Photo via Getty Images

Is This the Best Time to Invest in China? Its VC Funds Hope So

By Jing Yang and Juro Osawa · Jun 6, 2024 3:03pm PDT

It’s been pretty bleak for venture capitalists in China over the last two years. U.S. pensions and endowments halted investments. Existing investors demanded cash distributions. Fundraising plunged. But lately China’s venture capitalists have decided they can’t wait until the downturn passes to hit the fundraising circuit.Several China-based... It’s been pretty bleak for venture capitalists in China over the last two years. U.S. pensions...