Dealmaker by The Information Staff

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Dealmaker

By The Information Staff

The Information's reporters Valida Pau and Julia Hornstein give you the inside scoop on tech deals and dealmakers.

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Recent Editions

Art by Clark Miller; Getty Images.

The Anthropic-OpenAI Valuation Gap

By Valida Pau · Nov 10, 2026 4:11pm PST

If you want proof of the widening gap in sentiment between public and private investors, take a look at the valuations of Anthropic and OpenAI.On Tuesday, Anthropic disclosed it was targeting a valuation of between $1.26 trillion and $1.4 trillion in its upcoming initial public offering. The prospectus update comes on the heels of OpenAI’s most... If you want proof of the widening gap in sentiment between public and private investors, take a...

Photo by Getty Images.

Cyera’s $800 Million Haul Shows Cyber Fever Hasn’t Broken

By Aaron Holmes · Nov 5, 2026 3:18pm PST

Last week my colleagues Jemima and Valida scooped that Cyera, a five-year-old cloud security startup, was mulling a new fundraise at an eye-popping $20 billion valuation, up from $12 billion in June.Since then, those talks have gotten more serious, I’ve learned. Cyera is indeed planning to raise around $800 million in a round led by Cyberstarts,... Last week my colleagues Jemima and Valida scooped that Cyera, a five-year-old cloud security...

Cerebras CEO Andrew Feldman. Photo by David Paul Morris/Getty Images

Cerebras’ Lockups Hold a Lesson for Anthropic Employees

By Valida Pau · Nov 4, 2026 11:51am PST · 1 comment

Even before Wednesday’s election-driven sell-off in tech stocks, Cerebras shares had fallen sharply since its initial public offering six months ago. That’s bad news for investors who bought at the IPO as well as employees who hung on to their newly public shares. But those insiders needn’t have gotten burned. Cerebras offered them the... Even before Wednesday’s election-driven sell-off in tech stocks, Cerebras shares had fallen...

Art: Shane Burke (photos: Getty Images)

How Instacart Ended Up in DoorDash’s Cart

By Valida Pau · Oct 29, 2026 5:05am PDT

Art: Shane Burke (photos: Getty Images)

How Instacart Ended Up in DoorDash’s Cart

By Valida Pau · Oct 29, 2026 5:05am PDT

That was fast! DoorDash said this morning that it agreed to buy grocery delivery app Instacart for roughly $17 billion, mostly in cash financed by borrowing, just a few days after we reported that Instacart was in talks to sell itself.After our report, DoorDash and Instacart rushed to seal the deal at a roughly 30% premium to where Instacart... That was fast! DoorDash said this morning that it agreed to buy grocery delivery app Instacart...

Photo by Getty Images

Is Anduril Worth $120 Billion?

By Julia Hornstein · Oct 27, 2026 4:51pm PDT

Some senior employees at Anduril Industries have indicated to investors that the autonomous weapons maker hopes to raise a new funding round in the first quarter next year, I’ve learned. It has considered doing so at a valuation of around $120 billion, according to people with knowledge of the conversations. Given that the prospective round is... Some senior employees at Anduril Industries have indicated to investors that the autonomous...

Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei and Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff. Photo by David Paul Morris/Getty Images

Anthropic’s Elevator Problem: Persuading Investors to Share Its AI Dream

By Cory Weinberg · Oct 22, 2026 5:30pm PDT

One quotation has rattled around in my head for a while, which I first heard from early Anthropic investor Jaan Tallinn: “The future of the world will be decided by a group of people who fit in an elevator.” The enigmatic billionaire said on a podcast earlier this year that a friend had used the illustration to describe the concentration of... One quotation has rattled around in my head for a while, which I first heard from early Anthropic...

Getty Images

Palo Alto Networks CEO Advises Daughter on New AI-Focused Venture Capital Fund

By Julia Hornstein and Valida Pau · Oct 19, 2026 5:16pm PDT

These days, raising a new venture fund can seem like an uphill battle. First-time managers are competing with much bigger funds that can lure founders with rich valuations—as well as track records that can wow limited partners.But what if you had unfettered access to some sage advice from a seasoned investor and executive? That’s the case... These days, raising a new venture fund can seem like an uphill battle. First-time managers are...

Getty Images.

The Party Is Still Going Strong for Private Tech

By Valida Pau · Oct 15, 2026 5:37pm PDT

Getty Images.

The Party Is Still Going Strong for Private Tech

By Valida Pau · Oct 15, 2026 5:37pm PDT

The sentiment gap between public and private markets could not be wider right now. Wall Street investors have been increasingly worried about overborrowing by AI-related companies, as evidenced by skyrocketing yields on CoreWeave bonds, a selloff in semiconductor stocks and the yanking of the IPO of Firmus, the Australian data center operator.... The sentiment gap between public and private markets could not be wider right now. Wall Street...

Qasar Younis, CEO and co-founder of Applied Intuition. Sam Barnes/Getty Images.

Applied Intuition Fields Offers at $30 Billion Valuation

By Stephanie Palazzolo · Oct 13, 2026 6:30am PDT · 2 comments

For the last three years, AI labs like OpenAI, Anthropic and xAI have sucked up a lot of investor attention—as well as nosebleed valuations. Now a growing number of startups that make apps, agents or other software powered by AI are fetching valuations of $20 billion or higher. Applied Intuition, a maker of software to train self-driving... For the last three years, AI labs like OpenAI, Anthropic and xAI have sucked up a lot of investor...

Ramin Farjadrad, Eliyan Co-founder & CEO. Art by Clark Miller; TITV.

Networking Startup Eliyan Draws Takeover Interest, Held Early Talks With Arm

By Valida Pau · Oct 8, 2026 5:15pm PDT

Semiconductor M&A has been humming. One of the next deals could be for Eliyan, whose technology allows separate chips inside an AI system to talk to one another more quickly and efficiently. The five-year-old startup, valued at $1 billion in July, has notified some of its investors in the last few days that it received a takeover bid,... Semiconductor M&A has been humming. One of the next deals could be for Eliyan, whose...

Megalith co-founding partner Michael Romano

Lightspeed’s Top Fundraiser Joins Firm That Takes Seed Funds’ Pro Rata

By Laura Mandaro · Oct 6, 2026 4:15pm PDT

For years, deep-pocketed venture firms have partnered with seed investors to get access to startups’ later rounds if their growth takes off. The bigger firms often invest in the seed funds, with a handshake agreement that they’ll get a heads-up if a hot young startup is about to raise again. A firm called Megalith, which has kept a low... For years, deep-pocketed venture firms have partnered with seed investors to get access to...

Matan Grinberg, co-founder and CEO of Factory, left, and Scott Wu, co-founder and chief executive officer of Cognition. Images via YouTube; Getty Images

Behind Factory Founder’s Spat With Cognition Over Key Hire

By Julia Hornstein · Sep 30, 2026 5:48pm PDT

Matan Grinberg, co-founder and CEO of Factory, left, and Scott Wu, co-founder and chief executive officer of Cognition. Images via YouTube; Getty Images

Behind Factory Founder’s Spat With Cognition Over Key Hire

By Julia Hornstein · Sep 30, 2026 5:48pm PDT

A dispute over high-flying AI coding firm Cognition’s hiring of a prominent sales leader who had advised rival Factory erupted into a public feud, dividing startups as well as investors within the same venture firm.Spats between competing startups and their investors flare up every so often in Silicon Valley. Even by those standards, Wednesday’s... A dispute over high-flying AI coding firm Cognition’s hiring of a prominent sales leader who had...

Tom Hale, CEO, Oura, wearing an Oura ring. Photo By Carlos Rodrigues/Getty Images

Oura, World Labs Show Divergence in VC Exits

By Julia Hornstein · Sep 29, 2026 6:08pm PDT

It’s turning out to be a great year for venture exits—as long as you’re talking about M&A. Take Monday’s news that Advanced Micro Devices would purchase Fei-Fei Li’s World Labs. The $8.2 billion all-stock purchase of the two-year-old AI startup adds to the growing list of such deals this year, which include SpaceX’s purchase of Cursor,... It’s turning out to be a great year for venture exits—as long as you’re talking about...

TypeSafe CEO Diogo Almeida. Screenshot via YouTube/@LatentSpacePod

Jev Fervor Leads to Talk of Big Valuation Boost

By Stephanie Palazzolo, Cory Weinberg and Valida Pau · Sep 24, 2026 11:42am PDT

Silicon Valley has a new AI startup to obsess over—and throw money at. We’re hearing that TypeSafe AI, the startup developing a new kind of model called Jev, has started to talk to investors about raising an enormous round—$1 billion or even more—and that some unnamed investors have offered to put money in at a valuation of $10 billion or more.... Silicon Valley has a new AI startup to obsess over—and throw money at. We’re hearing that...

Barrick Gold's tailings dam in Cotui, Dominican Republic. Photo via Shutterstock

Barrick Gold Inks Five-Year AI Deal Before IPO

By Alix Coutures · Sep 22, 2026 4:28pm PDT

AI is top of mind for stock investors these days. That means even companies outside tech are beefing up their AI credentials ahead of new listings. In one such example, Barrick Gold’s North American unit has agreed to a five-year partnership with Avathon, a startup that develops AI-powered software to help industrial companies predict when... AI is top of mind for stock investors these days. That means even companies outside tech are...

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. Benjamin Fanjoy/Getty Images. (edited)

OpenAI’s Next Round

By Laura Mandaro · Sep 17, 2026 5:53pm PDT

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. Benjamin Fanjoy/Getty Images. (edited)

OpenAI’s Next Round

By Laura Mandaro · Sep 17, 2026 5:53pm PDT

This week, we and others reported that OpenAI has been in early talks with investors about a new private round that could value it at $1.2 trillion or more. That follows CEO Sam Altman’s recent statement that an initial public offering wouldn’t happen this year, not that anyone was actually expecting that!There are plenty of unanswered questions... This week, we and others reported that OpenAI has been in early talks with investors about a new...

Anthropic, OpenAI ‘Pacing’ Spooks Some Startup Customers

Anthropic, OpenAI ‘Pacing’ Spooks Some Startup Customers

By Julia Hornstein · Sep 15, 2026 4:25pm PDT

It’s not clear what impact the pledges by Anthropic and OpenAI to slow the pace of AI development will have on their upcoming public offerings. But the comments are having real effects already: more people outside Silicon Valley and Washington are now alert to potential risks from AI in a way they weren’t even very recently. That’s not great... It’s not clear what impact the pledges by Anthropic and OpenAI to slow the pace of AI development...

Volition Capital's Managing Partners. From left to right: Roger Hurwitz, Larry Cheng, Sean Cantwell. Photo courtesy of Volition.

Fund Focused on Bootstrapped Founders Raises $950 Million

By Julia Hornstein · Sep 10, 2026 4:26pm PDT · 1 comment

There’s certainly a frenzy among venture capitalists to back the hottest startups before they’ve made a dime of revenue, but one fund is sticking to a proven strategy of investing in startups that have generated at least millions in revenue—often without raising any institutional money.Focusing on these boot-strapped founders has again resonated... There’s certainly a frenzy among venture capitalists to back the hottest startups before they’ve...

Zain Asgar, co-founder and CEO of Gimlet Labs. YouTube.

Gimlet’s Three-Tranche Deal Reveals AI Funding Frenzy

By Stephanie Palazzolo and Phoebe Liu · Sep 8, 2026 5:37pm PDT

Gimlet Labs said late last week it had raised $300 million at a valuation of about $3 billion, in a round led by new investor Andreessen Horowitz. Today we have unreported details on how that round, which boosted its valuation by a whopping 16 times from its last PitchBook valuation, came together.The three-year-old startup, which helps AI... Gimlet Labs said late last week it had raised $300 million at a valuation of about $3 billion, in...

Dario Amodei, CEO of Anthropic. Photo by Getty Images

What Anthropic’s IPO Investors Want to Know

By Valida Pau and Cory Weinberg · Sep 3, 2026 10:00am PDT

Dario Amodei, CEO of Anthropic. Photo by Getty Images

What Anthropic’s IPO Investors Want to Know

By Valida Pau and Cory Weinberg · Sep 3, 2026 10:00am PDT

We’re getting ready for Anthropic to make its initial public offering prospectus public sometime after Labor Day. Though the company’s private investors have had a window into its torrid growth and projections, this will be the first time public investors are getting a full financial picture of the Claude maker. Just how complete a picture... We’re getting ready for Anthropic to make its initial public offering prospectus public sometime...