Two times/week

Dealmaker

By The Information Staff

Venture capital is at a crossroads. Reporters Cory Weinberg and Natasha Mascarenhas 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

Art by Mike Sullivan
Dealmaker

The Big Idea That Drove a Strong Year in Tech Dealmaking

By Valida Pau · Dec 18, 2025 2:25pm PST
It’s a no-brainer these days to say AI is driving tech mergers. As I wrote earlier this month, big AI deals and a deal-friendly presidential administration have pushed the value of U.S. announced tech mergers to more than $543 billion this year, the highest level since 2021. To Morgan Stanley bankers, the deals this year and over the next... It’s a no-brainer these days to say AI is driving tech mergers. As I wrote earlier this month,...
Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
Dealmaker

Waymo to Join the $100 Billion Club

By Katie Roof · Dec 16, 2025 4:45pm PST
The boom times for startup fundraising are likely to roll into the new year. As I scooped earlier Tuesday, self-driving car service Waymo is expected to raise billions of dollars at a $100 billion valuation, more than double its last valuation.It’s the latest sign that while public markets quake, private investors are still eager to put money... The boom times for startup fundraising are likely to roll into the new year. As I scooped earlier...
Tripplaar Kristoffer/SIPA via AP
Dealmaker

The Private Credit Market’s New Target

By Miles Kruppa · Dec 11, 2025 2:53pm PST · 1 comment
It’s not every day we write about debt in this newsletter, but tech investors are increasingly paying attention to credit as a growing source of funding for AI. One big question going into next year is whether lenders will have the stomach to continue backing massive data center projects.A recent debt offering from Blackstone-owned QTS, one of... It’s not every day we write about debt in this newsletter, but tech investors are increasingly...
VC Fundraising Just Can’t Keep Up
VC Fundraising Just Can’t Keep Up
By Katie Roof · Dec 9, 2025 4:17pm PST · 1 comment
VC Fundraising Just Can’t Keep Up
Dealmaker

VC Fundraising Just Can’t Keep Up

By Katie Roof · Dec 9, 2025 4:17pm PST · 1 comment
The sky’s the limit for valuations for companies like SpaceX, but the venture firms writing the checks have less money in total to spend.Recent data from PitchBook shows how steep the decline in cash is. Fund managers raised $45.7 billion in new funds in the first nine months of the year. At that pace, fundraising is headed for the lowest level... The sky’s the limit for valuations for companies like SpaceX, but the venture firms writing the...
Daniela Amodei, co-founder and president of Anthropic. Getty Images.
Dealmaker

When Will We See a $100 Billion-Valuation Startup Go Public?

By Katie Roof · Dec 4, 2025 3:28pm PST
For years, there has been speculation about when $100 billion-plus private tech companies like Stripe, SpaceX and Databricks could go public. Now AI darlings OpenAI and Anthropic are on IPO watch. Like every company that takes on significant venture capital, both companies have had early conversations with financial institutions about the... For years, there has been speculation about when $100 billion-plus private tech companies like...
Dealmaker Newsletter
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.
By providing your email, you agree to The Information’s Privacy Policy
Amit Zavery, president and chief product officer at ServiceNow. Getty Images.
Dealmaker

ServiceNow’s $1 Billion-Plus Acquisition Aimed at Winning Agent War

By Valida Pau · Dec 2, 2025 3:10pm PST
Dealmakers apparently did not get much of a break over the Thanksgiving weekend, as a flurry of recent merger announcements showed. In just the last day, The Information broke the news that Marvell Technology was buying photonics startup Celestial for billions of dollars and Anthropic was making its first outright acquisition, for coding tools... Dealmakers apparently did not get much of a break over the Thanksgiving weekend, as a flurry of...
SpaceX flags fly as people wait on South Padre Island to watch the SpaceX Starship rocket launch from Starbase, Tex. in May. Getty Images. (edited)
Dealmaker

‘Tis the Season for SpaceX Tenders

By Katie Roof · Nov 25, 2025 2:24pm PST
The holidays are coming up, which means it’s time for another surge in SpaceX share prices. The Elon Musk-founded company is planning to keep up its tradition of a twice-annual tender offer, with the new price expected to be set in December, according to multiple people familiar with the space giant’s plans. It was last valued at $400... The holidays are coming up, which means it’s time for another surge in SpaceX share prices. ...
Ivan Zhao, CEO of Notion, and Jane Dunlevie, chief operating officer of tech investment banking at Goldman Sachs
In Las Vegas, Kalshi Is King
By Cory Weinberg · Nov 20, 2025 3:43pm PST · 1 comment
Ivan Zhao, CEO of Notion, and Jane Dunlevie, chief operating officer of tech investment banking at Goldman Sachs
Dealmaker

In Las Vegas, Kalshi Is King

By Cory Weinberg · Nov 20, 2025 3:43pm PST · 1 comment
For 15 years, Goldman Sachs’ private tech conference in Las Vegas has been the event for taking the pulse of startup dealmaking. Years ago, it was possible to run into founders such as Uber’s Travis Kalanick and Instagram’s Kevin Systrom raising money for their then-small startups. The conference is much bigger now (which makes some investors... For 15 years, Goldman Sachs’ private tech conference in Las Vegas has been the event for taking...
Photo by Getty Images
Dealmaker

Series Bubb-L

By Katie Roof and Cory Weinberg · Nov 18, 2025 3:01pm PST
Sometimes being a centicorn isn’t enough…especially when you’re worried the AI bubble could burst. Shortly after Databricks said in September it had raised more than $1 billion at a valuation of more than $100 billion, leaders at the database software provider told investors they were likely to raise even more soon, our sources tell us.As ... Sometimes being a centicorn isn’t enough…especially when you’re worried the AI bubble could...
Elad Gil. Getty Images.
Dealmaker

Elad Gil Doubles Fund Target to Nearly $3 Billion

By Natasha Mascarenhas · Nov 13, 2025 3:35pm PST
Elad Gil, the venture capitalist who made early investments in Perplexity, Harvey, Stripe and Airbnb, has doubled the target size of his new fund to nearly $3 billion from $1.5 billion earlier this summer, according to a person with direct knowledge of the fundraise. If Gil succeeds in raising that much money, it would be the largest known fund... Elad Gil, the venture capitalist who made early investments in Perplexity, Harvey, Stripe and...
Dealmaker Newsletter
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.
By providing your email, you agree to The Information’s Privacy Policy
Photo by Getty Images
Dealmaker

An End to the IPO Shutdown

By Katie Roof · Nov 11, 2025 3:26pm PST
For the last 42 days, any startup seeking approval for an initial public offering from the Securities and Exchange Commission was in limbo, thanks to the government shutdown that had sent SEC staff home, preventing them from reviewing and approving IPO prospectuses.The securities agency could be back to work soon. Late Monday, the Senate passed... For the last 42 days, any startup seeking approval for an initial public offering from the...
Photo by Getty
AI Stokes Battles for Series A; Altimeter to Raise New Growth Fund
By Natasha Mascarenhas · Nov 6, 2025 1:43pm PST
Photo by Getty
Dealmaker

AI Stokes Battles for Series A; Altimeter to Raise New Growth Fund

By Natasha Mascarenhas · Nov 6, 2025 1:43pm PST
I’ve been hearing a lot about how intense competition is for Series A investments lately. Investors that typically look to invest in more mature startups, say at the Series B or above rounds, are crowding into Series A rounds for fear of missing the next major winner.Like much else these days, artificial intelligence gets the credit (or blame)... I’ve been hearing a lot about how intense competition is for Series A investments lately....
Natasha Mascarenhas, Nina Achadjian and Leigh Marie Braswell at The Information's WTF Summit in October 2025. Photo by Erin Beach.
Dealmaker

Four Venture Capitalists on How AI Has Disrupted Dealmaking

By Natasha Mascarenhas · Nov 4, 2025 2:02pm PST
Before we get into today’s column, some breaking news: Roelof Botha, who has held the top role at Sequoia Capital for three years, announced he was handing the reins to two partners, Alfred Lin and Pat Grady. Botha, 52, took over Sequoia in 2022 just as tech stocks were plunging and VC firms including Sequoia were mopping up the excesses of... Before we get into today’s column, some breaking news: Roelof Botha, who has held the top role at...
OpenAI CFO Sarah Friar. Photo by Getty.
Dealmaker

Why OpenAI Is Likely to Tap Private Investors Again

By Sri Muppidi · Oct 30, 2025 4:55pm PDT · 1 comment
OpenAI this week restructured itself into a company with traditional equity, and it wasn’t long before rumblings about an initial public offering followed. There are plenty of reasons why an IPO listing may not happen until 2027 at the earliest, according to a person who has been involved in the discussion. Among them: It’s likely to be one of... OpenAI this week restructured itself into a company with traditional equity, and it wasn’t long...
Getty Images
Dealmaker

Profit Pressure Spurs Chip Deals

By Valida Pau · Oct 28, 2025 12:41pm PDT
Giant tech companies are wreaking havoc on chipmakers, outcompeting them or shifting to new suppliers, and that’s spurring a dealmaking spree in the industry. We broke news last night about the largest chip deal of the year, Skyworks Solutions buying rival chipmaker Qorvo for $10.6 billion. Both companies, which make radio frequency chips... Giant tech companies are wreaking havoc on chipmakers, outcompeting them or shifting to new...
Dealmaker Newsletter
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.
By providing your email, you agree to The Information’s Privacy Policy
Synthesia co-founder and CEO Victor Riparbelli. Getty Images
Why Some AI Startup Acquisitions Are Failing
By Laura Mandaro and Katie Roof · Oct 23, 2025 2:49pm PDT · 1 comment
Synthesia co-founder and CEO Victor Riparbelli. Getty Images
Dealmaker

Why Some AI Startup Acquisitions Are Failing

By Laura Mandaro and Katie Roof · Oct 23, 2025 2:49pm PDT · 1 comment
Over the last few days our reporters have broken news about two merger discussions that fizzled: Adobe, which was interested in buying video startup Synthesia, and SoftBank, which talked with humanoid robotics maker Agility about a takeover. In both cases, the startups ended up pursuing more venture capital funding at higher valuations.These are... Over the last few days our reporters have broken news about two merger discussions that fizzled:...
Latham & Watkins partners Seth Gottlieb (left) and Alex Kelly (right). Photo courtesy of the subjects.
Dealmaker

AI Is Speeding Up M&A Deals, Says Latham

By Valida Pau · Oct 21, 2025 2:03pm PDT
A flurry of tech mergers and acquisitions catalyzed by the artificial intelligence boom has been big business for lawyers. Latham & Watkins, which has landed on some of the highest-profile deals, says tech is moving fast and companies are keeping pace, sometimes getting transactions done in days. “It’s speed oftentimes because the deal... A flurry of tech mergers and acquisitions catalyzed by the artificial intelligence boom has been...
Alex Ferrara, partner at Bessemer Venture Partners. Photo courtesy of Paul Clarke for Resilience Media.
Dealmaker

Bessemer Bets on War Worries in Europe

By Cory Weinberg · Oct 16, 2025 2:38pm PDT
The name of Bessemer Venture Partners is tied closely with the cloud software boom of the 2010s. The backer of Twilio, Shopify and Zoom even created its own Nasdaq index of cloud software companies, which I look at often to track the ups and downs of the market.But it’s not a good time to be a software investor. That index of cloud stocks has... The name of Bessemer Venture Partners is tied closely with the cloud software boom of the 2010s....
Reflection AI CEO Misha Laskin and The Information reporter Akash Pasricha.
Dealmaker

Why Nvidia Is Shying Away From the ‘Lead Investor’ Mantle

By Miles Kruppa · Oct 14, 2025 2:11pm PDT · 1 comment
When somebody writes the biggest check in a round of venture funding, they usually want to shout it from the rooftops. Not so for Nvidia in its latest investment.The chip giant caused a stir last week when it objected to being called the lead investor in a $2 billion round of funding for Reflection, a one-year-old company developing open-source... When somebody writes the biggest check in a round of venture funding, they usually want to shout...
Venture capitalist Ben Horowitz and Vercel CEO Guillermo Rauch. Photos via Getty and YouTube
Ben Horowitz Hires His ‘Jensen’; Vercel Starts a Venture Fund
By Natasha Mascarenhas · Oct 9, 2025 2:30pm PDT
Venture capitalist Ben Horowitz and Vercel CEO Guillermo Rauch. Photos via Getty and YouTube
Dealmaker

Ben Horowitz Hires His ‘Jensen’; Vercel Starts a Venture Fund

By Natasha Mascarenhas · Oct 9, 2025 2:30pm PDT
Andreessen Horowitz co-founder Ben Horowitz says only a small subset of AI companies, such as portfolio companies Safe Superintelligence Inc. and Thinking Machines Labs, need massive compute contracts. But many AI startups still need help getting access to bottlenecked resources, like chips to train their models.The venture firm said Thursday it... Andreessen Horowitz co-founder Ben Horowitz says only a small subset of AI companies, such as...