Dealmaker by The Information Staff

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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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Citi Pitches a Cleanup for Murky SPV Market

By Yueqi Yang · Jun 25, 2026 2:18pm PDT · 1 comment

Citigroup wants to tackle the murky ownership problems that have proliferated among private tech firms as more special purpose vehicles have popped up promising to connect investors with the hottest startups. The bank this month said it is launching a new service that lets investors trade private company shares on a blockchain. It’s... Citigroup wants to tackle the murky ownership problems that have proliferated among private tech...

Photo by David Paul Morris/ Getty Images

Walmart’s $1.4 Billion Ad Tech Purchase: How The Price Compares

By Catherine Perloff and Valida Pau · Jun 23, 2026 2:20pm PDT

Walmart’s $1.4 billion purchase of New York–based advertising technology startup Vibe on Tuesday is a reminder of how serious the retail giant is about building its ad business.Walmart is paying a big price for Vibe, which helps small businesses buy ads on streaming platforms and will allow Walmart to reach more advertisers looking to buy spots... Walmart’s $1.4 billion purchase of New York–based advertising technology startup Vibe on Tuesday...

Mantis VC co-founders Alex Pall and Andrew Taggart of The Chainsmokers. Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images

The Chainsmokers’ VC Firm Mantis Raising $100 Million Fund

By Julia Hornstein and Katie Roof · Jun 19, 2026 12:13pm PDT

The Chainsmokers are back. They released new songs in May—and are raising a new venture fund.Their firm Mantis VC is raising its fourth fund, an unofficial milestone that graduates them from emerging managers to just regular old VCs. The Chainsmokers are back. They released new songs in May—and are raising a new venture fund....

Cursor Co-founder Michael Truell

Cursor Returns Spur VC-Backed Deal Hopes

By Katie Roof · Jun 18, 2026 5:16pm PDT

Cursor Co-founder Michael Truell

Cursor Returns Spur VC-Backed Deal Hopes

By Katie Roof · Jun 18, 2026 5:16pm PDT

Achieving the largest IPO in history wasn’t the only record that SpaceX set. It’s now agreed to complete the largest acquisition of a venture-backed startup in history, its $60 billion dollar purchase of Cursor. The acquisition will make its founders billionaires, and it should provide billions in returns for investors like Thrive Capital... Achieving the largest IPO in history wasn’t the only record that SpaceX set. It’s now agreed to...

Lior Simon. Photo via Cyberstarts.

Cyberstarts Notches Cyera Win, Plots New Fund

By Aaron Holmes · Jun 16, 2026 1:29pm PDT

The $12 billion valuation that Cyera snagged in a $600 million fundraise announced last week shows how hungry investors were for the cybersecurity startup’s AI-focused pitch. The five-year-old startup sells software that can protect companies’ data from hackers equipped with increasingly powerful AI tools—a threat highlighted by Anthropic’s... The $12 billion valuation that Cyera snagged in a $600 million fundraise announced last week...

Technicians work on the the Dream Chaser at Sierra Space in 2023. Photo by Helen H. Richardson/ Getty Images

Sierra Space, Axiom Plot IPOs as SpaceX Feeds Frenzy

By Katie Roof · Jun 11, 2026 4:15pm PDT

It’s finally here! SpaceX Thursday officially priced its IPO at $135 per share, valuing the company at around $1.75 trillion, capping a frenetic six month stretch that defied many of the norms of initial public offerings. If the IPO goes well, expect to see more space public offerings soon.Sierra Space, for one, has been taking steps towards an... It’s finally here! SpaceX Thursday officially priced its IPO at $135 per share, valuing the...

Photo via Zum Mobility.

School Bus Startup Zum Takes Early Steps Toward IPO

By Valida Pau · Jun 9, 2026 4:00pm PDT

It may not seem like it now, as we barrel toward SpaceX’s public debut this week, but not every initial public offering will involve a $1.75 trillion rocket-ship company. Soon enough, public investors may get to judge a much more down-to-earth business: school bus fleets. Sequoia Capital-backed Zum, known for using its electric school buses to... It may not seem like it now, as we barrel toward SpaceX’s public debut this week, but not every...

Benchmark partners Eric Vishria, left, and Peter Fenton. Screenshot via YouTube

Benchmark Joins the Late-Stage Crowd

By Laura Mandaro · Jun 4, 2026 4:48pm PDT · 1 comment

Benchmark partners Eric Vishria, left, and Peter Fenton. Screenshot via YouTube

Benchmark Joins the Late-Stage Crowd

By Laura Mandaro · Jun 4, 2026 4:48pm PDT · 1 comment

For most of this decade, venture capital has morphed from a game of spotting the best young startups to making a more complex range of investments—from public stocks and cryptocurrencies to multibillion-dollar bets on older startups. General Catalyst even bought a hospital system!But industry stalwart Benchmark had held fast to a definition of... For most of this decade, venture capital has morphed from a game of spotting the best young...

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The SpaceX IPO Domino Effect

By Katie Roof · Jun 2, 2026 5:16pm PDT

SpaceX’s $75 billion offering will impact a lot more than just the employees and investors who are looking to cash in on their stock. It will also be a gauge of enthusiasm for tech IPOs, helping set the stage for other mega IPOs like Anthropic and OpenAI. If SpaceX’s IPO doesn’t take off, “you’d see a pullback in institutional capital that... SpaceX’s $75 billion offering will impact a lot more than just the employees and investors who...

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Big Law’s AI Threat to Harvey, Legora

By Julia Hornstein · May 28, 2026 4:47pm PDT · 1 comment

Despite fears that advanced tools from Anthropic and OpenAI would soon make legal apps like Harvey and Legora irrelevant, recent revenue milestones at those startups suggest they are doing just fine. But a fresh assault on their business is brewing: Some law firms now want to develop their own AI apps with frontier model companies like... Despite fears that advanced tools from Anthropic and OpenAI would soon make legal apps like...

Art by Clark Miller.

Boom Times for Inference Providers?

By Laura Mandaro and Stephanie Palazzolo · May 26, 2026 5:31pm PDT · 2 comments

Less than a year ago, our reporters kept hearing doubts about a group of startups called inference providers. Companies like Fireworks, Baseten and Together AI, which rent out Nvidia servers to app developers and help them customize open-source models, had grown quickly but seemed at risk of getting steamrolled by major cloud providers that... Less than a year ago, our reporters kept hearing doubts about a group of startups called...

Elon Musk and Sam Altman in 2015.

A Trio of Trillion Dollar IPOs

By Katie Roof · May 21, 2026 5:17pm PDT · 4 comments

Elon Musk and Sam Altman in 2015.

A Trio of Trillion Dollar IPOs

By Katie Roof · May 21, 2026 5:17pm PDT · 4 comments

On Wednesday, right before SpaceX dropped its long-awaited S-1, the company led by Musk adversary Sam Altman had some IPO news of its own: OpenAI was planning to file its IPO prospectus within weeks. The news not only took some of the spotlight away from SpaceX’s upcoming public debut, but also that of Altman’s other rival, Anthropic. ... On Wednesday, right before SpaceX dropped its long-awaited S-1, the company led by Musk adversary...

Guests during Cerebras Systems IPO at Nasdaq MarketSite May 14.

Investors Fall Back in Love With IPOs

By Valida Pau · May 19, 2026 5:30pm PDT

For the past two days, I’ve been at JP Morgan’s annual tech conference in Boston. As usual, AI has dominated most of my conversations with investors. But in a change from the past few months, it’s not Anthropic and OpenAI driving those discussions—but hardware and utility companies a few steps removed from what the AI model makers do.On Monday,... For the past two days, I’ve been at JP Morgan’s annual tech conference in Boston. As usual, AI...

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Cerebras Payday Includes Tiger—And SPVs

By Katie Roof and Julia Hornstein · May 14, 2026 4:20pm PDT

Earlier this morning we published exclusive returns on some of the biggest investors in AI chip designer Cerebras, whose shares surged in their first day of trading. The offering represents welcome cash for investors after they’ve seen initial public offerings get delayed year after year. Tiger Global Management, for instance, bought... Earlier this morning we published exclusive returns on some of the biggest investors in AI...

Cerebras CEO Andrew Feldman. Getty Images.

Cerebras' Plum OpenAI Deal Is a Double-Edged Sword

By Cory Weinberg · May 12, 2026 4:33pm PDT

When some journalist writes the book on the AI boom, one critical chapter will start on Christmas Eve 2025. That was the day that Nvidia and OpenAI’s complicated frenemy relationship became incredibly lucrative for chip startups that focus on AI inference.We already know that Christmas Eve was the day the tech industry (and this newsroom)... When some journalist writes the book on the AI boom, one critical chapter will start on Christmas...

Art by Clark Miller.

The Problem With Fast Follows

By Katie Roof · May 7, 2026 5:35pm PDT

Art by Clark Miller.

The Problem With Fast Follows

By Katie Roof · May 7, 2026 5:35pm PDT

How soon is too soon to raise a new funding round?I’ve been covering venture capital long enough (more than a decade!) to remember that the hottest startups used to raise financing every 12-18 months. Then it was 9-12 months. Then 6-9 months. And now…two months? Two weeks? Recently, a wave of both early and late stage startups have been... How soon is too soon to raise a new funding round?I’ve been covering venture capital long enough...

Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images.

Private Equity’s AI Deals Lighten the Mood at Milken

By Cory Weinberg and Valida Pau · May 5, 2026 4:35pm PDT

News this week about private equity firms’ new joint ventures with OpenAI and Anthropic came at the right time for PE giants: just as they were about to sit down with their investors for days of meetings at the annual Milken Institute conference. The AI partnerships put the slew of PE firms involved—in Anthropic’s case, Blackstone, Hellman... News this week about private equity firms’ new joint ventures with OpenAI and Anthropic came at...

Omar Havana/Getty Images

Founders Fund Takes a Bigger Bite of Anduril

By Julia Hornstein · Apr 30, 2026 4:31pm PDT

Two months ago, my colleagues broke the news of Anduril’s latest funding round, slated to value the company at $60 billion. Andreessen Horowitz and Thrive Capital are leading the roughly $4 billion investment, according to a source with direct knowledge of the fundraising efforts. But another investor stands out for the size of its check. ... Two months ago, my colleagues broke the news of Anduril’s latest funding round, slated to value...

Art via Getty Images

The Asterisk on Benchmark’s Manus Exit

By Julia Hornstein · Apr 28, 2026 5:27pm PDT

Benchmark’s investment in the startup behind the AI agent Manus drew flack last year from some venture capitalists who viewed the investment in the company, which was founded in Beijing, as a national security risk. But when Meta said in December that it was buying the startup, called Butterfly Effect, for over $2 billion, the early-stage... Benchmark’s investment in the startup behind the AI agent Manus drew flack last year from some...

Wiz CEO Assaf Rappaport, left, and Yevgeny Dibrov CEO of Armis. Photos by Getty Images

The Region Where Software M&A Is Hopping

By Valida Pau · Apr 23, 2026 5:12pm PDT

Wiz CEO Assaf Rappaport, left, and Yevgeny Dibrov CEO of Armis. Photos by Getty Images

The Region Where Software M&A Is Hopping

By Valida Pau · Apr 23, 2026 5:12pm PDT

Elon Musk may be the busiest dealmaker right now. This Tuesday, his SpaceX rocket company said it had an option to buy coding startup Cursor for $60 billion. That would be the biggest venture-backed acquisition—other than SpaceX’s February purchase of his startup, xAI, for what Musk has said was a $250 billion valuation.Outside the Musk-verse,... Elon Musk may be the busiest dealmaker right now. This Tuesday, his SpaceX rocket company said it...