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

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Dealmaker

So Long, Unicorns. Hello, ZIRPicorns?

By Kate Clark · Jan 18, 2024 12:56pm PST
Aileen Lee, co-founder of seed venture capital firm Cowboy Ventures, famously coined the term “unicorn” to describe tech companies with billion-dollar valuations back in 2013. Now she’s using “ZIRPicorns” to describe the hundreds of startups that haven’t raised money since the zero-interest rate period and whose valuations are likely wildly off... Aileen Lee, co-founder of seed venture capital firm Cowboy Ventures, famously coined the term “...
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Dealmaker

Fintech Venture Capital’s Undoing

By Kate Clark · Jan 11, 2024 3:27pm PST
Fintech startups, the technology services trying to disrupt the antiquated financial services industry, raised over $100 billion in venture capital funding in 2021, a record for the sector, according to PitchBook. That party is long over. And now many of the venture capitalists that led those deals are also moving on.Vetamer Capital... Fintech startups, the technology services trying to disrupt the antiquated financial services...
Art by Getty
Dealmaker

Why One Venture Capitalist Decided to Call it Quits

By Kate Clark · Jan 4, 2024 2:25pm PST
We didn’t even make it one week into the new year without a venture capital fund announcing that it’s shutting down. Jai Malik, founder of industrial startup–focused fund Countdown Capital, explained his decision to call it quits in a four-page letter to his limited partners this week. Not once did he mention the downturn in VC that’s made... We didn’t even make it one week into the new year without a venture capital fund announcing that...
Where Venture Capital is Going in 2024
Where Venture Capital is Going in 2024
By Natasha Mascarenhas · Dec 28, 2023 1:03pm PST · 2 comments
Where Venture Capital is Going in 2024
Dealmaker

Where Venture Capital is Going in 2024

By Natasha Mascarenhas · Dec 28, 2023 1:03pm PST · 2 comments
Venture capital had a few stumbles this year, including turnover at the top ranks of Sequoia Capital, Tiger Global and Greycroft, and the abrupt slowdown in dealmaking among these once-frenetic checkwriters. Startups that had raised billions of dollars in VC money, including Convoy, Olive AI and Veev, shut down and wiped out investors. Others... Venture capital had a few stumbles this year, including turnover at the top ranks of Sequoia...
Art by Mike Sullivan
Dealmaker

‘Instability and Chaos’: What SVB and OpenAI Taught Us

By Natasha Mascarenhas · Dec 21, 2023 3:22pm PST · 1 comment
Many investors entered 2023 expecting a holdover of the past year’s doldrums: little dealmaking (except for artificial intelligence), cratering valuations and a growing number of down rounds. They weren’t disappointed—but few if any of them predicted the events that really defined venture capital and startup investing this year: the March... Many investors entered 2023 expecting a holdover of the past year’s doldrums: little dealmaking...
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
The Coterie CEO Ethan Agarwal. Photo courtesy of The Coterie.
Dealmaker

An Andreessen-backed Startup Bets on VC’s Expansion

By Kate Clark · Dec 14, 2023 4:03pm PST · 1 comment
This week I spoke to Andreessen Horowitz general partner Anish Acharya and Initialized founder Garry Tan about a two-year-old startup financial services startup they’ve backed: The Coterie, which sells software to help wealthy individuals, fund managers and institutional investors manage their investments in venture capital funds and other... This week I spoke to Andreessen Horowitz general partner Anish Acharya and Initialized founder...
Marcie Frost, CEO of Calpers. Photo by Bloomberg via Getty Images.
Dealmaker

Calpers’ $4.5 Billion Venture Bet

By Kate Clark · Dec 7, 2023 2:52pm PST · 2 comments
Here’s a number that might surprise you: In the first six months of the year, California Public Employees’ Retirement System committed about $4.5 billion to venture capital funds, according to public filings. That’s almost 15% of the total capital raised by U.S. VC firms in the same period, and a staggering increase over Calpers’ 2022... Here’s a number that might surprise you: In the first six months of the year, California Public...
Sam Altman. Photo via Getty.
The End of the AI Frenzy; VC Divorces
By Kate Clark · Nov 30, 2023 2:05pm PST · 3 comments
Sam Altman. Photo via Getty.
Dealmaker

The End of the AI Frenzy; VC Divorces

By Kate Clark · Nov 30, 2023 2:05pm PST · 3 comments
Many would argue that today marks the one-year anniversary of the investor frenzy for generative artificial intelligence startups. It was exactly this time last year that OpenAI introduced ChatGPT, one of the most transformative new tech products in recent history. Investors had already gotten a taste for AI deals before then, thanks to... Many would argue that today marks the one-year anniversary of the investor frenzy for generative...
Discord CEO, Jason Citron; Moonpay CEO, Ivan Soto-Wright; OpenSea CEO, Devin Finzer. Photos by Getty
Dealmaker

Venture Capitalists Can’t Hold Off on Markdowns Forever

By Kate Clark · Nov 16, 2023 2:10pm PST · 8 comments
A debate has resurfaced in the venture capital industry over the value of regularly updating portfolio startups’ valuations to better reflect current conditions—in particular, how aggressively to lower the value of the stakes. Many venture capitalists argue that markdowns are arbitrary and therefore meaningless, and that a VC firm’s limited... A debate has resurfaced in the venture capital industry over the value of regularly updating...
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Dealmaker

Why a Stampede of Startups Will Try to Raise in the First Quarter

By Kate Clark · Nov 9, 2023 1:53pm PST · 2 comments
As winter turned to spring last year, venture investors told me startups desperate to raise cash were likely to set off a stampede of fundraising attempts. That never happened. Instead, startups went on extreme diets with the aim of making the cash they raised at the peak of the 2021 bull market last as long as possible.Another year went by.... As winter turned to spring last year, venture investors told me startups desperate to raise cash...
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
Palmer Luckey. Photo by Patrick T. Fallon via Getty.
Dealmaker

Tension Brews in Defense Tech

By Natasha Mascarenhas · Nov 2, 2023 2:16pm PDT · 3 comments
It’s not every day that you see a company like Anduril, a 2,200-person defense technology company last valued at $8.5 billion, sue a 6-person startup with just $4 million in venture backing. But, as my colleague Margaux and I reported this week, Anduril CEO Palmer Luckey is going after a much smaller upstart founded by his former employees,... It’s not every day that you see a company like Anduril, a 2,200-person defense technology company...
The SPVs Behind Venture Capital’s Biggest Bets
The SPVs Behind Venture Capital’s Biggest Bets
By Kate Clark · Oct 26, 2023 10:00am PDT · 2 comments
The SPVs Behind Venture Capital’s Biggest Bets
Dealmaker

The SPVs Behind Venture Capital’s Biggest Bets

By Kate Clark · Oct 26, 2023 10:00am PDT · 2 comments
You might have noticed that Thrive Capital has made a number of bold bets this year, leading massive investments in Stripe, Ramp and OpenAI once again, even as other late-stage investors have pulled back. Special-purpose vehicles helped buttress the firm’s Stripe investment, while lowering the risk of its core fund’s performance. The same could... You might have noticed that Thrive Capital has made a number of bold bets this year, leading...
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Dealmaker

Seattle’s More Pragmatic—And Quieter—AI Boom

By Kate Clark · Oct 19, 2023 4:23pm PDT · 3 comments
As someone who grew up in Seattle, then spent several years in San Francisco, I’ve gotten a good feel for the two cities’ tech scenes and how they differ. Those differences are more clear than ever as the generative artificial intelligence boom reverberates through both tech hubs.In San Francisco, techies have been pumping their chest about AI,... As someone who grew up in Seattle, then spent several years in San Francisco, I’ve gotten a good...
Photo by Tomohiro Ohsumi/Getty.
Dealmaker

SoftBank's Secret Project

By Kate Clark · Oct 12, 2023 1:25pm PDT · 2 comments
If you've been a reader of The Information for several years now, you remember the wave of SoftBank Vision Fund investments that dominated our headlines. From WeWork to construction startup Katerra, the high-profile blow-ups were worthy of an Apple TV series!After enduring stain after stain on its reputation, the Vision Fund went into hiding and... If you've been a reader of The Information for several years now, you remember the wave of...
Dario Amodei, CEO and co-founder of Anthropic. Photo by Kimberly White via Getty.
Dealmaker

Can AI Save Crypto Investors?

By Kate Clark · Oct 5, 2023 11:46am PDT · 1 comment
The trial of Sam Bankman-Fried is officially underway and the spotlight is back on the bankrupt crypto exchange he founded. Recall that FTX launched a $2 billion venture fund early last year and bought stakes in some of the top crypto companies. When FTX imploded late last year, its decision to play venture capitalist seemed like an... The trial of Sam Bankman-Fried is officially underway and the spotlight is back on the bankrupt...
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
Jony Ive. Photo via Getty.
The Beginning of the AI Phone Wars
By Kate Clark · Sep 28, 2023 1:47pm PDT · 3 comments
Jony Ive. Photo via Getty.
Dealmaker

The Beginning of the AI Phone Wars

By Kate Clark · Sep 28, 2023 1:47pm PDT · 3 comments
For years, Silicon Valley has been trying to figure out if hardware companies can generate venture scale returns, given the example of high-profile, venture capital–backed disappointments like Essential Products and Magic Leap. This challenging environment makes The Information’s recent reporting—that OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and iPhone designer... For years, Silicon Valley has been trying to figure out if hardware companies can generate...
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Dealmaker

The New VC Mantra: It's ‘Time to IPO’

By Kate Clark · Sep 21, 2023 12:57pm PDT
“It’s time to build” became the rallying cry of venture capitalists after Marc Andreessen published his blog post in 2020, as the economy was reeling from the pandemic’s outbreak. More than three years later, a new one has entered the mix: It’s “time to IPO,” wrote Brad Gerstner, founder and CEO of investment firm Altimeter Capital, in a post on... “It’s time to build” became the rallying cry of venture capitalists after Marc Andreessen...
Nvidia and the Corporate VC Boom Ahead
Dealmaker

Nvidia and the Corporate VC Boom Ahead

By Kate Clark · Sep 14, 2023 2:36pm PDT
Nvidia’s corporate development team must be exhausted. They’ve inked roughly 20 deals this year, according to financial data firm PitchBook and The Information’s reporting. For comparison, once-prolific VC investor Tiger Global Management has done about 30 startup deals this year.We’ve seen this movie before. In 2020, during an unprecedented... Nvidia’s corporate development team must be exhausted. They’ve inked roughly 20 deals this year,...
Jason Citron, CEO of Discord. Photo by Bloomberg via Getty.
Dealmaker

Discord’s Midjourney Deal Could Supercharge Its Revenue

By Kate Clark · Sep 7, 2023 12:49pm PDT · 1 comment
Welcome back!For months I’d heard murmurings about Midjourney, a little artificial intelligence image generator company that had grown to almost 15 million users and hundreds of millions in revenue without any venture funding. I found that the company is also profitable, a major feat for a bootstrapped startup. (Read my profile of the startup ... Welcome back!For months I’d heard murmurings about Midjourney, a little artificial intelligence...
Chamath Palihapitiya. Photo by Bloomberg via Getty.
The Summer of Stake Sales
By Kate Clark · Aug 31, 2023 1:25pm PDT
Chamath Palihapitiya. Photo by Bloomberg via Getty.
Dealmaker

The Summer of Stake Sales

By Kate Clark · Aug 31, 2023 1:25pm PDT
Venture capitalists need to show their limited partners they can make money off their past investments if they have any hope of raising another fund in the future. That’s what’s driving a number of attempted startup stake sales this summer. In two of the latest instances, Tiger Global Management and Chamath Palihapitiya’s Social Capital are... Venture capitalists need to show their limited partners they can make money off their past...