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.

By providing your email, you agree to The Information’s Privacy Policy

Recent Editions

SEC Chairman Gary Gensler. Photo by Getty
Dealmaker

New SEC Rules Could Hurt VC’s Newcomers

By Kate Clark · Aug 24, 2023 12:50pm PDT
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission approved new rules for private funds Wednesday meant to give limited partners—the individuals and institutions that invest in these funds—more transparency. The ramifications for the much larger private equity industry have drawn most of the attention, but venture capital funds will also need to bend... The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission approved new rules for private funds Wednesday meant...
Photo via Ramp
Dealmaker

Ramp’s Down Round and Why Startups Should Let Employees Cash Out

By Kate Clark · Aug 17, 2023 12:53pm PDT · 1 comment
Since it was founded in 2019, credit card startup Ramp has won over investors with a blistering pace of growth. As card payment volume surged, the startup’s valuation exploded from $1 billion in early to 2021 to over $8 billion last year, thanks to investments from Thrive Capital and Redpoint Ventures, among others. Those heady times are... Since it was founded in 2019, credit card startup Ramp has won over investors with a blistering...
GGV Capital Managing Partner Hans Tung. Photo via Getty.
Dealmaker

GGV’s ByteDance Sale Won’t Solve Its China Dilemma

By Kate Clark · Aug 10, 2023 3:32pm PDT
For a long time the debate around American venture capital investment in China has centered on Sequoia Capital, the blue-chip VC firm that’s earned billions of dollars from its overseas investments. But since Sequoia announced in June that it would split from its Chinese counterpart, the spotlight has expanded to a cohort of smaller firms that... For a long time the debate around American venture capital investment in China has centered on...
Photo via Midjourney.
The Unicorn Fire Sales Ahead
By Kate Clark · Aug 3, 2023 11:19am PDT · 4 comments
Photo via Midjourney.
Dealmaker

The Unicorn Fire Sales Ahead

By Kate Clark · Aug 3, 2023 11:19am PDT · 4 comments
Welcome back! Hopin, one of the most iconic startups of the pandemic era, said this week it sold its virtual event and webinar hosting business to RingCentral, and that its founder and CEO, Johnny Boufarhat, is stepping down. The sale marks a pitiful finale for the once-heralded startup.Similar to Clubhouse, the chat app valued at $4... Welcome back! Hopin, one of the most iconic startups of the pandemic era, said this week it...
Sequoia Capital's Menlo Park, Calif. campus. Photo by Bloomberg via Getty.
Dealmaker

Why VC’s Platform Teams Are on the Chopping Block

By Kate Clark · Jul 27, 2023 11:00am PDT · 6 comments
Shortly after the exit of five of its partners, Sequoia Capital let go of seven members of its in-house recruiting and talent team, sending a clear signal to other firms that it’s time to reevaluate the platform teams, which grew exceedingly large during the record bull run. Across VC, I suspect there are thousands of these platform employees—... Shortly after the exit of five of its partners, Sequoia Capital let go of seven members of its...
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
Roelof Botha of Sequoia Capital. Photo by Getty
Dealmaker

Sequoia Exits Add to Pressure on Junior Dealmakers

By Kate Clark · Jul 20, 2023 12:42pm PDT · 2 comments
Five partners have exited Sequoia Capital, I reported yesterday, one of the biggest personnel shake-ups at the legendary venture capital firm in recent history. It’s a sign of what’s coming for the broader industry. The departures included three junior dealmakers, or partners with less experience. Two of them, Kais Khimji and Daniel Chen,... Five partners have exited Sequoia Capital, I reported yesterday, one of the biggest personnel...
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. Photo by Getty.
Dealmaker

Who Could Lead OpenAI’s VC Fund?

By Kate Clark · Jul 13, 2023 4:29pm PDT · 1 comment
OpenAI is on the prowl for a seasoned venture capitalist or two to run its startup investment fund.The San Francisco developer of ChatGPT is gearing up to soon start raising its second fund, which will be far larger than its $175 million debut, representatives of OpenAI have told several venture capital investors. They want an established... OpenAI is on the prowl for a seasoned venture capitalist or two to run its startup investment...
Jay Graber, CEO of Bluesky. Photo via JayGraber.com
Betting on Bluesky
By Kate Clark · Jul 6, 2023 2:43pm PDT · 9 comments
Jay Graber, CEO of Bluesky. Photo via JayGraber.com
Dealmaker

Betting on Bluesky

By Kate Clark · Jul 6, 2023 2:43pm PDT · 9 comments
If you’re like me, you’ve signed up for a minimum of three apps trying to compete with Twitter this year. First it was Mastodon, then Bluesky, and now comes Threads, the Instagram sibling app that launched yesterday and raked in an impressive 30 million sign-ups by this morning.It will be incredibly difficult for a tiny startup like Bluesky,... If you’re like me, you’ve signed up for a minimum of three apps trying to compete with Twitter ...
Photo by Getty
Dealmaker

Three Reasons to Look Past the 40% Drop in VC Funding

By Kate Clark · Jun 29, 2023 12:23pm PDT
To my surprise, the recent boom in artificial intelligence investments has done little to dig U.S. venture capital funding out of its hole.VC funding decreased in the second quarter, which ends tomorrow, according to new data provided to The Information by Crunchbase. U.S. startups raised just $27.6 billion compared to $45.2 billion in the first... To my surprise, the recent boom in artificial intelligence investments has done little to dig...
Figma CEO Dylan Field. Photo by Bloomberg via Getty
Dealmaker

Antitrust Threat to Figma-Adobe Deal Thwarts Hopes for VC Rebound

By Kate Clark · Jun 22, 2023 12:49pm PDT
Adobe’s $20 billion plan to buy design software startup Figma in September offered Silicon Valley venture capitalists brief relief from the downturn’s tight grip. But they might want to put the champagne away.  European regulators plan to launch an investigation of Adobe’s deal, the Financial Times reported earlier this week. A few... Adobe’s $20 billion plan to buy design software startup Figma in September offered Silicon Valley...
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
Dealmaker

The End of Megafunds

By Kate Clark · Jun 15, 2023 10:45am PDT · 6 comments
Megafunds may be a relic of another era in venture capital. That’s not a bad thing. Insight Partners has reduced the target of its next fund 25% to $15 billion, the Financial Times first reported this week. Other firms, like Tiger Global Management and TCV, aren’t on track to meet their initial ambitious targets either.There aren’t enough... Megafunds may be a relic of another era in venture capital. That’s not a bad thing. Insight...
Emad Mostaque. Photo via YouTube/Scale.ai
Stability AI Drama Spotlights VC Accountability
By Kate Clark · Jun 8, 2023 3:04pm PDT · 5 comments
Emad Mostaque. Photo via YouTube/Scale.ai
Dealmaker

Stability AI Drama Spotlights VC Accountability

By Kate Clark · Jun 8, 2023 3:04pm PDT · 5 comments
Will the startup Stability AI be the first spectacular flameout of the new AI boom? That’s what I was asking myself as I read Forbes’ investigation into the three-year-old generative AI company, which raised $100 million at a valuation that last fall reached $1 billion. Without going into exhaustive detail, the article alleged the startup’s... Will the startup Stability AI be the first spectacular flameout of the new AI boom? That’s what I...
Photo by Getty
Dealmaker

Google, Nvidia and Microsoft Offer What VCs Can’t

By Kate Clark · Jun 1, 2023 1:16pm PDT · 1 comment
Welcome back,Amid all the hype for generative artificial intelligence, some venture capitalists have refused to join the fray. These young companies need so much capital and so much computing resources, the VC skeptics say, that they’ll have little chance of competing against Google, Amazon and other big tech companies that may soon have similar... Welcome back,Amid all the hype for generative artificial intelligence, some venture capitalists...
Bilal Zuberi. Photo courtesy of Lux Capital.
Dealmaker

The Perils of Venture Patriotism

By Kate Clark · May 25, 2023 1:30pm PDT · 2 comments
Welcome back!U.S. venture capitalists seem to be gripped by patriotic fervor, with a growing faction urging their peers to back more companies that help the U.S. battle adversaries like China. That’s put other venture capital firms with large China footprints on the defensive, as I reported this week.The recent bout of nationalism has worried... Welcome back!U.S. venture capitalists seem to be gripped by patriotic fervor, with a growing...
Art via Shutterstock
Dealmaker

An Accelerator Implodes, Leaving Founders in Shock

By Kate Clark · May 18, 2023 3:01pm PDT · 4 comments
If you ask a startup founder what they look for in an accelerator program, they’d probably hope for access to startup veterans and connections to prominent venture capitalists. By all accounts, they didn’t get much of that from Newchip, whose parent Astralabs last week entered into Chapter 7 bankruptcy, leaving creditors owed $4.8 million... If you ask a startup founder what they look for in an accelerator program, they’d probably hope...
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
Rewind AI co-founder Dan Siroker. Photo via Getty.
AI Startup Rewind Gets 170 Offers—and $350 Million Valuation in Unusual Fundraising
By Kate Clark · May 11, 2023 12:37pm PDT · 7 comments
Rewind AI co-founder Dan Siroker. Photo via Getty.
Dealmaker

AI Startup Rewind Gets 170 Offers—and $350 Million Valuation in Unusual Fundraising

By Kate Clark · May 11, 2023 12:37pm PDT · 7 comments
Hungry venture capitalists inundated Rewind AI co-founder and CEO Dan Siroker the moment they caught wind of his artificial intelligence startup’s Series A plans, he wrote on Twitter last month. So he skipped the traditional fundraising process and tried something unorthodox.On April 14, he shared a link to an online form and asked investors to... Hungry venture capitalists inundated Rewind AI co-founder and CEO Dan Siroker the moment they...
A First Republic Bank branch in San Francisco. Photo by Bloomberg.
Dealmaker

Apathy Valley

By Kate Clark · May 4, 2023 1:31pm PDT · 1 comment
The biggest bank failure since the financial crisis and the fourth bank failure of the year happened this week. But no one in Silicon Valley seemed to care. That’s probably because they’re all exhausted by the slow-moving train wreck that’s transpired over the past three months. Or because—after the fall of crypto exchange FTX last fall and... The biggest bank failure since the financial crisis and the fourth bank failure of the year...
Photo via Shutterstock
Dealmaker

The Looming Layoffs for Venture Capitalists

By Kate Clark · Apr 27, 2023 12:32pm PDT · 2 comments
This week’s news that fintech investor Anthemis Group has cut 28% of its staff, which comes one month after Y Combinator slashed about 20% of its workers, suggests more venture capital layoffs are coming.The shrinking appetite of their limited partners means many will likely raise smaller funds, taking away resources to maintain headcount that... This week’s news that fintech investor Anthemis Group has cut 28% of its staff, which comes one...
Index Ventures Leads $50 Million Investment in AI Startup Weaviate
Dealmaker

Index Ventures Leads $50 Million Investment in AI Startup Weaviate

By Kate Clark · Apr 20, 2023 11:00am PDT · 5 comments
Weaviate, an infrastructure startup whose technology is essential for companies trying to build generative AI tools, could probably have landed a higher valuation for its recent Series B given all the investor hype around AI right now. Instead, CEO and co-founder Bob van Luijt said he struck a quick deal after meeting with only three firms.... Weaviate, an infrastructure startup whose technology is essential for companies trying to build...
Photo: Shutterstock
The AI Rush Could Shake Up Venture Capital's Ranks
By Kate Clark · Apr 13, 2023 1:27pm PDT · 4 comments
Photo: Shutterstock
Dealmaker

The AI Rush Could Shake Up Venture Capital's Ranks

By Kate Clark · Apr 13, 2023 1:27pm PDT · 4 comments
We probably all know by now that artificial intelligence, particularly generative AI, is venture capital’s current obsession. What’s interesting, though, is that firms like Spark Capital and Greylock Partners, respectable outfits but generally not considered in the same league as Sequoia Capital or Benchmark, have led the industry’s latest push... We probably all know by now that artificial intelligence, particularly generative AI, is venture...