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

Departed OpenAI CTO Mira Murati. Photo via Getty.
Dealmaker

OpenAI’s Investors Are Hanging On For the Ride

By Kate Clark · Sep 26, 2024 3:01pm PDT
OpenAI's investors are accustomed to turmoil. There’s been a steady stream of high-profile departures since last November, when CEO Sam Altman was fired in a board coup of cinematic proportions. That may be why its backers, though surprised by this week’s resignation of Chief Technology Officer Mira Murati and two other top technical... OpenAI's investors are accustomed to turmoil. There’s been a steady stream of high-profile...
Fadi Ghandour. Photo by Wamda Capital.
Dealmaker

Tech Investors Head to Mideast for Deals

By Natasha Mascarenhas · Sep 24, 2024 3:27pm PDT
Silicon Valley has never felt more intertwined with the Middle East—and I’m not just saying that because I’m writing this column as I graze on dates in the lobby of Rosewood Abu Dhabi. I spent the last week meeting investors, operators and founders in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, where evidence of U.S. venture capital was easy to find.One of those... Silicon Valley has never felt more intertwined with the Middle East—and I’m not just saying that...
Sam Altman. Photo by Bloomberg via Getty.
Dealmaker

OpenAI Asks Investors to Fork Over $250 Million

By Kate Clark · Sep 19, 2024 3:06pm PDT
Surely if you’re a reader of this newsletter, you know by now that OpenAI is in late-stage talks to raise a mammoth funding round that could value it at $150 billion. What you may not know is that the company has asked investors to fork over a minimum of $250 million, according to people with knowledge of the terms. To recap, OpenAI is... Surely if you’re a reader of this newsletter, you know by now that OpenAI is in late-stage talks...
Art by Mike Sullivan
Crypto Funds Are Hunting for Yield
By Yueqi Yang · Sep 17, 2024 3:44pm PDT
Art by Mike Sullivan
Dealmaker

Crypto Funds Are Hunting for Yield

By Yueqi Yang · Sep 17, 2024 3:44pm PDT
After a two-year drought of initial public offerings, venture capitalists are finding new ways to return cash to shareholders, we wrote last week. Crypto investors have a few other tools to get capital back to their investors, or limited partners. But they also are facing more hurdles these days.Funds that bought tokens, or digital assets tied... After a two-year drought of initial public offerings, venture capitalists are finding new ways to...
Christopher Ahlberg, CEO of Recorded Future. Photo via Recorded Future
Dealmaker

Insight Proves There Are Still Home-Run Deals in Cybersecurity

By Aaron Holmes and Anissa Gardizy · Sep 12, 2024 3:01pm PDT · 1 comment
For cybersecurity investors rattled by a year filled with valuation haircuts for high-priced cybersecurity companies, Thursday offered a glimmer of hope that home-run deals are still possible in the sector.Mastercard announced that it will acquire threat intelligence startup Recorded Future for $2.65 billion from private equity and venture... For cybersecurity investors rattled by a year filled with valuation haircuts for high-priced...
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
D-Matrix's co-founders, Sudeep Bhoja (left) and Sid Sheth (right). Photos via YouTube/D-Matrix
Dealmaker

Nvidia Challenger Woos Investors as It Prepares to Unveil New Chip

By Akash Pasricha and Natasha Mascarenhas · Sep 10, 2024 4:44pm PDT · 1 comment
Another artificial intelligence chip startup is trying to rally investors as it takes on Nvidia. D-Matrix, a Santa Clara, Calif.–based company designing an AI-focused chip to run large language models more cost effectively, wants to raise $250 million in a Series C funding round, according to two people with direct knowledge of the... Another artificial intelligence chip startup is trying to rally investors as it takes on...
Paul Graham. Photo by Bloomberg via Getty.
Dealmaker

The Cult of Founder Mode

By Kate Clark · Sep 5, 2024 3:00pm PDT
Maybe it was a blessing in disguise that I spent most of Labor Day weekend in bed recovering from a bout of Covid, because I was blissfully unaware of the newest venture capital debate brewing online.Rather than enjoy barbecues with their families, it seems like many venture capitalists and startup founders spent the weekend engaging in an... Maybe it was a blessing in disguise that I spent most of Labor Day weekend in bed recovering from...
Photo via Getty
A Dogfight Over a Dog Food Startup
By Julia Hornstein and Natasha Mascarenhas · Sep 3, 2024 4:12pm PDT · 1 comment
Photo via Getty
Dealmaker

A Dogfight Over a Dog Food Startup

By Julia Hornstein and Natasha Mascarenhas · Sep 3, 2024 4:12pm PDT · 1 comment
As funding for startups outside artificial intelligence has dried up, more founders have contemplated takeover offers. But such deals can sour if the founders agree to an all-stock deal—and the acquiring business doesn’t live up to its promises.That’s essentially the situation the shareholders of venture-backed Canadian startup Kabo allege they’... As funding for startups outside artificial intelligence has dried up, more founders have...
Sam Altman at the Allen & Co. Media and Technology Conference in Sun Valley, Idaho in July. Photo by Bloomberg via Getty.
Dealmaker

OpenAI's Astounding Price Tag

By Kate Clark · Aug 29, 2024 3:13pm PDT · 8 comments
For weeks we’ve been talking to investors about an expected funding round for OpenAI. The mega financing is finally happening! CEO and co-founder Sam Altman has told employees the company is raising more money, according to a person with direct knowledge. But not every investor approves of the staggering new valuation. For weeks we’ve been talking to investors about an expected funding round for OpenAI. The mega...
Telegram founder Pavel Gurov in 2016. Photo by Bloomberg via Getty.
Dealmaker

Sand Hill Road Dodges Telegram Crisis

By Kate Clark · Aug 27, 2024 3:55pm PDT
Typically when something bad happens to the founder of a highly valued private tech startup, the venture investors are at the front lines of the fallout—and in some cases can influence the outcome. I know this from reporting on FTX’s collapse (a wipeout for investors like Sequoia Capital and Paradigm) and then the firing of OpenAI CEO Sam... Typically when something bad happens to the founder of a highly valued private tech startup, the...
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 via Adobe
Dealmaker

The M&A Matchmaking in VC Portfolios

By Natasha Mascarenhas · Aug 22, 2024 3:44pm PDT
A merger in the works between two struggling startups, online pharmacy Truepill and health test provider LetsGetChecked, signals a growing trend in an era of tough financing: deals between companies that share major shareholders. Dublin-based LetsGetChecked has offered to buy California-based Truepill for $500 million in stock and $25... A merger in the works between two struggling startups, online pharmacy Truepill and health test...
Photo via Adobe Stock/Freepik.
The Brouhaha Over Cash Distributions
By Julia Hornstein · Aug 20, 2024 4:22pm PDT · 1 comment
Photo via Adobe Stock/Freepik.
Dealmaker

The Brouhaha Over Cash Distributions

By Julia Hornstein · Aug 20, 2024 4:22pm PDT · 1 comment
A report from Carta published last week showed just how little venture capital funds have returned in cash to investors, adding to the disappointment in the asset class over the past few years. But a number of venture capitalists—and even some limited partners—say those findings aren’t as bad as they look. To recap, Carta, which sells... A report from Carta published last week showed just how little venture capital funds have...
Photo via Getty
Dealmaker

Why Some AI Startups Are Tapping Investment Banks

By Kate Clark · Aug 15, 2024 3:25pm PDT
Wall Street is finding its way into the deluge of artificial intelligence deals as more AI founders enlist banks to help with fundraising.One of the latest is Lambda Labs. The startup, which rents out servers of Nvidia chips, is working with JPMorgan Chase on its latest fundraising, which is targeting $800 million, according to a person pitched... Wall Street is finding its way into the deluge of artificial intelligence deals as more AI...
Liquid AI's co-founders. Left to right: Ramin Hasani, Mathias Lechner, Alexander Amini and Daniela Rus. Photo via YouTube/MIT CSAIL.
Dealmaker

Moonshot Bets Test Investors’ AI Appetite

By Aaron Holmes · Aug 13, 2024 3:19pm PDT · 1 comment
Venture capital investors are quite willing to pour money into artificial intelligence startups with largely unproven products. So it’s notable when some investors view a startup as too much of a crazy bet.That’s a taste of the response my colleagues and I have seen when we started to ask about Liquid AI. The one-year-old startup, spun off from... Venture capital investors are quite willing to pour money into artificial intelligence startups...
Image by Getty.
Dealmaker

The Recession Fears Looming Over VC’s Booming July

By Kate Clark · Aug 8, 2024 3:15pm PDT
Global venture funding reached $23 billion last month, up 20% compared to July 2023, according to Crunchbase data. Judging from the numerous funding announcements that arrived in my inbox this morning, those increases look poised to continue. However, investors are wary a recession could hamper the turnaround.First the positives: Anduril just... Global venture funding reached $23 billion last month, up 20% compared to July 2023, according to...
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
OpenAI co-founder John Schulman. Photo via UC Berkeley.
The AI Founder Exodus
By Kate Clark · Aug 6, 2024 3:30pm PDT · 1 comment
OpenAI co-founder John Schulman. Photo via UC Berkeley.
Dealmaker

The AI Founder Exodus

By Kate Clark · Aug 6, 2024 3:30pm PDT · 1 comment
There must be something in the air in Silicon Valley, because founders are leaving their companies left and right. OpenAI, still recovering from its board’s short-lived ouster of CEO Sam Altman, has seen a steady stream of co-founders depart this year. The latest example is John Schulman, who’s joining rival artificial intelligence company... There must be something in the air in Silicon Valley, because founders are leaving their...
Leslie Feinzaig. Photo via Flickr.
Dealmaker

The Seed Investor Who Launched ‘VCsForKamala’

By Kate Clark · Aug 1, 2024 3:05pm PDT · 1 comment
Leslie Feinzaig, a venture capitalist and founder of the community group Female Founders Alliance, buys web addresses often, usually shortly after she develops a new idea. “I have an embarrassingly long list of URLs,” she said in an interview Thursday afternoon. However, few of these URLs have sparked a movement in venture capital quite... Leslie Feinzaig, a venture capitalist and founder of the community group Female Founders...
Photo via Getty.
Dealmaker

AI Anxiety and Political Spats Hang Over Silicon Valley

By Kate Clark · Jul 30, 2024 3:47pm PDT
There was a palpable sense of trepidation in the air in San Francisco and on Sand Hill Road during my latest visit last week.Venture capitalists are increasingly stressed by the frenetic pace of artificial intelligence deals, which they say resembles the frenzied check-writing of 2021. They are also growing more concerned about the lack of... There was a palpable sense of trepidation in the air in San Francisco and on Sand Hill Road...
Reid Hoffman. Photo by Kimberly White/Getty.
Dealmaker

Reid Hoffman On His ‘Key Mission’ until November

By Natasha Mascarenhas · Jul 25, 2024 3:00pm PDT · 1 comment
While we’re more than three months away from the election, there is no shortage of political squabbles, monologuing and grandstanding in every corner of Silicon Valley. I checked in with one of tech’s most outspoken Democrats, Reid Hoffman, who plans to co-host or host a fundraiser for Vice President Kamala Harris as soon as September,... While we’re more than three months away from the election, there is no shortage of political ...
Vice President Kamala Harris arriving in Milwaukee this morning. Photo by Jim Vondruska/Getty. (edited)
Venture Capitalists Swap AI Valuations for Political Debates
By Kate Clark · Jul 23, 2024 3:00pm PDT · 2 comments
Vice President Kamala Harris arriving in Milwaukee this morning. Photo by Jim Vondruska/Getty. (edited)
Dealmaker

Venture Capitalists Swap AI Valuations for Political Debates

By Kate Clark · Jul 23, 2024 3:00pm PDT · 2 comments
Greetings from San Francisco, where unprecedented political chaos has forced venture capitalists into political debates.Last week, it seemed as if all of Silicon Valley had rallied behind former President Donald Trump. Now, Silicon Valley’s Democrats are becoming more vocal, with a candidate they can openly support in Vice President Kamala... Greetings from San Francisco, where unprecedented political chaos has forced venture capitalists...