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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

Hans Swildens. Photo By Liz Hafalia/The San Francisco Chronicle via Getty.
Dealmaker

What to Do With Startups Whose Revenue Has Stalled

By Cory Weinberg · Jul 18, 2024 3:00pm PDT
Even with a dormant market for initial public offerings, shareholders in mature and highly valued startups still have been able to cash out if their startups are growing at a rapid clip. They’ve had the opportunity to sell shares in secondary rounds at fast-growing Figma, Databricks, Canva and Scale AI. Some investors are getting the chance... Even with a dormant market for initial public offerings, shareholders in mature and highly valued...
Former president Donald Trump at the Republican National Convention Monday. Photo by Bloomberg via Getty.
Dealmaker

A Tipping Point for Tech’s Trump Support

By Kate Clark, Natasha Mascarenhas and Cory Weinberg · Jul 16, 2024 3:37pm PDT · 1 comment
Luis Silva, CEO and founder of CloudWalk, at Web Summit Rio in April. Photo via YouTube.
Dealmaker

A Latin American Payments Startup Tries to Defy the Fintech Slump

By Natasha Mascarenhas and Kate Clark · Jul 11, 2024 2:41pm PDT
Fintech startups have suffered a difficult fundraising climate for two years, after a cocktail of rising interest rates and cooler e-commerce spending made capital harder to come by. But one startup based in São Paulo is trying to defy the slump with an ambitious new fundraise.CloudWalk, a Latin America–focused fintech startup that sells... Fintech startups have suffered a difficult fundraising climate for two years, after a cocktail of...
Marc Andreessen. Photo by Getty
Sequoia, Andreessen at Odds Over Chip Shortage
By Kate Clark · Jul 9, 2024 3:05pm PDT · 2 comments
Marc Andreessen. Photo by Getty
Dealmaker

Sequoia, Andreessen at Odds Over Chip Shortage

By Kate Clark · Jul 9, 2024 3:05pm PDT · 2 comments
The two most influential venture capital firms, Sequoia Capital and Andreessen Horowitz, have very different perspectives on demand for the most important resource for artificial intelligence companies: graphics processing units. Andresseen Horowitz is stockpiling them and renting them to startups, I reported this morning, which suggests... The two most influential venture capital firms, Sequoia Capital and Andreessen Horowitz, have...
Left to right: Peter Fenton, Eric Vishria, Sarah Tavel, Chetan Puttagunta and Victor Lazarte.
Dealmaker

In Benchmark’s New Era, Expect More of the Same

By Kate Clark · Jul 2, 2024 3:45pm PDT
The Benchmark of today is nothing like the Benchmark of 1995, the year the storied venture capital firm behind Uber, Twitter and Snap was founded. At least that’s what its five partners maintain in a new letter to limited partners, which details its plan to raise another $425 million fund. To underscore the change, Benchmark is calling its... The Benchmark of today is nothing like the Benchmark of 1995, the year the storied venture...
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
Tom Loverro, general partner at IVP. Photo by Christian Grattan/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images.
Dealmaker

It’s Time for Startups to ‘Get Responsibly Aggressive’

By Kate Clark · Jun 27, 2024 3:25pm PDT
Early last year, venture capitalist Tom Loverro offered a grim prediction. He wrote that a mass extinction event was coming for startups that would make the 2008 financial crisis “look quaint.” At the time, he told companies to reduce expenses through layoffs and focus on survival rather than keeping their valuations high. Now he’s back... Early last year, venture capitalist Tom Loverro offered a grim prediction. He wrote that a mass...
Zepto delivery drivers near New Delhi, India. Photo via Shutterstock.
Dealmaker

Indian Delivery Star Discusses $5 Billion Valuation

By Kate Clark · Jun 25, 2024 3:31pm PDT
Last week, I reported that Zepto, an Indian instant-delivery company, was closing a new round at a valuation of $3.6 billion, the first financing for a non–artificial intelligence startup I’ve written about in ages. Since then, I’ve learned the company is already in discussions with investors about raising more, at a higher valuation, as U.S.... Last week, I reported that Zepto, an Indian instant-delivery company, was closing a new round at...
Jai Das, Co-founder, President and Partner, Sapphire Ventures. Photo by Getty
With IPOs Off Limits, Software Investors Pin Hopes on PE Buyouts
By Akash Pasricha · Jun 20, 2024 3:00pm PDT
Jai Das, Co-founder, President and Partner, Sapphire Ventures. Photo by Getty
Dealmaker

With IPOs Off Limits, Software Investors Pin Hopes on PE Buyouts

By Akash Pasricha · Jun 20, 2024 3:00pm PDT
Hi, it’s Akash. I’ve been in Toronto at the Collision Conference, Canada’s annual technology convention. It drew more than 37,800 attendees, along with big names like Vinod Khosla and the country’s own artificial intelligence royalty, Cohere CEO Aidan Gomez, as well as the “godfather of AI,” Geoffrey Hinton.Last year at this event, AI was still... Hi, it’s Akash. I’ve been in Toronto at the Collision Conference, Canada’s annual technology...
Photo via Zepto.
Dealmaker

A Former YC Partner Makes a Big Bet on Rapid Delivery

By Kate Clark · Jun 18, 2024 3:05pm PDT · 1 comment
The last time I wrote about a startup—outside artificial intelligence—raising money at a higher valuation than in its last round was in May 2022, when blockchain analytics startup Chainalysis raised funds at an $8.6 billion valuation. That’s why I was intrigued to hear about a round that doubled the valuation of Zepto, an Indian rapid-delivery... The last time I wrote about a startup—outside artificial intelligence—raising money at a higher...
A Samsung 32GB DDR5 128GB RDIMM chip. Photo by Bloomberg via Getty Images.
Dealmaker

Samsung Values Chip Customer Tenstorrent at $2 Billion

By Kate Clark · Jun 13, 2024 3:13pm PDT
For the last two years, we’ve broken a lot of news about cloud giants Microsoft and Google elbowing out traditional venture firms to invest huge sums in artificial intelligence startups that are also their customers. A similar dynamic is playing out in hardware startups.Samsung, the second-largest smartphone maker in the world, is... For the last two years, we’ve broken a lot of news about cloud giants Microsoft 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 via Shutterstock
Dealmaker

BeReal's Surprising Sale Is a Positive Sign for Startups

By Kate Clark · Jun 11, 2024 3:35pm PDT · 2 comments
BeReal was the hot app among venture capitalists and Gen Zers in 2022, a feat it used to lasso a $585 million valuation from Coatue Management and DST Global that year. The app’s once-scorching growth has cooled—yet it still managed to sell itself to French gaming company Voodoo for $537 million. In this era of fire sales, that’s cause for a... BeReal was the hot app among venture capitalists and Gen Zers in 2022, a feat it used to lasso a...
Photo via Getty Images
Is This the Best Time to Invest in China? Its VC Funds Hope So
By Jing Yang and Juro Osawa · Jun 6, 2024 3:03pm PDT
Photo via Getty Images
Dealmaker

Is This the Best Time to Invest in China? Its VC Funds Hope So

By Jing Yang and Juro Osawa · Jun 6, 2024 3:03pm PDT
It’s been pretty bleak for venture capitalists in China over the last two years. U.S. pensions and endowments halted investments. Existing investors demanded cash distributions. Fundraising plunged. But lately China’s venture capitalists have decided they can’t wait until the downturn passes to hit the fundraising circuit.Several China-based... It’s been pretty bleak for venture capitalists in China over the last two years. U.S. pensions...
via WndrCo
Dealmaker

Jeffrey Katzenberg on the Long, Steep Road to Raising a VC Fund

By Kate Clark · Jun 4, 2024 3:00pm PDT
Hollywood veteran Jeffrey Katzenberg has raised $460 million for his investment firm WndrCo’s first set of dedicated venture capital funds, including a $60 million seed fund. The new fund stands out in a tepid year for VC fundraising—and shows Katzenberg’s name has plenty of pull with investors. That’s despite the collapse of Quibi, the... Hollywood veteran Jeffrey Katzenberg has raised $460 million for his investment firm WndrCo’s...
Photo via Midjourney
Dealmaker

The Return of the 100X Club

By Kate Clark · May 30, 2024 3:40pm PDT · 4 comments
It’s funny how history has a way of repeating itself. This week, we wrote that artificial intelligence-powered search engine Perplexity is raising more money at a $3 billion valuation in a deal led by Bessemer Venture Partners, a lofty price considering it is generating just over $20 million in annual recurring revenue. That news got... It’s funny how history has a way of repeating itself. This week, we wrote that artificial...
Ilya Sutskever. Photo via YouTube/Dwarkesh Patel.
Dealmaker

What’s Next for OpenAI’s Ilya Sutskever?

By Kate Clark · May 28, 2024 3:00pm PDT
Ilya Sutskever, a co-founder and former chief scientist at OpenAI, is currently the most sought-after entrepreneur in town. We don’t yet have the details on Sutskever’s next role. But we wouldn’t be surprised if he joins an OpenAI competitor, like Anthropic or Elon Musk’s xAI, moves that could further strain his relationship with OpenAI’s... Ilya Sutskever, a co-founder and former chief scientist at OpenAI, is currently the most...
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 Calm.
Calm Lures Strategic Partners With Cheap Stock
By Abubakar Idris · May 23, 2024 4:38pm PDT
Photo by Calm.
Dealmaker

Calm Lures Strategic Partners With Cheap Stock

By Abubakar Idris · May 23, 2024 4:38pm PDT
Consumer startups aren’t getting a lot of attention from venture capitalists these days, except if they’re powered by artificial intelligence. (More on that later.) That disinterest has made it particularly challenging for VC-backed startups wrestling with a slowdown in consumer demand after a spike during the pandemic. One path forward:... Consumer startups aren’t getting a lot of attention from venture capitalists these days, except...
Jason Warner, co-founder of Poolside AI. Photo by Bloomberg via Getty Images.
Dealmaker

AI Startup Poolside Wants a $2 Billion Valuation

By Kate Clark · May 21, 2024 4:00pm PDT
Another day, another deal. Artificial intelligence startup Poolside is raising more capital from investors and wants a valuation of around $2 billion, according to a person briefed on the deal. The startup, which was co-founded by former GitHub CTO Jason Warner, is developing a specialized large-language model to automate coding. It’s... Another day, another deal. Artificial intelligence startup Poolside is raising more capital from...
Photo by Getty
Dealmaker

The Year of Venture Capital Breakups

By Kate Clark · May 16, 2024 3:05pm PDT · 1 comment
This is turning into the year of venture capital breakups.First, two high-profile splits announced last year became official in 2024. At Tiger Global Management, private investments chief Scott Shleifer moved into an advisory role at the firm led by Chase Coleman. And Neil Shen’s Sequoia Capital China (now HongShan) officially split from... This is turning into the year of venture capital breakups.First, two high-profile splits...
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Photo by Bloomberg via Getty Images.
Dealmaker

Middle East Money Takes a Round Trip

By Kate Clark · May 14, 2024 3:00pm PDT
In the world of artificial intelligence, startups are raising heaps of cash from cloud and chip providers like Google and Nvidia. It’s a great deal for the big tech companies. The startups are also their customers, so much of that capital cycles back as revenue, a phenomenon some critics have dubbed “round-tripping.”A similar dynamic is... In the world of artificial intelligence, startups are raising heaps of cash from cloud and chip...
Elon Musk at the Milken Institute's Global Conference on Monday. Photo by Apu Gomes/Getty Images.
Great—More Money for Musk
By Kate Clark · May 9, 2024 3:09pm PDT · 9 comments
Elon Musk at the Milken Institute's Global Conference on Monday. Photo by Apu Gomes/Getty Images.
Dealmaker

Great—More Money for Musk

By Kate Clark · May 9, 2024 3:09pm PDT · 9 comments
Elon Musk is raising $6 billion for xAI, maker of Musk’s “anti-woke” artificial intelligence chatbot Grok, in a deal set to close Friday, according to our sources. The startup’s first outside funding values xAI at $18 billion, remarkable for a year-old company. It’s a reminder of what’s wrong with venture capital. The massive round has come... Elon Musk is raising $6 billion for xAI, maker of Musk’s “anti-woke” artificial intelligence...