Deals

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Chamath Palihapitiya, CEO of Social Capital; Deven Parekh, managing director of Insight Partners; and Scott Shleifer, managing director of Tiger Global. Photos via Getty.
Deals

Venture Firms Hang the ‘For Sale’ Sign on Portfolios

By Maria Heeter, Natasha Mascarenhas and Kate Clark · Sep 8, 2023 1:03pm PDT · 4 comments
Some of the most active startup investors have been hanging a “for sale” sign on their portfolios at a time when venture investors are finding it increasingly difficult to raise new venture funds. Insight Partners has considered selling a stake valued at $400 million in Left Lane Capital, a consumer-focused venture capital firm... Some of the most active startup investors have been hanging a “for sale” sign on...
Photo by Shutterstock.
Deals

Drug Startup Truepill Moves to Cut Share Price 90% as Garry Tan Departs Board

By Natasha Mascarenhas · Aug 22, 2023 1:05pm PDT · 1 comment
Truepill, a startup that ships prescription drugs on behalf of online pharmacies such as Hims, Mark Cuban’s Cost Plus Drugs and GoodRx, has authorized slashing the price of some of its shares by more than 90% from their peak in 2021, according to a recent filing provided by Prime Unicorn Index. In 2021, the startup said investors had... Truepill, a startup that ships prescription drugs on behalf of online pharmacies such as Hims,...
Image courtesy of Happy Money.
Deals

Lending Startups Seek Buyers as Rate Hikes Hobble Growth

By Natasha Mascarenhas and Kate Clark · Aug 14, 2023 6:43pm PDT · 1 comment
Venture-backed consumer lending startups are starting to fold their cards. Happy Money, an online lending startup formerly known as Payoff, is in talks to sell itself, according to a person with direct knowledge of the matter. The Torrance, Calif.-based company, valued at $1.1 billion in a private financing announced in February last year, has... Venture-backed consumer lending startups are starting to fold their cards. Happy Money, an online...
Modular co-founder Chris Lattner. Image via YouTube
Modular, AI Startup Challenging Nvidia, Discusses Funding at $600 Million Valuation
By Kate Clark, Aaron Holmes and Stephanie Palazzolo · Aug 11, 2023 4:21pm PDT
Modular co-founder Chris Lattner. Image via YouTube
Deals

Modular, AI Startup Challenging Nvidia, Discusses Funding at $600 Million Valuation

By Kate Clark, Aaron Holmes and Stephanie Palazzolo · Aug 11, 2023 4:21pm PDT
Modular, a startup whose software aims to loosen Nvidia’s chokehold over in-demand artificial intelligence chips, has been in talks with investors including General Catalyst to raise Series A funding that would value it at roughly $600 million, according to two people with knowledge of the deal discussions. The new capital would come less... Modular, a startup whose software aims to loosen Nvidia’s chokehold over in-demand...
Tome founders Keith Peiris (left) and Henri Liriani (right). Photo via YouTube/Greylock.
Deals

Tome, AI Startup Founded by Ex-Meta Managers, Discusses Fundraising at $600 Million Valuation

By Natasha Mascarenhas, Stephanie Palazzolo and Erin Woo · Aug 9, 2023 1:15pm PDT · 14 comments
Tome, a startup that uses artificial intelligence to make it easier to create and design presentations, has talked to investors about raising new money that could double its valuation to up to $600 million, according to two people with direct knowledge of the discussions. The new financing could amount to $60 million, according to one of the... Tome, a startup that uses artificial intelligence to make it easier to create and design...
Navin Chaddha and Jenny Lefcourt. Photos via Getty
Deals

Venture Firms Still Writing Small Checks Despite $271 Billion in ‘Dry Powder’

By Natasha Mascarenhas · Aug 7, 2023 6:00am PDT · 4 comments
In 2019, Sean Park—a co-founder of Anthemis Group—was on the road 200 nights a year, traveling to Boston, London and other tech hot spots to meet with startups. Even after Covid-19 curtailed travel, Park, who is also the firm’s chief investment officer, was swamped with Zoom meetings with entrepreneurs he was thinking about... In 2019, Sean Park—a co-founder of Anthemis Group—was on the road 200 nights a year,...
Graphic by Mike Sullivan.
Deals

‘Tidal Wave’ of Down Rounds Hits Startups

By Cory Weinberg and Kate Clark · Aug 4, 2023 6:01am PDT · 13 comments
Turntide Technologies, a maker of electric motor systems backed by Bill Gates–founded Breakthrough Energy Ventures, was one of the more than 300 private companies that passed the $1 billion valuation threshold last year, putting it firmly into unicorn status. It’s not worth close to that anymore. The Sunnyvale, Calif., firm is... Turntide Technologies, a maker of electric motor systems backed by Bill Gates–founded...
Reed Jobs. Photo via Emerson Collective.
Reed Jobs to Start $400 Million VC Fund, Testing Appetite for New Funds
By Natasha Mascarenhas · Aug 1, 2023 6:55am PDT · 2 comments
Reed Jobs. Photo via Emerson Collective.
Deals

Reed Jobs to Start $400 Million VC Fund, Testing Appetite for New Funds

By Natasha Mascarenhas · Aug 1, 2023 6:55am PDT · 2 comments
Reed Jobs, son of late Apple co-founder Steve Jobs and his spouse, philanthropist Laurene Powell Jobs, is leaving his mother’s Emerson Collective to start his own venture capital fund, according to a person with direct knowledge. The 31-year-old Reed Jobs is planning to raise $400 million for the fund he’s calling Yosemite Fund 1,... Reed Jobs, son of late Apple co-founder Steve Jobs and his spouse, philanthropist Laurene Powell...
Coatue co-founder Philippe Laffont. Photo by Getty.
Deals

Coatue Raises $331 Million for Early-Stage Fund, 34% Below Target

By Kate Clark · Jul 31, 2023 11:26am PDT · 1 comment
Coatue Management has raised $331 million for its third fund focused on early-stage startups, according to a financial filing, a third less than its target and lower than its previous early-stage fund. The smaller than anticipated total shows how the firms that raised huge funds during the pandemic investing boom are falling short of their... Coatue Management has raised $331 million for its third fund focused on early-stage startups,...
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang. Art by Clark Miller
Deals

Nvidia Accelerates AI Startup Investments, Nears Deal With Cloud Provider Lambda Labs

By Maria Heeter, Kate Clark and Stephanie Palazzolo · Jul 18, 2023 5:00am PDT
Nvidia is known for its stranglehold over the market for the data center chips that power ChatGPT and other artificial intelligence software. But in a matter of a few months, Nvidia has also become one of the biggest venture capital investors in an important class of customers who need its chips: cloud and AI software startups. In the latest... Nvidia is known for its stranglehold over the market for the data center chips that power ChatGPT...
Character.AI's cofounders Noam Shazeer and Daniel de Freitas. Photos by Getty. Art by Shane Burke.
Deals

Character.AI in Talks to Raise Funding as Meta Platforms Tests Rival

By Jon Victor and Kate Clark · Jul 15, 2023 7:00am PDT
Character.AI, which lets users create artificial intelligence–powered chatbots modeled after figures like TV character Tony Soprano and Tesla CEO Elon Musk, is in talks with investors about raising an additional round of funding, according to a person with direct knowledge. The discussions come just four months after Character.AI said... Character.AI, which lets users create artificial intelligence–powered chatbots modeled...
A pop-up event for the 2018 launch of Oddity's IL MAKIAGE brand in New York City. Photo by Getty.
Why Beauty Company Oddity is Poised For a Hot IPO
By Ann Gehan · Jun 30, 2023 5:00am PDT · 1 comment
A pop-up event for the 2018 launch of Oddity's IL MAKIAGE brand in New York City. Photo by Getty.
Deals

Why Beauty Company Oddity is Poised For a Hot IPO

By Ann Gehan · Jun 30, 2023 5:00am PDT · 1 comment
Cosmetics company Oddity Tech, which filed to go public last week, doesn’t need the stock market to continue rallying for its public debut to take off. Instead, Oddity can ride a tsunami of investor enthusiasm for other beauty and skin care stocks whose businesses have been lifted by TikTok popularity. One of the best stock market... Cosmetics company Oddity Tech, which filed to go public last week, doesn’t need the stock...
Photo by Getty.
Deals

Apollo Leading More Than $1 Billion Debt Deal in Chipmaker Wolfspeed

By Maria Heeter · Jun 25, 2023 9:02am PDT
A group of investors led by Apollo Global Management is making a more than $1 billion debt investment in Wolfspeed, a publicly traded semiconductor maker with a $6 billion market capitalization, according to a person with direct knowledge of the matter. The deal could be announced in the coming days and would be one of the largest direct lending... A group of investors led by Apollo Global Management is making a more than $1 billion debt...
Deals

SoftBank’s Onetime Pizza-Robot Darling Shuts Down

By Erin Woo · Jun 2, 2023 4:37pm PDT · 17 comments
Zume, which raised $375 million from SoftBank to automate pizza-making with robots before switching to developing sustainable packaging, has shut down. The company is insolvent and has retained restructuring firm Sherwood Partners to liquidate the assets for the benefit of the creditors, an alternative to bankruptcy, according to Martin... Zume, which raised $375 million from SoftBank to automate pizza-making with robots before...
Google CEO Sundar Pichai. Photo: Bloomberg.
Deals

Google Invests in AI Startup Runway to Wrest Cloud Business From AWS

By Kate Clark, Jon Victor, Amir Efrati and Erin Woo · May 31, 2023 2:47pm PDT · 2 comments
Google is investing in Runway, a New York–based startup that lets customers generate video from text descriptions using artificial intelligence it pioneered, at a valuation of around $1.5 billion including the new capital, according to two people familiar with the matter. The investment, part of a roughly $100 million funding round,... Google is investing in Runway, a New York–based startup that lets customers generate video...
Blackstone CEO Stephen Schwarzman in Davos earlier this year. Photo by Bloomberg.
The Impending Fight for Private Equity Buyout Lending
By Rachel Graf and Michael Roddan · Apr 21, 2023 6:00am PDT · 1 comment
Blackstone CEO Stephen Schwarzman in Davos earlier this year. Photo by Bloomberg.
Deals

The Impending Fight for Private Equity Buyout Lending

By Rachel Graf and Michael Roddan · Apr 21, 2023 6:00am PDT · 1 comment
A battle is looming over private equity buyout financing. After nearly a year on the sidelines, Wall Street banks are beginning to lend to private equity firms again for their buyout deals. Meanwhile, the direct lenders that stepped in to finance buyouts while the banks were absent—oftentimes PE firms themselves—are ratcheting up the... A battle is looming over private equity buyout financing. After nearly a year on the sidelines,...
From left: Nichole Wischoff, Helen Min, Meena Harris and Erica Wenger. Photos via Wischoff Ventures, Phenomenal Ventures and Erica Wenger.
Deals

Cash Dries Up for VC Newcomers

By Kate Clark and Becky Peterson · Apr 10, 2023 10:10am PDT · 10 comments
When Helen Min and Meena Harris started raising money for their debut venture capital fund in January of last year, they expected that their combined 30 years of experience at tech companies would allow them to collect $15 million, a standard first-time fund target. Then interest rates spiked, sending tech stocks careening. By December, when... When Helen Min and Meena Harris started raising money for their debut venture capital fund in...
A Silicon Valley Bank branch in Santa Monica, Calif. Photo by Getty.
Deals

Breaking Up SVB Is Hard to Do

By Michael Roddan · Mar 23, 2023 1:14pm PDT
With bids for the entity formerly known as Silicon Valley Bank due Friday, potential buyers and regulators are running into an interesting reality: Breaking up—and salvaging—SVB is hard to do. Nearly two weeks after SVB failed, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. has yet to find a buyer for the so-called bridge bank that took over... With bids for the entity formerly known as Silicon Valley Bank due Friday, potential buyers and...
Stripe CEO Patrick Collison. Photo by Getty.
Deals

No More Four-Year Lockups: Stripe’s Sprint to a $7 Billion Fundraising Haul

By Maria Heeter and Cory Weinberg · Mar 16, 2023 2:31pm PDT · 2 comments
Two years ago, when Stripe raised money at a valuation of $95 billion, the payments giant had such an upper hand over investors that it could institute some highly unusual conditions in its fundraising round. Investors had to agree to hold onto their shares for four years after the company went public. And Stripe had the option to sell them even... Two years ago, when Stripe raised money at a valuation of $95 billion, the payments giant had...
Photo by Bloomberg
Private Equity Giant Apollo Talks to VC Firms About SVB Bid
By Erin Woo and Amir Efrati · Mar 13, 2023 4:36pm PDT · 3 comments
Photo by Bloomberg
Deals

Private Equity Giant Apollo Talks to VC Firms About SVB Bid

By Erin Woo and Amir Efrati · Mar 13, 2023 4:36pm PDT · 3 comments
Private equity firm Apollo Management has been talking to General Catalyst, Andreessen Horowitz, Redpoint Ventures and other venture capitalists as the PE firm considers bidding for part of the bank, according to five people with knowledge of the discussions. The PE firm’s inquiries were preliminary and designed to determine whether a bid... Private equity firm Apollo Management has been talking to General Catalyst, Andreessen Horowitz,...