Why New Mega Funds Don’t Necessarily Mean Mega Deals

I’m baaack. You didn’t think I could stay away from writing for too long, did you? It’s been a period of rapid growth for The Information, and I have been quite busy. But the news in tech, finance and media lately is just too crazy for me to sit on the sidelines, so I’m taking over our evening Briefing newsletter, with help from the wonderful Akash Pasricha. If you haven’t already been following his work at The Information, Akash is a whip-smart young business journalist who previously spent time working as a management consultant. He’s also a numbers and finance whiz. I’m thrilled you’ll hear from him more.

Our goal: to unpack the drama transpiring in Silicon Valley and Wall Street so you don’t have to. You can expect lots of finance-heavy analysis of companies and the markets (from Akash), with a dose of behind-the-scenes reporting on the big companies in tech from me. We’re going to start by coming to you every Tuesday and Thursday. Send us your feedback and the burning questions you would like us to answer!

Today we’re talking venture capital. On Monday we reported that Sequoia Capital’s affiliate in China is nearly done closing $9 billion in new capital for four venture funds, exceeding its original $8 billion target. Two months ago, we probably wouldn’t have flinched at those numbers. But today? It’s slightly surprising amidst the major pullback in venture deal-making, the drumbeat of layoff announcements and plunging valuations. (Recall that Sequoia-backed Klarna is reportedly fundraising at less than 15% of its 2021 valuation.)