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California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Saturday vetoed a bill that would have given his state the ability to block private equity acquisitions of most health-care facilities and service providers.
Why it matters: This likely kills the idea on a national level, where it was proposed by Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) in response to the Steward debacle. READ MORE
In today’s evolving landscape of startup funding and the tight capital market, public stock offerings (also known as equity crowdfunding rounds) are becoming an increasingly appealing option for many companies, even those that have reached a more mature stage. While venture capital (VC) remains a significant funding source, it’s not always the best fit for every business — for a variety of reasons.
For some startups, launching a public stock sale can provide a viable alternative to the traditional VC path, especially those with a community-driven customer base. When considering whether to embark on this route, it’s crucial to recognize that this particular flavor of raising capital requires a substantial commitment of time, resources, and energy — a factor that is often misunderstood or underestimated. READ MORE
As I discussed in my previous article, corporate venture capital units (CVCs) can be a great opportunity for both established firms and startups. By housing disruptive investments as separate entities, CVCs help insulate these ventures from the pressures of delivering near-term results so firms can stay focused on innovation.
I see the number of CVCs poised to grow, with more firms tapping into innovative technologies and a swathe of talents seeking to launch ventures of their own. So, what does it take to establish a CVC and, more importantly, ensure its success? READ MORE
Venture Capital (VC) can be a rewarding place you could invest your money. But nowadays, some are reconsidering whether to invest in VC as an asset class at all. A number of VCs have responded by “reducing risk” and slowing their investments. I’m a VC myself, and I first learned about high-pressure bets while playing blackjack. READ MORE
We are all getting older. But never before have we been getting this much older.
In the U.S., at least one in six people is now over the age of 65. At the same time, in most developed countries older adults are accounting for an unprecedented share of the population. READ MORE
Initial public offerings of special purpose acquisition companies backed by private equity or venture capital are heading for the slowest year since 2021.
In the year to Sept. 4, only six private equity-backed SPACs — also known as blank-check companies — filed for an IPO globally, compared with 15 in 2023, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence data. READ MORE
The private investment industry has experienced tremendous growth over the past decade. In the U.S. alone, regulatory assets under management have more than doubled since 2013, reaching $128 trillion in 2023. This trend is expected to continue with assets under management projected to reach $145 trillion by 2025.
This rapid expansion of private equity, real estate, hedge funds and venture capital has put the industry in the spotlight of regulators who are concerned about potential risks for investors and the financial system as a whole, including illicit finance risks. READ MORE
It’s not exactly a shopping spree, but with overall M&A down, more startups are hunting for other VC-backed companies in the U.S.
In fact, startups buying other startups is on pace to make up the largest slice of the M&A pie in years when it comes to overall VC-backed, U.S.-based startup dealmaking. This is a noteworthy development in the current environment where venture capitalists and their limited partners are thirsting for liquidity amid a frozen IPO pipeline and quiet M&A market. READ MORE
Being a venture capitalist carries a lot of prestige in Silicon Valley. Those who choose which startups to fund see themselves as fostering the next big waves of technology.
So when some of the industry’s biggest names endorsed former President Donald Trump and the onetime VC he picked for a running mate, JD Vance, people took notice. READ MORE
Artificial intelligence (AI) has completely reshaped the once-flourishing venture capital environment. Although AI startups have attracted substantial funding, traditional VC exit routes, particularly through initial public offerings (IPOs), have become increasingly difficult to navigate.
Tech giants are investing billions in AI startups and offering funding, cloud credits, and strategic partnerships. This has made it harder for VCs to compete, as these well-backed firms don’t need to rely on IPOs for growth. Consequently, the AI-driven IPO market may remain muted for the foreseeable future. READ MORE
Last fall I had the opportunity to pitch a well-connected Silicon Valley angel group and the great fortune of making it through due diligence with them. Then, after many hours spent working on a potential investment, I learned that they would not be investing—even though my company was rated as having potential for “high return and medium risk.” In conversation with the lead investor we were working with, she commented that one of the reasons she was passing is that “it is harder for women to raise a Series A.” Meaning that she’s invested in women founders before and that her investment struggled to get a return—she seemingly calculated the founder’s gender into her investment decision-making process. READ MORE
Tech CEOs must be relentless in raising sufficient venture capital (VC) to achieve their strategic growth milestones. READ MORE
As a venture investor, I am frequently asked what I look for in a portfolio company. The answer is simple: technology, product-market fit, and core team. But when you dig into it, only one of those really matters—the core team. See, you either have interesting technology, or you don’t. And finding product-market fit is usually a process. So that leaves just the core team, and it is indeed the key success factor for VC funding and beyond. Here are the “green flags” I look for in startup founders. READ MORE
Mara, Rooney, and Jones—what do these surnames have in common? A significant part of their “family business” has involved owning an NFL franchise for decades, with some even approaching a century of ownership.
For many sports franchises, ownership is passed down through kin. However, NFL liquidity has attracted various investor groups to become more interested and involved in team ownership over time. READ MORE
BlackRock and Partners Group on Thursday announced a partnership to offer wealthy individuals a simpler way to access private markets.
Why it matters: The world's largest asset manager keeps pushing deeper into private equity, following its recent acquisitions of both Global Infrastructure Partners and Preqin.
Zoom in: For BlackRock, it's about higher fees. For private equity, it's about new money.
Details: BlackRock and Partners have developed a "model portfolio" that provides diversified private markets exposure via a single investment. READ MORE
It's a rough time for startups to secure funding. Higher interest rates have made angel investors and venture capitalists a lot more selective about who they choose to back. But a new report from Dropbox/DocSend that examines the pitch decks of 210 pre-seed startups in 2023 and the first half of 2024 could offer some clues on how best to loosen investors' purse strings. READ MORE
American consumers are used to products and services getting better. From coffee to car mileage to smartphones, it’s common for the things we consume to get more appealing, efficient and easy to use over time.
One area where this has not occurred, however, is health coverage. Every year, we pay more for health insurance, receive more bills we don’t understand, and shoulder a higher burden of out-of-pocket expenses. READ MORE
When the Female Founders Fund (FFF), a seed stage venture fund that invests exclusively in female-founded companies, was started in 2014, just 2% of venture capital dollars went towards women-led companies. That number hit a record high last year, with 22.8% of all VC money going to startups with at least one woman cofounder. We sat down with Anu Duggal, a founding partner of FFF at her firm’s annual gathering to learn about the current funding drought, deciding not to invest in AI, and whether things have gotten better for female founders. Read the conversation below or listen to this episode of Most Innovative Companies. READ MORE
So Carta has some of its latest data on VC performance and it’s pretty interesting: READ MORE
Airbus Ventures, one of the most prolific investors in space startups, has raised a $155 million fund that it plans to deploy across the burgeoning space sector, as well as the broader “deep tech” ecosystem.
“This fund is designed to unlock new possibilities, and space is one of them,” Thomas d’Halluin, managing partner of Airbus Ventures, told CNBC. READ MORE