Your Custom Text Here
The founder walked into the investor meeting with confidence, maybe too much of it. The slides were tight, the story compelling, and when it came time to talk numbers, they delivered the classic line: “The market is worth $4 billion. If we capture just 2.5%, we’ll hit $100 million in revenue within four years.”
There was a pause. And not the kind you want. READ MORE
With the IPO market still in a slump, startups are increasingly relying on M&A for exits.
And while usually this involves a sale to a strategic buyer, the next-likeliest suitor is probably a private equity firm. READ MORE
Going public via SPAC was a very 2021 thing to do.
During the peak of the last bull market, dozens of startups took this quick route to market, merging with publicly traded shell companies, or SPACs, in lieu of a traditional IPO. READ MORE
It was a big week for the space and defense sectors, as investors clearly were looking to the skies. However, other sectors including cyber, healthcare and even data orchestration also saw some big raises. While nothing came close to $1 billion, it was still a pretty good week for big rounds. READ MORE
Venture capital, as commonly conceived, is about investing in upstart companies in the hopes a few will grow into something big.
But looking at recent funding trends, it’s clear this conception is a dated one. READ MORE
Venture capitalists are in an odd spot: Financially motivated to pump billions of dollars into AI startups that could hasten their own extinction. READ MORE
The startup playbook that built Uber, Airbnb, and DoorDash is becoming obsolete in real-time. As AI compresses jobs that once required hundreds of employees into algorithms, we’re witnessing the birth of a new company archetype—capital-efficient, immediately profitable, and surprisingly small. With a variety of software to use for all aspects of building a business—from Shopify for e-commerce to Stripe for payments—and low operating costs, innovation just keeps making everything that much more efficient. READ MORE
Investors, particularly hedge funds, are doing a paltry number of venture capital deals. In fact, only a few managers have made more than one or two investments this month — even after a quiet first quarter.
But hedge funds — especially those that specialize in life sciences and biopharma investments — are active in the post-IPO private placement market. Listed companies use private placements to raise additional capital from accredited investors such as mutual funds. (Securities law requires that these deals be marked at the stock’s closing price when the private placement is completed.) READ MORE
It seems like we’re in a different spot with venture capital, compared to where it was five years ago, or 25 years ago, for that matter. There’s been a notable boom in individual investors and companies backing AI players, as the technology advances quickly.
We can see the results of this in the media, and in quarterly statements, and around the water cooler. READ MORE
A few years ago, if you asked a founder what they thought about corporate capital, the answer would've been simple: slow, bureaucratic and not worth the effort unless they're trying to acquire you. But that's not how it works anymore.
We're now seeing a shift that, frankly, would've seemed strange a decade ago — large corporations acting like VCs. They're not just launching "innovation labs" for show, but building full-blown venture arms, growth studios and capital teams that operate with the same urgency and risk appetite you'd find inside a fund. READ MORE
The U.S. has begun negotiations with several nations that on April 9 were granted a 90-day reprieve from high reciprocal tariffs, according to the White House. Baseline tariffs of 10% on goods from most U.S. trade partners remain in place, as do 145% duties on imports from China.
“President Trump’s sweeping tariff announcements in early April have caused a material shift in the global economic and financial outlook,” the EY report said. READ MORE
The private equity landscape is experiencing transformative changes due to evolving market dynamics and the new U.S. presidential administration. Political shifts usher in a wave of both risks and opportunities that firms must adeptly navigate to sustain their competitive edge and seize emerging trends.
Investor confidence has fluctuated due to recent economic changes. Initially, there was a confident boost as investors anticipated stability and clarity from the new leadership. However, the reality of the Trump administration’s policies has introduced new uncertainties, particularly regarding tariffs and regulatory changes. READ MORE
What is a venture capital firm supposed to do when it can’t generate enticing enough returns for its limited partners—the pension funds, family offices and sovereign wealth funds that supply cash to VCs to invest in startups?
Does it hand back $275 million to its LPs, as the Bay Area’s CRV did late last year, citing fewer investment opportunities for mature startups? Does it perhaps follow the examples of Seqouia and Y Combinator by laying off staff in the downside of the industry-wide boom in 2021? READ MORE
Venture debt has risen to be a key financing tool, complementing the likes of venture capital (VC), private equity (PE), and other similar asset classes by extending non-dilutive capital, allowing startups to leverage funds for diversified growth, according to a report released today by Stride Ventures in collaboration with management consultant firm Kearney, titled the 'The Global Venture Debt Report 2025'.
Venture debt deals with credit-based financing products that apply specifically to PE-VC backed early-stage startups, growth stage, or even late-stage in their trajectory. READ MORE
I’ve got a dose of optimistic news for you this morning: From a venture capital perspective, the first quarter wasn’t so bad!
Preliminary data from PitchBook suggests that the quarter saw roughly $4.5 billion in VC spending, with half of that coming from Binance’s deal with Abu Dhabi’s MGX. To put that figure into context, we saw a little over $2 billion per quarter last year. READ MORE
University endowments have long been the bedrock of venture capital funding in the United States, providing reliable and substantial capital to fuel innovation and entrepreneurship. However, a convergence of regulatory, social, and economic pressures is now threatening this critical relationship, with potentially far-reaching consequences for the venture capital industry as a whole. READ MORE
Seven members of HBS's class of 2025 have collectively raised close to $1 million for a class fund they're calling Twenty25 Ventures.
The fund is built through contributions from the graduating class and will invest solely in startups founded by peers — an investment structure that's taking off at business schools as students look to find footing in a traditionally rarefied funding ecosystem. READ MORE
When Teresa Carlson was running Amazon’s public sector cloud business in the 2010s, she said she tried to get venture capital engaged in Washington policy conversations. After all, VC invested in the tech that would work on the cloud to serve the government.
“They didn’t really back then,” Carlson told us recently. “It was like, ‘Really? Why?’”
It’d be hard to argue that’s still the case. READ MORE
Real estate is often the largest asset people own. But when it comes to venture investment, giant bets in the space often don’t work out.
The list of failures and underperformers from the frothy investment period a few years ago includes many exceptionally well-funded real estate plays. Examples include WeWork, ibuyers such as Opendoor and Offerpad, and construction industry disruptors like Veev and Katerra. READ MORE