Dealmaker by The Information Staff

Two times/week

Dealmaker

By The Information Staff

The Information's reporters Valida Pau and Julia Hornstein give you the inside scoop on tech deals and dealmakers.

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Recent Editions

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Missile Interceptor Startup Furientis Attracts Blue-Chip Investors

By Leo Schwartz and Julia Hornstein · Aug 6, 2026 5:38pm PDT

Over the last year, we’ve seen more generalist venture capital firms make forays into defense tech, a niche once relegated to specialized investors comfortable with revenue based on uneven government contracts and who weren’t restricted from investing in weapons makers by their limited partners. Furientis, a startup founded last year that... Over the last year, we’ve seen more generalist venture capital firms make forays into defense...

Photo by Getty

Inside the Airtable-Bending Spoons Sale

By Valida Pau, Stephanie Palazzolo and Julia Hornstein · Aug 4, 2026 2:25pm PDT

What an ending. Airtable, valued at $11 billion in 2021 after a trio of funding rounds in under two years, is being acquired by Italian conglomerate Bending Spoons for just $1.285 billion in cash, the companies said on Tuesday. The price tag for the once-hot productivity app seems like a blow to shareholders, particularly those like hedge fund... What an ending. Airtable, valued at $11 billion in 2021 after a trio of funding rounds in under...

Nscale’s founder and CEO, Josh Payne. Art by Clark Miller; YouTube.

Neocloud Nscale Gets Ready to Pitch Investors on Multibillion Dollar IPO

By Valida Pau and Cory Weinberg · Jul 30, 2026 1:17pm PDT

A jittery stock market isn’t the best environment for new public listings. But one young startup with deep ties to the AI boom is marching ahead with its IPO plans, at least for now.Nscale, a UK-based AI cloud provider heavily backed by Nvidia, has been meeting with prospective investors recently and scheduled an investor day to pitch analysts... A jittery stock market isn’t the best environment for new public listings. But one young startup...

Art by Mike Sullivan, stock image by Adobe.

Jump Capital Raises $350 Million Fund For AI Investments

By Yueqi Yang · Jul 28, 2026 3:50pm PDT

Art by Mike Sullivan, stock image by Adobe.

Jump Capital Raises $350 Million Fund For AI Investments

By Yueqi Yang · Jul 28, 2026 3:50pm PDT

Jump Capital, the venture capital firm backed by the founders of quant-trading firm Jump Trading, has raised a new fund of $350 million, Jump Capital co-founder and partner Sach Chitnis told me. The Chicago-based firm will use the new money to expand its investments in AI startups. The fund is the same size as its last vehicle raised in... Jump Capital, the venture capital firm backed by the founders of quant-trading firm Jump Trading,...

Photo by Getty.

The Startups Angling to Go Public After Anthropic

By Valida Pau · Jul 23, 2026 3:39pm PDT

Before we get into today’s column, some breaking news: Stripe is in talks to buy OpenRouter for about $10 billion. The news follows our report Friday that the $1.3 billion-valuation startup, which helps companies choose the best and cheapest AI models, was the target of takeover interest. Databricks was also in early discussions to buy... Before we get into today’s column, some breaking news: Stripe is in talks to buy OpenRouter for...

Workers atop Valar’s reactor in Utah. Courtesy of Valar Atomics

Venture’s AI Fever Goes Nuclear

By Julia Hornstein · Jul 21, 2026 4:23pm PDT

Before we get to today’s column, check out our story from earlier today about Mercor. My colleague Cory and I reported that Mercor generated $614 million in gross revenue in the first half of this year, overwhelmingly from AI foundation model customers. That concentration highlights the risk to Mercor’s business if any of the big AI firms, which... Before we get to today’s column, check out our story from earlier today about Mercor. My...

Art by Mike Sullivan

M&A Buzz Centers on Data Software Startups

By Alix Coutures · Jul 16, 2026 4:31pm PDT

We just published our list of more than 160 enterprise software startups that could be acquired this year. To compile it, we screened hundreds of privately held companies and singled out those worth more than $1 billion that haven't raised a publicly announced financing since June 2024. To understand the M&A forces across enterprise... We just published our list of more than 160 enterprise software startups that could be acquired...

Art by Mike Sullivan

FuriosaAI, Nuvacore, D-Matrix Join Chip Funding Spree

By Valida Pau and Phoebe Liu · Jul 14, 2026 4:50pm PDT

Art by Mike Sullivan

FuriosaAI, Nuvacore, D-Matrix Join Chip Funding Spree

By Valida Pau and Phoebe Liu · Jul 14, 2026 4:50pm PDT

Startups that make chips and related hardware smell cash in the air. Venture capitalists are more eager than they’ve been in years to fund these capital-intensive businesses, excited by Nvidia’s $20 billion Groq deal and signs other strategic buyers are circling. Founders are seizing the moment. Nuvacore, a startup focused on designing new... Startups that make chips and related hardware smell cash in the air. Venture capitalists are more...

Agility Robotics' Digit robot. Photo Courtesy of Citi.

Memory Startup ScaleFlux Plots IPO; Robots Descend on Citi HQ

By Valida Pau · Jul 9, 2026 3:21pm PDT

A $26 billion U.S. stock offering by South Korean memory chip giant SK Hynix looks likely to benefit from colossal investor interest in the hardware companies powering the AI boom. At least one smaller tech manufacturer is angling to take advantage of the investor frenzy. ScaleFlux, a 12-year-old startup that designs memory controllers and... A $26 billion U.S. stock offering by South Korean memory chip giant SK Hynix looks likely to...

The Prolonged Write-Downs in Enterprise Software Startups

The Prolonged Write-Downs in Enterprise Software Startups

By Laura Mandaro · Jul 7, 2026 4:30pm PDT

It’s not easy to run an enterprise software company these days. For the nth example of this, read the latest story by my colleague Laura Bratton, who describes how an Atlanta real estate manager replaced Salesforce software with a custom app developed using Replit and Claude Code—saving $100,000 a year. Yipes. Fears that companies will... It’s not easy to run an enterprise software company these days. For the nth example of this, read...

Art by Clark Miller

Freshfields’ Anthropic Win; A Squeeze of Lime Returns

By Valida Pau, Cory Weinberg and Julia Hornstein · Jul 2, 2026 3:18pm PDT

A British law firm has scored a big win: a role in the Anthropic initial public offering, expected to raise tens of billions at a valuation of more than $1 trillion.Anthropic’s bankers have brought on U.K. law firm Freshfields to work on the IPO, according to people familiar with the matter.The London-based law firm is a relative newcomer to the... A British law firm has scored a big win: a role in the Anthropic initial public offering,...

Mark Wade, Co-founder & CEO, Ayar Labs. Photo By Ramsey Cardy/Getty Images

Optical Networking Startup Taps Into Investors’ Chip Envy

By Julia Hornstein and Cory Weinberg · Jun 30, 2026 4:16pm PDT

Mark Wade, Co-founder & CEO, Ayar Labs. Photo By Ramsey Cardy/Getty Images

Optical Networking Startup Taps Into Investors’ Chip Envy

By Julia Hornstein and Cory Weinberg · Jun 30, 2026 4:16pm PDT

Call it a hot chip summer. Investors are flocking to startups making semiconductors and components to run AI more efficiently, minting high valuations for businesses looking to compete with Nvidia and other stalwarts. Etched, a four-year-old startup run by young Harvard dropouts trying to develop a specialized AI chip, announced it had raised... Call it a hot chip summer. Investors are flocking to startups making semiconductors and...

Getty Images.

Citi Pitches a Cleanup for Murky SPV Market

By Yueqi Yang · Jun 25, 2026 2:18pm PDT · 1 comment

Citigroup wants to tackle the murky ownership problems that have proliferated among private tech firms as more special purpose vehicles have popped up promising to connect investors with the hottest startups. The bank this month said it is launching a new service that lets investors trade private company shares on a blockchain. It’s... Citigroup wants to tackle the murky ownership problems that have proliferated among private tech...

Photo by David Paul Morris/ Getty Images

Walmart’s $1.4 Billion Ad Tech Purchase: How The Price Compares

By Catherine Perloff and Valida Pau · Jun 23, 2026 2:20pm PDT

Walmart’s $1.4 billion purchase of New York–based advertising technology startup Vibe on Tuesday is a reminder of how serious the retail giant is about building its ad business.Walmart is paying a big price for Vibe, which helps small businesses buy ads on streaming platforms and will allow Walmart to reach more advertisers looking to buy spots... Walmart’s $1.4 billion purchase of New York–based advertising technology startup Vibe on Tuesday...

Mantis VC co-founders Alex Pall and Andrew Taggart of The Chainsmokers. Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images

The Chainsmokers’ VC Firm Mantis Raising $100 Million Fund

By Julia Hornstein and Katie Roof · Jun 19, 2026 12:13pm PDT

The Chainsmokers are back. They released new songs in May—and are raising a new venture fund.Their firm Mantis VC is raising its fourth fund, an unofficial milestone that graduates them from emerging managers to just regular old VCs. The Chainsmokers are back. They released new songs in May—and are raising a new venture fund....

Cursor Co-founder Michael Truell

Cursor Returns Spur VC-Backed Deal Hopes

By Katie Roof · Jun 18, 2026 5:16pm PDT

Cursor Co-founder Michael Truell

Cursor Returns Spur VC-Backed Deal Hopes

By Katie Roof · Jun 18, 2026 5:16pm PDT

Achieving the largest IPO in history wasn’t the only record that SpaceX set. It’s now agreed to complete the largest acquisition of a venture-backed startup in history, its $60 billion dollar purchase of Cursor. The acquisition will make its founders billionaires, and it should provide billions in returns for investors like Thrive Capital... Achieving the largest IPO in history wasn’t the only record that SpaceX set. It’s now agreed to...

Lior Simon. Photo via Cyberstarts.

Cyberstarts Notches Cyera Win, Plots New Fund

By Aaron Holmes · Jun 16, 2026 1:29pm PDT

The $12 billion valuation that Cyera snagged in a $600 million fundraise announced last week shows how hungry investors were for the cybersecurity startup’s AI-focused pitch. The five-year-old startup sells software that can protect companies’ data from hackers equipped with increasingly powerful AI tools—a threat highlighted by Anthropic’s... The $12 billion valuation that Cyera snagged in a $600 million fundraise announced last week...

Technicians work on the the Dream Chaser at Sierra Space in 2023. Photo by Helen H. Richardson/ Getty Images

Sierra Space, Axiom Plot IPOs as SpaceX Feeds Frenzy

By Katie Roof · Jun 11, 2026 4:15pm PDT

It’s finally here! SpaceX Thursday officially priced its IPO at $135 per share, valuing the company at around $1.75 trillion, capping a frenetic six month stretch that defied many of the norms of initial public offerings. If the IPO goes well, expect to see more space public offerings soon.Sierra Space, for one, has been taking steps towards an... It’s finally here! SpaceX Thursday officially priced its IPO at $135 per share, valuing the...

Photo via Zum Mobility.

School Bus Startup Zum Takes Early Steps Toward IPO

By Valida Pau · Jun 9, 2026 4:00pm PDT

It may not seem like it now, as we barrel toward SpaceX’s public debut this week, but not every initial public offering will involve a $1.75 trillion rocket-ship company. Soon enough, public investors may get to judge a much more down-to-earth business: school bus fleets. Sequoia Capital-backed Zum, known for using its electric school buses to... It may not seem like it now, as we barrel toward SpaceX’s public debut this week, but not every...

Benchmark partners Eric Vishria, left, and Peter Fenton. Screenshot via YouTube

Benchmark Joins the Late-Stage Crowd

By Laura Mandaro · Jun 4, 2026 4:48pm PDT · 1 comment

Benchmark partners Eric Vishria, left, and Peter Fenton. Screenshot via YouTube

Benchmark Joins the Late-Stage Crowd

By Laura Mandaro · Jun 4, 2026 4:48pm PDT · 1 comment

For most of this decade, venture capital has morphed from a game of spotting the best young startups to making a more complex range of investments—from public stocks and cryptocurrencies to multibillion-dollar bets on older startups. General Catalyst even bought a hospital system!But industry stalwart Benchmark had held fast to a definition of... For most of this decade, venture capital has morphed from a game of spotting the best young...