Your Custom Text Here
Scores of the blank-check companies that set the IPO market ablaze in 2020 are once again stumbling over accounting errors.
More than 160 SPACs have issued warnings in the last week that their past financial reports can’t be relied on, and that they have to redo, or restate, their financial statements, securities filings show. READ MORE
Please use the sharing tools found via the share button at the top or side of articles. Copying articles to share with others is a breach of FT.com T&Cs and Copyright Policy. Email licensing@ft.com to buy additional rights. Subscribers may share up to 10 or 20 articles per month using the gift article service. More information can be found here.
https://www.ft.com/content/d1723a8e-c146-4d48-8475-01cc9947a5d6
Before Marc Bell went into business launching satellites, he enjoyed a lucrative career at the outer reaches of professional finance. Over 30 years, he has bought stakes in pornographic magazines and pizza parlours, produced Tony Award-winning musicals and earned enough money that he once lived in a Florida mansion whose lavish decor included a full-scale replica of the bridge of the Starship Enterprise. READ MORE
Corporate merger and acquisition (M&A) activity is rarely far from the news, but that is not to say that the subject is always well understood. Contested takeovers make for lively copy, as do the “mega-mergers” that can be presented as blatant empire-building and a search for monopoly profits.
Far less coverage is devoted to the critically important role that M&A plays in the ecology of venture capital, the source of the funds that power new, pioneering businesses of the type that have put the United States at the cutting edge of commercial and technological innovation. READ MORE
The world of venture capital is defined by its own carefully constructed mythology: hoodie-wearing billionaires, unicorns and Midas touch investors. But the numbers tell a very different story: Most VC firms operate on at least a 20 percent loss ratio in their investments.
A number of new, innovative VC models have cropped up in the industry, but the existing mythology has continued, to the detriment of the innovation economy that is so crucial to the United States, and beyond. READ MORE
The recently signed $1.2 trillion U.S. infrastructure bill—though pared almost in half from President Biden’s original vision—still sets aside hundreds of billions of dollars for government investment in sectors where venture-backed startups are likely to play an active role.
That includes spending earmarked for cybersecurity investment, electric vehicle infrastructure, broadband internet expansion, and a host of clean energy and climate tech initiatives. Venture investors say that all adds up to opportunities for startups working on the next generation of infrastructure-related technologies. READ MORE
The venture capital industry plays an important role in empowering small businesses—the backbone of America’s economy. The industry makes up a mere 0.2% of GDP, but delivers a stunning 21% of U.S. GDP in the form of revenue backed by venture capital. That said, the practice of leaving founders of color out of the VC equation is being exacerbated in real time, as Black startup entrepreneurs only received 1.2% of the $147 billion invested in American startups during the first half of 2021. READ MORE
Money talks. There is no way to start a startup if the entrepreneur does not have enough capital to start the business. While it is important to have a good team, a great innovative, disruptive and scalable idea, or to have found a problem to solve, none of this is going to work if you don't have the money to go from idea to action. READ MORE
Of the top 10 countries for health tech VC investment (between 2016-2021 YTD), the U.S. leads globally with $31.9 billion in VC investment so far this year, according to new research. In second place was China with $4.1 billion, while the U.K. comes in third with $3.8 billion. U.K. health tech investment has risen from just $420 million in 2016, an increase of nine times, whilst U.S. investment has increased by 3.4 times. READ MORE
Which colleges produce the most successful entrepreneurs? Every year, PitchBook sheds light on that question by ranking undergraduate and MBA programs by the number of venture capital-backed founders among their alumni. READ MORE
With over 50 portfolio companies with a $33 billion market cap and 60 percent diverse founder investments, Serena Ventures is making waves in the venture capital world by investing in mission-driven companies. READ MORE
There has never been more venture capital available to entrepreneurs. In the first half of 2021, startups raised $288 billion in venture funding, shattering the record set in 2020 by almost $110 billion. Private companies with a valuation over $1 billion were originally dubbed “unicorns” because they were so rare; thanks to generous funding, there are now around 1,000 unicorns at last count. READ MORE
More new startups valued at $10 billion or above have been minted in 2021—far more than in any prior year, and double the number created in 2020, which set the previous record for new “decacorns,” as these highly valued companies are known.
All told, 30 companies have been newly valued at a decacorn valuation in 2021 so far, Crunchbase data shows. This contrasts with half that count at 15 in 2020 and five new decacorns in 2019. READ MORE
Despite record earnings, some at the SuperReturn conference voice concern over ‘state of collective delusion’ READ MORE
Is the “Great Resignation” we’re reading so much about the start of the next seismic shift in the future of work as we see the increase and mainstreaming of professional freelancer and contractor employees determined to have the flexibility and work/life balance they want, after furlough, redundancies, overwork and burnout struck during COVID-19 lockdowns?
If so, it looks like tech startups and their venture capital supporters are ready to make it a reality. Although freelancing is globally a $4.5 trillion economy, it’s incredible how little technology has impacted its inner workings, until now. READ MORE
Although it seems like venture dollars abound in the U.S., with headlines of $1 billion raises and new funding totals hitting highs, not every area of the country sees a flood of investment money for its startup ecosystem.
Through the first 10 months of this year, 11 states still had yet to break the $100 million barrier when it comes to the total amount of venture capital startups in those states received, according to Crunchbase data. While California startups have taken in nearly $120 billion in venture this year, Mississippi has barely surpassed the million-dollar mark. READ MORE
Historically, the main actors in venture capital have been a specialized set of tech investors who themselves came from the technology industry. They understood it well because they were the ones who built foundational technologies or sold hardware, software and systems into businesses. READ MORE
US startup funding punches in another strong month with nearly $22B in new funding; up 123% from October 2020 levels! READ MORE
Venture capital is poised to move away from the software space and into revolutionary technologies to improve human lives. READ MORE
Venture capital cannot just stick to its existing structures and processes if it wants to remain relevant in the new Web 3.0 era. READ MORE