For over a decade, real-money gaming companies and fantasy sports startups have marketed themselves as video game companies. But as these businesses face increasing regulatory scrutiny, a coalition of more than 70 video game companies in India is urging the government to create a clear distinction between their industries. In a letter to Prime Minister […]
Seed VCs are turning to new ‘pro rata’ funds that help them compete with the big firms
Lee Edwards, partner at Root VC, has a saying at his firm that “pro rata rights are earned, not given.” That may be a bit of a stretch since pro rata refers to a term that VCs put in their term sheets that gives them the right to buy more shares in a portfolio company […]
SAP, and Oracle, and IBM, oh my! ‘Cloud and AI’ drive legacy software firms to record valuations
There’s something of a trend around legacy software firms and their soaring valuations: Companies founded in dinosaur times are on a tear, evidenced this week with SAP‘s shares topping $ 200 for the first time. Founded in 1972, SAP’s valuation currently sits at an all-time high of $ 234 billion. The Germany-based enterprise software provider […]
Kleiner Perkins announces $2 billion in fresh capital, showing that established firms can still raise large sums
Many VC firms are struggling to attract new capital from their own backers amid a tepid IPO environment. But established, brand-name firms are still able to raise large funds. On Friday, Kleiner Perkins announced that it closed on more than $ 2 billion in fresh capital across two funds, a slight increase from the 52-year-old […]
‘What’s in it for us?’ journalists ask as publications sign content deals with AI firms
Vox Media’s president, Pam Wasserstein, sent her staff a Slack message and an email on May 29 detailing what the company’s journalists say was shocking news: Vox had signed a content licensing deal with OpenAI. The deal gives the AI company access to Vox’s current content, as well as the entire archive of its journalistic […]