Venture capitalism is not meant for the faint-hearted. It is the playground of the rich, where the typical conservative, staid doyens of businesses playout for big stakes.
Initially sought by tech startups needing money for research and reach to the market, now the scenario has changed to encompass any idea that can be sold to the interested VCs with a future promise of returns. Financing, retail, supply chain deliveries, real estate, coffee, chai and more is the wide spectrum of sectors that have attracted funding.
According to Venture Pulse, a quarterly report on global VC trends by KPMG Enterprise, the third quarter of 2019 saw US$55.71 billion of venture capital investment raised globally across 4,154 deals. In 2019, roughly $294.8 billion was invested in nearly 32,800 deals across the venture spectrums, according to Crunchbase.
Considering the scale of the investment seen across the globe in a myriad of sectors, let us take a look at the people behind the moolah.
MARC ANDREESSEN
He is the co-founder of Silicon Valley-based venture capital firm, Andreessen Horowitz, also known as a16z He co-invented Mosaic, a pioneering web browser. He is an author, investor, inventor and a software engineer.
A16z has invested in enterprise, bio/healthcare, crypto, and fintech spaces. a16z has $10B in assets under management across multiple funds, including the $650M Bio funds, the $350M Crypto Fund, and the Cultural Leadership Fund.
This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
Architects Pick Their Favorite Building Material
Henry Ford, the father of assembly-line manufacturing, had a saying: “Any customer can have a car painted any color that he wants so long as it is black.”
POWERFUL WOMEN IN FINANCE
The coronavirus is not only a public health crisis of magnitude – it’s also a looming reshuffle of the global economic order. Leading through the pandemic and economic crisis is not a minor accomplishment, but the events of this past year haven’t stopped the 10 trailblazers who make up Industry Leaders’ Most Powerful Women in Finance list.
GERMANY ADOPTS NEW LAW TO HASTEN THE END OF COAL PLANTS
A new climate law adopted by Germany requires that all coal-fired power plants be shut down before the promulgated 2038 deadline. In January 2020, the German government had negotiated a deal worth €40 billion to phase out coal power by 2038, but now it seems the country is in a hurry to end its dependence on coal power due to urgent climate concerns.
IRS AND JUSTICE DEPARTMENT INVESTIGATING CRYPTO EXCHANGE BINANCE
Singapore-based Binance was co-founded in 2017 by Changpeng Zhao, and is the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the world. The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) is probing money laundering and tax-related offenses on the platform by any US citizen. They are investigating whether any illegal trading of derivatives linked to digital tokens was done. The United States residents can only purchase these kinds of products from firms registered with the CFTC.
GEN Z ANGELS
INVESTORS SEEM TO BE GETTING YOUNGER AND YOUNGER.
Biggest AI Talent Grab of the Year
In a post-COVID-19 world, the role of Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A) will be redefined. Companies striving to defend their existing markets and accelerate recovery are looking at a wide range of strategies such as alliances and partnerships. In addition, deal-makings now have to reflect the new environmental and societal priorities of the post-crisis world, which include making organic changes like going virtual, remote collaborations, and potentially less inperson networking.
POSTWAR BOOM
PANDEMIC BRINGS GOOD SALES GROWTH FOR LUXURY CAR BRANDS
GOOGLE PLANS TO BUILD A COMMERCIAL QUANTUM COMPUTER BY 2029
Google is confident it can build a commercial-grade quantum computer by 2029. The search engine giant’s chief executive Sundar Pichai announced the plan to build a quantum computer during the Google I/O stream. To follow through on this ambitious journey is an important milestone in the form of a new Quantum AI campus in Santa Barbara, California, where Google engineers and scientists will be hard to work to build the world’s first commercial quantum computer.
BEYOND THE STARS
The dream of space tourism is alive and well.
2021 SEMICONDUCTOR CHIP SHORTAGE
The semiconductor chip shortage is far from over but this hasn’t stopped governments around the globe from getting creative to move production ahead. The impact of the chip crisis on the automotive market has been debilitating, resulting in competition between automakers and electronics manufacturers.
