As we project ourselves forward in 2023, amidst the clouds, a bright spot for optimism is burning brightly for early stage, deep tech startup companies and investors. It’s no surprise that last year we saw a decrease in...more
As we ring in the lunar new year around the world, it is the year of the “rabbit” or of the “cat” depending on your version of the zodiac calendar. In Silicon Valley, it is going to be the year of the down round....more
At the beginning of any new year, startup founders are faced with a choice: stay the course, grow or sell. With significant market headwinds, soaring inflation, and an interest rate environment that looks to be rising as far...more
1/11/2023
/ Business Development ,
Capital Raising ,
Equity ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Interest Rates ,
Investors ,
Liquidity ,
Mergers ,
Price Inflation ,
Selling a Business ,
Startups ,
Valuation
In 2022, many predicted we would see a spike in M&A due to the economic downturn and the steep drop in startup valuations. However, last year was not the M&A blockbuster that was predicted, and we even saw a drop-off in...more
Legal tech can learn a lot about what to expect in the coming year by looking to the most common and interesting trends in the global Silicon Valley.
We have officially come to the time of year when everyone is putting...more
1/6/2023
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
Automotive Industry ,
Avatar ,
Investors ,
Legal Technology ,
Machine Learning ,
Metaverse ,
Remote Working ,
Silicon Valley ,
Venture Capital ,
Virtual Reality
Are we in a downturn? I am no economist, but in the global Silicon Valley, 2022 was all about the early stage in tech.
Strong headwinds in financial markets, compressed multiples leading to substantially lower...more
While we might have seen a pullback in venture capital investment in 2022, one area where investors are not slowing down is betting on artificial intelligence – specifically directing their investment in companies working...more
The private markets are notorious for their outdated (or non-existent) technology stacks. However, a new era of innovation may finally unwind years of risk-avoidant behavior that has slowed technology adoption across the...more
We have seen a reduction in M&A activity this year in response to global economic uncertainty. Everything has slowed down from the fevered pitch of 2021, so it’s not surprising that deal activity has as well. So, how much...more
Despite the past year's economic downturn, M&A transactions in the tech sector are still getting done. It might be at a different level than 2021, but deals are happening, particularly in certain sections of the tech...more
There was great speculation that the decreased valuations of 2022 would lead to a surge in M&A activity; however, activity this year has been much lower than anticipated. A multitude of factors have slowed down M&A this year...more
While the story of the first ten months of 2022 was surviving crypto winter, there was also some optimism that better times were coming.
There is a newly elected Congress and new leadership, which many had hoped would be...more
After M&A dealmaking cranked at an all-time high in 2021 with a record breaking 60,000 publicly disclosed deals aggregating over $5 trillion (see our recent article), the waters of M&A cooled considerably in 2022, with only...more
11/22/2022
/ Acquisitions ,
Bureau of Labor Statistics ,
Career Development ,
Compensation ,
Employee Benefits ,
Investors ,
Mergers ,
Paid Time Off (PTO) ,
Private Equity ,
Resignation ,
Risk Mitigation ,
Stocks ,
Wage and Hour ,
Workplace Communication
Starting with a sell-off in public technology stocks (trading “FAMMGA” is no longer a winning strategy), the outbreak of war in Europe, upcoming midterm elections in the US, out of control inflation, rapidly rising interest...more
11/4/2022
/ Acquisitions ,
Buyers ,
Capital Investments ,
Capital Markets ,
China ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Mergers ,
Price Inflation ,
Private Investment Funds ,
Russia ,
Sellers
As if we were not in a deep winter already in market conditions, Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (SPACs) are now facing a significant new hurdle. This is because the recently enacted Inflation Reduction Act (IRA)...more
A buzz is starting to build that we could see a return to blockbuster venture capital investment in 2023. Although firms have been wary of investment over the past few months, that is predicted to change. If venture capital...more
In our current economic environment, you would have to be hiding in a cave not to see, hear and feel valuations sliding downwards across the eco-system. It started in January 2022 when large-cap, mid-cap and then smaller-cap...more
We have all heard the saying, “It’s not what you know, it’s who you know,” and it’s often very true. Personal relationships of trust and confidence are the building blocks of business.
Building relationships early in...more
It's no secret that cryptocurrency markets and the larger digital assets economy have been roiled by recent instability, resulting in discussions about how regulatory initiatives, rising inflationary pressure, and public...more
8/3/2022
/ Anti-Money Laundering ,
Biden Administration ,
Blockchain ,
Copyright ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Cryptoassets ,
Decentralized Finance (DeFi) ,
Digital Assets ,
Enforcement ,
Executive Orders ,
Howey ,
Income Taxes ,
Investor Protection ,
Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) ,
Risk Assessment ,
Royalties ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Virtual Currency ,
Warranties
It does not take a genius to take notice of the changing face of the technology economy. When the largest social network in the world announces the slightest drop in growth – indeed, when it announces double-digit decreases...more
8/1/2022
/ Acquisitions ,
Alternative Financing and Procurement (AFP) ,
Cash Value ,
Customers ,
Employee Retention ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Mergers ,
Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (SPACs) ,
Startups ,
Stocks ,
Venture Capital
Down rounds have typically been seen in a negative light, but a recent Axios Pro Rata article raises an interesting point. If everyone raises a down round, does anyone really notice? Do they still have the same negative...more
In 2021, we saw a cryptocurrency boom with record highs and a flurry of activity. However, this year, the cryptocurrency downturn has been significant. We have seen drops in various cryptocurrencies ranging from 20 to 70...more
The economic turmoil of the past six months caused by everything from inflation to interest rate increases to supply chain disruption, not to mention large scale war in Europe, and then massive increases in the price of gas,...more
CB Insights has released the preview of their State of Venture Q2’22 Report, finding a 23% drop in venture capital funding to startups on a global level in the second quarter of this year, with $108.5B raised across 7,651...more
There has been a great deal of change over the past year and a great deal of turmoil that is having a significant economic impact. We are seeing the implications everywhere from the gas pump to the grocery store to Wall...more