BRASH INVESTOR TRIES TO BLOW UP THE IPO AS HIS PARTNERS QUITCHAMATH PALIHAPITIYA, AN early Facebook executive and outspoken presence in Silicon Valley, is unapologetic about his frustrations with the venture-capital industry. There’s too much money chasing deals, making it harder to generate strong returns. Too many VCs conflate luck with talent. And everyone who benefits from the current system is resistant to change. Technically, Palihapitiya is a venture capitalist himself. But he aspires to be a master of the universe, as his firm, Social Capital, expands with separate funds for late-stage investing, debt, and public equities. Founded in 2011 to back early-stage startups, Social Capital now manages $1.8 billion worth of assets. It looks less like a traditional venture-capital firm and more like a tech-focused private-equity conglomerate. Palihapitiya takes inspiration from Warren Buffett’s model of investing in and acquiring companies for the long term. “I want to fucking dominate this industry,” he says, punctuating each word with a table pound. As it expands, Social Capital is losing core members of its initial team. Co-founder Mamoon Hamid abruptly left last month to join Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers. Now, the third co-founder, Ted Maidenberg, also plans to leave the firm, according to people familiar with the matter. A Google VC explained why Cambridge has the edge over Oxford on tech startupsThe universities of Oxford and Cambridge have one of the longest-running rivalries in the world. They compete every year in The Boat Race (rowing), The Varsity Match (rugby), and of course, in the academic league tables. But today there's another battleground where the centuries-old institutions are going head to head: technology startups. Cambridge currently has the edge over Oxford when it comes to spinning out successful technology companies, according to tech investor Tom Hulme, who has invested in startups in both cities. [ Business Insider ] Alphabet mulling $1 billion investment in LyftGoogle parent company Alphabet is considering an investment of about $1 billion in Lyft according to sources familiar with the matter as recently reportedly by Bloomberg. The money could come from Google directly or through Alphabet’s private-equity arm, CapitalG, and allow the company to offer better pay to drivers and discounts to riders. An infusion of cash would also boost Lyft’s marketing budget and help ensure the company remains independent for a while longer. Nothing is set in stone, however, and a deal may not materialize. Both Alphabet and Lyft declined to comment when pinged by the publication. Lurid Lawsuit’s Quiet End Leaves Silicon Valley Start-Up Barely DentedAt Upload, the parties never seemed to stop. The start-up began by hosting impromptu gatherings to promote virtual reality as the next big thing. It quickly became an entertainment and news hub for the VR industry, hosting hundreds of events. The crowds were young and eager to network. Models did demos, and the liquor flowed. The freewheeling atmosphere was not restricted to the evening hours. There was a “rampant sexual behavior and focus” in the Upload office that created “an unbearable environment,” a former employee, Elizabeth Scott, said in a lawsuit filed in May. [ NY Times ] A SoftBank executive stresses they’re not just throwing around cash when it comes to ride hailingA top SoftBank executive stressed today the company is “absolutely” looking to invest in ride-hailing in the United States — but said it’s “not fair” to describe the Japanese conglomerate’s strategy as merely spreading around its money. For months, speculation has swirled that SoftBank and its hyper-aggressive chief executive, Masayoshi Son, is pursuing as much as a $10 billion investment in Uber — and could just as easily take that cash to its chief rival in the United States, Lyft. [ Recode ] Our favorite VC-backed companies As members of the PitchBook editorial team, we spend our days writing and reading about VC, PE and M&A. We also inevitably spend some of our time thinking—and talking—about the VC-backed companies we come across. Some startups are confusing, some don't apply to our daily lives, and some are just plain weird. But then there are those private companies that fascinate us, the ones we use, the ones (as consumers) we love. High Fidelity: Meet the world's top backer of unicorns As part of our 2017 Unicorn Report, we ranked investors—venture capital, private equity, corporate and nontraditional alike—by the number of US unicorns in their portfolios. Silicon Valley's VC heavyweights made up a healthy portion of the list, but the firm that claimed the No. 1 spot, once again, was mutual fund Fidelity Investments. Despite Softbank’s setbacks, Masayoshi Son’s brother thinks Indian entrepreneurs are “amazing” |