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What Are VCs Telling Investors About Distributions?
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By Brian Gormley, WSJ Pro
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Good day. We wrote this week that 2024 is shaping up to be another disappointing year for U.S. venture fund distributions to limited partners. Cambridge Associates says industrywide distributions will likely total less than $20 billion in 2024, roughly on par with last year, and below average for the asset class.
We would like to hear what venture firm managers are telling their LPs about the year ahead. Will distributions increase and, if so, by how much? How are you adjusting your strategies to send cash back to your LPs in light of market conditions? Please email responses to vcnews@wsj.com.
Previously, we asked what you consider to be the top healthcare policy issues for startups and venture capital. Here are responses, edited for clarity and length:
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Anarghya Vardhana, partner at Maveron: “I hope the next administration considers making the flexible telehealth policies more permanent in a post-Covid world. We learned in the pandemic that many patients prefer the option to see their care team remotely, given the convenience and accessibility. Not to mention it expanded access to care for millions of people, particularly those in rural areas. Given all the shortages we’re seeing of providers nationwide, there’s huge potential for telehealth to support growing patient demands.”
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Sara Deshpande, general partner at Maven Ventures: “Startups in the digital health space have pushed forward the accessibility and availability of so many types of care—from mental health, to fertility, to prenatal care and home health. They’ll be closely watching any changes to reimbursement and policies for Medicaid and Medicare, as well as any changes to insurance mandates or compliance expectations. These issues will directly impact startup business models and operational considerations.”
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Dr. Christy Lane, co-founder of Flora Fertility: “Under the Biden administration we’ve seen extensive funding and incentives for healthcare innovation—especially for women’s health. This continued investment in women’s health’s future, which has often been left behind as women have historically been excluded from health research and more, is crucial to continue driving continued innovation that will meet the evolving demands of women’s needs today.”
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Dr. Joseph Antoun, chief executive and chairman of L-Nutra: “Today’s healthcare system faces a critical regulatory bottleneck: the FDA’s limited scope in evaluating preventative and non-pharmaceutical interventions. This creates an overreliance on medication-based treatments, resulting in a costly ‘sickcare’ system rather than true healthcare. Expanding the FDA’s evaluation scope would unlock innovation in preventative medicine and lifestyle interventions.”
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And now on to the news...
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David Sacks is a longtime VC. PHOTO: ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP/GETTY IMAGES
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Trump plans to appoint David Sacks as AI, crypto czar. President-elect Donald Trump named a Silicon Valley investor close to Elon Musk as the White House’s artificial intelligence and cryptocurrency policy chief, The Wall Street Journal reports. David Sacks, a longtime venture capitalist who worked with Musk at PayPal more than two decades ago, will serve as the “White House A.I. & Crypto Czar,” Trump said on his social-media platform Truth Social.
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Sacks was one of the first vocal supporters of Trump in Silicon Valley. He hosted a fundraiser for Trump in San Francisco in June that raised more than $12 million for Trump’s campaign.
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$100,000
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The price bitcoin traded above for the first time on Wednesday
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Crypto Players Celebrate SEC Pick
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The crypto world is jubilant, WSJ reports. President-elect Donald Trump on Wednesday chose Paul Atkins, a crypto company adviser, as the next chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission, a milestone for an industry that has often felt unwelcome in Washington. A few hours later, Bitcoin raced past $100,000 for the first time. On social-media platforms, in private chats and within the offices and after-work hangouts built around the issuance, custody and trading of digital assets, there is a sense of relief, optimism and, above all, triumph.
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The UC Berkeley Project That Is the AI Industry’s Obsession
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Record labels have the Billboard Hot 100. College football has its playoff rankings. Artificial intelligence has a website, run by two university students, called Chatbot Arena, WSJ reports. Roommates Anastasios Angelopoulos and Wei-Lin Chiang never imagined the graduate school project they developed last year would quickly become the most-watched ranking of the world’s best AI systems. Traditionally, AI technologies have been assessed through advanced math, science and law tests. Chatbot Arena lets users ask a question, get answers from two anonymous AI models and rate which one is better. The ratings are aggregated onto a leaderboard where big Silicon Valley players like OpenAI, Google and Meta Platforms vie for supremacy with lesser-known startups from China and Europe.
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Funds
Atlas Venture closed its fourteenth fund with $450 million in commitments to continue investing in biotech startups.
Swish Ventures raised $60 million for its second seed-stage fund. The new vehicle will invest in around 10 startups, with deals ranging from $5 million to $7 million per investment.
People
Sustainable agriculture startup Micropep Technologies appointed Gustavo C. Gonzalez as chief business officer. He previously held positions at Syngenta, Bayer Crop Science, BASF and AgBiome.
Digital wealth platform Arta Finance appointed Melissa-Ann Chan as chief marketing officer. She previously held various roles at Google.
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Nuvig Therapeutics, a Menlo Park, Calif.-based startup developing novel immunomodulatory therapeutics for patients with inflammatory autoimmune diseases, closed a $161 million Series B round from investors including Norwest Venture Partners.
Tractian, an Atlanta-based startup using artificial intelligence to help eliminate industrial downtime, grabbed $120 million in Series C funding led by Sapphire Ventures.
Upwind, a San Francisco-based cloud security provider, scored $100 million in Series A funding led by Craft Ventures.
AMP, a Louisville, Colo.-based provider of AI-powered sortation for the waste and recycling industry, collected $91 million in Series D funding led by Congruent Ventures.
Lawhive, a London-based legaltech startup, snagged $40 million in Series A funding co-led by GV and TQ Ventures.
Yurts, a San Francisco-based generative AI integration startup specializing in high-security settings, raised a $40 million Series B round led by XYZ.
Sage, a New York-based operations management platform for senior living, raised $35 million in Series B funding led by IVP.
Enterpret, a customer feedback intelligence platform, secured $20.8 million in Series A financing. Canaan Partners led the round, with Partner Rayfe Gaspar-Asaoka joining the company’s board.
On Me, a San Francisco-based digital gifting platform, landed $1.7 million in pre-seed funding from Lerer Hippeau and Focal.
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Here is our weekly roundup of stories from across WSJ Pro that we think you’ll find useful.
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Amazon is launching a supercomputer and server made up of its own silicon, diving headfirst into the artificial-intelligence chips race.
The marketing alchemist who saved Crocs and Stanley faces his next branding challenge: HeyDude loafers.
Direct lenders, often saviors to private-equity portfolio companies, are turning feisty to get repaid. They’re playing boardroom hardball and wresting control of troubled companies.
The East Coast’s busiest port is looking for a bigger payday from surging ocean trade and the richer real-estate deals for maritime properties.
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RYAN OLBRYSH, GETTY IMAGES, BLOOMBERG, SHUTTERSTOCK
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