We can now begin to discern where all of that dry powder is heading. Venture firms are returning to the funding scene after a rather quiet year on the private markets. A new $195 million fund for seed-stage firms was unveiled by the venerable venture capital firm Sequoia.
Venture capitalists typically have a positive reaction when a still-running startup is acquired by a $210 billion giant.
However, that doesn't seem to be the case in the instance of Volta, a network for charging electric vehicles. The company went public via SPAC in 2021, and Shell claims it will only cost $169 million to acquire it.
Sequoia discloses new $195 million seed fund
This time is no exception to the rule that seed company investment is reasonably resilient to downturns. With improvements in carbon capture, women's health, hybrid work, and of course artificial intelligence, these four developing industries continue to draw investment.
Those exorbitant unicorn prices? Investors in pre-IPO companies don't have much faith in them. The information from platforms for secondary markets appears to support this, at least: There is currently a 22% difference between what vendors are asking for and what buyers are ready to pay.
Semafor, a news startup, is looking to buy Sam Bankman-share Fried's of the business as the disgraced co-founder of FTX is charged. Before its October launch, the news firm raised around $25 million, with Bankman-Fried contributing about $10 million of that total.