🍂The Bulletin #62: Big Tech Silent on the Election and October's VC Boom
In this week's edition -- Big Tech 'cozies up' to Donald Trump, and October marks a great month for VC.
Welcome back to The Bulletin!😇
For this semester, keep up with our content if you’re interested in:
Demystifying & breaking into VC
Finding opportunities in the start-up world
Keeping up with VC investment news at Brown & beyond (pro tip: this is essential to breaking in and finding opportunities)
Enjoy!🗯️
🤖 Big Tech’s Strategic Silence
Throughout election season, the internet typically sees its fair share of celebrity and executive endorsements of various politicians. This year, however, Big Tech executives remained particularly silent on the presidential race, suggesting they were taking precautions in the case of either outcome.🤨
Before Donald Trump’s re-election, Big Tech leaders were not vocal on their nominee of choice. Elon Musk was the only glaring exception, with his very, very, vocal stance on Trump.🚀 The silence of tech leaders makes sense, given that the election's outcome could largely impact their industry. Further, Trump’s aggressive attacks on many of the top tech CEOs, such as claims to send Mark Zuckerberg to prison likely thwarted incentives to come out in favor of his opponent.
Looking back to the months before the election, it is clear that executives were particularly hedging their bets in the scenario of a Trump election.🐘 It seems these executives were either afraid of retaliation from Trump, or are already trying to get on his good-side to win government contracts. In general, the Trump Administration is more hands-off on tech regulation, specifically in the area of AI, meaning that many of these large companies could benefit from his term in office.🧠
This pattern of ‘cozying-up’ to Trump has continued following his election on Wednesday, November 7th. The leaders of many major tech companies have come out on social media with congratulatory posts for the President-elect. They all share a similar positive message: wishing Trump luck in office and looking forward to working with his administration. Many also shared hopes of the Trump administration’s policies aiding Big Tech in the U.S.
Notable executives sharing their best wishes included Jeff Bezos (Amazon), Mark Zuckerberg (Facebook), Tim Cook (Apple), Satya Badella (Microsoft), Pete Gerlsigner (Intel), Arvind Krishna (IBM), and Sam Altman (OpenAI). Bezos specifically called Trump’s win an “extraordinary political comeback and decisive victory.” This cheery comment contrasts heavily with Bezos’ previous comments like his 2015 tweet saying that they should “#sendDonaldtospace.”🧑🚀 Bezos was also a target of Trump during his previous term, specifically over his ownership of the Washington Post.
Clearly, the relationship between Big Tech and the U.S. government has become increasingly strategic, with executives treading carefully around election cycles to protect their interests. Their restrained endorsements and congratulatory posts post-election suggest an effort to maintain favorable conditions amid potential policy shifts. Regardless of what they claim their intentions are, you know what they say – silence speaks volumes.
🎃 October’s VC Boom
October shattered 2024 records in venture capital with a whopping $3.2B raised globally, driven by 'supergiant rounds' powering AI, clean energy, and data infrastructure.🔋
This month had a higher proportion of ‘supergiant rounds’ with over half of the rounds involving $100M or more raised. The general theme across the raises was all things AI, data center, nuclear, biotech, semiconductor, and robotics related. These trends are on par with the previous months of 2024. An even more macro theme among these sectors is the clean energy transition and providing a secure power source for the growing AI industry.⚡ To no surprise, AI was the leading sector of the month, taking home 38% of total funding.
The largest round of the month was hosted by OpenAI, which raised a whopping $6.6B, giving them a post-money valuation of $157B. Most famously known for ChatGPT, OpenAI is currently going through a massive restructuring as it navigates an exodus of employees and a transition from a non-profit to a for-profit company. OpenAI’s round marked 20% of October’s total venture funding.📈 The second largest round came from GDS International, a developer and operator of data centers. They raised $1B led by Coatue. The third largest round came from Pacific Fusion, a startup aiming to create a nuclear fusion-based energy source. They raised 900M in a round led by General Catalyst. Overall, October was a great month for VC and we hope November and December follow in-suit.
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