When 2020 began, the year seemed set to include another year of record-setting venture capital investment and, perhaps, some long-awaited IPOs. All that quickly faded when COVID-19 spread globally, shutting economies, undercutting swaths of the business world and rearranging the working life in countries around the globe.
Here at TechCrunch we’re navigating the changing landscape, talking to the founders and venture capitalists that make up the startup realm that we cover, hoping to decipher the new normal.
One way that we’ve done that this year is through a daily look at the private markets. This regular effort (you can read the full archive here) has been an attempt to understand the financial side of the startup world, and how the public markets exert gravity (or lift) on private companies, especially during tumultuous economic times.
The project kicked off with a look at companies that have reached the $100 million ARR mark (a series that is still ongoing), and has touched on all sorts of things since, including the growing popularity of venture debt, China’s VC slowdown, lots of coverage of VC-backed companies trying to go public and, recently, why API startups are so hot right now.
Today I’m happy to announce that we’re giving the daily post a name and a lovely set of art. Previously called nothing at all, the series is now called “The Exchange.”
As a writer, this is an exciting moment. I’ve written a daily column focused on the markets since mid-2016 for various publications, but I’ve never had one that was as put together as The Exchange can now claim to be. A big thanks to Eric and Walter and Henry and Bryce and Holden and Natasha for their help and encouragement.
Looking ahead, we’re seeing more mega rounds than I would have anticipated, more market demand for tech IPOs than I think anyone anticipated, record highs for tech stocks until about 48 minutes ago and lots of new rounds worth digging into from a trends perspective. So, there’s a lot to do and I’m excited to talk about it all with you each and every weekday morning on The Exchange.
That’s it for now. The Exchange comes out Monday through Friday morning on TechCrunch for Extra Crunch subscribers. Use the code “EXCHANGE” for a discount if you’d like one.
A huge thanks to everyone who already reads this series, and a hug for everyone who’s signed up so that they can access it. Here’s to another hundred entries. And then one hundred more.
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