The Perfect Storm: Why Venture Capital's Liquidity Crisis Is Reshaping Startup Funding
When Goldman Sachs announced it would acquire Industry Ventures for up to $965 million last week, the deal underscored a seismic shift happening beneath the surface of venture capital: the secondary market has exploded from a niche tool into a $152 billion necessity, fundamentally changing how startups get funded and how investors get paid back.
For better or worse, this is the new reality of startup funding. VCs can no longer afford to simply "spray and pray" and wait for exits. They need active liquidity management strategies. And that fundamentally changes what kinds of companies get funded and how.
Welcome to America, Where You Can Buy a Company—But Not Run It
The Nippon Steel deal may be remembered as a turning point not just for industrial policy, but for how the U.S. is perceived by global investors. In a geopolitical moment defined by economic competition and fragmented alliances, the U.S. must choose: will it lead by example as an open, rules-based economy or slide into the very model of conditional capitalism it has long criticized in others?
The golden share may be strategic. But unless applied with extreme caution, it could prove to be short-sighted, self-defeating, and a poor trade for long-term investment leadership.
What Makes a Healthcare Startup Attractive to VCs and Private Equity?
So far in 2025, Pittsburgh-based healthcare startup Abridge has landed $250 million in funding, UK-based OrganOx closed $142 million, and Transcarent merged with Accolade, Inc.. Both Transcarent and Datavant appear to be open to additional acquisitions as they build toward IPO. Meanwhile, healthcare investors and several healthcare mega-companies have signaled that they "don't much of an appetite" for big deals this year according to Business Insider.
What does this mean? Let's figure this out!