Natasha Mascarenhas

@julia_hornstein @theinformation @validapau 🔥🔥

i'm now writing dealmaker, @theinformation's vc / tech deals newsletter, w @validapau 🕺🕺tell me what u wanna read abt next! juliah.22 on signal

Scoop: Mercor is discussing a new fundraise at a ~$20 billion valuation. The AI training startup has received at least one term sheet at that level, sources tell us, which would double its last valuation. Scoop w @nmasc_: bloomberg.com/news/articles/…

Scoop w/ the brill @dinabass on another two tranche fundraising round in the AI infrastructure world bloomberg.com/news/articles/…

Sources: Crusoe is in active talks to raise ~$3B in a funding round expected to value the company in the ~$30B range, up from a ~$10B valuation in October (Bloomberg) (Visit Techmeme dot com for the link and full context!)

New episode of Uncapped with @traestephens and @zebulgar from Founders Fund, and my partner @EverettRandle. We talked about Founders Fund, the role of VCs, operating versus investing, their current views on the market, and dynamics in the AI supply chain and China. The conversation stayed almost entirely on the rails and as always I learned a bunch from the way they think. Timestamps: (0:00) Intro (0:54) What makes FF unique (8:01) Why lacking EQ can be an asset (12:10) Delian on working with Keith (18:30) Why Trae hates board meetings (24:13) Benchmark vs. Founders Fund (26:31) Investing as the exhaust of operating (28:52) Venture as a micro asset class (30:42) The infamous 2021 offsite (34:21) Current market sentiment (39:18) Can you beat the S&P? (48:53) America's semiconductor blind spot (51:56) Taiwan and the 90% probability (57:58) Robotics, humanoids, and the China question

@RohitKGoenka thanks! just the start!

@nmasc_ Congrats!

Six months at Bloomberg today (!!!) Feeling incredibly lucky to work with such a sharp, ambitious team during a truly legendary news cycle.

@rajeshsawhney thank you!

@nmasc_ Keep up the good work.

Top AI startups continue to line up tender offers at a regular clip. The latest? ElevenLabs, which is discussing an employee tender that could take place in September. Scoop w/ @yazhous bloomberg.com/news/articles/…

Poached again! 🤷🏻‍♀️ I’ve accepted a new role as Editor-at-Large at @BusinessInsider, where I’ll continue covering VC, IPOs etc. I’m also joining Axel Springer’s new program contributing to sister publications including @politico and @Telegraph . businessinsider.com/business-insid…

@alex Miss you and the podcast giggles so much!!!!

I fucking love @nmasc_ and consider her an ace goddamn reporter

@haydenfield have so much fun!!

leaving on my bachelorette trip hold all the AI news pls

One of the best pieces of advice I’ve gotten from a mentor: always advocate for the reader (or listener!). What’s obvious to you isn’t to them, and explaining complicated things is a big & rewarding part of the job. That mentor was @CGates123, and he just started his own business — he’s the best!!! crgstudio.co

SCOOP: Crusoe is in talks to raise about $3 billion. Valuation expectations are in the $30 billion range. w/ @BTLipschultz @EdLudlow bloomberg.com/news/articles/…

Scoop w/ @yazhous: ElevenLabs is having early discussions around a financing that could value the company at $22 billion (yes, that's a multiple of 11) bloomberg.com/news/articles/…

@Roback13 if LPs sell immediately, doesn't this defeat the purpose of attempt to stagger the stock sales?

@nmasc_ I think a lot of the larger holders are doing the same - also not sure the market/company would be happy if they sold at the lockups given the numbers

Scoop via @arroyanieto: Antonio Gracias is so bullish on SpaceX and its future that he told his LPs that he'd rather not sell SpaceX shares to pay them out, according to a recent investor call. Gracias instead plans to distribute the firm’s SpaceX investment “in kind,” meaning he would dole out shares in the rocket company in lieu of cash. bloomberg.com/news/articles/…

Sources: Palmer Luckey's Erebor Bank is in talks to raise money at an $8B+ valuation, up from $4.35B in 2025; its deposits grew from $1.1B in March to $4B now (Bloomberg) (Visit Techmeme dot com for the link and full context!)

@alex @aileenlee @m2jr @BenjLerer @twistartups what a squad!

off the pod with @aileenlee @m2jr and @BenjLerer - such a fun chat, coming out on @twistartups later today! :) and with that, back on the tank top goes