X who? Bluesky’s the real deal.
Happy Friday. Welcome to The Chaos Coordinator! We are Brain Candy's snarky little sister, delivering carefully curated news happening across the industry (that you should probably care about) right to your inbox, with a hefty dose of irreverence.
?
In this issue, we dive into:?
What's happening in.....
PE/VC?
VCs Dreamt of IPOs but PE Showed Up
When the IPO plan falls through, VCs are left with PE exits – and mixed feelings.
The IPO market still hasn’t quite bounced back, and venture capitalists are getting twitchy. With returns moving at a snail’s pace, VCs are starting to press their portfolio companies to skip the public markets and settle for private equity buyouts instead. It’s not the dream IPO exit they were hoping for, but hey – desperate times, desperate measures.
?
PE is happy to play hero, snapping up mature startups, especially in tech, where recurring revenue is king. According to Pitchbook’s Garrett Hinds, tech made up 28.3% of all private equity deals last quarter, up from 18.7% – and as VCs reluctantly cash out, PE firms are looking for “companies with reliable business models” they can keep on life support. But not everyone’s thrilled: “Selling my company to private equity would be my last choice,” says Lane Bess of Deep Instinct, noting that PE’s version of TLC often involves, well, “cutting costs to the bone.” Still, with VCs getting impatient and IPOs MIA, it’s not like there are many options left on the table.
?
Read more here.?
Capital Markets
Stockholm Is Here To Save The Day
The buy-now-pay-later champ is done playing hard to get and heading to Wall Street.
Klarna’s finally making it official—no, not a ring, but an IPO filing with the SEC for a U.S. listing. After flirting with European exchanges, the Swedish buy-now-pay-later giant decided it’s all in on the American market, leaving the London Stock Exchange (and a few broken hearts) behind. Once a $46 billion pandemic darling, Klarna is now valued at a humbler $15 billion, but hey, it’s still looking to turn heads.
CEO Sebastian Siemiatkowski hinted for years that a U.S. IPO would be the move, citing bigger visibility and fewer bureaucratic headaches. The timing couldn’t be better either: Klarna just hit profitability for the first half of 2024. While European regulators scramble to make their exchanges attractive, PitchBook’s Navina Rajan notes that U.S. listings are still the popular crowd, as the valuation gap keeps growing. Klarna’s jump to Wall Street? Proof that when it comes to IPOs, the U.S. is still where the party’s at.
?
Read more here.?
Generative AI / Tech?
领英推荐
ChatGPT, But Make It Bossy
OpenAI’s “Operator” isn’t here to chat—it’s here to manage.
OpenAI is cooking up something big for January: an autonomous AI agent named "Operator" that plans to do more than just answer questions—it’ll actually take the wheel. This ChatGPT evolution aims to handle real tasks on your computer, potentially bringing us a little closer to that sci-fi future where your tech isn’t just smart, it’s proactive. Forget typing commands; Operator is set to handle the heavy lifting while you kick back and watch (or hide under the desk, your choice).
With rivals like Anthropic and Google hot on its heels, OpenAI’s rushing to make Operator the agent of choice. CEO Sam Altman hinted recently that AI agents are the “next giant breakthrough,” while product lead Kevin Weil is calling 2025 the year these bots go big. So if you’re tired of doing your own computer grunt work, hang tight—Operator just might be your new BFF (or your new boss).
??
Read the blog?here.?
Marketing
X Marks the Spot—For Exit
Ex-Tweeters are loving this BlueSky, Swiftie-filled oasis.
Following Musk’s takeover of X and its increasingly political tilt, Bluesky is welcoming waves of users ready to jump ship. Just after the U.S. presidential election, the app leapt to No. 2 on the U.S. App Store as tens of thousands flocked to it daily. According to app data, Bluesky’s user base surged to 14.6 million, with U.S., Canada, and U.K. users leading the charge and a daily sign-up rate nearing 100,000.
Bluesky CEO Jay Graber highlights that unlike the typical “90-9-1” engagement pattern (90% lurkers, 9% commenters, and 1% posters), Bluesky has kept nearly 30% of its users actively posting—a breath of fresh air for those seeking more genuine engagement. Emily Lu of Bluesky adds that new communities are popping up across the platform, from Swifties to sports enthusiasts. With a decentralized structure and custom moderation options, Bluesky provides an alternative that avoids Musk’s algorithmic favoritism and political bias, positioning itself as the “digital town square” that X was meant to be.
?
Read more here.?
The Chaos Challenge
Ready to flex those brain cells? Take on this week's Chaos Challenge.
Target’s holiday campaign is reimagining Santa as "Kris," the cool, relatable Santa you never saw coming.
What’s Target’s latest take on Santa Claus all about?
Like what you read? Share the wealth and forward to a friend!