Yearly Archives: 2024

City of AI

It might be known as the City of Lights but Paris hopes to illuminate Europe another way; by leading the charge on artificial intelligence and making it the City of AI. President Macron spoke recently at the Elysée Palace ahead of VivaTech, where he said this was a moment of “strategic awakening”. As the global AI revolution intensifies, France is putting its money where its mouth is by launching a new fund to invest exclusively in AI and the quantum ecosystem, as well as supporting a training program to grow France’s AI talent pool. Good news for Europe’s VC community. Indeed, President Macron referred to France and Europe as facing an existential battle, where the ability to create wealth will depend on AI. It is a clear call to arms for Europe’s VC investor community. Will they be up for the challenge ahead? Investing EUR400 million in AI research and talent across nine of France’s universities is likely to help. So here’s a message to end on: if you’re looking for AI talent, call my agent!

Inspired by Euronews

Weave got this

CoreWeave, a fast-growing AI cloud computing firm backed by Nvidia, will be popping the champagne this week, following news that they have secured a record $7.5 billion in debt financing. Blackstone, Carlyle Group, and BlackRock were just some of the investors in what is one of the industry’s biggest private deal deals. It’s a clear illustration of the interest levels in artificial intelligence-focused companies, and private credit as an asset class. New Jersey-based CoreWeave leases out access to Nvidia’s AI chips. CoreWeave plans to use the financing – which means it now has a $19 billion valuation – to double its data center operational footprint from 14 to 28. Core blimey you might be thinking – this whole AI paradigm is really driving demand for infrastructure. That’s a lot of networking power. CoreWeave’s team must be on Cloud Nine!

Inspired by The Wall Street Journal

Happy 2nd Anniversary!

Happy Birthday. Two years old today. Bring out the party hats and ice cream! 🥳 Two years ago the IPEM Team decided to launch a weekly newsletter to take a funny twist on the leading news articles shaping private markets. And it’s fair to say that “The Weekly Spin” has grown at an impressive rate, as IPEM itself has seen its global community and audience participation numbers reach new heights. IPEM Paris 2023 welcomed more than 6,000 delegates. When we first launched the Weekly Spin on May 10th, 2022 it was opened 3,700 times. On April 16th, 2024, the Spin recorded 18,000 openers, equivalent to an 88% open rate. Before 2024, the Spin averaged 6,000 aggregate views. Since IPEM Cannes 2024, that average has risen to 10,000 views. We’re pleased as punch that the Spin is doing well, and we of course want to thank the whole IPEM Community.
It goes to show that a weekly dose of humor can prove popular and provide light relief; while at the same time being informative on industry trends. A double win! So please join us in celebrating the success of IPEM’s Community spirit, without which the Weekly Spin could not have been possible. Thank you everyone and from the whole IPEM Team, we can’t wait to see you in Paris this September.
Cue the music. Spin that birthday tune! 🎶

Expansion Theory

A new report by PitchBook forecasts that private markets could grow to $20 trillion by 2028, potentially even reaching $23.7 billion in a good case scenario. Private markets already control $14.7 trillion in assets, having grown at an annualized rate of 12.8% between 2012 and 2022. If the forecast proves accurate investors might find they’re going to need an even bigger boat to go fishing, as they increase their fund allocations, with private equity, private debt and real assets all expected to expand. VC and real estate less so. Private equity is forecast to grow from $5.3 trillion to $8 trillion, with buyouts leading the fundraising charge. Secondaries are also expected to play a key role in this expansion theory, growing from $462 billion to more than $700 billion. The private markets universe continues to boom it seems, but much will depend on the prevailing macro environment. Could we witness further stellar performance? Grab your telescope and watch how things unfold!

Inspired by PitchBook

Bravo Bravo!

Cambridge-based Darktrace, a leading cybersecurity and AI company, has agreed a $5.3 billion sale to Thoma Bravo. The company’s decision to leave the FTSE250 and go private is a blow to the UK but America’s gain after Thoma Bravo offered a 44% premium on its three-month share price. Cue round of applause and standing ovation! The pace of innovation in cybersecurity and threat detection is rising. Both parties clearly detect that this is a relationship with plenty of potential for future growth. There may well be trace elements of envy among Thoma Bravo’s peers.

Inspired by The Guardian