Gurley: Big Tech Licensing Acquihires Like Adept Are Not VC Wins
Bill Gurley · Ep12. Tech Stocks vs the Rest; AI VC Bubble, Calcium CT Scan | BG2 with Bill Gurley & Brad Gerstner · Bg2 Pod · Jul 11, 2024 · at 41:44
Venture capitalist Bill Gurley discusses recent transactions where Big Tech firms hired startup teams and licensed their tech instead of completing outright acquisitions.
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“The adept thing is which was positioned by the press is similar to the inflection outcome. There's no way that's a win for venture capitalists. Like, I'm sure venture capitalists try and spin it, and we heard some spin around inflection, but it, you know, I, it's just not possible. I mean, we need to be realistic. Like if you're a venture capitalist and every one of your deals turned into one of these weird human acquihires with a license deal back, you're not going to generate a return for your portfolio.”
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