When Agatha All Along was first announced back in 2021 as a music-heavy follow-up to WandaVision, it was hard to imagine how showrunner Jac Schaeffer could recreate the magic that made the original such an inspired piece of storytelling. WandaVision’s shows-within-a-show premise and clever use of practical effects, along with being one of the first Disney Plus series, helped to set it apart from previous Marvel projects. But Schaeffer also used WandaVision to weave beats from the franchise’s tentpole films into a cohesive narrative that helped bring the entire MCU into its multiversal era.
Technology
Agatha All Along rushed its journey down the ‘Witches’ Road’
From its very first episode, Agatha All Along went to great lengths to show us that, even with WandaVision’s lead killed off in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, there was still plenty of — and perhaps too much — meat for Kathryn Hahn’s Agatha Harkness to chew on. The show’s two-part finale stuck the landing by living up to its title in more ways than one. Though the MCU’s interconnectedness has felt increasingly wobbly post-WandaVision, Agatha All Along ended in a way that feels poised to put (at least some of) the franchise back on track. And with another follow-up series already in development, it seems like Marvel has figured out that these specific stories are the ones it has the best shot of knocking out of the park.
This piece contains spoilers about Agatha All Along’s finale.
Image: Disney Plus / Marvel
WandaVision briefly touched on covens in a flashback to the 17th century when Agatha killed her mother Evanora (Kate Forbes) and their group of sister witches. But Agatha All Along digs deeper, introducing characters like Agatha’s ex-lover Rio Vidal (Aubrey Plaza) and a mysterious teen who’s unable to share his name (Joe Locke). Because Agatha herself was already framed as a unique threat to magic users, it was difficult to suss out what kinds of dangers were lying in wait for the coven as she and the teen recruited fortune teller Lilia Calderu (Patti LuPone), potions master Jennifer Kale (Sasheer Zamata), protection witch Alice Wu-Gulliver (Ali Ahn), and ordinary Jersey woman Sharon Davis (Debra Jo Rupp) to their ranks.
But Agatha All Along established a very clear focus for all of its players. The “Witches’ Road” — a realm entered by covens singing “The Ballad of the Witches’ Road” — and its ability to grant wishes to those who passed its trials gave the witches a reason to work together. And similar to how Agatha All Along’s send-up of Mare of Easttown was a callback to WandaVision’s sitcom spoofs, the Witches’ Road felt like the show’s biggest way of emphasizing the power of practical effects.
The Road, with all of its hand-painted leaves and trees that transformed the set into an otherworldly forest, hammered home how Agatha All Along’s creative team was smartly using its lean budget to create magic that felt more real than its predecessor’s. And the Road’s horror movie-inspired trials to test witches’ skills gave the show a narrative structure that was similar to but distinct enough from WandaVision’s to make it seem like Agatha All Along truly was the second chapter in a trilogy of stories rather than just a spinoff.
Image: Disney Plus / Marvel
As tends to be the case with genre TV shows with big casts, Agatha All Along occasionally struggled to keep all of its plates spinning at the same speed as Agatha’s. Each witch got a chance to shine when facing a different trial, but some of their backstories — especially Jennifer’s and Alice’s — felt rushed and went largely unexplored. Some of the trials themselves were a bit shaggy. (At one point, the witches brew a poison antidote by dumping a bunch of ingredients into a sink.) As unwieldy as Agatha All Along sometimes was, though, it was also willing to kill characters off with a finality that helped it become sharper as the season progressed.
There was still some question as to what Agatha All Along’s big bad might end up being by the season’s midway point, when Sharon and Alice had already bitten the dust. But all of the show’s puzzle pieces began fitting together in episodes five and six as the teen was revealed to be Billy Maximoff / William Kaplan, one of the Scarlet Witch’s sons, who had possessed the body of a dead person.
One of the more impressive things about WandaVision was the way it managed to rework some of Marvel’s most convoluted Scarlet Witch and Vision comics arcs into a story that was concise and compelling enough to keep people who weren’t readers of the comics consistently engaged. Much of Billy’s comics lore — he and his brother wind up having their souls reabsorbed by the demon Mephisto before being reincarnated as strangers — is even wilder than his spiritual mother’s. But Agatha All Along made quick work of incorporating many of those beats with a story reminiscent of WandaVision’s “We Interrupt This Program,” which cleverly stepped outside of the series’ sitcom conceit.
Unlike Alice’s and Sharon’s arcs, it was clear early on that Agatha All Along was teasing something important with Lilia’s many moments of confusion stemming from her power to see the future. What was far less obvious, however, was that the show was using her to set the stage for a time-jumping episode that would provide key context for some of the show’s most satisfying twists: Rio was actually the personification of death in disguise.
Image: Disney Plus / Marvel
Of all the Marvel characters who might pop up in a Disney Plus show, it was genuinely surprising to see Death given how, in the comics, she’s a cosmic entity most often associated with Thanos (and occasionally Spider-Man’s clone). But Death’s arrival also brought a fascinating gravity to everything happening to the coven. It added some context to the show’s rising body count and a new layer of intrigue to Agatha and Rio’s romantic past — another beat that could have benefitted from more fleshing out. Death gave Jennifer, Billy, and Agatha a clearly defined foe to rally against as they neared the Road’s end. And while the witches’ final battle against Death wasn’t all that much to write home about, it brought Agatha All Along’s own story and its deeper connections to WandaVision into much clearer focus.
Agatha All Along’s final two episodes establish how, right up until Agatha and Billy’s coven sang the ballad together and created a doorway, the Witches’ Road never truly existed. It was just a myth that began in Agatha’s early days of being a witch and a new mother to her son. Spreading the idea of the Road’s existence gave Agatha an easy way to lure witches into the woods under the pretense of opening a portal, only for her to steal their magic. That was her plan all along with the present-day coven, and she probably would have gotten away with it, too. But in the show’s final episode, Agatha returns as a ghost to tell Billy that things worked out very differently in this instance because of his desire for the Witches’ Road to be real.
That plot point and Agatha’s insistence on remaining with Billy as a spectral mentor crystalized the degree to which Agatha All Along really was continuing WandaVision’s story — pushing forward its characters and also what a Marvel show can do.
Technology
Quordle today – hints and answers for Saturday, November 2 (game #1013)
Quordle was one of the original Wordle alternatives and is still going strong now more than 1,000 games later. It offers a genuine challenge, though, so read on if you need some Quordle hints today – or scroll down further for the answers.
Enjoy playing word games? You can also check out my Wordle today, NYT Connections today and NYT Strands today pages for hints and answers for those puzzles.
SPOILER WARNING: Information about Quordle today is below, so don’t read on if you don’t want to know the answers.
Quordle today (game #1013) – hint #1 – Vowels
How many different vowels are in Quordle today?
• The number of different vowels in Quordle today is 4*.
* Note that by vowel we mean the five standard vowels (A, E, I, O, U), not Y (which is sometimes counted as a vowel too).
Quordle today (game #1013) – hint #2 – repeated letters
Do any of today’s Quordle answers contain repeated letters?
• The number of Quordle answers containing a repeated letter today is 2.
Quordle today (game #1013) – hint #3 – uncommon letters
Do the letters Q, Z, X or J appear in Quordle today?
• No. None of Q, Z, X or J appear among today’s Quordle answers.
Quordle today (game #1013) – hint #4 – starting letters (1)
Do any of today’s Quordle puzzles start with the same letter?
• The number of today’s Quordle answers starting with the same letter is 0.
If you just want to know the answers at this stage, simply scroll down. If you’re not ready yet then here’s one more clue to make things a lot easier:
Quordle today (game #1013) – hint #5 – starting letters (2)
What letters do today’s Quordle answers start with?
• S
• F
• P
• C
Right, the answers are below, so DO NOT SCROLL ANY FURTHER IF YOU DON’T WANT TO SEE THEM.
Quordle today (game #1013) – the answers
The answers to today’s Quordle, game #1013, are…
Today’s Quordle is packed with problems in both the daily and sequence varieties. In the main game there lurks PARER – officially the hardest Wordle ever and therefore an obviously difficult Quordle too. With FLOOR – complete with repeated O – also present, this was a difficult game, and one which I only solved on the final guess.
Over in the daily sequence version things were harder still, with CACHE, RATTY and GUPPY all containing repeats. I probably should have played a little more sensibly, admittedly, and I was relieved to scrape home on the final guess there too.
How did you do today? Send me an email and let me know.
Daily Sequence today (game #1013) – the answers
The answers to today’s Quordle Daily Sequence, game #1013, are…
Quordle answers: The past 20
- Quordle #1012, Friday 1 November: FIFTY, GULCH, RECUT, TWEET
- Quordle #1011, Thursday 31 October: TWINE, RIGID, BELCH, AMEND
- Quordle #1010, Wednesday 30 October: SLOOP, BRINE, BROOD, FLUID
- Quordle #1009, Tuesday 29 October: CLIFF, BURNT, SNAKY, POLYP
- Quordle #1008, Monday 28 October: MACAW, LIEGE, GOUGE, CARGO
- Quordle #1007, Sunday 27 October: STUNG, CLOUT, SOWER, BASIS
- Quordle #1006, Saturday 26 October: DUCHY, CANNY, BLOCK, SMART
- Quordle #1005, Friday 25 October: PRANK, EXIST, RUDDY, PICKY
- Quordle #1004, Thursday 24 October: DAIRY, RALLY, CURLY, LABEL
- Quordle #1003, Wednesday 23 October: DROSS, ANNEX, GRAVE, BROKE
- Quordle #1002, Tuesday 22 October: ADORE, SMITH, AFOOT, LUCID
- Quordle #1001, Monday 21 October: TREAD, NINTH, GRIEF, UNSET
- Quordle #1000, Sunday 20 October: CORAL, WHOSE, HEIST, SOAPY
- Quordle #999, Saturday 19 October: GUSTY, BROKE, ENJOY, HAZEL
- Quordle #998, Friday 18 October: PUPIL, MOCHA, EGRET, NATAL
- Quordle #997, Thursday 17 October: BUILD, BIRTH, LURCH, SASSY
- Quordle #996, Wednesday 16 October: EERIE, SMIRK, HUNCH, EMBED
- Quordle #995, Tuesday 15 October: UMBRA, BRIEF, GRAVY, TORUS
- Quordle #994, Monday 14 October: ROGUE, STORY, EMCEE, AUNTY
- Quordle #993, Sunday 13 October: UNFIT, NYMPH, THUMB, PUREE
Technology
Everything you need to know about From season 3
MGM+ subscribers are ahead of the curve on From, a sci-fi/horror series that follows people who have been trapped in a small town in Middle America that will literally not let them leave. There are even monsters that come out at night to hunt people for sport, and the human survivors have largely split into two factions: the Township and Colony House. But there’s one thing that almost everyone in the town wants, and that’s a way to escape once and for all.
From is headlined by Harold Perrineau, an actor who knows a thing or two about playing a single father who is cut off from the rest of the world after his stint on Lost. On this series, Perrineau plays Boyd Stevens, the father of Ellis Stevens (Corteon Moore), and the closest thing that the town has to both a sheriff and a mayor. Boyd also has plenty of inner demons to contend with in addition to the creatures lurking inside and outside of the town.
Die-hard fans of From have been hyping up the series ahead of its return for season 3. But for newcomers and veterans alike, we’ve put together this guide to everything you need to know about From season 3. And as soon as we know more, we’ll share it here as well.
What’s coming up in the remaining episodes of From season 3?
MGM+ has released the description of From season 3 episode 7, Three Fragile Lives, which will premiere on November 3.
“The edges begin to fray as concerns about Fatima’s pregnancy deepen; Jade follows a clue trail into the forest; Julie and Randall seek a bit of normalcy.”
Episode 8 will be called Thresholds, and it debuts on November 10. The final episodes of the season will be a two-part story, Revelations: Chapter One and Revelations: Chapter Two, on November 17 and November 24, respectively.
Is there a trailer for From season 3?
MGM+ released the From season 3 official trailer during a panel at San Diego Comic-Con 2024. The mystery and creepiness will most certainly continue in the new season. ” In the wake of Season 2’s epic cliffhanger, escape will become a tantalizing and very real possibility as the true nature of the town comes into focus, and the townspeople go on offense against the myriad horrors surrounding them,” the trailer’s synopsis reads.
In April, MGM+ debuted a brief 30-second teaser that features Boyd being tortured, but not in terms of physical pain to himself. Instead, he’s forced to watch someone he cares about in obvious distress as he attempts to offer words of comfort. It’s a disturbing scene, and it may be the realization of the warning that Boyd received last season while confronting the entity. This may be the price that Boyd has to pay, even if the actual punishment is inflicted on someone else.
Has From season 3 begun filming?
Yes. Harold Perrineau confirmed that the third season was filming at the end of December.
We started filming Season 3….
So I think you’re good 👍🏾 #FROMily@FROMonMGM https://t.co/sKxkRP4cWa— Harold Perrineau (@HaroldPerrineau) December 29, 2023
So far, Perrineau hasn’t shared an update about whether filming has been completed. But he has actively promoted the show on social media.
The official From account on the social media service formerly known as Twitter hasn’t had much new in 2024. The account did share this image of one of the protective talismans back in February in response to, of all things, the announcement of a new Taylor Swift album.
👀 https://t.co/Onulvh0HoB pic.twitter.com/oBjXhrLdHN
— FROM on MGM+ (@FROMonMGM) February 5, 2024
What will happen in From season 3?
This show makes it difficult to predict what will happen next, but the season 2 finale did end on a pretty big cliffhanger. Tabitha is back in the outside world, and that opens up a lot of possibilities. Will she try to warn people about the town? Does she feel obligated to rescue the people that she left behind? And more importantly, can she find the town again without getting trapped herself? Having Tabitha outside of the town also offers the show a chance to reveal whether the disappearance of the various characters who are trapped in the town has been noticed or investigated by the people they knew and loved.
Meanwhile, back in the town, Boyd was warned that fighting the entity would just prolong everyone’s suffering, but he did it anyway. Presumably, there will be consequences for disregarding that warning.
Who is in From’s season 3 cast?
Perrineau leads From season 3’s large ensemble cast. Featured performers include:
- Harold Perrineau as Boyd Stevens
- Catalina Sandino Moreno as Tabitha Matthews
- Eion Bailey as Jim Matthews
- Avery Konrad as Sara Myers
- David Alpay as Jade Herrera
- Elizabeth Saunders as Donna Raines
- Scott McCord as Victor
- Ricky He as Kenny Liu
- Corteon Moore as Ellis Stevens
- Chloe Van Landschoot as Kristi Miller
- Pegah Ghafoori as Fatima Hassan
- Hannah Cheramy as Julie Matthews
- Simon Webster as Ethan Matthews
- Elizabeth Moy as Tian-Chen Liu
- Nathan D. Simmons as Elgin
- Kaelen Ohm as Marielle
- Angela Moore as Bakta
- A.J. Simmons as Randall
- Deborah Grover as Tillie
The biggest season 3 additions include Robert Joy as Henry, a curmudgeon to whom the years have not been kind, and Samantha Brown as Acosta, a new-to-the-force police officer who is in over her head.
Technology
Samsung’s latest “documentary” ad stars former Apple Geniuses
Marketing is one of the most important aspects of a tech product’s success. Samsung Mobile knows this and typically employs an aggressive advertising strategy, particularly targeting Apple, its primary rival. The South Korean giant takes advantage of every opportunity to make fun of new launches and devices from the brand. Now, Samsung has shared an ad in the form of a “documentary” with former Apple Geniuses who made the switch.
There are companies whose marketing toward their direct rival uses a conciliatory and even friendly tone, such as Google Pixel’s “Best Phones Forever” ads. However, Samsung employs a radically different approach, which has not always yielded the best results. Many people mocked the company for adopting decisions made by Apple, which they had previously criticized in previous ads, for instance.
“Former Apple Geniuses” tell why they switched to Samsung in this documentary
Anyway, Samsung’s new “documentary” features “former Apple Geniuses” who share firsthand accounts of their experiences and the reasons behind their switch to Galaxy devices. The three-minute spot has three chapters, starting with “Becoming a Genius.” During this section, former Apple Geniuses tell why they joined the Apple ecosystem. Some say they joined to help people, while others did so to feel part of something “bigger than them,” among other motivations.
However, after a while, Apple Geniuses became aware of the competition’s products and started to question their own position. This is where Chapter II, “Questioning Our Own Genius,” begins, as the now doubtful Apple fans discover that Samsung devices offer advanced features unavailable on iPhones. They also questioned Apple’s decision-making process.
In Chapter III: “Sweet Taste of Freedom,” the former Apple fans finally make the switch to Galaxy devices. Here, former Apple Geniuses describe how parting ways with Apple brought a breath of freedom into their lives. Plus, they now enjoy the AI-powered features of the Galaxy AI suite on a daily basis. They mention some favorites like the sketch-to-art generator, Live Translate, and AI filters. The Night Mode of the Galaxy Z Flip 6’s camera impresses another ex-Apple fan.
A short and funny ad that you can watch right now
Despite the ad’s “serious” documentary-style filming, its humor is evident. Samsung even makes this clear with a line at the end of the video. “Their former employers didn’t comment on geniuses’ claims, probably because we didn’t reach out,” the ad shows. You can watch it below.
When these real Former 🍎 Geniuses started to think outside the white box, they discovered a Galaxy full of possibilities. 🌌 Watch to see their story. pic.twitter.com/ubvMGT27ox
— Samsung Mobile US (@SamsungMobileUS) November 1, 2024
Technology
Amazon reportedly bumped back its AI-powered Alexa to next year
If you’re wondering what happened to Amazon’s new and improved version of its Alexa voice assistant, you’re not alone. reports that the new Alexa is still stuck in its developmental phase and Amazon has cut off access to its beta phase including its new “Let’s Chat” phase. As a result, a planned late 2024 launch has been pushed back to next year.
The problem seems to be with its large language models (LLMs). The new Alexa is designed to from users but it’s also more likely to fail doing some of the most basic things the old version could do quite easily like create a timer or operate smart lights, according to a follow up report from .
Amazon originally planned to unveil its new version of Alexa AI in October but now the timeline has been extended into next year. (As you might have noticed, October has come and gone.) The original timeline planned to premiere the next evolutionary step in Alexa’s advancement on October 17 but Amazon decided to pivot and used the date to show off its new line of Kindle ereaders. Then in August, news surfaced that the new Alexa would be powered by and come with a monthly subscription fee.
As ChatGPT began to rise in popularity in the summer of 2023, Amazon CEO Andy Jassy wanted to see if Alexa could compete if it had an AI upgrade. Jassy reportedly started peppering Alexa with sports questions “like an ESPN reporter at a playoff press conference” and its answers were “nowhere near perfect.” It even made up a recent game score for Jassy.
Despite this, Alexa passed the good enough stage and Jassy and his fellow executives felt their engineers could build a beta version by the early part of 2024. Unfortunately, Amazon wasn’t able to meet its deadline.
Even with the new deadline, the new Alexa still has a long way to go to fix its problems. Some employees told Bloomberg that the problem outside of Alexa’s innerworkings is with Amazon’s overstuffed management and a lack of “a compelling vision for an AI-powered Alexa.” .
Technology
AI Investment Accelerates: Global Deal Counts Reach 2-Year High
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Global AI deal volumes reached 1,245 during Q3 2024, a level not seen since Q1 2022 reflecting how confident and resilient investors are about investing in AI.
With a 24% year-over-year growth, global AI deals far outpaced the -10 % quarter-over-quarter (QoQ) declines across the broader investment market. CB Insights notes in its State of AI Q3’24 Report that despite broader venture trends slowing down, investor resilience and confidence in AI remain strong.
CB Insights says that “while AI deals in Q3’24 included massive $1B+ rounds to defense tech provider Anduril and AI lab Safe Superintelligence, global AI funding actually dropped by 29% QoQ.” The 77% decline in funding from $1B+ AI rounds QoQ contributed to the 29% QoQ decline.
The average AI deal size increased 28% this year, climbing from $18.4M in 2023 to $23.5M. Deal size gains this year are attributable to five $1B+ rounds this year, including xAI’s $6B Series B at a $24B valuation, Anthropic’s $2.8B Series D at an $18.4B valuation, Anduril’s $1.5B Series F at a $14B valuation, G42’s $1.5B investment from Microsoft and CoreWeave’s $1.1B Series C at a $19B valuation. CB Insights notes that these deals alone aren’t responsible for increasing the average entirely on their own, mentioning that the median AI deal size is up 9% in 2024 so far.
U.S.-based AI startups attracted $11.4B in investment across 566 deals in Q3, 2024 accounting for over two-thirds of global AI funding and 45% of global AI deals. European AI startups attracted $2.8B from 279 deals, and Asian AI startups received $2.1B from 316 deals.
Generative AI and industry-specific AI lead investments
The anticipated productivity gains and potential cost reductions that generative AI and industry-specific AI are delivering are core to investors’ confidence and driving more AI deals.
Enterprises have already learned how to prioritize gen AI and broader AI investments that deliver measurable value at scale. That’s one of the primary factors continuing to fuel more venture investments over other opportunities. Gartner’s 2024 Generative AI Planning Survey reflects how impatient senior management is for results, correlating back to CB Insight’s findings.
One of the key findings from the Gartner Survey is that senior executives are expecting—and driving—gen AI projects to boost productivity by 22.6%, outpacing revenue growth at 15.8% and cost savings at 15.2%. While cost efficiency and revenue gains matter, Gartner predicts the most immediate and substantial impact will be on driving greater operational efficiency. Gartner predicts that enterprises that prioritize gen AI integration will see significant increases in both workflow optimization and financial performance.
CB Insights provides a comprehensive analysis of the deals completed in Q3, reflecting the growing dominance of gen AI and industry-specific AI investments. The following deals support this finding:
Gen AI investments in Q3:
- Safe Superintelligence raised a massive $1 billion Series A round, indicating continued strong interest in large language models (LLM) and general-purpose AI systems.
- Baichuan AI, a Chinese generative AI company, secured $688 million in Series A funding.
- Moonshot AI, another gen AI startup, raised $300 million in a Series B round.
- Codeium, a code generation AI company, became a unicorn with a $150 million Series C round.
Industry-specific AI investments in Q3:
- Anduril, an AI-powered defense technology company, raised $1.5 billion in a Series F round, highlighting interest in AI for national security applications.
- ArsenalBio secured $325 million for AI in biotechnology and drug discovery.
- Helsing raised $488 million for AI applications in defense and security.
- Altana AI received $200 million for AI in supply chain management and logistics.
- Flo Health raised $200 million for AI-powered women’s health applications.
New AI unicorns more than doubled in Q3
Gen AI continues to be one of the primary catalysts driving the formation and growth of unicorns (private companies reaching $1B+ valuations). CB Insights found that the number of unicorns more than doubled QoQ, reaching 13 in the latest quarter. That’s 54% of the broader venture total for Q3 2024.
More than half of the AI unicorns launched last quarter are gen AI startups. They’re targeting a broad spectrum of areas, including AI for 3D environments (World Labs), code generation (Codeium), and legal workflow automation (Harvey). Among new GenAI unicorns in Q3’24, Safe Superintelligence, co-founded by OpenAI co-founder Ilya Sutskever received the most sizable valuation. The AI lab was valued at $5B after raising a $1B Series A round in September 2024.
Gen AI’s enterprise challenges are just beginning
The potential of gen AI and industry-specific AI to improve productivity, help drive new revenue streams and reduce costs keeps investors resilient and focused on results.
From the many organizations getting additional late-stage funding to startups and new unicorns, the challenge will be gaining adoption at scale and solidly enough to sustain recurring revenue while reducing costs.
With CIOs and CISOs looking to reduce the tool and app sprawl they already have, the most successful startups will have to find new ways to embed and integrate gen AI into existing apps and workflows. That’s going to be challenging, as every enterprise has its data management challenges, siloed legacy systems, and the need to update its data accuracy, quality and security strategies.
Startups and unicorns that can take on all these challenges and improve their customers’ operations at the data level first are most likely to deliver the results investors expect.
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Technology
When to sell your company? Look for these signals
Part of the mythology of Silicon Valley is the committed founder driving the company to a blockbuster IPO. In reality, startups are 16 times more likely to get acquired.
It’s not an outcome that’s frequently discussed, either.
“It’s one of these things that a lot of people don’t really talk about. In Silicon Valley, we always talk about IPOs,” said Naveen Rao, VP of AI at Databricks and two-time founder, onstage at TechCrunch Disrupt 2024 on Thursday.
That silence can make the arduous process even more challenging for founders. “I’m so glad that this is being talked about as a topic on a panel, as a real path and a real outcome for founders, rather than the hallowed, inside secrets of investment bankers who strike a deal,” said Kamakshi Sivaramakrishnan, head of data clean rooms at Snowflake and a two-time founder.
“Acquisitions statistically are more likely than IPOs — arguably more successful in many scenarios than IPOs — and certainly something that founders have to kind of mentally and physically prepare for. It’s an endurance journey,” she said.
Rao and Sivaramakrishnan each built and sold two companies: Rao sold Nervana to Intel for $408 million in 2016 and MosaicML to Databricks for $1.3 billion in 2023. Sivaramakrishnan sold Drawbridge to LinkedIn for around $300 million in 2019 and Samooha to Snowflake for $183 million.
Both founders said they didn’t start their companies with the intention of selling them, but when the right deal with the right company came along, it made sense.
“I personally believe that you should build a company and try to make that into a real entity,” Rao said. “If something comes along the way, great. If you try to set yourself up to sell the company, it’ll always be bent that way, like you’re always for sale. And I think the outcome will never be as good.”
“You hear all these stories about ‘good companies are bought, not sold’ and ‘you should just keep going and have infinite perseverance,’” Dharmesh Thakker, general partner at Battery Ventures, told the audience.
“The reality is, most investors have a few hits that make 100x and they pay the fund. The rest of it, whether you make a 1x or a 0.5x or a 2x, it kind of doesn’t really matter. What we try to do is say, ‘Okay, if things aren’t going to be a 50 or 100x, let’s find them a good home early in the cycle,” he added. “It’s much easier to sell a company when you raise $10 million or $20 million and can still make a win-win situation for the founders and investors and get it done. It’s difficult when you have to raise hundreds of millions and then find out that things aren’t working.”
To determine when it’s time to soldier on and when it’s time to sell, Thakker analyzes the company using a three-point framework.
First, he analyses the product: Is it something customers love and are using? If a company is struggling to gain traction in the market, it might warrant a pivot, or it might be worth cashing out.
Second, he looks at the company’s sales and sales cycle. If the product isn’t moving or if it’s challenging for the sales team to complete deals, that might be a red flag.
Third, Thakker takes a look at the balance sheet. If money and runway is running short, that’s a pretty obvious signal that it might be time to look for a suitor.
“I’ve been fortunate to be an investor in MongoDB and Cloudera, Databricks, Confluent, Gong many others, where every time we had an acquisition offer, we looked at the framework and said, Are these three things true?” If the answer was yes, the Battery team encouraged the startup to remain independent.
On occasion, the founders needed a moment to “refresh” and “revitalize,” he added. “In almost all cases, the eventual outcome was a lot better than selling the company.”
But that’s not always the case. If two of the three items in Thakker’s framework aren’t positive, it’s worth reconsidering. Maybe customers bought the product but aren’t using it. Or maybe it’s a good fit but it’s not selling well. In both cases, the company can keep trying, but it’ll burn a lot of cash in the process. “In those cases, you should be much more open-minded, and the sooner you do it, the better off you are,” Thakker said.
When the time comes to sell, Thakker encourages founders to negotiate a deal that’s equitable not just for founders and investors, but their employees as well. “Let’s do right by employees,” he said. “Often, a big component of the acquisition is a retention package for all the employees. And inevitably, if you do that right, many of those employees come back, start a company, and you fund them the second and the third time. And the second and the third time, there are much better outcomes.”
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