EarthNow recently announced a $1 billion investment, perhaps the largest-ever Series A financing round, to build a global constellation of satellites. Ant Financial announced plans to raise $9 billion at an expected $150 billion valuation, making it the most highly valued privately held company. Last year, SoftBank embarked on a $100 billion investment fund, 30 times larger than any prior venture fund.
The venture industry is scrambling to respond. Several established funds, including Sequoia, Khosla, Norwestand Battery, have recently announced by far their largest funds raised to date. Valuations and round sizes have doubled on average in the past five years.
