The Twenty Minute VC (20VC): Venture Capital | Startup Funding | The Pitch 20VC: Brex Acquired for $5.15BN | a16z Companies are 2/3 AI Revenues | Anthropic Inference Costs Skyrocket | OpenEvidence Raises at $12BN Valuation | The IPO Market: EquipmentShare, Wealthfront and Ethos Insurance
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Jan 29, 2026 
Rory O’Driscoll, venture investor offering market and M&A perspective. Jason Lemkin, SaaS investor known for deep startup and public markets analysis. They dissect Brex’s $5.15B sale and its ripple effects, debate Anthropic’s soaring inference costs and AI metering, unpack OpenEvidence’s $12B raise, and evaluate recent IPO performances and what they mean for scaling SaaS.
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Hubristic Fundraises Create Short-Term Pain
- Raising at a peak valuation buys time and momentum but creates a one-day “tax” of disappointment at exit.
- The long-term $5B outcome outweighs short-term weird feelings about down-round math.
Acquirer Multiples Reset Private Market Marks
- A comparable exit at seven times revenue recalibrates private marks for competitors like Ramp.
- Public or strategic transactions by banks create structural advantages that change competitive dynamics.
TikTok Deal Is Political, Yet Economically Cheap
- The TikTok divestiture is a political decision framed as economic opportunity for buyers.
- Buying TikTok at roughly 1x US revenue looks wildly accretive if regulatory strings are manageable.