Crunchbase data reveals that early-stage startup funding plunged 34% year-over-year in November. Lux Capital General Partner Bilal Zuberi joined Yahoo Finance’s Seana Smith at the Barclays Global Technology Conference to discuss implications for venture capital funding Zuberi stated the last year has been a “downer” for VCs amid scarce liquidity events like IPOs. This forced startups to take on cost-saving strategies through layoffs and operational changes to achieve profitability. However, he sees areas like defense tech, AI, and human productivity enhancement as needed areas of investment, calling them “important for society” and venture returns. Though strategies have shifted from purely top-line growth toward “building real, profitable businesses,” Zuberi argues sectors enriching lives and pushing boundaries still command capital "A few years ago, start-ups used to be very narrative-driven. They've become very much metrics and operations-driven," Zuberi says. For more expert insight and the latest market action, click here to watch this full episode of Yahoo Finance Live.
While November jobs data outpaced economist expectations, many sectors are still struggling to fill roles, including cybersecurity. CrowdStrike (CRWD) CEO George Kurtz joins Yahoo Finance Live to weigh in on the necessary growth of cybersecurity jobs as widespread breaches become more sophisticated. "It's incumbent on companies like CrowdStrike to be able to arm the people in the field to be able to create that multiplier effect, to be able to actually plug some of these holes, and it's been something that's obviously we've been focusing on extensively," Kurtz says on the cybersecurity sector's labor demand, also commenting on the use of AI to fight cyber threats. For more expert insight and the latest market action, click here to watch this full episode of Yahoo Finance Live.
The US added 199,000 jobs in the month of November according to the latest jobs data print, while consumer sentiment rose by 13.2% month-over-month alongside falling inflation expectations. Interactive Brokers Chief Strategist Steve Sosnick believes this combo of data should assuage recession risks while markets price in the Fed's interest rate narrative for 2024. "Does [Fed Chair Jerome Powell] have his usual Goldilocks stance at the FOMC meeting where we get a little bit of this, little bit of that, and the market can read in what it wants?" Sosnick ponders to Yahoo Finance. "Or does he go a little more Grinch... at the meeting and sort of say, 'Guys, you guys are wrong by thinking we're going to move this quickly.'" For more expert insight and the latest market action, click here to watch this full episode of Yahoo Finance Live.
