TechCheck+ Zombie SPACs - Why Blank Check Mergers Won’t Die 9/11/23

09/11/23 • 9 min

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We all lived through the SPAC boom of 2021 – when the blank check mergers accounted for 61% of all U.S. public listings that year... and the subsequent bust, with at least a dozen going bankrupt since then and more than a hundred now running low on cash. But even though many stopped paying attention to them, SPACs continued to live on. Now, two years later, there are signs of a resurgence, and some investors are seeing new opportunities. This week on Tech Check, zombie SPACs – back from the dead.

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Who’s Set to Lose the Most in the Disney-Charter Dispute, Plus AI’s Impact on Sports 9/8/23

Calculating who is set to lose the most in the showdown between Disney and Charter is complex. Disney could lose contract fees for Charter’s 15 million subscribers, but the dispute is also driving a huge jump in Hulu + Live TV subs. Disney owns 67% of Hulu, but will also soon renegotiate ownership with Comcast. Plus, AI is increasingly playing a role in sports, most recently in this year’s U.S. Open. The USTA has been using IBM’s Watson AI to provide commentary, working to translate it into every possible language, and has even correctly forecast who’s most likely to win a match.

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Bill Gurley on Instacart, IPO Market 9/11/23

Instacart's new valuation of up to $9.3 billion is a massive down round from the $39 billion of a few years ago. Bill Gurley, a VC and early Uber investor, says that’s a healthy reset: "I've lived through 3 different bubbles and bursts in this industry and unfortunately it's highly cyclical. It tends to go up slowly and crash immediately." He also talked startups in the IPO pipeline, whether there’s an AI bubble, and more.