VC as an Asset Class

Venture Legal 11

“As Figma goes public, a turning point in the long-awaited IPO market recovery takes shape,” read Fortune’s headline. The IPO came after a planned merger with Adobe fell apart in 2023, with the design software unicorn’s offering valued at nearly $20 billion. This milestone reflected broader trends in legal tech investments, where venture-backed companies are increasingly shaping the technology and services used by corporate legal teams and legal service providers.

As Fortune writes, “… Figma could be the harbinger of a simmering truth: that the market for venture-backed IPOs is in a thoughtful recovery,” while also quoting PitchBook’s Derek Hernandez that should Figma “stumble,” “… this may reinforce some caution among late-stage VCs and delay other large tech floats.”

The IPO market is just one path to liquidity for investors, and for this edition, I wanted to dive into venture capital as an asset class, including:

  • IPO optimism and uncertainty
  • The role of M&A
  • Secondaries as “no passing fad”
  • Other novel approaches
  • The overall exit math and the “new normal” for Venture Capital

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Venture Legal Ed. 11: VC as an Asset Class

Monica Zent

  • Advice for AI Founders: Navigating Challenges and Opportunities

    By Monica Zent | August 15, 2025

    The Information’s headline summed up the mood: “AI Forces Silicon Valley to Confront a Moment of Ecstasy and Agony.” The subhead added: “The technology has sparked enormous excitement among CEOs, founders, and investors, and tremendous fear that they could very quickly get left behind in an upended landscape.” For founders building in the AI space,…

  • VC as an Asset Class

    By Monica Zent | August 1, 2025

    “As Figma goes public, a turning point in the long-awaited IPO market recovery takes shape,” read Fortune’s headline. The IPO came after a planned merger with Adobe fell apart in 2023, with the design software unicorn’s offering valued at nearly $20 billion. This milestone reflected broader trends in legal tech investments, where venture-backed companies are…

  • How Federal Regulatory Changes are Impacting the Venture Capital Landscape

    By Monica Zent | July 22, 2025

    It was week of “cryptocurrency drama” on the House floor, with the House set to vote on crypto-related bills during the Capitol’s “Crypto Week.” As investors waited to see if crypto regulatory frameworks would pass, the July 4th passage of The One Big Beautiful Bill (OBBB) Act introduced changes for startups and VCs, highlighting the…