SVB, SBF and (more) OpenAI: The 2023 chronicles, pt. 2

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Hello and welcome back to Equity, a podcast about the business of startups, where we unpack the numbers and nuance behind the headlines.

This is the second of a two-part series looking back at 2023. Mary Ann and Alex called on two colleagues to help us chat through some of the year’s biggest events. Here’s what we got into!

• The decline and fall of SVB: Much has happened since the chaos at Silicon Valley Bank unfolded earlier this year, but the sudden and shocking downfall of what was effectively the family bank of tech sent waves throughout the global technology landscape. Venture was impacted, public companies were impacted and some startups actually got a boost!
• Chaos at OpenAI: Another weekend-powered period of high drama in tech this year was the defenestration of Sam Altman from his role at OpenAI, only for the tide to entirely flip in short order, Altman back to the co, and most of the folks who wanted him out gone themselves. This one is still developing, so we had Devin Coldewey on to help us understand what is coming next.
• SBF’s trial: It was long. It was tedious. It was occasionally very interesting. But in the end, former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried was found super-duper guilty for various financial crimes relating to his now-failed crypto exchange. We invited Jacquie Melinek back on the show to revisit the saga with us.

You can find part one of our year-end roundup here if you need even more! And don’t forget, Equity has even more great stuff coming your way, so stick close to your favorite podcast app.