April by D’Ornano + Co.: ideas from Milken on navigating the Private Markets in a new paradigm, the new state of play of European Deeptech and questions on the race to “God-like AI”

This is our monthly newsletter dedicated to Tech x Investments.

Dear all,

I am writing this newsletter on my way back from the 2023 edition of the Milken Global Conference. What a great moment I had discussing the new paradigm in the Private Markets (and in dealmaking) and the shifts fostered by Data, AI, and Machine Learning in our economies (with what better persons than Eric Schmidt and Reid Hoffman themselves, who honored us with their presence at a panel on Tuesday).

There was a consensus that the Private Markets have profoundly changed over the last year, mainly due to macroeconomic shifts. The 5pp interest rate rise we have undergone in the past year to curb inflation is here to stay, perhaps with some attenuations, but only modest ones. This high-interest rate environment combined with high inflation is a new paradigm (at minimum, a sharp contrast with 2020-2021) with profound implications on dealmaking across all asset classes.

In Venture Capital first, where valuations are hit the strongest (-58% over the last 3 quarters in US Venture per P…