May by D’Ornano + Co.: From Rule of 40 to Rule of 55: the New Normal for SaaS Companies with GenAI, the Core Characteristics of a Successful Venture Buyout Candidate, and Why GenAI Requires Patience

This is our monthly newsletter dedicated to Tech x Investments.

Dear all,

I recently attended the Milken Conference in early May, where amongst many fascinating panels and discussions, I had the opportunity to listen to a conversation between Elon Musk and Michael Milken on perspectives for the future, just a few days before xAI announced that it had raised $6 billion, positioning it to compete with the likes of OpenAI and Anthropic in the foundational model race.

At the heart of the Milken Conference discussions was the potential revival of deals later this year or in 2025. However, the spotlight was also on genAI and its far-reaching implications for private markets. The debate was intense, with investors questioning the existence of a bubble at the Venture Capital level, the possibility of a 2021 hype resurgence, and the transformative power of the technology beyond the genAI tech stack, extending to 'material world' companies. The consensus was clear: genAI heralds a significant technology shift, akin to the commercialization of the internet wit…