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Published · transcript-backed

Ben Gilbert: belief

30 Jun 2025 Acquired Google Part I: Origins of Search

“I think in the middle of negotiations, they got another term sheet at $150 million valuation instead of $100.”

— Ben Gilbert

Source trail

Everything needed to verify it.

Speaker
Ben Gilbert
Attribution
Verified speaker
Claim type
belief
Recorded
30 Jun 2025
Publisher
Acquired

Transcript context

…But the point is this was a hot deal. There are all sorts of stories out there about other investors coming into the round or trying to get in or trying to get in later. I think in the middle of negotiations, they got another term sheet at $150 million valuation instead of $100. But I think they were already pot committed to Sequoia and Kleiner Perkins. I actually don’t know who the $150 million came from, but I do know it was someone who Ram Shriram set up the meeting with. Interesting. And remember, Larry’s older brother had co-founded eGroups which Moritz had funded at this point. They knew they wanted to go with Sequoia and Kleiner. That was the goal all along. Regardless, the round gets done. $25 million total raise at a $100 million post money valuation. $100 million valuation was genuinely wild for the time. Even in the heyday of the dot-com craziness for a Series A and $100 million post, that was newsworthy.…

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