Venture Capital

Omer Ismail joined Jefferies at the Private Growth Conference in Santa Monica, where he described the conference as “a great opportunity to network with other builders, hearing their stories, exchanging ideas, talking about trends in AI and the marketplace.” He sat down to discuss OnePay’s strategy, its use of AI, and why he thinks the next era of US fintech belongs to platforms. 

Evans sat down at the Jefferies Private Growth Conference in Santa Monica, where he described the event as “speed dating at its most efficient — exactly who we are as a productivity company,” to talk about context, consolidation, and what it takes to build a company that outlasts its founder. 

What analysts came to call the “SaaSpocalypse,” a months-long compression of software valuations driven by existential fears about artificial intelligence, shook the confidence of executives and investors who had long treated the dominance of enterprise software as a given.

The venture capital ecosystem has undergone a structural shift. As venture-backed companies have opted to remain private for longer, distributions for fund limited partners (LPs) have become increasingly constrained. This liquidity bottleneck has prompted general partners (GPs) to explore alternative solutions – chief among them, GP-led secondary transactions.

At last year’s Private Growth Conference, expectations were high that the IPO market would reopen — and by year’s end, the data looked encouraging. The Jefferies 2025 Private Growth Conference brought together hundreds of top bankers, investors, founders, and tech executives to discuss the sector’s key trends and developments. The insights below are drawn from

Explore Ravi Mhatre’s insights on AI-driven growth and venture capital’s pivotal role. Discover how AI reshapes enterprise and innovation!

The serial entrepreneur — best known for founding and selling Diapers.com and Jet.com — shared insights on his latest venture: a food service platform that’s redefining restaurant economics.

At Jefferies’ Private Growth Conference, sector leaders discussed the trajectory of AI adoption and how it’s shaping dealmaking in 2025.

The cybersecurity sector is rapidly transforming, spurred by the transition from cloud-based to AI-native technologies and the urgency for governments to shore up national security vulnerabilities. Jefferies Managing Director Tim Roepke believes some cybersecurity companies are so valuable – and critical to the technology ecosystem – that they are fundamentally shifting the deal landscape and