Cravath’s London Office Moves to 100 Cheapside
Venture Capital & Growth Equity
Cravath advises innovative and forward‑thinking technology companies, venture capital investors and other advisors and capital sources on a wide range of transactions pivotal for growth. Our corporate clients include venture capital- and private equity‑backed businesses across software, hardware, fintech, blockchain and digital assets, artificial intelligence (AI), biotechnology, medical devices, clean tech and renewables and other developing areas. Our investor representations include venture capital and growth equity firms, corporate venture capital arms and other institutional partners. This interdisciplinary practice focuses on key venture investment rounds and other financing arrangements, including preferred equity, SAFEs, venture debt and traditional and synthetic royalty arrangements; joint ventures, collaboration agreements and licensing arrangements; and employee tender offers and other pre‑IPO liquidity events. Our attorneys also regularly represent clients in connection with IPOs, direct listings, de‑SPACs, mergers and acquisitions and other late‑stage transactional matters. We are adept at navigating the unique accommodations and considerations for international companies interested in tapping into the U.S. markets, whether through a private capital raise, IPO or other listing alternative.
Our dedicated team partners closely with clients, drawing upon the Firm’s rich history of collaboration with founders and innovators to provide thoughtful, strategic and pragmatic counsel. We understand that rapid growth and revolutionary new technologies lead to complex and unexpected shifts in the legal and regulatory landscape. Our targeted advice ensures that our clients remain at the forefront, prepared to navigate and capitalize on transformative developments. Clients further benefit from our deep specialty expertise in areas such as cybersecurity and data privacy, intellectual property, tax and executive compensation and benefits. In addition, international companies and investment firms frequently turn to Cravath for our extensive transactional and regulatory experience in cross-border matters, including those pertaining to CFIUS and national security.
Illustrative recent transactions include:
- Wiz’s $32 Billion Acquisition by Google;
- The separation by Medal, the largest platform for sharing short-form gaming content, of its AI assistant platform, Highlight;
- Brevan Howard Digital’s investments in digital asset and blockchain companies including Super Turbo, Time.fun and Starlight Tech;
- Bristol Myers Squibb’s investments in biotechnology companies including Asher Bio, COUR Pharmaceuticals and Q32 Bio;
- Tata Technologies Limited’s IPO;
- Monogram Health Holdings’ Series C Financing Round;
- Swvl’s SPAC Combination with Queen’s Gambit Growth Capital;
- Alliance Animal Health’s Significant Growth Investment from L Catterton;
- Vaxxinity, Inc.’s Initial Public Offering;
- IsoPlexis Corporation’s Initial Public Offering;
- SPANX’s Sale of a Majority Stake to Blackstone;
- On Holding’s Initial Public Offering of Class A Ordinary Shares;
- Robinhood’s IPO;
- Cherry AG’s Initial Public Offering of Ordinary Bearer Shares;
- Convey Holding Parent, Inc.’s Initial Public Offering of Common Stock;
- Aras’s Significant Growth Investment by GI Partners;
- Cazoo’s $8.1 Billion Business Combination with SPAC AJAX I; and
- Robinhood’s $3.4 Billion Capital Raise.
Our dedicated team partners closely with clients, drawing upon the Firm’s rich history of collaboration with founders and innovators to provide thoughtful, strategic and pragmatic counsel. We understand that rapid growth and revolutionary new technologies lead to complex and unexpected shifts in the legal and regulatory landscape. Our targeted advice ensures that our clients remain at the forefront, prepared to navigate and capitalize on transformative developments. Clients further benefit from our deep specialty expertise in areas such as cybersecurity and data privacy, intellectual property, tax and executive compensation and benefits. In addition, international companies and investment firms frequently turn to Cravath for our extensive transactional and regulatory experience in cross-border matters, including those pertaining to CFIUS and national security.
Illustrative recent transactions include:
- Wiz’s $32 Billion Acquisition by Google;
- The separation by Medal, the largest platform for sharing short-form gaming content, of its AI assistant platform, Highlight;
- Brevan Howard Digital’s investments in digital asset and blockchain companies including Super Turbo, Time.fun and Starlight Tech;
- Bristol Myers Squibb’s investments in biotechnology companies including Asher Bio, COUR Pharmaceuticals and Q32 Bio;
- Tata Technologies Limited’s IPO;
- Monogram Health Holdings’ Series C Financing Round;
- Swvl’s SPAC Combination with Queen’s Gambit Growth Capital;
- Alliance Animal Health’s Significant Growth Investment from L Catterton;
- Vaxxinity, Inc.’s Initial Public Offering;
- IsoPlexis Corporation’s Initial Public Offering;
- SPANX’s Sale of a Majority Stake to Blackstone;
- On Holding’s Initial Public Offering of Class A Ordinary Shares;
- Robinhood’s IPO;
- Cherry AG’s Initial Public Offering of Ordinary Bearer Shares;
- Convey Holding Parent, Inc.’s Initial Public Offering of Common Stock;
- Aras’s Significant Growth Investment by GI Partners;
- Cazoo’s $8.1 Billion Business Combination with SPAC AJAX I; and
- Robinhood’s $3.4 Billion Capital Raise.
Deals & Cases
July 01, 2025
Circle’s Regulatory Clarity Amidst IPO Process
Cravath represented Circle Internet Financial, LLC on SEC regulatory matters concerning the non‑applicability of securities laws to payment stablecoins, concurrent with Circle Internet Group Inc.’s initial public offering.
Activities
September 17, 2025
Scott Bennett Co‑Leads Roundtable at The L Suite’s 2025 General Counsel IPO Conference
On September 17, 2025, Cravath partner D. Scott Bennett participated in The L Suite’s 2025 General Counsel IPO Conference, which was held from September 16‑17 in San Francisco. The conference hosted general counsels and chief legal officers at early, growth and late‑stage private companies to discuss strategic insights and legal guidance for navigating the evolving IPO landscape, including market timing, raise sizing, managing late-stage investors, dual‑track and SPAC considerations and sector-specific momentum in areas like technology and AI. Scott co‑led a roundtable discussion entitled “Leading Through the Unknown: The GC’s Role in IPO‑Adjacent Crisis Management,” which explored how general counsels can proactively build crisis response into IPO planning, support the CEO and leadership team under pressure, maintain investor confidence and manage legal exposure when plans shift unexpectedly.
Publications
August 11, 2025
Cravath Venture Capital & Growth Equity Insights: 2025 Mid‑Year Market Update
On August 11, 2025, Cravath published the latest edition of its Venture Capital & Growth Equity Insights newsletter, which has been redesigned to provide greater insight into global venture capital and related activity during the first half of 2025 and outlook for the rest of the year. Key takeaways from this edition include:
Publications
June 06, 2025
Scott Bennett, Nick Dorsey, Virginia Anderson and Ellen Park Co‑Author U.S. Chapter of 2025 Chambers Venture Capital Guide
Cravath partners D. Scott Bennett and Nicholas A. Dorsey and of counsels Virginia M. Anderson and Ellen H. Park co‑authored the U.S. Law and Practice chapter of the Chambers Venture Capital Guide, which was published in May 2025. The guide, which is part of the publisher’s Global Practice Guides series, provides the latest legal information on trends in the venture capital market; fund structures, economics and regulation; investments in VC companies; government subsidies and tax; employee incentivization and exits in the 26 jurisdictions covered. The U.S. Law and Practice chapter examines how the artificial intelligence sector drove momentum in the venture capital market throughout the past year; the continued prevalence of “down round” raises, bridge financing solutions and alternative financing solutions for companies that have faced financing challenges; typical venture capital fund structure in the United States and more.
Activities
May 29, 2025
Jelena McWilliams Speaks at This Week in Fintech’s Stablecon 2025
On May 29, 2025, Cravath partner Jelena McWilliams participated in This Week in Fintech’s Stablecon 2025, which was held in New York. The conference hosted founders, c‑suite executives, regulatory authorities, venture capitalists and crypto innovators to discuss critical themes in the rapidly evolving stablecoin ecosystem, including regulatory frameworks, technological advancements, institutional adoption and the role of stablecoins in global commerce. Jelena spoke on a panel entitled “The Shifting Regulatory Sands of Stablecoins,” which reviewed the regulatory treatment of stablecoins, including the interplay of federal and state regulation, the effect of stablecoin legislation and regulation on the structure of the market and what to watch during the implementation of stablecoin regulation.
Activities
March 28, 2025
Dave Kappos, Noah Phillips and Nick Dorsey Speak at Cornell Tech’s Board of Directors Forum
Cravath partners David J. Kappos, Noah Joshua Phillips and Nicholas A. Dorsey participated in Cornell Tech’s Board of Directors Forum, which was held from March 26‑27, 2025 in New York. The forum, designed for board members and senior leaders, convened business and legal practitioners, Cornell faculty, former senior government regulators and directors of private and public companies to discuss how corporate boards can stay ahead of developing technologies, regulatory trends and geopolitical shifts.
Deals & Cases
July 01, 2025
Circle’s Regulatory Clarity Amidst IPO Process
Cravath represented Circle Internet Financial, LLC on SEC regulatory matters concerning the non‑applicability of securities laws to payment stablecoins, concurrent with Circle Internet Group Inc.’s initial public offering.
Activities
September 17, 2025
Scott Bennett Co‑Leads Roundtable at The L Suite’s 2025 General Counsel IPO Conference
On September 17, 2025, Cravath partner D. Scott Bennett participated in The L Suite’s 2025 General Counsel IPO Conference, which was held from September 16‑17 in San Francisco. The conference hosted general counsels and chief legal officers at early, growth and late‑stage private companies to discuss strategic insights and legal guidance for navigating the evolving IPO landscape, including market timing, raise sizing, managing late-stage investors, dual‑track and SPAC considerations and sector-specific momentum in areas like technology and AI. Scott co‑led a roundtable discussion entitled “Leading Through the Unknown: The GC’s Role in IPO‑Adjacent Crisis Management,” which explored how general counsels can proactively build crisis response into IPO planning, support the CEO and leadership team under pressure, maintain investor confidence and manage legal exposure when plans shift unexpectedly.
Publications
August 11, 2025
Cravath Venture Capital & Growth Equity Insights: 2025 Mid‑Year Market Update
On August 11, 2025, Cravath published the latest edition of its Venture Capital & Growth Equity Insights newsletter, which has been redesigned to provide greater insight into global venture capital and related activity during the first half of 2025 and outlook for the rest of the year. Key takeaways from this edition include:
Publications
June 06, 2025
Scott Bennett, Nick Dorsey, Virginia Anderson and Ellen Park Co‑Author U.S. Chapter of 2025 Chambers Venture Capital Guide
Cravath partners D. Scott Bennett and Nicholas A. Dorsey and of counsels Virginia M. Anderson and Ellen H. Park co‑authored the U.S. Law and Practice chapter of the Chambers Venture Capital Guide, which was published in May 2025. The guide, which is part of the publisher’s Global Practice Guides series, provides the latest legal information on trends in the venture capital market; fund structures, economics and regulation; investments in VC companies; government subsidies and tax; employee incentivization and exits in the 26 jurisdictions covered. The U.S. Law and Practice chapter examines how the artificial intelligence sector drove momentum in the venture capital market throughout the past year; the continued prevalence of “down round” raises, bridge financing solutions and alternative financing solutions for companies that have faced financing challenges; typical venture capital fund structure in the United States and more.
Activities
May 29, 2025
Jelena McWilliams Speaks at This Week in Fintech’s Stablecon 2025
On May 29, 2025, Cravath partner Jelena McWilliams participated in This Week in Fintech’s Stablecon 2025, which was held in New York. The conference hosted founders, c‑suite executives, regulatory authorities, venture capitalists and crypto innovators to discuss critical themes in the rapidly evolving stablecoin ecosystem, including regulatory frameworks, technological advancements, institutional adoption and the role of stablecoins in global commerce. Jelena spoke on a panel entitled “The Shifting Regulatory Sands of Stablecoins,” which reviewed the regulatory treatment of stablecoins, including the interplay of federal and state regulation, the effect of stablecoin legislation and regulation on the structure of the market and what to watch during the implementation of stablecoin regulation.
Activities
March 28, 2025
Dave Kappos, Noah Phillips and Nick Dorsey Speak at Cornell Tech’s Board of Directors Forum
Cravath partners David J. Kappos, Noah Joshua Phillips and Nicholas A. Dorsey participated in Cornell Tech’s Board of Directors Forum, which was held from March 26‑27, 2025 in New York. The forum, designed for board members and senior leaders, convened business and legal practitioners, Cornell faculty, former senior government regulators and directors of private and public companies to discuss how corporate boards can stay ahead of developing technologies, regulatory trends and geopolitical shifts.
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