Breaking: VCs Agree To Support Silicon Valley Bank Again

Venture capital firms agree to support and ask portfolio companies to resume their banking relationship with Silicon Valley Bank again if the bank is acquired and properly capitalized.

Hemant Taneja, CEO of General Catalyst, on March 11 disclosed that leaders of several venture capital firms met today to discuss the systematic risk of Silicon Valley Bank’s downfall. The VCs have released a joint statement on conditions for resuming their support to the bank.

The VCs include Accel, Altimeter Capital, B Capital Group, General Catalyst, Gil Capital, Greylock Partners, Khosla Ventures, Kleiner Perkins, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Mayfield Fund, Redpoint Ventures, Ribbit Capital, and Upfront Ventures.

“The events that unfolded over the past 48 hours have been disappointing and concerning. In the event that SVB were to be purchased and appropriately capitalized, we would be strongly supportive and encourage our portfolio companies to resume banking relationships with them,” the statement reads.

The VCs agree that Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) has been a trusted long-term partner to the venture capital industry, serving the startup community, and supporting the innovation economy in the U.S.

“Silicon Valley stands together with Founders. Continuing to innovate. Continuing to build. This will make us stronger. Nearly universal agreement with this statement well beyond those listed. Fed needs to act now to make sure depositors are 100% protected.”

Elon Musk Interested in Buying Silicon Valley Bank

Min-Liang Tan, CEO of Razer, suggested that Twitter should consider buying SVB and turning it into a digital bank. Interestingly, Elon Musk has responded to it, stating “I’m open to the idea”.

While Elon Musk has plans to introduce payment support on the social media platform with fiat support, a fully developed banking infrastructure could be a great deal with the Silicon Valley Bank acquisition.