A discussion that was centered on the valuation of technology stocks at the show, “Opening Bell with Maria Bartirama” on Fox Business, started with the recent fund raising by UBER Technologies Inc., which has recently been valued at $18 billion.
On being asked about what does the valuation, seen in private space, reveal about the public market, Ann Winblad, co-founder of Hummer Winblad Venture Partners said that Uber is a well-run company and has an experienced team of investors that will drive its potential to become a large and long-term company.
On being asked about her opinion on companies like Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN), Google Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL), Facebook Inc. (NASDAQ:FB), etc., which were previously unlisted private companies like Uber, and now they are dominant companies in their respective space, Winblad replied that In 2006 Amazon released its web services i.e. the first public cloud.
She said:
“Amazon.com Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) in my mind is an enterprise software company, they are building tons of enterprise software; they are getting large contracts, like the CIA contract recently, and they are a force to be reckoned with, both as a partner and a competitor for any enterprise software company we invest in.”
Winblad’s comments on Google Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) were: “Google is a huge powerhouse. I will say, it is just picking upstream versus losing it.” She added that the core business of Google is very solid, and they also have a good talent base, and everyone competes with Google for talent in the bay area.
On Google Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL)’s Android, which was introduced in 2007, she mentioned that it is all over the smartphone market. She added that, today, consumers are very fickle and look for the ‘next big thing’ that is going to come.
Especially in the case of companies like Zynga Inc. (NASDAQ:ZNGA), she said that consumers are very challenging.
“Consumer is challenging. Like a Zynga, you know if you don’t give the next hit game, you are no longer a great Zynga.”
Therefore, Winblad concluded that these all are established businesses that go public, and they bring about a disruption in their respective market.
Disclosure: none
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