The kids ‘picked last in gym class’ gear up for Super Bowl

The Super Bowl is coming to Silicon Valley, and the Patriots-Seahawks game at Levi’s Stadium is attracting deep-pocketed tech figures. YouTube CEO Neal Mohan is expected to attend, and Apple CEO Tim Cook is likely to be there as well; he has become a Super Bowl fixture since Apple Music began sponsoring the halftime show.

Menlo Ventures partner Venky Ganesan quipped that the weekend feels like "tech billionaires who got picked last in gym class paying $50,000 to pretend they’re friends with the guys who got picked first," adding that he, too, was picked last. Menlo has invested heavily in Anthropic, creating a $100 million fund with the AI company in summer 2024 to back other AI startups and participating in multiple funding rounds through its flagship fund and special vehicles.

Anthropic is expected to close a $20 billion round next week at a post-money valuation of $350 billion. Ticket prices are steep. They average almost $7,000, with some last-minute seats appearing on StubHub for closer to $3,600.