[illeto]

$10B is stupid? It gets worse than that. A $10B valuation now indicates an expectation of a $20bn future valuation. Consider what the investors must be thinking. Take into account that investors buy "low" now to sell high later. So, if investors are willing to put money down at $10bn, then to get even a modest return (by VC/tech) standards of 2x, they expect Dropbox will be worth $20B within the next 7-10 years (the usual VC fund life). Things are getting very loopy out there.

[ig1]

It depends very much at the stage of the company when the investment is made, the later the stage and the lower the risk the smaller the multiplier needs to be for a VC to invest.

If a VC might be willing to invest at a much lower multiplier if they thinks there's a good chance at an ipo in the very near future.