Presented by HSBC

Mark Cuban on healthcare in America, the NBA, AI, and social media

January 8, 2025

Mark Cuban is game to chat on social media—just not necessarily on X, formerly Twitter.

“I’m on Bluesky now,” Cuban told the crowd at the Fortune Brainstorm Tech Dinner at CES in Las Vegas on Monday. “It’s my favorite, follow me on Bluesky. I answer a lot more questions there than on Twitter. Twitter’s a shithole these days.”

The audience trilled with delight at Cuban’s candor, a trademark of his long and varied career. Cuban is one of those people who’s famous for all sorts of things—as a seminal entrepreneur of the dotcom boom, as the impassioned owner of the Dallas Mavericks, and as a straight-talking investor on ABC’s Shark Tank.

Lesser-known, but equally true: Cuban’s also the cofounder of Cost Plus Drugs, a pharmacy benefits manager started in 2022 to disrupt a healthcare subsector famously dominated by only three players. (PBMs coordinate prescription drug benefits and are on the front lines of drug pricing in America.) It was the American public’s deep frustration with healthcare’s inefficiency and opacity that drew Cuban to the sector in the first place.

“There’s nobody who looks at the healthcare system or the pharmaceutical industry and says, ‘Wow, that’s well-run. It’s just the way you want it. It’s great for us. We love participating in it,’” he said. “We thought that if we could create a company, limit our margins, publish all of our pricing and price list, then maybe we can have an impact.”

In the aftermath of the murder of United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson, Cuban sees resentment surrounding healthcare in America at a boiling point. He thinks Congress will eventually act and that, in the meantime, we have more power than we realize.

“My biggest point first is that we as consumers and we as companies have more control over the insurance companies than we realize,” he said. “It’s been so opaque up to this point that people think insurance companies have all the power—they don’t. Look at your plan.”

Cuban also sounded off on AI, he sees it as having applications at Cost Plus Drugs and, well, everywhere. And everyone needs to be preparing and adapting to that reality.

“Going back on all the technology enhancements that we’ve had over the last 40 years, every time someone said, ‘We don’t need it,’” Cuban said. “But then you had to learn it. That’s not ever going to change. Technology is going to keep on marching forward, but that’s the beautiful thing about this country.”

This logic applies, on some level, to how the NBA should be thinking about its much-reported-on viewership declines.. Cuban’s point, in short: Traditional TV ratings are not the best metric for measuring the NBA’s success in the modern media landscape.. So, the NBA should focus on measuring total minutes consumed across various digital platforms, rather than just traditional TV ratings. And it’s all about Gen Z.

“I have a 15 year-old son, and he doesn’t watch the whole game,” said Cuban. “He watches highlights over and over. What did Luka do? What did Kyrie do? What did Steph do? What did [Dallas Mavericks center] Dereck Lively do? He’ll just watch and it’s just tied to the algorithms in our social media, whether it’s YouTube, Instagram, Bluesky.”

Talking to Cuban later, I asked him why he prefers Bluesky. His answer: He finds the discourse on Bluesky to be fundamentally more civil. I suspect that especially matters to him because Cuban is someone who genuinely wants to talk to you.

Case in point: Hours after his talk ended, Cuban stayed through dinner, shaking the hand of every single person who wanted to meet him, probably smiling for more than 100 selfies along the way. With the Fortune team and a few Brainstorm members, Cuban closed down the restaurant, as we all wandered into the hazy Las Vegas night.

Survey says…It’s a new year, which means it’s time for your most honest opinions about 2025’s biggest stories—Semaphore’s 17th annual confidence survey of private equity, venture capital, and hedge fund professionals is now open! 2024’s results were record-setting and entertaining, and I have a feeling you’ll be able to outdo yourselves again this year. This year’s survey features questions about politics, carried interest, and the overall state of the private markets. One I’m especially curious about: Does Elon Musk have undue influence on American domestic and foreign policy? Click here to take the survey. It should take three to four minutes, and is live until Jan. 29. Fill it out now!

See you tomorrow,

Allie Garfinkle
Twitter: @agarfinks
Email: alexandra.garfinkle@fortune.com
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CONTENT FROM HSBC

Report: What’s ahead for the innovation ecosystem in 2025

Zoom out with an analysis of where the venture ecosystem is headed in 2025. Click to read.

VENTURE DEALS

- Whatnot, a Los Angeles-based live shopping platform, raised $264 million in Series E funding. Greycroft, DST Global, and Avra led the round and were joined by Lightspeed Venture Partners, Durable Capital Partners, and existing investors Andreessen Horowitz, CapitalG, BOND, and Y Combinator.

- Aviceda Therapeutics, a Cambridge, Mass.-based geographic atrophy treatment developer, raised $207.5 million in Series C funding. Omega Funds and TCGX led the round and were joined by Enavate Sciences, Jeito Capital, Blue Owl Healthcare Opportunities, and others.

- Inari, a Cambridge, Mass.-based seed developer, raised $144 million in funding from the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, existing investors Hanwha Impact, NGS Super, the State of Michigan Retirement System, and others.

- XyloCor Therapeutics, a Wayne, Pa.-based gene therapies for cardiovascular diseases developer, raised $67.5 million in Series B funding. Jeito Capital led the round and was joined by existing investors EQT, Fountain Healthcare Partners, and Lumira Ventures.

- Druid Software, a Wicklow, Ireland-based cellular network software provider, raised $20 million in funding. J2 Ventures and HICO led the round and were joined by Arthur Patterson and John Georges.

- Jones, a New York City-based AI-powered insurance verification software developer, raised $15 million in Series B funding. NewSpring Capital led the round and was joined by existing investors Hetz Ventures, Camber Creek, Khosla Ventures, and others.

- Twentyeight Health, a New York City-based women’s healthcare digital platform, raised $10 million in Series A funding. Seae Ventures led the round and was joined by Impact America Fund, The Social Entrepreneurs' Fund, RH Capital, and others.

- Red Rover Health, a Des Moines-based electronic health record integration technology developer, raised $4 million in seed funding from NewShore Partners.

PRIVATE EQUITY

- Apollo and BC Partners agreed to each acquire a 28% stake in the environmental services business of GFL Environmental, a Vaughan, Canada-based waste management and soil remediation services provider, for an enterprise value of $8 billion.

- Paychex agreed to acquire a majority stake in Paycor, a Cincinnati-based human capital management software provider, from Apax Partners in an all-cash transaction of $22.50 per share at an enterprise value of $4.1 billion.

- Advent International and the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority acquired a minority stake in Fisher Investments, a Plano, Texas-based investment adviser, for $3 billion in common stock.

- Agile Defense, backed by Enlightenment Capital, acquired IntelliBridge, a McLean, Va.-based technology, analytics, and solutions provider for the federal government. Financial terms were not disclosed.

- Berkshire Partners acquired a majority stake in Electric Power Engineers, an Austin-based energy consulting firm. Financial terms were not disclosed.

- Bregal Sagemount acquired a minority stake in 360 Advanced, a St. Petersburg-based cybersecurity and compliance consulting firm. Financial terms were not disclosed.

- Northwestern Mutual acquired a minority stake in Sixth Street, a San Francisco, Calif.-based investment firm. Financial terms were not disclosed.

- QuestGates, a portfolio company of Equistone Partners Europe, acquired Toppings Forensic Accountants, a Manchester, England-based forensic accounting provider for motor claims, and Brownsword Group, a Manchester, England-based motor industry claims investigation services provider. Financial terms were not disclosed.

- Renovus Capital Partners acquired Superior Health Holdings, a Baton Rouge-based hospice and home health services provider. Financial terms were not disclosed.

- Revelation Pharma, backed by Plexus Capital, Osceola Capital Management, and Hall Capital Holdings, acquired AleraCare Pharmacy, a compounding pharmacy in the Phoenix-based AleraCare organization. Financial terms were not disclosed.

- Tru Fragrance & Beauty, backed by Monogram Capital Partners, acquired Lake & Skye, a New York City-based fragrance brand. Financial terms were not disclosed.

EXITS

- Highlander Health acquired Target RWE, a Durham, N.C.-based clinical longitudinal datasets company, from 22C Capital and others. Financial terms were not disclosed.

- ONRAD, backed by Housatonic Partners, acquired Direct Radiology, a Bothell, Wash.-based teleradiology company, from Philips. Financial terms were not disclosed.

- Wellful, a portfolio company of Kainos Capital, acquired Ancient Nutrition, a Franklin, Tenn.-based superfood supplement company, from VMG Partners, Hillhouse Investment, and others. Financial terms were not disclosed.

- Wind Point Partners acquired a majority stake in ExperiGreen Lawn Care, a Mishawaka, Ind.-based lawn care services provider, from Huron Capital. Financial terms were not disclosed.

OTHER

- Getty Images, a Seattle-based stock images company, and Shutterstock, a New York City-based stock images company, agreed to merge. The combined company would have an enterprise value of $3.7 billion.

- Golub Capital acquired a minority non-voting stake in Nassau Financial Group, a Hartford-based insurance and asset management financial services provider, for $200 million.

- Remus Capital, joined by Link Ventures and Metropolitan Partners Group, acquired Presto Automation, a San Carlos, Calif.-based AI solutions provider for the quick-service restaurant industry that will be renamed Presto Phoenix.. Financial terms were not disclosed. All existing investors invested $18 million in the company.

- Contentstack acquired Lytics, a Portland, Ore.-based customer data platform. Financial terms were not disclosed.

- Cymulate acquired CYNC Secure, a Tel Aviv-based operational efficiency cybersecurity company. Financial terms were not disclosed.

- 1Password acquired Trelica, a Cambridge, England-based SaaS access management platform. Financial terms were not disclosed.

IPOS

- Flowco Holdings, a Houston-based production optimizer for the oil and natural gas industries, plans to raise $409.4 million in an offering of 17.8 million shares priced between $21 to $23 on the NYSE. Jonathan B. Fairbanks, White Deer Management, and Genesis Park back the company.

FUNDS + FUNDS OF FUNDS

- Bonaccord Capital Partners, a New York City-based private equity firm, raised $1.6 billion for its second fund focused on middle-market private markets sponsors.

PEOPLE

- Arctos, a Dallas-based investment firm, promoted Zach Baran and Julie Bernodat to managing director; Paige Franzoi, Jonathan Lile, and Tanner Houston to director; Matt Banas, Luke Dinges, Samy Khan, and David Trott to vice president; and Jay Chintham, Jacob Harrison, Mehul Patel, and Matt Webster to senior associate.

- JMI Equity, a Baltimore-based growth equity firm, promoted Chase Thomet and Mac Williams to partner.

- Lead Edge Capital, a New York City-based growth equity firm, promoted Brian Lobdell to partner, Susan Bihler to chief operating officer, and John Byers to principal.

- Radian Capital, a New York City-based growth equity firm, promoted Mattia Flabiano to partner.

- Spectrum Equity, a Boston-based growth equity firm, promoted Emily Calkins, Kevan Olander, and Annaliesa Routh to principal.

- Summit Partners, a Boston-based investment firm, added Ricardo Gonzalez as a partner.. Previously, he was at New Mountain Capital.

- Transom Capital Group, a Los Angeles-based private equity firm, promoted Conor Davenport and Steve Kim to managing director.

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Mark Cuban loves Bluesky