'New businesses will be born' - 5 top Silicon Valley dealmakers told us about the biggest trends in the internet business

Some of the most exciting deals of the year are coming out of the tech world, like Microsoft's megadeal for LinkedIn and Snapchat's highly-anticipated initial public offering.

Business Insider spoke with five top West Coast-based internet bankers about where to expect more innovation - and more deal activity - in the coming months and into next year.

They told us that after a lull in initial public offering, or IPO, activity in 2016, it looks like activity will pick up in 2017. And there's a strong case to be made for mergers-and-acquisitions, or M&A activity, taking off too.

In the words of one of the five, Barclays' Kirk Kaludis, "The sheer number of clients here is pretty awe-inspiring; you just see a lot of new innovation coming out of the startup community."