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CB Insights' latest study ranks the top 50 private venture capital investors in the MENA region, highlighting a surge in activity through 2025. Aramco Ventures and its affiliates dominate the list, with 100 deals and 14 exits since 2018. The UAE and Saudi Arabia host the majority of top firms, focusing on AI, manufacturing, and healthcare. The report underscores data‑driven investment strategies as a catalyst for regional diversification.
🤷♀️"AI Native" startups don't have access to better LLMs 🤷They often don't have smarter engineers 🤷♂️They don't know the space any better 🤷♀️Their sales team are often tiny and mediocre So why do they win? 100% of their team wants to do, and are willing...
Greek startups raised more than €732 million in 2025, a 35 % jump from the previous year, with over 90 companies securing capital from 143 investors worldwide. The surge reflects Greece’s growing ecosystem maturity and heightened international visibility. Spotawheel led the pack...
In this episode Harry Stebbings shares his rapid early success, details how he secured a cold‑email interview with Marc Benioff after 53 attempts, and reveals unconventional fundraising tactics like raising $70 M via WhatsApp. He introduces a decision‑making framework inspired by Pat Grady...
FinovateEurope 2026 will convene on 10–11 February at London’s InterContinental O2, drawing more than 1,000 fintech and banking decision‑makers, including over 600 senior executives. The two‑day agenda features more than 100 speakers such as Citi’s Victor Alexiev and Raiffeisen’s Vanja...
Five founders pitched, and these investors came to wildly different picks. Maxwell Weiss, of Pacific Bays Capital, and Fred Almeida, of American Medical Intelligence, chose B2B SAAS startups building for air quality testing and supply chain risk.
"There’s pockets of bubble-ish dynamics. But the technology is improving so fast, there’s so much more room to improve, and companies accelerating in AI are printing money."
The IRS issued Fact Sheet 2026‑01, a FAQ document clarifying the qualified overtime compensation deduction created by H.R. 1. It specifies that only the portion of overtime pay mandated by the Fair Labor Standards Act—typically the half‑rate above regular pay—qualifies for the...
Per @a16z, the gap in ARR/employee has widened dramatically in the Age of AI $700k per FTE vs. $200k per FTE You're either pulling away here, or falling way, way behind https://t.co/6CD2h5yM6X
How much value is locked up here on X? Or, what is the money doing in AI? I had @blevlabs's AI (a state of the art cognitive architecture that works a lot better than Grok or ChatGPT for these kinds of...
In this episode, hosts Mark Zandi, Cris deRitis, and Marisa DiNatale review recent economic data before diving into the U.S. proposal to purchase Greenland and Europe’s reaction, highlighting President Trump’s confrontational stance and framing the TACO (Trade and Climate Opportunity)...
All of our clients use a data room. A data room is a secure, online document repository to host important resources related to selling a business/raising capital. The primary reason for utilizing data rooms is to stay organized and make...
👨🦳Non-AI startups: - Lots CSMs (vs FDEs) - AI agent is slow / not truly great, not #1 focus of company - Not gaining market share - Customers don’t want to pay 2x-10x more for AI Agent (honest truth: not great) - Still very large...
The episode explains what a private foundation is—a donor‑controlled, tax‑exempt nonprofit that primarily makes grants and invests its endowment. It outlines the nonprofit accounting standards they follow, emphasizing that most net assets are reported without donor restrictions and that investment...
There’s a tough topic that it’s time to be honest about in 2026: PE is no longer coming to the rescue. It was a great run. From 2012-2023 or so, almost any B2B or SaaS company that hit $20M ARR,...
The episode spotlights major developments in the increasingly crowded orbital environment, including D‑Orbit’s $53 million Series D raise to boost M&A and in‑space computing, Loft Orbital’s selection as prime contractor for France’s DESIR radar‑imaging program, and Aalyria’s award from the U.S. Air...
YC’s best advice is “default alive” - have enough cash to survive without the next raise. Great advice… nobody f*cking does it. Paul Graham (the founder of YC) once said he’d raise $500K, get ramen profitable, and probably never raise...
FinTech fundraising fell to $898 million across 20 deals, down from $1.5 billion the week before. The biggest round was UAE‑based WealthTech startup Mal, which raised $230 million to launch an AI‑native Islamic digital bank. U.S. music‑tech firm Duetti secured $200 million, while PayTech...
In this episode, Unity Stoakes talks with Indira Paharia, PsyD, CEO and co‑founder of VIBEcare about integrating virtual behavioral health into primary care. Drawing on her background as a clinical psychologist, payer executive, and health‑tech founder, Indira explains why primary...
Inferact, the startup behind the open‑source vLLM inference engine, announced a $150 million seed round that pushes its valuation to $800 million. vLLM, now used by Amazon and other cloud providers, accelerates ChatGPT‑style models by 2‑24× through PagedAttention and continuous batching. The...
Heather Luck, CFO of Five Star Bank, highlights the expanding complexity of the finance function in community banking. She balances board relations, SEC reporting, regulatory compliance, treasury, budgeting, and HR while driving geographic expansion into the San Francisco Bay Area and...
For decades, venture capital has expanded practically by default. More funds, more managers, more capital. Today, fundraising, firm formation, and LP participation are all moving in the same direction: down. After 20+ years, we are now facing the first meaningful...
Frank Kosarek, co‑founder of BizPort, explains that ecommerce valuations now hinge on seller discretionary earnings (SDE) rather than top‑line revenue, with multiples typically 2×–2.5× and up to 5× for subscription‑heavy brands. He notes that buyers prefer companies generating recurring sales,...
Digital game economies have evolved from niche curiosities into high‑margin revenue engines, attracting billions in institutional capital. Developers now embed sophisticated scarcity and trade systems that mirror physical markets, while blockchain technology adds true ownership and cross‑game liquidity. Adult gamers,...
Economic forecasts for 2026 show stronger growth, lower rates and rising AI investment, yet recruiters face a persistent talent shortage. Demand‑driven expansion is creating more job requisitions, but labor supply remains constrained by limited immigration, an aging workforce, and sector‑specific...
Playad, a San Francisco AI creative platform, closed a $5.4 million pre‑seed round. The financing was led by BRV Capital Management and Mirae Asset Venture Investment, with angels such as Bora Chung and Jihun Yu joining. Playad’s technology lets teams generate and...
In this episode, the hosts explain what a business differentiator is and why it’s essential for standing out in a crowded market. They discuss how a differentiator can attract attention, shape hiring decisions, and drive growth, illustrated with examples like...
President Donald Trump is expected to nominate a successor to Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell in the coming weeks, amid heightened political pressure for lower borrowing costs. The shortlist includes Kevin Hassett, a Trump‑aligned economist; former governor Kevin Warsh, a...
Mendra, a San Francisco‑based biopharma focused on rare‑disease therapies, announced an $82 million Series A round. The financing was co‑led by OrbiMed, 8VC and 5AM Ventures, with Lux Capital and Wing VC also participating. The capital will fund the acquisition and development of...
Finland‑based Agileday closed a €6.4 million Series A round, led by Newion and joined by Specialist VC, Vendep Capital, and Business Finland. The startup offers a people‑focused professional services automation (PSA) platform that merges talent management, resource allocation, timesheets and project financials...
Qure.ai, a New York‑based AI diagnostics firm, secured a multimillion‑dollar grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The undisclosed funding will finance health‑equity projects, including an open‑source multimodal medical database and AI‑driven point‑of‑care ultrasound algorithms for early TB and pneumonia...
In this episode of All‑In, hosts Chamath Palihapitiya, Jason Calacanis, David Sacks, and David Friedberg, moderated by Maria Bartiromo, discuss America’s AI strategy with former U.S. Chief Technology Officer Michael Kratsios. They examine the massive costs and energy demands of...
📊 https://t.co/D1x4RaX5t7 Market Pulse - Thu, Jan 22 The https://t.co/D1x4RaX5t7 Index delivered a strong performance on January 22, 2026, with an average gain of 3.47% as 23 out of 25 stocks advanced. GitLab led the rally with a remarkable 12.82% surge,...
"Why did we go all-in on AI Agents?" with @kylecnorton CRO @kylecnorton "I just got tired of paying folks six-figures, letting them work from home with plenty of agency ... and still quitting. The AI Agents aren't perfect. But they...
Inferact Inc. launched with a $150 million seed round that values the startup at $800 million. The company will commercialize the open‑source vLLM inference engine, known for its PagedAttention memory‑saving technique and quantization. Backed by Andreessen Horowitz, Lightspeed and Databricks’ VC arm,...
How do you price AI features in B2B? Per seat? Per outcome? Usage-based? Founders are still figuring this out in real-time. At SaaStr AI 2026, we're bringing together the ones who've cracked it. May 12-14. SF Bay https://t.co/4l6Rm5He3B
Corxel Pharmaceuticals announced a $287 million Series D‑1 financing round aimed at advancing its oral GLP‑1 therapy into late‑stage clinical trials. The capital will enable the company to move beyond its China‑only data and pursue a global development strategy. Existing backers RTW...
A simple forecast lets you see what’s coming before it arrives. It helps you test scenarios, plan hiring or investment, and make choices without holding your breath. If 2026 is the year you want fewer surprises and more control, start here. We’ve...
The episode breaks down the recent class‑action lawsuit against Eightfold AI, which alleges the firm collected job candidates' data without proper notice, consent, or correction rights, potentially violating the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) and California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA)....
A tough truth: getting more efficient, getting profitable, might have been necessary the past few years for many. But it also got you … nowhere. The markets still reward growth far more than efficiency. You do need both now when...
The episode examines how overfamiliarity—when the same internal audit team repeatedly audits the same operations—undermines audit quality by dulling critical thinking, limiting risk identification, and producing repetitive reports. Host Umer Iftikhar, an internal audit leader in Qatar, explains why rotation...
LiveKit announced a $100 million Series C round that values the San Francisco‑based real‑time communication platform at $1 billion. The round was led by Index Ventures with participation from Salesforce Ventures, Altimeter Capital, Redpoint Ventures and Hanabi Capital. LiveKit will use the capital to...
Klir announced a $10 million Series B equity round complemented by a $7.5 million credit facility from Innovation Banking at CIBC. Existing backer Insight Partners participated, underscoring confidence in the company’s growth trajectory. Klir’s platform serves as an operational data hub for water...
The episode explores how operational failures that appear to stem from flawed processes are often actually rooted in communication breakdowns. It explains that internal audits uniquely reveal these gaps by comparing documented procedures with real‑world practice, uncovering mismatched understandings, outdated...
Mia Labs, the Austin‑based AI conversational platform for automotive dealerships, announced a $20 million Series A round. The financing was led by Permanent Capital Ventures with participation from Norwest and existing backers such as Eniac Ventures and Analog Ventures. Mia’s technology acts...
Fun convo going deep on all things AI and how to invest in it with the 🐐 @nathanbenaich
Thinking Machines Lab, an AI startup founded by former OpenAI executives, is embroiled in a leadership crisis. Co‑founders Barrett Zoph, Luke Metz and researcher Sam Schoenholz, dissatisfied with the company’s slow product rollout and stalled $50 billion valuation fundraising, demanded a...
Hospitality‑tech platform Mews announced a $300 million Series D round, valuing the company at $2.5 billion. The round was led by EQT Growth with new investors Atomico and HarbourVest Partners, alongside existing backers Kinnevik, Battery Ventures and Tiger Global. Mews reported a 55 % increase...
We are now officially retiring the term "seed round". Thank you for your attention to this matter. https://t.co/NzL2sy9dUJ
Artie, a fully managed real‑time data streaming platform, announced a $12 million Series A financing on Jan. 22, 2026. The round was led by Dalton Caldwell of Standard Capital and included participation from Y Combinator, Pathlight Ventures, and prominent angels such as Dropbox co‑founder...
