Today's Venture Capital Pulse
Clip raises $500M to expand fintech platform
Mexican fintech Clip secured a $500 million funding round, lifting its valuation above $2.5 billion. The capital will fund the rollout of a consumer‑focused wallet and broaden its suite of financial‑services tools.
Also developing:
By the numbers: OpenAI raises $122B in private financing
Resurrecting Dire Wolves Is Just the Beginning for Colossal Biosciences’ Ben Lamm
In this Rapid Response encore, Ben Lamm, co‑founder and CEO of Colossal Biosciences, walks host Bob Safian through the company’s de‑extinction of the dire wolf, explaining the scientific process, the high‑profile investor backing, and the broader implications for conservation, biodiversity, and even human health. He addresses the ethical controversy surrounding the birth and potential re‑wilding of extinct species, and clarifies how Colossal’s gene‑editing platform works. The conversation highlights both the excitement of reviving a charismatic predator and the caution needed as this technology expands to other species.
2025 Predictions: Strong IPO Surge, Google Leads AI
Every year I make a list of predictions & score the previous year’s. You can find my 10 Predictions for 2026 here. 2025 was a good year : I scored 7.85 out of 10. 1. The IPO market rips. Score...
US Defense Won’t Trust Chinese Drone Maker, VCs Realize
one of the reasons VCs passed on Shield AI in 2015 was "won't DJI just do this?" We said you're crazy if you believe the US gov/military is going to rely longterm on a Chinese company for NatSec. https://lnkd.in/gcpRNMnA
Innovation and Trust: Headway NOVA Honored with Two Prestigious Industry Awards
Headway NOVA, a tokenized real‑estate investment platform, was named the 1st Most Trusted Financial Company – Community Choice 2025 by TrustFinance and Real Estate Investment Firm of the Year by Corporate LiveWire. The dual honors highlight the firm’s secure, user‑friendly...
Keep Growing During Due Diligence, Don't Stall Valuation
Common deal killer I see at @acquiredotcom? Stalled growth during due diligence. When you decide to sell your startup, it’s tempting to shift 100% of your focus to the deal. You stop shipping features. You pause marketing. You start mentally checking out. But buyers...
Parallel Due Diligence Compresses Timeline and Boosts Competition
How long should due diligence take? Ad hoc diligence begins Day One of a process, but the detailed, confirmatory diligence right before closing the deal should last roughly 3-4 weeks (assuming you run a tightly controlled process). If it were...
Scott Bessent: Fixing the Fed, Tariffs for National Security, Solving Affordability in 2026
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent outlines how tariffs can be wielded as a national‑security tool, despite legal hurdles, and argues that targeted tariffs could protect critical supply chains. He critiques the Federal Reserve’s past policies that fueled a 15‑year asset bubble,...
AI Agents Will Outprice Human Labor by 2026
11 Predictions for 2026 Every year I make a list of predictions & score last year’s predictions. 2025 was a good year : I scored 7.85 out of 10. Here are my predictions for 2026 : 1. Businesses pay more for AI agents...
Freemium AI Conversions Hover Around 2%—Scale Requires Tens of Millions.
The AI Freemium Math is Brutal — But It Works at Scale 1⃣ChatGPT: 800M users → 15M paid (2%) → $20B ARR 2⃣Gemini: 650M users → Est. 2-3% → Part of Google 3⃣Claude: 30M users → Heavy API/Enterprise → $5B ARR 4⃣Perplexity: 30M users...
Rising Digital Payments: How the ‘BTC to AUD’ Trend Is Reshaping Australia’s Tech Sector
Australia’s digital payments landscape is being reshaped by the surge in Bitcoin‑to‑Australian‑Dollar conversions, turning crypto flows into a strategic data signal for tech firms. Early adoption of Bitcoin exchanges, mining clusters, and university research gave the country a head start,...
Free 7-Day Access to Molly Graham’s Leadership Essays
Molly Graham 's excellent collection of leadership, operations, and startup advice is changing a little. All new essays will be freely available for seven days, then they go behind a subscription plan where you get everything, forever. i've shared many...
2025 Winners Revealed, 2026 Tech Stock Predictions Unveiled
2025 was a crazy year. 2026 will be even less predictable. So at 20VC we thought it was time for @jasonlk, @rodriscoll to do a very special “20VC Big Fat Quiz of the Year”. For 2025: - Best Founder of the Year -...
Y-Combinator’s Framework for Building a Successful MVP.
The episode breaks down Y‑Combinator’s MVP framework, emphasizing that a Minimum Viable Product must be both minimal and viable—enough to let real users test the core solution. It contrasts founder mindsets, shows how Airbnb, Twitch, and Stripe launched ultra‑simple versions...
Learning Shows When Teams Adapt: Design Pressure, Own Outcomes
The fastest way to tell whether a team is learning is to look for moments where someone had to revise their view because reality contradicted it. If those moments are rare, the system is insulated. It may be busy, but it...
AI Shifts From Chaos to Buildable, Apps Lead the Way
2025 was the year AI stopped feeling chaotic and started feeling buildable. On the @LightconePod, @garrytan, @harjtaggar, @sdianahu, and @snowmaker break down the surprises of the year, from shifting model dominance to why the real opportunity is moving back...
Kike Miralles, Investment Director, Intel Capital
In this episode, Kike Miralles, Investment Director at Intel Capital, discusses the firm’s corporate‑venture strategy for quantum technologies, emphasizing investments in hardware and middleware, especially QPU scale‑out networking and hybrid error‑correction approaches. He compares leading quantum modalities, outlines typical check...
Selling Frees Founders to Focus on Design Passion
Selling a business doesn’t mean walking away. Jamm Designs (@jammdotco) sold to a buyer on @acquiredotcom who could scale the business so the founders could focus on what they loved: design. First acquisition with lots of unknowns and having the right advisor...
2026 IPO Boom Falters From the Start
The 2026 IPO Boom Is Already Off to a Bad Start https://t.co/f7BR2zMb0I
12 Predictions for 2026
Tom Tunguz outlines twelve 2026 forecasts, from AI agents commanding higher fees than human workers to a record‑breaking liquidity wave driven by IPOs from SpaceX, OpenAI and others. He predicts vector databases becoming essential AI infrastructure and agents autonomously handling...
Life After a Game‑Changing Exit: Founder Stories
Founders after a life changing exit on @acquiredotcom: https://t.co/SgKWPn5gwQ
AI Unifies Marketing, Sales, and Support Into One Agent
"AI is converging marketing, sales & support. They are becoming 1 AI agent. Not 10 different pre-AI SaaS products. In fact, it's already happening in e-commerce." The latest with @rodriscoll @HarryStebbings + me https://t.co/Uhpain34qX
Israel’s Famed VC Jon Medved, Diagnosed with ALS, Backed the Tech that Will Improve His Life
Israeli venture capitalist Jon Medved announced his immediate retirement from OurCrowd after being diagnosed with ALS. Medved, the founder of the crowdsourced VC platform, has overseen a portfolio of roughly 500 companies, 74 exits and a recent $525 million sale. He...
Vision Obsession Masks Avoidance of Concrete Details
Founders who obsess over vision usually do it to avoid specifics.
From Skepticism to Success: Truemed Proves Its Worth
I was wrong about Truemed. When Justin first told me about his new co, I was skeptical brands would adopt a new payment solution. ~3 years later, it’s definitely working. Thankfully we bet on him. :)
Sequoia Partner Spreads Debunked Brown Shooting Theory, Testing New Leadership
Sequoia Capital partner Shaun Maguire falsely accused a Palestinian student of orchestrating the December 13 Brown University shooting, despite authorities identifying a Portuguese gunman. His deleted X posts resurfaced via Fast Company, reviving criticism of his anti‑Muslim commentary. The controversy hits...
Show the Incentive, See the Outcome.
“Show me the incentive and I’ll show you the outcome…” https://t.co/QJAbUuo9bc
Blueprint: Build a Hot AI Startup to IPO
-> https://t.co/NlPWFTrkQ8 is getting there - Found hot AI startup - Pick top accelerator - Poach from other AI start-ups - Build to Series A, IPO, and ... beyond https://t.co/2tS4gKNkhp
Where Are Investors Placing Their Bets Next Year? AI, AI, AI.
At TechCrunch Disrupt, venture capitalists made it clear that artificial intelligence dominates their investment theses for 2027. Speakers from Index, Greylock and Felicis emphasized founder resilience, authentic product‑market fit, and the need for unique data flywheels to stand out in...
More Expensive LLMs Aren’t Always the Better Choice
There are times when the very latest LLM is the best, and there are times when the most expensive LLM is the best. And there are times when it isn't. We've run 2,700 VC Pitch Decks through SaaStr AI VC so I...
Influence Extends Beyond Formal Reporting Lines
Org Charts Are Funhouse Mirrors Because Span of Influence is Not Limited to Span of Control https://lnkd.in/g_yhV_mK
Deep Customer Insight Gets Punished by Organizational Incentives
One more layer that’s worth naming. Even when teams talk to customers with good intent, most companies structurally make understanding hard to sustain. The incentives quietly punish it. Deep understanding creates friction. It slows momentum and introduces ambiguity right when leadership wants certainty. So...
Shield AI’s V‑BAT Survives Jamming, Executes 35+ Missions
"On the frontlines in Ukraine, Russian jammers intersect communications and radio signals, leading drones to veer off course or even fall from the sky and crash. Many U.S. drones haven’t been able to perform. But after an eight-month iteration period...
VCs Gain IPO Gold While Consumers Miss Gains
"All the leaders from SpaceX to Stripe to Anthropic to Databricks waiting to IPO is the gift of a lifetime to venture capital. Yes, the consumers have been protected from bad news. But they've also been blocked from all the massive appreciation."...
Founder Cashes Out at Peak to Fund New Venture
ChatFAI was winning. Millions of users, strong revenue, and viral growth. Umar (@heyumarkhan) got acquired when things were going great. Cashed in the chips. He then used the exit to fuel his other startup. Full interview here: https://t.co/tNIE71aLPb https://t.co/htq2TImIUZ
VC Firm Publishes Complete Data on All Portfolio Startups
We're the most transparent in VC in history. So we're sharing full information on all the startups we've backed. Investment size, valuations, current revenues, everything. Including for startups still in stealth. https://t.co/fD3p3Tdaux
Agency, Not Tools, Drives Real Impact
Agency is the scarce resource. Tools are abundant. Information is cheap. Coordination is easy. None of that changes reality by itself. Agency does. Agency is deciding when there is no proof, acting when outcomes are unclear, and remaining accountable after the result shows...
Founders Fail When They Skip Understanding Market Needs
"Make something people want" sounds obvious, but not doing it is the most common mistake founders make. I explained why I made it in the essay where I coined the term. I didn't understand the market I was building for,...
Competitor's Domain Grab Reveals Fear and Amateurism
A startup told me a highly-funded competitor bought the .com of their name. I told them this is good news in a way. It means the competitor is (a) amateurish and (b) afraid of them, both of which suggest the...
Future AI Millionaires Earn Equity, Not Founders' Shares
The AI Wealth Machine is like nothing we have ever seen before. 🔎Nvidia has created ~27,000 millionaires. 78% of employees. Half worth $25M+. Jensen Huang: "I've created more billionaires on my management team than any CEO in the world." 💥OpenAI is catching...
AI B2B Takes Off in 2026 After 2025 Foundations
We are literally >just< getting going in AI B2B. Really, most stuff didn’t even work before Claude 4 and the beginning of 2025. That’s why Lovable, Replit, Cursor, Gamma, etc. exploded. The models alone weren’t good enough — until early...
From CFO to Creator: Building Mostly Media
The tables have turned... my friend and fellow creator Paul Stansik at ParkerGale Capital interviewed me on my business. How did I go from CFO to guy who creates stuff online? And is it worth it? We cover the origins...
Organize Diligence and Keep Competition to Prevent Retrades
One of the most frustrating things for a founder selling their business: A retrade. Retrading is when a buyer tries to renegotiate the terms of a transaction late in a process due to "new" information that arose during final diligence....
Remove Mediocrity Quickly to Preserve High‑Performing Teams
A truly high performing team gets brought down by even one mediocre player The better the team, the faster you have to root the mediocre out
SpaceX's $1.5T IPO: Who Will Fund It?
"The SpaceX IPO at $1.5 Trillion 1⃣Who will buy? 2⃣Could the valuation get walked back? 3⃣ Will the Big Vision justify it? 4⃣Could Google anchor the IPO for $10B+?" The latest with @rodriscoll @HarryStebbings + me https://t.co/YBJayKYQrp
Salient Scales to $25M ARR, Zero Churn,
In just two years, Salient has hit $25M ARR—with zero customer churn and 100% of pilots converting to paid deals. They're automating loan servicing for auto lenders (including 5 of the top 10), cutting costs by 50% and delivering 30x better...
Unified AI Regulation Needed to Shield Small Startups
America doesn’t win by making every startup navigate 50+ regulatory regimes. Fragmented AI rules become a moat helping big tech only. A coherent federal framework is how you protect safety and keep US AI advancing. This EO is a meaningful...
Founders' Decision Speed Limits Startup Growth, AI Highlights
Every startup eventually hits the same wall. The company can only move at the speed the founder is willing to make irreversible decisions. AI exposes this because everything else can move instantly.
VCs Rarely Publish “State Of” Reports Outside AI
Did any VC or LP write a "State Of" report on anything other than AI?
LLM Startup Boom Mirrors 2009 Mobile, 2003 Web
It’s the golden age for startups that turn latent LLM capability and intelligence into actual adoption Will be like working on mobile apps in 2009 or the web in 2003
Beware: Classic Valuation Trick Still Misused
i've seen this too and it's the oldest trick in the valuation maxxer bad practice book