Today's Venture Capital Pulse
Digital Asset secures $355M in fintech financing round
Digital Asset announced a $355 million funding round, placing it among this week’s largest fintech raises. The capital will be used to accelerate product development and broaden market reach.
Also developing:
By the numbers: Sygaldry Technologies raises $139M in seed and Series A round
We Deployed 20+ AI Agents and Replaced Our Entire Human SDR Team. Here's What Actually Works. (Video + Pod)
In this episode the hosts detail how they replaced their human SDR team with over 20 AI agents, sending 60,000+ hyper‑personalized emails, booking 130+ meetings and generating 15% of SaaStr AI London ticket revenue by targeting low‑priority and ghosted leads. They emphasize that AI SDRs work best when they handle the work humans refuse to do, using modestly personalized (3‑6/10) outreach at scale, and stress a rigorous rollout: document proven human scripts, train agents for specific personas, segment contacts, and assign two dedicated human roles for vendor implementation and internal GTM engineering. Key takeaways include the need for a two‑week training period, focusing AI on low‑stakes segments first, and the importance of continuous monitoring to achieve consistent 6% response rates and 70% open rates, ultimately unlocking found revenue and faster growth.
Focused SaaS Playbook Yields 18 Acquisitions
Stuart Faught turned small focused SaaS ideas into 18 acquisitions by sticking to a simple repeatable approach on @acquiredotcom. The playbook: > Build for one clear niche > Validate traction early > Use partners instead of ads > Document everything upfront > Sell when the business...
Home Buying Lessons Transform B2B Tech Strategies
"You can leave Salesforce, but you can't leave your mortgage." What can the home buying experience teach us about B2B tech? Turns out, a ton. My interview with Brian Brown CFO at Rocket drops tomorrow morning. It's a look into...
20Growth: How Wiz Built a $30BN Brand in Enterprise | What Worked vs What Was a Mega Failure: Lessons Learned...
In this episode, Raaz Herzberg, CMO and VP of Product Strategy at Wiz, recounts the company's rapid rise from a ten‑person startup to a $30 billion enterprise brand, highlighting the unconventional marketing tactics and product‑led growth strategies that fueled its success....
Cities Thrive When They Cluster Around Existing Industries
China has many cities that specialize in specific products. Like Detroit for cars, they have Cixi for hair dryers, Wenzhou for lighters, and Ningbo for home appliances. We’re familiar with this idea for cultural sectors, like NYC/Shanghai for finance, Silicon Valley/Shenzhen...
OpenAI Drops Vesting Cliff, Pours $6B on Equity
Per @WSJ, OpenAI has gone from just a 6 month cliff for equity vesting now to … no cliff at all And will “spend” $6 Billion this year on employee equity Even at OpenAI, the war for talent never ends https://t.co/uOw6ReBXCF
Stanford’s Star Reporter Takes on Silicon Valley’s ‘Money-Soaked’ Startup Culture
Stanford senior Theo Baker, already the youngest George Polk Award winner, is turning his investigative chops toward Silicon Valley’s venture‑capital machine. His forthcoming book, How to Rule the World, draws on more than 250 interviews to expose how VCs treat...
How Lies Shape Cascades, Markets, and Conscious Memory
1/ One of the coolest papers i read this week implications for -information cascades based on lies/misinformation (or accidental misinterpretations) -markets and investor reactors -understanding memory/prediction framework of our consciousness https://t.co/GOyDAbuwlA
Tech Adoption Accelerates: From 50‑Year to Under‑7‑Year Cycles
Good question... The gasoline-powered tractor debuted in the 1890s, and by 1930, about 15% of farmers used one. It wasn't until the labor shortages of the 1940s (due to the war) that it surged. It took 50 years. PCs debuted in the early...
The Average Founder Ages 6 Months Each Year
The median age of founders raising venture capital is climbing about six months each year, a shift driven by three forces: the surge in AI‑focused funding, the growing dominance of B2B models, and a media narrative that over‑highlights youthful, consumer‑centric...
White House Pushes Unified National AI Regulation, Blocks States
What I read this week... 1) On 12/11, The White House issued a new Executive Order declaring that the United States must adopt a single national AI regulatory standard rather than a mosaic of state-level rules. The EO does not define...
Startup Liquidity Can Vanish Overnight, Even After Success
Liquidity is thin in startups It's entirely possible for you to have had a $100m acquisition offer last year and 0 offers today Or to close an oversubscribed rounds just a few months ago and have 0 VC interest today
The Market Has ‘Switched’ and Founders Have the Power Now, VCs Say
Venture capitalists are acknowledging a shift in fundraising dynamics, with founders now wielding greater leverage after the 2022‑23 bear market. Leslie Feinzaig of Graham & Walker and Ross Fubini of XYZ Venture describe how they had to market themselves to...
Investment Bank Boosts Sale Price 40% with Broader Marketing
What's the value an investment bank can provide? As an example, we had one founder who was on the verge of signing an LOI with a buyer, but then decided to engage us first. In a 3-week turnaround, we marketed...
Elizabeth Yin & Hustle Fund Share Super Fun Insights
Super fun from Elizabeth Yin and Hustle Fund
What Most VCs Won’t Tell You About Raising Capital
Venture capitalists Ross Fubini of XYZ Ventures and Leslie Feinzaig of Graham & Walker Ventures reveal how VCs craft their own go‑to‑market strategies, not just evaluating startups but also courting limited partners and founders. In a TechCrunch Build Mode interview...
Founders Prefer Fear of Losing Over Winning Thrill
The best question to ask: What drives you more, the thrill of winning or the fear of losing? I have asked 100 of the best founders in the world this. 82 said the same thing.
Hyper‑niche HR SaaS Delivers $158K Revenue, 700K
I love B2B SaaS startups like these. Hyperniche. Hyperfocussed. A HR/talent contact data platform on @acquiredotcom. > $158K TTM revenue > $72K TTM profit > 700K+ HR leader database Listing here: https://t.co/Gw1nCjb4CK https://t.co/HsiMTD2o8o
Stic Raises $10M Bridge Round
Stic, a Los Angeles‑based OOH advertising platform, secured a $10 million bridge round led by Accretion Capital and several tech entrepreneurs, bringing its cumulative capital to $200 million. The funding will fuel expansion into more than thirty U.S. states and Canada, deepen...
2027 Poised for Record‑breaking IPO Wave
2025 in the end was better for IPOs than 2022-2024, but still pretty Meh per @WSJ But 2027 (plus or minus)? Databricks, Anthropic, OpenAI, SpaceX, Canva, Stripe, etc? Probably will be the great stretch for IPOs of all time. ...
Corp Dev Reads Desperation, Not Talent or Tech
Founders in trouble are often dismayed by how fast corp dev people can sense their desperation. You'll be less surprised if you remember this is all they *can* sense. They can't judge technology or talent. All they can judge is...
Lolli Partners with Spark to Accelerate Bitcoin Rewards and Self-Custody
Lolli, the Bitcoin rewards app acquired by venture studio Thesis* earlier this year, announced a partnership with Lightspark’s Spark platform. The integration enables Lightning Network withdrawals, allowing users to instantly move earned Bitcoin to self‑custodial wallets via Spark’s SDK. Spark’s...
Relying on a Better Filter Improves My Decisions
I'm not a great judge of character, but fortunately my mistakes are nearly all in the same direction (accepting the bad rather than rejecting the good). So all I need is a second pass by someone with a tighter filter,...
Testing, Not Wealth, Now Defines Accredited Investors
This aspect a big deal: 1Allowing individuals to take a test to verify accredited investor status, rather than relying solely on wealth.
VC10X Micro - Why Bond Yields Are Rising Again (And What It Means for Investors)
The episode explains why long‑term government bond yields are rising again in late 2025 despite central‑bank rate cuts, focusing on the 10‑year Treasury as a key benchmark. Higher yields increase the discount rate, pressuring valuations of long‑duration assets such as...
Profitable Customer Acquisition ≠ True Product‑Market Fit
"Unclear" product market fit is when you do customer acquisition, and your unit economics work such that you can repeatedly get more customers. But you don't have a line at your door without manufacturing that.
AI Isn't in a Bubble, Data Shows Real Demand
So ARE we in an AI bubble?! Here’s why David Clark says… NO. David Clark of Ven Cap has looked at the actual metrics and came up with a hot take on this week’s TWiST VC Roundtable. When you actually...
Sergey Jakimov, LongeVC: Impacting Lives Through Longevity & Health Investing
In this episode, Sergey Jakimov, co‑founder of LongeVC, explains the firm’s $1.6 trillion longevity market thesis, its AI‑enhanced deal sourcing, and the strong track record of Fund I (over 3x MOIC with zero write‑offs). He walks through three flagship investments—Insilico Medicine, Turn...
Relentless Founder Jamie Overcomes Early Hurdles, Thrives
Yes we are - and you can hear some of his amazing stories and insights including some from an early investor (me) who gets some coverage in his book about that time Jamie said he had other investors coming in...
Student Startup Turns AI Glasses Into Accessibility Revolution
🚀 Proud moment spotlighting two of our incredible students, Henry Fox and Henry Warren , and their USC Jimmy Iovine and Andre Young Academy born startup Seeing Is Everyone’s Right (S‑I‑E‑R), the creators of Sidekick, a clip‑on AI smart glasses...
20VC OGs: SpaceX Valued at $800BN & Harvey Raises $160M at an $8BN Price | Airwallex Raises $330M and The...
The episode explores SpaceX’s $800 billion valuation and its implications, followed by forward‑looking IPO market forecasts for 2026, including potential listings for Anthropic, Stripe, Databricks, and SpaceX. It examines Netflix’s strategic acquisition of Warner Brothers, highlights major fundraising rounds such as Harvey’s...
Wealthfront’s 17‑Year Pivot to Cash Banking Yields IPO
Wealthfront IPO'd today at $2.6B 🎉 The 17-year journey: 2008: Founded as "kaChing" 2014: Peak at $700M valuation 2018: Down round to $500M 😬 2022: $1.4B UBS deal collapses 2025: IPO @ $14/share, $485M raised The pivot that saved them? Cash accounts now drive 75% of...
Product‑Market Fit Is a Spectrum, Not a Binary
I think the problem with product market fit is that it's actually a spectrum. When people say that you know if you have it, that's only when you have extreme market pull. But there are plenty of products that can...
Only 50 Immediate‑Backable Founders And
We’ll cap the community at 50 people who are “immediately backable”, i.e. repeat founders and early employees & execs at top companies.
When Demand Overflows: Market Pull Overwhelms Supply
Extreme market pull is when you really don't have to do much to get customers. You just need to fulfill their demand. You are so overwhelmed with customers that you can't even fulfill everyone's demand.
Founders Must Prioritize Distribution From Day One
Founders realizing they need to work on distribution from day 1: https://t.co/ADYBNNLJja
Kieran Turned Down Seed Funding for ElevenLabs.
My face when @matiii reminds me @Kieranleehill turned down the seed for ElevenLabs…. 🤣 https://t.co/R0b3biSsor
Speed Beats Perfection: Execution Wins in Startups
Friendly reminder that the “get shit done” founder beats the “perfect plan” founder 100% of the time in startups because speed of execution wins.
Silicon Valley Firms Outvalue Entire National Economies
Silicon Valley is repeatedly generating individual companies that are worth more than entire developed world national economies
Call Boardy for Year-End Term Sheet Guidance
If you're a founder trying to make a term sheet decision before year's end, give Boardy a call to check in!
Key Triggers That Signal It's Time to Raise or Exit
We frequently get asked how a founder can tell when it's the best time to think about raising capital or making an exit. The truth is, it depends on a handful of factors. In this video, I walk through some...
AI Bubble Burst Could Boost Europe's Trusted Platforms
what a silly oped on so many levels “But the resource-intensive AI platform bubble in which the US dominates cannot last. A market correction will shift attention to alternative models. This will in turn create new opportunities for Europe, which has...
VCs Win by Nurturing LP Relationships, Not Pitching
Every week I meet three new LPs. Even when I am not fundraising. And... I never ever sell 20VC to them. The single biggest reason VCs struggle fundraising: they do not build relationships in between funds. This is wrong. You...
Indian Tech Capitalists: Choose India, Internet, or Global Markets
INDIA, INTERNET, INTERNATIONAL If you're Indian, don't move to America. Because the US left hates technocapitalists. And the US right wants no more immigrants. Moreover, as the sovereign debt crisis worsens... It only gets worse. Possibly murderously worse. So: Indian immigrant technocapitalists need alternatives. And there...
Decision Cadence Beats Co-Location: Design Remote Immediacy
The phrase captures something teams feel long before they can describe it. Early stage work depends on a level of shared pressure that only forms when people experience the same uncertainty at the same time. The speed of communication inside...
Founders Would Be Happier by Slowing Final Fundraising
So many founders would be happier if they just slowed down fundraising toward the end ... a little
AI's Power Already Here; Change Unfolds Gradually
You can argue timelines, risks, or regulation. Existing AI capabilities are already sufficient to drive long-term change. What people miss is how disruption actually unfolds. It takes time for systems, incentives, and habits to reorganize around what already exists.
Bruce Booth: Mastermind Behind LifeSciVC Success
Great profile of great investor Bruce Booth @LifeSciVC https://t.co/VCOHBQIriN
Master Risk by Practicing Small Calculated Moves Early
The best risk takers I know took lots of small, calculated risks when they were younger before concentrating. It’s a skill that requires repetition for the patterns to emerge.
Make Pitch Meetings Two‑Way: Ask VCs These Questions
I think pitch meetings should be a two way street. Most of the time, I find that few founders I speak with have any questions for me or about Hustle Fund. Here are some questions that may be helpful for...