Today's Venture Capital Pulse
Clip secures $500M to accelerate consumer wallet rollout
Mexican fintech Clip raised $500 million, pushing its valuation above $2.5 billion. The new capital will fund the rollout of a consumer‑focused wallet and broaden its financial‑services platform. Investors were not disclosed and the round remains under review.
Also developing:
By the numbers: Francisco Partners raises $18B for new tech funds
The AI Value Gap : Where Does the $7,000 Per Seat Go?
A new OpenAI study finds AI saves white‑collar workers 54 minutes daily, translating to roughly $7,282 of recovered productivity per seat each year. Current SaaS pricing—ChatGPT Plus, Microsoft 365 Copilot, Google Workspace AI, and Gamma—captures only 3‑5% of that value, far below the 10‑15% typical capture rate. Microsoft’s recent price hike and the rise of unbundled vertical tools like Gamma highlight a pricing power gap. The market is now wrestling with bundling versus unbundling strategies as enterprises weigh standalone AI value against existing suites.
Alfred’s Contrarian Nuance Keeps Founders Grounded
What Makes @Alfred_Lin @sequoia So Good? "Alfred is a very unique investor in many dimensions 1. He's not the type of investor to make strong, simplistic statements. Alfred's answer to everything is very nuanced, uninteresting and uninspiring. But it tends to be the...
PR Veterans Turn VC: Storytelling Becomes Investment Edge
Why it makes sense that PR experts are starting venture firms Veteran flack Lulu Meservey , the author of the viral “Go Direct” manifesto, is launching a VC fund. But does the industry really need comms experts funding companies? On...
Tiger Global Plans Cautious Venture Future with a New $2.2B Fund
Tiger Global Management announced a new $2.2 billion venture fund aimed at late‑stage technology companies. The firm highlighted its track record with high‑profile bets in OpenAI, Waymo and Databricks from its previous fund. However, Tiger cautioned that AI‑related startup valuations are...
M&A Pre‑Check: Fast‑Track Media Deals Over Hype
Big Picture: Does this $NFLX-$WBD “mega-deal” even matter? On TWiST, I suggest that these much-hyped media consolidation deals are essentially re-arranging the deck chairs on the Titanic, the equivalent to a bunch of high-profile magazines and publications swapping hands just...
AI's Incremental Rise Fuels Diverse Startup Opportunities
We Version One Ventures often get asked what’s our AI investment strategy is so we thought we’d share these reflections that we prepared for our LPs recently. At a high-level: - We’re seeing a slower take off toward super intelligence...
Resemble AI Raises $13M in Funding
Resemble AI, a San Francisco‑based enterprise generative‑AI security platform, announced a $13 million funding round, bringing its total capital to $25 million. The round featured a roster of strategic backers including Google’s AI Futures Fund, Comcast Ventures, Sony Innovation Fund and Okta...
Founders' Q4 Hockey‑Stick Forecasts Mask Cash Shortfalls
Come learn for FREE each week from the best in B2B AI! Sign up for FREE SaaStr AI Workshop Wednesdays here . I see this pattern every single financial planning season. I’m seeing it right now. And honestly, it drives...
Lulu Funding: Rare, Powerful Reality‑Distortion Field
Raising money from Lulu is like having a reality distortion field conjurer in your corner. Highly prized, incredibly rare.
Capitolis Appoints Okan Pekin as President
Capitolis, the New York‑based fintech platform for banks and institutional investors, announced Okan Pekin as its new President. Pekin, based in London, will report to CEO Gil Mandelzis and help scale the firm’s next growth phase. He arrives with more...
Charismatic CEOs Win Funding, but Product Must Deliver
One of the tougher reads in venture, at least for me, is the Larger Than Life CEO. The one so compelling, so driven, so charismatic, that you basically assume the product has to be as good. Vs. the introvert CEO...
Growth Requires Simultaneous Product and Brand Building
What is @mansourtarek_ biggest execution regret in how he scaled @Kalshi? "I was too product-driven for too long. I was always like ... it needs to grow really fast organically. Then we do more marketing and build a brand. I actually...
Rotostitch Raises $1M in Pre-Seed Funding
Rotostitch, a San Francisco‑based startup focused on automated textile manufacturing, announced a $1 million pre‑seed round. The financing was led by Boost VC and Nova Threshold. The capital will accelerate product development, expand manufacturing capacity, and fuel go‑to‑market initiatives. The company’s...
IBM's $11.1B Confluent Deal Signals Streaming Consolidation
Streaming is the next category to consolidate within the modern data stack. IBM announced its intent to acquire Confluent. The deal values Confluent at $11.1 billion, or 10.0x LTM revenue. Confluent commands more than 40% of the Fortune 500 as customers...
Enterprise AI Now Core, Workers Master Specialist Tasks
This report from OpenAI is the first time we’ve had a detailed map of what enterprise AI actually looks like inside companies. The patterns are unmistakable. The implications are big. Adoption matters, but the defining change here is how much of...
This Week in European Tech with Dan, Mads & Lomax
The panel dissects Europe’s tech landscape, starting with Bending Spoons’ aggressive roll‑up strategy and the broader valuation reset driven by debt‑fuelled M&A and Italy’s PE‑VC hybrid model. They debate Brexit’s lingering economic fallout, the erosion of German automotive dominance, and...
Seed VCs Value Both Valuation and Ownership Equally
Does valuation or ownership matter more to a seed VC? Yes. https://lnkd.in/gMHd5pSP
VCs Ease Year‑End Deal Rush, Eye 2025 Outlook
Most VCs don't really take the rest of the year off anymore No, it's more subtle It's kind of saying, Well, That's My Hand for 2025 That leads to a slowdown. The sense that maybe it's time to just acknowledge the hand for...
X-Energy Appoints Daniel Gross as Chief Financial Officer
X-energy Reactor Company announced the appointment of Daniel Gross as its new Chief Financial Officer. Gross joins from Amazon, where he directed the Climate Pledge Fund, and brings extensive experience in clean‑energy finance from Oaktree, Hudson Clean Energy, Goldman Sachs...
VCs Pose Greater Risk to Tech Than Private Equity
In some sectors, private equity has a reputation for loading companies with debt, and those companies eventually implode under the weight. But we haven't seen this so much with tech-oriented private equity firms. Rather, venture capital money can be more...
Early $7M Bet Turns $10M in Six Months
After 27 mins of interviewing @awxjack on 20VC, I asked in the middle of the show if I could invest in @airwallex. I invested $7M. Today, Jack announced Lee Fixel and Addition, one of the best in the world, have led...
The Pull to Build: Joubin Mirzadegan on Grit and Starting Roadrunner
In this episode, Joubin Mirzadegan discusses how his relentless discipline and frustration with broken infrastructure drove him to leave Kleiner Perkins and become CEO of Roadrunner, now a $7.2 billion company. He shares lessons from an early startup failure, emphasizing that...
Eric and Karim Master Founder Brand Storytelling
Which founder brand does @mansourtarek_ @Kalshi respect more than any other? "@eglyman @karimatiyeh have done a very good job at building a story and brand around the founders the team and how the company has come to be. I am learning...
SaaS AE Job Expectations Are Outdated in Today's Market
Most SaaS AE interviews today, they're still looking for: - $300k OTE - Work from home - No travel - 100% in-bound - Side hustles fine - Strong SE support on product - Sell their way - Limited need to...
Airwallex Raises $330M in Series G Round at $8B Valuation
Airwallex, the Singapore‑US fintech platform, closed a $330 million Series G round that values the company at $8 billion. The round was led by Addition with participation from T. Rowe Price, Activant, Lingotto, Robinhood Ventures and TIAA Ventures. Airwallex plans to use the capital to...
Kalshi's $1B Funding Fuels Prediction Market Revolution
Kalshi is one of the fastest growing companies on the planet. Last week: - Raised $1BN at $11BN valuation - Partnered with CNN and CNBC This is Tarek’s only interview post this news. - How Polymarket made @Kalshi better? - Is Kalshi just sports betting with...
Test, Double Down, Then Pivot Before Channel Saturates
An ideal customer acquisition strategy as a pre-seed company is to try a handful of marketing channels and then quickly go all in on the one that is working well and optimize. The only issue is at some point that...
Paribu Acquires CoinMENA
Paribu, the Istanbul‑based digital‑asset platform, announced the acquisition of Bahrain‑originated crypto exchange CoinMENA in a deal that could value the target at up to $240 million. The transaction gives Paribu immediate access to more than 1.5 million users across 45 countries and...
Tenacity and People Drive Success Despite Early Hardships
Anyone building going through a low moment - this thread is for you. What incredible tenacity. And a reminder as an investor that the people make all the difference. Early stories over overcoming hardship aren’t necessarily...
Uncapped Podcast Delivers Deep Dive Into Venture Craft
Releasing an Uncapped pod tomorrow with @gradypb and @Alfred_Lin. By far the most detailed episode we've ever done about the craft of venture and I loved it. https://t.co/tzoq4gsVOw
OTR Therapeutics Raises $100M in Series A Financing
OTR Therapeutics, a Shanghai‑based biotech, closed a $100 million Series A round in June 2025. The financing was led by True Light Capital, LAV, Pfizer Ventures and Sirona Capital. OTR will deploy the capital to accelerate its pipeline targeting immunology, inflammation, oncology...
LAUNCH Accelerator 35 Showcases Innovative Public Demo Day
LAUNCH Accelerator 35 Public Demo Day https://t.co/3ti6Q1Qmgb
Bootstrapped SaaS Hits $660K ARR, 10% Growth
I love bootstrapped businesses like this. Live on @acquiredotcom: SaaS helping brands recover carts, segment audiences, and send high converting emails without the complexity. > $660K ARR > $46K TTM profit > 100+ merchants > 10% YoY growth Full listing: https://t.co/DjQQwM9Uux https://t.co/R10ru0NB9j
Streaming Comes Into the Fold
IBM announced an $11.1 billion acquisition of Confluent, valuing the streaming‑platform provider at 10 × its last‑twelve‑month revenue. Confluent, the commercial arm behind Apache Kafka, serves more than 40 % of Fortune 500 firms and posted Q3 revenue of $298.5 million, up 19.3 % YoY, with...
Pick the Right Boulder, Not the Uphill Push
Finding product-market fit is like pushing a boulder. The easiest way to grow a startup is to find the right boulder to push down the mtn rather than pushing it up. Unfortunately, if you have not experienced product-market fit, it's...
Exploring Sci‑Tech Diplomacy's Global Investment Strategies
Inside our SCI-TECH DIPLOMACY global investing theses…
Easy Wins Signal Strong Channels; Hard Optimizations Signal Weak Ones
When you’re first starting something and doing customer acquisition through a channel, if it works, it often performs well even though it’s unoptimized. If you have to spend a lot of time optimizing to get it to barely work, it's...
AI May Inflate B2B TAM, But Beware the Trap
🚀Is AI really expanding TAM in B2B? 🔄 Or will we end up again in a ... TAM Trap? The latest 20VC with @HarryStebbings @rodriscoll + me https://t.co/GZ0atD0MKB
Waymo's Groundbreaking Tech Remains Under‑communicated by Its Leaders
Made me realize that we rarely hear from Waymo leadership despite it being such an AMAZING technology. strategic i guess? https://lnkd.in/gMqtrxjR
Founders Leaving $100M AI Startups Sparks Concern
There seems to be an accelerating trends of founders quitting successful start-ups in the Age of AI … to found new start-ups. I see it all over my feed, and it happened twice in my portfolio in past 18 months....
Why NPS Lies: Fire Bad Customers, Fix Retention
"When I arrived, our NPS was negative 26..." Get your popcorn ready, because my podcast with Cassie Young drops tomorrow. She's one of the brightest GTM minds in the game. Cassie has lived the entire go-to-market lifecycle... from CRO to...
Founders: Increase Shots or Join Labs to Thrive
"If you're a founder and feeling like your startup really isn't going anywhere, you should either 1) deeply re-assess how you can take more shots on goal or 2) go join one of the big labs. Right now is an...
Modern Etiquette Offers Practical Advice for Tech Millennials
Modern Etiquette is really good from the Slow Ventures team - it seems like a joke but it's really not, and the advice can be helpful to anyone; especially your favorite tech twenty-something. https://t.co/mcZcrEuVbm https://t.co/9ryxw6oI0c
Track Profit per Employee to Gauge Startup Health
Measuring profit per person at a startup is a great metric to track.
Diversified Public-Private Partnerships Spark Innovation and State Competition
That's big. Love the diversified public/private partnerships. Should lead to a ton of innovation - and state by state competition. Which is healthy!
Learn to Acquire Profitable Startups – Free Course
Got nothing to do this Sunday? Here's a free course on how to acquire profitable startups. - Picking a niche - Investment thesis - Sourcing startups - Negotiations - Due diligence - Financing - Hiring developers - Growth tactics - Exit strategy Get started here free: https://t.co/QY1td9XvJo
First‑time Founders Often Overlook the Discipline Needed
Most first-time founders underestimate how much discipline real progress requires.
Venture Landscape Shifts: Valuations, AI Winners, New Capital Stack
Venture is changing faster than ever. If you are not up to date, you will fall behind. Coming soon next Wednesday 👇 - What’s really happening to valuations - How AI euphoria is reshaping winners and losers - The new capital stack every founder and...
Bootstrapped B2B SEO Tool Generates $199K Profit
A banger portfolio listing drop on @acquiredotcom B2B content + SEO automation tools. > $252K TTM revenue > $199K TTM profit > 5,000+ customers > Bootstrapped + lean Full listing: https://t.co/3BF9S0E0dv https://t.co/bttCqZrs4E
Pre‑seed Founders Should Hire Contractors, Not Full‑time Staff
I think most pre-seed founders would be way better off hiring contractors for specific projects rather than hiring employees for roles - at least in the beginning.