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
Institutional Capital Is Reshaping Digital Asset Market Structure
Institutional investors are channeling unprecedented capital into digital assets, deepening liquidity and prompting a shift in market structure. Sophisticated trading venues—ranging from regulated exchanges to prime brokerage platforms—are replacing fragmented over‑the‑counter networks. Enhanced custody solutions and clearer compliance frameworks are enabling banks and asset managers to participate more comfortably. As a result, Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies now experience steadier price dynamics and more transparent price discovery than in earlier cycles.
AI Plateau Fuels On‑device, Open‑source Surge, Threatens Spend‑dr
If frontier AI models plateau, then on-device inference and open source models could catch all the way up. Great for consumers and developers. Amazing for getting intelligence too cheap to meter, for AI-enabled hardware, and for the garden of intelligent things. But...
Why Day One Ventures’ Masha Bucher Thinks VCs and Storytelling Go Hand-in-Hand
Day One Ventures partner Masha Bucher argues that venture capital and storytelling are inseparable. She has built an integrated investment model that couples capital deployment with narrative development, aligning founder and investor incentives from the outset. By focusing on the...
Long‑term Ownership Beats Quick Exits for Founders
As a first time founder, it can be exhilarating to want to sell a company. As a second time founder, you know that results compound and it only gets better the longer you hold. I will never sell my business...
Hardware Dominates: V1 Ventures Backs Vertical Robotics
Two days ago, we Version One Ventures mentioned that this year we made 9 new investments, of which 8 (!!) have hardware. Proof that we LOVE the world of atoms, robotics, and physical AI. Here’s a quick refresher of our...
OceanSaver Raises £1.9M in Funding
OceanSaver, a Leeds‑based ecological cleaning brand, secured £1.9 million in a funding round led by NPIF II – Mercia Equity Finance. The capital will fund the company’s expansion across the UK and accelerate product development. Founded in 2018, the firm specialises in...
How Regulation Is Forcing Innovation in the Online Betting Economy
Regulators across the U.S. and Europe are tightening oversight of online betting, prompting operators to overhaul their technology stacks. The heightened compliance burden is spurring rapid investment in fintech, regtech, and advanced data infrastructure. Companies are deploying real‑time identity verification,...
The Psychology Every Founder Needs Right Now | A16z GP Reveals Secrets to Success
In this episode, a16z GP Anish Acharya explains why consumer tech is resurging, highlighting how AI now enables products to reach 100 million users at unprecedented speed. He outlines the distribution shifts and founder mindsets required for success through 2026, emphasizing...
WindRose Health Investors Closes Fund VII, at $2.6 Billion
WindRose Health Investors announced the closing of its seventh private‑equity fund, WindRose Health Investors VII, L.P., with total commitments of $2.6 billion from limited partners and the firm’s general partner. The NYC‑based firm said the new vehicle will focus on healthcare...
Etaily Receives Investment Led by SMBC Asia Rising Fund
etaily, a Philippines‑based digital‑native retail platform, secured a new investment round led by Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation’s SMBC Asia Rising Fund. While the exact amount was not disclosed, the financing pushes the company’s total capital raised above $24 million. Existing backers...
28 Days Left to Close This Year's Deal
if you told me in January that 'we should look to do a deal this year,' and we haven't, well, you have 28 days left to consummate
YC Demo Day Feels Like Reunion, Not Transactional Pitchfest
Someone asked me, "Why do you think YC demo day is far better than most tech events?" Me: "It feels more like a reunion, with far fewer aggressive pitches and requests to connect on LinkedIn." FWIW, I respect the hustle, but feel...
Company Backed by Donald Trump Jr.’s Firm Nabs $620M Government Contract
Vulcan Elements, a rare‑earth magnet startup backed by Donald Trump Jr.’s 1789 Capital, secured a $620 million contract from the U.S. Department of Defense. The award is part of a broader $1.4 billion partnership with ReElement Technologies to expand domestic magnet production. It...
Deep Dive Into Private‑to‑Private M&A Strategies
Fantastic article on private to private M&A from Bob Moore and First Round Capital with a level of detail and insight that you rarely find. https://lnkd.in/e9icT7sS
Live Pitch Dissection with Haley Bryant
We are live dissecting a pitch right now with @haleymbryant ! https://t.co/zpbdJFaHfL
This VC Charges $0 for PR, and Has 12 Unicorns to Show for It
Day One Ventures, led by former PR executive Masha Bucher, offers portfolio companies free public‑relations services alongside capital. The firm’s zero‑fee PR model leverages Bucher’s agency network to secure high‑impact media coverage that startups typically pay six figures for. This...
Foretell Emerges From Stealth, Backed by Elite
1/ Foretell is out of stealth Backed by Lux, Thrive, Founders Fund, Valor + @patrick_oshag + @GavinSBaker WIRED: "Want This Hearing Aid? Well, Who Do You Know?
Fund Management: 80% Fundraising, Ops, Not Investing
A lot of emerging fund managers think they would like to start a fund because they enjoy investing in startups. But as a fund manager, investing is probably only 20% of the job. The bulk of it is fundraising, portfolio...
Antithesis Banks $105 Million Series A Funding
TYSONS CORNER, VA, Antithesis announced a $105 million Series A round led by Jane Street.
Incubating GoAutoLane to Manage Mall Self‑Driving Fleets
Excited to have incubated @goautolane… which is going to orchestrate the dozens of self driving cars as they coming in and out of your local mall and box box retailer’s parking lot!
Invest in the Next Coinbase at YC Demo Day
Highly recommend investing in the next Coinbase at YC Demo Day A+++++ incredible experience
Aether Biomachines Raises $15M in Funding
Aether Biomachines, a San Francisco‑based synthetic‑biology startup, announced a $15 million financing round led by Tribe Capital. The round also attracted new and existing backers such as Natural Capital, Henkel, Resilience Reserve, Shrug Capital, 4DX Ventures, Unless Partners and Radicle Impact,...
F25 Demo Day Wraps Up Successfully
F25 Demo Day in the books https://t.co/5FZPjXbLpS
When Demand Outpaces Supply: From PMF to Market Pull
When does Product Market Fit turn into Product Market PULL? We all know how to spot Product Market Fit… there are real customers who are saving time and money by using your product, and they’re even evangelizing to their friends...
Carbonova Raises C$5.1M in Equity Financing
Carbonova, a Calgary cleantech firm that transforms greenhouse emissions into carbon nanofibers, announced a C$5.1 million equity financing round. The capital follows a C$4.38 million grant from Emissions Reduction Alberta. The funds will be used to build the company’s first commercial demonstration...
Drop Delegation Guilt, Unlock Massive Time
How to overcome the “Cardinal Sins of Delegation” and start saving more time for yourself. On TWiST, we’re joined by Jonathan Swanson of Athena, the startup that wants to pair you with remote assistants who can tackle all the tasks,...
Trust‑Driven Design Turned Thumbtack Into Services Amazon
How Thumbtack became “The $AMZN for Services” The iconic marketplace for home services started life as a simple idea… What if you could make the equivalent of Amazon for your random household tasks, not just products. Of course, there was...
AI Can Replace Most SDRs and CSMs, Not Engineers
A quick summary of what you can and can’t replace with AI today: - Outbound SDRs: you can replace most SDRs with AI today, possibly 100% … but you still need humans managing it and training it. Every day. IF...
CoreWeave's 134% Growth Redefines AI Infrastructure Scaling
CoreWeave might be the most interesting company in the public markets right now. They’re growing 134% quarter-over-quarter - an absolutely insane rate - and rewriting the playbook for scaling a multi-billion-dollar AI infrastructure business. Tomorrow, my interview with their CFO...
Only Top Firms Thrive Raising Capital Now
I'll take the counter. If you're a strong company, anytime is a great time to raise. I've had companies successfully raise at this time. But, if you're good but not great, deals go to die during this time. I've seen it...
Annualizing Prediction Market Revenue Misleads: It's Not Recurring
You can just annualize anything these days, you guys… The latest “ARR” crime I’m seeing is in the prediction markets. When talking about the break neck growth of platforms like @Kalshi and @Polymarket , which let you “bet” on anything,...
Apply Now: 2026 NextGen AI Fellowship for Student Founders
We are in the midst of one of the most exciting moments in history and the next generation of AI founders are just getting started. Today, we're opening applications for Notable Capital ’s 2026 NextGen AI Fellowship, an 8-week summer...
Cheap Frontier Models Challenge Trillion-Dollar Compute Race
While OpenAI signed $1.15 trillion in compute contracts through 2035, DeepSeek trained a frontier model for $6 million. This was 2025’s central question : are we building on bedrock or quicksand? The top 10 posts of 2025 examined some of these...
Founder Shares Bank Selection Insight for Leap Recap
We're grateful for founders like Patrick Fingles who rival us in the amount of energy they bring to a transaction. Special thanks, Patrick, for sharing your firsthand account of selecting a bank to represent you and the executive team at...
Choosing Ethical AI Quests with Trae Stephens
This week on Uncapped I had Trae Stephens , partner at Founders Fund and co-founder of Anduril. We talked about choosing good quests in the AI era, ethics in tech, Anduril and the future of warfare, how Founders Fund operates,...
Selling to Startups Beats Investor‑Favored Big‑Company Deals
A startup told me that one of their investors didn't like it that they were selling to newly founded startups, and wanted them to sell to bigger companies, who have more money. If investors tell you this, write them off...
Money only Threatens You when It Buys All Ads
Don't fear competitors who've raised a lot, unless you can say precisely how all that extra money is going to make them beat you. E.g. if ads are the only way to acquire users, and they can buy all the...
Voice Interfaces Replace Keyboards for All Users
A few months ago, I wrote about being voicepilled after experiencing the magic of AI-powered voice-to-text. Today, I sit down with @WisprFlow Founder @tankots to ask the question: “What if we could get rid of keyboards?" Tanay is ushering in...
Closing Four Deals This Week, Two More Next Week
Am in the process of closing 4 this week. And probably another 2 next week.
Haley Bryant Named First Non‑Founder Partner at Hustle Fund
Congrats to @haleymbryant for making Partner at Hustle Fund! Haley is one of the best operators and one of the most helpful investors I know. Easy decision to make her the first Partner at Hustle Fund outside of the...
Media Exposure Turns Angel Interest Into Lighthouse Customers
Today I interviewed a $50BN founder for 20VC. In the post interview chat, I mentioned a company we are leading the seed round for. The $50BN founder asked to angel invest and be a lighthouse customer for them. How media...
Backing Space Data Centers Aligns with Bezos, Altman's Vision
My partner @katelin_cruse just backed @Starcloud_Inc_ - a team aiming to build data centers in space. When leaders like @JeffBezos & @sama talk about off-planet infrastructure as inevitable, this is the kind of ambition they’re pointing to. https://t.co/7qQqlBcG8X
Phind Raises $10.4M to Deliver Interactive Mini‑app Answers
Congrats to @phindsearch on their $10.4M round! Walls of text are so 2022. On Phind, every answer is now an interactive mini-app. It’s a step towards their vision of creating a personal internet just for you. https://t.co/JO0vbeF5BO https://t.co/t3R3dsQ4Yp
Momentum Is Your Only Edge When Starting Out
In the early days, momentum is your only unfair advantage. You do not have brand, you do not have money, you only have motion.
Founder Advice After Acquisition: Lessons From Acquired.com
Founders to other founders after getting acquired on @acquiredotcom: https://t.co/jNNJMByjik
Polymarket Expands to US Backed by Sequoia
Jason @ Sequoia in SF, Polymarket comes to US https://t.co/G3OCHJBvEI
Success Doesn't Require 80-Hour Weeks, Balance Wins
When I was a founder, I got conflicting advice about startup work hours. "You must work 80-hour weeks to succeed!" vs "Work-life balance is possible! But, it's nuanced. After years as a founder and now as an investor, here's what I've...
Investing in Unlimited: Backing a Powerful Team
Stoked to announce our investment in Unlimited. Alex and Tara and team are a force. Watch this space.
Prioritize Startups Now; Future Cohorts Secure Growth
As long as all newly founded startups prefer your product, don't worry about competitors who can convince larger customers. You'll own all future cohorts of companies, and that's more than enough. Plus in practice you'll eventually convert the old cohorts...
Describe Startups with Verbs, Not Nouns, for Clarity
When describing a startup it's usually better to use verbs rather than nouns. Say what you do rather than what you are. Not because it sounds more dynamic, but simply because it's clearer.