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
Theo Ai Lands New Funding
Theo Ai, an AI‑driven prediction platform serving Am Law 200 firms and corporate General Counsels, announced the creation of a General Counsel Advisory Board and a new funding round led by Run Ventures, pushing total capital raised above $10 million. The round follows a $4.2 million seed raise in May 2025 and will fund expanded AI capabilities, additional engineering hires, and further development of its predictive analytics suite. Run Ventures partner PT Ungvichian will join Theo Ai’s board of directors as part of the investment.
AI Transforms Flexport Hackathons Into New Product Roadmaps
Flexport is at $2B annual revenue and just getting started. AI is so powerful it has turned internal hackathons into roadmaps for entire new product lines https://lnkd.in/g5pueCR7
Take the 2025 VC Compensation Survey by Nov 20
Everyone, It’s that time of year when folks start to think about comp. In conjunction with the All Raise team, please find the link below. Please complete the following survey by Thursday, November 20th. We will share the results with...
The Brutal Truth About Biotech: Why $2B Per Drug Is Killing Innovation
In this episode, venture capitalists Elliot Hershberg and Lada Nuzhna examine how soaring drug development costs—now around $2.5 billion per approval—are stifling biotech innovation, identifying three key forces they call the "three horsemen" that drive expense. They contrast the U.S. model...
Securing 18‑Month Runway at Startupfest
Thank you for having me at Startupfest! (Btw, I'm raising for 18 months of runway...)
AI‑Powered UGC Game Platform Hits $200K ARR Fast
Sagaland is a UGC games platform where players create and remix games using AI. They're starting with interactive story games and have hit $200k ARR in 4 weeks. Congrats on the launch, @srijanyaham & @jeankaddour! https://t.co/YaxXFAbBZq https://t.co/gW8rmK8AJq
Tom Priore: What Pro Teams Need From Their Payment Platforms
Tom Priore, CEO of Priority, unveiled Priority Sports – a fintech platform built specifically for the complex payment ecosystems of professional and collegiate sports teams. It automates contract‑linked payouts such as NIL deals and performance bonuses, provides invoice‑level, multi‑party reconciliation,...
LPs Struggle with Large, Non‑Concentrated Portfolios
It's rare that I see spicy quotes from Limited Partners, but Ben Choi had a great quote at the most recent Kauffman Fellows Summit about why becoming and remaining a venture capitalist can be hard. It sparked a conversation between...
Build Mode Starts at the Beginning: How Forethought AI Found Product-Market Fit
In the debut episode of TechCrunch’s Build Mode podcast, co‑founder Deon Nicholas explains how Forethought AI achieved product‑market fit by obsessively targeting its ideal customer profile and delivering tangible value before chasing hype. The company’s “7‑Failure Rule” encouraged rapid iteration,...
Solana Signals New Era of Global Financial Infrastructure
Wow. 🧑🏫 A masterclass on the future of global finance from a crypto savant who bet big on Solana and ironically… has zero interest in bitcoin. New Origins with Kyle Samani , Managing Partner of Multicoin Capital 👇 Transparency, speed,...
After 5 Months, the $1,200 Bottles of Besties All-In Tequila Are Finally Starting to Ship
The $1,200 Besties All‑In tequila, launched by the All‑In podcast hosts in June and sold out in its 750‑bottle run, has finally begun shipping after a five‑month delay caused by the handcrafted, collector‑style bottle. Distribution partner Flaviar pushed the delivery...
Game Data Unlocks Real-World Insights and Competitive Edge
Amazing how valuable the game data is for real world data. Only games have action on controller and reaction in the world in a physics accurate way. And if you have data from thousands of games and tens of millions...
First H100 GPU Powers AI Data Center in Space
Starcloud (@Starcloud_Inc1) recently made history by launching a satellite with an NVIDIA H100 into orbit — the first time a GPU that powerful has ever operated in space. It's the first step toward building AI data centers in orbit, powered...
The 10 Companies that Just Launched From Betaworks’ Latest Startup Camp
Betaworks unveiled the ten startups graduating from its 13th Camp, a 13‑week biannual residency focused this year on "Interfaces" that shape how users experience AI. The cohort includes Nora, a browser extension that tracks shopping habits; Primitive, a voice‑driven idea‑to‑task...
Stamina Wins: Persistence Turns Long‑Term Vision Into Payoff
It’s near impossible to beat someone who just doesn’t give up. I learned that racing marathons: you hit a wall, you feel awful, you may think you're done—and then somehow you find another gear. The same thing happens as a founder. And...
How Big Is AI Spend, Really? | What 180M Job Postings Reveal About AI’s Impact. | VC's Turning Into a...
The episode breaks down the massive scale of AI infrastructure spending, now at 1.6% of U.S. GDP and projected to approach $1 trillion annually by 2030, dwarfing historic economic mobilisations. It also highlights Europe’s narrowing valuation gap with the U.S. at...
Join Us Live with Harry Stebbings at SaaStr AI London
We’re BACK and it’s GOOD TIMES folks!! And come see Harry Stebbings + me LIVE in London Dec 1-2 at SaaStr AI LDN!
AI Masks True Talent, Turning Hiring Into Stagecraft
Hiring used to break because companies moved too slowly. Now it breaks because candidates move too fast. AI gave every applicant the ability to look qualified before they have proved anything. Resumes are AI-polished. Writing samples are AI-written. Coding tests...
The Frontier of Spatial Intelligence with Fei-Fei Li
In this episode, a16z partner Martin Casado chats with AI pioneers Fei‑Fei Li and Justin Johnson about the evolution from early AI winters to deep learning breakthroughs like ImageNet, and how those advances paved the way for spatial intelligence and Large...
VC10X Micro - The Big Short 2.0
The episode dissects Michael Burry’s newly revealed 13F bet shorting Nvidia and Palantir, arguing it could signal an AI bubble as smart money like SoftBank pulls back, valuations soar, and spending outpaces profits. It outlines three warning signs Burry cites,...
Cronvall Raises €3.9M in Funding
Cronvall, a Helsinki‑based industrial procurement technology firm, closed a €3.9 million funding round led by Greencode Ventures, Stephen Industries and Innovestor. The capital will be used to speed up international expansion and further develop its digital procurement platform, which links construction...
The Future of Crypto, with Coinbase’s Emilie Choi
In this Masters of Scale episode, Coinbase President and COO Emilie Choi discusses how the company navigated the crypto winter and the operating principles that enable hyper‑scaling in a volatile industry. She shares insights on the future of money, the...
E650 | Patrick Odier (Lombard Odier & Building Bridges) & Enrique, Chi Impact Capital: Three Systemic Plays to Underwrite Now
In this episode, Patrick Odier, chairman of Lombard Odier and Building Bridges, outlines a pragmatic shift from risk‑avoidance to opportunity‑driven system redesign, highlighting circularity, energy electrification, nature‑based solutions, and materials as the core arenas for transition investing. He argues that private‑asset classes—especially...
20VC: Sequoia's Leadership Transition | Michael Burry Shorts NVIDIA and Palantir | Gamma Raises $100M at $2BN | Has Defensibility...
The episode walks through Sequoia’s leadership transition and its strategic implications, then examines Michael Burry’s contrarian short on Nvidia and Palantir, highlighting his view that AI‑related valuations are overheated. It covers Gamma’s $100 million raise at a $2 billion valuation as a...
AI Momentum Rounds Thrive on Early Revenue-Driven Usage Growth
One conversation I keep having with founders is about how and why these AI momentum rounds keep happening. A few of them have asked me why Company X was able to raise a big round based on a short window...
Inside India’s $1 Trillion Venture Revolution W/ Kalaari Capital, General Catalyst, DM Gupta & Lightspeed India
The episode examines India’s rapidly evolving venture ecosystem, highlighting how women investors and family offices are driving a shift toward a $1 trillion wealth era and reshaping where capital flows. Panelists Vani Kola, Priya Mohan, Aarti Gupta, and Shruvi Shrivastava discuss...
Sim's Visual Agent Builder Powers the New AI Era
Sim (@simdotai) is building the visual, end-to-end agent builder — a platform where developers can design, test, and deploy real AI agents that work in production. Founded earlier this year, Sim grew from a small San Francisco apartment to a community...
AI-Powered Sales Automation at SaaStr London 2024
Want to learn how to get AI SDRs to really work? Really automate inbound with AI? Automate RevOps with AI? Join 2,500 of us and founders and leaders from Clay, Wiz, Intercom, OpenAI and more at SaaStrLondon.com Dec 1-2 to...
Lancey Automates PRs by Learning From Customer Channels
Lancey (@trylancey) is the multiplayer coding agent that builds what your customers want. Lancey scans your customer channels, builds an understanding of your codebase, and one-shots PRs. All in the background, without human prompting. Congrats on the launch, @_adipatel_ & @itsmeabhipatel! https://t.co/IpxLow4PtA
Mascobot Becomes A16z’s Top Scout and Infra Partner
.@Mascobot is always a few steps ahead!! best @a16z scout now infra partner 🚀🚀
Selfin Launches AI‑powered All‑in‑one Financial Platform
Selfin (@selfin_app_) is building the first AI Bank. They're starting with an all-in-one financial platform where you can connect all your financial products— credit, investments, crypto, 401(k)— and get personalized recommendations powered by AI. https://t.co/gnRinMZLUg
Rejection Fuels Stronger Pitches, Like a Growing Hulk
Every founder who got rejected 39 times before their Series A reminds me of Hulk. The angrier they got, the stronger the pitch became.
Solana Advocate Predicts Global Finance’s Crypto Future
🪙🧑🏫 Wow. A masterclass on the future of global finance from a crypto savant who bet big on Solana and ironically… has zero interest in bitcoin. New Origins with @KyleSamani, MP at @multicoin👇 https://t.co/v2gSJyqLX8
Build Production-Ready Voice Agents in Minutes
With @vogentai's Voice Agent Wizard, you can create an effective voice agent with just a short description. Trained on the design processes of thousands of production agents, their wizard helps you go from idea to production voice agent in minutes. https://t.co/tcT4wV3IPb
Founders Prioritize Safer Pesticides for Farmers From Day One
One of the things I love about these founders is how genuinely committed they are to discovering pesticides that are safer for farmers. Startups often talk about making the world better, but I can tell you this was their concern...
Bindwell Secures $6M Seed to Accelerate AI‑driven Pesticide Discovery
Congrats to @tylerarose0, @navvye and Bindwell on their $6M seed! Bindwell is developing safer, targeted pesticides in-house that actually work, using custom AI models that are 4x faster than AlphaFold and can screen billions of molecules. https://t.co/eEh3ZnMdSl
Benchmark Your Pitch Deck Against 4,000 Startups
Wondering how you stack up? Try the new SaaStr VC Pitch Deck Analyzer. We’ll share how you stack up against 4,000 other start-ups. And we’ll provide you honest and confidential feedback on how to do better. Try it here -> https://t.co/S5UFYzoN7a https://t.co/3M6fas5f2w
YC's 15‑Partner GP Team Feels Like a Dream
YC is a partnership of 15 GPs who have all these qualities It’s honestly a dream
Rationalisation Kills Innovation—Burn the Ships
Rationalisation is a meat-grinder to innovation. It takes a breakthrough idea, applies yesterday’s thinking (market is too small, no one is asking for it, bigger existing opportunies), and in the end it dilutes, delays, and destroys innovation. So, yes, Burn the...
Scrappy Startups Outperform Overfunded Incumbents in Bake‑offs
Scrappy startup founders beating overfunded incumbents head to head in bake-offs https://t.co/8BZoeKUjM6
Tighten Feedback Loops, Not Features, to Unlock Growth
Most companies try to grow by adding more things. The real unlock usually comes from tightening the loop that already exists. When the feedback gets sharp enough, even old products feel new again.
YC Targets 5x+ DPI, Promising Thousands of Happy Founders
YC’s goal: make all the mega funds 5x+ net DPI (And all the other funds small and medium sized too) If that happens there are a lot of happy founders. Thousands. Tens of thousands.
Startup Grind: Early Lessons, Endless Work, Rookie Mistakes
Here’s a fun artifact: @Jason grilling me (age 28) about my startup, convertible notes, and working 7 days a week along with @arrington A prequel to YC Garry, pre-15 years of hard knocks, didn’t figure out yet I shouldn’t get...
Low‑Cost Intelligent Robots Lower Business Autonomy Barriers
Parametric (@parametricpbc) is deploying intelligent, low-cost robots that do work how you want it, lowering the barrier to entry for businesses to leverage autonomy. Congrats on the launch, @c0dyswain & @jnewsom98! https://t.co/AlQH6MWksW https://t.co/3AcMt6uAg0
Great Founders Keep Asking Why; Quitters Go Corporate
Every successful founder I know is still asking why like a toddler who just discovered speech. The ones who stopped? They are in bd or corp dev right now.
VC Values Revealed by the Startups They Fund
If you want to know the values of a VC firm, look at the companies they choose to back.
Instant Trading Simplicity Fueled Robinhood’s Explosive Early Growth
In this TWiST Flashback from 2017, Vlad Tenev regales Jason with the early history of Robinhood, and explains the secret to their immediate runaway success. The key to Robinhood’s early success was simplifying the experience. Financial transactions were always subject...
From Gaming GPUs to AI Powerhouses
Companies like NVIDIA were creating increasingly powerful chips known as GPUs mainly to power up video games with more lifelike immersive graphics and performance. Little did they know, these same chips would one day power the trillion dollar data centers...
Cryogenic Propellants Unlock Efficient LEO-to-High Orbit Transfers
Here’s why extremely cold liquids are the key to taking us deeper into space. Meet Ben Schleuniger of Orbital Operations a startup building a new kind of space vehicle, designed to tow objects from Low Earth Orbit (LEO) into an...
AI IDE Gives Front‑End Agents Full Browser Context
Inspector (@tryinspector) is an AI IDE for front-end that connects browser and codebase. It lets you select elements visually and prompt changes, giving coding agents access to the same runtime context developers have: visuals, elements, and logs. https://t.co/QnTISmnc24