🎯Today's Venture Capital Pulse
Updated 38m agoWhat's happening: AI fuels record $119.5B venture fundraising despite fewer rounds
Venture capital fundraising jumped 16.9% to $119.5 billion in 2025, the strongest recovery since the 2022 market reset. The total number of rounds fell 41% to 4,859, concentrating capital in larger AI‑focused financings, with AI startups capturing 58% of Series D cash and median valuations rising across all stages.
Also developing:
By the numbers: OpenAI raises $110B in corporate funding
Podcast•Jan 9, 2026•1h 27m
Howard Lutnick: How America Can Hit 6% GDP Growth in 2026
In this episode, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick outlines how strategic trade policies, revamped tech initiatives, and targeted reforms could propel U.S. GDP growth to 5‑6% by 2026. He discusses the legacy of Trump’s tariffs, the evolving US‑Japan trade relationship, stalled India negotiations, and efforts to lower pharma costs, while highlighting the revamped CHIPS Act and a major Nvidia partnership as catalysts for innovation. Lutnick also emphasizes combating fraud, modernizing immigration, and leveraging gold cards to boost economic efficiency. The hosts probe his insights, revealing a roadmap that blends aggressive trade deals with domestic policy reforms to achieve unprecedented growth.
By All-In Podcast
Social•Jan 9, 2026
Practical AI Tactics for Scaling Revenue and Reducing Churn
No fluff. No panels about "the future of AI." At SaaStr AI Annual 2026 (May 12-14) you'll learn: 💲How to price AI features 🤖How to reduce churn with AI agents 💰How to build AI GTM agents that work 🧖♀️How to hire (or not...
By Jason Lemkin
Social•Jan 9, 2026
Business Success Comes From Common Sense, Not Complexity
IF all "board meetings" were re-named "common sense meetings" they would be a lot more useful and I would enjoy attending them The way great investing is about avoiding the traps of fear/greed (not advanced strategies) Business wins come from common sense,...
By Shaan Puri
News•Jan 8, 2026
Valinor Enterprises Scores $54M Series A
Valinor Enterprises announced a $54 million Series A round, raising its total capital to over $85 million. The financing was led by Friends & Family Capital, with existing backers General Catalyst, Founders Fund, and Red Cell Partners increasing their stakes, alongside new investors...
By VC News Daily
Social•Jan 9, 2026
Only Heed Advice that Could Later Haunt You
In the process of giving advice to a startup whose domain I know very little about, I came up with a useful form of qualification: only listen to this advice if you can imagine scenarios where this email comes back...
By Paul Graham
Social•Jan 8, 2026
AI-Driven Automation Redefines How Startups Become Enterprises
So excited to share the @kindredventures seed investment into @TheCorgiCompany. AI has enabled complex services to be automated at a level never before seen. This changes the model of what kind of company can be built. As @nico_laqua says, "While...
By Kanyi Maqubela
News•Jan 8, 2026
Presto Lands $10M Funding Round
Presto Phoenix, a Silicon Valley startup specializing in enterprise‑grade Voice AI for quick‑service restaurant drive‑thrus, announced a $10 million funding round. The round was led by Metropolitan Partners Group with participation from Remus Capital, Link Ventures, and strategic angels including the...
By VC News Daily
Social•Jan 8, 2026
Revenue Intelligence Powered by Real Sales Conversations
Ergo (@joinergo) is the next generation of revenue intelligence. Most sales reporting relies on CRM fields and manual updates, which means leaders end up making decisions without real evidence. Ergo instead pulls data directly from sales conversations—calls, emails, and meetings—to show trends...
By YCombinator
Social•Jan 8, 2026
Leverage Existing $100M ARR to Build AI In‑House
Ok so on LinkedIn this week I saw another founder I know at $100m+ ARR where growth has slowed … just leave the keys on the table. Quit. This founder said he was excited to explore what AI could do...
By Jason Lemkin
News•Jan 8, 2026
JetZero Lands $175M Series B Financing Round
JetZero, a Long Beach‑based aerospace startup, announced a $175 million Series B round led by B Capital, with participation from United Airlines Ventures, Northrop Grumman, 3M Ventures and RTX Ventures. The financing brings the company’s total capital commitments to over $1 billion, including...
By VC News Daily
Social•Jan 8, 2026
High‑Pay Gap Year Programs Place Students in Startup Roles
Common Gap from Deep24 (@effortcompany24) is a single app for college and graduating high school students to apply to take a gap year at fast-growing startups. Participating companies include Corgi Insurance, Zingage and Superbuilders. This is a bet on giving young...
By YCombinator
Social•Jan 8, 2026
AI Firms Dominate Q4 Secondary Market; SpaceX Returns to Top
The 30 most in-demand startup secondary shares in Q4 '25 (per Setter Capital) Big takeaways: - SpaceX is back at #1. It spent 2.5 years on top before Anthropic briefly surpassed it in Q3. - Little change at very top of the list...
By Turner Novak
Podcast•Jan 8, 2026•19 min
Data-Driven Science and Leadership
In this episode, Dominik Schumacher, CEO and co‑founder of Tubulis GmbH, explains how the company’s antibody‑drug conjugate (ADC) technology uniquely targets cancer cells, minimizing side effects and enhancing patient outcomes. He details the distinctive chemistry that sets Tubulis’s ADCs apart...
By Running Through Walls
Social•Jan 8, 2026
Founder‑Led SaaS Thrives Amid Market Headwinds, 2025 Success
Thank you to all of the founders, partners, and colleagues we worked with in 2025. Despite headwinds in the broader market, founder-led SaaS companies continued to outperform, drawing meaningful buyer interest and achieving strong valuations. Last year, Vista Point Advisors...
By Michael Lyon
News•Jan 8, 2026
PureSpectrum Receives Investment From TA Associates
PureSpectrum, a Westlake Village market‑research technology firm, secured a strategic investment from private‑equity firm TA Associates. The capital will accelerate product innovation and scale the platform’s infrastructure. PureSpectrum’s programmatic marketplace connects brands, research agencies, and institutions with a global pool...
By FinSMEs
News•Jan 8, 2026
Global Technical Realty Receives $1.9 Billion From KKR and Oak Hill Capital
London‑based Global Technical Realty (GTR) secured $1.9 billion in financing. Private‑equity firm KKR committed $1.5 billion in equity, while Oak Hill Capital added roughly $400 million. The capital will fund expansion of GTR’s build‑to‑suit data‑center platform for hyperscalers. Founded by Franek Sodzawiczny, GTR...
By FinSMEs
Social•Jan 8, 2026
Beware Buyer Tactics—Lean on Your Banker
What are some ways buyers try to get an unfair advantage in a process? 1. Create artificial deadlines for the founder to give them exclusivity. 2. Encourage founders to sign an LOI early, without providing much detail on what the...
By Michael Lyon
News•Jan 8, 2026
Enodia Therapeutics Raises €20.7M in Seed Funding
Enodia Therapeutics, a Paris‑based biotech, secured €20.7 million in seed funding led by Elaia, Pfizer Ventures and Bpifrance. The capital will accelerate its machine‑learning‑driven small‑molecule platform that selectively modulates the SEC61 translocon to degrade target proteins at synthesis. By intervening upstream...
By FinSMEs
News•Jan 8, 2026
Vizgen Raises $48M in Funding
Vizgen, a Waltham‑based spatial multi‑omics firm, announced a $48 million financing round. The investment was led by ARCH Venture Partners, M Ventures and Northpond Ventures, with participation from existing backers. The capital will fund global researcher support and scale manufacturing capabilities....
By FinSMEs
Social•Jan 8, 2026
Kevin Hartz: Backing Teens, AI Bubble, PayPal Wisdom
New pod with @kevinhartz - why he backs so many teen founders - lessons from the PayPal Mafia - AI is the mother of all bubbles yet still underhyped - how Palantir, Xoom, and Eventbrite evolved from PayPal - sizing a hidden TAM - having kids...
By Turner Novak
Social•Jan 8, 2026
Start VC Young, Enjoy Returns Decades Later
Ideally, you'd start in venture around 13-14 years old That way, in 20 years, when the carry checks finally get material, you still have time to spend it
By Jason Lemkin
Podcast•Jan 8, 2026•53 min
Episode 111: Jimmy Wales
In Episode 111, host discusses the evolution of online knowledge sharing with Wikipedia co‑founder Jimmy Wales, covering the platform’s impact on information accessibility, challenges around misinformation, and the future of open‑source collaboration. Wales shares insights on the balance between community...
By The Puck: Venture Capital and Beyond
Social•Jan 8, 2026
Stoke Space Targets Near‑Instant Rocket Reusability
Stoke Space is racing to build the world's first fully reusable rockets that can launch, survive reentry, and fly again almost right away. In this episode of Hard Tech, @aaron_epstein sits down with @stoke_space co-founders @AndyLapsa and @Rkt_Da to find out...
By YCombinator
Social•Jan 8, 2026
Speed Wins: Upstarts Respond, Incumbents Stall
I often cold outbound mega CEOs to come on 20VC: The upstarts who are crushing, taking incumbent share and moving fast; respond and take it themselves. The incumbents; forward it to comms, who send me BS emails a week later...
By Harry Stebbings
Podcast•Jan 8, 2026•32 min
Keycard: 2026 Is the Year of Agents
In this episode, a16z partner Joel de la Garza talks with Keycard CEO Ian Livingstone about the rapid shift from AI copilots to fully autonomous agents expected in 2026, and why enterprises will be the first adopters. They explore the...
By a16z Podcast
Social•Jan 8, 2026
Companies Either Create What They Love or Exploit Customers
The most important division between companies is between those who make things they themselves admire, and those who regard their customers as fools, and cynically give them what they want. Companies sometimes shift from the former to the latter, but...
By Paul Graham
Podcast•Jan 8, 2026•32 min
The $800M Exit that Started with a Single Muffin
In this episode, Katlin Smith recounts how she turned a humble almond‑flour muffin experiment into Simple Mills, a clean‑snack brand that grew into a $800 million exit. She discusses the challenges of scaling a health‑focused food company, the strategic decisions that...
By Masters of Scale
Social•Jan 7, 2026
General AI Learning Enables Robots in Unseen Environments
It’s easy to normalize rapid progress, but it’s worth pausing to appreciate how far we’ve come. We now have systems that: 🧠 learn end-to-end 📚 transfer knowledge across domains 🌍 operate in new environments with no explicit programming From vision to language to robotics, this...
By Sequoia Capital
Social•Jan 7, 2026
Anthropic Hits $350B in Record 4.5 Years
Anthropic from 0 to $350 Billion Valuation. Is this the fastest ever from founding? The data says yes. Time to $350B: 🥇Anthropic: 4.5 years (founded 2021) 🥈OpenAI: ~10 years (founded 2015) 🥉SpaceX: 22 years (founded 2002) Anthropic is reaching SpaceX-level valuations roughly 5x faster. Even crazier:...
By Jason Lemkin
News•Jan 7, 2026
Discord and Mercor Investor Niko Bonatsos Departs General Catalyst, Plans New VC Firm
Niko Bonatsos, who built General Catalyst’s seed strategy and backed Discord and the $10 billion AI startup Mercor, announced his departure in January 2026. He plans to start a new early‑stage venture firm with a group of top founders and investors,...
By TechCrunch Venture Feed
Social•Jan 7, 2026
Wealth Tax Flaws Highlight Need for Smarter Policy
Rep. Khanna reached out to me to discuss the proposed California wealth tax; and while I am against the proposed tax, I'm always open to dialogue with our elected leaders. The proposed CA wealth tax is badly designed in so many...
By Reid Hoffman
Social•Jan 7, 2026
AI Wealth Strategist Offers Elite Strategies Free
The founders of Paperspace (YC W15) just announced Autonomous (@a____t____g), an AI-native wealth strategist that brings elite strategies used by the ultra-wealthy, now available to everyone at 0% advisory fees. Millions of people already ask AI what to do with money....
By YCombinator
News•Jan 7, 2026
STRM.BIO Raises $8M in Series Seed 2 Financing
STRM.BIO, a Cambridge‑based biotech specializing in non‑viral delivery platforms for cell and gene therapies, announced an $8 million Series Seed 2 financing. The round is led by Recordati and includes continued participation from Boehringer Ingelheim Ventures and Delos Capital, with new capital...
By VC News Daily
Social•Jan 7, 2026
Storytelling Powers Finance Leadership in Modern SaaS
Storytelling is often an underappreciated strength of a great finance leader, and Samsara 's Dominic Phillips is one of the best. Tune in to tomorrow's Run The Numbers to hear some bangers and learn more about building a durable finance...
By CJ Gustafson
Social•Jan 7, 2026
Five Years of Growth Leads to Strategic Exit
After Sarah Rowell and Scott Mackenzie spent five years increasing Kantola Training Solutions' revenue, client retention, and learner engagement, they saw the market starting to consolidate and decided to make a strategic move to maximize value; either through acquisition or...
By Michael Lyon
News•Jan 7, 2026
DayOne Raises US$2.0 Billion in Series C Funding
DayOne Data Centers Limited announced a US$2 billion Series C funding round. The round was led by Coatue with participation from Indonesia Investment Authority, Indonesia’s sovereign wealth fund. Combined with the earlier US$1.9 billion equity raises and a €1 billion mezzanine facility, total capital...
By FinSMEs
Social•Jan 7, 2026
Global Founders Drive Innovation; Scaling Worldwide Is Essential
2025 reinforced what I've always believed: the best ideas and founders emerge from everywhere. We at Notable Capital backed founders building companies that transcend borders and categories—I am excited for dub and K Health for democratizing financial investing and personal...
By Hans Tung
Social•Jan 7, 2026
Choose Speed over a Higher Multiple for Faster Exit
Every day a deal stays in due diligence is another day for "market events," "cold feet," or "competitor moves" to blow it up. For a fast-growing marketing agency recently listed on @acquiredotcom, the goal was a premium 3.8x EBITDA multiple. We hit...
By Andrew Gazdecki
News•Jan 7, 2026
Sigrid Raises USD5M in Funding
Swedish consumer‑health startup Sigrid announced a $5 million financing round, though the investors remain unnamed. The capital will fuel both operational scaling and intensified research and development. Sigrid’s core offering is its patented SiPore technology, a non‑systemic, mechanically active platform that...
By FinSMEs
News•Jan 7, 2026
Filtrabit Raises €2M in Funding
Filtrabit, a Finnish cleantech firm specializing in dust‑extraction systems, secured €2 million in a financing round led by Ajanta Innovations 2 Ky. The capital will accelerate research and development while funding geographic expansion across the Nordics, Central Europe and India. The technology removes...
By FinSMEs
News•Jan 7, 2026
Linker Vision Raises US$35M in Series A Funding
Linker Vision, a Taipei‑based AI software platform, closed a $35 million Series A round led by Abico Group, with participation from NVIDIA and several Taiwanese venture funds. The capital will fund a rapid global expansion into the United States, Latin America, Asia,...
By FinSMEs
Podcast•Jan 7, 2026•23 min
E677 | Michael Brehm, Redstone: One Investment, 200 Ventures — The New Blueprint for European VC Access
In this episode, Michael Brehm of Redstone explains how the firm backs a single investment across 200 European ventures, creating a new model for VC access that spreads risk and capital efficiently. He discusses the rationale behind concentrating capital, the...
By The European VC (EUVC)
Social•Jan 7, 2026
Build Trust with Prospects to Boost Acquisition Odds
Getting to know potential acquirers in your space does increase the odds they acquire you — if you do it for the right way. Why? Because it builds trust. And a big part of M&A is trust. Will the team we just...
By Jason Lemkin
Social•Jan 7, 2026
Big AI Firm Should Acquire Tailwind, Retain Its Developers
One of the big AI companies should consider acquiring Tailwind, or do a strategic investment. And maybe rehire all the devs. They’ve given the ecosystem so much.
By Balaji Srinivasan
Social•Jan 7, 2026
Prioritize Purposeful Quests Over Pure Returns
I want great quests, not just great returns - companies I’ll be proud to tell my daughters about because of how they changed in the world for the better. IIRC Founders Fund coined this "choose good quests" meme and I...
By Alexis Ohanian
Social•Jan 7, 2026
Speed Replaces Moats: Gaps Define Today's Leaders
There are no moats anymore. Yesterday's product moats are today's Claude prompts. There are only current gaps, headstarts, and leaders and laggers. And there is speed. No one can rest on their laurels. Act accordingly.
By Des Traynor
Social•Jan 7, 2026
Seeking Series A+ Leaders' Feedback on Cursor 2.0
A portfolio co is building Cursor 2.0. If any Series A+ founders or eng leaders are open to sharing early feedback as a favor for me, DM me. :)
By Ryan Hoover
Social•Jan 7, 2026
Europe’s Booming Entrepreneurs Signal Strong Investment Opportunities
If you are not bullish on Europe right now I can categorically tell you, you have s*** dealflow and need to improve. Never been more great entrepreneurs building mega European businesses.
By Harry Stebbings
Social•Jan 7, 2026
Project Europe Poised to Lead EU Entrepreneurship
Project Europe has been live for 10 months. 12 Project Europe companies. 4 have raised significant up rounds from Tier 1s. 1 has been acquired by category leader. Never been more confident that Project Europe will be the dominant entry...
By Harry Stebbings
Social•Jan 7, 2026
Liquidity Gap Lets Jensen Pay Estate Tax, Others Can't
Jensen is liquid. As odious as the precedent is, he can pay it. His competitors, startup founders, are illiquid. Their paper valuations can't be cashed in. Even a "five year payment plan" wipes them out. Clever framing designed to normalize the estate...
By Naval Ravikant