Know What's Happening in Venture Capital
Know What's Happening in Venture Capital
Venture Capital Pulse
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EMAIL DIGESTS
Daily
Every morning
Weekly
Tuesday recap
Mistral lands $830M debt raise to build Europe’s first generative‑AI data centre
Mistral secured an $830 million debt financing to construct its inaugural AI data centre, marking the largest single funding round for a European generative‑AI firm. The same report noted London fintech 9fin’s $170 million raise, pushing its valuation to $1.3 billion and earning unicorn status.
Also developing:
In this micro‑episode, Prashant Choubey explains why even profit‑rich giants like Meta and Amazon are cutting thousands of jobs in 2025, attributing the wave to three forces: the "Great AI Re‑allocation" that shifts talent to automation, a newly permanent "Year of Efficiency" operating mindset, and lingering over‑hiring from the pandemic. He highlights that these strategic layoffs create a talent surplus that can fuel startups, while emphasizing that future roles will demand highly specialized, AI‑adjacent skills. Listeners are urged to view the shift as both a warning and an opportunity for career repositioning in a more efficient, tech‑driven economy.
Just a fair warning to founders: like Facebook and microsoft, I predict OpenAI will study their platform partners and compete with many of them in the coming years. This isn't abnormal, mind you… Microsoft built windows, then destroyed their top...
“Many insurance CEO want to sprinkle AI pixie dust on themselves” - @daschreiber CEO of $LMND on CEO of @AIGinsurance Investors still do not fully understand the power of an AI native company like @Lemonade_Inc and how it compounds advantage. https://t.co/LOPcEf4U1f @CNBC
In this episode, Bobbi Brown recounts how she grew Bobbi Brown Cosmetics into a billion‑dollar powerhouse and the fraught split with Estée Lauder that forced her to choose between retirement and reinvention. She shares hard‑won lessons on scaling a brand, navigating...
Engineers became the bottleneck when analyzing sensor data. MOVEdot (@movedot_) built AI agents that fix that, working hand in hand to analyze telemetry, video & documentation 100x faster. Starting with race cars, expanding to manufacturing, robotics, and more. https://t.co/L912mZilya Congrats on the...
In this EUVC Podcast episode, Kristaps Ronis of ION Pacific explains how structured secondaries are reshaping venture liquidity by offering DPI‑focused deals that provide cash without forcing founders or GPs to sell shares or signal weakness. He highlights the market’s...
The episode chronicles Michael Loeb’s journey from being fired at 36 to creating billion‑dollar ventures like Synapse, Priceline.com, and the healthcare discount platform ScriptRelief, now operating under his venture collective Loeb.nyc. He argues that entrepreneurial instincts appear early—often evident in...
Woo-hoo!! Just crossed 600,000 start-up valuations on new, FREE SaaStr AI valuation calculator here -> https://t.co/jvgsU2zIKA The 2.0 version not only tells you what you’re worth, but now also tells you the odds you’ll get funded! Try it! -> https://t.co/jvgsU2zIKA https://t.co/T2LLQpqSkK
New!! “The Problem(s) With T3D2 Venture Deals. They’re Still Great. But They Might Get You Fired.” https://t.co/lXKYxMt3Lo
The post compares AI infrastructure spending to historic U.S. investment projects, showing AI at 1.6% of GDP in 2024—far below World War II, the New Deal, and the railroad boom. It highlights current corporate outlays (Microsoft, Google, Meta) and projects OpenAI’s...
A year ago, @thepablohansen was finishing his master's in AI. Today, he's building @withkeystone, a modern bug-triage platform for enterprises. Through YC, he found a community of founders that helped him move faster and think bigger. And you can too. https://t.co/gNl84El3BS https://t.co/ZYZEY5oYle
In this interview, Joe Seager—partner at the consumer‑focused VC True and former Virgin executive—explains how True’s vertically integrated, multi‑stage model gives founders a distinct advantage and why Europe’s fragmented venture landscape is beginning to outpace the U.S., especially in the...
I remember a few years ago, a SaaStr Fund portfolio company was struggling to get a Series A round done They found a lead to put in $8m, but wanted the insiders to put in the other $2m. I wasn't a very...
SOC Prime, the Boston‑based provider of an AI‑native detection intelligence platform, announced the closing of its latest investment round. The round was led by u.ventures and included participation from DNX Ventures, Atlantic Bridge, J Ventures and Angel One. Proceeds will...
Why are batteries a national security issue? It is THE energy source for critical applications today and, even more importantly, tomorrow: Cars Data Center Batteries (ESS) Military and defense drones Robots If we are to be a resilient nation that is in control of our...
When I founded my first start-up, * I had to sign a full recourse note to my VCs for $750,000 to get a tiny bridge * We had to sell 60% of the company in the first round * I had to agree...
Liminal Custody, a digital‑asset custody and wallet‑infrastructure provider, announced the promotion of Ilinca Cartoflea to Head of Sales, EMEA, based in Dubai. In her new role she will drive regional growth, enterprise partnerships and institutional client engagement across Europe, the...
FREE startup valuation tool -> https://t.co/jvgsU2zIKA FREE VC pitch deck grader -> https://t.co/S5UFYzoN7a
Good one from @cityofthetown: Neoclouds Race for the Public Markets, Leaving VCs Behind https://t.co/bBRvTaZCmp
In the "Bringing Trust Back to Healthcare" episode, Matt Holt of New Mountain Capital argues that the sector must rebuild trust among all stakeholders to prioritize patient outcomes, calling for greater collaboration across the industry. He and Venrock hosts highlight...
400M+ downloads and $500K profit. Bootstrapped mobile gaming portfolio live on @acquiredotcom. > $501K TTM revenue > $501K TTM profit > 100% YoY growth > 5000+ customers Full listing: https://t.co/JSw4HtA7wT https://t.co/6oHcBIy8Fg
Deedy Das and Jay Eum Join the VC Roundtable! https://t.co/QQlqMmKtCr
In this episode, Eugenia Kuyda, the founder of Replika and CEO of Wabi, discusses how AI‑driven personal software will shift from a developer‑only tool to a creative medium accessible to anyone, likening command‑line AI interfaces to the early days of...
Super psyched! We're doing a quick session with @ankurnagpal tomorrow who knows a TON about tax-savings strategies for angel investors. He is going to knowledge-dump a ton of tactical info - will be great! Hope to see you tmrw - sign...
in the latest @stateofaireport, I predicted that an ai scientist would make verifiably new discoveries end-to-end looks like we’re pretty much there!
In this episode, founders Adam and Patrik pitch STAG, an electric mini skid‑steer they describe as the "Tesla of construction equipment," highlighting its multi‑function design, Made‑in‑USA manufacturing, and early traction with major dealers like Bobcat. They explain the market opportunity...
Casey is building the infrastructure layer for insurance distribution - automating complex submissions so brokers spend less time on admin and more time with clients. https://t.co/lxZsmXMwXd Congrats on the launch, @MaxThoelen, @pascalkueng, and @nicohaenggi! https://t.co/r1Eer98FEm
Palantir: the highest valuation on the least sales of any public company ever I’m still very bullish Just a reminder things in AI are well valued https://t.co/0CNJSRuhax
In this episode Alper Oner, co‑founder of Agave Games, and VC Enis Hulli discuss Agave’s evolution from a publisher to an in‑house studio that struck global success with the hidden‑object hit “Find the Cat” and is now scaling its next...
SF Tensor (@sftensor) is building infrastructure for training foundation models, letting researchers focus on research and forget that the infrastructure layer even exists while saving 70% in training costs. https://t.co/Kcy4TeCjm3 Congrats on the launch, @benkoska, @tom_koska, and @lukkoska!
Super interesting overall - and this with all the Sequoia news yesterday: Mike Moritz gave $2.5M FOR Prop 50 and Doug Leone gave $250K AGAINST https://t.co/nFC4cbAzg8
In this episode, ElevenLabs CEO Mati Staniszewski explains how his small, autonomous, globally‑hired team ships research‑grade AI—text‑to‑speech, licensed AI music, and real‑time voice agents—at lightning speed, arguing that voice will become the primary human‑computer interface. He details the Voice Marketplace’s creator‑centric...
We've been on an hiatus with our investor newsletter, Signature Block. Publishing a new piece on a hotly debated topic later today. Subscribe: https://t.co/HVZVBIUn4e
Roelof looking at his track record as he hands over the keys https://t.co/qIh43tCXE3
NVIDIA has joined the India Deep Tech Alliance (IDTA) as a strategic technical advisor, while Qualcomm Ventures is contributing over $850 million in new capital alongside six Indian venture firms. The IDTA, launched in September with more than $1 billion in pledged...
Don’t forget square, instagram, Nu bank, YouTube, Airbnb, MongoDB, unity and WhatsApp — @roelofbotha was responsible for those crazy bets as well!
Sanabil Founder University in Riyadh 🇸🇦 🇺🇸 🤝 https://t.co/lLAXJ4kpHB
In a live TechCrunch Disrupt 2025 podcast, Sequoia partner Roelof Botha outlines the firm’s method for spotting and backing outlier companies, emphasizing fierce internal debates and consensus voting on investments. He argues that venture capital is not a conventional asset...
The All Raise summit kicks off tomorrow with 3 of the smartest, most insightful, connected, respected & kickass storytellers in tech: (and also some of my favorite people on the planet 🌏 - Nairi Tashjian Hourdajian ( Figma , ex...
We’re hosting our Floodgate Friends & Family event soon — and we want to spotlight builders doing something cool on the side. If you’re hacking on a project nights & weekends (no matter how rough!), drop a link or DM me. We’ll...
Sequoia Capital announced that partners Alfred Lin and Pat Grady will replace Roelof Botha as co‑Stewards, ending Botha’s three‑year tenure as senior steward. Lin, who joined in 2010, has led investments in Airbnb, DoorDash and Kalshi, while Grady, a 19‑year...
Funding a startup founder before they have a driver's license is proof that some VCs care more about where you are going than how you will get there :).
The startup founders who treasure your $25K like $25M today will steward $2B the same way tomorrow; financial discipline is muscle memory.
Ceres AI, a San Francisco‑based data and artificial‑intelligence firm that provides high‑resolution agricultural and environmental risk insights, announced a new financing round led by Remus Capital. The company’s platform integrates advanced satellite imagery, AI analytics, and field‑scale data to serve...
$495 is a tough price point to hire a human sales rep for But an AI agent? 🤖They don't mind. They don't mind -- at all. If nothing else, put AI agents + AI SDRs and AEs on the deals...
How fundable are you -- really? How well are you doing -- really? Just upload your deck here to SaaStr AI VC -> https://t.co/S5UFYzofhC And don't guess anymore https://t.co/80nrRXLnXb
Dropped by Ro HQ today to fireside with my friend & Ro CEO @ZReitano — I could chop it up with this guy for hours. https://t.co/6UwXiEVXum
Excited to share that we are investing out of Spero Fund II. If you're a founder creating a healthy, sustainable, and fulfilling future for everyone, we'd love to hear from you.
VC backed D2C fitness sportswear drop on @acquiredotcom. > $50K TTM revenue > $46K TTM profit > 49% YoY growth > 92% margins Love seeing clean, profitable brands like this one. Listing: https://t.co/bObD9JzryK https://t.co/GzdQgFAduh
Most founders think leverage comes from headcount. It comes from clarity.
