AI Funding Soars While Regulations Lag Behind
$300 billion in AI venture funding. One quarter. Record. Compliance monitoring: 60+ references per day. GDPR. CCPA. HIPAA. The money races ahead. The rules are still being written. Which side of that gap are you on? https://t.co/QGkxI4A6nk
Early-Stage Investing Thrives on Trust, Not Transactions
It’s unfortunate to hear some investors - and even founders - argue that early-stage investing is becoming purely transactional…just an “access” game. That view is not only wrong, it’s dangerous. Great companies aren’t built through transactions. They’re built over time—through uncertainty, setbacks,...
Benioff Redirects $330M to Anthropic After Microsoft Block
Microsoft blocked Salesforce from investing in OpenAI. So Marc Benioff put $330M into Anthropic instead. That's one of many stories from our conversation with Marc Benioff (@Benioff), CEO of @salesforce. We also covered: > Slack was always about agents. > Marc thinks using AI...
AI Unicorns Poised for $2 Trillion Valuations
What are my current valuation predictions for OpenAI and Anthropic? OpenAI was valued at $28B in April 2023. Its latest funding round puts it at $852B. Anthropic was valued at $4B in early 2023. Today, it’s worth $380B. In my...
VC Funding Often Traps Founders on a Failure Treadmill
VCs convincing founders to take money with a 90%+ probability they will fail. They call it a treadmill for a reason. The second you take capital, you're on it, and it's set at a speed that works for them, not necessarily...
Capital-as-a-Service Delivers 2x Returns, Legal Hurdles Remain
In the mid 2010s, I experimented with something I called Capital as a Service (CaaS). Companies sent us their data, we ran it over a bunch of rules and sent back an automated investment decision. We funded more than 50...
Startup Funding Surges to $297B, Signaling Generational Shift
Startup funding has hit an unprecedented level. Global investment reached $297 billion in Q1 2026, a 2.5x jump from the previous quarter and more than entire years of venture funding before 2019. The scale signals something bigger than a cycle. Capital is...
AI CapEx Dries up as Anchor Tenant and Funding Vanish
It looks like that slowly, AI CapEx is evaporating: Poolside’s Project Horizon just lost $CRWV as anchor tenant and its $2B Nvidia-led funding round at the same time.
Series A‑C Diligence Is Essentially This Simple
This is basically all the diligence you mofos in Series A, B, and C are out there doing right now
Unicorns Take Years, Not Quick Wins, Investors Overlook
One of my biggest pet peeves: investors who write off companies too soon. Building a unicorn takes YEARS, even when things go phenomenally well. While there are exceptions, most $100M+ rev/yr companies didn't get there fast. More >>
OpenAI’s Funding Outpaces Most Nations’ Defense Budgets
OpenAI just raised more than most countries spend on defence. Here's what this means for the future of AI👇
AI Secures $211B in 2025, Half of Global VC
ICYMI: The HumanX & Crunchbase AI Funding Report is out. In 2025, AI companies raised $211B, nearly half of global VC. See where capital is flowing now, & which companies presenting at HumanX may be poised for funding, acquisitions, or...
VC Funding Surges, But Concentrates in Big Funds
Venture capital is rebounding, but not evenly. Most of the $47.8 billion raised in Q1 is flowing into large, established funds, as investors prioritize track record in a more uncertain environment. Regulation, geopolitics and overallocation are pushing capital toward perceived safety. The...
No Numbers in Founder Updates Signal Trouble
From one of my advisors who is a long-time angel: "I’ve been writing down my portfolio each month with 'spidey sense' assessments of founders whose updates have been getting fluffy. No numbers in the update = not a good sign."
Investors Flee OpenAI for More Profitable Anthropic
🚨 Investors abandon OpenAI and flock to arch rival Anthropic | OpenAI’s shocking fall from grace as investors race to Anthropic ✅ OpenAI shares are falling out of favour on secondary markets — in some cases nearly impossible to sell —...
Redemption Gates Unlock Real-World Liquidity Premium Returns
Gates. Some thoughts 101 ish Lying to investors and promising liquidity is bad Gates and limits on redemptions that are well disclosed and understood by investors is literally the value proposition. If an investment vehicle is subject to instantaneous full...
Anthropic Pays $400M for AI Biotech, Touts 38,500% IRR
Anthropic acquired an AI for biological research startup for just over $400 million. You can read the letter Dimension wrote to their LPs which boasts a 38,513% IRR https://t.co/wneesuT5u7
Diverse Investors Unite to Back Any Great Founder
At Camp Hustle, investors don’t look or think the same, and that’s the point. Different backgrounds. Different strategies. But with the same goal: backing great founders. as @ericbahn always says: “Great hustlers can look like anyone + come from anywhere.” Join us and...
AI Boom Drives Family Offices to Invest Directly on Cap Tables
The rise of AI is pushing private wealth/family offices to cut out the VC middleman and get directly on the cap table. Arena Private Wealth, which co-led a $230M AI chip startup round, is one such firm. I talked to...
Must‑Read VC Guides Every New Investor Needs
10 venture capital guides I wish I had on day 1 of being in VC👇
Know When to Exit: Cool Factor Vanishes Fast
Prominent media investor told me something a while back that stuck with me (paraphrasing): "two types of founders - ones who know when to sell and ones who hold on for too long. If your company trades on cool, better...
Predictive AI Nailed 731 Deals, Beating the Market
Crunchbase called it. In March, our predictive intelligence confirmed 731 predictions. We flagged Granola’s $125M round months early and RIVR as an acquisition target before Amazon made it happen. Not guesswork. Powerful predictions that give you an edge. 🔮 https://t.co/ykNPWspQ8D
Black Women Entrepreneurs Surge, yet Remain Severely Underfunded
Black women are the fastest growing group of entrepreneurs, and also the least funded. A lot of us aren't just chasing a dream, we're escaping a workplace that didn't value us, didn't see us, didn't make room for us.
Real Series A Winners Thrive Amid Messy Challenges
Series A “winners” rarely become the real big winners. Everyone's chasing the obvious picks: -The one with the famous founder -The company with the flashiest pitch deck -The startup that's already getting press coverage The real winners are quietly building. At Series A: → Tesla was bleeding...
Scaling Fast Can Cost More Than Funding
New @ThePeelPod with @sophiaamoruso We talk bootstrapping her vintage Ebay store Nasty Gal to $28m revenue, raising $50m, turning down a $400m acquisition offer, and declaring bankruptcy a few years later. We talk about what it was like failing so publicly, what...
Teenage Founders Now Outpace Seasoned Entrepreneurs, Timeline Accelerates
I went to Austin Rief's house for dinner with eight founders recently. - One guy raised $140 million - The oldest guy in the room was 25 - A bunch of them were building 7-figure media companies - They told me they already feel...
Intel Plans Additional Millions for SambaNova Startup
Exclusive: Intel looks to put millions more into SambaNova startup chaired by CEO Tan https://t.co/nAG4vveO85
Quantum Panic Overhyped; Real Progress Moves Steadily
The latest round of quantum panic is brought to you by the rising star VC that invested in a company that helps blockchains against the quantum “threat,” and an Ethereum guy posing as a Bitcoin security researcher. Meanwhile, real progress...
US VCs to Pour Billions Into Free Iran
Cannot wait to fund brilliant Iranian founders out of a FREE Iran. I predict billions will be invested by US VCs in partnership with Persian expats once the people take back their country of Iran and remove repressive Islamic tyranny....
Growth Must Outpace Hype for Sustainable Investment
With any private investor froth, it's always a race for the company to grow into its valuation with business with sustainable economics before reality hits and ends the party. That's when the market reluctantly turns from speculation to investing.
Airwallex Turned Down $1.2B, Built $8B Empire
In 2018, Stripe offered $1.2B for Airwallex. They refused and built an $8B company instead. Here's how they did it👇
Q1 2026 VC Hits $300B Record, AI Dominates
🚨 Venture just hit a historic high. 🚨 $300B was invested in Q1 2026 — the biggest quarter ever, accounting for nearly 70% of all 2025 funding. AI captured 81% of it, with 4 companies raising $188B alone. 🤯 @crunchbasenews has the...
Seeking Reliable Metric for OpenAI Secondary Share Pricing
is there a reliable metric on the price of secondary shares for a big startup like OpenAI?
OpenAI's Funding Mostly Contingent, Raising Flameout Fears
It’s worse than that, @polymarket: a lot (most?) of OpenAI’s new funding is *contingent* money, not guaranteed. No wonder people are getting skittish about OpenAI’s secondary market shares. OpenAI may well become the biggest flameout since Enron.
Shark Tank's $700K Rejection Became $1B Sale
In 2013, Shark Tank rejected this “useless” doorbell. The company asked for $700K investment. The Sharks laughed. But 5 years later, Amazon bought the company for $1B... And Shaq invested $1M of his OWN money into the business. Here's the story...
First Quadruple-Layered SPV Closed in 12 Hours
Humbled to announce we have closed the world’s first ever quadruple layered SPV to participate in this round. We thank our LP’s for their quick turnaround on the 12-hour process, and we are excited to lend our expertise to the OpenAI...
Early Bets on Founders Still Paying Off
this is why i invested in as many gundo founders i could a few years back. and most are still just getting started
Hire an Advisor to Cold‑email VCs for Funding
The best way to raise a round is to hire an advisor to cold email VCs
ARK Adds Private OpenAI to ETFs, 3% Stake
ARK is going to add private co OpenAI into some of its ETFs. I believe it’s 4th ETF to do this, and def not the last. 3% weighting. Nice scoop from @shiringhaffary @isabelletanlee https://t.co/OITULFSOS1
Founder Keeps 49% of $1B Exit via Smart Build, Funding
Julian Hearn just sold Huel to Danone for €1bn. he walked away with £420m personally. that is 49% of the exit. most DTC founders who raise that much end up with 15%. two things made the difference: how he built the business, and...
Q1 VC “Record” Includes OpenAI Money Not yet Closed
Seeing some "record" reports on Q1 VC fundraising that includes all $120 billion for OpenAI. Most of the $$ didn't close in Q1.
Only 12 U.S. Firms Surpass $1 Trillion: Rarity Revealed
A trillion dollar valuation in private markets is actually crazy. Only around 12 companies listed in the U.S. are worth $1 trillion or more.
Remote Teams Can Depress Startup Acquisition Valuations
One impact of remote or partially remote teams - lower purchase price if startup goes for a smaller exit / M&A (or in some cases acquisition doesnt happen at all) Reason: fewer buyers want fully remote teams, or teams w key...
OpenAI's $122B Funding Lasts only 18 Months
JUST IN: OpenAI's $122,000,000,000.00 raise will cover operations for just 18 months before they need more funding.
Sequoia Appoints Veteran Doug Leone as Chairman, Returns to Deals
Renewed economy begs renewed focus: @Sequoia Capital Names Former Leader Leone as Chairman. Sequoia Capital on Tuesday named Doug Leone, an investor who has been at the firm since 1988, as chairman. After stepping back from making new investments in...
IP Leakage Crucial to Valuing Anthropic and Similar AI Firms
Have been discussing how to value companies like Anthropic with some investor friends. The practical likelihood of continuous IP leakage a major factor in valuing the equity imo.
Kevin Durant's Whoop Stake Grew 81‑fold Since 2017
81X 👀 Kevin Durant Whoop Valuation Up 81x Since His 2017 Investment https://t.co/olA2QmD9bf via @sportico @kbadenhausen
OpenAI Secures $122B, Sets Record Funding Round
OpenAI completed the largest funding round in Silicon Valley history, raising $122 billion ahead of a blockbuster IPO expected by the end of the year https://t.co/jq6mF0qHvN via @WSJ
VCs Vastly Underestimate Generational Unicorns Like Shopify
In Bessemer's original Shopify memo, the BEST case exit was $400 million. Shopify is worth $155 BILLION today. No VC model survives contact with a generational company. I imagine we will see this to an even greater extent over the next 5...
OpenAI Secures Additional $10B, $3B From Individuals
OpenAI adds $10 billion to its massive fundraising haul, including $3 billion from individuals. https://t.co/fYFIkCIpZB
