Tech‑Heavy Startups Dominate Harmonic Q2 List with Minimal Overlap
Harmonic just dropped its Q2 '26 Hot 25 list, featuring the early stage companies seeing the most investor interest on @Harmonic_AI's platform. My biggest takeaways: Almost zero competition between these products. Every quarter, this list has multiple clusters of startups all sort of doing the same thing. This quarter you can argue that all of these products operate in completely different spaces / industries / core ICP. 11 of 25 were on Q1's list. This is the highest I've ever seen carry over between quarters. 23 of the top 25 have raised in the past year. On the same thread as above, investors love concentrating into the winners. Very strong technical teams. If you look at the founders backgrounds (link in next post), there's a strong bias towards very technical founding teams.
Trayd Raises $10M, Slashes Payroll Time 28x
Congrats to Trayd on their $10M Series A! Specialty trade contractors deal with union rules, multistate labor laws, and a ton of manual back-office work. Trayd automates payroll, HR, and compliance for them, cutting a 14-hour weekly process down to under...
Happy Pay Secures $5M Seed to Expand BNPL Across Africa
𝗥𝗲𝗶𝗻𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 “𝗕𝘂𝘆 𝗡𝗼𝘄, 𝗣𝗮𝘆 𝗟𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗿” 🇿🇦 South African fintech Happy Pay has raised $5 million in seed funding, in a round led by global venture capital firm Partech, 𝗮𝘀 𝗶𝘁 𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗸𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗲 𝗮 𝗻𝗲𝘄 𝗺𝗼𝗱𝗲𝗹 𝗼𝗳 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘀𝘂𝗺𝗲𝗿 𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗱𝗶𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗿𝗲𝗺𝗼𝘃𝗲𝘀...
Invest in Founders, Not Categories: Glimpse’s Success
Heard this from VCs? "You're great, but your category isn't." I invest in top-notch founders, not categories. Case study: Akash Raju , Anuj Mehta , and Kushal Negi at Glimpse . Started out in a completely different business. But got...
Active Angel Investing: Relationships Drive Monumental Returns
I had one of the legends of angel and seed investing on Uncapped, @RonConway. He's the founder of SV Angel been an early backer of companies like Google, Facebook, Airbnb, and many more. We talked about the evolution of tech, being...
Bessemer's Track Record Highlights India's VC Growth
We continue our series of looking at venture capital performance in India with a story on Bessemer Venture Partners https://t.co/OjzXOWYEDD @followthemani
Startup Success Standards Have Shifted Upward—Now Exceptional Required
The definition of a “great” startup has changed. But many founders are still building like it’s 2018. A few shifts happened: 1) A $1B exit used to be the goal. Now it’s often just the baseline. 2) $100M ARR used to mean you...
AI Autopiloted Term Sheet, Closing Deals in Seconds
Sent a founder a term sheet. $500k @ $10m post. She replied, and CC’d my assistant. “Too low. Claude, double the check size, 3x the valuation, and introduce me to Zuck and Jensen.” I laughed, as if that would work. I keep those intros...
Recording Every Conversation Unlocks AI-Powered Global Knowledge
Sam Liang came to the DFJ offices in Menlo Park from China with broken English and a strong spirit. He told us he was creating a business that allowed phones to tag people as they moved around the world and would...
Shepherd Secures $42M to Accelerate AI‑Driven Construction Insurance
Congrats to the @withshepherd team on their $42M Series B! They're rebuilding commercial construction insurance for the AI era. When a broker submits an account, Shepherd delivers an indication in minutes—not weeks. 1,500+ policies issued, $400B in insured value, 600+ commercial...
Copper, Not Models, Is the AI Bottleneck.
Everyone's watching model releases. The real AI race is in copper. Kandou AI raised $225M to reimagine how data moves between chips. When Anthropic and OpenAI both surge in the same week, they're not racing each other. They're revealing the shared bottleneck: infrastructure....
OpenAI Boosts Private‑Equity Offer in Enterprise War with Anthropic
Exclusive: OpenAI sweetens private equity pitch amid enterprise turf war with Anthropic, sources say https://t.co/ZcUhtQFcMj
A16z Critiques Ads, Seeks AI-Driven Advertising Startups
a16z > ads are terrible. Also a16z > let us find AI ads based startups 😅
Own More of Winners, Not Just Find Them
a16z made a 312x return on Instagram. $250k invested. $78 million returned. In under 2 years (!) And it 𝑎𝑙𝑚𝑜𝑠𝑡 didn't matter. a16z had raised over $1B+ across its funds. At $250k checks, they'd need 12+ Instagrams just to break even. One of...
AI‑generated Code Makes Testing Essential, Says Momentic
In this episode of Founder Firesides, YC's @harjtaggar talks to @wuweiweiwu and @itsjeffan, co-founders of @MomenticAI, who just raised a $15M Series A. Momentic is the verification layer for software. The AI-powered testing platform impersonates end users to catch bugs before...
Luxury Mogul Bernard Arnault Secretly DM‑ing Startup Investments
Just found out Bernard Arnault is a lurker on here and he's rolling into DMs asking to invest millions in early stage startups 👀 https://t.co/t7PCwg5Mdj
Start with the Problem, Not a Buzzword Pitch
This founder lost a $500,000 deal with one sentence. Instead of asking about the problem first, he jumped into a generic AI pitch full of buzzwords. That is how deals quietly die. Do you start with the pitch or the problem? https://t.co/gNddet5n0N
Accelerating Opportunities Demand Bigger, Faster Funding Rounds
Thanks, @tim for our great chat in @ft about @airstreet epoch 3! “One of the reasons to go bigger now is the opportunity set has accelerated dramatically” “Companies want to raise faster and raise larger rounds, so you need to adapt the...
AI Blurs VC and PE Lines in Construction Deals
AI: Where VC converges with PE! Historically, outstanding venture capitalists invested in high-growth software. Top-quality private equity firms acquired companies. And the two strategies were distinct. Those two paths may be converging. @generalcatalyst just invested $13.8M to back KP Reddy to launch @ZeroRFI_...
AI Agents Transform Insider Risk From Alerts to Guidance
Excited to share that Ballistic Ventures led the Series A investment in Above Security, as the company emerges from stealth today with $50M in funding. Insider risk is one of the most persistent - and misunderstood - problems in cybersecurity. It’s...
Startup Ecosystem Systematized, Scaling Far Beyond Population Growth
Lotta folks commenting that this chart is an indictment of the progress of "startup science." I think it's the opposite. Since 2010 you've had a 7-10xing of seed rounds and a 3.5-7xing of A rounds. The US population has only grown...
Give Founders Concrete Feedback, Not Vague “High Bar” Excuses
The worst feedback to give a founder is "our bar is high, and therefore we are going to pass." That doesn't define your bar and it doesn't give any substantive feedback to the founder. Founders are way more resilient...
8 Proven Tips for Startup Fundraising Success
Asking for money is one of the hardest things about running a startup. Most people were never taught how to do it. Here are 8 tips the Hustle Fund team actually uses: 🧵
We Overhyped Valuations, AI May Follow Suit
It's easy to make fun of 2021 valuations. But how in the world did we ever think Asana should be at a 60x revenue multiple... Seems like we will look back similarly at many private AI companies 🤔 https://t.co/VK8CqatqTn
YC’s Quick Vetting Means Fraud Isn’t Their Fault
It's not fair to blame YC for backing apparent frauds like Delve. They only spend 10 minutes with founders over zoom before investing. It's a cursory screen. They're not trying to deeply vet founders -- they're trying to give as many founders...
Follow Meghan for Top LP Market Trend Insights
If you are a VC who needs to understand LP market trends the best person to follow is Meghan
Biotech IPOs Show Strong Avg Gains, Weak Median
Quick Biotech IPO stats for 2026, with six offerings: $AKTS $AGMD $EIKN $SGP $MANE $GENB - Average post-IPO stock performance (offer price to 3/20/26 close): +38%. Without $MANE, avg is negative. - Median post-IPO stock performance: -24% - Total IPO gross proceeds:...
AI Success Determines Next Generation CEOs and Funding
RT Recruiters are using AI. Boards are replacing CEOs faster. Startups are fighting for capital. The leaders who win will have strong AI stories and measurable outcomes. #AI #Leadership #CIO @Star_CIO https://t.co/mIefOcbMM8
LP Secondaries Plunge Below Par as GP Continuations Surge
7% of LP-led secondaries in 2H’25 sold at par. Over a quarter sold < 80 cents. Meanwhile GP-led CVs are booming. Different structure, same problem The traditional exit isn’t there at the price the GP underwrote.
VCs Chase Hype, Not Diligence, Fueling AI Boom‑bust
I don’t know if there is anything shady going on here or not, but I will say, more generally, that VCs prefer social proof than actual diligence: “XYZ did the A, we must get into the B” or “ARR is...
Biotech Giant Earendil Labs Secures $787M Funding
Giant biotech round that hit right after I sent Pro Rata: Earendil Labs raises $787M https://t.co/NWt2bBA9Lr
Only Pitch These Seed Investors with $20K+ MRR
If you’re doing $20K MRR, here are 10 Seed investors writing $1M-$5M checks 💰 - First Round Capital - Bessemer Venture Partners - Boldstart Ventures - Accel - Founder Collective - Bonfire Ventures - Uncork Capital - Point Nine Capital - Costanoa Ventures - SaaStr Fund If you do not have...
Beyond AlphaFold: AI Generates Functional Proteins From Scratch
The AlphaFold moment was never the finish line. It was the starting gun. @saakohl helped build the system that cracked protein structure prediction… then left @GoogleDeepMind to go one step further. Design the molecules themselves. From scratch. In silico. Before a single experiment...
Secondary Marketplaces Seek $1B Pre‑Seed at $4B Valuation
We are now in part of the cycle where secondary marketplaces are soliciting investors for a $1B pre-seed round at a $4B valuation.
Bezos Plans $100B Fund to Automate Manufacturing with AI
"Jeff Bezos is in early talks to raise $100 billion for a new fund that would buy up manufacturing companies and seek to use AI technology to accelerate their path to automation." https://t.co/UmA1I3g0xp
Airbnb Secured Highest Batch Valuation: $3M Post‑Money
After YC, Airbnb raised $615k at a $3M post-money valuation. We were the highest valuation in our batch.
Value‑add LP Era Emerging, but GPs Still Struggle Raising
New guest post on Signature Block this morning by @pavelprata. I want to believe we're entering the "the value-add LP era" but I'm skeptical when most GPs struggle to raise. Curious to hear more thoughts on this. Link to the piece below. https://t.co/TsXFYDrtqd
Verily Secures $300M, Ends Alphabet’s Majority Control
Major scoop from @ShelbyJLiv: Verily has raised $300M, ending Alphabet's majority control over the company https://t.co/6kjuC2FND7
Use YC‑style ‘Vertebrae’ for Stronger Demo Day Pitches
I'm glad she chose this excerpt about how to make a convincing Demo Day presentation. Founders would be so much more effective at fundraising if they gave their pitches YC-style "vertebrae".
YC’s Organic Rise: Word‑of‑mouth, Founders, and Evolving AI
Paul Graham is back on The Social Radars with @jesslivingston and @cjoneslevy. This time, they focus on what was happening behind the scenes at Y Combinator in the early years. PG shares how YC grew through word of mouth, what it...
Cerebral Valley Show Explores Future of Innovation
The Cerebral Valley Show https://lnkd.in/e8mdEjnq with Max Child and James Wilsterman
VC Subsidies Sustain Bubble; Truth Unsustainable, Switching Costs Negligible
People can’t handle the truth. It isn’t sustainable. Switching costs are virtually nothing. The bubble will pop when the VC subsidies stop. https://t.co/xYlztsZ1CM
Arc Secures Funding From A16z, Lowercarbon Capital
Arc received backing from a16z, Lowercarbon Capital and other venture firms in its latest fundraising round. https://t.co/gCCUtJYMpf
Thrive and Notable Funds Outperform in VC Returns
VC RETURNS REVEALED: Recent Thrive & Notable Funds in a League of Their Own at UTIMCO @maddierenbarger https://t.co/JRRnZpr6pM
OpenAI's $110 B Funding
I feel like we are underplaying the fact that OpenAI raised $110 billion in a single funding round
Show Institutional Investors Your Consistent, Structured Approach
Institutional investors think in patterns. They look for repeatability. They look for discipline. They look for structure. They look for consistency over time. Show them that you operate this way, And they will trust you before you even ask. 🔗 Tribevest #structureisstrategy #capitalraising #raisingcapital #fundoffunds
AI Valuations Likely Overinflated, Reset Imminent
VC Bill Gurley sees a reset coming in AI. His point is simple. When a real wave hits, a lot of money is made quickly, and that’s usually when excess builds up. The question isn’t whether AI is real. It’s whether valuations...
Bootstrapped Founders Can Attract VC Love Beyond Capital
When my friend raised $6M and I told him I was sad to lose another bootstrapper to the VC dark side, he said something that totally dumfounded me. Him: “We're building a generational company and not planning on raising any...
TransFi Secures $14M Series A From Tether’s Arm
Big congratulations to @thefintechfund portfolio co @getTransFi, who just raised their $14M Series A from @Tether's investment arm, Turing Financial. https://t.co/YnhLl63Gau