AGI Declassified🤖, EQT's Founder Test📝, Best Practices for Using Cursor👨‍💻

If you're building, investing, or just trying to stay ahead of the curve, you're in the right place. Every week, we break down the latest insights, funding news, and founder-friendly gems—no fluff, just what matters. Plus, we track the freshest VC funds deploying capital so you know where the money’s moving.

Let’s get into it 👇

---

In-Depth Insights 🔍

• The Founder Test: EQT's Framework for Assessing Grit 🧗‍♂️
  EQT's guide to identifying resilient, mission-obsessed founders who’ll power through chaos. [Steph Bailey]

• AGI Declassified: What Founders Should Really Know 🤖
  Cutting through the hype - real implications of AGI for startups, now and next. [Michael Spencer]

  

• AI-First Is the New “Return to Office” 🔁
  Being AI-first isn’t optional - ignore it and your org risks becoming irrelevant fast.

• Bullish: Vertical & Compound Software 🧱
  Point solutions are out. Vertical + compound is the only way to survive in AI-era software. [OnlyCFO]

• Frameworks to Prove Your Market Is Big Enough 📈
  6 no-BS ways to prove your startup's market is VC-scale—top-down, bottoms-up, and beyond. [Sahil S]

• 89 Best Startup Essays by Top VCs and Founders 📚
  No-BS essays from Graham, Altman, Naval, Khosla, and more - organized by topic, built for action.

• Best Practices for Using Cursor, Compiled by Paras Chopra 👨‍💻
  A clean, tactical breakdown on how to actually use AI coding tools without getting buried in chaos.

• The Founder’s Pain Test 💊
  10 blunt questions to find out if your startup idea actually solves a real problem - or if you're wasting your time. [Burak Buyukdemir]

---

Trending News

• Instacart acquires Wynshop to power up grocers and retailers 🛒
  Instacart is going beyond grocery delivery by scooping up Wynshop, aiming to supercharge back-end tools for grocers and retailers. [Lauren Forristal]

• Stripe takes aim at Apple’s 30% App Store cut 🍏
  Stripe is giving iOS devs a new playbook to dodge Apple’s infamous fees - a direct shot at Cupertino. [Sarah Perez]

• France posts worst VC quarter in 5 years 📉
  Deal count is down, and capital’s drying up - Q1 marks a brutal slowdown for France’s startup scene. [Leah Hodgson]

  

• Revolut launches mobile plans - yes, like a carrier 📱
  Revolut is now selling SIM cards. The fintech giant wants to be your bank and your network. [Tom Matsuda]

• Sam Altman’s Orb is scanning eyeballs across the U.S. 🧬
  Worldcoin’s biometric orb is officially on tour - scanning eyes and raising questions across America. [Lauren Goode & Kylie Robison]

  

• WhatsApp hits 3 billion users, officially elite tier 👑
  Meta’s messaging juggernaut now connects nearly 40% of the world - and it’s still climbing. [Ivan Mehta]

---

Social Media Gems 💎

• The Ultimate VC Meme Starterpack 🧢
  A+ humor for anyone who’s ever survived a pitch deck and a Patagonia vest. [Camille Zivre]

  

• Tech Stack by ARR Stage 🧰
  Clean breakdown of tools by ARR stage - use it to audit gaps and plan your next stack move fast. [Darrell Alfonso]

  

• The Current State of Digital Advertising 📲

  Google’s grip on digital ads is slipping. E-comm ads are rising. Social is now just media. Attention is shifting - and so is the money. [Eric Flaningam]

  

• How vibe coding works 😂

  When the error becomes the answer - coding energy at its finest. [Alex]

  

• Ex-Google CEO: AI Could Use 99% of Global Electricity ⚡

  AI’s energy use could jump from 3% to 99%. Compute is the new arms race. [

  Linas Beliūnas
  ]

---

New Funds 💰

• Decarbon8 US Impact Fund kicks off 2025 cycle to fund cleantech startups reducing carbon emissions across the U.S.

• Volution launched $100M fund to back early-stage B2B software startups.

• Blockchain for Good Alliance teams up with UNDP to start a global accelerator and fund for blockchain-based impact ventures.

• P101 Closed €250M Programma 103 fund for European tech investments.

• EQT Ventures debuts “The Founder Six” program - operational funding and mentorship for Europe’s top early-stage founders.

• EWOR raises €60M to invest in early-stage founders through its entrepreneurial education + funding platform.

• Rebel Capital new fund targeting high-performing, capital-efficient SMB software companies in overlooked markets.

• Ara Partners closed inaugural infrastructure fund to back decarbonization-focused projects.

---

That’s a wrap for this week.

If you want to stay ahead of the curve, make sure you're subscribed. No fluff, just real startup insights delivered straight to your inbox.

See you next time 🚀