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. 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 🔍
OpenAI’s Warning: Expensive Demos Aren’t Companies ⚠️
Most AI startups fail when features get cloned, costs outpace revenue, and markets move fast. Focus on data, distribution, pricing, and defensible advantages to survive.
The Rise of Cloud Coding Agents 🤖
Cloud-based coding agents like Devin, Codex, Cursor, and Jules are taking over repetitive pull requests. Teams can scale faster, collaborate asynchronously, and rely on integrations and pricing models to pick the right fit. [Sahar Mor]The Seasons of Fundraising 💰
Not all fundraising windows are equal. NFX breaks down the timing that concentrates investor attention and the periods where founders should prepare, not push. [NFX]
My Daily AI Playbook for Execs 🗂️
Kieran Flanagan shares his daily AI workflow as chief of staff and strategist. From prioritizing KPIs to prototyping MVPs, he shows tools that actually save time and sharpen decision-making.
Bootstrapping to €12M ARR in Under 3 Years 🚀
Fleet’s founders skipped venture funding and built €12M ARR. The formula: focus on one vertical, control costs, leverage networks, and stick to premium pricing. [Ivan Landabaso]
How to Launch Your Startup Out of Stealth 👀
Claire Butler of Figma outlines how to pick a launch date, prep your website and announcement, and pick the right channels. Prep, clarity, and momentum matter more than “perfect timing.” [First Round]
Why Everyone’s Switching to AI Credits 🪙
Companies from OpenAI to Salesforce are replacing subscriptions with AI credits. Credits align pricing with usage, reduce margin risk, and focus on paying for results instead of access. [Kyle Poyar]
Designing an Org for Founder Mode ⚡
Founder Mode orgs give the founder direct visibility and influence over the team. Flat structures, open communication, and founder-led prioritization drive speed and adaptability. [Dan Hockenmaier]
Europe’s 700 Thoroughbreds & the $50B Gap 🐎
Europe now has 700 companies making $100M+ in revenue. Saul Klein warns that a $50B growth-stage funding gap risks sending value overseas despite strong company fundamentals. [euovc]Should You Bootstrap or Raise VC? 💰
Chris Tottman compares Bootstrapping, True Angels, Super Angels, and VCs, showing how each route affects speed, control, and investor alignment. The decision shapes the pressure you face, the partners you gain, and the company you actually build. [Chris Tottman]
Founder’s Cheat Sheet: Smarter SEO with AI 🔍
Chris Tottman and Rubén Domínguez Ibar show how startups can thrive in AI-era search. Prioritize high-quality content, build intent clusters, and create AI-proof tools like calculators and data assets.
Trending News ⚡
Throxy Raises $6.2M to Tackle Outbound Sales 🚀
Most industries don’t live online, and sales teams waste hours chasing cold leads. Throxy runs the process end to end so reps walk into real meetings instead of empty inboxes.
a16z Speedrun Opens Applications for SR006 💰
The sixth Speedrun kicks off in San Francisco this January with up to $1M per startup. More than 150 teams have already passed through, with $180M invested since 2023.HappyRobot Lands $44M Series B for Enterprise Automation 🏭
From supply chains to recruiting, HappyRobot is running back-office workflows for 70+ enterprises. The round, led by Base10 with a16z and YC, pushes Europe’s automation race global.Framer Hits $2B Valuation with $100M Series D 🌐
The web builder has reached $50M ARR, break-even, and counts Miro and Perplexity as customers. Meritech and Atomico led the new round, cementing Framer as enterprise-ready. [TechCrunch]
IQM Joins Unicorn Club with $300M Series B 🔬
Finland’s quantum bet is shipping 54-qubit chips and 30 computers, now building toward 150-qubit systems. Ten Eleven Ventures led the raise to fund U.S. expansion. [TechCrunch]
Google Dodges Breakup in Antitrust Ruling ⚖️
A judge barred Google from locking Chrome, Assistant, and Play Store into search defaults. The company must now open slices of its index and data to rivals. [TechCrunch]Atlassian to Buy The Browser Co. for $610M 🌐
Arc and Dia will fold into Atlassian’s stack as browsers become work hubs. The deal signals growing overlap between enterprise software and next-gen browsing. [CNBC]Perplexity’s $34.5B Bid for Chrome Stuns Tech 🔥
The AI search startup lobbed an all-cash offer for Google’s browser, sparking questions of feasibility. Real or not, the move throws fuel on the search wars. [Institute for Mergers, Acquisitions & Alliances]
Google Photos Adds Veo 3 for Image-to-Video ✨
Users can now spin stills into short clips using Veo 3 inside Photos. With 1.5B+ accounts, Google is sliding its latest media tools into everyday use. [TechCrunch]
OpenAI Preps Jobs Platform to Rival LinkedIn 💼
Launching in 2026, the service will match workers and employers while layering in its own certification system. It’s a direct shot at Microsoft’s professional network. [TechCrunch]
Fundraising?
If you're raising a round,
and can help. We gather startup fundraising data and share it with our audience of 300k+ investors and startup operators. Fill out this form and we’ll will do our best to connect you with the right investors! 🚀Social Media Gems 💎
A New Take on Founder & VC Storytelling 🎥
]
A video-first series is capturing candid founder and investor stories beyond the crowded podcast space. From Spain to SF, it highlights personal journeys and leadership lessons in real time. [
Due Diligence on Your Investors 🕵️♂️
Founders often take VC money without asking the tough questions. Digging into investors early prevents misalignment and costly surprises after the term sheet is signed. [Chris Smith]
Will Private Markets Become the Real Stock Market? 📊
Mega-funds are keeping companies private longer, raising the question: will wealth creation move from public to private markets? The shift could concentrate wealth, reduce diversification, and invite policy scrutiny. [Ivan Landabaso]
100 AI Unicorns: Fastest Sector Boom in VC History 🦄
Since ChatGPT, 100 AI startups have hit unicorn status with leaner teams and rapid revenue growth. The rush spans foundation models, AI apps, and robotics, with many bets still based on future promise. [Jason Saltzman]
Index Ventures’ Founder Playbooks: Free Gold for 2025 Builders 📚
Index Ventures is giving away playbooks covering hypergrowth, org design, options, and global expansion. These guides distill lessons from 200k+ careers and 20k+ option grants into actionable frameworks. [Rubén Domínguez Ibar]
Prompt Engineering as a Founder Superpower ⚡
Most AI failures come from weak prompts, not weak models. Structured prompts with clear roles, goals, context, constraints, and examples turn tools into reliable, high-output instruments.
New Funds 💰
Winter Street Ventures launched its inaugural fund to back innovative healthcare startups.
Atlas Venture closed its $400M third opportunity fund to continue investing in biotech breakthroughs.
White Star Capital completed the first close of its $50M North American seed fund targeting early-stage founders.
Eagle Venture Fund announced the launch of Freedom Fund II, a $50M vehicle backing mission-driven ventures.
Venturi Partners held the first close of Fund II at $150M, focused on scaling growth companies across Asia.
Sora Ventures launched a new $1B treasury fund dedicated to purchasing Bitcoin as a strategic reserve asset.
U.S. & Indian VC Alliance formed a $1B cross-border alliance to fund India’s emerging deep-tech startups.TED Leaders introduced a $300M “Valley of Death” fund aimed at helping later-stage climate tech companies scale.
Great Hill Partners closed its ninth growth buyout fund at $7B to invest in high-growth companies across tech and healthcare.
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 🚀
Apparently anthropic wants to give me 3000 for wrongly using one of my books as training data. The other two were publicly available so i guess that’s not included in their “oops. accidentally stole the internet” settlement offer.
Great read and thanks for recommending my newsletter! Ps very excited to read that, "Europe now has 700 companies making $100M+ in revenue."