AI Is Eating VC📉, Most-Active US Investors💵, Longevity Tech Rebounds🧬
Another week, another pulse check on venture.
From top insights and reports to new funds, VC jobs, and the hottest deals—here’s everything you need to stay ahead.
Let’s dive in 👇
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In-Depth Insights 🔍
Swiss Cheese & Vertical Software 💻
Most VC filters are lazy - Euclid says forget TAM and focus on multivariate risk to find real winners in Vertical AI. [Euclid Ventures]
AI Is Eating Venture Capital 📉
VC firms are slashing headcount as AI takes over sourcing, diligence, and ops - 50% cuts are just the beginning. [Ben Bergman]India’s PE Surge Amid Trade Tensions 🌍
As China stumbles, global PE giants double down on India - buoyed by exits, digital growth, and trade tailwinds. [Emily Lai]
Most-Active US Investors: April 2025 💵
VC deal activity slumped in April - only a16z and Khosla cracked 10+ deals, signaling continued caution across the board. [Chris Metinko]VC’s Sum of All Fears 📉
Klarna, Chime, and others freeze IPO plans - LP pain, closed exits, and zero goodwill are spooking venture capital. [Dan Primack]
Barriers to Entry in Venture Capital 🧱
Emerging Managers face steep startup costs, bias against first-time funds, and brand gaps - VC isn’t built for newcomers. [Christian Hernandez]
📢 Want to get in front of +300k founders and investors?
For sponsorship opportunities across this newsletter and my other media assets, email: rdominguezibar@gmail.com
Interesting Reports 📊
Drake Star: $86B Sports Tech Deals, Top Early VCs 📊
$86B in deals. M&A up 70%. VCs to watch: Elysian Park, Sfermion, Players Fund.
CVC Deals Hit 7-Year Low, AI Still Dominates 💸
CVC deal volume drops to 728 - lowest since 2018. Median deal size up. 7 of top 10 deals go to AI. Salesforce Ventures leads. [CB Insights]
Longevity Tech Rebounds, Backed by Billionaires 🧬
$300M poured into anti-aging bets. NewLimit raised $72.3M. Bezos and Altman are in. Science still early - momentum isn’t. [PitchBook]
Recently Launched Funds 💸
Robert Bosch Venture Capital €250M fund targeting deep tech and AI across Europe, North America, Israel, and China.
Crowd Power Ventures $20M debut fund focused on energy transition and community-driven climate tech startups.
Actimed Investment closed new fund to back biopharma ventures with a focus on unmet medical needs.
VentureIsrael second fund launched to fuel Israeli deep tech startups in AI, robotics, and more.
Mainsail Partners raised $1.535B for Fund VII to scale bootstrapped B2B software companies.
Active Impact Investments climatetech Fund III hits $110M to back North American early-stage climate solutions.
Verb Ventures €25M second fund to support early-stage B2B software startups in the UK and Europe.
AI Fund closed $190M Fund II to incubate and scale AI-first startups globally.
Fundraising?
If you're raising a round,
and I can help. We gather startup fundraising data and share it with our audience of 300k+ investors and startup enthusiasts. Fill out this form and we’ll will do our best to connect you with the right investors! 🚀VC Jobs 💼
Align Impact (New York City, NY): VC Associate (apply here)
Entrepreneur First (San Francisco, CA): VC Investor (apply here)
Construct Capital (Washington, DC): VC Investor (apply here)
RKMG (Remote): VC Partner (apply here)
Entrepreneurial Capital (Remote): Chief of Staff (apply here)
Bonfire Ventures (Los Angeles, CA): VC Director (apply here)
Share Ventures (Los Angeles, CA): Chief of Staff (apply here)
TCV (London, England): EA (apply here)
Founders Factory (London, England): VC Investor (apply here)
YZR Capital (Munich, Germany): VC Investor (apply here)
Hottest Deals 💥
AutoIVF, secured funding to expand its automated IVF treatment platform. (read more)
Trailhead Biosystems, raised $20M to advance its precision cell therapy tech. (read more)
Alice, raised €4.2M to grow its AI-powered parenting app across Europe. (read more)
Breathe Battery Technologies, raised $21M Series B to boost its battery optimization software. (read more)
Toloka, landed $72M to expand its AI data-labeling marketplace. (read more)
Finom, received €92.3M from General Catalyst to scale its SMB-focused fintech platform. (read more)
Doubleword, raised $12M to enhance its AI-driven language learning platform. (read more)
BusUp, secured €2.84M to expand its corporate shuttle service. (read more)
Haast, raised $6M seed round to develop its AI-first sales intelligence platform. (read more)
Quantix, received a majority growth investment from Diatonic Healthcare to scale diagnostics. (read more)
SaveA, raised $2.5M pre-seed to build a circular economy for refurbished electronics. (read more)
Path Ex, raised $5M to scale its rapid blood infection diagnostics platform. (read more)
Arbitrum Gaming Ventures, launched with a $10M cohort to back on-chain gaming startups. (read more)
Shopline, made a major anchor investment via LVLUP Ventures to drive ecommerce innovation. (read more)
Blackfinch Ventures, invested £18M across 17 UK tech startups as part of its EIS push. (read more)
RESOURCES 🛠️
✅ 50 Game-Changing AI Agent Startup Ideas for 2025
✅ 144 Family Offices That Cut Pre-Seed Checks
✅ 70+ Startup Pitch Decks That Raised Over $1B in 2024
✅ 89 Best Startup Essays by Top VCs and Founders (Paul Graham, Naval, Altman…)
✅ The Ultimate Startup Data Room Template (VC-Ready & Founder-Proven)
✅ The 100+ Pitch Decks That Raised Over $2B 💰
✅ Ultimate Investor List of Lists (+5k VCs)
✅ 40 Pitch Decks That Raised Over $460M
✅ The Startup Founder’s Guide to Financial Modeling (7 free templates included)
✅ SAFE Note Dilution: How to Calculate & Protect Your Equity (+ Cap Table Template)
✅ 400+ Seed VCs Backing Startups in the US & Europe
✅ The Best 23 Accelerators Worldwide for Rapid Growth (and How to Get Into Them)
✅ The Ultimate Startup & Venture Capital Notion Guide: Knowledge Base & Resources
✅ AI Co-Pilots Every Startup & VC Needs in Their Toolbox
This weekly digest is all I need to be updated about VC, startups and the impact of AI on them. Thank you, Ruben!