AI is eating VC🔥, The YC “Over-Concentration” Myth💡, State of Venture Q3’25🚀

Another week, another pulse check on venture.

From top insights and reports to new funds, VC jobs, resources, and the hottest deals, here’s everything you need to stay ahead.

Let’s dive in 👇

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In-Depth Insights 🔍

• 🚨129 Startups Fundraising Right Now (And Their DECKS)

  they shared their decks, details, and rounds with us and gave us permission to share them with you :)

  

• AI Is Eating Venture Capital🔥
  PitchBook data shows AI is capturing over half of all VC dollars in 2025, $192.7B of $366.8B so far. Anthropic’s $13B raise leads the way as non-AI startups struggle to attract funding. [Yahoo Finance]

• Why Your Boss Isn’t Panicking About AI 🧠
  AI errors stem from massive, inscrutable training data, not simple code bugs. Misunderstanding this gap in assumptions can make AI risks far more unpredictable than most managers realize. [Boyd’s Blog]

• The AI Bubble Might Pop and That’s a Good Thing 💥
  Hype is meeting reality as many AI-branded startups learn it’s math, infrastructure, and execution, not magic. Winners focus on useful tools and solid data rather than chasing AGI headlines. [Manu Bevilacqua]

  

• Daniel Lubetzky: The Builder’s Code 🧱
  Starting KIND Snacks in a $500 basement, Daniel built a global brand through humility, discipline, and integrity. Purpose compounds longer than profit and shapes long-term business success. [Ruben Dominguez and Guillermo Flor]

• The YC “Over-Concentration” Myth 💡
  Limiting exposure to YC means missing alpha, not risk management. Startups in the YC ecosystem outperform peers due to network effects and stronger survival, scale, and exit outcomes. [Lobster Capital]

  

• Joshua Kushner: The Rise of Thrive Capital 💡
  They’ve reshaped venture investing with bets on Stripe, OpenAI, and more. Joshua’s journey from New Jersey to global tech investor highlights intuition, resilience, and spotting opportunity early.

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Tools 🧰

• Attio: the CRM built for startups and VCs (like me). Try it for FREE here

• Harmonic: the AI agent made for VCs, then finds the startups that best fit your thesis and ranks them by relevance

• Vanta: download the EU AI Act Checklit here

• Notion: work faster with your AI team

• get compliant with Delve

• build you website with Framer and their FREE full year Launch Plan

• Carta - discover how VCs evaluate funds in their Q2 2025 VC Fund Performance Report

• Kalshi - Prediction Market for Trading the Future

• hire a world-class executive assistant for $3,000/month with Oceans

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📢 Want to get in front of +300k founders and investors?

For sponsorship opportunities across this newsletter and LinkedIn, email: ruben@thevccorner.com

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Interesting Reports 📊

• State of Venture Q3’25: Record Funding and AI Dominance 🚀
  Venture funding passed $90B for the fourth straight quarter, fueled by mega-rounds to decacorns and AI startups. AI captured over half of total funding while humanoid robots led in deal count, and exit activity started to rebound.

  

• UK Tech Surge: Record VC Funding and Growth 📈
  UK startups raised $9B in Q3, the second-highest ever, bringing YTD funding to $17.3B, matching 2024. Early, breakout, and late-stage investment is rising, with the UK on track for $23.1B in VC this year.

  

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Recently Launched Funds 💸

• Maximum Frequency Ventures launches a $50M fund to back early-stage startups across deep tech and frontier innovation sectors.

• SaaS Capital raises $100M for its fifth fund, continuing its focus on supporting recurring revenue software businesses.

• Town Hall Ventures closes Fund IV at $440M to invest in healthcare innovation and underserved communities.

• Radical Ventures closes a $650M AI-focused fund to back cutting-edge artificial intelligence startups globally.

• Maia Ventures closes €55M fund aimed at supporting agtech and foodtech founders driving sustainability.

• DVC launches a new $75M fund targeting early-stage investments in digital infrastructure and tech-enabled platforms.

• Ascenta launches a new venture fund focused on early-stage startups driving innovation across climate tech and sustainable industries.

• Radical Ventures expands its AI investment portfolio with a fresh fund targeting transformative artificial intelligence and machine learning companies.

• Verne Capital introduces a growth fund to support emerging technology companies in energy, mobility, and sustainability.

• Ukraine Phoenix Tech Fund launches to fuel Ukraine’s tech ecosystem recovery with investments in resilient startups and innovation-led ventures.

• Monterro raises new capital to back B2B software growth companies across Northern Europe, strengthening its operational focus.

• Notion Capital announces a new fund dedicated to European SaaS founders, emphasizing global expansion and category leadership.

• Creator Fund unveils a fund empowering student founders and academic entrepreneurs building frontier technology startups.

• Lisk launches a venture fund to support blockchain developers and startups expanding the Web3 ecosystem.

• Wave Function Ventures debuts a science-driven fund investing at the intersection of physics, computation, and deep technology innovation.

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Fundraising?

If you're raising a round,

Luis Llorens

and I 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! 🚀

Investing?

THESE are the companies raising right now

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VC Jobs 💼

• Cathay Innovation (San Francisco, CA): Vice President (apply here)

• Pebblebed (San Francisco, CA): Investor (apply here)

• Octave Capital (New York City, NY): Investor (apply here)

• ECMC (Remote): Impact Acceleration Associate (apply here)

• Six Thirty Ventures (New York City, NY): Investor (apply here)

• Vectors Capital (Remote): VC Fellowship (apply here)

• D11Z (Heilbronn, Germany): VC Internship (apply here)

• Senovo Capital (Munich, Germany): VC Internship (apply here)

• Samsung (Mountain View, CA): Investor (apply here)

• Flare Capital Partners (Remote): VC Internship (apply here)

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Hottest Deals 💥

• MGT Insurance, closed $21.6M in Series B funding (read more)

• Histosonics, closed $250M in financing (read more)

• Upgrade, raised $165M in Series G funding (read more)

• Deel, raised $300M in Series E at $17.3B valuation (read more)

• Bees & Bears, raised an additional €5M in seed funding (read more)

• Campfire, raised $65M in Series B funding (read more)

• Jack and Jill, raised $20M in seed funding (read more)

• Pelage Pharmaceuticals, raised $120M in Series B financing (read more)

• Ascribe Bio, raised $12M in Series A financing (read more)

• Dexory, raised $165M in funding (read more)

• Arbio, raised $36M in Series A funding (read more)

• Dreamdata, closed $55M Series B funding (read more)

• EcoRobotix, raised $150M in funding (read more)

• Movandi, raised $40M in funding (read more)

• Govini, received $150M investment (read more)

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RESOURCES 🛠️

✅ 129 Startups Fundraising Right Now (And Their DECKS)

✅ RIP SEO: the GEO Playbook for 2025

✅ The Venture Capital Method: How Investors Really Value Startups

✅ IRR vs Return Multiple Explained + Template

✅ The Headcount Planning Module

✅ CLTV vs CAC Ratio Excel Model

✅ 100+ Pitch Decks That Raised Over $2B

✅ VCs Due Diligence Excel Template

✅ SaaS Financial Model

✅ 10k Investors List

✅ Cap Table at Series A & B

✅ The Startup MIS Template: A Excel Dashboard to Track Your Key Metrics

✅ The Go-To Pricing Guide for Early-Stage Founders + Toolkit

✅ DCF Valuation Method Template: A Practical Guide for Founders

✅ How Much Are Your Startup Stock Options Really Worth?

✅ How VCs Value Startups: The VC Method + Excel Template

✅ 2,500+ Angel Investors Backing AI & SaaS Startups

✅ Cap Table Mastery: How to Manage Startup Equity from Seed to Series C

✅ 300+ VCs That Accept Cold Pitches — No Warm Intro Needed

✅ 50 Game-Changing AI Agent Startup Ideas for 2025

✅ 144 Family Offices That Cut Pre-Seed Checks

✅ 89 Best Startup Essays by Top VCs and Founders (Paul Graham, Naval, Altman…)

✅ The Ultimate Startup Data Room Template (VC-Ready & Founder-Proven)

✅ The Startup Founder’s Guide to Financial Modeling (7 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

✅ AI Co-Pilots Every Startup & VC Needs in Their Toolbox