Inside OpenAI🧠, Karpathy’s YC Talk🎥, How AI Companies Actually Build Moats 🏰

Jul 20, 2025

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 🔍

How AI Companies Actually Build Moats 🏰
Pete Flint (NfX) lays it out: speed is table stakes, but moats win games. Think: network effects, embedded workflows, brand equity. It's motte-and-bailey, but for blitzscaling.

Enterprise AI Agents Are Already Here ⚡
Remember when AI agents were a 2030 thing? Turns out, 68% of large enterprises are already deploying them. Hype’s out. Workflow automation is in. [VentureBeat]
The SaaS Financial Model That’s Raised Millions 📊
This plug-and-play Excel sheet nails burn, runway, and fundraising clarity in one clean dashboard.
Mira Murati’s $12B AI Lab… Has No Product Yet 🤯
You read that right. $2B raised. $12B valuation. No product shipped. But when a16z and Nvidia wire the cheque, the rest of us pay attention. [TechCrunch]

Inside OpenAI: Culture, Chaos, and Codex 🧠
Ex-OpenAIer Calvin French-Owen drops rare insights into life inside the machine. Velocity meets philosophy. Codex meets scale. Fascinating read. [Calvin French-Owen]
AI Sucks Up $162.8B as VC Fundraising Tanks 📉
AI startups are eating the cap table: 64% of U.S. deal value in H1. Meanwhile, traditional VC funds are quietly sweating through another no-close quarter. [Reuters]

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Interesting Reports 📊

Andrej Karpathy’s YC Talk Is a Masterclass in AI Software Evolution 🎥
1.3M views in 10 days. Karpathy doesn’t just predict the future of software - he reverse-engineers it in real time. Bookmark this one.

Québec’s Tech Scene Is Quietly Booming 📈
Startup density is up. Capital is flowing. The 2025 Québec Tech Ecosystem Report reads like a playbook for regional innovation done right.

Europe Just Dropped Its Generative AI Copyright Playbook ⚖️
Human authorship, creator pay, no messy legal rewrites. The EU’s latest AI framework is pragmatic, not panicked - and creatives should pay attention.

Recently Launched Funds 💸

Mantis VC closed Fund III at $100M to double down on early-stage consumer tech and entertainment startups.
GPx brian Singerman and Lee Linden are raising a massive $500M for their debut GPx fund.
Evantic Capital launched its inaugural $355M fund focused on growth-stage software and infrastructure startups.
Norrsken VC committed €300M to support AI startups tackling global challenges through responsible innovation.
Haveli Investments closed its debut software-focused fund with a whopping $4.5B. One of the year’s largest.
VIE Ventures new biotech fund launched to target autoimmune disease therapies, backed by big pharma and health VCs.
Kettleborough VC launches Fund II with an ₹80 Cr ($9.6M) target to back Indian SaaS and fintech startups.

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 enthusiasts. Fill out this form and we’ll will do our best to connect you with the right investors! 🚀

VC Jobs 💼

New York Life Ventures (New York City, NY): Senior VC Associate (apply here)
Open Systems (New York City, NY): VC Manager (apply here)
Wyld VC (San Francisco, CA): VC Principal (apply here)
Foreground Capital (Boston, MA): VC Associate (apply here)
Baird Capital (Chicago, IL): VC Associate (apply here)
Inventure (Washington, DC): Senior VC Associate (apply here)
SevenSevenSix Ventures (Remote): VC Analyst (apply here)
SCB 10X (Remote): VC Associate (apply here)
Balderton Capital (London, England): VC Analyst (apply here)
b2venture (Berlin, Germany): VC Internship (apply here)

Hottest Deals 💥

Bedrock Robotics raised $80M to expand its autonomous industrial vehicle platform. (read more)
Firestorm Labs secured $47M in Series A to scale up its AI-powered defense drones. (read more)
Eton Solutions raised $58M in Series C to grow its wealth tech platform for family offices. (read more)
OpenEvidence scored $210M Series B to build AI copilots for doctors. (read more)
Exein raised €70M in Series C to push its embedded cybersecurity tech into new global markets. (read more)
Agora landed $50M in Series A to fuel its AI-native collaboration platform. (read more)
CertifID secured $47.5M in Series C to fight wire fraud in real estate transactions. (read more)
XTEND raised $30M in a Series B extension to expand its tactical drone fleet. (read more)
Fellow Health brought in $24M Series B to grow its men’s health and fertility platform. (read more)
GT Medical Technologies closed a $53M Series D with an additional $16M for brain cancer therapy tech. (read more)
Amogy raised another $23M to advance its ammonia-based clean energy systems. (read more)
Vultron raised $22M total to build AI-native CRM software for enterprise sales teams. (read more)
PCI Pharma Services received major investment from Mubadala, Bain Capital, and Kohlberg. (read more)
NetBox Labs landed $35M in Series B to power open-source networking infrastructure. (read more)
Motor AI raised $20M to expand its autonomous vehicle safety systems. (read more)