The Lean Startup is Dead⚰️, AGI Delusion?🤖, Top Leadership Books📚
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 🔍
Q1 2025 Startup Funding Breakdown 📉
OpenAI’s $40B raise masked a tough Q1 for early-stage startups and global deal volume.
The Lean Startup is Dead ⚰️
With AI writing most code, the product dev bottleneck has shifted from engineering to attention - flipping Lean principles on their head. [Fletcher Richman]
Zero or Hero: A Technical Framework for Startup Evaluation ⚙️
OpenAI's $300B? Overpriced. Open-source is closing the gap - most AI startups will commoditize to zero. [ Jenny Xiao and Jay Zhao]
AI Supremacy or AGI Delusion? 🤖
Is AGI a near-term reality or Silicon Valley’s greatest illusion? A sharp contrarian take. [Michael Spencer and Tobias Mark Jensen]Equity Crowdfunding in the UK: Boom to Bust 📉
UK’s once-hyped equity crowdfunding scene is facing an existential crisis. Here's why. [Emily Nicolle]Secondaries Are Finally a Core Strategy 🔁
What used to be a liquidity afterthought is now a front-seat investment strategy. [Doug Dyer]
Top Leadership Books, Ranked by Founders 📚
A founder-approved list of the best leadership books - no fluff, all impact. [Gaurav Jain]
📢 Want to get in front of +300k founders and investors?
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Interesting Reports 📊
US Startup Funding Hits $85.5B in Q1 📊
OpenAI’s $40B mega-round drove a near-doubling of US VC funding, with enterprise software and health leading the charge.
BCG: Agentic AI Is Coming for Your Org Chart 🧠
AI agents aren't just tools - they're teammates. And your company's not ready.
Agentic AI: Why It’s a Platform Shift, Not a Feature 🔍
Agentic AI is eating software. This post breaks down why it matters - fast.
Recently Launched 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.
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 💼
Fitch Ventures (New York City, NY): Principal (apply here)
SemperVirens (San Francisco, CA): Associate (apply here)
Social Finance (Boston, MA): Director (apply here)
TRS (Chicago, IL): Investor (apply here)
Techstars (Washington, DC): Manager (apply here)
Slauson & Co. (Los Angeles, CA): Director of Network (apply here)
Cirrus Capital Partners (Remote): Scout (apply here)
Greymatter (Remote): VC Internship (apply here)
Founders Factory (London, England): Investor (apply here)
YZR Capital (Munich, Germany): VC Internship (apply here)
Hottest Deals 💥
Doppel, raised $35M in Series B funding to enhance its digital authentication tech. (read more)
Tow4Tech, secured $1.5M in pre-seed funding to digitize towing and roadside assistance. (read more)
Solda AI, raised €4M in seed funding to automate spend and compliance processes. (read more)
Replenysh, landed $8M in Series A to power circular supply chains for brands. (read more)
Telgea, raised $2.7M to scale its telecom analytics platform. (read more)
Materials Market, raised $2M to streamline construction material procurement. (read more)
Mission Wealth, received strategic investment from Great Hill Partners to expand its advisory services. (read more)
Gruve AI, scored $20M in Series A to scale its AI-driven safety wearables. (read more)
LlamaIndex, received strategic investments from Databricks and KPMG to accelerate LLM infrastructure tools. (read more)
Trek Health, raised $11M in Series A to modernize healthcare data operations. (read more)
Kintsugi, raised $18M to expand its voice biomarker mental health platform. (read more)
True Classic, received a strategic investment from 1686 Partners to boost DTC apparel growth. (read more)
Hoofprint Biome, landed $15M in Series A to develop animal microbiome therapeutics. (read more)
Acoru, raised €4M in seed funding to build autonomous fleet logistics infrastructure. (read more)
Emmi AI, raised $17.1M in seed funding to develop AI for personalized climate advice. (read more)
ChiroHD, raised $26M to expand its chiropractic practice management platform. (read more)
Chipiron, raised $17M in Series A to push forward quantum MRI hardware. (read more)
Dream Capital, received investment from VC4 to fuel sports tech and consumer brands. (read more)
Connecticut Innovations, invested $7.4M in early-stage companies in Q3 FY25. (read more)
RESOURCES 🛠️
✅ 50 Game-Changing AI Agent Startup Ideas for 2025
✅ 70+ Startup Pitch Decks That Raised Over $1B in 2024
✅ 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)
✅ 144 Family Offices That Cut Pre-Seed Checks
✅ The Ultimate Startup & Venture Capital Notion Guide: Knowledge Base & Resources
✅ AI Co-Pilots Every Startup & VC Needs in Their Toolbox
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