The World of Atoms, Not Bits⚛️, The VC Liquidity Crunch💸, From Prompts to Orchestration🛠️
Another week, another pulse check on Tech.
From top insights and reports to new funds, VC jobs, resources, and the hottest deals, here’s everything you need to stay ahead 👇
this week’s issue is brought to you by Vanta:
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In-Depth Insights 🔍
A Solo Founder Playbook Turns AI Agents Into Functional Teams 🛠️
The guide maps startup operations into repeatable workflows covering research, product, growth, legal, and execution tasks. Its core idea is that founders manage context, systems, and decisions while agents handle much of the underlying work.
JUST IN: SpaceX surpasses TSMC to become the world's 6th most valuable company
3% chance SpaceX is the largest company at year-end. [Polymarket]
A Founder Breaks Down the Purchases That Improved Life Most After an Exit 💰
The discussion focuses on assembling trusted advisors and service providers rather than optimizing investment returns. Many of the decisions center on reducing complexity, saving time, and improving day-to-day quality of life. [Chris Barvber]Claude Code’s New Dynamic Workflows Shift Focus From Prompts to Orchestration 🛠️
The framework shows how software can generate and manage its own execution logic, reducing the need for manually linked prompt chains. Internal patterns such as parallel evaluation, verification loops, and ranking systems are presented as reusable building blocks for complex tasks.
Alfred Lin Says Finishing the Last 10% Creates Most of the Value 🏁
He argues that difficult final steps are where quality, differentiation, and outcomes become visible to others. Projects often fail not from poor starts but from never reaching the level of completion that compounds results. [Alfred Lin]
Sarah Guo Sees Opportunity Beyond the Largest AI Winners 💡
She challenges the belief that only dominant infrastructure companies remain investable in the current market cycle. The argument centers on capabilities and advantages that cannot be easily replicated through scale or training data alone. [Sarah Guo]
PostHog Published a Practical Marketing Manual for New Founders 📣
The guide is aimed at operators who have early customer demand but limited experience with distribution. It provides a starting framework for building repeatable growth efforts before hiring dedicated marketing talent. [PostHog]
The VC Liquidity Crunch Is Driving Capital Into Secondary Markets 💸
Private company exits remain scarce, leaving a large backlog of venture-backed businesses waiting for liquidity events. As distributions slow, investors are increasingly using discounted secondary transactions to unlock capital.
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Interesting Reports 📊
The Next Trillion-Dollar Companies Will Be Built in the World of Atoms, Not Bits ⚛️
Capital is shifting toward robotics, energy, aerospace, advanced materials, and compute as strategic infrastructure becomes a national priority. The U.S. and Europe attracted $156.6B in deep tech funding, while new unicorns increasingly require longer timelines and larger capital commitments. [Dealroom.co]France Becomes Europe’s Fastest-Growing Deep Tech Market 🔬
Deep tech captured the majority of French venture funding in 2025, reaching a record $4.7B and tripling from 2019 levels. Growth since 2020 has exceeded every major European market, placing France on a trajectory comparable to the U.S. expansion cycle. [Dealroom.co]
Private Equity Is Betting on AI While Waiting for Exits ⏳
Firms are reallocating capital away from software toward sectors viewed as more resilient to technological disruption. At the same time, longer holding periods and widening valuation gaps are making portfolio exits harder to execute. [PitchBook]Private Markets Are Replacing Public Markets as the Preferred Exit Path 📉
PE-backed companies now significantly outnumber UK-listed firms as sponsor-to-sponsor transactions continue to rise. Holding periods keep extending, but lower interest rates, listing reforms, and private share trading venues are helping revive deal activity. [PitchBook]
Recently Launched Funds 💸
Volition Capital raising $875M for Fund VI, its sixth flagship growth-stage venture fund focused on founder-led software, internet, and tech-enabled businesses.
Base10 Partners closed $850M in capital across its venture funds, investing in automation, AI, and technology companies modernizing traditional industries.
Pitchdrive Fund IV closed at €60M to invest in AI-native pre-seed and seed startups across Europe, continuing Pitchdrive’s early-stage venture strategy. Pure VC fund.
Animal Capital closed Fund III at $33M, backing early-stage technology startups and expanding its seed-focused venture investing platform.
Star51 Capital held the first close of its Medtech Venture Fund, targeting medical technology and healthcare innovation startups. Amount undisclosed.
Carbon13 launched SEIS Fund X, its tenth climate-tech fund, supporting founders building high-impact decarbonization technologies.
VC Jobs 💼
USV (New York City, NY): VC Analyst (apply here)
Headline (San Francisco, CA): VC Investor (apply here)
Point Nine (Berlin, Germany): VC Associate (apply here)
Cherry Ventures (Berlin, Germany): VC Internship (apply here)
Ubiquity Ventures (San Francisco, CA): VC Associate (apply here)
Left Lane Capital (New York City, NY): VC Analyst (apply here)
Intuitive Ventures (Menlo Park, CA): VC Investor (apply here)
AP Ventures (London, England): VC Analyst (apply here)
SuperSeed (London, England): VC Investor (apply here)
Ripple Ventures (Toronto, Canada): VC Internship (apply here)
Hottest Deals 💥
Prometheus raised $1.2B Series B at a $41B valuation to scale its AI infrastructure platform and accelerate deployment of artificial general engineering systems. (read more)
Helion raised $465M Series G to advance commercial fusion energy and support deployment of its first power plant. (read more)
AlphaSense raised $350M at a $7.5B valuation to expand its market intelligence and enterprise AI platform. (read more)
Theker raised $85M Series A to expand its AI-native legal technology platform and accelerate international growth. (read more)
PhoenixAI raised $80M Series B to scale its AI-native database infrastructure for autonomous agents and enterprise applications. (read more)
Current raised $80M Series E to expand its digital banking platform and launch new consumer financial products. (read more)
GPS Renewables raised $66.3M Series C to expand bioenergy infrastructure and compressed biogas production across India. (read more)
Remedy raised $19M Series A to scale its healthcare technology platform and support growing enterprise demand. (read more)
Mendo raised €12M Series A to accelerate workplace AI adoption and expand across Europe. (read more)
Artis raised $7.3M Seed funding to accelerate product development and commercial expansion. (read more)
CHPTR raised $5.5M Series A funding to modernize end-of-life planning and memorialization services. (read more)
Relai raised $5.4M Pre-Seed funding to build its platform and expand its team. (read more)
The Wedding Company raised $2.75M Seed funding to expand its wedding marketplace and technology capabilities. (read more)
Enera raised $2M Pre-Seed funding to develop its energy technology platform and support commercialization efforts. (read more)
Courtroom closed a Pre-Seed funding round to build AI-powered tools for legal professionals and litigation workflows. (read more)
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