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 weekly recap is brought to you by Vanta:
AI adoption is outpacing the governance meant to manage it
Jane Frankland, cybersecurity leader and advisor on cyber survivability, joins Vanta’s GRC experts on building an AI governance program that scales.
Inside:
▫️ Build governance into your security and risk program
▫️ Discover and assess AI systems and agents, then act on your risk tolerance
▫️ Communicate risk credibly as adoption grows
▫️ Prepare for the EU AI Act, ISO 42001, and NIST AI RMF
In-Depth Insights 🔍
YC Summer 2026 Batch: 234 Startups Reviewed ⚡
The latest YC batch spans 234 startups across 12 categories, with bets ranging from chore robots and cancer vaccines to nuclear-powered floating data centers. The interesting signal is the breadth: founders are attacking physical-world problems alongside software, infrastructure, and frontier technology. [Cathryn]
The True Biggest Risks in the AI Thesis 📉
Just 1% of OpenAI and Anthropic customers generate roughly 80% of enterprise revenue, with that concentration holding steady for three years. Meanwhile, more than $1.3T in compute commitments ties labs, hyperscalers, chipmakers, and startups to a surprisingly narrow demand base.
Instinct: A Personal AI Agent Valued at $2.5B 🤖
Instinct lets users delegate tasks through text or calls, connecting to email, messages, and accounts to handle everything from appointments to subscription cancellations. It raised $350M and reached a $2.5B valuation within a week of launch, while users reportedly route more than $1,300 in monthly spending through the agent.
144 Family Offices That Cut Pre-Seed Checks 🤝
A database of 144 family-office investors covers pre-seed and seed checks across the US, Germany, UK, Switzerland, Singapore, Brazil, and other markets. The bigger value is the process around it: qualify each contact, tailor the outreach, and build follow-up into a repeatable fundraising system.
40 AI Tools for Founders in 2026 🛠️
Three standout picks are Wispr Flow for voice input, Granola for meeting notes, and Fyxer AI for managing overloaded inboxes. The broader list covers 40 tools, pricing, free tiers, and 21 verified discounts, including startup credits worth up to $350,000. [Chris Tottman]
Founders Return to Run Pre-AI B2B Companies 🔄
Founders are stepping back into B2B companies struggling with the AI shift, with recent examples including UiPath, Workday, and Intercom. The pattern is notable but incomplete: founders can stabilize metrics after hired CEOs leave, yet none has clearly restored their previous growth trajectory. [Jason M. Lemkin 🦄]Cyber Resilience Act Reporting Begins September 11, 2026 📋⚠️
The EU Cyber Resilience Act now requires manufacturers of connected hardware and software to report actively exploited vulnerabilities and severe incidents. Initial notifications are due within 24 hours, followed by detailed reporting within 72 hours and a final report as the incident develops. [National Law Review]
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Interesting Reports 📊
Dutch Tech Giants Are Quietly Building Europe’s Startup Pipeline 💰
Former employees of Dutch tech giants have founded 270 companies that raised $1.93B and now employ 5,149 people. Booking.com leads with 88 spinoffs, while high salaries, faster hiring, and shorter tenure keep feeding talent into the ecosystem. [Dealroom.co]Glasgow’s Tech Scene Hits £5.6B in Ecosystem Value 🔬
Glasgow’s tech ecosystem has grown 2.4x since 2020 to £5.6B, with startups founded since 2015 driving half of that value. Health leads funding at £148M since 2025, while 130+ university spinouts have created another £1.1B in ecosystem value. [Dealroom.co]
ASML Leads Europe’s Race to $1 Trillion 💰
ASML is already at a $675B market cap, nearly twice Europe’s next-largest company, putting it on track for $1T between 2028 and 2031. The bigger issue is scale: only four European companies clear $100B in annual revenue, versus 14 among the global top 20. [PitchBook]
MENA Private Capital Holds Steady as Exits Freeze 📉
MENA PE deal value reached $8.6B across 102 transactions in H1 2026, while VC value held near $2B despite a sharp drop in deal count. Exit value fell to $2.7B, the lowest pace since 2017, as valuation gaps and cautious public markets kept liquidity locked up.
Recently Launched Funds 💸
Molten Ventures held a first close of its Growth Fund at £175M to back high-growth technology companies at Series B and beyond across the UK and Europe.
Techshop SGR held a first close of €43M for Techshop II, targeting pre-seed and seed B2B AI startups with a final target of €100M.
Cape Fear BioCapital closed Fund I to invest in and build early-stage therapeutics companies in North Carolina, with capacity to back three to five additional biotech startups.
The US VC Database Most Founders Never Build
2,000 active US VC firms. Pre-seed to seed. Every sector. All in one database.
VC Jobs 💼
Next Legacy Partners (San Francisco, CA): VC Associate (apply here)
HV Capital (Berlin, Germany): VC Analyst (apply here)
Earlybird (Munich, Germany): VC Internship (apply here)
Next Legacy Partners (San Francisco, CA): VC Associate (apply here)
BlackFin Capital Partners (London, England): VC Internship (apply here)
Wind Ventures (Paris, France): VC Internship (apply here)
Entrepreneurs First (Paris, France): VC Internship (apply here)
First Momentum Ventures (Munich, Germany): VC Internship (apply here)
Roosh Ventures (Kyiv, Ukraine): VC Analyst (apply here)
M12 (San Francisco, CA): VC Associate (apply here)
Hottest Deals 💥
Positron AI raised $875M in Series C funding at a $5B valuation to scale its memory-first AI inference systems. (read more)
Mach Industries raised $600M in a continuation of its Series C to scale autonomous defense systems and manufacturing, at a $3.7B valuation. (read more)
The Exploration Company raised $450M in Series C funding to advance its reusable Nyx spacecraft and Storm rocket-engine programs. (read more)
Encoded Therapeutics raised $275M in Series F funding to advance its genetic-medicine pipeline and scale manufacturing capabilities. (read more)
Celero Communications raised $275M in Series C funding at a $3B+ valuation to scale coherent DSP technology for AI infrastructure. (read more)
Solstice Oncology raised $225M in Series A funding to advance its next-generation CTLA-4 immunotherapy into Phase 2 development. (read more)
Forus raised $150M in Series C funding at a $3B valuation to expand its AI-powered medication-access network. (read more)
TAR raised $120M in Series A funding, led by Spark Capital, to develop off-grid power systems for data centers. (read more)
Pixxel raised $100M in Series C funding, co-led by Temasek and Seraphim, to expand its planetary infrastructure and Earth-intelligence platform. (read more)
Savvy Wealth raised $100M in Series C funding at a $600M valuation to scale its AI-native wealth-management platform. (read more)
Inspiren raised $70M in Series C funding at a $500M+ valuation to scale its AI-powered senior-living platform. (read more)
Moonwalk Biosciences raised $70M in Series B funding to advance its adipose-targeted RNAi therapies for obesity and cardiometabolic disease. (read more)
TwoStep Therapeutics raised $62.5M in Series A funding to advance its tumor-targeted peptide-drug conjugate platform into clinical development. (read more)
Lightfield raised $47M in Series A funding, led by Andreessen Horowitz, to build an AI-native CRM for companies operating with AI agents. (read more)
Cloverleaf Bio raised $33M in seed financing, led by 4BIO Capital, to advance its engineered tRNA cancer-therapeutics platform. (read more)
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What Is Your Startup Actually Worth? Most Founders Find Out Too Late
Most founders go into fundraising with a number in their head.
2,500 Angel Investors. All SaaS. All Searchable.
This is the most targeted angel databases we have ever shared. No mixed sectors. No noise. Just 2,500 investors with a track record of writing checks into software companies.
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BREAKING: I’m Sharing the Pitch Decks That Built Unicorns
Before companies like Airbnb, Uber, or Revolut were widely recognised, they were just early-stage startups trying to explain themselves clearly enough to raise their first checks.
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✅ 100+ Pitch Decks That Raised Over $2B
The 100+ Pitch Decks That Raised Over $2B 💰
Most pitch decks don’t get funded. These did, raising billions.
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✅ DCF Valuation Method Template: A Practical Guide for Founders
✅ How Much Are Your Startup Stock Options Really Worth?
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✅ 2,500+ Angel Investors Backing AI & SaaS Startups
2,500+ Angel Investors Backing AI & SaaS Startups💰
If you're building an AI tool or SaaS product and struggling to raise capital, here’s the hard truth:
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Financial Modeling Examples for Founders: A Startup Guide with Templates
As a founder, your primary responsibility is simple: ensure your company doesn’t run out of cash. Without sufficient funds, scaling or achieving product-market fit becomes impossible. If your business isn’t yet profitable, your runway shrinks with each passing day, and the risk of running out of cash increases.
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