Tariffs are Killing Your Next VC Round📉, Google’s 2025 Prompt Playbook📘, Founders Fund $4.6 Bn Fund💸
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 🔍
AI Agents Need Game Theory, Not Just Goals 🧠
CMU’s Zico Kolter makes the case for building AIs that cooperate, not just optimize. [Will Knight]100+ Angel Bets Later, I’m Out 🛑
“Why I stepped back from angel investing after backing 54 companies and what I'm doing instead.” [Halle Tecco]Tariffs Might Be Killing Your Next VC Round 📉
Venture deal flow just dropped hard. Blame trade policy, not founders. [Yuliya Chernova]
Over 500 applied for Europe’s ‘YC for VC’. Meet the 20 who made the cut 🎓
New fund, old playbook - Mountside VC leans into accelerators to spot Europe’s early winners. [Amy Lewin]Chips Are the New Arms Race 🔋
IEEE breaks down who’s really winning the AI hardware wars. Spoiler: it’s not just NVIDIA. [James Myers]How AI Labs Turn Into Startups 🧪
This article surveys the competitive landscape and suggests some strategies that the labs could pursue to secure good economics for themselves.
📢 Want to get in front of +300k founders and investors?
For sponsorship opportunities across this newsletter and my other media assets, email: rdominguezibar@gmail.com
Interesting Reports 📊
Google’s 2025 Prompt Playbook 📘
Google just dropped the cheat code for prompt engineering. Clean, tactical, future-proof.
Agentic AI, Demystified 🕵️♂️
Agents that act, think, and plan… this explainer makes it click in 2 mins flat.
How to Build OpenAI Agents (For Real) 🧑💻
Not theory. Just a clean, practical roadmap to get agents running today.
Recently Launched Funds 💸
Founders Fund $4.6B says the next decacorns are already here - Founders is loading up.
Schwarzwald Capital vesta buys into the Schwarzwald thesis: patient capital, big upside.
ABC Impact $600M+ aimed at saving the world - climate, health, and inclusion get funded.
WND Ventures is ditching the old VC rulebook - founder-first or bust.
Precursor Ventures grabs $66M to keep spotting winners before they wear hoodies on panels.
ISAI & Capgemini Europe’s B2B game gets a boost - ISAI Cap II is here for SaaS and AI.
Symphonic Capital $13.5M to back precision medicine and life sciences that actually move the needle.
Eagle Freedom Fund $18M mission fund to fight trafficking - impact VC with teeth.
Fundraising?
If you're raising a round,
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 💼
Primary Venture Partners (New York City, NY): Senior VC Associate (apply here)
Google (San Francisco, CA): VC Director (apply here)
Bain Capital (Boston, MA): IR Associate (apply here)
mHUB (Chicago, IL): VC Internship (apply here)
Integrity Growth Partners (Los Angeles, CA): Senior VC Associate (apply here)
Techstars (Los Angeles, CA): Managing VC Director (apply here)
Matriosh (Remote): VC Internship (apply here)
Interplay (Remote): VC Investor (apply here)
Nauta (London, England): VC Analyst (apply here)
BMW i Ventures (Munich, Germany): VC Internship (apply here)
Hottest Deals 💥
Neutrl, raised $5M in seed funding to enhance its sustainable shopping platform. (read more)
1Fort, secured $7.5M to grow its cybersecurity insurance infrastructure. (read more)
Booked it, raised $2.5M to expand its booking and payments platform for nightlife and leisure. (read more)
Fotenix, secured $2.1M to develop its smart diagnostics tools for agriculture. (read more)
Hammer Missions, raised $1.4M to scale its drone mission software for inspections. (read more)
Nyobolt, raised $30M to commercialize its ultra-fast-charging battery technology. (read more)
GoodFire, secured $50M in Series A to grow its clean energy platform. (read more)
Revel, raised $30M in total funding to accelerate its telehealth solutions for mental health. (read more)
RISA Labs, secured $3.5M in seed funding to build AI-powered risk and compliance software. (read more)
Torder, raised $50M in Series C to expand its restaurant tech ecosystem. (read more)
Cy4data Labs, secured $10M to scale its secure data infrastructure platform. (read more)
Rio Innobev, raised ₹10 Cr in pre-Series A to fuel its beverage innovation and distribution. (read more)
Exaforce, raised $75M in Series A to accelerate its real-time data processing engine. (read more)
Toku, secured $48M in Series A to scale its customer engagement platform across APAC. (read more)
Trellis Health, raised $1.8M in pre-seed to launch its proactive fertility care platform. (read more)
RESOURCES 🛠️
✅ 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