🤖 85% of YC startups are now AI startups

Y Combinator’s latest batch is 85% AI — a sharp signal of where early-stage conviction is headed.

The gold rush isn’t over — it’s still accelerating.

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📉 Why predictions fail — and how great investors prepare instead

Your job isn’t to predict the future. It’s to be ready for it.

In venture, success doesn’t come from guessing right — it comes from building systems that thrive in uncertainty. The best investors don’t speculate. They prepare.

🖱 Winning comes from readiness, not foresight
🖱 Resilience is built on structured thinking and scenario planning

When the future is unclear, smart investors stay grounded:

🖱 They build systems for fast, objective opportunity analysis
🖱 They test assumptions constantly and act with clarity

⚡️ In venture and beyond, discipline beats prediction — every time.

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📈 Top 6 fresh venture deals

Here’s a snapshot of the week’s biggest venture rounds — and the markets they’re reshaping:

🖱 Blaxel — $7.3M seed
Agent-native infra platform without traditional cloud dependencies.
Backers: First Round Capital, Y Combinator

🖱 Hadrian — $260M Series C
Industrial AI startup automating manufacturing and defense supply chains.

🖱 Bedrock Robotics — $80M Seed + Series A
Autonomous systems for heavy construction equipment, backed by NVIDIA, Eclipse, 8VC.

🖱 Groq — $600M in progress ($6B valuation)
AI chipmaker nearing close of major raise led by Disruptive ($300M+).

🖱 Ramp — $500M Series E-2
Fintech automation giant hits $22.5B valuation.
Backers include ICONIQ, Founders Fund, GIC, Coatue

🖱 Anaconda — $150M+ Series C ($1.5B valuation)
AI & data science platform raises from Insight Partners, Mubadala.

AI infra, automation, and deeptech continue to dominate capital flows. From agent-native cloud to autonomous construction and vertical AI platforms — unique edge plays are pulling in the biggest checks.

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🏎 How Formula 1 makes money

F1's popularity in the US doubled thanks to the Netflix docuseries released during the pandemic. But in recent months, the flow of new viewers has slowed down.

For comparison:
🖱 The NFL earns 7 times more than F1
🖱 NASCAR — a niche American cousin of Formula 1, secured $1.1 billion from media rights deals

There’s still plenty of room to grow.

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💵 The quiet $100B empire built by ignoring Silicon Valley

While VCs were chasing unicorns and exits, Mark Leonard built a $100B software giant by doing the exact opposite — buying small, boring SaaS companies and holding them forever.

His firm, Constellation Software, now generates $2B+ in free cash flow yearly, with just 20 people at HQ.

🖱 Started in 1995 with $25M and a contrarian mindset
🖱 Focused on tiny vertical SaaS businesses overlooked by VCs — things like water billing or camp registration software
🖱 Acquired 1,000+ of these companies over 30 years — no exits, no flipping
🖱 Keeps every acquisition independent: original team, culture, product, branding
🖱 No layoffs, no “synergies” — just profit and long-term ownership
🖱 Doesn’t give Wall Street forecasts, doesn’t do investor calls
🖱 Managers are required to reinvest their bonuses into company stock — by 2015, 100+ employees held over $1M in shares
🖱 Company went public only to provide liquidity for employees — not to cash out or raise growth capital

Leonard optimized for permanence instead of speed, and operational discipline over hype.

And it worked: 35% CAGR since IPO, $100B market cap, and one of the highest revenue software companies in Canada — ahead of Shopify.

In a world chasing flash, Constellation shows the real returns come from staying invisible, disciplined, and long-term.

Probably the best venture strategy no one in the Valley wants to copy.

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🚨 The next unicorns will look boring (until they aren’t)

The billion-dollar startups of the next decade won’t start loud or flashy. They’ll look underwhelming at seed—small, niche, hard to spot. But by Series B, they’ll be miles ahead.

Here’s why:

🖱 AI and automation make early teams lean but deadly effective
🖱 Real traction is quiet: revenue, execution, strategic focus
🖱 The best companies won’t fit traditional “hot startup” signals
🖱 Big markets often emerge from “niche” wedge plays
🖱 Technical depth and defensibility build long before they’re visible

What makes these companies dangerous is compounding.

Distribution grows silently. Data moats deepen. The product becomes sticky.
And then, suddenly, everyone else is too late.

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📣 Trump calls for Intel CEO's resignation

Donald Trump has demanded the immediate resignation of Intel’s new CEO, Lip-Bu Tan, citing his ties to Chinese companies, including some with military links. Intel shares fell 5% following the statement.

🖱 Tan took over in March and began a major restructuring
🖱 His changes include 22% workforce cuts and halting some fab builds
🖱 Intel recently received nearly $20B from the U.S. under the CHIPS Act

The clash could escalate tensions over U.S. chip strategy and China-linked leadership.

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💸 Recently Launched Funds — August 2025

A wave of new capital is flowing across Asia and the U.S., with strong focus on early-stage tech, Southeast Asia, and overlooked founders. Here are the highlights:

🖱 Foxmont Capital Partners closed the first tranche of its $20M Fund III to back early-stage startups in the Philippines

🖱 China Galaxy & CICC are eyeing $1B+ to expand into Southeast Asia, targeting innovation and tech

🖱 NEO Group launched a PE fund focused on Southeast Asian tech and consumer sectors

🖱 Vietnam’s NIC VC Fund, backed by the government, aims to support 100 startups by 2030

🖱 Inflection Point Ventures rolled out a ₹500 Cr ($60M) fund via GIFT City for 100+ Indian startups

🖱 Sameer Verma (ex-Nexus) launches solo GP fund for early-stage Indian tech

🖱 UTEC & Emerging Asia Capital Partners teaming up for a deep tech fund across Asia

🖱 Skyline Investors closed $125M to back overlooked U.S. “micro-market” companies

🖱 KKR raised $6.5B for its second Asset-Based Finance fund to target private credit

🖱 Yaletown Partners hit $100M first close on its $250M Innovation Growth Fund III in Canada

🖱 Verified Capital closed $175M debut fund focused on early-stage climate + infrastructure tech

🖱 Blackwood Ventures closed $25M+ to back pre-seed and seed-stage startups

🖱 Anansi Capital (Vinay Iyengar) launched to support overlooked, underrepresented founders

🖱 Juchain launched a $100M fund for early-stage Web3 startups in Asia

🖱 360 ONE Mutual Fund launched a new multi-asset fund under its NFO scheme

📍 Strong signals:
Asia-focused funds are ramping up fast, with India, Vietnam, and Southeast Asia seeing new vehicles. Meanwhile, climate tech, credit, and founder diversity remain top U.S. themes.

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🚀 How a Solo Founder Sold His AI Startup for $80M in 6 Months

Maor Shlomo built Base44, a no-code app builder, entirely solo—with no team, no investors, and no marketing budget.

In just 6 months, it was acquired by Wix for $80M upfront, with potential to exceed 9 figures.

Here’s how he pulled it off 👇

🖱 Built out of frustration: no-code tools were too complex for true beginners

🖱 Used AI as his full dev team, coding 90% frontend, 50% backend

🖱 Skipped traditional workflows—no branches, no reviews, just shipping

🖱 Targeted complete non-technical users—a massive but ignored market

🖱 Bootstrapped to 250K users, $3.5M ARR, and $189K profit in a single month

🖱 Failed at paid marketing, then went viral by sharing raw founder lessons on LinkedIn

🖱Turned users into a marketing engine by rewarding them for posting their builds

Wix didn’t just buy a product—they bought a story, an audience, and a working growth machine.

This is the new playbook:

One founder, AI tools, real velocity, and relentless execution.

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🚫Tesla shuts down Dojo supercomputer project

Tesla has officially pulled the plug on its Dojo AI supercomputer, a project once described by Elon Musk as the key to achieving full self-driving.

After years of development, the team is being disbanded and its leader, Peter Bannon, is exiting the company.

🖱 Musk had positioned Dojo as Tesla’s in-house solution to train video-based AI models at scale
🖱 The move follows the exit of ~20 employees who formed a new AI chip startup, DensityAI
🖱 Tesla will now rely more heavily on external partners like Nvidia, AMD, and Samsung
🖱 A $16.5B chip production deal with Samsung will help power both FSD and Tesla’s Optimus robot

Dojo was once expected to add $500B in value, according to Morgan Stanley. Now it’s just another pivot in Tesla’s AI story.

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🚀Firefly Aerospace takes off with 34% IPO surge

Spacetech startup Firefly Aerospace jumped 34% on its Nasdaq debut, closing its first day of trading under the ticker $FLY with strong investor interest despite ongoing losses.

🖱 The company raised $868M, pricing at $45/share — above its raised range
🖱 Q1 2025 revenue hit $55.9M, up from $8.3M YoY, but net loss still at $60M
🖱 Firefly offers launch, land, and in-orbit services for national security & commercial clients
🖱 Largest pre-IPO shareholder: AE Industrial Partners (47%)
🖱 The IPO comes amid a strong run for spacetech, with multiple $100M+ raises this year
🖱 Investors are especially excited about spacetech x AI crossovers

Firefly joins a wave of hot 2025 debuts including CoreWeave, Circle, and Figma — another sign that the IPO window is wide open again.

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🚀 Rocket Lab goes deeper into defense with optical systems play

Rocket Lab is pivoting harder into defense, using its latest acquisition to move beyond launch and strengthen its position in high-value government contracts.

In Q2, 68% of its record $144.5M revenue came from its space systems segment — not rockets.

🖱 Rocket Lab is acquiring Geost, an optical payload company, for $275M
🖱 This unlocks a new Optical Systems division focused on EO/IR sensors for missile tracking and space surveillance
🖱 The move targets large DoD contracts like the multi-billion dollar Golden Dome initiative
🖱 Already secured: an $515M contract to build 18 missile-tracking satellites for the Space Development Agency
🖱 First Neutron rocket launch still on track for end of 2025, with its Virginia complex nearing completion

With defense spending accelerating, Rocket Lab is positioning itself not just as a launcher — but as a key tech supplier for space-based military systems.

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💡Rethinking MVP: From Minimum Viable to Most Valuable Product

It’s time to rewrite one of startup culture’s core ideas.

The old MVP mindset tricks founders into thinking “minimum” means cheap or free.
But that logic is flawed and often fatal.

🖱 Most teams build the core 20% that solves the real user pain, label it MVP, and give it away
🖱 Then they waste years adding 80% of features nobody asked for, just to justify charging
🖱 The paradox: what users would pay for is given for free, while useless extras are monetized

⚡️ The shift: MVP = Most Valuable Product.

Your MVP shouldn’t be the smallest thing you can build. It should be the highest-leverage slice of your product—something that:

🖱 Solves the key pain point
🖱 Creates a clear “aha” moment
🖱 Justifies payment from Day 1

👇 How to offer value without giving it away:

🖱 Give 3 free uses, then charge
🖱 Offer a 7-day trial with full features
🖱 Use credits (e.g., $50 worth) for testing

If your MVP truly solves a problem, people will pay after trying it. If not—they won’t. That’s your signal to rethink.

Example:

Skip the limited free tier. Instead, build a premium tool that does one job incredibly well. Let people try it 3 times. Then charge.

Add the rest only once you’ve validated demand through real feedback and real payments.

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📊 Crypto Venture Weekly: August 4–8, 2025

$207M raised across 24 projects this week, with capital flowing into AI infra, gaming, Bitcoin L2s, and DeFi tooling.

Here’s what the top 9 are building 👇

🖱 OpenMind ($20M, Pantera, Coinbase, DCG)
Open-source OS for AI agents and robots, plus FABRIC — a decentralized network for coordination and trust.

🖱 SuperGaming ($15M, Skycatcher, Steadview, a16z crypto)
India-based game studio behind Indus and MaskGun, building Web3-enabled multiplayer titles.

🖱 BOB ($9.5M, CMS, IOSG, Amber)
Hybrid L2 for building Bitcoin-native tokens and applications.

🖱 Perle ($9M, Framework Ventures)
Modular AI training data solutions for large-scale model development.

🖱 Euphoria ($5M, Karatage, Robot Ventures, Bankless)
MegaETH-based mobile app simplifying crypto derivatives trading.

🖱 BlindPay ($3.3M, Y Combinator, 468 Capital)
Stablecoin payment APIs for compliant, instant global transfers.

🖱 Levr.Bet ($3M, Blockchain Capital, Maven 11)
Decentralized leveraged sports betting exchange.

🖱 Doppler Finance ($3M, Reforge, DCG, Hashkey)
DeFi protocol on XRP Ledger for on-chain trading and lending.

🖱 Hylo ($1.5M, Robot Ventures, Solana Ventures)
Solana-based DeFi platform offering LST-backed stablecoin hyUSD and leveraged SOL exposure.

Investor focus this week leaned toward AI-driven infrastructure, Bitcoin scalability, and DeFi payment rails.

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🚁 Harmattan aims to be the “Anduril of Europe” with $200M raise

Paris-based Harmattan AI is seeking $200M in early-stage funding to scale its AI-powered military drones. The startup, launched in April 2024, has already secured $30M from FirstMark and Atlantic Labs, per Bloomberg.

🖱 Building three drone types: training, surveillance, and weapon-interception systems.
🖱 Plans to mass-produce 10k drones/month in France by 2026, with facilities in Germany and the US.
🖱 Signed a multi-million-dollar NATO deal for small AI drones, delivery set for October.
🖱 French defence ministry ordered 1,000 drones for delivery by end of 2025.

With European defence tech funding up 26% YoY, Harmattan is chasing long-term government “programmes of record” and aims for its first $1B contract by 2030.

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🦄 June hits 3-year high for new unicorns

Twenty companies joined the Crunchbase Unicorn Board in June - the biggest monthly jump since July 2022.

AI and robotics led the way, with Thinking Machines Lab topping the list after a $2B seed round at a $12B valuation.

🖱 The US led with 11 new unicorns, followed by China (4), and one each in Israel, India, UAE, Switzerland, and New Zealand.

🖱 Six unicorns went public, including neobank Chime and Circle, while two were acquired.

🖱 Notable sectors: AI (Thinking Machines Lab, Decagon, Fireflies.ai), robotics (Unitree, Gecko Robotics), and Web3 (Zama, The Open Platform).

The surge shows capital is flowing again into high-growth tech, with AI continuing to dominate, but robotics, defense, and niche SaaS also getting their share of billion-dollar valuations.

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