Bolsters Advisory

As 2024 comes to a close, we reflect on the year with gratitude for the partnerships, opportunities, and successes we’ve shared Thank you for being part of our journey—here’s to an even brighter 2025! Happy Holidays and Happy New Year! 🎅 🎁 ✨ #BolstersAdvisory #SeasonGreetings #HappyNewYear

🚀 𝐃𝐚𝐭𝐚𝐛𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐤𝐬 𝐀𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐬 $62𝐁 𝐕𝐚𝐥𝐮𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 $10𝐁 𝐒𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐉 𝐅𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 SF-based, Databricks, a leading data analytics and AI company, has secured $10 𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐢𝐧 𝐚 𝐒𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐉 𝐟𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝, elevating its 𝐯𝐚𝐥𝐮𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐨 $62 𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐨𝐧, a 44% increase from its last valuation in September 2023 (at $43 billion). 𝐊𝐞𝐲 𝐇𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬: 🔹 𝐅𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐃𝐞𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐬: The oversubscribed round has already raised $8.6 billion towards its $10 billion target. 🔹 𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐈𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐬: Thrive Capital spearheaded the round, with significant participation from Andreessen Horowitz, Insight Partners, and ICONIQ Growth. 🔹 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐎𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰: Founded in 2013, Databricks specializes in cloud-based AI technology, enabling organizations to manage and derive insights from large datasets. 𝐔𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐳𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐅𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐬: 🔹 Providing liquidity to current and former employees. 🔹 Investing in new AI products and potential acquisitions. 🔹 Expanding international operations. 𝐅𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐌𝐢𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐬: 🔹 Expected to surpass a $3 billion revenue run rate by January 2025. 🔹 Anticipates achieving positive free cash flow in the upcoming quarter. 𝐈𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐈𝐧𝐝𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐲: This monumental funding round underscores the escalating demand for robust data management and AI solutions. Databricks' significant capital infusion is poised to accelerate innovation and solidify its position as a pivotal player in the AI and data analytics sectors. #SiliconValley #Databricks #Funding #AI #DataAnalytics #VentureCapital #TechNews #Innovation #SeriesJ #StartupSuccess https://lnkd.in/gdXr33GG

🚀 𝐋𝐢𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐝 𝐀𝐈 𝐒𝐞𝐜𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐬 $250𝐌 𝐢𝐧 𝐒𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐀 𝐚𝐭 $2.3 𝐁𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐕𝐚𝐥𝐮𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 Generative AI continues to dominate the tech and VC landscape, with Liquid AI emerging as a significant player. 𝐇𝐞𝐫𝐞'𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐅𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠: 🔹 Liquid AI raised $250M in Series A funding, led by AMD, the global chipmaker and strategic partner. 🔹 The round values Liquid AI at $2.3𝐁 (𝐩𝐞𝐫 𝐁𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫𝐠), underscoring confidence in its technology and market potential. 🔹 Founded in 2023, the Cambridge-based startup has already r𝐚𝐢𝐬𝐞𝐝 $290𝐌 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐨𝐭𝐚𝐥, per Crunchbase. 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐋𝐢𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐝 𝐀𝐈 𝐃𝐨𝐞𝐬: 🔹 Liquid AI specializes in Liquid Neural Networks, a groundbreaking AI model inspired by studying the neural systems of roundworms. 🔹 These 𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐰𝐞𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭, 𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐥-𝐩𝐮𝐫𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐀𝐈 𝐦𝐨𝐝𝐞𝐥𝐬 need less data and computing power, making them highly efficient for enterprises. 𝐊𝐞𝐲 𝐈𝐧𝐧𝐨𝐯𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧: 🔹 The startup’s 𝐋𝐢𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐝 𝐅𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐌𝐨𝐝𝐞𝐥𝐬 (𝐋𝐅𝐌𝐬) prioritize efficiency and scalability, targeting tailored solutions for industries like 𝐞-𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐞, 𝐛𝐢𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐡, 𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐦, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐢𝐜𝐞𝐬. 🔹 These models offer a cost-effective alternative to cloud-heavy solutions from OpenAI, Amazon Web Services (AWS), and Google Cloud. 𝐒𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐜 𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐀𝐌𝐃: 🔹 As part of its strategic partnership, AMD will help optimize Liquid AI's models using its 𝐆𝐏𝐔𝐬, 𝐂𝐏𝐔𝐬, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐀𝐈 𝐚𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐬. 🔹 This partnership highlights AMD's increasing focus on the AI space, intensifying its competition with NVIDIA and Intel Corporation. 𝐅𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐔𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐳𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧: 🔹 Scaling infrastructure to support its cutting-edge LFMs. 🔹 Expanding 𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐲-𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐟𝐢𝐜 𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐬𝐞𝐬, tailoring solutions for consumer electronics, biotechnology, and more. 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐌𝐞𝐚𝐧𝐬: 🔹 𝐅𝐨𝐫 𝐕𝐂 𝐄𝐜𝐨𝐬𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐦: The $2.3B valuation for a 2023-founded company underscores robust investor appetite for transformative AI solutions. 🔹 𝐅𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐀𝐈 𝐈𝐧𝐝𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐲: Liquid AI’s approach to lightweight, adaptable AI architectures marks a shift away from resource-intensive cloud solutions, redefining enterprise adoption strategies. 💡 𝐊𝐞𝐲 𝐓𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐚𝐰𝐚𝐲: AMD's strategic partnership exemplifies the growing importance of hardware-optimized AI models, setting the stage for next-gen enterprise AI adoption. #VentureCapital #GenerativeAI #StartupFunding #VCInsights #LiquidNeuralNetworks #AI https://lnkd.in/dR4wE2mM

🚀 𝐓𝐨𝐩 5 𝐌𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐀𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐔.𝐒. 𝐕𝐂 𝐈𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫 2024 🌟 1️⃣ Andreessen Horowitz (a16z): 8 Deals 𝐅𝐨𝐜𝐮𝐬: Consistent leader in U.S. startup investments. 𝐍𝐨𝐭𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐈𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬: 💫 xAI: Participated in $5B funding round; valuation at $50B. 💫 Kong Inc.: $175M Series E (Up-round); valued at $2B. 💫 Cresta: $125M Series D; led by Qatar Investment Authority and World Innovation Lab. 💫 Radiant Industries: $100M Series C led by DCVC; portable nuclear microreactors. 2️⃣ General Catalyst: 8 Deals 𝐅𝐨𝐜𝐮𝐬: Diverse portfolio with a tilt toward healthcare and consumer tech. 𝐍𝐨𝐭𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐈𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬: 💫 Zarminali Health: $40M seed; hybrid pediatric care startup. 💫 Bounce: $19M Series B; luggage storage platform. 3️⃣ 𝐒𝐞𝐪𝐮𝐨𝐢𝐚 𝐂𝐚𝐩𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐥: 8 Deals 𝐅𝐨𝐜𝐮𝐬: Maintains consistency in large-scale deals. Notable Investments: 💫 Physical Intelligence: $400M round; robotics "brains," valued at $2B. 💫 Cyera: $300M Series D; cybersecurity, valued at $3B. 4️⃣ 8VC: 6 Deals 𝐅𝐨𝐜𝐮𝐬: Healthcare tech and later-stage funding. 𝐍𝐨𝐭𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐈𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭: 💫 Sirona Medical: $42M Series C; healthcare software developer. 5️⃣ BoxGroup: 6 Deals 𝐅𝐨𝐜𝐮𝐬: Early-stage investments. 𝐍𝐨𝐭𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐈𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭: 💫 Anthrogen (YC S24): $4M seed; biotech firm using bacteria to reduce carbon. #USVC #VentureCapital #TopInvestors #November2024 #StartupFunding

🚀 𝐓𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐑𝐚𝐢𝐬𝐞𝐬 $293𝐌+ 𝐒𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐃 𝐚𝐭 𝐚 $2.6𝐁 𝐕𝐚𝐥𝐮𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 San Francisco-based Tenstorrent, a next-gen computing company for AI chips, has secured over $293𝐌 𝐢𝐧 𝐒𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐃 funding, elevating its 𝐯𝐚𝐥𝐮𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐨 $2.6𝐁 𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐭-𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐲. Led by semiconductor visionary Jim Keller, the startup is poised to disrupt NVIDIA’s dominance in AI computing. 🛠️ 𝐀𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐓𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭 🔹 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐭 𝐝𝐨𝐞𝐬: Designs and builds advanced AI-focused chips and open-source software stacks. 🔹 𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐪𝐮𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐝: San Francisco, CA, with global offices in Toronto, Austin, Belgrade, Tokyo, Bangalore, Singapore, and Seoul. 🔹 𝐔𝐧𝐢𝐪𝐮𝐞 𝐯𝐚𝐥𝐮𝐞: Combines hardware innovation with a developer-first, open-source approach to software. 💰 𝐅𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐇𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬 🔹 𝐀𝐦𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭 𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐬𝐞𝐝: $293M+ Series D. 🔹 𝐏𝐫𝐞-𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐲 𝐯𝐚𝐥𝐮𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧: $2B; post-money valuation of $2.6B. 🔹 𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐢𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐬: Samsung Securities and AFW Partners. 🧑💻 𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐍𝐞𝐰 𝐅𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 🔹 𝐄𝐱𝐩𝐚𝐧𝐝 open-source AI software stacks to empower developers. 🔹 𝐑𝐞𝐜𝐫𝐮𝐢𝐭 top-tier talent for global development and design centers. 🔹 𝐁𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐝 systems and cloud infrastructure for AI developers. 🔹 𝐃𝐫𝐢𝐯𝐞 the commercialization of its Tensix cores and RISC-V IP offerings. 🌟 𝐖𝐡𝐲 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐌𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐫 🔹 𝐀𝐈 𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐧𝐨𝐯𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧: Reinforces the intersection of semiconductors and AI, a critical driver of technological advancement. 🔹 𝐎𝐩𝐞𝐧-𝐬𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐜𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭: Tenstorrent’s approach challenges proprietary models, democratizing AI software development. 🔹 𝐆𝐥𝐨𝐛𝐚𝐥 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧: Strengthens ties (through strategic investors) across automotive (Hyundai Motor Company (현대자동차)) and consumer electronics (LG Electronics) sectors. 🎯 𝐈𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫 𝐒𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐠𝐲 𝐓𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐚𝐰𝐚𝐲𝐬 🔹 𝐃𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐫-𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐜𝐮𝐬: The open-source model resonates with VCs who value community-driven innovation. 🔹 𝐃𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐢𝐟𝐢𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫 𝐩𝐨𝐨𝐥𝐬: Aligning financial, strategic, and individual backers creates resilience against market cycles. 🔹 𝐄𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬: Consider early-stage bets on AI accelerator startups or secondary markets for late-stage companies in this space. 🔹 𝐒𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐫 𝐨𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬: AI chip startups are attracting global capital flows. 𝐄𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐟𝐢𝐞𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐢𝐧 𝐬𝐮𝐛𝐬𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐬 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞: 𝐎𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐭𝐲: Startups like Lightmatter. 𝐑𝐈𝐒𝐂-𝐕 𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠: Companies monetizing modular, customizable architectures. #SiliconValley #AI #Semiconductors #VentureCapital #StartupFunding https://lnkd.in/dVJTDc7R

📈 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐮𝐩 𝐒𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐑𝐞𝐛𝐚𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐄𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐃𝐢𝐬𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚 𝐓𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐏𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐕𝐂 Startup secondaries, which traded at average discounts of 50% 𝐢𝐧 𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐲 2023, now trade at just 12% 𝐚𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐒𝐞𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫 2024 (Zanbato data). This reflects a rebounding demand for minority stakes in startups, closing the gap between supply and buyer interest. 𝐒𝐡𝐢𝐟𝐭𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐁𝐮𝐲𝐞𝐫-𝐒𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐫 𝐃𝐲𝐧𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐜𝐬: 🔹𝐀𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐕𝐂 𝐟𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐮𝐩 𝐞𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐨𝐲𝐞𝐞𝐬 have fueled the secondary market for the past two years, often selling at steep discounts to exit liquidity positions. 🔹𝐍𝐞𝐰 𝐬𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐫𝐲-𝐟𝐨𝐜𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐟𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐬 by StepStone Group and Industry Ventures capitalized on these discounts early, but the rebalancing signals shrinking arbitrage opportunities. 𝐑𝐢𝐬𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐏𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐮𝐦 𝐏𝐫𝐞-𝐈𝐏𝐎 𝐕𝐚𝐥𝐮𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬: 🔹High-growth companies like Databricks and SpaceX are reportedly running tender offers at premiums to their last funding rounds. 🔹𝐏𝐫𝐞-𝐈𝐏𝐎 𝐨𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐦 is driving investor interest, signaling anticipation for a reopening IPO window. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐩𝐞 𝐂𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐒𝐭𝐮𝐝𝐲: 🔹𝐎𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐜𝐮𝐭 𝐧𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐲 50% 𝐢𝐧 𝐯𝐚𝐥𝐮𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 in March 2023, Stripe's secondary market price now reflects a private valuation of $99.8B, surpassing its 2021 valuation of $95B. 🔹This highlights how key startups can rebound significantly post-downturn. 𝐈𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐕𝐂 𝐄𝐜𝐨𝐬𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐦 🔑 𝐋𝐢𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐝𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐖𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐨𝐰𝐬 𝐄𝐱𝐩𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠: Shrinking discounts and premium pre-IPO valuations indicate healthier exit options for aging VC funds and employees. This could reinvigorate confidence in long-term VC commitments. 🔑 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐞𝐭 𝐄𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐛𝐫𝐢𝐮𝐦 𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐝: The narrowing discount gap reflects a balancing act: buyers catching up to sellers, indicating restored faith in startup fundamentals and long-term growth potential. 🔑 𝐈𝐧𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐅𝐨𝐜𝐮𝐬 𝐨𝐧 𝐒𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬: Moves by venture firms like Lightspeed and Accel to register as investment advisers underline growing interest in secondaries, making them a core strategy for fund deployment. 𝐒𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐜 𝐓𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐚𝐰𝐚𝐲𝐬 📌 𝐎𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐜 𝐄𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐲 𝐏𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐀𝐫𝐞 𝐒𝐡𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠: The days of steep secondaries discounts are fading, suggesting that investors must act swiftly to identify undervalued opportunities. 📌 𝐏𝐫𝐞-𝐈𝐏𝐎 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐌𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬: Premium pricing for tender offers signals that investors should watch for companies gearing up for the IPO window, as these may offer lucrative short-term returns. 📌 𝐒𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝐅𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐬 𝐚𝐬 𝐚 𝐇𝐞𝐝𝐠𝐞: Incorporating secondaries into fund strategies allows investors to mitigate risk and secure liquidity during uncertain markets. #VCTrends #USVC #SecondaryMarket #StartupFunding #VentureCapital #IPOs #Secondaries #Valuations

🇺🇸 𝐄𝐥𝐞𝐯𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐯𝐚𝐥𝐮𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐔𝐒𝐕𝐂 𝐚𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐐3 2024: 𝐊𝐞𝐲 𝐈𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐍𝐨𝐭𝐞 🔍 🔹 𝐌𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐚𝐧 𝐯𝐚𝐥𝐮𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐡𝐢𝐠𝐡 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐭𝐰𝐨 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬, even exceeding 2021 peaks across most stages, but growth has significantly slowed. 🔹 𝐄𝐱𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐟𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬: Later-stage startups now wait over two years between rounds, compared to 1.67 years in 2022, driven by prolonged cash runway strategies. 🔹 𝐀𝐈 𝐝𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐬 𝐬𝐤𝐞𝐰 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐢𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞: Exceptional rounds like Anduril Industries' $1.5B Series F and Safe Superintelligence's $4B pre-money valuation stand out but aren’t reflective of broader venture activity. 🔹 𝐂𝐨𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐯𝐚𝐥𝐮𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐠𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐭𝐡: Early-stage RVVC (annualized percentage growth) is down 74.5% from 2021, and later-stage growth has hit a decade low. 🔹 𝐅𝐥𝐚𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐃𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐑𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐬 𝐚𝐭 26.6%: Over a quarter of deals now raise funds at the same or lower valuations than before, reflecting a correction from inflated ZIRP (the Fed's Zero Interest Rate Policies)-era pricing as investors prioritize realistic valuations and fundamentals #USVC #VentureCapital #StartupFunding #Valuations #AI #EarlyStageVC #GrowthCapital #InvestorInsights #MarketTrends #ValuationTrends #ZIRP #VentureFunding #InvestmentTrends

🚀 𝐀𝐦𝐚𝐳𝐨𝐧 𝐈𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐬 𝐀𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 $4 𝐁𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐢𝐧 𝐒𝐅-𝐁𝐚𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐀𝐧𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐢𝐜 📌 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭’𝐬 𝐝𝐫𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩? 🔹 𝐀𝐖𝐒 𝐚𝐬 𝐏𝐫𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝐂𝐥𝐨𝐮𝐝 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐯𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐫: Anthropic has chosen Amazon Web Services (AWS) as its primary cloud and training partner, utilizing Trainium and Inferentia chips for efficient model training and deployment. 🔹 𝐂𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐳𝐞𝐝 𝐀𝐈 𝐒𝐨𝐥𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬: AWS customers will gain early access to features like fine-tuning Claude models with their own data, enabling tailored solutions across industries. 🔹 𝐄𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐞-𝐅𝐨𝐜𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐀𝐈 𝐓𝐨𝐨𝐥𝐬: Anthropic’s Claude Enterprise is automating complex tasks and reshaping business operations with advanced capabilities. 💰 𝐀𝐦𝐚𝐳𝐨𝐧’𝐬 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐢𝐭𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐠𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐠: 🔹 Bringing its total backing of Anthropic to $8 billion 🚀 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐁𝐢𝐠𝐠𝐞𝐫 𝐏𝐢𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐆𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐀𝐈 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐛𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞𝐠𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝: Microsoft, Google, NVIDIA, and others are making massive bets in the space. Microsoft’s $10B investment in OpenAI set the tone, while Google has invested $2B+ in Anthropic. Elon Musk's xAI recently raised $5B at a $50B valuation. 𝐀𝐧𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐢𝐜 𝐂𝐄𝐎 Dario Amodei estimates AI model development costs could soar to $100B, emphasizing the intense capital demands in this field. 🌟 𝐖𝐡𝐲 𝐈𝐭 𝐌𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 aligns with Amazon's strategy to lead in the AI ecosystem, leveraging: 🔹 Anthropic’s secure AI solutions, which complement AWS infrastructure to scale enterprise adoption. 🔹 𝐆𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐀𝐈’𝐬 $1 𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐩𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐚𝐥 over the next decade, making such partnerships transformative. 🛠 𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐬 𝐀𝐈 𝐢𝐧𝐧𝐨𝐯𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐀𝐦𝐚𝐳𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐀𝐧𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐢𝐜 𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐞𝐭 𝐭𝐨: 🔹 𝐃𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐜𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐳𝐞 𝐀𝐈 𝐚𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬: Making cutting-edge AI tech available to businesses of all sizes. 🔹 𝐂𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐬𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐬: Tackling the challenges of building cost-effective and adaptable AI solutions. 🔹 𝐄𝐧𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐬𝐞𝐜𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐀𝐈: Providing customizable systems for industries like healthcare, finance, and government. 🌍 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭’𝐬 𝐚𝐭 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞? 𝐃𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐢𝐭𝐬 𝐩𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐚𝐥, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐀𝐈 𝐬𝐩𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐟𝐚𝐜𝐞𝐬 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐬: 🔹 𝐑𝐞𝐠𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲 𝐬𝐜𝐫𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐲: U.S. regulators are closely examining major AI investments, with Google’s Anthropic deal under DOJ review. 🔹 𝐅𝐢𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧: Rivals like OpenAI and Google DeepMind continue to dominate the landscape. #GenerativeAI #Anthropic #Claude #AWS #AIInnovation #TechInvestments #StartupFunding https://lnkd.in/d2neURtU

🌟 𝐱𝐀𝐈 𝐒𝐞𝐜𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐬 $5 𝐁𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐭 𝐚 $50 𝐁𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐕𝐚𝐥𝐮𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 🌟 Elon Musk’s generative AI startup, xAI, has closed a $5 billion funding round, catapulting its 𝐯𝐚𝐥𝐮𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐨 $50 𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐨𝐧 — 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐝𝐨𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐞 its $24 billion valuation from earlier this year. 𝐋𝐞𝐭’𝐬 𝐝𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐞𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐬 𝐢𝐭𝐬 𝐛𝐫𝐨𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬: 🚀 𝐀𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐱𝐀𝐈 𝐅𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐝: July 2023 by Elon Musk. 𝐅𝐨𝐜𝐮𝐬: 🔹Generative AI, including Grok-1, a ChatGPT competitor released in November 2023. 🔹Scaling the Colossus 100k H100 training cluster, described as the "most powerful AI training system in the world," with plans to double its capacity to 200k GPUs. 💰 𝐅𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐃𝐞𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐬 𝐓𝐨𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐑𝐚𝐢𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐑𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝: $5 billion. 𝐏𝐨𝐬𝐭-𝐌𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐲 𝐕𝐚𝐥𝐮𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧: $50 billion. 𝐕𝐚𝐥𝐮𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐆𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐭𝐡: Previously valued at $24 billion in May 2024 during a $6 billion Series B round. This round reflects a 108% increase in valuation within just six months. 𝐈𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐬: Qatar Investment Authority. Valor Equity Partners. Andreessen Horowitz. Sequoia Capital. 𝐂𝐮𝐦𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 2024 𝐅𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠: $11 billion. 🛠 𝐔𝐬𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐅𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐬 𝐈𝐧𝐟𝐫𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐄𝐱𝐩𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧: 🔹Purchase of 100,000 additional Nvidia GPUs, leveraging cutting-edge H200 GPUs for generative AI and large language models. 🔹Scaling the Colossus supercomputer to 200k GPUs, reinforcing its position as a leader in AI infrastructure. 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐭 𝐃𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐨𝐩𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭: Accelerating innovation and scaling the adoption of Grok-1 across platforms. 🌐 𝐈𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐀𝐈 𝐄𝐜𝐨𝐬𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐦 𝐅𝐨𝐫 𝐀𝐈 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐮𝐩𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐈𝐧𝐧𝐨𝐯𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐕𝐚𝐥𝐮𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩: xAI is now the second-most valuable generative AI company globally, trailing only OpenAI. 𝐆𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐀𝐈 𝐀𝐝𝐨𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧: Enterprise spending on generative AI increased sixfold this year—from $2.3 billion (2023) to $13.8 billion (2024), per Menlo Ventures. 𝐅𝐨𝐫 𝐕𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐂𝐚𝐩𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐕𝐂 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐟𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐀𝐈: xAI’s rapid valuation growth underscores the unwavering belief in transformative AI technologies. 𝐒𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐈𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬: Investors are focusing on startups with scalability and proven infrastructure, such as xAI. 𝐁𝐫𝐨𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐄𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐜 𝐈𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐜𝐭 𝐒𝐮𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐑𝐚𝐜𝐞: Scaling AI infrastructure like Colossus will enable advancements in healthcare, automation, and enterprise solutions. 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐏𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞: xAI’s accelerated growth will likely spur increased competition and innovation across the AI sector. #VentureCapital #AI #GenerativeAI #ElonMusk #xAI #FundingNews #Innovation https://lnkd.in/dHVVmZng

🌟 𝐃𝐞𝐥𝐨𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐞'𝐬 2024 𝐓𝐞𝐜𝐡𝐧𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐲 𝐅𝐚𝐬𝐭 500 𝐇𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬 𝐁𝐚𝐲 𝐀𝐫𝐞𝐚’𝐬 𝐓𝐞𝐜𝐡 𝐏𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐬 🌟 𝐒𝐚𝐧 𝐅𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐬𝐜𝐨 & 𝐒𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐨𝐧 𝐕𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐲 remain key global innovation and economic growth drivers. With 86 Bay Area companies featured on Deloitte’s 2024 𝐓𝐞𝐜𝐡𝐧𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐲 𝐅𝐚𝐬𝐭 500 list, the region continues to disrupt industries and pave the way for a more innovative future. 𝐇𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐤𝐞𝐲 𝐡𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬: 🔑 𝐎𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐆𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐭𝐡 𝐓𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐬: 🔹 Featured companies achieved revenue growth between 201% and 153,625% from 2020 to 2023. 🔹The Bay Area maintained its status as a hub for technology, life sciences, fintech, and energy tech innovation. 🏆 𝐓𝐨𝐩 𝐒𝐅 𝐓𝐞𝐜𝐡 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐧 Deloitte’s 2024 𝐓𝐞𝐜𝐡𝐧𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐲 𝐅𝐚𝐬𝐭 500 𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭: 1. Deel (#5) 🔹𝐆𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐭𝐡: 26,900% 🔹𝐅𝐨𝐜𝐮𝐬: HR tech simplifying payroll and outsourcing for global teams in 150+ countries. 🔹𝐍𝐨𝐭𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐌𝐨𝐯𝐞: Acquired African HR/payroll company PaySpace (PaySpace by Deel) in March 2024. 2. Cowbell (#10) 🔹𝐆𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐭𝐡: 13,458% 🔹𝐅𝐨𝐜𝐮𝐬: AI-powered cyber insurance for SMEs, offering risk assessment and mitigation. 🔹𝐅𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠: Secured $60M in July for product expansion. 3. Observe, Inc. (#13) 🔹𝐆𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐭𝐡: 10,977% 🔹𝐅𝐨𝐜𝐮𝐬: AI observability software for troubleshooting distributed applications. 🔹𝐅𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠: Raised $145M Series B in September. 4. Wisetack (#15) 🔹𝐆𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐭𝐡: 10,010% 🔹𝐅𝐨𝐜𝐮𝐬: Embedded financing for services like HVAC, plumbing, and dental care. 🔹𝐈𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐜𝐭: Enables small businesses to offer pay-over-time options at checkout. 5. Rad AI (#19) 🔹𝐆𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐭𝐡: 8,710% 🔹𝐅𝐨𝐜𝐮𝐬: AI-powered solutions to improve radiology workflows, reduce burnout, and enhance patient care. 🔹𝐅𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠: Closed a $50M funding round in May. #SiliconValley #VentureCapital #TechnologyFast500 #Innovation #BayAreaTech #GrowthLeadership https://lnkd.in/dyz_CpDT