There's a well-known expression in venture capital: "Only a handful of companies per year actually matter" I thought it would be interesting to go back and find the Series A deals that actually "mattered" each year with the benefit of hindsight: 👇

Just 9 funds led the Series A of >50% of startups that are worth $5bn+ today. Interesting to see the market concentration/consistency at A. *only counting Series A rounds from 2012-2025, excluded some China and blockchain cos

Mazel tov to OpenAI Fund for turning ~$8m into >$600m of paper returns from 2 deals in a $175m fund 🤯 (based on my math) 👨🏻‍⚖️ Harvey: Led $5m seed (2022) → Series D (2025) @ $3bn val 👨🏼‍💻 Cursor: Led $8m seed (2023) → Series B (2025) @ $2.6bn val

“Who’s the best Series A investor?” The answer is usually vibes based driven by recency bias, relationships, domain, or hype… So I cut the data to see who’s actually in the Hall of Fame 🏆 → Just 4 investors have led 3 Series A rounds that became $5B+ companies since 2012*

Never understood VCs obsession with Unit 8200, but after the Wiz acquisition, our attention on Talpiot is warranted. Rather than being trained to fight, the few soldiers selected for Talpiot are taught how to think. Since the knowledge alpha is gone 😂 I'll explain what it is:

Between 2013-2018 — 25-33% of the Series A rounds Benchmark led eventually became $5bn+ outcomes 👀

A $1bn fund will make more in management fees alone than a $100m fund that 5xs! $1B fund → Mgmt fees (2%×10yrs) = $200M vs. $100M fund → Mgmt fees: $20M + Carry (20% of $400M) = $100M

Updated $5bn+ cos Series A list: docs.google.com/spreadsheets… Added Island (2022), Whatnot (2021), and Shield AI (2017). New count of lead VCs in these deals - a16z (9), Sequoia (7), Benchmark (6), Index (5), Accel (5), Matrix (4), LSVP (4), KV (3)

Starting a new series called Waiting Rooms™️ — I will be judging the waiting areas of VC offices. @AbstractVC nails the “quiet luxury” aesthetic. I like the pattern in the concrete floors and the walnut cabinetry. Furniture/art feels curated. Offered a beverage immediately.

Remember when revenue expectation of a startup raising a Series A was ~$1m ARR? It’s changed a bit now. Usually falls between $0.00 and $100m ARR.

It cannot be stated enough that in venture capital, the only thing that matters is 𝗳𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗾𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆. This is what I look for, which generally can be deduced from a few meetings: — 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗿𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗣𝗼𝗹𝘆𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗵: ability to discuss every aspect of the business/market from code to competition in extreme detail and clarity — 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁-𝗼𝗯𝘀𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗲𝗱: ability to have intuition/understanding on the right design/build that delivers an exceptional customer experience — 𝗥𝗲𝗹𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗹𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗲𝘅𝗲𝗰𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: ability to ship, sell, and hire with burning speed and urgency — 𝗔𝗻𝗮𝗹𝘆𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁: ability to think analytically and granularly about the future (product roadmap, customer base, market) — 𝗦𝗲𝗹𝗳-𝗮𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗲: ability to know who to hire to delegate/complement their shortcomings — 𝗖𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗴𝗿𝗶𝘁: ability to view every problem as solvable and run through walls before giving up

Was just talking to a legendary VC and he told me his favorite signal — how fast a founder replies to emails on weekends. It’s a nice objective measurement of the fuzzy/qualitative trait VCs love to tout — “I invest in problem-obsessed founders building their life’s work”.

.@shaunmmaguire had a great breakdown on @tbpn of why Israeli startups have such a strong hiring foundation: (1) physical density of talent (i.e. 50%+ of founders/employees work within a 0.003 square mile radius in an area called Sarona - this doesn't exist even in SF) (2) systematic talent ranking / discovery / signaling via IDF units (i.e. 3/4 of Wiz co-founders are from Talpiot - an IDF training program for the highest performing science/math students)

Re: Windsurf At pre-seed, the founder’s vision / idea is just a window into how they think. You can’t take it literally and evaluate the specificities. This is all team, team, team.

You’re in @pmarca Twitter DMs I’m in his… LP presentations? 🤣

Proposed @tbpn segment: You have two Moelis analysts appear live on air and evaluate the P&Ls of the 39 companies that in the last two years have claimed to be “the fastest company in history get to $100m in ARR”. Take bets on @Kalshi beforehand which ones will win 🏆

Napkin math — Greenoaks’ $3m Seed and $25m Series A investments will turn into ~$500m of total returns in the event of a $3bn OpenAI M&A. *partially inaccurate b/c they didn’t take the whole round and not factoring in their follow-on checks.

I consider venture to be a sport and I'm nominating @LM_Braswell as player of the month. (1) Neon - invested in Series A at FF (acq. Databricks for $1B in May-25); board observer. (2) Windsurf - led Series B at KP (allegedly acq. OpenAI for $3B in May-25); invested in A at FF.

More precisely, only a few startups / year realize $5bn+ outlier valuations and return funds for larger VCs. There is a power law where 99% of deals are "noise" and an astute VC's job is to find a needle in each year's haystack. Since 2012, the following VCs found the most "Series A needles": a16z (7), Sequoia (6), Benchmark (5), and Index (4), followed by Accel (2), DST (2), Founders Fund (2), Kleiner Perkins (2), NEA (2), Qualcomm (2), Social Cap (2), and Ribbit (2). Thanks to @MikeyyTully for the help with the research.

I am begging you, anyone, please use my email history to understand my taste / budget via a decade of restaurant, hotel, and travel reservations, and create a personalized travel search + itinerary product with agentic booking + payment. Thank you.

Would love to watch “Last Dance” style interviews ie. documentary storytelling that captures the drama, intensity, and personalities… behind legendary rounds. for example: USV @coinbase Series A Greylock @figma Series A Index @wiz_io Series A FF @anduriltech Series A

I fundamentally believe that you are NGMI in venture unless you are simply obsessed with new technology, products, and entrepreneurs. I think it’s similar to working at CAA / WME in the 2000s. Lots of tourists bc of short-term glamour, but only the hungriest survive this jungle.

There is a talent purge in venture. A shrinking headcount is competing for dwindling LP dollars and I believe the only investors of the new guard that will remain standing are the ones willing to eat dirt for ten years out of a pure love for the game and self-conviction. The pot of gold belongs to the surviving investors that share a natural DNA I have tried to articulate below. Thought Lense: - Recognizes/recalls minutia and forms it into patterns - Obsessed with stage zero of the journey / ideas - Uncanny taste for product - Observant of the macro's effect on the micro - Thinks in decades, demands progress in weeks - Emotionally compartmentalized / context shifting - If greatness is not identified it's statistical noise Character Traits: - Relentlessly curious and resourceful; hunts rabbit holes genuinely - Super-social connector, always in the flow, loves meeting new talent - Razor-sharp BS detector; self-aware character judge - Comfortable being wrong; learns/iterates fast - Naturally introspective; crave innovation/progress - Demands perfection in the everyday Operating Habits: - Organized and diligent; turns chaos into checklists - Self-starter who teaches themselves everything - Runs constant feedback loop on people/data/instinct - Quick decision making due to earned self-conviction - Treats founders like customers

What a generational run looks like: @giliraanan has led more seed rounds into $5B+ cos than any other VC fund in the past decade (excl. YC). (1) Fireblocks, 2018 → $8B (2022) (2) Wiz, 2020 → $32B (2025) (3) Cyera, 2020 →$6B (2025) (4) Island, 2020 → $5B (2025)

Waiting Rooms™️ Episode 2: @usv Waiting area is very zen, vibe is spa-meets-Series A. Soft piano on the Sonos. Great natural light from arched windows. Briefly unmanned front desk felt founder-friendly when GP greets you. Someone definitely has a house account at Roche Bobois.

16 investors have led 2 Series A rounds that became $5B+ companies since 2012… You can see a pattern: • @Alfred_Lin → consumer marketplaces • @andrewjmack → fintech • @mamoonha → b2b work tools • @mickymalka → fintech • @mitchlasky → consumer social

I’ve never seen data shared on @zfellows founders so here is a list I aggregated via Pitchbook… incl. Cognitions Labs, Hebbia, Etched, Mach, Owner.com, Whop, Nucleus 🤯 Known founder alumni sorted by $ raised:

VCs can get in front of “heads down” founders by simply showing domain expertise. I’ve noticed that founders really resonate with demonstrations of subject matter expertise and will think of you as a genuine thought partner in product dev + GTM. This is why X is important.

I’ll be in Tel Aviv in May and am *extremely* interested in meeting with any and all of the most ambitious technical founders building with a $100bn vision… pre-product / idea stage is ok! 🇮🇱👷🛠️👩‍💻 My DMs are open or email rotman@dstinvestment.com

Can’t stop thinking about how hard @matrixvc crushed it in 2018… 1. Afterpay (acq. $29bn, Mar-22) 2. Flock ($7.5bn val, Mar-25) 3. Fivetran ($300m ARR, Sep-24) Led 27% of all Series A rounds that year that had $5bn+ outcomes Da hell was going on?? @ilyasu

The best part about venture is that you only need one outlier winner to define your career. And every day you pound the pavement, you increase your luck surface area and refine your lense. Looking forward to my meetings tomorrow, and the day after, and the day after that…

Not so low key anymore: @cory is the Mark Zuckerberg of finding 100x dropout technical beast founders 👀 cc @zfellows

There are too many false signals in venture. You feel smart for passing on a startup that went nowhere — but that’s the default outcome, not your clairvoyance. You’ve only earned a pat on the back when you find the one in the haystack that did breakout (esp. if not obvious).

If you’re decacorn hunting, you do not want to back the “Lyft” of markets with an already well-established, category-defining company like in ride-sharing. But in some markets, you can be the Didi ($22.4bn market cap). Regulatory barriers, national interest, patriotic talent, peculiar consumer behavior / logistics, and data sovereignty, mixed with first-mover advantage, and a large continental market, can enable a unique regional champion. Some examples, although each have a unique set of factors: • Rappi in LatAm (vs. DoorDash/Uber) • MercadoLibre in LatAm (vs. eBay) • Revolut in EU (vs. Chime/NuBank) • Trade Republic in EU (vs. Robinhood) • Coupang in Korea (vs. Amazon) • Zeppo in India (vs. GoPuff) Upcoming Contenders: • Bolt in Europe (vs. Uber) • Kela in Israel (vs. Anduril) • Sakana in Japan (vs. OpenAI) Other regional opportunities to look for: Waymo, Hims & Hers Who else?

I’d pay double for LinkedIn Premium if it just told me which of my 97 “mutual connections” actually knows the person — not the rando who hit “Connect” during a 30-second elevator ride.

600 days ago, more Jews were murdered in a single day than any day since the Holocaust. 815 civilians were murdered on October 7th — 364 at a music festival — additional 250 taken hostage to Gaza. I intentionally used “murder” — shot point blank, not in a war. Never forget 🎗️

Updated via more digestable Google Sheet as I did this way too quickly to not make some errors 😂: docs.google.com/spreadsheets… Updated companies incl. Afterpay, Hugging Face, and Fivetran. cc @ilyasu @peterjhebert Updated VC tally: a16z (7), Sequoia (7), Benchmark (5), Index (5), Matrix (4), etc

Seed is the most attractive risk-reward stage for AI application layer investing today. At Series A/B, it's still all about founder conviction, but you're paying a premium for revenue that may not be durable because of uncertain technical moats and product leapfrog potential.

I'm obsessed with quantifying the intangible. There is so much vagueness in venture. We are all trying to find high-agency, relentless problem-solvers that are 0.001% exceptional within a domain... but what objective signals can actually/reliably indicate this? The answer is always by going deep and detailed. I've compiled a list of my favorite questions/exercises for founders that can soft signal strong leadership: (1) "Roll the clock forward 3-5 years, what does the product, customer, and market look like specifically? And how will you get there?" This shows granular/analytical foresight, product-obsession, market understanding, and how strong their commercial chops are. (2) I do not like when founders make generic statements like "this market is massive" without any follow-up data and I will reply with a question that requires retrieval of specific numbers. If they can answer thoughtfully and with specific data, it shows analytical foresight on the market and willingness to do the work to prove conviction rather than "just vibes." And if they answer in a process-oriented manner that reveals the specific calculation approach, it is a good window into their mental model. (3) Give constructive feedback on something in their deck and observe their reaction (i.e. design of slide can genuinely be improved to more effectively tell story). Ask them why they decided to design it like this too. If they take the feedback well and change/update/defend it within 24 hours, it shows urgency, adaptability, and their depth of taste. (4) "In the near future, you're growing exceptionally, and strategics knock on your door with a life-changing acquisition offer. Would you consider it, even if you felt that there was a lot more unfinished business to this company's story?" This shows ambition to build a multi-decade, IPO caliber business with no Plan B. This is more relevant for mega-funds, although big vision ambition is key regardless. (5) Pick any team member on their LinkedIn company page and ask why specifically they hired this person. Then ask what this hire can do much better than you. This shows self-awareness, execution ability, evaluation framework, and attention to detail. (6) If they show exceptionalism on one topic (i.e. great technologist), ask them about a completely different aspect of the business. If they can discuss their GTM with a comparable level of competence and detail, you have found polymathic greatness. (7) "If your competitor was asked to describe your product’s strengths—and its weaknesses—what would they say? And how would they explain why their product is better?" Every founder claims their product is doing something better than the competition but being able to acknowledge other perspectives shows self-awareness, product-obsession, and market understanding. If you made it to the end of this, you might be thinking, why did I publish this since founders may be able to game their answers now. My answer is that if a founder takes the time to research my X to understand how I think before we meet, well this is exactly the type of founder I want to meet. P.S. I think there are more insightful questions you can ask a founder not related to the business. Doug Leone has great questions about a founder's upbringing / psychology here: joincolossus.com/episode/leo…

POV: you’re the Forrest Gump of AI startups

Trust me you get to $5m when you throw in country clubs, charitable obligations, vacation homes, holidays, dining/entertainment, shopping, art/furniture, household staff, etc.

Have done extensive diligence… I present the only 𝗧𝗲𝗹 𝗔𝘃𝗶𝘃 𝗘𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗚𝘂𝗶𝗱𝗲 that matters:

2012: (1) Snowflake / led by Sutter Hill / $57bn val (2) Datadog / led by Index / $53bn val (3) Reddit / led by Initialized / $25bn val ---------------------------------------------------------- (4) Stripe / led by Sequoia / >$5bn val (5) Github / led by a16z / acq. for >$5bn

Every week I see that the difference between losing and winning in venture can be mere hours… I make an effort to respond to founder intros within the same hour. If you don’t, someone else will take your slot, quite literally.

Thanks for the shout out @tbpn And coining the “Rotman List” 😂 Still a work in progress but been fun to do these framing analyses!

This is still the most relatable tweet in VC history.

Pizza - L’industrie (West village) Bagel - Apollo, Greenbergs, Popup Israeli - Laser wolf, 12 chairs, Pitabar

Not all $1bn seed exits are equal: $50m fund — invests ~$2.25m for 15% at seed (4.5% of fund) → exits at 5%, returns $50m = 1x fund. $500m fund — Same $2.25m seed check for 15% (0.45% of fund) → same $50m return = 0.1x fund. One VC is a winner, other may be out of a job.

Macro narrative when you query net new early stage deal count per fund — Consistently ⬆️ volume: a16z, Sequoia, LSVP, KV, FF Consistently ⬇️ volume: Greylock, Thrive, Benchmark, KP Y/y acceleration: First Round, Accel, Thrive Y/y deceleration: a16z, Sequoia, KP, Index

There’s a quiet group of managers incrementally adding hundreds of millions in assets annually because of the structured bi-annual tenders in Stripe, SpaceX, and others that have delayed IPO. Great business to be in right now if you have the relationships.

Now for the enterprise value part, which Talpiot alumni have birthed massive amounts of: - Wiz ($32B acq Google, 2025) - CheckPoint ($25B market cap) - Trusteer ($1B acq IBM, 2013) - Anobit ($390m acq Apple, 2012) - Spera ($100m acq Okta, 2023) - Via ($1.4B raised) - Cyera ($760m raised) Who else am I missing?

Updated $5bn+ Series A list to include: io (2024), Skild AI (2024), Cyera (2022), Clickhouse (2021), and Airwallex (2017). docs.google.com/spreadsheets… New tally: a16z (11), Sequoia (8), Accel (7), Benchmark (7), Index (6), LSVP (5), Matrix (3), Khosla (3), Greylock (3), GC (3)

Best pitch advice: refine after every meeting based on questions. Small upgrades can compound fast and allow you to preemptively address questions before they’re asked, which makes your audience think… “Wow they must know exactly what they’re doing b/c they think like me”

7pm in Tel Aviv

2013: (1) Coinbase / co-led by USV & Ribbit / $78bn val (2) Zoom / led by Qualcomm / $27bn val (3) Snap / led by Benchmark / $19bn val (4) Chewy / led by Volition / $15bn val (5) Instacart / led by Sequoia / $11bn val (6) Wise / led by Valar / $9bn val ---------------------------------------------------------- (7) Chime / led by Crosslink / >$5bn val (8) Databricks / led by a16z / >$5bn val (9) Discord / led by Benchmark / >$5bn val (10) Intercom / led by Social Cap / >$5bn val

Would bet a lot of $ someone at this very moment is working on a new tech show inspired by @tbpn Like any great product with PMF, it will spawn competition Some replicable features: - live / lots of footage - tech-friendly perspective - serious/fancy decor - clipping distribution Some harder to replicate features: - narrative of the zeitgeist (ie. dramatize tech in a great way) - cohost chemistry / founder market fit - guest network - first to market brand / respect - authentic and banterous approach contrasted by serious decor - design taste

Unit 8200 is like UPenn - an exceptional school, but ~2,500 undergraduates / year come out of it. Talpiot is like UPenn's Jerome Fisher Program, a highly selective dual-degree program btwn Wharton + Penn Engineering that admits ~50 students / year. (Credit to Ryan Daniels!)

Let me tell you something. If you ever hear that someone with an excellent background just left their big company "but isn't raising yet"... Do not listen. Whether they know it or not they are in fact raising. A round will happen soon. Strike before.

Falafel @ Hakosem Schnitzel @ Cafe Noir Pizza @ Teder Brunch @ Hotel Montefiore Dinner @ Cafe Popular Beers @ Port Said & Levinsky Market

Since 1979, the IDF’s Talpiot program selects ~50 of the country's top-performing high school graduates annually. Talpiot targets intellectual elite — the top % for math, physics, and problem-solving. The idea was to harness human creativity to develop new tech for the army.

2015: (1) Applovin / led by n.a. / $107bn val (2) Carvana / led by n.a. / $53bn val (3) Toast / led by Princeton Ventures / $24bn val (4) Monday / led by Entree / $15bn val (5) Gitlab / led by Khosla / $11bn val ---------------------------------------------------------- (6) Canva / led by Felicis / >$5bn val (7) Cruise / led by Qualcomm / >$5bn val (8) Figma / led by Greylock / >$5bn val (9) Monzo / led by Passion Cap / >$5bn val (10) ServiceTitan / led by Bessemer / >$5bn val

Added a new tab and recut the data for — docs.google.com/spreadsheets… Hit Rate = % of Series A lead investments from a VC in a given year that became $5B+ outcomes Market Coverage = % of all $5B+ outcomes in a given year that a given VC led the Series A of

There is a misconception about what Talpiot is - it is not an IDF "unit" - it is a 9-year training program, which includes 3 years at Hebrew University studying computer science, physics, or mathematics, and 6 years in military service (vs. compulsory 3 yrs for most citizens).

There are Israeli funds that have built theses around Talpiot founders, like Cyberstars (Wiz, Oasis, Cyera, etc) and Maple VC (Flexor, Oasis, etc). There are at least 10 Talpiot alumni founders in "stealth" per LinkedIn right now. 👀

If you want to learn more, I highly recommend reading the first book about Talpiot that was published in 2015: a.co/d/8CFFDWX

~74 investors have led 1 Series A round that became a $5B+ company since 2012… @rabois plz lmk how many on list are Miami/FL-based (I count 3) docs.google.com/spreadsheets… Data in “Hall of Fame VCs” tab

2014: (1) Doordash / led by Sequoia / $74bn val (2) Nubank / led by Sequoia / $65bn val (3) Robinhood / led by Index / $34bn val (4) Confluent / led by Benchmark / $11bn val ---------------------------------------------------------- (5) Gusto / led by General Catalyst / >$5bn val (6) Plaid / led by NEA / >$5bn val

2020: (1) Coreweave / led by Magentar Cap / >$5bn val (2) Deel / led by a16z / >$5bn val (3) Ramp / led by Founders Fund / >$5bn val (4) Waymo / co-led by Silverlake & CPP / >$5bn val (5) Wiz / co-led by Index, Sequoia, Insight, Cyberstarts / >$5bn val

And just this week, the most recent Talpiot funding round was announced: @kela_tech founded by @hamutalm @AlonDror1 raised $39m from Sequoia/Lux for software to militarize commercial technology, enabling increased supply of hardware for Western armies. @DavidCahn6 @breeves08

I don’t care how accomplished your podcast guest is — if a host does not have natural likability, stage presence, and electric energy, the content is not going to pop off. I’ll say the quiet part out loud too — “camera friendly” appearances help. Hollywood was onto something.

"Cadets" often serve in elite R&D units like Unit 81, 8200, or Air Force R&D, ranked by preference and assigned per IDF needs. While there's no official confirmation, Talpiot alumni likely have their fingerprints all over the development of Israel's Iron Dome technology.

Current market dynamics in AI apps make one thing clear: 𝐟𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐪𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥 𝐦𝐨𝐚𝐭. *Almost* monthly accelerations in LLMs mean app-layer startups risk being leapfrogged anytime by comps with 10x better products (esp. open-source).

Thousands are initially considered (via academic scores), with a smaller subset invited to the two-day selection trials. ~10,000 candidates go through rigorous two-day exams assessing intellect, teamwork, and adaptability.

You will literally never hear back from a founder that tells you that they “will make sure to reach out when they’re raising”. They are busy and inundated. It’s your job to prioritize the critical founders you have to keep in touch with.

The importance of making data-driven decisions in venture is underrated. With that being said, I believe spreadsheet acumen is a commodity. You just need training. The real talent that very few have — evaluating founder’s psyche + imagination / intuition of the potential.

"High agency" is a crucial characteristic of a VC in this ultra-competitive market (i.e. taking destiny into your own hands rather than waiting). There is no such thing as a founder "not raising yet, happy to chat soon". You have to create the opportunity if you believe in it.

2018: (1) Anduril / led by Founders Fund / >$5bn val (2) Attentive / led by Bain / >$5bn val (3) Boring Company / led by Elon Musk / >$5bn val (4) Chainalysis / led by Benchmark / >$5bn val (5) Faire / led by Forerunner / >$5bn val (6) Flock Safety / led by Matrix / >$5bn val (7) Oura / co-led by Tesi & Bold Capital / >$5bn val

2016: (1) Cerebras / led by Benchmark / >$5bn val (2) Gong / led by Norwest / >$5bn val (3) GoPuff / led by Anthos / >$5bn val (4) Navan / led by Lightspeed / >$5bn val (5) Revolut / led by Index / >$5bn val

2023: (1) Mistral AI / led by a16z / >$5bn val (2) Perplexity / led by NEA / >$5bn val

Have to give credit to @tbpn for the weekly design upgrades they ship. New guest line up profile is great. Subtle change to the “T” in their icon photo today too. Just figuring it out as they go ✍🏻 @jordihays

Every time I publish updates to this sheet, I get yelled at by more VCs for missing them 😂 — Added Abormal (2019), Lyra Health (2015) Updated tally: a16z (10), Sequoia (7), Benchmark (6), Index (5), Accel (5), Matrix (4), LSVP (4), Khosla (3), and new entrant… Greylock (3)

2022: n.a.

2017: (1) Klayvio / led by Astral / $10bn val (2) UiPath / led by Accel / $8bn val ---------------------------------------------------------- (3) Applied Intuition / led by a16z / >$5bn val (4) Bolt (Estonia) / led by Didi / >$5bn val (5) Brex / led by Ribbit / >$5bn val (6) CloudKitchens / co-led by Craft & Social Cap / >$5bn val (7) Rappi / led by a16z / >$5bn val (8) Scale / led by Accel / >$5bn val

2021: (1) Anthropic / led by Jaan Tallinn / >$5bn val (2) Cohere / led by Index / >$5bn val (3) Zepto / led by Nexus / >$5bn val

For Mexico has to be: Cuixmala (Careyes), Belmond (Maya Riviera), Las Ventanas (Cabo), or Four Seasons Tamarindo (Jalisco).

*Initial assumptions are coded in blue (ie. 15% upfront seed ownership) and may be inaccurate **Valuations used are publicly announced

AI is like the Internet in the 90’s where everything is up for grabs and it’s impossible to predict the future. But if OpenAI releases social features like prompt sharing (ie. network effects) it’s hard to see their brand leadership / market ownership not explode further.

Nice surprise watching @HarryStebbings today discussing the Series A power law analysis. Here’s a few clips of @rodriscoll mentioning that he doesn’t know who I am 😂

Damn, I caved and wrote a thread / breakdown of what exactly Talpiot is:

Thanks for reposting Gary! I am eating at Angler tonight and I forgot to pre-order the Australian A3 Ribeye which requires advance notice — any chance you can look into this? 🔦

Disclaimer: - Valuations are based on either (1) current public market cap as of 12/1/24 or (2) most recent valuation (incl. secondary sale price) as reported in press and not personal opinion; only including if $5bn or greater valuation. - Excluded Chinese cos and heavily focused on cos w/ a software component (vs. broader "tech"); most likely missed some cos outside of North America. - Private cos are listed alphabetically below the respective line and their respective valuations are all marked ">$5bn". - A more precise report would likely highlight the valuation at time of IPO. - All data is from Pitchbook, co websites, TechCrunch, and Crunchbase. Welcome all feedback and correction suggestions.

“Cursor for X” is officially AI’s version of “Uber for Y” Just counted 4 startups in @ycombinator X25 batch using this description.

Four essential roles of a venture capitalist — 1. Discovery - curiosity, network, relentlessness 2. Access - likability, credibility, creativity 3. Pick - judgement, dealcraft 4. Support - network, empathy IMO, SBF’s winners is from #2, but a true investor’s weapon is #3

Very embarrassing that I missed Global-E… $6.3bn market cap!

Talpiot, like many units in the IDF, can help provide efficient talent signaling for startups. It functions as a built-in talent ranking system where founders can easily identify top talent, creating clusters of 100x recruits in the earliest days of a startup. A rare phenomenon.