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A newsletter for communities, investors, angels, and founders
Power in Numbers
July 17, 2026
Welcome to PIN’d - our weekly newsletter where we pin (lol, bear with us) the most important tech/startup news of the week for aspiring angels, vc’s, startup investors, founders, etc. Expect a new weekly roundup from us every Friday morning!
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📰 This week’s best news
Chinese artificial intelligence startup DeepSeek has begun preparing for a potential initial public offering while seeking a fresh funding round that could lift its valuation to about $71 billion.
Greylock announced Greylock 18, a $1.5 billion fund dedicated to partnering with founders at the earliest stages in AI. The fund will back founders building across infrastructure, cybersecurity, applications, deep tech, consumer, and fintech.
B Capital, a venture firm, has raised $500 million in aggregate commitments for its latest fund, B Capital Ascent Fund III. The capital for the early-stage venture capital fund will be used to support the Seed, Series A, and Series B rounds of artificial intelligence-backed companies spanning technology, energy, and healthcare in North America and Asia.
Ryan talks about his new $335 million fund, the AI "time warp" reshaping venture capital, and why it can help to change your mind.
AI shopping browser extension Phia is under fire for reportedly taking credit for sales that it did not generate. Co-founded by Sophia Kianni and Phoebe Gates, the daughter of billionaire Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, Phia is a free browser tool that compares prices across over 220,000 sites and auto-applies the best discount codes for products.
Apple accused OpenAI on Friday of stealing secrets about products still in development, setting up a legal face-off between two of the world’s biggest tech companies.
New York State Governor Kathy Hochul on Tuesday signed an executive order barring the construction of new large-scale data centers using 50 megawatts or more of power for up to one year, making the Empire State the first state in the nation to impose such a ban.
💰 Funding announcement highlights
Bunkerhill Health raised $25M Series B led by Khosla Ventures, with Sequoia Capital, Felicis Ventures, Optum Ventures, and Y Combinator participating. The company develops AI agents and FDA-cleared clinical algorithms to automate clinical and operational work for hospitals.
Runta raised $20M seed led by Andreessen Horowitz at a $100M+ post-money valuation. The company builds runtime controls and sandboxing infrastructure to help companies safely deploy AI agents.
Sable raised $45M co-led by Sequoia Capital and 8VC, with BoxGroup, SV Angel, and Valor Atreides participating. The company develops AI agents that navigate software, demonstrate products, and handle customer conversations.
Oak raised $60M seed co-led by Accel, CRV, and Greylock Partners, with AlphaDrive Ventures and Hetz Ventures participating. The company manages employee, machine, and AI agent access to applications by aligning permissions with actual usage.
Senra Systems raised $65M Series B co-led by Lowercarbon Capital and Interlagos Capital, with General Catalyst, Sequoia Capital, Andreessen Horowitz, Founders Fund, Dylan Field, CIV, 8VC, The Friedkin Group, Jaws Estates Capital, Sozo Ventures, and Alumni Ventures participating. The company manufactures wire harnesses for aerospace and defense systems.
📚 Interesting reads of the week
The mission of Thinking Machines is to build AI that extends human will and judgment. Artificial intelligence can do more every day, but deciding what it should do is up to us: individuals, organizations, humanity as a whole. These decisions require knowledge and judgment that people acquire through continuous contact with the work, increasingly done alongside AI. Shaping the goals of advanced intelligence is also a continuous process of feedback, learning, and realignment.
a16z’s Anish Acharya on why AI's real significance isn't saving time but letting people spend it on making things. Riffing off Mira Murati's essay, he claims AI belongs to the rare category of technology (like the printing press) that's both labor-saving and expressive.
A pattern is emerging among people who’ve already made it big. They’re rolling up their sleeves again, seemingly out of fear of missing AI’s defining moment and, presumably, the irresistible allure of making even more money — potentially a lot more.
Immad Akhund, Mercury's CEO, answers the perennial question of how to keep culture intact at 1,300 employees. His approach comes down to four things.
Adam Neumann joins Marc Andreessen, Ben Horowitz, and Erik Torenberg for a candid conversation about entrepreneurship, failure, and building Flow. Neumann reflects on his childhood, military service, immigration to the United States, the rise and fall of WeWork, and what he learned from one of the most scrutinized founder journeys in technology.
📌 Tweet of the week
💼 Who’s hiring in VC?
Looking to get into VC? Below are this week’s curated VC job openings.
Loom Ventures is looking for an Investment Manager
Norrsken VC is looking for a Communications Manager
Protege Ventures is looking for a Student Investment Analyst
CVX Ventures is looking for an Venture Scout
Alumni Ventures is looking for a Principal
