PIN

A newsletter for communities, investors, angels, and founders

Author

Power in Numbers
March 07, 2025

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

Google co-founder Larry Page reportedly has a new AI startup

Google co-founder Larry Page is building a new company called Dynatomics that’s focused on applying AI to product manufacturing, according to The Information.

Page is reportedly working with a small group of engineers on AI that can create “highly optimized” designs for objects and then have a factory build them, per The Information. Chris Anderson, previously the CTO of Page-backed electric airplane startup Kittyhawk, is running the stealth effort, The Information reports.

Flock Safety, the startup behind license plate-reading cameras used by law enforcement and businesses, is set to raise $250 million in a new funding round led by Andreessen Horowitz. The deal would boost its valuation to $7.5 billion, up from $4.8 billion last year, marking a major leap for the crime-prevention company.

Alexis Ohanian, Reddit co-founder and venture capitalist, has joined Frank McCourt’s bid to acquire TikTok’s U.S. operations. As a strategic adviser, Ohanian will help push Project Liberty’s vision of giving users control over their data. With TikTok’s fate still uncertain, this bid adds another high-profile player to the ongoing drama over the app’s future in the U.S.

CoreWeave, the Nvidia-backed AI cloud computing startup, has filed for its IPO, aiming for a $35 billion valuation on NASDAQ under the ticker "CRWV." The filing highlights the company’s rapid expansion in leasing data centers, but also exposes potential risks tied to its aggressive growth strategy.

AI startup Anthropic has secured $3.5 billion in a funding round led by Lightspeed, pushing its valuation to $61.5 billion. The investment will fuel the development of next-gen AI systems, expand compute capacity, and accelerate global growth.

Expense management startup Ramp has surged to a $13 billion valuation following a $150 million secondary share sale. The deal, backed by investors like Stripes, GIC, and Thrive Capital, marks a major leap from its $7.65 billion valuation last year. With 30,000+ customers and skyrocketing payment volumes, Ramp continues to dominate the fintech space while eyeing a future IPO.

Venture giant General Catalyst is undergoing a major transformation, losing three key investors, Deep Nishar, Kyle Doherty, and Adam Valkin, amid a shift towards a broader investment strategy. The firm, which now manages $32 billion in assets, is exploring non-venture initiatives like wealth management and hospital acquisitions, adding speculation about a potential IPO.

Ryan Breslow is once again the CEO of Bolt, the fintech company told TechCrunch on Wednesday. Bolt shared a communication that recently went out to investors in which Breslow wrote that “following a challenging few years,” he had been reinstated as Bolt’s CEO with “unanimous approval” of the board of the one-click checkout company.

💰 Funding announcement highlights

Mews, a platform automating hotel operations, including reservations, payments, and guest services, raised a $75 million Series E. The round was led by Tiger Global, with previous investors Kinnevik, Battery Ventures, and Goldman Sachs Alternatives also joining.

Peregrine Technologies, a startup developing data analytics software designed to assist state and local law enforcement agencies in organizing and interpreting unstructured and disconnected data, raised a $190 million round. Sequoia Capital led the deal, with Goldcrest Capital, Friends & Family Capital, Fifth Down Capital, OG Venture Partners, and Godfrey Capital also joining.

LlamaIndex, a San Francisco startup enabling companies to connect various types of data such as documents, databases, and other information sources to LLMs, raised a $19 million Series A. Norwest Venture Partners was the main investor, with Greylock also contributing.

Numeral, a startup automating sales tax compliance for e-commerce and SaaS businesses, raised an $18 million Series round. Benchmark led the deal, with Y Combinator, Uncork Capital, and FundersClub also contributing.

Cloudsmith, a Belfast startup that acts as a central hub for developers to ensure secure and reliable software delivery across different environments, raised a $23 million Series B. TCV was the main investor, with Insight Partners also participating.

 📚 Interesting reads of the week

The OpenAI Startup Fund has invested in over a dozen AI-driven startups, raising $175 million in its main fund and securing $114 million in special-purpose vehicles. Backed by Microsoft and other partners, the fund supports companies like Figure AI, Harvey AI, and Speak.

Seed-strapping: The new playbook for building profitable AI companies in 2024

A new wave of AI startups is ditching big venture rounds in favor of “seed-strapping”, raising small seed funds and growing through revenue. With AI development costs plummeting, companies like Aragon AI are hitting $7 million in revenue with under $1 million in funding. As efficiency trumps hypergrowth, this lean approach is reshaping how AI businesses scale.

Excellent new report by Coatue just dropped. It takes a look at startups gaining traction in the U.S. industrial base, a sector once dominated by defense contractors and traditional manufacturers, thanks to government-backed initiatives and a push for modernization. With AI, autonomous manufacturing, and space tech reshaping the landscape, this is a generational opportunity for tech-driven disruptors to redefine the future of defense and industry.

So we all know Klarna’s CEO decided to ditch Salesforce in favor of AI tools. The story blew up the internet last year. Here’s what really happened, and why the news was never supposed to go public.

More than 60% of startups that hit unicorn status in 2020-2021 haven’t raised funding since, signaling a major reset in valuations. While some have exited or raised new rounds, the majority are in limbo, stagnating at lower growth rates or struggling to justify their billion-dollar labels. With private equity unlikely to save them all, survival now depends on profitability and sustainable growth.

Here’s a blast from the past: Digg, one of the web’s early news aggregators, is now back under the ownership of its original founder Kevin Rose. Notably, he’s being joined as co-owner by Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian.

💪Tech mafia of the week

Highlights:

💰 Most money raised: Avenzo Therapeutics

🤑 Total money raised by the Pfizer Mafia: $16 billion

Weekly Tech Mafia Leaderboard

The Pfizer alumni has built some amazing companies. This tech mafia group takes the 22nd spot on our leaderboard, with 190 companies founded and $16 billion raised.

PS: Are you a Pfizer alum interested in getting your community together to invest in the community (and earn carry/other benefits along the way)? Or are you a member of another community that you think would make for an amazing startup investment community?

Learn more about us and sign up for the waitlist here.

📌 PIN tweet of the week

💼 Who’s hiring in VC?

Looking to get into VC? Below are this week’s curated VC job openings.

WIND Ventures is looking for a VC Investor.

Builders VC is looking for a VC Director.  

Aegis Ventures is looking for a Director of Corporate Development.

M12 is looking for a VC Principal.

E14 Fund is looking for a VC Investor.

📠 Fun fact of the week

The very first computer mouse, invented by Douglas Engelbart in 1964, was made of wood!

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