PIN

A newsletter for communities, investors, angels, and founders

Author

Power in Numbers
December 19, 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

Lightspeed has raised more than $9 billion across multiple new funds, doubling down on early and growth-stage investing. The firm is leaning hard into AI, where it has already backed more than 160 AI-native startups. The raise comes as IPOs remain scarce, pushing top firms to concentrate capital behind long-term winners.

Meta’s chief AI scientist is reportedly in early talks to raise $585 million for his new startup. This funding would value Yann LeCun’s company, called Advanced Machine Intelligence (AMI) Labs, at around $3 billion before its official launch.

US investment manager charged with Anduril pre-IPO fraud

A New York investment manager has been indicted for allegedly defrauding millions of dollars from investors in a sham pre-IPO scheme tied to U.S. drone-maker Anduril Industries, highlighting the risk of fraud as private tech firms grow more prominent and valuable.

Swedish vibe-coding startup Lovable has more than tripled its valuation in just five months. Stockholm-based Lovable on Thursday said it had raised $330 million in a Series B funding round that was led by CapitalG and Menlo Ventures, at a $6.6 billion valuation. Khosla Ventures, Salesforce Ventures, and Databricks Ventures also participated, as did other investors.

Notion is letting employees sell shares at an $11 billion valuation as it inches closer to a potential IPO. The deal comes after the company crossed $600 million in annual recurring revenue, with AI driving half of that growth. Top investors including Sequoia and Index are buying into the sale.

Databricks has raised $4 billion in a late-stage round that pushes its valuation to $134 billion. The company is doubling down on AI agents, data infrastructure, and enterprise AI apps. Revenue is surging, with AI products now contributing over $1 billion annually. For Databricks, staying private still beats an IPO.

Coursera is set to acquire Udemy in an all-stock deal that would combine two of the largest online learning platforms. The merger comes as both companies face slowing investor confidence despite steady revenue growth. Together, they aim to scale AI-powered learning tools and better serve enterprise customers. The deal is expected to close in the second half of next year, pending approvals.

💰 Funding announcement highlights

Adaptive Security, a three-year-old New York startup providing AI-powered social engineering prevention tools, raised an $81 million Series B round. Bain Capital Ventures led the deal, with NVentures, OpenAI Startup Fund, Andreessen Horowitz, Abstract Ventures, Capital One Ventures, and Citi Ventures also joining.

Sequence, a five-year-old London and New York startup automating billing, contract processing, and invoicing for finance teams, raised a $20 million round. 645 Ventures led the investment, with Andreessen Horowitz, Firstminute Capital, Passion Capital, Dig Ventures, and Vor Capital also participating.

Valerie Health, a two-year-old California startup offering an AI front office for independent doctors’ offices, raised a $30 million Series A round. Redpoint Ventures led the deal, with General Catalyst, Primary Ventures, BoxGroup, Karman Ventures, 406 Ventures, and Waybury Capital also taking part.

AIR, a two-year-old New York startup building an AI-driven credit intelligence platform for continuous credit ratings, raised a $6.1 million seed round. Work-Bench Ventures and Lerer Hippeau co-led the round.

Leona Health, a two-year-old Mexico City startup helping Latin American doctors manage patient messages on WhatsApp using an AI assistant, raised a $14 million seed round. Andreessen Horowitz led the investment, with General Catalyst and Accel also joining.

📚 Interesting reads of the week

Despite the generative AI boom, most startups are chasing enterprise customers, not consumers. Why? Investors say early consumer AI apps were rapidly commoditized or swallowed by tech giants. The breakthrough may require new hardware or a more mature platform. For now, the consumer AI killer app remains elusive.

AI was the leading sector for startup funding globally from 2023 through 2025. In each year, funding amounts to this sector have gone up dramatically and proportions have increased. Here are six charts to visualize the transformation via Crunchbase data.

AI is blurring the line between venture capital and private equity faster than expected. As software replaces labor, VC-backed startups are moving into industries long dominated by PE, from services to rollups. Private equity firms are becoming distribution channels, while their portfolios turn into idea lists for founders. In 2026, capital strategies are converging around who controls the full value chain.

Carta’s latest data shows a seed market that is active but sharply divided. AI startups are pulling in higher valuations, faster rounds, and more capital, while everyone else is moving slower and leaner. SAFEs now dominate early rounds, solo founders are rising, and Series A is taking longer to reach. The gap between top-tier deals and the rest keeps widening.

Corporate America is racing to hire storytellers as brands take control of their own media. Job postings using the term have doubled in a year, with roles spanning content, marketing, and executive communications. As traditional media shrinks, companies are building in-house teams to shape narratives directly. Former journalists are among the top candidates filling these roles.

The hottest private companies are changing hands in deals most investors will never see. From OpenAI to SpaceX, massive share sales are reserved for a small circle of insiders long before any IPO. As companies stay private longer, everyday investors are left with fewer chances to access high-growth firms. Regulators warn the gap is reshaping markets and deepening wealth inequality.

📌 PinPoint - Weekly Startup Job Opportunities

Fal is hiring a Content Marketing Manager

Boom Supersonic is hiring a Manufacturing Engineer

Unconv.ai is hiring a Software Engineer

Gradium is hiring a Developer Relations Engineer

PermitFlow is hiring a Senior GTM/Ops Recruiter

You can earn thousands of dollars for referring candidates to top companies. Sign up to PinPoint.

📌 Tweet of the week

💼 Who’s hiring in VC?

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

AngelList is looking for a VC Associate

Weyerhaeuser Ventures is looking for a VC Director

First Round Capital is looking for a Chief of Staff

Alumni Ventures is looking for a VC Vice President

Empyrean Venture Partners is looking for a VC Director