PIN

A newsletter for communities, investors, angels, and founders

Author

Power in Numbers
February 14, 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

Elon Musk and a group of investors, including xAI and Baron Capital, have offered a massive $97.4 billion to take over OpenAI. This adds fuel to Musk’s ongoing rivalry with OpenAI’s CEO, Sam Altman, and complicates the company’s shift to a for-profit model. Altman quickly rejected the offer and even joked about buying X for $9.74 billion in return.

Sequoia Capital is leading a big investment in Mercury, pushing the fintech startup’s value past $3 billion, double what it was before. This deal reflects a comeback in fintech funding, thanks to Mercury’s fast growth and the need for banking solutions tailored to startups. With $500 million in yearly revenue, Mercury is cementing its spot as a major player in digital banking.

Plaid is teaming up with Goldman Sachs on a tender offer of up to $400 million, giving early investors and employees a chance to sell some of their shares. The deal is expected to come in at a lower valuation than Plaid’s $13.4 billion Series D in 2021, reflecting the broader fintech slump. Still, Plaid’s revenue grew over 25% in 2024 as it expanded beyond fintech into big financial partnerships.

What Forerunner Ventures looks for in consumer startups: vision, magnetism, and unfair advantages

Forerunner Ventures’ Nicole Johnson shares her outlook for 2025. She is currently on the hunt for founders with bold vision, magnetic leadership, and a clear competitive edge. She’s also especially excited about AI-driven personalization in health care, finance, and education, as well as new ways brands are reaching consumers beyond traditional advertising. In a tough funding environment, she says only the best, the ones who stand out in a crowded market, are getting the capital they need.

Despite Bitcoin soaring past $100,000, venture investment in crypto startups remained stagnant in 2024. Instead of a funding surge, VCs concentrated their bets on fewer deals, pushing median valuations up 78% to $32.1 million. Analysts expect upcoming exits, like Circle’s, to determine whether the sector will see renewed venture activity.

A former Sony executive and a veteran startup banker are launching Hallstone Ventures, a $10 million seed fund focused on AI-driven media startups. The fund will invest in 20-25 companies over three years, targeting emerging players in gaming, virtual reality, social media, and blockchain.

💰 Funding announcement highlights

Island, a Dallas startup developing an enterprise browser designed to give companies more control over security, data protection, and IT management, is looking to raise a round at a $4.5 billion valuation. The company has previously secured $487 million from investors including Coatue, Sequoia Capital, Insight Partners, Stripes, Georgian, and Prysm Capital.

QuEra Computing, a Boston startup building a 256-qubit quantum computer available through cloud services and on-site installations, raised a $170 million round. Google, SoftBank, and Valor Equity Partners were part of the investors.

Sardine AI, an AI-driven platform that helps financial institutions detect and prevent fraud, ensure compliance, and assess credit risks, raised a $70 million Series C. Activant Capital was the main investor. Andreessen Horowitz, Nyca Partners, Google Ventures, Geodesic Capital, Cross Creek Capital, Moody’s Analytics, Experian Ventures, and NAventures also showed up.

Tines, a Dublin startup enabling teams to automate repetitive tasks without the need for coding, raised a $125 million Series C round. Goldman Sachs Alternatives led the deal, with SoftBank and Activant as well as previous investors Accel, Felicis, CrowdStrike Falcon Fund, and Addition also showing up.

Collate, a one-year-old AI-powered platform that automates the creation and management of documentation for companies developing medical devices, diagnostics, and pharmaceuticals, raised a $30 million seed. Redpoint led the round, with First Round Capital, Conviction, and Y Combinator also contributing.

 📚 Interesting reads of the week

In a conversation on the Social Radars podcast, with YC’s Jessica Livingston and Carolynn Levy, Scale AI’s Alexandr Wang shared insights on the company’s role in training major AI models since 2016. Wang discusses where the industry is headed and how Scale AI is helping to define the next generation of machine learning.

Sequoia’s Arc program breaks product-market fit into three archetypes: Hair on Fire (solving urgent, competitive problems), Hard Fact (challenging accepted industry norms), and Future Vision (introducing radical innovation). Each requires a different strategy, from rapid scaling to market education or long-term endurance. Understanding where your startup fits can shape your path to success.

AI-powered voice agents are revolutionizing customer interactions, offering faster, more efficient automation that is increasingly replacing human labor, according to the latest report by a16z. While adoption surged in 2024, startups are now shifting from standalone voice products to using AI voice as a wedge into larger platforms. Key sectors like finance, healthcare, and government are driving demand, and VC interest remains strong, especially for solutions that seamlessly integrate into existing workflows.

Venture capital funding surged in 2024, with a16z leading the pack, participating in 100 post-seed rounds. General Catalyst, Y Combinator, and Lightspeed Venture Partners followed closely, increasing their investment pace. Mega-rounds for Databricks and OpenAI fueled late-stage funding, signaling strong investor confidence, especially in AI-driven startups.

Investing, like basketball, isn’t just about making shots, it’s about consistency and precision. Some investors strike gold once by luck, but building a lasting venture firm requires intentional strategy, discipline, and the ability to learn from near-misses. From deal flow to portfolio size and follow-on investments, the best VCs focus on what they can control, refining their game to deliver repeatable success.

Down rounds are no longer the red flag they once were, 20% of VC rounds in the past year were priced lower than previous ones, according to Carta. While still tough to secure, they’ve become normalized in tech, much like layoffs. For startups still growing, a lower valuation isn’t the end, it’s a chance to secure funding, stay alive, and push toward long-term success.

Y Combinator’s impact on startups is undeniable, YC-backed companies are twice as likely to become unicorns compared to other venture-backed startups. While consumer giants like Airbnb and Coinbase have driven past returns, YC is now betting heavily on B2B and AI. With a 45% Series A success rate and a 50% survival rate after 10 years, the data confirms that YC remains one of the best launchpads for founders.

Billionaire investor Bill Ackman made a sweeping portfolio update, highlighting new investments in Uber and reaffirming positions in Universal Music, Google, Brookfield, and others.

Venture capital is in trouble. Too much funding in 2020-2021 led to a wave of startups, but now higher interest rates and fewer mergers have left many stuck as "zombie" companies. With valuations dropping and fewer exits, investors are struggling to get their money back, raising big questions about the future of VC-backed startups.

💪Tech mafia of the week

Highlights:

💰 Most money raised: Plural

🤑 Total money raised by the Wise Mafia: $620 million

Weekly Tech Mafia Leaderboard

The Wise alumni has built some amazing companies. This tech mafia group takes the 70th spot on our leaderboard, with 18 companies founded and $620 million raised.

PS: Are you a Wise 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.

SpringTide Ventures is looking for a VC Controller.

Entrepreneur First is looking for a VC Associate.

Venture5 Media is looking for a VC Partnerships.

501 Ventures is looking for a VC Vice President.

Opus Advisors is looking for a VC Director.

📠 Fun fact of the week

Mercor grew to $50M ARR in 2 years with 30 people and ElevenLabs hit $100M ARR in 2 years with just 50 people.

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