PIN

A newsletter for communities, investors, angels, and founders

Author

Power in Numbers
January 09, 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

Lux Capital, a 25-year-old VC firm known for its investments in frontier science and defense technology, has closed a $1.5 billion ninth fund, the largest fund in the firm’s history.

Elon Musk’s xAI has raised $20 billion, topping its original target as investor interest for AI remains strong. The round brings in major backers including Fidelity, Qatar Investment Authority, Nvidia, and Cisco. xAI says the capital will fund new data centers, model development, and the next version of Grok.

AI leaders say careers are being reshaped faster than education systems can adapt. McKinsey and General Catalyst argue that continuous re-skilling is now mandatory as AI agents become cheaper to deploy than new hires. While headcount may not shrink, roles will shift sharply toward judgment, creativity, and client-facing work. Learning is no longer a phase, it is the job.

Discord has reportedly filed confidentially for an initial public offering, adding momentum to the 2026 tech IPO pipeline. The San Francisco-based company is said to be working with Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan on the listing. With more than 200 million monthly users, Discord would mark one of the most closely watched consumer tech debuts.

OpenAI is reorganizing teams and rebuilding its audio models ahead of an audio-first personal device expected in 2026. The shift reflects a broader industry move toward voice as the primary interface, from smart glasses to cars and wearables. Tech giants and startups alike are betting that screens will fade into the background. Audio is emerging as the next battleground for AI interaction.

Niko Bonatsos has departed General Catalyst after 15 years, where he co-led the firm’s early-stage investing practice. The move comes as the firm grows larger and the venture landscape continues to shift. Bonatsos said the decision was mutual and hinted he may launch a new early-stage fund. His next chapter could signal fresh momentum in early AI investing.

💰 Funding announcement highlights

LMArena, a San Francisco startup that lets users compare artificial intelligence tools through anonymous evaluations, raised a $150 million round. Felicis and UC Investments co-led the deal, with Andreessen Horowitz, The House Fund, LDVP, Kleiner Perkins, Lightspeed Venture Partners, and Laude Ventures also joining.

Array Labs, a Palo Alto startup developing radar satellites for three-dimensional Earth mapping, raised a $20 million Series A round. Catapult Ventures led the deal, with Washington Harbour Partners, Kompas VC, Y Combinator, Maiora Capital, Animal Capital, Aera VC, Cultivation Capital, and Clearance Ventures also showing up.

Unusual, a two-year-old San Francisco startup helping brands influence how AI describes their products and services, raised a $3.6 million round. BoxGroup, Long Journey Ventures, Y Combinator, and Phosphor Capital participated in the financing.

Swap, a London startup that builds software to unify global e-commerce operations, raised a $100 million Series C round. DST Global, ICONIQ Capital, Cherry Ventures, QED Investors, 9900 Capital, and Portfolio Ventures were all part of the round.

Babylon Labs, a Palo Alto startup that develops infrastructure to let native bitcoin be used as on-chain collateral, raised a $15 million round from Andreessen Horowitz.

📚 Interesting reads of the week

Agentic systems are moving from experiments to the default way work gets done. Zach Wills states that AI-native products, smaller execution pods, and AI-navigable systems will separate leaders from laggards. The real edge will belong to builders and teams who replace workflows, not just enhance them. In 2026, orchestration, trust, and execution speed will matter more than raw model capability.

Silicon Valley is paying top dollar for storytelling roles, but the value of narrative remains deeply misunderstood. Jack Raines explains that you cannot outsource meaning or fix weak products with a flashy title. Real narrative power flows from founders, product truth, and customer empathy, not from standalone storytelling hires.

The startup ecosystem is splitting into winners and stragglers. New data from Carta shows capital concentrating around AI founders, while equity shrinks and hiring slows across the rest of the market. With IPOs scarce and secondaries rising, liquidity is being redefined. The 2025 startup playbook looks very different from just a few years ago.

As venture grows more crowded, some firms are rediscovering their real advantage: the network itself. Community is shifting from events and brand support into a form of strategic infrastructure that shapes deal flow before pitch decks exist. The firms that treat community as intelligence, not hospitality, may see opportunities earlier than everyone else.

AI is reshaping software engineering faster than hiring models, skills, and education systems can keep up. Junior roles are under pressure, core skills are evolving, and developers may shift from writing code to orchestrating and overseeing AI-driven systems. The next two years will reward engineers who pair deep judgment with adaptability, not just speed.

Solo founders now launch more than one in three new startups, the highest share in over 50 years. New data from Carta shows this is not a blip but a steady shift driven by AI, faster execution, and clearer decision-making. Investors are warming up as single founders prove they can build faster, leaner, and with stronger product coherence.

📌 PinPoint - Weekly Startup Job Opportunities

Chai Discovery is hiring a Software Engineer, Product.

Fal is hiring an Account Manager, Commercial.

Boom Supersonic is hiring a R&D Technician.

Unconv.ai is hiring a Member of Technical Staff.

PermitFlow is hiring a Product Operations Manager.

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.

UPENN is looking for an Associate VC Director.

Quanta Ventures Fund is looking for a VC Partner.

Lam Research is looking for a Senior VC Manager.

Boston Dynamics is looking for an IR Manager.

Intuit Ventures is looking for a Senior VC Principal.