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A newsletter for communities, investors, angels, and founders
Power in Numbers
June 27, 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
Lime is reportedly gearing up for a long-anticipated IPO, tapping Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan for the job. The micromobility startup, backed by Uber, is riding strong with $686 million in 2024 revenue and two years of positive cash flow. If successful, it could mark a comeback moment for the scooter and e-bike sector.
Apple was recently in talks with Mira Murati about buying her new AI company, Thinking Machines Lab. The startup, still pre-product, just raised a record-breaking $2 billion at a $10 billion valuation. While the conversation didn’t move forward, it’s clear Apple is scouting every top AI player in the game.
Andy Konwinski is putting $100 million of his own money into a new AI institute called Laude. The goal? Support bold, independent research that puts people first. Its first major grant will launch a new AI Systems Lab at UC Berkeley in 2027.
The Social Network is finally getting a sequel courtesy of Sony. Deadline reports that Sony is moving forward with The Social Network Part II, a “follow-up” to David Fincher’s 2010 feature about how TheFacebook went on to become one of the most singularly influential websites in internet history and made Mark Zuckerberg a billionaire in the process.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has put a spotlight on private conversations leading up to a rival company suing OpenAI over its upcoming device, io. On Tuesday, Altman posted screenshots of emails on X showing messages between him and Jason Rugolo, the founder of the Iyo hearing device startup that’s suing OpenAI. The emails show a mostly friendly exchange where Rugolo asks Altman for his support as Altman discloses a competing device.
💰 Funding announcement highlights
Cluely, a recently founded San Francisco startup helping people "cheat on everything", raised a $15 million round. Andreessen Horowitz was the main investor.
Harvey AI, a San Francisco startup using AI to help lawyers and legal teams quickly review documents, draft contracts, and conduct legal research, raised a $300 million Series E round. Kleiner Perkins and Coatue co-led the deal, with Sequoia Capital, GV, DST Global, Conviction Capital, Elad Gil, OpenAI Startup Fund, Elemental, SV Angel, and REV also contributing.
Wispr Flow, a San Francisco startup making an AI-powered headset and app that transcribes natural speech into text in real-time, raised a $30 million Series A. The round was led by Menlo Ventures, with NEA and 8VC also showing up.
Eventual, a startup developing a data processing engine that enables AI developers to work with unstructured data like text, images, audio, and video in one place, raised a $20 million Series A round. Felicis was the main investor, with M12 and Citi also joining.
Decagon, a startup building AI-powered software to automate customer service through chat, email, and voice, raised a $131 million Series C. Accel and Andreessen Horowitz co-led the round, with Avra, Forerunner, and Ribbit Capital as well as previous investors A*, Bain Capital Ventures, and BOND also pitching in.
📚 Interesting reads of the week
Startups are ditching blitzscaling for botscaling, using AI to build fast, lean, and with minimal headcount. Revenue per employee is the new brag, and some founders are skipping human co-founders altogether. With AI acting as coder, marketer, and strategist, the founder’s job is shifting to managing fleets of digital “ghosts.”
An MIT student has developed a way to restore damaged paintings using AI-generated polymer masks, which allows cutting restoration time from months to hours. The printed films match exact colors and can be removed without harming the original art. This breakthrough blends tech precision with conservation ethics, giving lost masterpieces a second chance.
Brex pushed for speed, ownership, and momentum, where founders launched fast and learned by doing. Mercury emphasized alignment, polish, and deep thinking, helping founders master communication and precision. This take comes from someone who worked at both, and saw how each culture shaped strong operators in very different ways.
If you’re building in this market, it’s hard to know what to focus on. The hype cycle has cooled. Funding takes longer. AI infrastructure is shifting fast. But some startups are still pulling ahead—growing fast, monetizing early, and doing it with lean teams. This post is for founders who want to understand why.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman joined his brother Jack for a candid chat on the future of AI. From humanoids and superintelligence to the latest OpenAI moves and Meta drama, it’s a mix of insight and sibling banter. If you're wondering what’s next after reasoning, this one’s worth a listen.
Backing new VC managers means betting on the riskiest slice of the riskiest asset class. This piece breaks down the real risks LPs face: operational gaps, market fit, win rates, and more. It’s a practical, honest guide to underwriting emerging funds, written after hundreds of messages and years in the game.
Hackers are now using AI to write and adapt malicious code at scale. The next wave of attacks may come from savvy coders blending deep expertise with fast-evolving AI tools. This shift lowers the barrier for cybercrime and raises the stakes for defense.
💪Tech mafia of the week
Highlights:
💰 Most money raised: Photoroom
🤑 Total money raised by the GoPro Mafia: $83 million
Weekly Tech Mafia Leaderboard
The GoPro alumni has built some amazing companies. This tech mafia group takes the 113th spot on our leaderboard, with 22 companies founded and $83 million raised.
PS: Are you a GoPro 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
Tired of pitching the same 10 VCs everyone else is chasing?
These under-the-radar investors bring more than capita:
@ridgevc – Puts customer intros in the term sheet.
@AutodeskFdn – All over product, design, and GTM support.
@BankTechVC – Knows the banking world inside and
— PIN (@getpinxyz)
2:10 PM • Jun 23, 2025
💼 Who’s hiring in VC?
Looking to get into VC? Below are this week’s curated VC job openings.
Applied Ventures is looking for a Senior VC Director.
MassMutual is looking for a VC Principal.
The Rockefeller Foundation is looking for a VC Director.
Vista Equity Partners is looking for a VC Associate.
New Catalyst Strategic Partners is looking for a VC Investor.
📌 Introducing PinPoint - Get paid to refer your friends to great jobs
Want to earn thousands of dollars for referring candidates to top companies? Sign up to PinPoint.
📠 Fun fact of the week
While tech dominates today, VC has funded everything from coffee chains to airlines. For example, FedEx and Starbucks both received early venture capital funding.
Want to learn more about investing in startups with your community through PIN’s platform? Simply reply to this email.
