PIN

A newsletter for communities, investors, angels, and founders

Author

Power in Numbers
August 08, 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

GPT-5 is here, but its unveiling lacked the sparkle many were anticipating. The long-awaited new AI model release on Thursday was partially overshadowed by misleading charts and a false answer to a simple physics question. Also missing was the sense of transformational progress that colored past launches.

Financial services provider Brex on Thursday announced that it achieved a major milestone: It is now licensed in the European Union. That means it can now directly issue credit and debit cards and offer its spend management products to any business in all 30 EU countries with “no workarounds required,” as co-founder and CEO Pedro Franceschi wrote in a blog post.

A bipartisan bill in the U.S. House would let anyone become an accredited investor if they pass a test. The goal is to open private markets to people with financial knowledge, not just wealth. Critics say it could increase risk and compliance costs for fund managers while supporters argue it’s a long-overdue fix to a broken system.

Clay raised $100 million at a $3.1 billion valuation, with Sequoia and CapitalG backing the round. The AI-powered sales platform is used by OpenAI, Anthropic, and Canva. It’s the company’s second raise in six months, pointing to growing investor interest in AI-driven sales automation. A secondary offering also gave early employees a chance to cash out.

Cognition just laid off 30 Windsurf employees and is offering buyouts to the rest. According to an internal email seen by The Information, those who stay face 80-hour weeks and mandatory in-office days. Despite promising to invest in talent, it looks like Cognition mainly wanted Windsurf’s tech. “We don’t believe in work-life balance,” wrote CEO Scott Wu in the email.

Palantir tops $1 billion in revenue for the first time

Palantir hit $1 billion in quarterly revenue for the first time, blowing past expectations. Its U.S. government and commercial business surged, powered by AI and a push for efficiency under Trump. Palantir is now one of the 10 most valuable tech firms in the U.S.

OpenAI is in talks with investors about a potential stock sale at a valuation of roughly $500 billion, according to two sources with knowledge of the matter. The talks are in early stages and would involve a secondary sale with shares sold by current and former employees, said the people, who asked not to be named because the discussions are confidential. Thrive Capital, an investor in OpenAI, could lead the potential round, the sources said.

💰 Funding announcement highlights

Jeh Aerospace, a startup manufacturing metallic components for commercial aircraft engines and structures, raised an $11 million Series A. Elevation Capital led the round, with participation from General Catalyst.

Lyric, a four-year-old startup that uses AI to assist large manufacturers and distributors in making better supply chain decisions by analyzing internal and external data, raised a $43.5 million Series B round. Insight Partners was the main investor, with Primary Venture Partners, Permanent Capital Ventures, VMG Partners, PSP Growth, and NewBuild Venture Capital also joining.

NG.Cash, a São Paulo startup providing young people in Brazil with a digital bank account that allows them to manage money transfers and use prepaid cards, raised a $26.5 million Series B. NEA led the round with Quantum Light, Monashees, Andreessen Horowitz, Endeavor Catalyst, 17Sigma, and Daphni also contributing.

Journey, a startup helping luxury hotels increase direct bookings and guest loyalty by replacing traditional booking engines with a streamlined, branded reservation experience, raised a $7.7 million seed round. The deal was co-led by Lerer Hippeau and Slow Ventures.

Tako, a startup whose AI-powered tools help automate employee onboarding, payroll, and labor compliance for mid-size companies operating in Brazil, raised an $18 million round. Ribbit Capital and Andreessen Horowitz were the co-leads.

📚 Interesting reads of the week

Startups often rush to build systems before they know what they’re solving. That mistake can lock in bad assumptions and block agility. This article states that true efficiency starts after discovery, not before. Taylorism isn’t wrong, just badly timed.

In Berkeley, a former hotel has become a temple for Rationalists, an AI-obsessed movement blending science, philosophy, and lifestyle. Their beliefs now shape major AI companies like OpenAI and Anthropic. Lighthaven, their hub, hosts everything from research programs to solstice rituals. They believe that AI isn’t just tech, it’s a mission to save humanity.

Alex Klein is mapping the LPs putting real capital behind new managers and building a community to support them through Nucleus. It’s launching in August, and the list of names is already growing.

Two men, same flight, same champagne. One complained the whole way, the other smiled out the window. What are their habits and why do they both see the world differently?

Dribbble banned top designer Gleb Kuznetsov after he shared his contact info with clients, violating a new monetization rule. His entire 15-year profile was deleted. Now, he’s building an AI-powered platform for designers and says he’s already talking to investors. The goal isn’t revenge, but to give designers a better home.

AI tools can now build full financial models and cap tables in minutes. But unlike software, you can’t really test if the analysis is correct. You just have to trust the data, the logic, and the bot. And that’s a big issue. Because with analysis, trust is the product.

Index Ventures just turned an $86 million Figma bet into a nearly $6 billion stake. It’s also cashing out from Scale AI and Wiz, with total returns topping $11 billion. While most firms are struggling, Index is outpacing giants like Sequoia.

Pitchbook’s latest report shows that venture investment in defense tech is booming, hitting $19.1 billion in Q2 alone. That’s more than double the previous quarter. Startups working on autonomous systems and counter-drone tech are leading the pack. With valuations climbing, defense tech is now a top priority for VCs, not a niche play.

💪Tech mafia of the week

Highlights:

💰 Most money raised: Superstate

🤑 Total money raised by the Chime Mafia: $67.7 million

Weekly Tech Mafia Leaderboard

The Chime alumni has built some amazing companies. This tech mafia group takes the 120th spot on our leaderboard, with 11 companies founded and $67.7 million raised.

PS: Are you a Chime 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.

645 Ventures is looking for a VC Partner.

LG Tech Ventures is looking for a Senior VC Associate.

Myriad Venture Partners is looking for a Head of IR.

Stepstone Group is looking for a VC Associate.

Decasonic is looking for a VC Investor.

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📠 Fun fact of the week

About 90% of the world’s currency exists only on computers.