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A newsletter for communities, investors, angels, and founders
Power in Numbers
December 12, 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
SpaceX is aiming for an $800 billion valuation in a new share sale, which would make it the most valuable private company in the U.S. The move comes as the company eyes a 2026 IPO and builds momentum with its Starlink and government launch contracts.
While journalism as a major has seen shrinking enrollment for years and is even being dropped by some schools entirely, Baker, a senior at Stanford University, has doubled down on old-school investigative reporting, and it is paying off spectacularly.
Venture fundraising is the worse it’s been in at least a decade. The firms themselves are often struggling - we are seeing the lowest number of venture funds raised in at least 10 years.
OpenAI launched its latest frontier model, GPT-5.2, on Thursday amid increasing competition from Google, pitching it as its most advanced model yet and one designed for developers and everyday professional use.
Hinge founder Justin McLeod is leaving his post to build Overtone, a new AI-powered dating app backed by Match Group. The app uses voice and AI tools to foster deeper, more personal connections. Hinge’s president, Jackie Jantos, is stepping in as CEO.
Tiger Global is back in the market with a new $2.2 billion VC fund, signaling a move away from its past "spray and pray" tactics. The fund mirrors earlier, more focused strategies and comes as Tiger trims its portfolio to double down on winners like OpenAI and ByteDance. The firm also flagged concerns over inflated AI valuations, hinting at a more cautious playbook ahead.
OpenAI announced that it’s tapped Slack CEO Denise Dresser as its chief revenue officer. Dresser will oversee the artificial intelligence startup’s global revenue strategy across both customer success and enterprise, OpenAI said in a release
💰 Funding announcement highlights
Quanta, a San Francisco startup that provides an accounting platform for startup finances, raised a $15 million Series A. Accel led the round, with Operator Collective, Naval Ravikant, Designer Fund, and Basecase also joining.
Pryzm, a Boston startup using AI to streamline defense-tech procurement for U.S. government agencies and contractors, raised a $12.2 million seed round. Andreessen Horowitz was the main investor, with XYZ, Amplify.LA, and Forum Ventures also contributing.
Prime Security, a two-year-old startup developing autonomous AI agents for design-stage software security reviews, raised a $20 million Series A. Scale Venture Partners led the deal, with Foundation Capital and Flybridge Ventures also showing up.
Unconventional AI, a two-month-old startup that is developing a more energy-efficient computer for AI, raised a $475 million seed. Andreessen Horowitz and Lightspeed Venture Partners co-led the round, with Lux Capital, DCVC, Databricks, Jeff Bezos, and founder Naveen Rao also investing.
Antithesis, a platform designed to validate that software works before it launches, raised $105 million in Series A. Jane Street was the main investor, with Amplify Venture Partners and Spark Capital also joining.
📚 Interesting reads of the week
Palantir is turning a viral moment into a hiring push with its new Neurodivergent Fellowship. The company says neurodivergent traits like hyperfocus and non-linear thinking give candidates an edge in AI-era work. No diagnosis is required, and CEO Alex Karp will personally lead final interviews. Palantir insists it’s not a DEI move but a strategy to find top-tier talent.
a16z partners share what they think will define tech in 2026, and it’s all about building for agents, not just users. From agent-native infrastructure and AI-driven cybersecurity to creative tools that go fully multimodal, the shift is deep and structural. They also call out a new wave of healthcare startups targeting “healthy MAUs” and predict the rise of AI-native universities.
Amazon CTO Werner Vogels sees 2026 as a turning point where AI becomes deeply personal, emotional, and mission-driven. Companion robots will fight loneliness, especially among the elderly, by offering real emotional connection. Developers won't be replaced but will evolve into “renaissance” builders with more creative power than ever.
AI startups are finding a fast track to scale by selling into private equity portfolios. With over 14,000 PE-owned companies in the U.S., these firms offer a ready-made customer base hungry for efficiency. PE’s control and profit focus make them ideal partners for AI tools that cut costs and speed up workflows.
Creative success doesn’t come from getting it perfect, but from getting it done. In this essay, Patrick Morgan argues that perfectionism kills momentum, stunts growth, and quietly degrades your work. The antidote? Shift your goal from perfect to prolific. Make more, share often, and let your creative muscle grow through volume, not pressure.
📌 PinPoint - Weekly Startup Job Opportunities
Gradium is hiring a Software Engineer.
PermitFlow is hiring a Product Operations Manager.
Supper is hiring a Technical Account Manager.
Parallel Web Systems is hiring a Head of Legal.
Sunday is hiring a Senior Manufacturing Engineer.
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.
Intuit Ventures is looking for a Senior VC Principal.
Brass is looking for a VC Associate.
Yuwell Global is looking for a VC Director.
IMEC is looking for a VC Manager.
