Why the bar for crypto VC is higher than ever

I’ve been covering the crypto VC space for many years now, and the last couple of years have felt different. Earlier, there was a steady flow of early-stage funding announcements. That slowed down a lot, and even though things have picked up a bit this year, it still doesn’t feel the same.

Most investors I spoke to said the era of easy fundraising in crypto is over and unlikely to come back. But several also said this is a healthy reset, and the space is just more strict now. READ MORE

This new cartoon illustrates how venture capital as an asset class is starting to lose its positive perception among fund investors.

For years, venture capital enjoyed an attractive public image. From the outside, it looked like a club of ex-Ivy Leaguers with a smattering of start-up experience making million-dollar bets from plush offices with long time horizons. Management fees were generous, failure was abstract, and the uniform was universal… chinos and a sleeveless puffer vest. Venture was not just an asset class, it was a lifestyle brand. READ MORE

I used to be a VC. Now I’ve found a better way to build a company

These days, many founders feel pressure to raise tremendous amounts of venture capital. But it wasn’t always like this. Most people are surprised to learn that four of the most valuable companies in the world barely raised any VC funding at all by today’s standards.

Apple is believed to have raised less than $1 million before its IPO. Amazon raised about $8 million. Microsoft raised about $1 million. Google raised $25 million. Add it all up, and it’s less than $35 million in total VC funding. Granted, that’s about $74 million in today’s dollars, but it’s still a relatively small investment that led to four companies that are worth around $14 trillion today. READ MORE

Now's the time to buy software, says Thoma Bravo founder

The founder of one of the world's largest software investors has come out swinging amid a sell-off that has wiped trillions of dollars off the value of technology stocks. Orlando Bravo, founder and managing partner at Thoma Bravo, said the $183 billion firm has not changed its investment thesis as a result of the so-called SaaS-pocalypse, but can now make similar investments at a much steeper discount.

"This is the time to do it," he told an audience Wednesday at Semafor's World Economy conference in Washington, DC, that included senior funds columnist Jessica Hamlin. "Would you rather buy a great software company when it's trading at 15 times revenue?" READ MORE

Private equity hits 16-year lows, crypto keeps tumbling — and Trump wants both in your 401(k)

Private equity is giving 2008 vibes (1). Private credit is in crisis. Some are calling the end of the crypto honeymoon, with its trading volume drop (2) the lowest since 2023. All the while, Trump wants all of these assets to be added into 401(k).

In response to the self-proclaimed crypto president's August 2025 executive order, the Labor Department has proposed a rule that would make way for alternative assets into 401(k)s — a retirement plan that's nearly half a century old. READ MORE

This Investor Backed Lyft and Olipop. Now He’s Building a ‘Long-Term Home’ for Brands That Refuse to Sell

Craig Shapiro has a track record of predicting what consumers want. Since launching his venture capital firm, Collaborative Fund, in 2010, Shapiro and his team of investors at the New York City-based firm have backed Kickstarter, Lyft, Olipop, Magic Spoon, Smash Kitchen, and Whoop. Now, he is turning his focus from fast-growing consumer businesses to companies that are more focused on building for the long run. To do that, he’s launching a new private equity fund: Collab Holdings. READ MORE

Private equity-backed CFOs earned average of $604K per year in 2025

Private equity firms may have been returning less profit to investors in recent years, but finance chiefs working at businesses owned by such companies are seeing their own compensation packages grow.

That’s the upshot of a new report issued Wednesday by executive search firm Heidrick & Struggles. On average, CFOs working at PE-backed firms in the U.S. took home cash pay of $604,000 in 2025, up 5% year over year. READ MORE

National Venture Capital Association reports strong investment activity, structural pressures around liquidity in annual report

The National Venture Capital Association (NVCA) released its annual yearbook looking at the past year and the future of the venture capital industry.

According to its NVCA 2026 Yearbook, this year’s report focuses on strong investment activity as well as mounting structural pressures around liquidity. U.S. venture capital firms closed 15,352 deals worth $320 billion, a 51 percent increase in deal value and the second-highest total on record. READ MORE

Seed is the New Growth

In the second half of 2025, I noticed a pattern in our Fund IV fundraising conversations at Eleven VC. One after another, institutional LPs – mainly from Europe – told us some version of the same narrative: they had made a strategic decision to move away from seed funds and concentrate their venture allocation entirely on growth VCs.

It was frustrating at times but I acknowledged their pursuit to maximize returns by capturing ‘the bigger opportunity’ growth capital presented – especially after years of scarcity in Europe. However, something about this narrative was off. I was not convinced.  READ MORE

The Army’s New Venture Capital Model

Traditional approaches to Army prototyping efforts have been known to move at a lackluster speed, letting ideas gather dust, while near-peer adversaries field “good enough” solutions to operational units. FUZE is the U.S. Army’s flagship innovation program, which adopts a venture capitalist (VC) model to expedite military technology development. Launched in September 2025 with a projected $750 million annual investment, it unifies existing initiatives like xTech, Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR), Technology Maturation Initiative (TMI) and Manufacturing Technology (ManTech) to fund emerging commercial and “dual-use” firms. The program aims to get technology from concept to operational prototype within 70 days or less. This model represents a significant shift from the traditional, slow-moving acquisition cycle, embracing a high tolerance for failure in pursuit of rapid technological superiority in the hands of operational Army forces. READ MORE

These 3 Charts Show How Venture Capital Has Concentrated At The Top In 2026

Q1 2026 marked an all-time quarterly high for venture investment, thanks to the biggest funding deal ever for a private company. But those milestones mask a different reality for many startups on the ground: While more money than ever is being invested in the private markets, that’s thanks to larger checks, not more of them.

In fact, Crunchbase data shows the extent to which venture funding this year has been a case of more capital concentrated into a select few companies and a single industry. Last quarter, a handful of large, well-funded AI companies, almost all based in the U.S., captured the vast majority of venture dollars, even as global startup deal count fell. READ MORE

Early-stage funding slumps toward post-pandemic low, piling more pressure on biotech startups

A slow start to 2026 has put first-time biotech financings on course for their worst year since before the pandemic, reducing the already limited funding opportunities available for startups.

The data come from J.P. Morgan’s first-quarter biopharma licensing and venture report (PDF). Analysts tracked 50 seed and series A investments collectively worth $2.3 billion over the first three months of 2026. The data reverse the encouraging trend seen in the first quarter of 2025, when J.P. Morgan reported (PDF) that the number of investments rose to 60 and their combined value reached $3.7 billion.  READ MORE

Venture capital is not what it was

U.S. venture capital investment easily hit an all-time record in Q1 2026, according to data released today by PitchBook and the National Venture Capital Association. In fact, domestic startups raised more last quarter than in any entire year, save for 2021 and 2025.

Yes, but: U.S. venture capital investment decreased quarter-over-quarter, if you remove just five Q1 2026 transactions.

Why it matters: Traditional VC metrics no longer make much sense, at least if used to gauge the health of America's startup ecosystem. READ MORE

Sovereign wealth fund with $1m+ salaries is leaking people to hedge funds

If you work for a hedge fund, your salary will typically be low and your bonus will typically be high. In the good times, it therefore makes sense to work for a hedge fund. In the bad times, it's better to max your salary elsewhere.

Given that these have been bad times for some hedge funds, it's interesting to note - then - that people have been leaving the most salary-maxxing employer in the market:  the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA). READ MORE

Venture Funding To Foundational AI Startups In Q1 Was Double All Of 2025

Funding to foundational AI startups, also known as generative AI companies or frontier labs, has doubled in the first quarter of 2026 so far compared to all of 2025, Crunchbase data shows.

That funding is increasingly concentrated in a handful of foundational giants, including OpenAI, Anthropic and xAI. In 2025 and early 2026, the market saw a shift to a small number of companies capturing a disproportionate share of global capital. READ MORE

Sequoia Capital shares founder’s 1977 memo for investing in Apple — initial $600,000 investment is worth $26.4 billion today, firm said it was ‘tough to do this deal’

Apple, founded in 1977 to sell hobbyist computers, is currently celebrating its 50th year and is one of the most valuable companies today. However, this wasn’t the case back then, with venture capital firm Sequoia Capital sharing its founder’s memo regarding a potential $600,000 financing for the then-fledgling firm. According to the firm’s X post, its founder, Don Valentine, wrote the note, saying that Apple’s request will give it 10% of equity in the startup with a market greater than $500 million. READ MORE