EverythingStartups Weekly

Welcome to everyone new here who signed up last week!

At the beginning of November I’m launching something exciting that’s been in the works for a long time, and will be useful to both founders & investors, so stay tuned for the announcement!

Let’s get into this week’s edition on what’s happening in startup & VC world + the main highlights.

But first, you might find some of these resources helpful:

• 120+ Active Pre-Seed - Series A investors

• Venture Capital Trends September 2025

• 48 pre-seed accelerators

• Latest VC funds announced

• 350+ SaaS investors

• LPs investing in VC funds 

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Cheers,
Ivelina

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Important News + Data 🟣

What people are talking about…

• BoxGroup has raised $550 million across two new funds, extending its run as one of the most active early-stage firms in tech. Led by David Tisch, the New York-based investor will use the capital for pre-seed to Series A deals and follow-ons, targeting up to 180 investments without betting on any single region or sector.

• A major AWS outage knocked out key financial platforms like Coinbase, Robinhood, and Venmo, exposing the sector’s over-reliance on a single cloud provider. Wall Street firms are doubling down on multi-cloud strategies, with regulators in the UK and EU pushing mandates to reduce systemic risk from hyperscaler concentration.

• OpenAI has launched ChatGPT Atlas, an AI-powered web browser built entirely around its chatbot, removing the traditional address bar and adding an agent mode for paid users that automates searches. Available now on macOS, Atlas is OpenAI’s latest move to challenge Google and push users deeper into its ecosystem.

• A* Capital has quietly bet nearly 20% of its portfolio on teenage founders, backing companies like AI startup Aaru with C-suites barely old enough to drive. Co-founder Kevin Hartz sees a wave of young dropouts launching ventures at scale, as programs like Z Fellows and YC’s deferred track normalize skipping college to build.

• HighVista Strategies has closed a $270 million fund-of-funds to back emerging VC managers, signaling renewed LP interest in smaller firms after years of mega-fund dominance. The Boston firm plans to invest in about 20 managers focused on seed to Series B, with room for secondaries and later-stage direct deals.

Hot rounds 🔥

• Sesame raised $250 million in a Series B round led by Sequoia, with Spark participating, to scale its conversational AI tools and smart glasses.

• OpenEvidence raised $200 million at a $6 billion valuation in a round led by GV, joined by Sequoia Capital, Kleiner Perkins, Blackstone, Thrive Capital, Coatue, Bond, and Craft.

• LangChain raised $125 million in a Series B round at a $1.25 billion valuation, led by IVP with backing from CapitalG, Sapphire, ServiceNow, Workday, Cisco, Datadog, Databricks, Frontline, Sequoia, and Benchmark.

New VC Funds Announced 🟣 

These new venture capital funds launched this past week…

• Maia Ventures – €55M for Agtech, FoodTech, Sustainability

• DVC – $75M for AI Infrastructure, Model Stacks, Application-Layer Solutions

• May Ventures – €30M for Early-Stage AI Startups in the DACH Region

• LL3 Ventures – Evergreen vehicle for Seed-Stage Startups (checks from $25K to $500K+)

• Maximum Frequency Ventures – $50M for Crypto, AI, and Web3 Startups

• Odyssey Ventures – $75M for Deeptech and Industrial Innovation Across Europe and the U.S.

• AAF Management – $55M for Emerging Managers and Early to Growth-Stage Startups

• Town Hall Ventures – $440M for AI and Healthcare Innovation for Underserved Communities

Learn more about each fund here.

Interesting Links 🟣

These caught my eye this week…

• Why investors ghost mid-round. HealthVC breaks down the silent killer of fundraises: investor churn. Learn why excitement fades, how to spot early drop-off signals, and what top founders do to keep capital warm.

• Coatue’s Fantastic 40. The latest October update of Coatue’s “Fantastic 40” Growth & Innovation Index is out, spotlighting public and private tech companies they believe are best positioned to lead over the next 5 years in an AI-driven world.

• Momentum is not a moat. Kyle Harrison unpacks why chasing ARR fireworks too early can poison the startup well, and how overfunding momentum dilutes real innovation while quietly erasing “middle-class” company outcomes.

• The startups everyone’s watching. LinkedIn’s 2025 Top Startups list is out, spotlighting 50 U.S. companies redefining work, healthcare, AI, and even mac and cheese.

• Israel’s record-breaking M&A year. Despite a steep drop in private funding, Israeli tech hit $71 billion in mergers and acquisitions in 2025, fueled by massive cybersecurity deals like Palo Alto Networks’ $25 billion CyberArk buyout. Startup Nation Central’s latest report calls it the strongest exit year in the country’s history.

• Unfiltered thoughts on raising a new fund, the truth bombs no one tells you.

🎤 Startup Jobs

My friends over at PIN have launched a platform with vetted jobs at startups backed by top VCs. I put together a list of 7 roles startups are actively hiring for right now + application links.

Check it out here.

New Fund Highlight: NFX Fund IV 🟣

This fund is truly impressive because...

It's bucking the venture winter trend with a $325M raise while others are still licking their wounds. After 2024 saw the lowest VC fundraising since 2019 ($76.1B globally), NFX just closed their fourth fund, proving that geographical diversification and actual returns still attract LPs.

Led by Gigi Levy-Weiss, Sarai Bronfeld, and Omri Drory in Israel, plus five US partners, NFX has backed nearly 200 companies since 2015, including unicorns like SimilarWeb, Fireblocks, and Papaya Global.

The new $325M fund will write $4-5M seed/pre-seed checks into ~50 startups targeting AI infrastructure, cybersecurity, DevOps/developer tools, consumer AI, and crypto/fintech infrastructure.

Why it's notable:

• AI infrastructure, not just apps. While everyone chases ChatGPT wrappers, NFX is betting on the picks-and-shovels layer, security systems, data management, and model training infrastructure. Plus they're contrarian on consumer AI, recently backing an AI virtual friend startup already generating millions in revenue.

• Stablecoin infrastructure as the real crypto play. Forget speculation, NFX sees stablecoins enabling instant, zero-cost dollar transfers globally.

• Israel-Silicon Valley arbitrage. Their dual presence lets them access Israeli innovation at potentially discounted valuations while maintaining US market access, turning geopolitical complexity into alpha.

PS: Track new VC funds raised here.

Top Pre-Seed to Series A Funding Rounds This Week 🟣

Watch out for these…

• Luster, a startup that uses AI to coach customer-facing teams before calls, raised a $3 million seed round co-led by High Alpha and Ivy Ventures.

• Piere, a startup that automatically manages and executes personal finance decisions, raised a $2.1 million pre-seed round led by Grand Ventures, with Selah Ventures, Trustage Ventures, Samvid Ventures, and Fabric VC also participating.

• Gravwell, a startup that provides a data analytics and security platform to collect and analyze IT and operational data, raised a $15.4 million Series A round led by Two Bear Capital, with Gula Tech Adventures and Next Frontier Capital also joining in.

• Cyclana Bio, a biotech startup developing tissue-level drug discovery models to treat endometriosis, raised a $6.7 million pre-seed round co-led by NfX and Eka VC, with Cocoa VC and Wilbe also joining.

• Yaga, a startup operating an online marketplace for secondhand fashion, raised a $4.6 million pre-Series A round led by Specialist VC, with H&M Group, Trind Ventures, and StartupWiseguys also participating.