Archive: venture capital

Startup Insider: How to Evaluate AI Companies

By Early Investing on March 29, 2023

The markets are experiencing an artificial intelligence (AI) gold rush. There are at least 50 AI companies being incubated at Y Combinator. And new AI startups keep cropping up with bigger and bigger valuations. AI company Cohere is reportedly looking to raise money at a $6 billion-plus valuation. Stability AI is reportedly seeking a $4 billion valuation. Mobius AI — founded by four AI researchers from Google — reached a roughly $100 million valuation just one…
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Angel Insider: Generative AI Without the Hype

By Early Investing on February 7, 2023

If you’ve been perusing the internet lately, you’ve probably come across generative artificial intelligence (AI). Generative AI technology can “create” artwork, blogs, and other content by drawing from data it ingests from interactions with real users. From viral “magic avatars” on…
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The Five Hottest Industries of 2023

By Zee Zhong on January 17, 2023

Editor’s Note: Our friends at KingsCrowd have been paying close attention to the investment opportunities that await us in 2023. In today’s article (originally published on KingsCrowd), they reveal the top five industries to keep an eye on. We think you’ll…
Crypto Market Musings Despite recent regulatory slip-ups, Coinbase looks like the youngest sibling of the crypto exchange family that can do no wrong. In case you missed it, last week Coinbase reached a $100 million settlement over violations related to anti-money…
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What Went Wrong With NowRx

By Andy Gordon on December 12, 2022

Last Monday, I told you that NowRx was going out of business. Today, I’m going to share some more thoughts on why it happened.  The company says it was because of the deteriorating economy. But there’s a lot more to it…
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Angel Insider: Investing Lessons From the FTX Disaster

By Early Investing on November 29, 2022

The FTX disaster is still getting top billing in the financial press these days. The crypto exchange — which was backed by major venture capital (VC) investors — collapsed after news broke that founder Sam Bankman-Fried had been secretly moving customer money to his trading firm and blowing…
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FTX and the Crypto Regulations Still to Come

By Vin Narayanan on November 21, 2022

It’s been a crazy couple of weeks in the crypto market as it tries to sort through the fallout of crypto exchange FTX filing for bankruptcy. For a more detailed account of how it happened, please read this update I wrote…
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Angel Insider: Africa’s Red-Hot Startup Scene

By Early Investing on October 18, 2022

African startups are on fire right now. According to the African Private Equity and Venture Capital Association, venture capital deals on the continent reached $3.5 billion from January through June this year. That’s more than double the amount in the same period in 2021. If the…

A Truly Terrifying Tale of a Terrible Investment

By Allison Brickell on October 5, 2022

My friend Jason told me it was a great idea.  “He’s already got tons of regulars,” he said. “They love his drinks. And we would get shares at a discount because he knows my brother! He just needs some money to get this new place started.”…

The Early Investing Podcast: Adobe’s Pricey Figma Acquisition

By Early Investing on September 28, 2022

It’s a tale as old as time. A startup creates a great product, generating lots of sales and happy customers. A corporate behemoth tries to compete with the startup by launching its own version of the product. The corporate behemoth fails miserably and decides to buy the startup…

Why Competition Is Critical for Startup Investors

By Vin Narayanan on September 7, 2022

I had a chance to play poker with some founders a few weeks ago at LA Tech Week. I mostly kept my mouth shut at the table. Between the game and flowing drinks, the founders were in a chatty mood. And I didn’t want to interrupt the flow.
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Angel Insider: SoftBank Warns Investors About Startup Winter

By Early Investing on August 23, 2022

SoftBank is worried. Earlier this month, SoftBank founder and chief executive Masayoshi Son said unicorn founders are refusing to accept lower valuations in fresh funding rounds. As a result, “startup winter” — or the funding crunch startups are currently facing in…
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Market Inefficiencies Are an Investor’s Best Friend

By Vin Narayanan on July 19, 2022

There are many different ways to think about which startups to invest in. Some prefer investing in highly disruptive technologies or businesses — like Uber, Tesla or Impossible Foods. Others prefer startups with large or rapidly growing markets. Others like to focus on strong…

Bridging the Funding Gap for LGBTQ+ Startup Founders

By Allison Brickell on June 15, 2022

Underrepresented founders — including people of color, women and members of the LGBTQ+ community — have historically received a very small piece of the venture capital (VC) funding pie. Female founders received just 2% of all U.S. VC dollars…
2022 has not been kind to SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son. He’s calling it a “technology winter.” And the numbers are certainly chilling for Son. SoftBank’s Vision Fund lost 2.64 trillion yen ($20.5 billion) for the year ending March 31.  The previous year, it had made a…
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The amount of venture capital flowing into startups dipped below $40 billion last month, according to a Crunchbase report. That’s the lowest monthly investment rate in more than a year and well below the $70 billion invested in November, according to…