Innovation @semillainnolabs. +15y driving product #innovation strategy, execution, and growth. Talks about: #AI #Fintech #DeFi #SMBs #business #ideas #LATAM
United States
Joined January 2010
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#Deals 1/3 #AI #Agent cloud hits #unicorn: @daytonaio raises $60M Series B at $1B led by @FirstMarkCap with operator angels: @patrickc (Stripe), @tobi (Shopify), @aravindsrinivas (Perplexity), @ericyuan (Zoom), @opomel (Datadog), @adamdangelo (Quora/OpenAI). Total $91M.
2/3 Why this matters: #agents need different infra, long-running, stateful, bursty compute. Today's #cloud wasn't built for this. #FirstMark doubling down (led Series A too). #Qualcomm, Samsung Next, Okta Ventures in. The platform layer is forming.
3/3 From my side of the table: $1B #prerevenue on agent #cloud says market prices winner-take-all. Operator angels who built the last cloud era are backing the next. #EmergingManagers: this is the infrastructure bet of the cycle. techcrunch.com/2026/10/23/ag…
#Funding 1/3 $5.8B deployed in 7 days. Top 5: @tenstorrent $1.5B #AI chips ($6.2B), @flappyairplanes $1B foundational models, #ASI $325M #defense, #Xona $250M next-gen GPS, #PathosAI $237M AI drugs. 8 of 10 are physical AI, chips, defense, robotics, bio. Software-only is out
2/3 6–10: @warpsciences $215M (AI+#robotics), @whop $200M ($5.1B val), Star Therapeutics $200M biotech, #Warhound $200M SEED (AI military dogs, Luckey/Anduril), Arda Industries $160M AI manufacturing. Lead investors: @Lux_Capital, @sparkcapital, @lightspeedvp, @sequoia
3/3 #EmergingManager takeaway: $200M #seed rounds and pre-revenue $1B+ valuations mean "platform" is priced at formation. #LPs want #physicalAI, defense dual-use, or bio-AI convergence in every fund model. The bar moved. news.crunchbase.com/venture/…
#Funding 1/3 This week's @crunchbase top 10 is a $5.2B masterclass in where #capital actually flows: #AI infra ($2B #Axiom, $870M @typesafeai), quantum ($475M #Oratomic), fusion ($200M TypeOne), grid tech ($225M Voltus). Rounds are AI/energy. The thesis has collapsed to two lanes
3/3 #SignSplit at $1B on $400M seed for "human data licensing" tells you the #data layer is the new oil. Oratomic's $475M with #Bezos + Arch + Index + #GeneralCatalyst says #quantum is fundable. The bar for nine-figure checks: must be infrastructure, not application
More info: news.crunchbase.com/venture/…
#Funds 1/3 @lightspeedvp targets $250M for India Fund V: half of 2022's $500M, 80% committed, 2.5-yr period. First #India cycle synced to global funds. Thesis: #AI creates more value in #India than internet did. App layer > foundation models. 5M+ devs, services DNA.
2/3 @Accel moved Aug: $550M India fund + U.S./Europe/growth in coordinated $3.5B raise. Regional vintage decoupling is dead. #LightSpeed India portfolio: #Zepto #PocketFM #SolarSquare #SarvamAI (sovereign LLM). Global funds added $1.6B follow-on. #AI
3/3 Smaller fund = faster recycle = discipline over AUM. Same team (4 prior funds). Sovereign AI bet via #SarvamAI signals where value accrues. Source: techcrunch.com/2026/09/24/li…
#Insights 1/3 Jumbo #SeriesA peak: 114 rounds ≥$100M in 2026, $33B total, 12 ≥$500M. 70%+ to #AI. @river_ai_inc $1.2B @XPENG_Global #Robotics $900M @Apptronik $520M lead.
2/3 US ~62 deals/$15B but China lands largest embodied #AI round: #Xpeng $900M/$6.3B val (@IDGCapital @gaorongvc @TencentGlobal @AlibabaGroup) + Shihang $1B #robotics. Ricursive $300M EDA (@LightspeedVP @DSTGlobal @NVentures @Felicis @Sequoia). MatX ~$500M #Semiconductors
3/3 Series A = growth round. $100M+ entry for #AI leaders. Capital barbell: US volume, China mega-singles. #PhysicalAI silicon (MatX, Xpeng Turing, D-Robotics $400M) draws foundation-model checks at A.
news.crunchbase.com/venture/…
#VC 1/3 #DefenseTech Software VCs are rushing into hard tech like tourists. @gen_partners's Van Espahbodi (25yr defense, Starburst founder, 14 deals since Jan 2023): "I've met beauty investors who now say they're defense-tech investors." #AI #Hardware
2/3 Winning model: #software + commoditized #hardware + new biz model.
• Vital Lyfe: #Starlink factory -> cooler water desalination. Customers: Defense Health Agency, SOCOM
• Maritime: @SpaceX drone-ship team -> automated tugboats via Starlink
#Manufacturing
3/3 AI accelerates #SpaceX playbook: AI-augmented, new models. Software moats eroding faster than #VCs learn hard tech. Generational arrived early (Jan 2023). Arrive before tourists.
Source: news.crunchbase.com/venture/…
2/3 #Nscale filed #IPO paperwork last week. Expected $35B #NYSE valuation, seeking $3B in the offering. $103B+ in contracts since spinning out of #ArkonEnergy two years ago.
3/3 Convertible note structure = bridge to public markets without pricing at #IPO. #Nvidia putting in $1B as a converter is a signal about where #GPU supply chains are heading.
Source: techcrunch.com/2026/09/25/ah…
