Private Markets
Venture capital and startup funding
Not on the starting list: Claude named it and a second pass merged look-alike labels into it.
- Episodes
- 54
- Share
- 5.1%
- Shows
- 48
- Net sentiment
- +0.22
Down from 5.1% of episodes in the weeks before; net sentiment was +0.56.
Bullish 15Mixed 15Neutral 17Bearish 7
2 weeks
Share of each week's episodes, and net sentiment.
0%2%4%
Sep 21Sep 28
Net sentiment
−10+1
Sep 21Sep 28
The episodes behind it
Why each one was bullish, bearish or in between. Most time on the theme first.
Bullish 15
- Corporate partners like Mercedes and Walmart generate pilots, investments and measurable savings for startups and the platform.Exclusive Interview: From $100K to a $1B Balance Sheet & 700 Employees · Family Office Podcast: Billionaire & Centimillionaire Interviews & Investor Club Insights · Sep 29
- Norrsken22 describes strong growth, rising local deal flow and exits ahead for its African portfolio.TCS | Norrsken22’s Lexi Novitske on how China is winning African tech · TechCentral (main feed) · Oct 1
- Kapital's Series C extension doubled valuation and it sees strong fintech investor appetite despite many rejections.Latin America's Fintech Unicorn: Rene Saul, CEO of Kapital · The Reboot Chronicles with Dean DeBiase · Sep 30
- Sinding argues Europe needs far more growth capital and scale-up funding to produce large global winners.EQT's Christian Sinding - "Why not" Europe and building the €1 trillion company · Alt Goes Mainstream: The Latest on Alternative Investments, WealthTech, & Private Markets · Sep 29
- Sequoia's early bet on Vélez as a person, despite passing on Brazil, is shown as a successful venture outcome.Coming to America: David Vélez and Nubank · Colossus Magazine · Oct 3
- Lifting LP side-letter restrictions on defense investing opens venture funding for defense startups in Japan.How Japan un-banned defense investing, Anduril, Terra Drone, and the 2026 white paper | Build with Japan #1 · Build with Japan · Oct 1
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- The oversubscribed $315M Series D signals strong investor appetite for the company's approach.Growing And Scaling A Radiopharmaceuticals Company With AdvanCell's Philina Lee, Ph.D. · Business Of Biotech · Sep 28
- Sequoia's early seed bet on the founder and later follow-on investment proved highly profitable.Coming to America: David Vélez and Nubank · Colossus Magazine · Oct 3
- Rift's raise signals investor appetite for payments infrastructure and European fintech scale-ups.1102. News: Amazon blocks Meta’s AI agent, Ryft raises £20m, and Sprive bags $10m · Fintech Insider Podcast by 11:FS · Sep 28
- Growth-stage private investing captures half of returns and the power law is strengthening.Uncapped #58 | David George from a16z · Uncapped with Jack Altman · Oct 1
- Multiple robotics startups raised funding rounds, indicating healthy investor interest in the sector.September 2026 Robotics Recap · Robotics 24/7 Podcast · Sep 30
- Investors are encouraged to back dual-use defense startups, since clearing them and signaling demand will direct capital efficiently.Techquisition: How DIU’s Bridge Is Accelerating Commercial Technology Into the Military · Mission Matters Podcast · Sep 28
- Highlights new token projects and launchpad plays on Robinhood chain as speculative opportunities.Bitcoin Is Breaking Out. Are Altcoins the Better Buy Now? · VirtualBacon · Oct 2
- Dorm Room Fund raised $50M and offers early, low-dilution checks to campus founders.BYOCompute, Pope Destroys False Idol, Ben Affleck's White Pill | Joe Gebbia, Molly Fowler, Tom Dotan, Pim de Witte, Greg Castle · TBPN · Oct 2
- Non-dilutive prize capital is presented as a valuable startup funding source.We Gave Away $2,000,000 To 5 AI Builders | MOONSHOTS Live · Moonshots with Peter Diamandis · Sep 28
Bearish 7
- Speaker argues VC access is narrow, biased toward homogenous groups, and only about 1% goes to female-led teams.How To Secure $10 Million in Venture Capital Funding with Allison Byers · Ask For An Answer · Oct 1
- Venture investors are criticized for greed and poor partnership, prompting cautionary lessons about choosing backers.Adam Neumann: The Real Story Behind WeWork, A $4 Billion Cab Ride, And Surviving A $460 Million Debt · The Diary Of A CEO with Steven Bartlett · Sep 28
- Hosts argue VC-driven valuation surges look bubble-like, with most startups likely to fail or be absorbed.Anduril's CEO Says Defense Tech Is a Bubble. So Why Is His Company Talking $100 Billion? · Hardpoints · Oct 1
- Hot rounds at inflated valuations and lax capital discipline suggest a coming reset; founders should conserve cash.Bill Ackman: The Biggest Fight of His Life · Podcast Notes Playlist: Startup · Oct 3
- Rounds repeatedly re-price upward within weeks, a pattern the hosts see as unhealthy.Jensen Huang's Moat Is Dead. But He Has A Plan · Marketing School - Digital Marketing and Online Marketing Tips · Sep 29
- Preemptive rounds at rapidly rising valuations suggest excess capital and future resets.Bill Ackman: The Biggest Fight of His Life · The Knowledge Project · Sep 29
Mixed 15
- Guests describe venture as hard and returns concentrated, while flagging bubble-like late-stage double tranche pricing.Jake Paul & The Chainsmokers: Turning Fame into Funds, Jake Enters Politics? & Venture Bubble Signs · All-In Podcast · Sep 30
- Speaker sees exuberant valuations and oversized seed rounds as risks, while praising disciplined patient investing.E436: Nnamdi Okike on Billionaires, Founder Psychology & the Venture Capital Bubble · How I Invest with David Weisburd · Sep 30
- Capital is concentrated in top firms, making emerging VC managers harder to fund though strategic backing helps.E437: Doug Beyer on Raising Capital, LP Psychology & GP Stakes · How I Invest with David Weisburd · Oct 2
- Hosts debate whether small seed funds can compete with mega rounds and how returns will skew.20VC: Instinct Raises $1B at $10B Valuation | AMD Buys Fei-Fei Li's World Labs for $8.2B | Meta Poaches MongoDB's CEO | Bessemer Raises $5.75B | Oura Pulls IPO & Nubank Eyes $8–12B Monzo Takeover · The Twenty Minute VC (20VC): Venture Capital | Startup Funding | The Pitch · Oct 1
- Speaker stresses backing exceptional founders while warning many AI valuations are inflated.Inside Oak HC/FT's $1M to $100M Check Strategy · Sourcery · Oct 1
- Government and EU money attracts venture funding, but many small defense startups may struggle against incumbents.The $500B Opportunity in Europe’s Defense Buildout · Sourcery · Sep 30
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- Capital-efficient founders keep valuations reasonable, though power-law return models remain constrained for mega funds.E435: Why Most Companies Aren’t Ready for AI · How I Invest with David Weisburd · Sep 28
- Late-stage crypto fintech is seen as undervalued, while AI pre-seed returns are considered crowded and stretched.Everyone Is Watching AI While Crypto’s Bull Market Builds | Weekly Roundup · Empire · Oct 2
- Describes high valuations and secondaries at hot startups, with some risk of value declines.Three Top Executive Recruiters on Where Product Management Is Going · The Skip Podcast · Oct 1
- Bessemer's large raise and check sizing debates show venture getting more dispersed and expensive at early stages.20VC: Instinct Raises $1B at $10B Valuation | AMD Buys Fei-Fei Li's World Labs for $8.2B | Meta Poaches MongoDB's CEO | Bessemer Raises $5.75B | Oura Pulls IPO & Nubank Eyes $8–12B Monzo Takeover · 20VC · Oct 1
- Startup exits like World Labs help LPs, but limited liquidity could constrain the venture cycle.Meta Muse vs Instinct vs OpenAI Dots: Do AI Agents Have Any Moat? · More or Less · Oct 2
- European AI startups struggle to raise capital domestically, forcing rounds in San Francisco despite strong valuations.#39 - An OpenAI Agent Walked Into Australia's Government Systems. Nobody Told Them for Three Months · AI Neanderthal by Malcolm Werchota · Sep 29
- Increasing US investor participation in European startups is seen as a positive, though funding remains uneven.Ep. 390 - Live from Amsterdam: Grand Rounds Europe takeaways · BioCentury This Week · Sep 30
- Venture money is subsidizing defense R&D, though a limited number of winners may be needed to sustain capital.The $1.1 Billion Plan to Scale Drone Warfare | Derek McBride, Dept. of War Innovation Unit (DIU) · The Drone Ultimatum · Oct 2
- Capital alone is insufficient; Europe needs experienced operators and reforms like Sweden's reinvestment tax break.Luis Garicano on Spain, Europe, and the Future of Work · Conversations with Tyler · Sep 30
Neutral 17
- Explains the funding stages, follow-on checks and investment criteria for early-stage deep-tech startups.The BritChips Podcast: IP Group - The Clue is in the Name · The BritChips Podcast · Oct 1
- He describes power-law returns, seed strategy, fund sizing, and disciplined deal sourcing.Which SaaS Companies Will Survive Anthropic and OpenAI? | Tim Guleri, Sierra Ventures · The Neon Show · Oct 1
- Describes his path into venture capital at Slow Ventures and how VCs source deals through social media.The Intentional Investor #62: Jack Raines · Epsilon Theory Podcast · Sep 30
- Sale of a GE payments business and PayPal sponsorship deal shaped the company's growth path.GE Gave Him 6 Weeks to Sell the Business | Fiserv CRO Robert Clarkson · Lead the Team (Top 2% of Podcasts) · Oct 4
- Y Combinator experience and startups' growing attention to governance before going public.Ryan Nowicki Stewart (CEO, Pennant AI): AI, Proxy Voting, and the Future of Governance · Boardroom Governance with Evan Epstein · Sep 29
- Covers early angel and seed investors such as Peter Thiel, Musk and Y Combinator backing AI startups.Origins Of Silicon Valley AI -GARY-RIVLIN-AI-VALLEY PART ONE · The John Batchelor Show · Sep 28
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- Discussion of Valinor's recent raise and how it will use the capital for team growth and investing.Valinor's path to institutional lending in the digital economy - S3E6 · Personally · Oct 2
- Venture investors' stakes in AI firms and their influence on policy are described.All-In: How AI Power Chooses Sides in US Politics · Dan's AI Intel · Sep 30
- Discussion of early-stage startups, product-market fit and the valuation frenzy in the current market.From Customer Success to CRO: The Leadership Lessons That Changed Everything · Hunters and Unicorns · Sep 30
- Compares how VC firms like Andreessen Horowitz and Thrive use content and brand to attract founders.How Apollo, Citadel, Blackstone, & Bridgewater Built Their Brands · Sourcery · Sep 28
- They discuss shifting from self-funding to raising outside capital for growth.How Savannah James & April McDaniel Balance Friendship, Money, Entrepreneurship · Boardroom with Rich Kleiman · Sep 28
- The guest describes his firm's investing approach and its investor base in passing.Itamar Har-Even Turned A Late Start Into A Remarkable Run · After Amherst · Sep 29
- Discussion of VC-backed new companies choosing reverse mergers over traditional routes.Ep. 389 - IgA nephropathy, Overton hearing, reverse mergers' new look · BioCentury This Week · Sep 29
- Touches on impact-focused fund managers and seeding of funds, discussed factually.Impact Investing's Retreat: Purification or Defeat? Who's Leaving & Who's Quietly Building? | Antony Bugg-Levine, GIIN Co-Founder (#148) · SRI360 | Sustainable & Responsible Investing, Impact Investing, ESG, Socially Responsible Investing · Oct 2
- Discussion of the speaker's entrepreneurial ventures and early investment in isotope separation startup ASPI.Episode 14: From Soviet Siberia to Wall Street: Sergey Vasnetsov's Path Into Chemicals · Altitude by Talon Podcast · Oct 1
- Funding structure, investor base and long-horizon capital for the organization are briefly covered.He’s Here To End Death - EP 90 Dr. Emil Kendziorra · Core Memory · Sep 30
- Mentions startups like OpenAI and Anthropic starting small before becoming large.Xavier Gabaix on The Shape of Big Things · Scaling Theory · Sep 28
Around it
Companies named
- OpenAI 2
- Andreessen Horowitz 2
- Y Combinator2
- Anduril 2
- Nubank 2
- AdvanCell1
Shows that covered it most
- How I Invest with David Weisburd3
- Sourcery3
- BioCentury This Week2
- Colossus Magazine2
- Boardroom with Rich Kleiman1
- Business Of Biotech1
Themes, sentiment and reasons are AI-written paraphrases, checked so they never quote an episode. They may contain errors. Not investment advice. Episodes remain the property of their creators.
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