shaunjohn
@idealexit.bsky.social
Accelerating + Investing into web3's future #TachyonAccel. Prev: #ConsenSys, #StartupInst, #Techstars, #WorldBank. Technologist on a mission.
Last year was the year of the billion-dollar startup raise.
Not startups fundraising with a valuation of a billion; startups raising a round sized over 1 BILLION DOLLARS. From Series G all the way down to a Seed round.
news.crunchbase.com/venture/larg...
Not startups fundraising with a valuation of a billion; startups raising a round sized over 1 BILLION DOLLARS. From Series G all the way down to a Seed round.
news.crunchbase.com/venture/larg...
These Were The Largest Funding Rounds Of 2025
A total of 15 companies secured venture funding rounds of $2 billion or more last year, per Crunchbase data. Among them, they amassed more than $100 billion from those financings with the majority…
news.crunchbase.com
January 5, 2026 at 6:33 PM
Last year was the year of the billion-dollar startup raise.
Not startups fundraising with a valuation of a billion; startups raising a round sized over 1 BILLION DOLLARS. From Series G all the way down to a Seed round.
news.crunchbase.com/venture/larg...
Not startups fundraising with a valuation of a billion; startups raising a round sized over 1 BILLION DOLLARS. From Series G all the way down to a Seed round.
news.crunchbase.com/venture/larg...
Over 3 years ago, Elon Musk bought Twitter for $44B in an all-cash deal that's forever changed the internet's "digital town square"
Naturally, I was keen in seeing how the platform might change or revert after reportedly selling off Grok for $20B in an acquihire...
seekingalpha.com/article/4856...
Naturally, I was keen in seeing how the platform might change or revert after reportedly selling off Grok for $20B in an acquihire...
seekingalpha.com/article/4856...
Nvidia: $20B Groq Deal, Valuation, And More (Rating Upgrade) (NASDAQ:NVDA)
Breakdown of Nvidia Corporation’s $20B Groq acquisition plus a fresh risk/reward reassessment with TQI’s Valuation model. Click for this NVDA stock update.
seekingalpha.com
January 2, 2026 at 7:03 PM
Over 3 years ago, Elon Musk bought Twitter for $44B in an all-cash deal that's forever changed the internet's "digital town square"
Naturally, I was keen in seeing how the platform might change or revert after reportedly selling off Grok for $20B in an acquihire...
seekingalpha.com/article/4856...
Naturally, I was keen in seeing how the platform might change or revert after reportedly selling off Grok for $20B in an acquihire...
seekingalpha.com/article/4856...
Reading through everyone's predictions for 2026 reminds be just how difficult it can be to gaze into the future, yet we peer & prod into it daily, striving to get it right.
Rightly or wrongly, here's two I'm interrogating:
www.coindesk.com/opinion/2025...
sapphireventures.com/blog/2026-ou...
Rightly or wrongly, here's two I'm interrogating:
www.coindesk.com/opinion/2025...
sapphireventures.com/blog/2026-ou...
4 predictions for privacy in 2026
Led by Zcash, the privacy space had a breakout year in 2025. What’s coming next?
www.coindesk.com
December 31, 2025 at 6:08 PM
Reading through everyone's predictions for 2026 reminds be just how difficult it can be to gaze into the future, yet we peer & prod into it daily, striving to get it right.
Rightly or wrongly, here's two I'm interrogating:
www.coindesk.com/opinion/2025...
sapphireventures.com/blog/2026-ou...
Rightly or wrongly, here's two I'm interrogating:
www.coindesk.com/opinion/2025...
sapphireventures.com/blog/2026-ou...
As the 1st crypto firm with a US banking license, Anchorage Digital has been bridging tradfi inno into defi & vice versa.
With the new Hedgey acquisition, cap tables & token lifecycles may net us the "Carta of Crypto" as the next play.
www.anchorage.com/insights/anc...
With the new Hedgey acquisition, cap tables & token lifecycles may net us the "Carta of Crypto" as the next play.
www.anchorage.com/insights/anc...
Anchorage Digital Launches Full-Stack Token Management Solution to Power the Next Generation of Protocol Growth
Anchorage Digital Launches Full-Stack Token Management Solution to Power the Next Generation of Protocol Growth | Anchorage Digital is a crypto platform that enables institutions to participate in dig...
www.anchorage.com
December 29, 2025 at 7:24 PM
As the 1st crypto firm with a US banking license, Anchorage Digital has been bridging tradfi inno into defi & vice versa.
With the new Hedgey acquisition, cap tables & token lifecycles may net us the "Carta of Crypto" as the next play.
www.anchorage.com/insights/anc...
With the new Hedgey acquisition, cap tables & token lifecycles may net us the "Carta of Crypto" as the next play.
www.anchorage.com/insights/anc...
Republic, AngelList, Parallel Markets, Echo, Sydecar…none of this Sestante Capital, fraud bust at JFK nonsense.
Platforms syndicate trust, too, not just investment opportunities. Still, DYOR.
www.reuters.com/legal/govern...
Platforms syndicate trust, too, not just investment opportunities. Still, DYOR.
www.reuters.com/legal/govern...
www.reuters.com
December 27, 2025 at 4:27 AM
Republic, AngelList, Parallel Markets, Echo, Sydecar…none of this Sestante Capital, fraud bust at JFK nonsense.
Platforms syndicate trust, too, not just investment opportunities. Still, DYOR.
www.reuters.com/legal/govern...
Platforms syndicate trust, too, not just investment opportunities. Still, DYOR.
www.reuters.com/legal/govern...
While we celebrate the fresh closing of closed funds often, evergreen funds have been bubbling & doubling 🫧 up 2x in number of funds & AUM since 2022.
pitchbook.com/news/reports...
pitchbook.com/news/reports...
Q4 2025 US Evergreen Fund Landscape - PitchBook
The Q4 2025 US Evergreen Fund Landscape report covers the rapid rise of evergreen funds, providing data and insights on assets, flows, returns, and more.
pitchbook.com
December 24, 2025 at 6:51 PM
While we celebrate the fresh closing of closed funds often, evergreen funds have been bubbling & doubling 🫧 up 2x in number of funds & AUM since 2022.
pitchbook.com/news/reports...
pitchbook.com/news/reports...
With a $6.6B valuation and a fresh Series B, there's more to love at Lovable 💗 lovable.dev/blog/series-b
Lovable raises $330M to power the age of the builder
Read this article on the Lovable blog
lovable.dev
December 19, 2025 at 6:13 PM
With a $6.6B valuation and a fresh Series B, there's more to love at Lovable 💗 lovable.dev/blog/series-b
Topping venture firms like General Catalyst‘s and a16z’s $7B & $8B respective fund raises, Lightspeed Venture Partners just closed its largest — NINE BILLION 🐘
www.davispolk.com/experience/l...
www.davispolk.com/experience/l...
Lightspeed $9 billion fundraise across six new funds
Davis Polk advised Lightspeed Venture Partners in connection with the fundraise of more than $9 billion in committed capital across six distinct, highly selective vehicles. These vehicles included…
www.davispolk.com
December 17, 2025 at 6:03 PM
Topping venture firms like General Catalyst‘s and a16z’s $7B & $8B respective fund raises, Lightspeed Venture Partners just closed its largest — NINE BILLION 🐘
www.davispolk.com/experience/l...
www.davispolk.com/experience/l...
In a Post Quantum world, faster or more complex encryption standards will only be marginally effective protections. New methods, mechanisms & models will be needed; Like newly DCG & Salesforce Ventures backed Cyphlens -- let's see what you've got!🤞🏾
cyphlens.com
cyphlens.com
Home - Cyphlens
Human-layer Security Secure the human vulnerabilities others can’t Static passwords, login portals, and outdated MFA weren’t built for today’s remote teams, complex permission structures, or…
cyphlens.com
December 15, 2025 at 5:03 PM
In a Post Quantum world, faster or more complex encryption standards will only be marginally effective protections. New methods, mechanisms & models will be needed; Like newly DCG & Salesforce Ventures backed Cyphlens -- let's see what you've got!🤞🏾
cyphlens.com
cyphlens.com
If Black Friday's wave of AI-assisted purchases didn't prove agentic commerce is the future, Channel3's MCP database of products is making that day, today, with a fresh capital injection by the best investors an NYC startup could ask for.🛍️ 🤖
trychannel3.com
trychannel3.com
December 12, 2025 at 7:21 PM
If Black Friday's wave of AI-assisted purchases didn't prove agentic commerce is the future, Channel3's MCP database of products is making that day, today, with a fresh capital injection by the best investors an NYC startup could ask for.🛍️ 🤖
trychannel3.com
trychannel3.com
"Stablecoins have grown from nearly zero to roughly $300 billion in market cap in under a decade and now process more real economic volume than traditional payment networks like Paypal and Visa, even after excluding intra-exchange wash transfers and MEV" multicoin.capital/2025/12/10/s...
December 10, 2025 at 7:29 PM
"Stablecoins have grown from nearly zero to roughly $300 billion in market cap in under a decade and now process more real economic volume than traditional payment networks like Paypal and Visa, even after excluding intra-exchange wash transfers and MEV" multicoin.capital/2025/12/10/s...
The "what happens when Google competes with you" panicked startup phase should end after valuations closer to a trillion than a billion. But this Relative Internet Visibility chart should tell you why it's Code Red @ OpenAI & how quickly the sands of market shares can shift🚨⏳
December 8, 2025 at 5:11 PM
The "what happens when Google competes with you" panicked startup phase should end after valuations closer to a trillion than a billion. But this Relative Internet Visibility chart should tell you why it's Code Red @ OpenAI & how quickly the sands of market shares can shift🚨⏳
Startup valuations are tricky. And the bigger the round, the bigger the rounding error.
September, Anthropic disclosed an implied val of $183B post. November, that implied val is now $350B by adding two strategic partners.
2xing in a quarter can happen...but by $167 Billion!?
September, Anthropic disclosed an implied val of $183B post. November, that implied val is now $350B by adding two strategic partners.
2xing in a quarter can happen...but by $167 Billion!?
December 5, 2025 at 6:56 PM
Startup valuations are tricky. And the bigger the round, the bigger the rounding error.
September, Anthropic disclosed an implied val of $183B post. November, that implied val is now $350B by adding two strategic partners.
2xing in a quarter can happen...but by $167 Billion!?
September, Anthropic disclosed an implied val of $183B post. November, that implied val is now $350B by adding two strategic partners.
2xing in a quarter can happen...but by $167 Billion!?
So far in 2025, there have been 674 layoffs at tech companies with 207,572 people impacted (616 people per day).
For some, the holidays aren't as happy...but the new year always brings new beginnings ⛅
For some, the holidays aren't as happy...but the new year always brings new beginnings ⛅
December 3, 2025 at 7:05 PM
So far in 2025, there have been 674 layoffs at tech companies with 207,572 people impacted (616 people per day).
For some, the holidays aren't as happy...but the new year always brings new beginnings ⛅
For some, the holidays aren't as happy...but the new year always brings new beginnings ⛅
Buyers are beyond Black Friday, but GEO might be your startup's opportunity between Small Business Saturday & Cyber Monday.
Visibility this online shopping season depends on aligning with buyer's attention spans as much as the prompt fed to their agent. a16z.com/geo-over-seo/
Visibility this online shopping season depends on aligning with buyer's attention spans as much as the prompt fed to their agent. a16z.com/geo-over-seo/
How Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) Rewrites the Rules of Search | Andreessen Horowitz
Traditional search was built on links; GEO is built on language. A new paradigm is emerging, one driven not by page rank, but by AI models.
a16z.com
December 1, 2025 at 7:37 PM
Buyers are beyond Black Friday, but GEO might be your startup's opportunity between Small Business Saturday & Cyber Monday.
Visibility this online shopping season depends on aligning with buyer's attention spans as much as the prompt fed to their agent. a16z.com/geo-over-seo/
Visibility this online shopping season depends on aligning with buyer's attention spans as much as the prompt fed to their agent. a16z.com/geo-over-seo/
Wishing everyone a belated Turkey Day…or Peru Day…or whatever you call it
November 28, 2025 at 9:19 PM
Wishing everyone a belated Turkey Day…or Peru Day…or whatever you call it
Trends typically come back in style due to a mix of nostalgia & new perspectives on old ideas.
Looking at the Bending Spoons portfolio & other acquirers of “venture zombies” may just remix the early 2000s. www.bendingspoons.com/products
Looking at the Bending Spoons portfolio & other acquirers of “venture zombies” may just remix the early 2000s. www.bendingspoons.com/products
Bending Spoons
Evernote · The legendary personal productivity app | Remini · AI-powered photo enhancement and restoration | Meetup · Meet new people, discover new passions
www.bendingspoons.com
November 26, 2025 at 6:38 PM
Trends typically come back in style due to a mix of nostalgia & new perspectives on old ideas.
Looking at the Bending Spoons portfolio & other acquirers of “venture zombies” may just remix the early 2000s. www.bendingspoons.com/products
Looking at the Bending Spoons portfolio & other acquirers of “venture zombies” may just remix the early 2000s. www.bendingspoons.com/products
Some tough launches to watch over these past few days, I mean, Gas System Pressure Testings.
November 24, 2025 at 6:08 PM
Some tough launches to watch over these past few days, I mean, Gas System Pressure Testings.
"Obsess Over the Problem, Not the Solution" and other lessons learned at Techstars. It's been many moons since my time here, but this and other insights still hit.
www.techstars.com/blog/advice/...
www.techstars.com/blog/advice/...
Inside a Techstars Accelerator: Top 10 Lessons From Working With 100+ Founders
Key takeaways from three Techstars managing directors on the top traits of successful startup founders.
www.techstars.com
November 21, 2025 at 3:30 PM
"Obsess Over the Problem, Not the Solution" and other lessons learned at Techstars. It's been many moons since my time here, but this and other insights still hit.
www.techstars.com/blog/advice/...
www.techstars.com/blog/advice/...
Cloudflare has experienced outage time of around 2 hours a year, averaged over the last six years. And each time we’ve experienced the outage with them, it’s lasted eons.
November 19, 2025 at 5:51 PM
Cloudflare has experienced outage time of around 2 hours a year, averaged over the last six years. And each time we’ve experienced the outage with them, it’s lasted eons.
"Every revolution starts like this - fragile, experimental, uncertain. Bitcoin looked like a joke in 2012. AI looked like a novelty in 2017. And now? Every one of those systems runs the world."
-https://whispersfromthefuture.substack.com/p/rwafi-is-eating-tradfi
-https://whispersfromthefuture.substack.com/p/rwafi-is-eating-tradfi
RWAfi Is Eating TradFi
When money becomes software, institutions become infrastructure.
whispersfromthefuture.substack.com
November 17, 2025 at 5:43 PM
"Every revolution starts like this - fragile, experimental, uncertain. Bitcoin looked like a joke in 2012. AI looked like a novelty in 2017. And now? Every one of those systems runs the world."
-https://whispersfromthefuture.substack.com/p/rwafi-is-eating-tradfi
-https://whispersfromthefuture.substack.com/p/rwafi-is-eating-tradfi
With the goal of achieving one-cent per kWh energy efficiency, companies like ExoWatt may just curb the AI power crisis before we see the data center land grab play itself out.
www.exowatt.com
www.exowatt.com
November 14, 2025 at 7:15 PM
With the goal of achieving one-cent per kWh energy efficiency, companies like ExoWatt may just curb the AI power crisis before we see the data center land grab play itself out.
www.exowatt.com
www.exowatt.com
SoFi just completed a crypto boomerang — In Feb ‘19, they partnered with Coinbase to bring $BTC & $ETH trading to their platform 🤑
November 12, 2025 at 4:45 PM
SoFi just completed a crypto boomerang — In Feb ‘19, they partnered with Coinbase to bring $BTC & $ETH trading to their platform 🤑
Chances are, you aren't 4 for 4 across these AI security controls, but you should be! 🧵
November 10, 2025 at 7:30 PM
Chances are, you aren't 4 for 4 across these AI security controls, but you should be! 🧵