Lots (!) of Reports
This week we are bringing you two reports on the state of early-stage venture and a podcast for the long Labor Day weekend.
Greetings! The end of summer is upon us đ˘ If youâre in the U.S., we hope you have a relaxing Labor Day!
Quick programming note: Due to the long weekend, itâs going to be a slow news week. Because of that, we are going to skip publishing next week. Enjoy the holiday!
đ Going VC H1 2025 Report
GoingVC released a report detailing trends in the venture landscape in the first half of 2025. Unsurprisingly, the data show a clear shift toward capital concentration, with AI dominating global VC funding, notably OpenAIâs $40B raise. Despite a sharp drop in deal volume, total capital deployed remains high, reflecting investorsâ growing preference for revenue efficiency, commercial traction, and late-stage conviction bets. Liquidity remains constrained, especially in the IPO and founder secondary markets, prompting both startups and fund managers to prioritize fundamentals and discipline.
STV Take: On page 17, the report notes that âinvestors are no longer spreading their betsâ and are instead concentrating capital into companies with real defensibility and capital efficiency. Itâs a sharp contrast to 2021, when it felt like every permutation of a model within a hot category could get funded. Investors seem to have learned from that cycle, shifting back to a preference for truly differentiated businesses or teams with a proven track record. For founders today, this means fundraising isnât just about showing potentialâitâs about standing out in a crowded field. If you're operating in a competitive category, there should be no ambiguity about how your company is meaningfully different from the rest.
â State of Pre-Seed Report
Carta released its quarterly report on Q2 Pre-seed activity. Noteworthy data points include the following:
The amount of cash raised at the Pre-seed dropped by 25% between Q1 and Q2.
45% of Pre-seed rounds were less than $250K.
99% of SAFEs had a valuation cap.
STV Take: The chart showing the decline in $1M+ Pre-seed rounds is striking, and I think there are a few possible explanations. One is that many companies raised larger Pre-seed rounds in 2023 but struggled to convert those into successful Seed raises in late 2024, possibly fueling some caution around overcapitalizing too early. Founders and investors may be rethinking whether bigger is actually better at this stage.
The second (and perhaps more obvious) factor is the operational efficiency unlocked by AI. For many early teams, AI can substitute for headcount or accelerate validation, decreasing the need for large pre-seed rounds. Itâs remarkable how many startups are reaching several hundred thousand dollars in revenue with lean teams and limited funding. While questions remain about how durable that revenue is, itâs clear the Pre-seed stage is evolving.
đ§ The Best Years of Your Life
In this episode of Hidden Brain, host Shankar Vedantam interviews Laura Carstensen, Ph.D., Director of Stanford Universityâs Center on Longevity, about research showing our happiness actually increases as we age. It also discusses how our shortening time horizon later in life impacts our decisions and sharpens our focus on what matters most.
âThe weight of all this evidence convinced even the skeptics, and the finding that older people were in fact happier than younger people was dubbed the paradox of aging.â â Laura Carstensen, Ph.D.
STV Take: This one isnât fundraising-related, but with the long weekend ahead, I thought Iâd leave you with something a bit different and surprisingly uplifting. While most of the longevity conversations focus on our physical health, this podcast takes a refreshing look at how we change emotionally as we age. Itâs a thoughtful reminder that aging well isnât just about biologyâitâs also about mental health, perspective, and meaning.