SEC considers relaxing retail access to private funds.

The Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC’s) new Chair, Paul Atkins, today discussed the SEC’s approach to innovation under the new administration. Apart from discussing crypto, he also proposed relaxing rules for retail investors in closed end funds that invest in private assets, such as hedge funds and private equity. Currently they have a $25,000 minimum investment to filter out most retail investors. Is this good or bad for tokenization?

With more companies and “unicorns” staying private for longer, these investment opportunities are often only available to accredited investors. Though riskier, these opportunities offer upside that retail investors cannot currently access. READ MORE

How Private Equity Can Help You Cash in on Your Business Twice Your second bite is not just bigger, it also tastes better

You are probably hearing other business owners refer to the term “the second bite” with a big smile on their faces. The second bite refers to the opportunity that arises after a business owner sells less than 100 percent of their ownership stake. By leaving chips on the table, business owners have the chance to partner with a private equity firm to accelerate growth and business value. This can lead to a second bite which comes during the next sale of the business. 

At some point, many great businesses reach an inflection point: a time when the owner wants a partner who can help preserve and enrich the future of the business (and do it in the right way). When a business owner is selling and thinking ahead to a second bite (rolling equity and exiting again down the line), the three most important elements to focus on are:  READ MORE

How do you evaluate a startup when all you’ve got is a pitch, a few metrics and a founder interview?

As more retail investors gain access to early-stage companies — commonly through equity crowdfunding platforms and angel networks — they’re getting a front-row seat to the most exciting part of the innovation economy. But that opportunity comes with a challenge: How do you evaluate a startup when all you’ve got is a pitch, a few metrics and a founder interview?

Most investors zero in on the product or the market. But in my research I’ve found that the best early signal isn’t what the startup is building — it’s who’s building it, and how.  READ MORE

4 Questions To Ask Yourself To Find Your Forever VC

According to the 2024 National Venture Capital Association Yearbook, at the end of 2023, there were over 3,400 venture capital firms in the United States. That year, over 13,600 deals closed, with a total value of over $170 billion. Clearly, plenty of VCs and founders are looking to get deals done.

I think there is a misconception that the balance of power is always in VCs’ hands, leaving founders begging for term sheets. VCs are often perceived as the “king makers” and decide, with the stroke of a pen, the founder’s fate in some type of “survival of the fittest” journey. READ MORE

Venture Capital’s Second(ary) Chance

For most of venture capital’s history, we’ve heard the mantra “illiquidity is a feature, not a bug.”

The assumption has been that investments are held until exit, with returns heavily weighted toward IPO or strategic acquisitions. For their patience, LPs would be rewarded with performance surpassing public-market equivalents. READ MORE

VC group urges Congress to protect IRA’s green tech tax credits

The National Venture Capital Association has joined the fight to save the Inflation Reduction Act’s clean energy tax credits.

In a letter to the House Ways and Means Committee, the NVCA expressed its support for green tech tax credits now that they’re on the chopping block. Similar to a letter to Congress from green tech business leaders, the NVCA letter emphasized the importance of reliable tax policy for economic development—especially when it comes to startups, which traditionally begin with no or low taxable income. READ MORE

Venture capital is stalling at seed

Venture capital's series progression is stalling at seed, according to new Carta data.

By the numbers: 46% of all seed deals were bridge rounds in Q1 2024, which is the highest bridge rate for any stage since Carta has been tracking such data. READ MORE

Why AI Won’t Replace Venture Capitalists Any Time Soon

The Wall Street Journal recently reported on a data company using AI to forecast startups’ financial futures, and it caused quite a stir in venture capital circles. After all, that level of in-depth analysis has long been a core advantage afforded to a venture firm’s crack analytics team. With that edge somewhat offloaded to AI, it invites the question: Is it reasonable to think AI will replace VCs entirely?

Not in the foreseeable future. READ MORE

Secondaries as the new IPO is no passing fad—it’s a VC evolution

As venture capital has matured, growing 5x over the last 12 years to $350 billion, the scale of private holdings has never been greater. With the exit markets quiet and with both regulatory and market forces bringing uncertainty, there's an increase in pressure for exits. The VC business is predicated primarily on M&A and IPOs to produce returns. Still, given the economic volatility, VC firms will need to access the secondary market to thrive in this next economic era.

Venture capital buys shares in a company and holds them, typically for eight to 12 years. At some point, however, the firm must sell its shares. Sometimes, that occurs when a strategic acquirer buys them or when a company goes public and public market investors buy them. READ MORE

Global Venture Funding Slowed In April, Despite Strong AI Showing

Global venture funding totaled $23 billion in April 2025, flat year over year and down significantly month over month from $68 billion invested in March, Crunchbase data shows. 

April’s funding total marks one of the slowest months in the past year. 

The slow month follows an exceptionally strong March, which had the highest monthly funding amount since 2022 due to the single largest private financing on record — $40 billion for OpenAI.  READ MORE

Let’s Stop Belittling Venture

It’s a cold, windy morning. I’m clutching my green tea like it’s a lifeline (yes, I’m that person with a tea routine — don’t judge). I unlock my phone for my sacred ritual: scrolling the news and pretending it’s productive.

And then — bam. Another one. Another LinkedIn post.

My brain screams, “Noope.” READ MORE

Decade Of Disruption: How Megarounds, Global Expansion And AI Doubled VC Investment In 10 Years

Startup investment has doubled over the past 10 years to roughly $300 billion globally per annum, Crunchbase data shows. Now the question remains: As the AI wave plays out, creating more value over the next decade, could that figure double or more again?

Since 2014, three major trends have pushed venture capital investment higher. READ MORE

VC founder: Tariffs have triggered one big rethink on tech

Tech investors need to rethink how they put money to work in the new world order of Trump tariffs.

"I'd say for the last decade, 15 years, I mean everything that we were investing in, we'd say, is there a global TAM [total addressable market] for that? And I think then it was sort of, well, is there a global TAM, maybe less China? And now it is sort of, well, geez, you really do [need to] be the winner in the US at least," Greycroft co-founder and managing partner Dana Settle told Yahoo Finance at the Milken Institute Global Conference. READ MORE

The Forecasting Mistake That Costs You Funding

The founder walked into the investor meeting with confidence, maybe too much of it. The slides were tight, the story compelling, and when it came time to talk numbers, they delivered the classic line: “The market is worth $4 billion. If we capture just 2.5%, we’ll hit $100 million in revenue within four years.”

There was a pause. And not the kind you want. READ MORE

Private Company Purchases By PE Firms Hold Up Amid Market Turbulence

With the IPO market still in a slump, startups are increasingly relying on M&A for exits.

And while usually this involves a sale to a strategic buyer, the next-likeliest suitor is probably a private equity firm. READ MORE

The SPAC Is Back

Going public via SPAC was a very 2021 thing to do.

During the peak of the last bull market, dozens of startups took this quick route to market, merging with publicly traded shell companies, or SPACs, in lieu of a traditional IPO. READ MORE

The Week’s Biggest Funding Rounds: Investors Look To The Stars And Defense

It was a big week for the space and defense sectors, as investors clearly were looking to the skies. However, other sectors including cyber, healthcare and even data orchestration also saw some big raises. While nothing came close to $1 billion, it was still a pretty good week for big rounds. READ MORE

Biggest Rounds Gobble Up A Growing Share Of Startup Funding

Venture capital, as commonly conceived, is about investing in upstart companies in the hopes a few will grow into something big.

But looking at recent funding trends, it’s clear this conception is a dated one. READ MORE

VC balances AI potential with avoiding its own extinction

Venture capitalists are in an odd spot: Financially motivated to pump billions of dollars into AI startups that could hasten their own extinction. READ MORE

How AI is disrupting the VC and startup ecosystem

The startup playbook that built Uber, Airbnb, and DoorDash is becoming obsolete in real-time. As AI compresses jobs that once required hundreds of employees into algorithms, we’re witnessing the birth of a new company archetype—capital-efficient, immediately profitable, and surprisingly small. With a variety of software to use for all aspects of building a business—from Shopify for e-commerce to Stripe for payments—and low operating costs, innovation just keeps making everything that much more efficient. READ MORE