Venture capital

Madrona’s annual IA40 list shows an AI industry splitting in two

Madrona’s sixth annual Intelligent Applications 40 names 45 private AI companies that have raised $410 billion combined, with Anthropic, OpenAI and Databricks accounting for 92% of that total. Rising round sizes forced the firm to raise its own funding thresholds for what counts as an early-stage company. Read More

VC is changing dramatically — what’s a founder to do? 

Seattle investor and founder Nikesh Parekh argues that venture capital has split in two: record money flowing to a narrow band of AI companies while most founders find it harder than ever to raise. He lays out what founders should do about it, from raising VC to angel funding, venture debt, revenue-based financing, and bootstrapping to profitability. Read More

The big AI labs are eating the startup playbook — here’s where founders can still compete

Startup founders used to worry that tech giants would make their product obsolete. Now it’s even trickier: AI labs are not only encroaching on startup turf, they’re also offering tools for customers to attempt DIY solutions of their own. But there are approaches that work, and niches to be found, according to speakers and panelists at the Tech Alliance Seattle Investor Summit+Showcase this week. Read More

Etzioni on AI: Ten Commandments for AI Startups

AI researcher, entrepreneur, and investor Oren Etzioni lays out 10 commandments for AI startups — covering business models, distribution, inference costs, and avoiding dependence on any single frontier model — preceded by 10 classics that apply to startups in general. Read More

Etzioni on AI: The Virgin Unicorns

Twelve AI labs have raised more than $29 billion at a combined valuation approaching $130 billion, without shipping anything a customer can buy. Oren Etzioni examines what history says about how this story ends. Read More