Link to full video: youtu.be/SfQmE40xP5k

Join us for an intimate Dinner + AMA with AJ Tennant, who’s helped scale not one, but two enterprise giants (Glean and Slack) to $100M+ ARR in <3 years!

Link to register: lu.ma/1wy78zpd

4.💸𝗦𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝘃𝗮𝗹𝘂𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 saw a surge in Q1 2025 despite reduced deal activity. The median pre-money valuation was $16M, an 18% YoY jump, despite the number of deals going down by 28%. An indication of a shift to quality and willingness to pay a premium for it.

3. 🔍𝗜𝗻𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗾𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗹 is a sharp bottleneck across manufacturing industries. Inspection systems are unable to keep up with the manufacturing output. Casting shortages are next in line.

2.👨🏻‍💼𝗔𝗜 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗮 𝘀𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗶𝗰𝗲𝘀 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗼𝗻𝗲𝗻𝘁 have a strong right to win. Some companies have capability to apply AI to workflows but most need customized, external help. Enterprise AI budgets have grown 2x in less than a year.

1. 💎𝗥𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗵 𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗹 𝘀𝘂𝗽𝗽𝗹𝘆 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗶𝗻𝘀 are getting localised. China, home to 𝟳𝟬% of the world’s rare earths, recently curbed exports. The focus is now on localising rare earth mining and production. There are opportunities across the value chain.

Link to full video: youtu.be/whHGIgTlmLE

Link to full video: youtu.be/whHGIgTlmLE

PS: AI infra and vertical AI are key focus areas for us! If you're building in these spaces, email us at team@oddbirdvc.com

#MCP #A2A #AIAgents #Startups #VentureCapital

Join us tomorrow in our San Francisco office between 2 and 3 pm for a stimulating conversation on how AI can evolve into a truly democratic and distributed ecosystem! Link to register - lu.ma/edi1utwl

But the larger architectural challenges need to be addressed to create a true "Internet of Agents". Prof. Raskar and his team have been pioneering this field with initiatives like NANDA.

4. 👫𝗘𝗮𝗿𝗹𝘆-𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝗳𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗿𝗮𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴/investing is increasingly about who you know. The best teams get funded before they even pitch publicly. We pride ourselves on our ability to catch these early!

#VentureCapital

3.👀𝗢𝗯𝘀𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗮𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝗟𝗟𝗠𝘀 and AI agents has been solved to a good extent but interpretability and traceability has a long way to go. Interpretability through visualisations is one step better.

#Observability #Interpretability

2.🧳𝗘𝘅𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀 & 𝗦𝘂𝗿𝗽𝗹𝘂𝘀 𝗶𝗻𝘀𝘂𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 (high risk, specialized insurance) is seeing increased activity due to the rise of non-linear, complex industries like Cybersecurity, Renewable Energy, etc. where risks are less understood today