#166 | Spatial Computing thesis, State of Fintech, & more
Feb 5th–11th | The latest from Deepwater, Matrix, F Prime, A16Z, OMERS, and others
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Investment Themes, Theses, & Outlooks
Our Thesis on Spatial Computing (Andrew Murphy, MP @ Deepwater)
Five themes shaping fintech from three VCs globally (Alex Lazarow, MP @ Fluent Ventures)
Seurat and the Opportunity in Vertical AI (Rex Woodbury, MP @ Daybreak)
Splashy returns in water investing? (Julien Lepleux, Principal @ Bleu Capital)
Bullish on digitizing the hospitality industry (Dhruv Sane, VC @ Malpani Ventures)
Industry Developments & Analyses
The 2024 State of Fintech Report (F Prime)
State of the Cloud in Q4 (Sammy Abdullah, GP @ Blossom Street VC)
Challenges of Promising DNA and RNA-based Therapies (Earlybird Team)
Will Direct Air Capture Ever Be Affordable? The Rise of DAC 3.0 (Torben Schreiter, Partner @ Extantia)
5 Reasons Robotics Is The Next Multi-Decade Trend To Watch (Chris Smith, MP @ Playfair)
Big Tech killed the internet — blockchains can help revive it. (Chris Dixon, GP @ A16Z)
How are open-source foundation models ever going to make money? (Ryan Shannon, VC @ Radical Ventures)
Is private equity going to come to digital health’s rescue? (Christina Farr, Principal @ OMERS)
Guides, Case Studies, and Best Practices for Operating
Closing Time: Lessons from a Series of Startup Shutdowns (Micah Rosenbloom, MP @ Founder Collective)
When Product Usage is Actually a Bad Thing (Ben Yoskovitz, Partner @ Highline Beta)
Let’s Talk About Repricing Stock Options (Dharmesh Thakker & Jason Mendel, Battery Ventures)
The state of B2B contracts in 2024 (Kyle Poyar, Partner @ OpenView)
The 13 Commandments of Customer Success (Sammy Abdullah, GP @ Blossom Street VC)
How Do I Build a Usage-based Sales Compensation Plan? (Mark Regan & Joe Morrissey, A16Z)
Additional Reads
Payfac in 1,000 words (Matt Brown, Partner @ Matrix)
SaaS 3.0: Why the Software Business Model Will Contine to Thrive in the Age of In-House AI Development (Ascend Team)
Big Tech's Year of Efficiency (Tanay Jaipuria, Partner @ Wing VC)
Protocol Network Effects in AI (Akash Bajwa, VC @ Earlybird)
AI agents as a new distribution channel (Kojo Osei, VC @ Matrix)
The Agent Economy and Economic Growth (Rob May, Partner @ AI Operators Fund)
How AI Will Usher in an Era of Abundance (Anish Acharya, GP @ A16Z)
AI Design Patterns (Tomasz Tunguz, MD @ Theory)
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