February 12, 2025

It's a feature

Hi there, 

Sometimes, you see a trivial or stupid app getting funded.

And you think “WTF?”

That, however, is a feature and not a bug of the American system.

Jeff Bezos, at the NYT DealBook Summit, articulated it well (paraphrased):

“The key reason why the USA has so much entrepreneurial success is that the country has the best risk capital, where founders can raise $50M of seed capital to do something that has only a 10% chance of working.”

This is why the USA’s entrepreneurial success so dramatically beats the rest of the world.

This spurs people to think of wild ideas, and although most will fail, occasionally one hits and becomes a ginormous company.

Track where the next big idea (and some silly ones) are with our fresh State of Venture report. 

Leaving it all on the field

Back by popular demand: big tech’s overlapping genAI startup investments. 

Since we last published this graphic in December 2023, 8 more companies have joined the table. 

Amazon, Google, and Nvidia in particular have ramped up their overall AI dealmaking in the last year. 

The investments indicate the strategic importance big tech is placing on the emerging genAI landscape.

Look at the Nvidia column. It’s investing in everyone.

Everything’s slower in Europe

Global CVC-backed funding surged 20% in 2024, reaching $65.9B.

But despite the funding boost, deal count dropped to 3,434 — the lowest level in six years — as CVCs grew more selective. 

Deal volume fell across all major regions, with Europe seeing the sharpest drop at 10% YoY.

Dive into our State of CVC 2024 Report to unpack the funding surge and deal slowdown.

Hybrid strategy

That hybrid strategy — often across open- and closed-source models — allows companies to balance performance, control, and cost while reducing reliance on a single provider. 

As performance gaps narrow and model costs drop, we dug into enterprise AI adoption trends in our latest report.

Industry Standard

Forbes. Hank Tucker (@hanktucker13) explores struggling fintech Sezzle’s shift to profitability, referencing CB Insights research.

American Hospital Association. The AHA’s Center for Health Innovation Market Scan covers the tech trends to watch in early disease detection, drawing on insights from CB Insights analyst Ellen Knapp. 

Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Jesse Hyland (@jesse_hyland) and Sam Nichols (@samjnichols) report on the rise of unicorn startups in Australia, using CB Insights data. 

I love you.

Anand

@asanwal 

Co-Founder & Exec Chair

P.S. AI 100 applications are due March 13. Get ‘em in now.

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