Farris W.

We're excited to participate in the $26.5mn Seed round of Inversion led by Dragonfly alongside Faction VC, VanEck, Mirana Ventures, ParaFi Capital, Metalayer Ventures, Volt Capital, HashKey Capital, Race Capital, Portal Ventures, Moonrock Capital, Breed, Topology Ventures, Bodhi Ventures, Lvna Capital, Escape Velocity (EV3), Folius Ventures and leading angels Inversion is pioneering a unique private equity-style model to make blockchain technology "invisible" to the end user. The company's strategy focuses on acquiring traditional, low-margin businesses and integrating blockchain solutions to enhance their efficiency, speed, and cost-effectiveness. This innovative approach aims to de-risk institutional investment in the crypto space by offering a familiar private equity product with a clear "margin of safety." The newly secured capital will be used to establish Inversion Capital, a separate fund of at least $500 million, which will finance future acquisitions. Inversion has initially targeted South American telecommunications companies and has submitted several acquisition bids, as blockchain could allow these companies to lower their data purchasing costs, among other improvements. The company's plans to target both private and public companies with large user bases, particularly in sectors such as payroll services, supply chain management, and consumer financial services. The company's first acquisition is expected to take place within the next year, paving the way for a new era of mainstream crypto integration. More here: WSJ: https://lnkd.in/dDWvKm-s Ventureburn: https://lnkd.in/dQ9efYfh

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2009: The financial crisis had crushed fundraising. Barely any new capital went into venture funds. Yet the vintages from those years went on to deliver some of the strongest returns in history. Fast forward to today (2024/2025): Venture capital fundraising is at its lowest point in more than a decade. What does that mean? - ⁠Less money will be available to startups over the next years - The bar for raising capital goes up again: quality matters - ⁠Entry valuations will reset to saner levels --> Funds raised now are likely to outperform, just as history shows The paradox of venture: the best time to commit capital is exactly when most people hesitate. Investors (Limited Partners) should lean in now, not when the next boom makes it easy.

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Y Combinator Summer 2025: Key takeaways Batch facts: • ~160 companies in the program • We spoke with 60+ teams in our focus areas (AI, B2B, productivity) before Demo Day • Average valuations hit new highs for YC Sample deals (revenue → round → valuation) 1. $0–2k MRR → $2M at $20M 2. $10–30k MRR → $3–4M at $30–40M 3. $20k MRR → $8M at $80M 4. $15M ARR, founder is 16 → $10M at $80M; round closed instantly What stood out: • Many teams building similar products (e.g., several in AI Q\&A) • First sales often happen inside the batch (companies selling to each other) • New norm: gather interest and soft commits first, then announce who made the round at the end — it used to be “first to commit gets in” • Teams feel very similar; it’s harder to spot a clear “top of the batch” Bottom line: valuations are even higher, traction even weaker than in prior years. Investor FOMO is extreme, and a record number of companies were oversubscribed before Demo Day. Still, we made an offer to only one company.

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🚨 Another YC unicorn minted 🚨 Eight Sleep (YC S15) just raised $100M at a $1B valuation—but the real story isn’t funding. It’s how they escaped the “mattress trap” by creating a new category: Sleep Fitness. I break down: YC’s category creation playbook How data + execution built a moat Where Eight Sleep goes next (AI + healthcare) 🎥 Full episode here ⬇️ https://lnkd.in/eh448arg

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