AI data provenance becomes deal-killer at seed stage

VCs walking away from AI startups lacking data provenance documentation, SOC 2 progress, and EU AI Act readiness. Anthropic $1.5B settlement sets legal risk price. 80% of UK VCs require data provenance at seed. New frameworks (monopoly scorecard, Lighthouse vs Landgrab, AI-native vs AI-sprinkle) and checklists (technical DD, AI agent governance, multi-agent failure modes) integrated into DD. Wonder Family bankruptcy reinforces need for deep operational DD. Anthropic IPO valuation target of $190-200B revenue by 2028 sets high bar for AI exit expectations. SpaceX/Cursor $60B acquisition reinforces AI tooling exit potential. New resource: 'Evaluating AI Investments: A Framework for VC and PE' provides specific benchmarks (60% gross margin, $3.48M revenue/employee, 120% NRR) to integrate into AI DD.