Angel Investing Playbook

Deeptech Early-Stage Funding

• 🔥 Datakrew Pre-Series Round: Singapore-based deeptech startup Datakrew raised $2.6 million in pre-series funding...

Essential AEO session for pre-seed founders boosting traction via AI search:

• AI Convergence: SEO evolves with AI engines
• Optimization Strategies:...

Key signals VCs like Alexander Kölpin seek in early-stage AI founders to sharpen your screening:

• Trust, execution, resilience > hype in building AI...

Sourcing alert: Singapore's Datakrew raised $2.6M pre-series for AI/IoT EV battery intelligence. Founded 2019, enables predictive maintenance and...

Key tools for pre-seed due diligence:

• Quick rules of thumb: Straightforward company worth estimates without complex analysis
• ESOP-specific: Professional DCF and accepted methods for startups

Blend for screening and cap-table hygiene.

Wilson Sonsini offers an array of free resources to help startups, founders, entrepreneurs, and VCs build the next generation of emerging technologies—key for pre-seed diligence on governance and VC basics.

In VC/PE SPVs, the SPV acts as the lender, with investors receiving returns from interest payments or conversion events. Essential for syndicate co-invests.

• Pitch killer: Investors reject decks with high cognitive load in 10 seconds – prioritize clarity in evaluation for faster sourcing.
• Madrona's...

• Niv AI exits stealth with $12M seed from Glilot Capital, Grove Ventures, Arc VC, Encoded VC, Leap – boosting GPU efficiency for AI data centers.
  -...

Equity fuels takeoff, while working capital (debt) keeps success undiluted in growth stages—vital comparative lessons for matching risk to stage and strategy, adaptable to seed portfolios.

Pre-Seed Raises

• 🔥 Certiv: Certiv raised $4.2M in pre-seed funding backed by Aviso Ventures, Founders Co-op, Fortson, and others to grow...

• Indian dealflow heats up: BambooBox, enterprise marketing automation provider, secures $6.6M led by Peak XV Surge, joined by Emergent Ventures and...

Shilling VC, a Portugal-based VC firm, invests in early-stage startups across fintech, healthcare, AI, and more, with a disruptive focus – essential benchmarking for syndicate overlaps.

$12M seed for Niv-AI highlights power bottlenecks in AI data centers:

• Israeli startup optimizes real-time electricity use to unlock stranded power
  -...

Campus Fund launches FutureX AI, India's biggest AI platform for student founders—ideal for angels sourcing pre-seed deals from student cohorts. Second edition backed by Google Cloud expands accessible pipelines in India.

Equip your due diligence with these core frameworks to cut through AI hype:

• DCF simplified: Project realistic cash flows
• Comparable analysis:...

Non-traditional deal flow alert: UK-based OPUS launches Day Zero platform for earliest-stage tech startups in Europe, Middle East, Africa.

• Bet on...

Eileen, Pittsburgh-based retail tech startup, raises $1M pre-seed for AI-driven retail execution platform targeting CPG brands. Ideal micro-deal for solo angels testing CPG go-to-market and platform defensibility.

• Pre-seed scale-up: Seattle startup raised $4.2M from Aviso Ventures, Founders Co-op to grow engineering team and early enterprise deployments
• Core...

Fresh seed deal in AI infra: Niv-AI exits stealth with $12M to measure/manage GPU power surges and tame them in data centers.

Angels: Diligence...