Allen Lau’s Post

Gem from Allen Lau: technological depth is not just a competitive advantage, but also a fundamental pillar for building successful companies that have the potential to redefine our world.

My second op-ed for The Globe and Mail in as many weeks: The depressing numbers of the venture-capital slump don’t tell the full story. Here is the summary: “Bright spots in the current venture-capital landscape exist. You just need to know where to look. The AI platform shift makes it harder for simplistic, shallow-tech startups to succeed. Gone are the days of building a minimally viable product, accumulating vast data and then establishing a defensible market position. We’re entering the golden age of deep-tech innovation, and in order to be successful, startups have to embrace the latest platform shift – AI. And this doesn’t happen by tacking on “AI” to a startup’s name the way many companies did with the “mobile-first” rebrand of the 2010s. In this new era, technological depth is not just a competitive advantage, but also a fundamental pillar for building successful companies that have the potential to redefine our world.” Happy reading!

We are thrilled about this new era of computing powered by generative AI and the exciting advancements in the hardware layer! Allen wisely noted, "The AI platform shift makes it harder for simplistic, shallow-tech startups to succeed. Gone are the days of building a minimally viable product, accumulating vast data, and establishing a defensible market position." It's exciting that the three partners at Two Small Fish Ventures, myself, Allen, and Brandon Zhao, are all engineers and operators turned investors. Each of us has navigated multiple innovation inflection points throughout our careers. Our deep expertise in both software and hardware makes us the ideal partners for any deep tech innovators. Read below for Allen's second oped for the Global and Mail. #Innovation #GenAI #DeepTech #Engineering #AIRevolution

Seventeen developer-first startups were involved in transactions last week 👨🏻💻 💰 Here is what happened the week of November 11th, 2024: On the fundraising side, 2 pre-seed, 5 seed, 5 Series A, 2 Series B and 1 Series C rounds were announced, totalling $521.3 million. 🇺🇸 San Francisco-based Writer, a full-stack generative AI platform for enterprises, raised the biggest round: a $200 million Series C funding co-led by Premji Invest, Radical Ventures, and ICONIQ Capital at a $1.9 billion valuation. Congratulations to the other companies that announced fundraising last week:  🇬🇧 Tessl (Seed & Series A) 🇺🇸 🇮🇱 ScaleOps - Cloud-Native Optimization 🇺🇸🇫🇷 Conduktor 🇨🇭 LocalStack 🇬🇧 Northflank 🇮🇳 UnifyApps 🇬🇧 Cogna 🇫🇷 Prelude 🇺🇸 Fastino 🇺🇸 Lume (YC W23) 🇺🇸 HappyPath 🇨🇦 runQL 🇺🇸 TestSprite On the M&A side: 🇺🇸 SuperMaven was acquired by Anysphere to enhance its Cursor AI code editor. 🇺🇸 Rapid was acquired by Nokia to bolster its capabilities in API integration and management. 🇵🇹 Probely (a Snyk Business) was acquired by Snyk to enhance its security offerings, particularly in automated security testing. That’s all for last week. If you know a startup that should have been included in this list, please ping them in the comment section.

New Post: A venture capital firm looks back on changing industry norms, from board seats to backing rival startups - https://lnkd.in/gMPsuT3U - Last month, one of the Bay Area’s better-known early-stage venture capital firms, Uncork Capital, marked its 20th anniversary with a party in a renovated church in San Francisco’s SoMa neighborhood, where 420 guests showed up to help the firm to celebrate, trade tips, and share war stories. There’s no question the venture scene has changed © 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only. - #news #business #world -------------------------------------------------- Download: Stupid Simple CMS - https://lnkd.in/g4y9XFgR -------------------------------------------------- or download at SourceForge - https://lnkd.in/gNqB7dnp

The venture ecosystem during ZIRP was wild. With some of the recent AI raises, it looks like we may be returning. Hopefully this results in more startups getting funded. However, there are serious benefits in a tighter funding environment: → Customers focus on real ROI, not hype. → Feedback is honest because decisions matter. → It forces startups to build products that last. At Footprint, we’ve learned that building in tough times can lead to more sober decision making and better outcomes. Anyone else seeing this shift in your space?

Did a quick GAT analysis of the AI startup ecosystem from 2013 and identified the top 10 most influential investors, including Sequoia Capital, Insight Partners, and NVIDIA, who shape the landscape through their investments and partnerships. Findings provide valuable insights for AI startup founders seeking to raise funds at different stages, with recommendations on which investors to focus on for Series A, Series B, and later rounds. Just a small experiment, have fun. https://lnkd.in/gMJkHqvq

🔥 These landing page designs from the Y Combinator (YC) class of 2024 attracted over $200M in funding 📈 YC is somewhat of a holy grail in the early-stage startup world. And naturally, it makes sense to see what the landing pages of top new startups look like. This is what attracts top investors! So, here we go: ↳ A swipe file with 140+ landing pages for your inspiration: ➡️ What to include in your landing page ➡️ How to create a stunning design ➡️ How to write compelling copy 𝗜𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘄𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝗶𝘁: 1) Like this post. 2) Comment "Landing" 3) Connect & follow me --- Update: Well, that escalated quickly. As I can't reply to every comment or LinkedIn will block me because it will think I'm an AI... 😅 📌 You can find the landing pages here: https://lnkd.in/dytn95r6 #swipefile #landingpages

🔥 Igniting a Debate: Seattle’s Startup Ecosystem and the Power of Narrative 🔥 Reflecting on the Seattle AI Investor Summit+Showcase, one bold question lingers: Are we, as a community, failing to tell our own story? After a two-day summit filled with groundbreaking insights and visionary discussions, it's clear that our ability to shape narratives about Seattle’s startup prowess may be our biggest challenge. While the recent GeekWire article sheds light on critical gaps, it also prompts us to reflect: Are we effectively championing our achievements and aspirations? Join the conversation, below in the comments. Tell us what you think! Let’s not just talk about what’s missing from the Seattle ecosystem, but also how we can collectively amplify our narrative, showcasing Seattle’s innovation to the world. Read more and share your thoughts on this pivotal issue: https://lnkd.in/grypv8_N

New Post: Paul Graham claims Sam Altman wasn’t fired from Y Combinator - https://lnkd.in/gqJ9xFnb - In a series of posts on X on Thursday, Paul Graham, the co-founder of startup accelerator Y Combinator, brushed off claims that OpenAI CEO Sam Altman was pressured to resign as president of Y Combinator in 2019 due to potential conflicts of interest. “People have been claiming fired Sam Altman,” Graham writes. “That’s © 2024 TechCrunch. All rights reserved. For personal use only. - #news #business #world -------------------------------------------------- Download: Stupid Simple CMS - https://lnkd.in/g4y9XFgR -------------------------------------------------- or download at SourceForge - https://lnkd.in/gNqB7dnp