Venture Pill
Sam Gordon
Recent Episodes
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And now for this week’s prescription:
On this week’s dose, we welcome Hoolie Tejwani, head of Coinbase Ventures, the investment arm backing startups that align with Coinbase’s mission of creating more economic freedom worldwide. We kick off with how Hoolie got connected to Coinbase (2:13) and the origins of Coinbase Ventures before diving into their investment thesis and mission (4:28). He shares insights on his approach to investing in potential competitors (6:40) and how the team sifts through the noise (8:10) in such a fast-moving industry.
Next, we explore the synergies between AI and crypto (10:05), Hoolie’s perspective on meme coins (13:15), and how the new Trump administration (16:24) is shaping the regulatory landscape for both Coinbase and its portfolio companies. We also discuss Coinbase Ventures’ portfolio (19:02) and get an inside look at what it’s like working at a company that still operates with a startup mindset despite its massive scale (21:35). Finally, Hoolie shares his five-year predictions for crypto and AI (24:52), how he manages to stay up to date with everything happening in the space (26:59), and the best ways to follow along (28:42).
Sources:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/hoolietejwani/
https://www.coinbase.com/ventures
Music Credit: Chapter One by Cole Bauer and Dean Keeton
Our Social Media Pages, follow us and engage with the Pill-grim community!
And now for this week’s prescription:
On this week’s dose, we begin (1:42) with Gumloop, a startup that allows users to automate any workflow using AI without requiring any coding experience, hot off a $17M Series A. Next (10:13), we spotlight Oura, the pioneering sleep-tracking ring leveraging strategic partnerships to strengthen its position in the wearables market, fresh off a $200M Series D. Finally (17:22), we turn to xAI, Elon Musk’s contender in the AI arms race, breaking down their massive $6B Series C.
Sources:
https://blog.gumloop.com/gumloops-17m-series-a/
https://techcrunch.com/2024/12/25/elon-musks-xai-lands-billions-in-new-cash-to-fuel-ai-ambitions/
https://pitchbook.com/news/reports/q3-2024-ai-ml-report
Music Credit: Chapter One by Cole Bauer and Dean Keeton
https://www.instagram.com/deankeeton/?hl=en
Our Social Media Pages, follow us and engage with the Pill-grim community!
And now for this week’s prescription:
On this week’s dose, we begin (1:33) with Roon, a digital health startup aiming to replace “Dr. Google” with trusted doctor-driven video content, fresh off a $15M Series A. Next (7:54), we spotlight Slip Robotics, the Atlanta-based innovator transforming logistics with its SlipBot Automated Loading Robot, and their $28M Series B. Finally (16:18), we turn to Boom Supersonic, the aerospace pioneer securing over $100M to fund "Symphony," its first supersonic jet engine prototype.
Sources:
https://blog.roon.com/post/roons-next-chapter-one-step-closer-to-a-doctor-in-your-pocket-for-health
https://www.ourcrowd.com/startup/slip-robotics?utm_source=chatgpt.com
Music Credit: Chapter One by Cole Bauer and Dean Keeton
Our Social Media Pages, follow us and engage with the Pill-grim community!
And now for this week’s prescription:
On this week’s dose, we start (1:52) with a breakdown of Growl, a connected fitness startup aiming to create the “Peloton of Boxing,” fresh off a $4.75M seed round. Next (12:38), we spotlight Liquid AI, a company taking a radically different approach to AI by modeling their technology on the brain of a worm rather than a human, backed by a $250M funding round. Finally (18:08), we wrap up with a deep dive into Public, a startup empowering users to invest smarter. What began as a social stock trading platform has evolved into an AI-enabled investment tool, fueled by their recent $135M Series D.
Sources:
https://techcrunch.com/2024/12/04/growl-is-building-the-peloton-of-boxing/
https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Articles/2024/12/04/growl-funding
https://www.liquid.ai/blog/we-raised-250m-to-scale-capable-and-efficient-general-purpose-ai
https://medium.com/the-public-blog/public-announces-135m-series-d-2-capital-raise-8eef9f33b2ad
Music Credit: Chapter One by Cole Bauer and Dean Keeton
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On this week’s dose, we have Mike Panos, Vice President of Operations at SkyFi, an Earth intelligence platform providing user-friendly access to geospatial data for individuals, SMBs, enterprises, and government agencies. Mike kicks things off by sharing his impressive journey, including 10 years in the US Navy, earning an MBA from Harvard, and eventually joining SkyFi in Austin. From there, he dives into SkyFi’s mission to bridge the gap between the growing demand for geospatial data and satellite operators focused on government contracts. Mike also shares insights into SkyFi’s growth plans, how they fit into the expanding satellite and geospatial data industry, and teases some exciting upcoming developments for the team. We wrap up with valuable advice for aspiring entrepreneurs in the Pillgrim community.
Sources:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikepanos/
Music Credit: Chapter One by Cole Bauer and Dean Keeton