The Flowlie Times #42
Misleading with data, Generative AI hurdles, venture studios, AI exists, and more.
Welcome to The Flowlie Times,
This edition is brought to you by Stacked Marketer.
Podcast highlight
A new episode of The VC Architects podcast is available now. In this episode, Maxine Minter, founder and managing partner of Co Ventures, joins Vlad, our co-founder and CEO, to discuss her unique cross-geo arbitrage strategy, the impact of the 2021-2022 VC funding rush and more.
Articles we enjoyed:
1️⃣ Our favorite article of the week: How not to be fooled by viral charts. Some of the topics covered are:
Nominal vs real amounts.
Dramatic graphs.
Correlation vs causation.
Misleading measurements.
Lying with x- and y-axis.
2️⃣ Article by Sequoia Capital on current state of Gen AI, including challenges surrounding its adoption. Quick summary:
Generative AI has rapidly evolved due to technological advancements, with a surge in innovation.
Initial excitement and investment in generative AI were followed by concerns about practicality, ethics, and user retention.
The transition from technology-driven "Act 1" to customer-centric "Act 2" is underway, focusing on solving real-world problems and enhancing user engagement.
Challenges in user retention and delivering value need to be addressed for generative AI's sustained success.
Despite hurdles, there is continued belief in the market's potential, supported by a shared playbook for improving model performance and user experiences.
3️⃣ Venture Studios & Incubations. Key takeaways as highlighted by the article:
The venture studio model relies on giving companies a systematic “edge.
Incubating new startups empowers studios to pursue overlooked opportunities.
Venture studios need to do the work.
There is a wide diversity of early-stage studio models.
A venture studio is more than company-building.
Podcast highlight
A new episode of The Fundraising Debrief podcast is also available now. In this episode, Michael True, co-founder & CEO of Prescient AI, joins Vlad, our co-founder & CEO to discuss their latest $4.5M Seed raise and all the fundraising lessons he learned along the way.
Venture announcements that caught our eye:
1️⃣ Biggest exit of the week. Cisco Systems has agreed to purchase cybersecurity firm Splunk for $28 billion in a move to bolster its software business and tap into the growing field of artificial intelligence. This acquisition, the largest technology deal of the year, aims to reduce Cisco's dependence on its networking equipment business, positioning the company to provide essential security and observability services to its customers while expanding its software portfolio.
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2️⃣ Amazon is investing up to $4 billion in AI startup Anthropic, starting with $1.25 billion for a minority stake. This investment enhances Amazon's presence in the AI sector and provides Anthropic with financial support and cloud resources to develop more powerful AI models, creating a strategic partnership in the fast-growing industry.
3️⃣ Allocate, a platform enabling clients of wealth advisers and family offices to invest in venture funds, has secured $10 million in new funding. This investment offers an opportunity for smaller investors to access top venture funds while allowing venture firms to diversify their limited partner base, and Allocate evaluates and selects fund managers to include in its platform, charging investment fees and planning to introduce subscription fees in the future as it expands its portfolio management software.
4️⃣ Mesh has secured $22 million in a Series A funding round led by Money Forward, with participation from investors including Galaxy, Samsung Next, and Streamlined Ventures. Mesh is focused on developing tools for managing and transferring digital assets like cryptocurrency, aiming to serve as an intermediate connection layer for non-traditional assets, and it plans to use the funds to enhance its deposit, payment, and payout services while expanding its go-to-market operations.
Have a great week,
Mike from Flowlie