📶 YC backs first defense company

Low-cost cruise missiles, another massive secondaries fund closes funding, and median round sizes are growing again

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Good morning 👋

Defense tech and American Dynamism investing has officially gone mainstream, and YC is backing its first defense startup.

We’re honestly pretty thrilled about it.

You become pretty jaded working in venture for a while and seeing productivity apps raise tens of millions dollars when other companies with a larger impact get passed over.

Maybe the tides are turning on that …

TL;DR:

HEADLINES
YC goes defensive 🚀

  • Y Combinator backs its first defense startup, Ares Industries (TechCrunch)

  • Venture group G Squared raises $1bn to invest in discounted start-up shares (FT)

  • The M&A Matchmaking in VC Portfolios (The Information)

  • After Slowing In 2023, US Median Round Size Again Growing (Crunchbase)

  • Q2 2024 US VC Valuations Report (Pitchbook)

  • Inside Universities’ Love-Hate Relationship With ChatGPT (WSJ)

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RESULTS

Here are the results from our poll question in yesterday’s piece:

Do you believe that countries in the West still have free speech?

 

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 Yes (15)

🟨🟨🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️ Yes - but it is teetering (8)

🟨🟨🟨🟨⬜️⬜️ No - free speech is dead (10)

33 Votes

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