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Bluesky Raises $100M Series B Amid CEO Shuffle

Spotted: The decentralized social network darling just closed a monster $100M Series B — but plot twist! CEO Jay Graber is stepping down. Talk about a power transition. The round follows their $15M Series A from Blockchain Capital, bringing total funding to $123M. With 20 billion records in their "Atmosphere" ecosystem, they're proving open social might actually work. [TechCrunch]

Advanced Navigation Scores $110M for Autonomous Systems

This Aussie startup just landed $110M in Series C funding for their Positioning, Navigation and Timing tech. Because when your drone needs to navigate without GPS (hello, contested airspace), you need serious hardware. National Reconstruction Fund Corporation led the charge — defense tech is having a MOMENT. [Unmanned Systems Technology]

Turquoise Health Nabs $40M to Fix Healthcare Pricing

The price transparency platform secured a $40M Series C from Oak HC/FT and Andreessen Horowitz. They've got 65,000+ contracts in their library and they're building the financial infrastructure healthcare desperately needs. Take that, surprise medical bills! [Fierce Healthcare]

Bluesky's Jay Graber Steps Down as CEO

In a move that has everyone whispering, Jay Graber handed over the reins just as they closed that massive Series B. Automattic's CEO is stepping in as interim while the board searches for permanent leadership. Timing is everything, darlings. [MediaPost]

Palantir Veterans Emerge from Stealth with Sequoia's Blessing

Eugen Alpeza and Yannis Karamanlakis — Palantir alumni with 13 years of friendship under their belts — just unveiled Edra with a $30M Series A led by Sequoia. The twist? 8VC and Kevin Hartz's A* also joined. HubSpot, ASOS, and easyJet are already customers. When Palantir people start companies, VCs come running. [TechCrunch]

Allure Security Bags $17M Series B for Disinformation Defense

This Boston-based AI-native disinformation defense company raised $17M led by Riverside Acceleration Capital, bringing their total to $43M. Kraft Group, Campbell's, and Palo Alto Networks are already customers. Fake news is big business — for the good guys, apparently. [FinSMEs]

Cloaked Raises $375M for Privacy-First Future

Consumer privacy company Cloaked just secured $375M in Series B and growth financing to expand into enterprise. Because in an AI-led internet where hackers use AI to scam you, privacy isn't just nice-to-have — it's survival. [TechCrunch]

Imperative Care Closes $100M for Stroke Robotics

The medical tech company closed an oversubscribed $100M convertible note for their endovascular robotics platform. They're literally building robots to treat strokes. The future is now, and it's saving lives. [HIT Consultant]

A Little Birdie Told Me...

One of you gorgeous subscribers sent this along — Tim Devane's piece "Chew The Cud, Cognitive Dissonance is a Superpower" — and darlings, this is exactly the kind of contrarian wisdom I live for.

Tim's serving up some serious food for thought here about how holding two conflicting beliefs at once isn't a bug in the VC brain — it's the feature that separates the greats from the wannabes. While everyone else is chasing consensus and piling into the same AI deals, the real power players are comfortable sitting with that delicious discomfort of "this seems crazy BUT..." Tim argues that the ability to sit with contradictory ideas — to truly chew the cud — is what lets you see opportunities before the herd stampedes in. Worth your time, darlings. Grab an oat milk latte and digest slowly. ☕

Todd Saunders: 'Claude Code Just Mass Produced a Bridge'

This viral X post has VCs spiraling. The analogy? "The moat in software was the cost of building software. And Claude Code just mass produced a bridge." His prediction: fewer $5B ServiceTitans, but 50,000 companies doing $500K-$5M each, run by 1-3 people. The SaaS billionaire era might be ending — the AI millionaire era is just beginning. [X/Twitter @toddsaunders — 259K+ views, 767 likes]

Global VC Funding Hit $55B in January — AI Dominates

Per Crunchbase data, global venture funding more than doubled year-over-year to $55B in January 2026. The U.S. grabbed 70% of that capital, with over HALF tied to AI. Large rounds ($100M+) drove 74% of the total. When VCs find a trend they like, they REALLY commit. [X/Twitter @SouthernEquity citing Crunchbase]

Defense Robotics Funding Surged 139% in 2025

According to PitchBook's debut Robotics report, defense and security robotics attracted $8B across 234 deals in 2025 — a 139% YoY increase. Autonomous drones alone raked in $6.2B. Ukraine and Middle East conflicts are reshaping VC priorities in real-time. [PitchBook]

The Mega IPO Pipeline Could Raise $100B+

PitchBook warns that upcoming mega IPOs could shatter records and raise over $100 billion in proceeds — more than all U.S. VC-backed IPOs since 2000 combined. The catch? They might absorb all public market capital, leaving smaller players dry. IPO FOMO is about to get VERY real. [PitchBook]

Dealmaking Up 41% But Warning Signs Flashing

Axios Pro Rata reports global dealmaking volume is up 41% YoY, with U.S. deals climbing 80%. But March tells a different story: deal volume down 19%, number of deals off 61%. The IPO market grinding to a halt may be the canary in the coal mine. Geopolitics strikes again, darlings. [Axios Pro Rata]