Limited partners (LPs) are often seen as passive capital providers, but the most effective ones contribute more. From strategic insight and customer introductions to operational support and long-term alignment, value-add LPs are becoming essential partners to both venture funds and the startups they back.

Google is at a strategic crossroads as AI-native tools like ChatGPT and Perplexity begin to erode its long-standing dominance in search. With declining Safari search traffic and a $100B market cap swing, Google next move is uncertain. Christensen’s Innovator’s Dilemma is playing out in real time, forcing Google to choose between protecting its high-margin core business or pivot and leverage it’s massive $75B capex into AI infrastructure.

Unit economics are core to startup viability, revealing whether each customer brings the business towards profitability or burns cash. Metrics like CAC, LTV, gross margin, and payback period offer a clear view into business health and scalability. This piece breaks down how investors assess unit economics from pre-seed to growth, and why expectations differ between SaaS and other verticals.

In today’s market, growth alone isn’t enough. Investors want to understand how efficiently that growth is achieved and whether the business can scale without burning through runway too quickly. Metrics like Rule of 40, Burn Multiple, and CAC Payback help founders tell that story, showing not just how fast they’re growing but how disciplined and sustainable that growth really is. Capital efficiency has become one of the strongest signals that a startup is built to endure.

Retention is a critical signal of product-market fit and long-term growth potential. Metrics like net dollar retention, gross dollar retention, LTV/CAC, CAC payback, and DAU/MAU help quantify how well a startup holds and grows its customer base. Cohort analysis adds depth by showing how user behaviour changes over time and across segments. Together, these tools help founders and investors understand the true durability of a business.

OpenAI’s $40B raise at a $300B valuation, led by SoftBank and Microsoft, marks the largest private tech deal ever and cements AI as foundational infrastructure. The capital will fuel massive compute expansion via the Stargate JV and scale enterprise adoption of ChatGPT. While institutional investors are all-in, SoftBank’s stock drop reflects concerns over execution and capital intensity.

CoreWeave’s $27B valuation hinges on a fragile GPU arbitrage model propped up by debt, with 62% of revenue coming from Microsoft, a customer likely to walk once its own infrastructure scales. Without diversified demand, better margins, and stronger financial controls, CoreWeave looks more like a well-financed stopgap than a sustainable AI infrastructure giant.

Wiz’s $32 billion acquisition by Google marks one of the largest venture-backed deals in history—but just a year ago, they turned down a $23 billion offer. Their decision to hold out reflects a broader resurgence in tech M&A, signalling renewed investor confidence and a shifting regulatory landscape.

Venture debt offers startups non-dilutive capital while providing lenders high-yield returns based on future equity raises rather than historical cash flow. With structured 4-year loans, interest income as the primary return, and high-yield seniority, it’s a strategic, asymmetric play in the venture ecosystem for lenders.

Venture debt is a flexible, low-dilution funding option for VC-backed startups, typically used alongside equity to extend runway without giving up more ownership. It’s repaid through future equity raises, not cash flow, and works best right after a funding round when momentum is strong and capital needs are high.

TVPI measures a fund’s total value, including unrealized gains, while DPI shows actual cash returned to investors—making DPI the more reliable indicator of true performance. TVPI can signal potential upside, but DPI is the ultimate proof that a fund has delivered real returns to LPs.

In venture, a fund’s “vintage year” marks when it starts investing—and performance varies widely by era. While late ’90s and post-2008 vintages delivered standout returns, recent vintages (2020–2021) face headwinds, highlighting how market timing and disciplined investing shape long-term outcomes.