Table of Contents

• The Rundown

• News and Research

• Podcast Episodes, Deep Dives, and Projects

• Thoughts

• Final

While I have previously included big pieces in the rundown, I am trying to separate my bigger thoughts from my quick, hot takes and the week's work. I think some topics deserve their own space outside the weekly news and thoughts and should sit as evergreen content. Again, this is all a matter of iteration. With that opening, here is the Rundown. 

The Rundown

Fall has finally fallen as Labor Day has passed, and we are in the sprint towards Holloween and Thanksgiving. These next few weeks will be prime for everyone before we enter the next holiday slowdown.

Nonetheless, As many of you know, I’m not just a political junkie—I’m a policy enthusiast too. Lately, what’s been frustrating me is the divide between the "Mainstream Media" and Silicon Valley elites on the future of M&A and the dominance of tech giants. The scarcity of IPOs has only intensified this reliance on M&A, especially for the venture capital industry. VCs depend on acquisitions to deliver returns to their LPs, which wasn’t always the case.

Back in the early '90s, about 70% of venture-backed exits were IPOs, with the rest being acquisitions. Fast forward to today, and acquisitions now account for about 90% of exits. Many factors have pushed small IPOs out of the picture, and without IPOs, liquidity becomes an issue. The Silicon Valley crowd insists that M&A is now the only real option, leaving IPOs as a distant dream.

Personally, I’m equally concerned about both the lack of M&A activity and the shrinking IPO market. What I’d love to see are more small-cap companies innovating—companies that could IPO at valuations under $1 billion, just like Amazon and Shopify once did. In the coming weeks, I’m planning to dive deep into what policy mechanisms the government could implement to revitalize the IPO market. It’s not fully baked yet and I want to do my own research, but I’ll have something for you soon.

On a lighter note, I’m gearing up for my first big in-person event for the platform, focusing on SB 1407, and I’m trying to spark some interest around Tech Padel. If you’re a Padel player, hit me up!

on the tech side, I have been playing around with using knowledge graphs and llms for contract editing. Please reach out if you have any tips or tricks!

Lastly, I’m expanding my founder advice series. When you’re immersed in the startup world, some lessons feel like common knowledge, but trust me, they’re not.

Thanks for reading this week. I’m grateful that I get your time and attention each week.

News and Research

• This comprehensive survey examines the paradigm of Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) for enhancing Large Language Models (LLMs). It reviews the evolution of RAG frameworks, namely Naive, Advanced, and Modular RAG, highlighting their strengths, weaknesses, and state-of-the-art technologies. The survey also covers evaluation frameworks, metrics, and tasks applicable to RAG, discussing current challenges and future research directions. Read in arXiv.

• OpenAI plans to release Strawberry, a reasoning-focused AI, sooner than expected as part of ChatGPT, offering a distinct way of responding to user queries. Read in The Information.

• The U.S. District Court is hearing the second antitrust trial against Google, focusing on its dominance in the digital ad market. Read in The Briefing.

• Reid Hoffman is donating $10 million to support Kamala Harris's campaign with the request to replace Lina Khan, the FTC chair, citing concerns over aggressive antitrust enforcement impacting startups and investment. Read in The Atlantic.

• How systemic issues within police labor markets drive misconduct and officer retention. Read in The Atlantic.

• How Should you best reserve funds for your VC? Read in TheFundCFO.

• “Founder Mode”, everyone is talking about this week. Read in Paul Graham.

• The DOJ’s antitrust trial against Google focuses on its advertising practices and alleged monopoly in ad tools, following a prior ruling that found Google has a monopoly in internet search. Read in CNBC.

• Even companies that raised hundreds of millions in funding are bowing out of the race to develop advanced AI models. Read in Bloomberg.

• US bond yields are changing which highlights uncertainty faced by investors. Read in Financial Times.

• The House of Mouse. Bob Iger to Bob Chapek at Disney, highlighting their contrasting personalities and leadership styles. Read in New York Times.

• Good pricing is about figuring out what your concrete value is to an organization: don't rush it. Read in Amplify.

Podcast Episodes, Deep Dives and Projects

• Please see my new Podcast on Eidolon AI a Kubernetes opensource platform for AI agents.

• Stay tuned for upcoming event and more in-depth posts.

Final Thoughts

Please contact my email, [email protected], since I have more time to speak with people and help where I can. I am still actively angel investing.