AI body doubles are taking over video calls
Feb 12, 2025
Kaley Ubellacker
Market Stirrings 🚩
Here's what the week looked like in pre-seed:
$2M
2
Data aggregated from proprietary research and Crunchbase; valuation estimate based on 10-20% ownership stake.
WHISPERS OF DISPERSE
According to PitchBook, early-stage valuations are becoming more dispersed, with top decile valuations soaring to record highs—up over $50 million from 2023 to 2024. At the same time, median valuations continue their steady climb, signaling a broadening gap between top-tier startups and the rest of the pack.
Good Reads 📖
For the rushed reader …
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President Trump is pushing for an end to the tax break on carried interest, which allows private equity and venture capital fund managers to pay a lower capital gains tax rate on their earnings.
Hamilton Lane is diving deeper into venture capital with $615.3 million raised for its first dedicated VC fund.
OpenAI’s research preview of its new AI agent Operator marks a huge leap in automation, using GPT-4’s vision and reinforcement learning to browse the web, click, scroll, and perform tasks.
For the less rushed reader …
Breaking news and a taxing outcome
If the tariff talk wasn’t enough to get your heart racing, President Trump is back with a new round of tax talk. President Trump is pushing for an end to the tax break on carried interest, which allows private equity and venture capital fund managers to pay a lower capital gains tax rate on their earnings. If the break is axed, it could deal a blow to the VC industry, which relies on these tax benefits to fuel investments in high-risk startups. Bobby Franklin of the National Venture Capital Association warns that this move would disrupt funding for emerging tech like AI and crypto, and hurt small investors in middle America. While Trump raised this issue during his 2016 campaign, his 2017 tax plan only made small tweaks—extending the holding period for assets to qualify for capital gains. Now, with a new push on the table, this could have big consequences for venture capital, especially in Silicon Valley and New York. So, who’s picking up the bill, and why can’t we just go Dutch?
DJ, mix up the funding
Here’s a firm that’s absolutely wired for the future. Hamilton Lane is diving deeper into venture capital with $615.3 million raised for its first dedicated VC fund. The fund will use a fund-of-funds strategy alongside direct investments, making venture capital more accessible to investors who previously needed $100 million or more. Over half of the capital will go into other venture funds, with two-thirds to three-quarters allocated to the booming secondaries market. The rest will focus on direct co-investments in AI, data management, and cybersecurity. This strategy signals a shift away from IPOs toward longer private exits and secondary transactions. Hamilton Lane is proving it’s secondary to none in this evolving landscape.
Personal assistants aren't just for CEOs anymore
If you think you’re a shopaholic now, wait until you meet Operator. OpenAI’s research preview of its new AI agent Operator marks a huge leap in automation, using GPT-4’s vision and reinforcement learning to browse the web, click, scroll, and perform tasks—all without needing custom APIs. Available to ChatGPT Pro users, Operator can handle the basics but won’t log you in or send an email without your approval. While it’s collaborating with companies like DoorDash and Uber to tackle real-world needs, it's still stumbling over more complex tasks, like managing calendars or making slideshows. Operator’s real power lies in its potential to automate workflows in e-commerce, customer support, and content creation—disrupting industries as it goes. Some might say the future is already clicking into gear.
Fire Up the Pre-Seeds🔥
Highlights from this week’s pre-seed raises:
E-commerce
Sotira - A surplus surprise.
Sotira raised $2 million from K5 Global, Night Capital, Ritual Capital, and Unusual Ventures. Sotira is building a platform that helps companies offload and monetize their surplus inventory, including products nearing their expiration date, items with storage capacity issues, and overordered products.
AI
Pickle - AI video clone killed the radio star.
Pickle raised funding from Krew Capital, NFX, and Y Combinator. Pickle is creating AI-powered body doubles for video calls, enabling users to be anywhere during meetings, while their pickle-powered double lipsyncs for them.
Outro🚪
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