New tech is on the hunt for aliens 👽
Necessary Nuggets
Happy Wednesday! If you’re new here, welcome to Necessary Nuggets, your one-stop pre-seed shop. We deliver updates from Necessary Ventures and helpful tidbits on our little corner of the world. Every edition is also on our blog.
Jobortunities 🚨
✨NEW FEATURED ROLE✨
Copper: Rethinking the induction stove and making kitchen electrification more accessible than ever. Picture a fossil-free future, without sacrificing aesthetics.
| Senior Embedded Systems Engineer |
Infinite Machine: Envisioning the future of transportation beyond cars and into the realm of personal electric vehicles. Its first product, P1, is the ultimate tool for city navigation.
Reach out with any questions! All 185 open job postings are listed here.
Market Stirrings 🚩
Here's what the week looked like in pre-seed:
$17.5M
Total Amount Raised
9
Total Funding Rounds
$2.5M
Average Dollars per Round
$12.3M-$24.6M
Estimated Valuation Range
Data aggregated from proprietary research and Crunchbase; valuation estimate based on 10-20% ownership stake.
GOING DOWN, DOWN, DOWN
Down rounds are sticking around. Q3 saw a slight uptick in down rounds compared to Q2, and 2024 as a whole has an elevated share of down rounds compared to the lower percentages before 2023.
Good Reads 📖
For the rushed reader …
Venture debt deal value has already surpassed last year’s total, on track to break 2022's record.
Aiming for 2025, the Pentagon released plans to deploy GREMLIN, dubbed “the world’s first 3D alien-hunting system.”
Early-stage AI agent startups are making headlines, but there are still IT trust issues and regulatory concerns to work through.
For the less rushed reader …
GIVING CREDIT TO VENTURE DEBT: After Silicon Valley Bank’s collapse in March 2023, many feared venture debt would be in default—but it’s actually thriving. Q3 data revealed non-bank lenders are cashing in, and venture debt deal value has already surpassed last year’s total, on track to break 2022's record. From Q1 to Q3, $34.7 billion were deployed, nearly hitting 2022’s high of $35.5 billion, but the total number of deals is on track for a 10-year low. Growth-stage companies are leading the charge, while early-stage lending has taken a dive. It looks like venture debt is back, if you’re feeling a-loan while raising.
A SURVEILLANCE GREMLIN: The Pentagon is beaming about a new invention. Aiming for 2025, the Pentagon released plans to deploy GREMLIN, dubbed “the world’s first 3D alien-hunting system.” The invention employs a high-tech radar network developed by the Georgia Tech Research Institute that will track Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAPs) and analyze patterns of life. GREMLIN has already passed its test run and will be deployed for 90 days to monitor UAP activity at a national security site. This announcement comes just two days after US whistleblowers claimed UFOs are real and interacting with humans. Despite the excitement, AARO, the UFO task force, has yet to uncover any extraterrestrials, settling instead on balloons, birds, and drones. Maybe the next step is setting up intergalactic communications, so our favorite aliens can finally phone home.
BECOMING THE IT GIRL: AI agents could handle future business workflows like financial planning and employee onboarding – but we’re not all on the same page-nt, yet. Early-stage AI agent startups are making headlines, but there are still IT trust issues and regulatory concerns to work through. With $18 million in funding, CrewAI is one company at the forefront, offering a platform that enables companies to build AI-powered teams tailored to specific tasks. As another example, Microsoft announced this week that it will introduce AI agents to its Office application. However, agents are facing broader pushback: 55% of senior IT leaders cite trust as the top barrier to adoption, citing concerns over reliability, data privacy, and security. AI's potential is also clouded by regulatory uncertainty, with the EU’s upcoming AI Act set to enforce strict compliance, especially for high-risk applications like healthcare and finance. Humans will be pulling (AI)ll the ropes for now.
Fire Up the Pre-Seeds🔥
It was a big week for pre-seed raises. Sit down and get comfortable for this exciting list:
Fintech
Akave - The only thing laking for databases.
Akave raised $3.45 million led by Protocol Labs, Blockchange Ventures, Lightshift, and Blockchain Builders Fund. Akave is on a mission to create decentralized data lakes, helping enterprises and AI companies move beyond the cloud into more flexible data management.
edtech
Conduction - A new code of conduct.
Conduction raised $265k from the Richard King Mellon Foundation. Conduction is creating an edtech platform that enables students to compose digital songs and then see them performed by real musicians.
SaaS
Connecty AI - Agents and organizations going on a date-a.
Connecty AI raised $1.8 million led by Market One Capital. Connecty AI is developing enterprise AI agents that instantly derive insights from complex datasets.
Fastino - Controlling the (e)LL(e)M(ents).
Fastino raised $7 million led by Insight Partners and M12, Microsoft’s Venture Fund. Fastino is giving LLMs a boost for enterprises, providing a tool optimized for each business’ specific needs.
Outro🚪
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