Welcome to Startups Weekly, a nuanced take on this week\u2019s startup news and trends by Senior Reporter and Equity co-host <\/em>Natasha Mascarenhas.<\/em><\/a> To get this in your inbox, subscribe <\/em>here<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n It\u2019s hard to be proactive after the tide has already shifted. However, that\u2019s what we\u2019re seeing happen in the solo GP world, where investors, hearing about institutional investor risk appetite changing, are extending fundraising timelines, cutting investment vehicle targets or planning to leave venture altogether. Some have learned it the hard way, while others, like Sahil Lavingia, are telling LPs to literally cancel their checks if they feel guilty about investing in venture capital while the market rocks and interest rates boom.<\/p>\n It\u2019s a shift from the fund of fund mentality<\/a> that felt commonplace last year, in which investment firms cut checks to early-stage, experimental investors to de-risk and even lead first checks into a generation of new startups. Now, the idea of backing just one, feels like a harder sell \u2014 depending on which institution you\u2019re speaking to.<\/p>\n For my full take on this burgeoning tension within the venture world read my TC+ column: \u201cAre solo GPs screwed?\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n I know some of us are still reeling from the SVB mess, which is still very much unfolding. My hope with this piece is to offer nuance on how the market moves on from here for a very specific subset of check writers. In other words, yes, there\u2019s a dreary dark cloud that is now more visible than before. But umbrellas exist. Somewhere.<\/p>\n In the rest of this newsletter we\u2019re talking AI, icons and demo days. As always, you can follow me on Twitter<\/a> or Instagram<\/a> to continue the conversation. You can also send me tips at natasha.m@techcrunch.com<\/a> or on Signal at +1 925 271 0912.<\/em> No pitches, please.<\/p>\n Now that I apparently live in Cerebral Valley, it\u2019s quite easy to find investors, founders or my great friends in the middle of a passionate conversation about artificial intelligence. Heck, we even screencast ChatGPT trying to explain SVB during wine night, recently.<\/p>\n Despite the overactive news scene, thanks to ChatGPT plug-ins, Google\u2019s entrance and Canva\u2019s magic, the best piece I read all week came from our own Devin Coldeway. In this analysis<\/a>, Coldeway published a head-to-head comparison of top generative AI tools \u2014 asking them to create everything from a phishing email to code.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s what to know: <\/strong>In the AI world, the compounding effect is almost impossible to encapsulate. Tech keeps beating itself, and advancement is only to be celebrated with a grain of hopeful salt. But, see it yourself if you don\u2019t believe me!<\/p>\n Image Credits:<\/strong> Andriy Onufriyenko (opens in a new window)<\/span><\/a> \/ Getty Images<\/p>\n<\/div>\n I went to an in-person demo day for the first time since 2019 this week, courtesy of 500 Global. There was a special, earnest energy in the room, partially because, as 500\u2019s CEO Christine Tsai said, the 19 companies are sharing their vision for the future \u201caround one of the darkest backdrops of Silicon Valley.\u201d More to come on specific learnings, but below I thought I\u2019d bullet point some of the tidbits I overheard while at the accelerator\u2019s pitch session.<\/p>\n Image Credits:<\/strong> ContemporAd \/ Getty Images<\/p>\n<\/div>\n I published a podcast interview with Kapor Capital\u2019s Freada Kapor Klein and Mitch Kapor, the entrepreneurial investing couple behind the top-tier impact investing outfit.<\/a> The duo published a book recently, so we talk about that, their choice to step away from investing and the legacy they\u2019re continuing to build out.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s one key moment from<\/strong> the podcast<\/strong><\/a>: <\/strong>\u201cIt\u2019s also worth pointing out, in the early days, there were a couple of people, white men, who were thinking about working with us and decided we weren\u2019t going to make enough money so they went elsewhere. So I hope they\u2019re kicking themselves and I hope they\u2019ve learned something,\u201d said Kapor Klein.<\/p>\n Image Credits:<\/strong> Clark Studio<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Seen on TechCrunch<\/em><\/p>\n Startup says the seaweed blobbing toward Florida has a silver lining<\/a><\/p>\n Hivemapper is 1M kilometers closer to goal of beating Google Maps<\/a><\/p>\n Twitter will kill \u2018legacy\u2019 blue checks on April 1<\/a><\/p>\n China reminds US that it can and will kill a forced TikTok sale<\/a><\/p>\n Seen on TechCrunch+<\/em><\/p>\n Threading the needle: Exploring 5 ideas with the founders of LGBT+ VC<\/a><\/p>\n Investors want best-of-the-best ESG data. Here\u2019s how to give it to them<\/a><\/p>\n As TikTok and Coinbase face regulators, some questions are simpler than others<\/a><\/p>\n Pitch Deck Teardown: Prelaunch.com\u2019s $1.5M seed deck<\/a><\/p>\n How Fellow bootstrapped for 8 years to build a coffee empire<\/a><\/p>\n Talk soon,<\/p>\nIt\u2019s never GM; it\u2019s only AI<\/h2>\n
Overheard at Techstars\u2019 demo day<\/h2>\n
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![\"\"](\"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/gettyimages-841758452.jpg\")
<\/p>\nOne of venture\u2019s most iconic duos wants to have a word with you<\/h2>\n
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![\"upfront-kapor-capital\"](\"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/UpFrontSummit_2023_06797-1.jpg\")
<\/p>\nEtc., etc.<\/h2>\n