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Stripe is reportedly considering acquiring Open Router for $10 billion, valuing the company at over 70x its recent $140 million annualized revenue, which tripled since April.
Under Mallers' leadership, 21 raised over $1 billion and acquired approximately $1.4 billion worth of Bitcoin, establishing the second-largest treasury and going public. However, Mallers states they "utterly and completely failed" to build cash-generating Bitcoin products for customers.
Deep Seek suspended fundraising plans, including a potential IPO, after CEO Li Yuanfeng's speech emphasizing open models over commercialization was leaked to investors. The company had planned to raise at a $70 billion valuation.
IntegriCulture has raised between $15-20 million USD, a significant sum for Japan but less than its US and European counterparts. Their seed round in 2018 was secured from Japanese VCs and a government-backed VC, followed by a Series A in 2020 including Acorn funder and venture university partners.
Dr. Yuki observed that venture capitalists were not overly concerned with IntegriCulture's initial open-source IP. They understood that the IP generated as the company operated would be more crucial for its long-term value.
Richard asked about space applications. Dr. Yuki confirmed their involvement in Japan's "Star just project," providing protein for astronauts. This potential application significantly contributed to securing seed funding and attracting a prestigious advisor.
DHH values "pure independence" in business, structuring 37signals without investors or a board. He cherishes creating projects like Omarchy without customer obligations, considering this a "transcendence" beyond commercial relationships.
Jeff Bezos's early investment in 37signals, accepting an "offensively overvalued" term sheet, provided DHH the confidence and financial security to reject numerous other VCs and maintain independence. This support solidified 37signals' unique, profit-focused business model.
Leia Ryan, co-creator of Yale Hacker House, dropped out of a genetics PhD and declined a biotech job to found Cortex, which recently raised at a $10 million valuation. Ryan believes serious founders should drop out, while others, like Princeton's Gari Cetri, prioritize having a degree as a safety net.
Matt Odell criticizes Bitcoin treasury companies for conflating their business models with Bitcoin's core value proposition, suggesting many were funded by existing Bitcoiners. He advises against measuring performance solely in dollar terms, instead questioning if they outperform Bitcoin itself.
Donald Trump Jr. became a strategic advisor at Calshi in January 2025 and later his venture capital firm invested in Polymarket, shortly after which the CFTC announced it would allow Polymarket to operate in the United States.
Dixon highlights the 2017 New York Agreement, where venture capitalists like Barry Silbert (Digital Currency Group) tried to centralize Bitcoin companies around SegWit2X, opposing the user-activated soft fork.
Dixon notes his personal journey of divesting from over 100 private equity Bitcoin company investments down to about 40, as they became co-opted by the Financial Industrial Complex and public markets.