M&A, Partnering & Due Diligence
Buyers read these first: what diligence actually checks, how to build a data room they will open, and what to negotiate in the LOI. If AI is in the asset, use evals as tech diligence. The commercial work is the M&A, partnering, and due diligence service.
Capital & Fundraising
Fireworks AI Hits $17.5B Valuation on $1.5B Series D. Inference Still Owns the Cap Table
Fireworks AI closed a $1.5B Series D at a $17.5B valuation with NVIDIA participating. Crossing $1B ARR as daily token volume jumps from 15T to 40T+.
Founder Vesting Schedules: Why They Matter and How to Structure Them
Why founder vesting protects all parties, standard structures (4-year / 1-year cliff), acceleration clauses, and common negotiation points with investors.
Series A Traction Metrics: What Investors Actually Want to See
The specific metrics and milestones that Series A investors evaluate. MRR thresholds, growth rates, retention benchmarks, and market signals by vertical.
Anti-Dilution Provisions: What Founders Need to Know
How anti-dilution provisions work, the difference between full ratchet and weighted average, and how they affect founders in a down round.
Bridge Rounds: When to Use Them and How to Structure Them
When bridge financing makes sense, how to structure it to avoid unfavorable terms, and the signals investors look for before participating.
Startup Runway: How to Calculate It and How to Extend It
How to calculate your startup's runway, what benchmarks matter at each stage, and tactical strategies for extending it without sacrificing growth.
The Investor Pitch Deck: Structure, Content, and Common Mistakes
How to structure a pitch deck that gets meetings. The 12 essential slides, what investors scan first, and the mistakes that get decks rejected.
How to Build a Financial Model for Your Startup
A step-by-step guide to building a startup financial model that investors take seriously. Revenue projections, unit economics, and scenario planning.
Startup Valuation Methods: How Investors Value Early-Stage Companies
An overview of the most common startup valuation methods. From comparable analysis to DCF, scorecard, and venture capital method. With examples and when to use each.
Pre-Money vs. Post-Money Valuation: The Math Every Founder Must Know
The essential math behind pre-money and post-money valuations. With clear examples, dilution calculations, and common mistakes that cost founders equity.
How to Raise a Seed Round: A Step-by-Step Guide for Founders
A practical roadmap for raising a seed round. From building your investor list to setting terms, running the process, and closing the deal.
EBITDA: Definition, Calculation, and Why It Matters in M&A
A clear breakdown of EBITDA. What it measures, how to calculate it, adjusted EBITDA variants, and why buyers use it as the primary valuation metric in M&A.
Cap Table Management: Best Practices for Startups
How to manage your cap table correctly from day one. Common pitfalls, dilution math, and tools that help founders stay on top of their equity structure.
SAFE Agreements Explained: What Every Founder Needs to Know
Everything founders need to know about SAFE agreements. Structure, valuation caps, discount rates, and when to use them instead of convertible notes.
What Is a Convertible Note? A Complete Guide for Founders and Investors
A comprehensive guide to convertible notes. How they work, key terms, pros and cons for founders and investors, and how they compare to SAFEs.
Deal Readiness & Diligence
The AI Deal Tape: Anthropic, OpenAI, Stripe-OpenRouter, and Dario's Three Points
Anthropic is closer to listing than OpenAI. Stripe has reportedly agreed to buy OpenRouter for more than $7B. Dario Amodei's August 15 posts are the policy tone buyers should actually underwrite: harder tests at the frontier, fewer slogans, and an admission that the big benefits are still unpaid.
SAP Closes Prior Labs: €1B+ Bet on Tabular Foundation Models for Enterprise AI
SAP completes its acquisition of Prior Labs. The Freiburg TabPFN pioneer. Committing more than €1 billion over four years to scale structured-data AI as an independent frontier lab.
July 2026 Frontier AI Deal Sheet: Kimi K3, SAP–Prior Labs, Fireworks, and the $262B YTD Wave
A concise deal sheet for the busiest frontier-AI fortnight of 2026. Model launches, strategic acquisitions, and infrastructure megarounds reshaping corp-dev timelines.
What Prior Labs Teaches M&A Teams About Buying Frontier AI Capability
SAP's Prior Labs deal shows how strategics value independent AI labs, open-source traction, and structured-data moats. A diligence framework for the next wave of frontier acquisitions.
Benchmarks and Evals Are Now Core M&A Tech Diligence. Here's the Playbook
Frontier model leaderboards rotate weekly. M&A and corp-dev teams need task-level eval frameworks. Not vendor benchmarks. Before pricing AI assets or signing LOIs.
The Frontier Eval Gap: Why Leaderboard Wins Don't Survive M&A Integration
Kimi K3 tops coding arenas while finance-agent evals stall below 60%. The eval gap explains why AI acquisitions fail post-close and how to price the risk.
Strategics Go Shopping: The AI Tuck-In Wave Accelerates Into H2
HubSpot, Zoom, Salesforce, and Qualcomm all bought AI companies in a single week. Why the tuck-in wave accelerates into H2 2026, and what it means for venture-backed founders.
Qualcomm's $3.9B Modular Acquisition Is a Direct Shot at the CUDA Moat
Qualcomm's $3.9B acquisition of Modular is asymmetric corp dev: buying the software layer that erodes NVIDIA's CUDA moat instead of matching its silicon.
Strategic Partnerships vs. Acquisitions: A Decision Framework
A structured framework for deciding between strategic partnerships and acquisitions. Total cost of ownership, integration risk, speed to market, and reversibility.
Representations & Warranties Insurance in M&A: A Practical Guide
What R&W insurance covers, how it changes deal dynamics, who pays for it, and when it makes sense for mid-market transactions.
Earnout Structures in M&A: How They Work and How to Negotiate Them
How earnouts bridge valuation gaps in M&A. Typical structures, payment triggers, accounting pitfalls, and negotiation strategies for both buyers and sellers.
The M&A Due Diligence Checklist: What Buyers Actually Look For
A comprehensive due diligence checklist covering financial, legal, operational, and commercial areas. Organized by what buyers prioritize and what kills deals.
Letter of Intent (LOI) in M&A: What It Is and What to Negotiate
What a Letter of Intent covers in M&A transactions, which clauses are binding, and the key terms sellers and buyers should negotiate before signing.
How to Build a Data Room for M&A or Fundraising
A practical guide to building a data room that accelerates due diligence. What to include, how to organize it, and the most common mistakes founders make.