If you’ve been following the news, you’ll have seen the headlines: AI startups raised over $150 billion in 2025, smashing previous records. On the surface, it looks like a market bursting with confidence.
But when you dig deeper, a more cautious picture emerges. As the Financial Times recently reported, the message from investors to founders is surprisingly blunt: “You should make hay while the sun is shining… build a fortress balance sheet.”
Why the caution? Because beneath the excitement, public markets are questioning the sheer scale of AI infrastructure spending. The costs are staggering, and even market leaders are burning through billions. This has created a strange dynamic: a frenzy of private investment, driven by a fear that the window of opportunity might soon close.
This environment plays to our strengths. It reflects exactly what we mean when we say we invest in exceptional talent. For us, a powerful AI model is only a starting point. We look for founders who use AI to solve complex, tangible problems in areas like logistics or manufacturing. These are the people building durable businesses that last.
As one investor put it, the companies that win over the long term are not the most hyped. They are the most resilient. Our role is to help remarkable people build exactly that kind of business.
