STARTUP X
The F42 brief #016
Here’s your Monday dose of The F42 Brief.
What’s inside »
📈 Trending Now
The one thing that’s making all the noise …. with a bit of fact checking.
💸 New Funds looking to give you cash
Who has launched a new fund to invest in startups last week.
💡Innovator Spotlight
Founders that are doing stuff differently.
🛠️ Tool of the Week
Something useful to up your startups velocity.
📌 Note to Self
Stuff I constantly remind myself about, don’t want make the same mistakes again.
📈 Trending Now
Outcome-Based Pricing—A Smarter Model for AI Startups
Outcome-based pricing is gaining traction, and it’s easy to see why. Startups leveraging this model only pay for measurable results, like resolving customer queries or hitting sales targets. It’s a shift that places value delivery front and centre, aligning costs with outcomes rather than activity.
For startups, the benefits are clear: reduced upfront costs, lower financial risk, and stronger trust with customers. By ensuring both sides are invested in success, outcome-based pricing not only drives accountability but also fosters deeper relationships in competitive markets.
Adopting this approach requires clarity and precision. Founders need to define success metrics upfront and use tools to track and measure outcomes effectively. AI-powered agents are particularly well-suited here, offering real-time insights to keep performance on track and ensure results are tied to value.
As AI Agents evolve, startups need to evolve their pricing models, outcome-based pricing offers a compelling alternative to traditional models. It’s a practical, results-driven approach that builds trust and efficiency while keeping growth sustainable—just what the ecosystem needs.
If you have not joined the Fusion42 Community on Telegram — A space for Founders, Framers, and Funders who show up to get **it done,
it is probably time to do so.
For the ❤️ of Startups
💸 New Funds Looking to Give You Cash
$6 Billion Across 17 New Funds
Seventeen newly launched venture capital funds are injecting over $6 billion into the startup ecosystem, targeting transformative industries, emerging markets, and founders at pivotal stages. Here's where the money is flowing:
Geography at a Glance
North America (53%): Dominates the landscape with a mix of regional and national focus, from South Dakota to Silicon Valley.
Europe (12%): Focuses on scaling B2B tech and early-stage innovation in the Nordics and Baltics.
Asia & MENA (6%): India, Southeast Asia, and Saudi Arabia emerge as growth hotspots.
Global Funds (29%): Sector-agnostic, spanning continents to seize cross-border opportunities.
Sector Priorities
Technology (35%): AI, SaaS, and deep tech lead the way.
Healthcare (15%): Medtech and digital health remain major focus areas.
Fintech (15%): Continues as a stronghold for scalable innovation.
Climate Tech & Sustainability (10%): A growing priority, with investments in energy and carbon capture.
Niche Sectors (25%): Includes transportation, real estate, sports, and entertainment tech.
Investment Stages
Early Stage (26%): The lion’s share goes to seed, pre-seed, and Series A startups.
All Stages (13%): Funds with flexible mandates to invest across the lifecycle.
Commercial Stage (9%): Startups ready to monetise and expand operations.
Growth Stage (13%): Scaling businesses receive a solid share of attention.
Venture Debt (13%): Targeting capital-intensive sectors like fintech and hardware.
The data highlights a continual appetite for early-stage innovation, geographic diversification, and sector-specific transformation. For founders, aligning with these trends could unlock significant opportunities. For investors, these funds reflect where the next wave of value is being created.
Z Venture Capital
ZVC Fund II: A ¥30 billion ($191 million) venture capital fund launched by Z Venture Capital, a subsidiary of LY Corporation. The fund focuses on high-growth areas including digital-first businesses, AI, space technology, robotics, media, commerce, and fintech, targeting investments across all stages with emphasis on seed and early-stage startups.
Village Capital
A $5 million pilot fund aimed at addressing capital gaps for entrepreneurs from underrepresented backgrounds. The fund will focus on early-stage companies and work collaboratively with community-led entrepreneur support organizations (ESOs) to identify and support investment opportunities.
Vensana Capital
Vensana Capital III: A $425 million fund focused on investing in innovative medical technology companies, particularly in medical devices and data science-oriented firms. The fund targets companies in their development and commercial stages, aiming to create new clinical standards of care while making healthcare more efficient, accessible, and cost-effective.
Trucks Venture Capital
Trucks Venture Fund 3 (TVF3): A $70 million fund focused on investing in early-stage startups that aim to make transportation safer, cleaner, and more accessible. The fund plans to make about 30 initial seed investments, with check sizes ranging from $500,000 to $2 million at seed and pre-seed stages.
Tacora Capital
Tacora Capital II: A $268.7 million venture debt fund focusing on providing loans to capital-intensive businesses, particularly in fintech and hardware sectors.
Superhero Capital
Superhero Capital's fourth fund: A €50 million venture capital fund targeting early-stage software startups across Finland and the Baltics. The fund aims to empower visionary founders creating meaningful change, with investments ranging from €100,000 to €1 million.
South Dakota First Capital
South Dakota First Capital is a venture capital fund investing in pre-seed to Series A stage companies, primarily in South Dakota and surrounding states. The fund focuses on sectors including software, medical devices, food tech, ag tech, animal tech, energy, mining tech, manufacturing tech, government tech, supply chain, logistics, and cybersecurity. Investment range: $250,000 to $2,000,000.
Smartfin
Smartfin Capital III: A €250 million growth fund focusing on investing in growth-stage B2B technology companies across Europe.
Scrum Ventures
Scrum Sports & Entertainment Fund I (SSE): A $68 million venture capital fund focusing on early-stage technology companies in the sports and entertainment sectors. The fund aims to invest in startups that support and innovate within these industries, addressing market inefficiencies and capitalizing on the globalization of sports and unprecedented industry growth.
Black Ladies of Construction (BLOC) Society
BLOC Capital Fund: A new venture capital fund focused on real estate development, aiming to empower Black and Brown women through investment opportunities in high-demand regions. The fund employs a build-and-sell strategy, covering all stages from land acquisition to the sale of completed homes.
Global Ventures
Global Ventures III: An early-stage venture capital fund exceeding $150 million, targeting investments in tech and tech-enabled sectors across Saudi Arabia, MENA, and Sub-Saharan Africa. Focus areas include supply chain technology, agritech, enterprise SaaS, and emerging technologies such as AI and deep tech.
FTV Capital
FTV VIII: $3.4 billion flagship fund targeting investments ranging from $60 million to $300 million in high-growth companies across enterprise technology and services, and financial technology and services sectors.
FTV Capital
FTV Ascend I: $651 million inaugural fund focusing on investments ranging from $20 million to $60 million in high-growth companies across enterprise technology and services, and financial technology and services sectors. The fund targets innovative companies in areas such as artificial intelligence, financial technology, and healthcare IT.
ERV
ERV Fund I: A $18 million seed and series A fund focused on breakthrough deeptech in energy storage, carbon capture, utilization and storage, renewable fuels, and the hydrogen value chain. The fund targets highly scalable technologies with outsized financial prospects to solve major challenges in the energy sector.
Allumia Ventures
Allumia Ventures is a newly independent venture capital firm spun off from Providence, focusing on healthcare investments. Providence has committed $150 million over 10 years as the anchor investor for Allumia's third fund. The firm invests in digital health, tech-enabled healthcare services, and med tech startups, typically at commercial stages. Allumia aims to improve healthcare efficiencies and address challenges like mental and behavioral health access. Led by Managing Partner Jeff Stolte, Allumia manages a portfolio of 28 investments with 10 successful exits.
Accel
Accel VIII: A $650 million early-stage venture capital fund launched on January 5, 2025, focusing on investing in startups in India and Southeast Asia. The fund targets sectors such as artificial intelligence, consumer brands, fintech, and manufacturing. It aims to support disruptive and category-defining businesses that create meaningful impact, with a particular emphasis on early-stage founders.
Eli Lilly and Andreessen Horowitz (a16z)
Biotech Ecosystem Venture Fund: A $500 million venture capital fund launched on January 10, 2025. The fund focuses on investing in early-stage biotech companies, therapeutic platforms, and cutting-edge technology firms in the healthcare sector. It aims to support disruptive science and ambitious leaders in the biotech industry, leveraging Lilly's expertise in R&D along with its capital and resources to catalyze the growth of emerging biotech startups. The fund invests in companies at all stages, from company creation to growth, with a particular emphasis on developing new medicines, advancing novel modality platforms, and scaling emerging health technologies, including AI tools.
💡Innovator Spotlight
Here are the top 10 most innovative reveals from CES 2025
Nvidia RTX 5000 Series GPUs
Nvidia unveiled its RTX 5000 series GPUs, powered by the new Blackwell architecture, promising significant advancements in AI and graphics performance.Honda's Electric Vehicle Innovations
Honda showcased its latest advancements in electric vehicle technology, emphasizing sustainable and efficient transportation solutions.Lenovo ThinkBook Plus Gen 6 Rollable
Lenovo introduced the ThinkBook Plus Gen 6, featuring a rollable display that expands vertically, enhancing productivity and user experience.Samsung's Home AI Experience
Samsung presented its integrated AI system for home automation, aiming to provide personalized and efficient user experiences.Roborock Saros Z70 Robot Vacuum
Roborock unveiled the Saros Z70, a robot vacuum equipped with a mechanical arm capable of picking up small objects, enhancing home cleaning efficiency.Flint Paper Battery
Innovations in sustainable battery technology were highlighted, including Flint's paper-based battery designed to decompose within six weeks after use.Dreame X50 Ultra Robot Vacuum
Dreame showcased the X50 Ultra, a robot vacuum with legs capable of climbing small obstacles, representing a significant advancement in home cleaning technology.BoldJet by FlowBeams
FlowBeams introduced the BoldJet, a needle-free injection system using laser technology to deliver medications without traditional needles.WeWalk Smart Cane 2
WeWalk presented the Smart Cane 2, an advanced AI-powered cane for visually impaired users, offering obstacle detection and turn-by-turn navigation.Halliday Smart Glasses
Halliday introduced smart glasses featuring a discreet 3.6mm display that projects information directly into the user's field of view, allowing for seamless navigation of notifications.
These innovations highlight the cutting-edge technology and forward-thinking designs presented at CES 2025, showcasing the future of consumer electronics and smart solutions.
🛠️ Tools of the Week
Tool of the Week: The Enron Egg
The Enron Egg is being pitched as the future of home energy: a "compact nuclear reactor for home use" that’s supposedly small enough to fit in your garage. Featuring a heat-resistant casing, heavy water pump, and 24/7 monitoring capabilities, this product promises to revolutionise how we power our lives.
The webpage here breaks down the details of this futuristic device, with bold claims about its ability to provide clean, unlimited energy for households. It’s presented with the same polished, corporate tone you’d expect from any serious innovation announcement—until you start noticing just how far it pushes the envelope.
From its sleek design to the overly technical descriptions, the Enron Egg raises eyebrows for its audacity and creativity. If it sounds too good to be true, you might be onto something. 😜
📌 Note to Self
Thank you for reading. If you liked it, share it with your friends, colleagues and everyone interested in the startup Investor ecosystem.
If you've got suggestions, an article, research, your tech stack, or a job listing you want featured, just let me know! I'm keen to include it in the upcoming edition.
Please let me know what you think of it, love a feedback loop 🙏🏼
🛑 Get a different job.
Subscribe below and follow me on LinkedIn or Twitter to never miss an update.
For the ❤️ of startups
✌🏼 & 💙
Derek