VNTR Newsletter Mar 23, 2025 - Roadshow Riyadh
Venture Capital, Web3, and Private Equity – News, Events, and VC Reads
Hello friends,
Happy Sunday!
VNTR Newsletter is delivered to 100k+ investors and subscribers weekly to share the latest news, events, and articles from the global VC and startup ecosystem.
Scroll down to discover VNTR Community News, Upcoming Events, and the latest VC News and Reads.
VNTR Community News
We are launching the VNTR Poland Chapter this week on March 26 in Warsaw, hosted by Yuri Rabinovich
The event will feature a distinguished lineup of VIP speakers, including:
Kazimierz Marcinkiewicz former Prime Minister of Poland
Pedro Santos Vieira, Partner at 500 Global
Wojciech Kostrzewa, Chairman of Supervisory Board, Alior Bank
Andrzej Horoszczak, Founder and CTO at Billon.
Together, we’ll explore the investment landscape in Poland and Ukraine amid ongoing geopolitical tensions and discuss how investors can access and leverage global opportunities in this evolving environment.
🇫🇷 VNTR Investor Roundtable Paris on April 9
Join us for an exclusive gathering of local and visiting investors during Paris Blockchain Week (15% discount using VNTR15 code).
Thank you to our partners:
THORWallet – DeFi Bank in your Pocket 🔒 The ultimate DeFi wallet on iOS and Android, including multi-signature functionality for retail users, whales, treasuries, and DAOs. Contact Marcel Harmann, Founder and CEO, to discuss collaborations.
Sponsorship opportunities are available for companies looking to engage with investors and high-net-worth individuals. Secure your spot today!
Expert Session with Noemi Alliel, GP at ADIV on March 25
Explore the dynamic investment landscape of Aerospace and Defense—an industry at the intersection of innovation, security, and global geopolitics.
As geopolitical tensions escalate and technological advancements accelerate, strategic investors have a rare opportunity to back breakthrough innovations that drive both national security and commercial impact.
In this session, we’ll dive into emerging trends, market opportunities, and how investors can navigate and capitalize on the sector’s rapid growth—while understanding the broader geopolitical implications shaping its trajectory.
VNTR Club Masterminds
Over the past two years, we’ve hosted online Masterminds and Roundtables to connect our globally distributed VNTR Club members. Now, we’re taking things offline with the launch of in-person Club Masterminds designed to foster deeper personal relationships and grow our Club community in key chapters.
We’re starting with Dubai and Lisbon, and will soon expand to Miami, New York, London, and Singapore.
VNTR Club Membership is open to top-quartile investors, whether individuals, VC funds, or CVCs. If you’re interested in joining, please contact Robert to schedule an intro call and begin the onboarding process (if qualified).
📍 April 2 Club Mastermind Portugal at the iconic Quinta Bella Vista
📍 April 29 Club Mastermind Dubai at Club member’s private property
VNTR Investment Committees
VNTR Syndicate team invites accredited investors to participate in exclusive syndicated Club member-originated investment opportunities in high-growth tech startups and top-tier VC funds.
Our next Investment Committee on March 27 will feature:
🚀 A DefenseTech startup raising a Series A round
🌱 An AgroTech startup raising a Seed round
📈 An evergreen VC fund co-investing in leading Series B rounds alongside top venture firms
🎤 Speak at Leading Tech Conferences, VNTR Forums & Summits
We invite top investors to join us as speakers at our flagship events, sharing insights with global leaders and fellow investors. As a VNTR Club member, you also gain access to speaking opportunities at 50+ top tech conferences worldwide, including roles as speakers, panelists, moderators, and judges. Learn about VNTR Club Lifetime Membership.
Upcoming Speaking Opportunities:
📍 VNTR Investor Forum Riyadh – April 23 (sponsorship opportunities)
📍 VNTR Investor Forum Dubai – May 1 (sponsorship opportunities)
📍 VNTR Investor Summit Lisbon – November 11 (sponsorship opportunities)
Additionally, we offer speaker opportunities at the VNTR Investor Roundtables worldwide.
📩 Interested in joining as a speaker? Contact Elise to apply
VNTR Roadshow Riyadh Saudi Arabia: Join us for a three-day structured program to explore Saudi Arabia’s thriving startup and venture ecosystem. Connect with key ecosystem players, engage with local VCs and family offices, and build relationships with fellow investors:
📌 April 22 – Ecosystem Day: Meet ecosystem key stakeholders.
📌 April 23 – VNTR Investor Forum Riyadh: Learn, connect, and engage with peers
📌 April 24 – Pre-arranged 1:1 meetings and VIP dinner.
🔗 Apply to join the Roadshow on VNTR
💼 Sponsorship packages available
VNTR Regatta Sardinia: From May 26 to 30, sail through Sardinia’s picturesque coastline, build deep relationships with fellow investors, engage in thought-provoking discussions on the latest venture capital trends, and unwind with curated experiences, gourmet dining, and breathtaking views.
Spouses and life partners are welcome and can share a cabin or hotel room.
🚀 Limited spots available – secure yours today
VNTR Events
Join us at our upcoming events to connect with key investment decision-makers:
March 25 2025
Investing in DefenseTech and Aerospace
Online Expert Session with Noemi Alliel
March 26 2025
Investor Roundtable Warsaw
March 26 2025
Investor Breakfast Madrid
March 26 2025
Investor Roundtable London
March 27 2025
Investment Committee Online
April 2 2025
Club Mastermind Cascais
for active VNTR Club members only
April 4 2025
Investor Roundtable Bengaluru
April 4 2025
Investor Roundtable Bangkok
during South East Asia Blockchain week
April 9 2025
Investor Roundtable Paris
during Paris Blockchain Week
April 13 2025
Investor Roundtable Manama
during Formula 1 Grand Prix
April 15 2025
Investor Roundtable Marrakesh
during Gitex Africa
April 16 2025
Investor Roundtable Tokyo
during TEAMZ Web3/AI Summit
April 22-24 2025
Investor Roadshow Riyadh
April 23 2025
Investor Forum Riyadh
April 23 2025
Investor Roundtable Bangkok
during Money 20/20 Asia
April 24 2025
Investor Roundtable Singapore
during Gitex Asia
April 24 2025
Investor Roundtable Miami
April 28 2025
Investor Roundtable Silicon Valley
during Startup Grind Conference
April 29 2025
Club Mastermind Dubai
for active VNTR Club members only
May 1 2025
Investor Forum Dubai
during Token2049 Dubai
May 12 2025
Investor Roundtable Doha
during MENA InsurTech Summit 2025
May 13 2025
Investor Roundtable Dubai
during Dubai Fintech Summit
Thank you to our Partners
Your Personal Lifestyle app that helps you Book flights and hotels and manage your lifestyle. Enjoy personalized assistance with tasks, errands, and reservations, freeing time for what truly matters. Join Perfect using "VNTR" code to get special discounts and access to VNTR experiences.
Companies who would like to sponsor VNTR events can apply as a sponsor. View the top events sponsorship packages.
Or be a core supporter of the VNTR community year-round, engaging with our global investor network. Check Details & Packages.
Upcoming VC Events and Conferences
March 25-26 CEE VC Summit, Warsaw, Poland
March 27-28 eMerge Americas, Miami, USA (25% discount using SLS25Y25)
March 30 - April 5 South East Asia Blockchain week, Bangkok, Thailand
April 8-10 Paris Blockchain Week, France (15% discount using VNTR15)
April 9-11 South Summit Brazil, Porto Alegre, Brazil
April 14-16 GITEX Africa, Marrakech, Morocco (Complimentary investor passes)
April 23-25 Money 20/20 Asia, Bangkok, Thailand
April 23-25 GITEX Asia, Singapore (Complimentary investor passes)
April 27-30 Web Summit Rio, Brazil
April 29-30 Startup Grind Conference, Silicon Valley, USA (Complimentary Investor Passes for VNTR)
April 30 - May 1 Token2049, Dubai, UAE
May 8-16 Vienna UP, Austria
May 9-10 Blockchain Week Rome, Italy (Complimentary investor passes for Club members, 10% discount using VNTR10)
May 11-12 InsureTech Mena, Doha, Qatar
May 12-13 Dubai FinTech Summit, Dubai, UAE
May 14-16 Consensus, Toronto, Canada
May 20-22 Qatar Economic Forum, Doha, Qatar
May 21-23 GITEX Europe, Berlin, Germany (Complimentary investor passes)
May 27-29 Bitcoin 2025, Las Vegas, US
May 27-30 Web Summit Vancouver, Canada
May 28-29 WOW Summit, Hong Kong
June 2-8 New York Tech Week, USA
June 4-6 South Summit Madrid 2025, Spain
June 11-14 Viva Technology, Paris, France
June 19-21 BTC Prague, Czech Republic
June 26-27 LegalTech Talk, London, UK (Complimentary investor passes)
June 26-27 Istanbul Blockchain Week
If you would like to submit VC-related events, please get in touch with Yuri or Telegram @byuric
VC Reads and News
View curated VC news and articles on the VNTR Platform
With Google’s $32B Bid For Wiz, Big Exits Are Finally Picking Up
Slow times for startup exits are looking like a thing of the past. The past two weeks have brought a flurry of big-ticket M&A deals and IPO filings. The action culminated today with Google’s announcement of a planned $32 billion acquisition of cloud security unicorn Wiz. If consummated, Google’s purchase would represent the largest acquisition of a private, venture-backed U.S. company ever, and by a long shot. The next-closest deal, per Crunchbase data, was Meta’s 2014 acquisition of WhatsApp for $19 billion.
The Week’s Biggest Funding Rounds: Nerdio Tops Slow Week Of Raises
Big raises slowed for the second week in a row. Only a handful of rounds hit nine digits this week, although a large half-billion-dollar round led the way.
Network effects: Well-connected VCs see lower failure rates, better returns
The saying that “VC is a relationship game” now has data to prove it. Companies with well-connected lead investors have failure rates at least 10 percentage points lower than those of peers backed by peripheral investors, according to PitchBook’s latest Quantitative Perspectives report. PitchBook categorized “well-connected” VCs as those in the 90th percentile or above based on its proprietary version of the PageRank algorithm, which here measures investor influence based on their connections in the ecosystem.
Has VC killed more value than it’s created?
The next time a fast-rising startup spectacularly implodes, look past the founder to discover the real villain: the VC who encouraged unfettered growth in the first place. Investors get a serious kicking in World Eaters: How Venture Capital is Cannibalizing the Economy, a new book by American activist Catherine Bracy, who argues that a desperation for scaling at “breakneck speed” has stirred bad behaviour and prevented good businesses from thriving.
VC investment in European startups passed $52B in 2024, continuing long-term growth trend
Venture capital investment in European startups passed $52 billion last year, reflecting the market’s long-term growth trajectory and gradual stabilization after the out-sized peaks of 2021-2022 (driven largely by the COVID-19 pandemic), and the comparative slump of 2023, according to a new report.
CVC’s first full-year results reveal big private wealth ambition
In its first full-year results since going public, CVC Capital Partners doubled down on plans to drastically expand its offering for high-net-worth individuals, hoping to expand its private wealth team to 60 by the end of the year. According to the full-year results for 2024 released Thursday, the Amsterdam-listed firm raised €1.5 billion (around $1.6 billion) from private wealth clients last year. It also lauched CVC-CRED—its first evergreen fund—to invest in European private credit, which was followed by the launch of its evergreen PE fund CVC-PE in January.
These Are The Fintech IPOs That Could Follow Klarna’s Debut
With Klarna now on tap for a public offering, the question arises: Who could be next? Turns out there’s a pretty fat pipeline of venture-backed fintech startups that meet the basic criteria for an IPO. The list of likeliest suspects, however, includes many familiar names that have so far resisted the call of the public markets. To illustrate, we used Crunchbase’s new forecasting tools to curate a list of a dozen venture-backed financial services startups that have generated buzz as potential IPO candidates.
A recovery for India’s VC market?
VC deal value in India bounced back last year from its near-five-year low in 2023, but the number of rounds also tapered off toward the end of the year. According to PitchBook’s Q4 2024 India Market Snapshot, $15.6 billion was invested across 1,570 VC rounds in 2024. This represents a year-over-year increase of 23.8% for deal value, while the count was down 1.6% from 2023.
Trump’s crypto czar meets UAE’s national security adviser on crypto, AI
White House crypto and AI czar David Sacks was among a number of Trump administration officials who recently met with United Arab Emirates officials to discuss emerging technologies and UAE’s potential plans to increase its investment in the United States. Sheikh Tahnoon Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the Gulf nation’s national security adviser and brother of the country’s president, said in a March 20 X post that he had spoken with Sacks about AI’s impact, “the expanding role of digital currencies” along with “the investment opportunities emerging at their convergence.”
Who Owns Your Face? The Legal Fight for Identity In The Age of AI
In an era where artificial intelligence can generate hyper-realistic deepfakes, companies monetize biometric data, and athletes fight for their rights under name, image and likeness, or NIL, contracts, a fundamental question emerges: Do we truly own our own faces? We all see our personal identity as sacrosanct, but the pace at which technology is evolving and the legal system desperately trying to catch up challenges our assumption.
Dubai Starts Real Estate Tokenization Pilot, Forecasts $16B Market by 2033
The Dubai Land Department (DLD), a government agency for the real estate industry, said it started a real estate tokenization pilot program, claiming to be the first property registration authority in the Middle East to use blockchain technology for property title deeds.
Eye On AI: Dealmaking Takes Off
For the past few years, venture capitalists have bemoaned a lack of liquidity in the industry as the IPO pipeline froze and M&A dealmaking slowed. Well, the IPO pipeline is still fairly chilled, but if the past few weeks are any indication, dealmaking when it comes to AI-related startups may be about to take off. So far this first quarter, 65 venture-backed AI-related startups have been acquired, per Crunchbase data. That’s already more than Q4 and Q1 of last year. It’s possible it’ll hit the 76 deals that 2024’s Q2 and Q3 saw on average.
Please, Please, Please, Let Me Get What I Want: How Agentic AI Closes The Gap Between IRL And E-Commerce Shopping
When you think of personalization, what springs to mind? If you’re a boomer or member of Gen X, maybe it’s Netflix’s recommendation feed. Millennials may think of Spotify’s Daylist. For Gen Z or Gen Alpha, TikTok is likely the answer. The personalization of our digital world impacts us. It’s a reflection of internal and external identities (MySpace) while revealing what we really want or like (FB/IG ads, TikTok feeds). While the past decade has seen increasing levels of daily personal digital experiences, today’s advancements in AI have us on the precipice of entering a new era of personalization — far more targeted, tailored and timely.
India’s Private Equity And Venture Capital Markets: A Key Pillar For Long-term Investors
India's private equity (PE) and venture capital (VC) markets have undergone a significant transformation over the past decade. With the country’s startup ecosystem now the third-largest in the world, the private markets have proven themselves as not only robust but also essential to the investment strategy of long-term investors. A joint report by CRISIL and Oister Global, No Ifs About AIFs 2.0, sheds light on the evolving maturity of India’s private markets, highlighting the impressive returns these markets have consistently generated—far outperforming public markets.
The diversity blindspot in Project Europe's VC movement
Last week saw the launch of Project Europe, a new scheme led by podcaster-turned-VC Harry Stebbings and backed by more than 150 European tech founders to fund the next generation of young entrepreneurs. It has big ambitions, but soon after it was announced, the conversation exploded across LinkedIn and within the Unlock VC WhatsApp community, and a few big questions emerged.
7 Deadly Pitch Deck Sins, According To A VC
VC firms receive thousands of pitch decks a year and a typical investor will spend no more than two to three minutes assessing each one, according to data from DocSend. Ultimately, only 5%-10% of decks turn into meetings while the rest fade into a rejection pile.
SoftBank Vision Fund Bounces Back Into Action
Last week, the SoftBank Vision Fund 2 co-led a massive $120 million round for drama-laden cybersecurity startup Cybereason. The deal was just the latest round for SoftBank’s famed Vision Fund unit — which during the dizzying heights of the venture boom around 2021 would regularly invest in 50-plus deals a quarter but in late 2023 went deadly silent.
Trade war puts Bitcoin’s status as safe-haven asset in doubt
Several years back, many in the crypto community described Bitcoin as a “safe-haven” asset. Fewer are calling it that today. A safe-haven asset maintains or increases in value in times of economic stress. It can be a government bond, a currency like the US dollar, a commodity like gold, or even a blue-chip stock.
Inside ‘eccentric’ Ripple founder’s multibillion-dollar space station plan
The serial entrepreneur who founded the Mt. Gox crypto exchange and co-founded Ripple has shared new details about his ambitious space station company Vast, which he hopes will help expand the human race into a multi-planetary species. In a March 20 interview with Bloomberg, Jed McCaleb confirmed that Vast is on track to launch Haven-1 — a commercial space station still under construction — into orbit by May 2026.