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You already have a take on which AI lab ships next.
Claude or Gemini? OpenAI or Anthropic? GPT-7 before year-end or not? If you read tech newsletters, you've already formed opinions on all of it.
Kalshi has real-money markets on which AI model leads benchmarks this week, which lab ships AGI first, when Anthropic releases Mythos, whether OpenAI raises ChatGPT pricing, and which company has the best coding model at year-end. These aren't abstract questions — they're live markets with real money on both sides, moving as labs ship, benchmarks drop, and announcements land.
The edge belongs to whoever actually follows this space. Not the casual observer — the person who reads model cards, tracks evals, and notices when a new release outperforms the field before the mainstream press catches up.
That person has a genuine edge. If that's you, Kalshi lets you act on it.
Intro
Hola Familia! 👋 This week- Anthropic is everywhere (California government deals, export restrictions, and a $3B Menlo Ventures bet), OpenAI is slashing inference costs, and the Q2 exit market just hit its best mark since 2021.
For almost 5 years, we've been the economic infrastructure for meaningful change in the Latine venture scene. You're joining 8,000+ subscribers and 27,000+ followers who get the latest on community, capital, and career opportunities bi-weekly. Stay connected on WhatsApp here | LinkedIn. Donate Here
AI & Tech News
Q2 Produces Most $1B+ Exits Since 2021 — Crunchbase reports Q2 was the strongest quarter for venture-backed exits since 2021, led by SpaceX's $2.1T market debut, its $60B acquisition of Cursor, and major IPOs from Cerebras and others. For LPs and early-stage investors, this is the liquidity signal the ecosystem has been waiting for. Read more →
Menlo Ventures Raises $3B Fund, Doubles Down on AI — Menlo Ventures closed the largest fund in its 50-year history, fueled largely by its Anthropic bet — a $750M Series D investment that has since ballooned in value. This signals continued LP conviction in AI-focused VC, even as fund sizes compress elsewhere. Read more →
Chamath Steps In as CEO of 8090 Labs After $135M Series A — Palihapitiya took the CEO chair at 8090 Labs, an AI coding startup for enterprise teams, after it raised a $135M Series A led by Salesforce Ventures. A high-profile operator-investor hybrid move that's worth watching for enterprise AI founders. Read more →
Heavy AI Adopters Are Cutting Headcount — Here's the Data — A study by Ramp and Revelio Labs across ~22,000 companies found that firms spending ~$30/employee/month on AI tools are meaningfully reducing headcount. For founders and operators building AI-native teams, this is the most concrete workforce data point to emerge this cycle. Read more →
Seattle’s First Pitch Competition & Community Events 🎉
Congratulations to Q-Immune and founder Cameron M. for taking home the win (and the pizza). You're building something with real potential to make the world better, and we're excited to watch your growth and impact.
Seattle Pitch Competition: A Huge Success
A huge thank you to the incredible Seattle startup community for showing up and supporting our first Seattle Pitch Competition! The energy in the room was a powerful reminder of what makes this ecosystem so special.
A special shout-out to the founders who took the stage and shared their vision. You're building the future, and we're honored to help amplify your stories:
Kavya Rastogi — Insight Agent
Nigel Sharp & Brahm Lower — Restrukt AI
Thank you to our outstanding judges for sharing their time, expertise, and thoughtful feedback: Jimmie Lee, Ron Wiener, Chaitra Vedullapalli, Alvaro Jimenez Jimenez, and Nate Bek.
Sponsored by Silicon Valley Bank, Hal9, Microsoft, Carta, and Perkins Coie
Hosted by LaFamilia Foundation, Alpha Impact 8 Ventures, and Awana | Technical Recruiting
LaFamilia Chicago Raices & Rights: A Legacy Night
Raíces & Rights: A Community Wills Night
Last week, we hosted Raíces & Rights, a community wills night together with Kinnect. During the event, our Familia had the opportunity to write to a loved one they felt was the reason for learning more about wills — whether a family member, a loved one, or even themselves.
It was an intimate evening, with the community coming together to talk about something difficult but real.
A special thanks to our sponsors Flex, HERE Technologies, and FastWill for helping bring the night together.
We'll see you during Chicago Tech Week — more to come! 🏙️
World Cup in SF ⚽️
Mexico has gone UNDEFEATED and hasn’t conceded any goals in the World Cup. We are making sure to watch in Familia. Shoutout to Tiq, Joselyn and Francisca for bringing us together in SF and watching Latinos takeover the World Cup. Y si si? 👀
Open Positions in VC and Startups 💼
Partner (Controller) at Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) (Menlo Park, CA ($347–405K)) — Apply →
Partner (GTM Executive Talent) at Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) (Menlo Park, CA ($239–278K)) — Apply →
Senior Manager, Ventures at NVIDIA (NVentures) (Santa Clara, CA ($196–379K)) — Apply →
Manager, Ventures at AMD Ventures (Santa Clara, CA ($155–233K)) — Apply →
Associate at Woven by Toyota (Toyota's growth-stage venture arm) (Palo Alto, CA ($130–150K)) — Apply →
Associate at General Atlantic (NYC ($150–160K)) — Apply →
Associate at Upfront Ventures (Los Angeles, CA) — Apply →
Principal at Alumni Ventures (NYC ($175K)) — Apply →
Investor at WEX Venture Capital (Location TBD ($155–190K)) — Apply →
Assistant Vice President at Aflac Global Ventures (Atlanta, GA ($125–175K)) — Apply →
Operator-In-Residence (OIR): Agents at Primary Ventures (SF/NYC ($150–200K)) — Apply →
Product Engineer, New Products at Y Combinator (San Francisco ($185–485K)) — Apply →
Venture Capital Operations Sr. Lead at Salesforce (Remote/SF/Chicago/Indianapolis ($147–184K)) — Apply →
VP, Platform Solutions & AI at Rise Growth Partners (Remote (8+ yrs exp)) — Apply →
Director at Voy Ventures (San Francisco) — Apply →
#Siembra con LaFamilia 🌱
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Open Positions in VC and Startups 💼
Partner (Controller) at Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) (Menlo Park, CA ($347–405K)) — Apply →
Partner (GTM Executive Talent) at Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) (Menlo Park, CA ($239–278K)) — Apply →
Senior Manager, Ventures at NVIDIA (NVentures) (Santa Clara, CA ($196–379K)) — Apply →
Manager, Ventures at AMD Ventures (Santa Clara, CA ($155–233K)) — Apply →
Associate at Woven by Toyota (Toyota's growth-stage venture arm) (Palo Alto, CA ($130–150K)) — Apply →
Associate at General Atlantic (NYC ($150–160K)) — Apply →
Associate at Upfront Ventures (Los Angeles, CA) — Apply →
Principal at Alumni Ventures (NYC ($175K)) — Apply →
Investor at WEX Venture Capital (Location TBD ($155–190K)) — Apply →
Assistant Vice President at Aflac Global Ventures (Atlanta, GA ($125–175K)) — Apply →
Operator-In-Residence (OIR): Agents at Primary Ventures (SF/NYC ($150–200K)) — Apply →
Product Engineer, New Products at Y Combinator (San Francisco ($185–485K)) — Apply →
Venture Capital Operations Sr. Lead at Salesforce (Remote/SF/Chicago/Indianapolis ($147–184K)) — Apply →
VP, Platform Solutions & AI at Rise Growth Partners (Remote (8+ yrs exp)) — Apply →
Director at Voy Ventures (San Francisco) — Apply →
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