Brooke Pollack, CFA

💡Emerging GP Fundraising Insight #8: Rolling Closes Keep You Moving Small funds can't always afford to sit still until the target is hit. Rolling closes let you start deploying earlier, build a track record, and show momentum to prospective LPs. One GP told me that for Fund I ($5M target), he took capital as it came, signed, wired, and got to work. It wasn't perfect, but it kept the lights on and the deals moving. Sometimes the "sign and wire as it comes" approach is the only way to get moving. Takeaway: Momentum is a fundraising asset and rolling closes can help you keep it. Has anyone here used rolling closes as a strategic advantage?

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I’ve spoken to over 2 dozen MDs at PE firms I can confidently say that the arb of figuring out how to implement Vertical AI at portfolio companies is very real right now It will fundamentally change underwriting for those who can do it predictably and unlock generational returns. Most are aware they need to act. Very few have.

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Revel, a Los Angeles, CA-based provider of a software platform for hardware test and control, raised $150M in Series B funding. The round was led by Index Ventures, with major participation from Redpoint Ventures, Capital, Felicis, Abstract Ventures, Dylan Field. The company intends to use the funds to support team expansion, continued product development, and broader market deployment. Founded by CEO Scott Morton, Revel is a provider of a unified software platform for hardware test and control enabling teams across aerospace, defense, robotics, and advanced energy to develop, deploy, and monitor complex physical systems.

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EEM vs URTH - The Decoupling Nobody Saw Coming For years, the playbook was simple. Own developed markets. Own US tech. Let compounding do the work. URTH delivered +54% over 5 years. EEM delivered +6.5%. The case for emerging markets looked dead. Then September 2025 happened. What changed? A weakening dollar. A China re-rating. TSMC and SK Hynix riding the AI chip supercycle. Institutional capital rotating out of expensive US valuations into underpriced EM assets. EEM didn't just recover - it decoupled. Since that inflection: • 3 Month → EEM +7.22% | URTH -1.88% • 6 Month → EEM +8.80% | URTH +0.53% • 1 Year → EEM +27.42% | URTH +16.31% • 2 Year → EEM +40.26% | URTH +25.15% What are these indexes? URTH tracks the MSCI World Index - 23 developed markets, 1,319 stocks. 70% is the United States, with Japan, UK, Canada and France making up most of the rest. Think Apple, Microsoft, NVIDIA, LVMH, Toyota. EEM tracks the MSCI Emerging Markets Index - 24 emerging economies, 1,195 stocks. Dominated by Taiwan (22.5%), China (23.8%), South Korea (18%), and India (12.8%). Think TSMC, Samsung, Tencent, Alibaba, HDFC Bank. Two very different worlds. Two very different risk profiles. The question that matters now: Is this the start of a multi-year EM supercycle? Or is it a rotation trade that reverses the moment US growth re-accelerates? The 5-year chart says URTH wins the long game. The 2-year chart says EEM is writing a new one. Which side are you on? Sovit Manjani, CMT, CFTe #EmergingMarkets #GlobalInvesting #Decoupling #CapitalFlows Disclaimer: This analysis reflects my technical view of the market based on chart analysis and is shared purely for educational purposes. It should not be construed as investment or trading advice.

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Hot take: lot's of #LP's are growing underwhelmed with traditional venture investing. 💰 Fees are high given the level of engagement with the company operators. ❓ Access is opaque - LP's are unclear on the portco operations and outcomes. Outcomes are scattered - power law investing can certainly work, but many feel that venture capital investing is just a numbers game. There's another way. I'm biased, but I think it's better: #VentureStudios as an asset class. They blend: 🤜 🤛 Control and ownership 💡 Thematic focus 👬 Partnership with operators Studios offer a fund-like structure — but with more alignment, higher value conversion and less noise. If you're interested in understanding more about the studio model, we have resources to share. Please reach out and let's connect!

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This is great news for early venture investors: Angels, GPs, LPs alike. Shorter time to exit with partial QSBS benefits is an all-around win for the industry in a time where exits through IPOs are rare and M&As are heating up. 🔥🔥

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ASVLP 2026 | EMERGING FUND MANAGERS ROUNDTABLE Navigating the 2026 VC Cycle: Opportunities, Constraints & Competitive Edge for Emerging Fund Managers Raising and deploying capital as an emerging fund manager in 2026 is no longer about momentum. It’s about positioning, credibility, and structural advantage. LP expectations have tightened. Capital formation is slower and more selective. And differentiation is no longer declared — it’s demonstrated. At ASVLP — Africa Startup & VC Landscape Preview, this high‑signal roundtable brings together experienced investors, capital allocators, and ecosystem leaders to unpack what it truly takes to compete — and survive — as a new fund manager in the current cycle. This is not a discussion about starting funds. It is a candid examination of how capital is actually being allocated, where emerging managers face real constraints, and what separates those who scale institutional credibility from those who stall. Speakers Emmie van Halder — @/MPower Netherlands Varun Turlapati — Chaanakya Capital Abiola Adediran, MBA, FCA, FIMC, CMC, M.CIoD — GENEA FAMILY OFFICE Emmanuel Adegboye — Madica Mope Abudu — AfriGloCal VC Zachariah George — Launch Africa Ventures Amb. Dr. Dunston P. — Private Office of H.H. Sheikh Ahmed Bin Faisal Al‑Qassimi Moderator Maha M. — COREangels MEA The conversation will explore: • What LPs are truly underwriting in emerging managers today • Where structural constraints — not talent — limit fund performance • How new managers can build defensible edge in portfolio construction, signalling, and partnerships • What must change for emerging funds to graduate into durable institutions Who should attend Emerging fund managers, LPs, DFIs, and ecosystem builders focused on shaping Africa & MENA’s next generation of venture capital — with discipline, not hype. ASVLP 2026 Participation is FREE but strictly by invitation. To join: Repost and comment #ASVLP2026 — your registration link will be sent via DM. This Session is Powered by COREangels MEA

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Oregon Needs to Bet Big on AI Infrastructure Washington and California have cultivated robust startup ecosystems that continue to drive innovation and prosperity. Oregon, despite its wealth and potential, risks falling behind—not for lack of talent, but for lack of vision. We don’t have the entrepreneurial momentum that powers our neighbors. And without a focused strategy, we may end up like other once-prosperous states that failed to adapt. The opportunity? AI infrastructure. Data centers, energy policy, compute clusters, and the public-private scaffolding to support them. If Oregon is serious about staying relevant in the next economic era, we need to invest—deliberately and aggressively—where the future is being built. Please message me if you agree and want to align to help Oregon. #AI #Infrastructure #Oregon #Innovation #EconomicDevelopment #Startups AI Infrastructure Partners Jason Frank

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More than 3 years into investing in this category, I'm probably not alone in having become desensitized to the black-box nature of deep neural nets behind an AI model. As daily users, we work with the implicit understanding that not everything generated by AI is going to be correct. Which is why it was so magical to see the work Goodfire has done to untangle that complex web. From our initial conversation with Eric Ho and Tom McGrath last summer to now, the speed of Goodfire's research innovation was truly remarkable to see. This is, hands down, the strongest independent team I’ve seen working on AI interpretability, and one of the few making it feel tractable rather than academic. We’re incredibly excited (and sleeping better at night) to support them as they work to make modern AI systems more reliable, legible, and trustworthy. Read more about our Salesforce Ventures investment thesis here: https://lnkd.in/eSsUEhxe

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