Ayinde O. Alakoye

I love this graphic from Beth Kanter for so many reasons: It's a concise overview that helps frame how individuals and organizations can approach #AI. It's a clear and reproducible guide to using AI in the ideation, development and revision of an #infographic. But most of all, what I love is the example of using #AI to combine your talents in new ways. Beth has been a brilliant tech strategist and communicator for as long as I've known her (twenty years!) And she has also always inspired me with her love of hands-on creativity: this is a woman who can wax rhapsodic about pens and markers. AI has opened the door to combining those strategic, communication, and visual talents in a new way. So ask yourself: What are the threads of your own work and creativity, that AI could help you combine in a new way?

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There’s a lot of conversation about how AI is concentrating capital. That’s real. But I’m also seeing how it’s expanding what small teams can build. At ThriveLink, AI has allowed us to move faster, reach more patients, and build technology that helps families navigate systems that were never designed to be easy. We’ve been able to do with a small amount of capital what used to require entire teams and millions in funding. The tools are changing. The mission isn’t. Thankful to the Los Angeles Business Journal and Plug In Ventures for highlighting the changing venture landscape and what founders like myself are navigating right now.

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Discipline might be the most underrated factor in music rights investing. In the first Music Moneyball episode of the year, Golnar Khosrowshahi explains how Reservoir Media Management, Inc. has stayed true to its investment thesis by keeping things simple and music-first. We talk through the deals and moments that solidified that approach, and how realistic assumptions and execution have compounded value over time. Link to the full episode in the comments. Guest: Golnar Khosrowshahi Co-hosts: Emma Griffiths, Sam Morey Music Moneyball by Standard Innovation

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Pangram CEO and co-founder, Max Spero sat down with School For Startups Radio to talk about the successful fundraising round of Pangram Labs and their disruptive technology to detect AI writing. Learn a bit of the Pangram back story including how Max and co-founder Bradley Emi (both Stanford grads) hatched Pangram. Now it is regarded as the most accurate AI detector on the market. Roughly paraphrased, Max says that Pangram is so accurate because it has learned the "specific nuances" that make it possible to recognize different AI models. #AI #AIdetection #education https://lnkd.in/g95pmjEg

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🔓 New Tool for Transparency Advocates in California 📂🔍 I’m excited to share FOIAFastLane California — a custom GPT I created to help you draft, refine, and appeal California Public Records Act (CPRA) requests with ease and legal accuracy. Whether you're: ✔️ A journalist chasing accountability ✔️ A lawyer or activist demanding public records ✔️ A citizen curious about local government ✔️ Or a business seeking competitor intelligence -- this GPT guides you step-by-step through crafting effective, statute-based CPRA requests. 🧠 Built on the full CA Government Code §§ 7920.000–7931.000 & caselaw 🛠️ Drafts requests, explains exemptions, and helps push back on denials 📤 Accessible to anyone with a browser and a question 🔗 Try it here → https://lnkd.in/gY_w6RK6 Pro tip: After generating your first CPRA request, ask ChatGPT to expand upon it with relevant statutes and caselaw, and then ask it to "pressure-test" the request for anything that might be missing. If you want expert guidance on CPRA requests, or FOIA in general, visit www.foiafastlane.com

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"Meta’s acquisition [of NFDG] approach suggests new models for how large corporations can access venture capital insights and talent," according to Jason's correct assessment https://lnkd.in/edWxc-md "NFDG’s journey from launch to 4x returns to acquisition by Meta [in two years] represents one of the most remarkable venture capital stories of the AI era. The fund’s success validates the importance of domain expertise, operational involvement, and strategic timing in venture investing.... "The fund’s transition to Meta marks the end of one chapter but potentially the beginning of another, as [Nat] Friedman and [Dan] Gross bring their investment insights and portfolio relationships to one of the world’s largest technology companies.... "The NFDG story thus becomes more than just a venture capital success story—it’s a signal about where the smartest money and talent believe the real action will be in the coming decade. When the potential for direct impact in AI development outweighs even extraordinary financial returns, we may be witnessing a fundamental shift in how Silicon Valley’s top performers allocate their careers."

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We're back with another Startup Radar post highlighting up-and-coming early stage Seattle-area tech companies. Vercept, led by Kiana Ehsani, is building a new computer interface with help from AI and just released more details about its product. CHASSY, led by Chuka Okoye, just raised $1.2 million to help companies operate software for robotic fleets. Haply, Inc., led by Prasad Anguluri, helps Homeowners Associations manage resident requests, policies, and maintenance. Context Nature, PBC, led by Ephi Banaynal dela Cruz, helps finance and tax professionals identify clean energy tax credits. Axtrolite, led by Atul Alatkar, is a stealthy startup in the real estate property management sector. Read more about the startups and founders: https://lnkd.in/gEf4agqj

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Two articles I've been thinking about together this week: Amir Kabir at Overlook VC on "the defining tension of 2026: extraordinary concentration at the infrastructure layer, extraordinary democratization at the application layer" Take a read: https://lnkd.in/gyaFg-nB And Isaac Arnold's framework for what actually makes an application layer company durable: workflow entanglement, domain specific knowledge, and data that compounds from usage rather than just intelligence. Take a read for yourself: https://lnkd.in/gSDXA-vH Amir identifies where the opportunity is, Isaac identifies why most companies building there won't capture it durably and what separates the ones that will.

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Founders may be going direct, but discovery no longer begins (or ends) with Google. Today, people ask ChatGPT, Gemini, or Grok “what games they should play or what tokens they should invest in?”. That’s not just true for crypto. It matters for gaming, AI, consumer apps - any industry where visibility drives influence and markets. Crypto just gives us the clearest proof point, because we can directly tie discovery back to token price movements. The best part? You can reverse engineer LLM pickup through smart PR. By mapping the queries you want to win, identifying the sources models cite most, and building the right mix of earned coverage + thought leadership, you can shape how AI presents your brand. We’ve done this ourselves, within a month, High Vibe PR ranks #1 in ChatGPT and Gemini for “Web3 gaming PR agency”, and we’re on track to do the same for “gaming PR agency.” Read the full article👇🏻 https://lnkd.in/dZtf7JSC

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Most of VC money is based and invested on companies and entrepreneurs in the two coasts--what about all the opportunities to invest in founders in areas beyond that 2%? Stephanie M. Fowler, President, Capital Access at the Institute for Entrepreneurial Leadership (IFEL) is working toward bridging that gap. https://lnkd.in/gXgtDxjs

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