The hottest Startups Substack posts right now

And their main takeaways
Category
Top Business Topics

SVB

Market Sentiment • 1552 implied HN points • 12 Mar 23
💼 Business Startups
  1. Understanding the different sides of risk is crucial - the likelihood of getting hit, the average impact, and the extreme consequences.
  2. Banks operate by lending out deposits at higher rates to make profits, but this system poses the risk of bank runs.
  3. SVB's rapid collapse was triggered by increased stress, a market sell-off, and a loss of customer confidence due to poor communication.

Pssst! Medium Will Soon Have 1 Million Paying Members and More Insights You Need to Know

Kristina God's Online Writing Club • 819 implied HN points • 25 Jan 24
💼 Business Startups
  1. Medium is gaining popularity with over 100 million readers and is about to hit 1 million paying members. This shows it has a strong audience for writers.
  2. The main age group using Medium is 25 to 34 years old, with more male users than female users. Understanding the audience can help writers connect better.
  3. Technology is the most popular topic on Medium, with lots of articles written about it. Writers should consider focusing on trending subjects to engage with readers.

Can China’s AI IPOs give OpenAI and Anthropic courage?

Alex's Personal Blog • 98 implied HN points • 05 Jan 26
💼 Business Startups
  1. A new image-editing feature in a popular AI model let users alter others' photos and led to sexualized deepfakes, sparking global backlash and showing that weak safeguards can cause big regulatory and reputational damage.
  2. The U.S.'s aggressive action against Venezuela's leader signals rising geopolitical tension that could push technology markets and supply chains to split into competing blocs over time.
  3. Strong investor interest in Chinese AI IPOs like Z.ai and MiniMax could encourage American AI labs to try public listings too, since U.S. labs generally have more revenue and need fresh capital.

Paul Graham: Are You Building Fake Product-Market Fit ? | VC Remote Jobs & More

Venture Curator • 939 implied HN points • 02 Jan 24
💼 Business Startups
  1. Product-market fit goes beyond building a product people like; it involves understanding the numbers behind it.
  2. Founders can fall into the trap of 'Fake Product-Market Fit' by focusing on the wrong signs like securing funding or excessive spending.
  3. To achieve genuine product-market fit, founders need to monitor metrics, control spending, and ensure a strong connection between the product and the market.

Manufacturing Epistemic Density

Abstraction • 24 implied HN points • 16 Feb 26
🕹 Technology Startups
  1. Being near people who already understand and topic (high epistemic density) makes short, frequent conversations possible, and those conversations turn into real progress and friendships.
  2. Removing coordination friction with simple tools (like an easy coffee scheduler) makes casual local meetings happen more often, and that consistency helps relationships form.
  3. AI has compressed the time to build small apps, so problems that once felt too small now merit quick, imperfect projects you can ship in hours or days.
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Masterclass on Investing in SpaceTech Startups

Space Ambition • 219 implied HN points • 05 Jun 24
💼 Business Startups
  1. There is an online masterclass focusing on how to invest in Space Tech startups. It's a great opportunity to learn from experts in the field.
  2. The masterclass will feature an analysis of Bessemer Venture Partners' investment in Rocket Lab, which is a key example in SpaceTech investing.
  3. The sessions are free and available at two different times on June 15, making it easy for people to join.

Anthropic just dropped a nuke, and it’s called 30,000 FDEs

Enterprise AI Trends • 147 implied HN points • 09 Dec 25
💼 Business Startups
  1. Partnering a major platform with a big consulting firm effectively plants thousands of trained FDEs inside customers, letting the platform scale adoption by absorbing the customer education and services burden.
  2. Enterprise AI is capital- and labor-intensive—revenue often scales with FDEs, PMs, and service staff—so giant funding rounds are used to buy market share when product differences are small.
  3. Those king-making mega-rounds concentrate capital and raise barriers to entry, but they aren’t a sure win—if growth falters, employees and later investors can lose out and the strategy can fail.

The Crucial Role of Timing in Startup Success ⌛

The VC Corner • 279 implied HN points • 17 May 24
💼 Business Startups
  1. Timing is really important for startup success. Investors often say it's a key reason startups succeed or fail.
  2. You should connect timing drivers to your business model. If your timing advantage doesn't improve your model, it might lead to wasting resources.
  3. Market size can change with timing. It's not just about current numbers, but understanding the shifts that can open new market opportunities.

Amazon spends $2.75 billion on AI startup Anthropic💸, The Founders Guide to Optimizing Your Fundraise📘, The Pulse of SaaS☁️ & more!

The VC Corner • 459 implied HN points • 31 Mar 24
💼 Business Startups
  1. Amazon spent $2.75 billion to buy an AI startup called Anthropic. This shows how serious they are about investing in artificial intelligence.
  2. There is a guide available for founders on how to optimize their fundraising efforts. It can help entrepreneurs improve their chances of getting financial support.
  3. The newsletter covers trends and insights in the Software as a Service (SaaS) industry. It keeps readers updated on important developments in tech businesses.

Make Europe Great Again

Alex's Personal Blog • 65 implied HN points • 19 Jan 26
💼 Business Startups
  1. OpenAI is betting that scaling compute drives revenue and is now pushing practical adoption, including monetizing free tiers with ads.
  2. Software valuations have bifurcated: AI-first startups with extreme growth get huge private valuations, while many post-IPO SaaS firms face single-digit public multiples, so new companies must show outlier growth to attract funding.
  3. Recent U.S.–Europe tensions could boost demand for European cloud, AI, defense, and energy tech, helping Europe retain talent and spur a regional tech resurgence.

EU and US to work together on AI guidelines🤖, YC's Secret SAFE📜, Climate Risk Landscape🌍

The VC Corner • 419 implied HN points • 07 Apr 24
🕹 Technology Startups
  1. The EU and US are collaborating to create guidelines for artificial intelligence, helping to ensure safe and fair use of technology. Working together can lead to better standards and regulations for AI.
  2. YC's Secret SAFE is a financial tool that helps founders raise money more easily and efficiently. This simple agreement can speed up fundraising and make it more accessible for startups.
  3. The climate risk landscape is becoming increasingly important as companies assess their impact on the environment. Understanding these risks can help businesses make better decisions for the future.

Introducing the AI Frontier

The AI Frontier • 59 implied HN points • 08 Aug 24
🕹 Technology Startups
  1. The blog is now focusing more on specific AI topics instead of a wide range of subjects. This will help them share deeper insights and experiences.
  2. They aim to discuss what they've learned from building their AI product and how technology changes impact AI startups.
  3. Going forward, the blog will highlight useful projects and focus on practical lessons, like data cleaning, rather than generic news about AI.

a16z Raises$7.2bn💵, Optimal VC Portfolio Construction🧮, AI Index🤖

The VC Corner • 359 implied HN points • 21 Apr 24
💼 Business Startups
  1. a16z raised $7.2 billion, showing strong interest in venture capital. This means more funding for startups and innovation.
  2. There's a focus on optimal portfolio construction for venture capitalists. This helps investors choose the best mix of companies to support.
  3. An AI Index is being discussed, which could track the progress and impact of artificial intelligence technologies. This will help keep everyone informed about AI trends.

✨ DeepSeek, China's new AI challenge

Faster, Please! • 1827 implied HN points • 25 Jan 25
🕹 Technology Startups
  1. DeepSeek is a new Chinese AI startup that has created an AI system competing with giants like OpenAI and Google using fewer resources. They used only 2,000 Nvidia chips and spent about $6 million on computing.
  2. The efficiency of DeepSeek's technology raises questions about the American innovation system and its current position in the global AI race. There's a concern that American companies need to adapt and speed up their advancements.
  3. If China leads in AI development, it could shift global power dynamics, similar to the reaction during the Space Race. This underscores the importance of not underestimating the growing competition in AI.

Efficient Computer's Electron E1 CPU

More Than Moore • 653 implied HN points • 24 Jul 25
🕹 Technology Startups
  1. The Electron E1 CPU by Efficient Computer uses a unique design that aims to be much more energy-efficient than traditional chips. It does this by changing how data moves and is processed, reducing energy waste.
  2. This CPU has a special architecture called 'Fabric' that lets data flow directly between computing nodes. This design is supposed to save a lot of energy that typical CPUs lose moving data around.
  3. Efficient Computer believes their chip could be 10 to 100 times more efficient than the best ARM CPUs. However, until more independent tests are done, it's hard to say how well it’ll really perform in the real world.

How to get rich combining generic drugs: lessons from Axsome

Trevor Klee’s Newsletter • 820 implied HN points • 21 Jun 25
💼 Business Startups
  1. Combining generic drugs can create new treatments and opportunities for profit. It’s all about understanding how the drugs work together for better results.
  2. Developing a unique formulation is key. You need to offer something that can't be simply made with existing medications, like a special combination or dosage.
  3. Working closely with regulators and payers from the start is crucial. You need to show them why your combination is valuable and why they should support it.

China's AI IPOs have me all jealous

Alex's Personal Blog • 98 implied HN points • 31 Dec 25
💼 Business Startups
  1. Twitter/X plans to raise creator payouts to get more unique user data for its AI and says it can block most fraud, which will likely push more incentivized posting.
  2. Meta’s buy of Manus signals a real push into enterprise AI, aiming to sell hosted models and agentic tools to companies instead of just using AI to support ads.
  3. Chinese AI firms like MiniMax are going public early with rapid consumer-driven revenue growth but remain unprofitable due to heavy R&D and weak consumer margins; the big test is whether they can scale higher-margin enterprise revenue without giving away too much value through open models.

Announcing GreatGamesNetwork

Let's talk games & AI. • 6 implied HN points • 09 Mar 26
💼 Business Startups
  1. A new games company is focusing on evergreen casual puzzle games aimed at older women, betting these titles drive long-term engagement without a constant content treadmill.
  2. The business uses a syndication model: build one game library and publish the same games across many destinations (daily challenges, SEO-optimized sites, saga-style apps), so small revenue streams aggregate at low marginal cost.
  3. The flagship product is an ad-free daily puzzle subscription with a few games live now, and growth will rely on paid user acquisition, iterative product improvement, repeatable tooling, and public metrics to guide progress.

Innovation Job Market Papers 2025 (1/2)

New Things Under the Sun • 96 implied HN points • 24 Dec 25
🕹 Technology Startups
  1. How firms are organized and how markets are structured strongly shape what and where innovation happens: design choices, mergers, venture funding, ownership patterns, and hiring networks all change firms’ incentives and their ability to innovate.
  2. Policies and external forces steer innovation incentives and diffusion: trade exposure, intellectual property rules, PhD programs, regulation of acquisitions, and shocks like extreme heat shape both the quantity and direction of technological change.
  3. Knowledge dynamics—recombination, spillovers, and evaluation—drive growth but create frictions: combining existing ideas fuels much innovation, spillovers make private returns fall short of social returns, and testability or weak exit markets can limit which ideas and startups capture value.

Meet the Team Bringing AI Agents to Minecraft

A16Z GAMES • 439 implied HN points • 29 Mar 24
🕹 Technology Startups
  1. Altera is developing AI agents for Minecraft that can interact autonomously and learn from player interactions.
  2. The team at Altera, including MIT PhDs and ex-Google AI engineers, aims to create agents with episodic memory and the ability to set their own goals.
  3. Altera's long-term goal is to expand their AI agents to other games like Roblox and integrate their technology with game engine SDKs for wider developer use.

IPO: Z.ai intends to raise $560M at a valuation of $6.5 billion.

Alex's Personal Blog • 98 implied HN points • 30 Dec 25
💼 Business Startups
  1. Z.ai plans to raise $560 million at about a $6.5 billion valuation while still small and deeply loss-making. Its revenues grew quickly but R&D spending and cash burn are massive, and most IPO proceeds are earmarked for more R&D and expansion.
  2. China’s AI market looks set to be enterprise- and on-premise-led, with vendors selling tailored, locally hosted models to corporations. Regulators are also tightening rules on safety, data consent, and content even as Chinese labs release competitive open models and pursue public listings.
  3. Building cutting-edge AI requires enormous capital and infrastructure, so big investors and tech firms are pouring money in, which reduces funding risk but increases execution pressure to monetize and scale. That dynamic favors well-funded players while smaller labs race to grow.

Why BroBible's staff bought the website back from the media company that had acquired it

Simon Owens's Media Newsletter • 124 implied HN points • 08 Dec 25
💼 Business Startups
  1. BroBible's team bought the site back from a media company because they felt it was being neglected and they wanted to regain their creative freedom. They believed they could adapt better to the media landscape as an independent business.
  2. Since becoming independent, BroBible has grown in staff and diversified its revenue through programmatic advertising, events, and social media content. This has allowed them to reconnect with their audience and produce engaging content.
  3. The focus now is on fast and impactful cultural reporting, with plans for more on-the-ground coverage. BroBible aims to capture immediate moments and trends, keeping their brand relevant and connected to their readers.

Why No Japanese Sequencing Companies?

ASeq Newsletter • 36 implied HN points • 03 Feb 26
🕹 Technology Startups
  1. Japan has deep expertise and built many key components for sequencing — from contributions to the Human Genome Project to ISFET sensing and imaging sensors — yet it has produced almost no homegrown DNA or protein sequencing companies.
  2. Possible reasons include a lack of strong domestic genome centers and expert customers, structural problems with the startup ecosystem, and past institutional missteps that discouraged local product development.
  3. The shift toward clinical, sample-to-answer sequencing and the still-open field of protein sequencing are clear opportunities Japan could exploit with its research and manufacturing strengths, and funding startups would build domestic talent and capability even if many ventures fail.

#1 I started a new project

Nittarab’s Substack • 59 implied HN points • 06 Aug 24
💼 Business Startups
  1. The author is beginning a new project and wants to share the journey publicly. This approach helps them learn and receive feedback from others.
  2. They aim to create an all-in-one platform for freelancers to manage their online businesses easily, addressing gaps in existing solutions.
  3. The author emphasizes the importance of enjoying the project and views it as a way to bring new energy into their life without making radical changes.

How VCs and Startups can beat currency depreciation 🌍

The VC Corner • 259 implied HN points • 15 May 24
💼 Business Startups
  1. Emerging markets face big challenges because their currencies often lose value quickly. This makes it hard for investors to see good returns.
  2. Venture capital can be a smart way to invest in tech startups in these markets, targeting companies that can thrive despite currency issues.
  3. Look for signs of potential like high smartphone use and government support for tech growth, as these can help identify promising investment opportunities.

Delusions of grandeur

Kenny’s Sub • 239 implied HN points • 21 May 24
💼 Business Startups
  1. Having big ideas can be exciting, but it's important to ground them in reality. You might be really enthusiastic about your dreams, but they need to be achievable in the real world.
  2. It's easy to get caught up in the excitement and ignore warnings. Just because something feels good doesn't mean it will be successful.
  3. Learning from failure is okay. Taking risks and experiencing disappointment can teach you valuable lessons for the future.

Top Gear's Original Stig & Ex Formula One racer shares his tips for showing up like a champion – 'whatever it takes'

The Green Techpreneur • 28 implied HN points • 30 Jan 26
💼 Business Startups
  1. Be prepared to do whatever it takes — make big sacrifices, work relentlessly, and find ways over, under, or through the barriers in front of you.
  2. Get noticed and build reputation — actively promote your results, seek opportunities, and make small wins visible so others will support you.
  3. Stay resilient and adaptable — learn from setbacks, temper raw talent into consistent performance, and keep tweaking your approach instead of giving up.

Bill Gates's €1bn Climate fund🔋, Paths to Product-Market Fit🎯, State of AI investing📊

The VC Corner • 259 implied HN points • 12 May 24
💼 Business Startups
  1. Bill Gates has launched a €1 billion climate fund to invest in sustainable technologies. This means there is a lot of financial support aimed at fighting climate change.
  2. Finding a good product-market fit is crucial for startups. It helps ensure that a product meets the needs of consumers and can be successful in the market.
  3. AI investing is currently a hot topic among investors. There’s a growing interest in technology that leverages artificial intelligence for various applications.

Why I fell in love with Go

Tech Ramblings • 39 implied HN points • 18 Aug 24
🕹 Technology Startups
  1. Learning Scala was challenging, and it took a long time for new hires to get comfortable with the language. This made it hard to maintain projects and hire developers.
  2. Switching to Go allowed for faster operational readiness and simpler code, making it easier to deliver products and focus on customer needs.
  3. Go may not be seen as a 'cool' language, but it's practical and widely understood, making it a better choice for most developers compared to niche languages.

Saudi Arabia Plans $40 Billion Push Into Artificial Intelligence💰, What Is A "Good" VC?💡, SaaS Growth Report☁️ & more!

The VC Corner • 419 implied HN points • 24 Mar 24
💼 Business Startups
  1. Saudi Arabia is investing $40 billion to advance its artificial intelligence technology. This shows that the country is serious about becoming a leader in AI.
  2. The concept of a 'good' venture capitalist (VC) is being explored. A good VC is someone who not only invests money but also supports and guides startups.
  3. A report on Software as a Service (SaaS) growth highlights trends in the tech industry. This includes information on how companies are expanding and what makes them successful.

The Profile: The $18 billion AI unicorn & the 2024 Super Bowl halftime show performer

The Profile • 793 implied HN points • 21 Jan 24
💼 Business Startups
  1. The Profile newsletter features interviews with notable figures like Taylor Tomlinson, Usher, and Naomi Osaka.
  2. Taylor Tomlinson, a rising comedian, is experiencing great professional success but questions its impact on her personal life.
  3. Usher is preparing for the 2024 Super Bowl halftime show while juggling various aspects of his life such as therapy, meditation, parenting, and career.

Elon Musk sues OpenAI ⚖️, Rethinking the startup MVP 🔄, The Future of Digital Health 🩺, & more!

The VC Corner • 499 implied HN points • 03 Mar 24
🕹 Technology Startups
  1. Elon Musk is taking legal action against OpenAI. This seems to be a significant move concerning AI and its implications.
  2. There is a need to rethink how startups create and test their minimum viable products (MVP). It's essential to find better ways to bring ideas to market.
  3. The digital health sector is evolving and has a lot of potential for the future. New technologies are changing how we approach healthcare.

[Launch] I wrote a book on Growth Marketing

Channels of Growth • 687 implied HN points • 19 Jan 24
💼 Business Startups
  1. The book 'Channels of Growth' focuses on a Growth Marketing Framework for dominating channels and building better products.
  2. All users come from channels when it comes to growth, emphasizing the importance of understanding and optimizing these channels.
  3. The book aims to provide a personal Growth Marketing framework based on lessons from over $100M+ spent on growing products.

WeWork and the temporary end of history

Trevor Klee’s Newsletter • 597 implied HN points • 20 Jul 25
💼 Business Startups
  1. The idea of 'the end of history' might have happened locally around 2010 in America, where everything felt settled, but it really restarted with COVID-19 in 2020. It showed that the future can change quickly.
  2. WeWork's rise and fall highlights how businesses can lose track of financial discipline, particularly when money is being spent on excessive perks and rapid expansion. This can lead to a dramatic failure, even for perceived successful companies.
  3. During the 2010s, many people believed everything would just keep getting better and more convenient, but recent events revealed new challenges. Now, we have to rethink what really matters and build a future that addresses more pressing problems.

The rise of AI forward deployed engineers

Generating Conversation • 140 implied HN points • 04 Dec 25
🕹 Technology Startups
  1. Forward-deployed engineering is everywhere in AI now: engineers are working closely with customers to deeply customize agents, but this model is essentially advanced sales engineering and doesn’t make sense for low-value deals.
  2. AI buyers pay for work, not just access, so building useful agents requires significant customization and expert technical time to pull the right data at the right time rather than a one-size-fits-all product.
  3. Customer success has to move faster and act like a partnership; companies must choose between self-serve onboarding for simple, high-volume customers and white-glove engineering for complex, high-value customers, and prove value month-to-month to keep trust.

Poppi slapped with lawsuit

Snaxshot • 259 implied HN points • 31 May 24
💼 Business Startups
  1. Curation as salvation: It's important to curate content in a world filled with overwhelming choices.
  2. Discovery is strength: Curating content can help brands connect with desired audiences and opportunities.
  3. Excess is death: Avoiding information overload through curated, ephemeral content can be beneficial.

The business of AI in 2026

Generating Conversation • 70 implied HN points • 08 Jan 26
💼 Business Startups
  1. Big investments in data centers and GPUs are likely to pay off as inference gets cheaper and more AI applications become economical, so infrastructure buildout is a bullish trend.
  2. Large companies will keep acquiring startups and doing acqui‑hires, and those acqui‑hires can harm the startup ecosystem and spook talent unless policy or enforcement changes.
  3. Frontier labs will move up into higher‑margin applications, so startups must differentiate on orchestration, workflows, and solving harder domains like healthcare, security, and SRE where adoption is slower but more defensible.