Most Startups Are Stuck in the Middle

About this episode

This episode discusses the current venture capital landscape, highlighting the divide between elite late-stage deals and early-stage investments while the middle market struggles.

In this April edition of Nothing Ventured News, we break down a venture landscape that isn’t recovering it’s dividing. Capital is flooding into elite late-stage deals and highly disciplined early-stage bets, while the middle gets completely hollowed out. Mega-rounds are back, AI still dominates, but the real story is deeper: capital is concentrating, not expanding. We explore: Why VC isn’t “back” it’s selective The rise of defence tech, space, and infrastructure beyond AI How hard tech and real moats are back in fashion Why liquidity is improving… but still fragile And how geopolitics and sovereignty are reshaping where money flows If you’re building, investing, or just watching the market this is the reality check you need. This episode is sponsored by EmergeOne, fractional CFOs for venture backed tech startups from Seed to Series B. Get in touch at https://emergeone.co.uk/contact-us/ or join the CFO team at https://emergeone.co.uk/join-the-cfo-team/ Sign up for EmergeOne’s weekly newsletter, Off Balance at https://off-balance.beehiiv.com/subscribe Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data…

People in this episode

Host: Aarish Shah

Topics covered

• venture capital
• startup landscape
• AI
• defense tech
• geopolitics
• investment trends

Keywords

• venture capital
• startups
• investment
• AI
• defense tech
• geopolitics
• liquidity
• market trends

Sponsors

EmergeOne

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Simplecast, AdsWizz

Places: April

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