Asif Moosani

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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🚨NEW EPISODE: Recorded live at FUTURE TITANS 2026 - Jeff Perry of Carta sat down with the iconic Seth Levine, co-founder of Foundry. Seth has been in venture for 25 years, built Foundry from scratch as an emerging manager himself, and has backed about 50 emerging manager funds through his fund of funds. He has genuinely seen every side of this table. They went deep on building Foundry, why VCs are in the influence business, not the decision business, and why the concentration problem in venture is not only bad for LPs, but also for the innovation ecosystem overall. And why Seth's new book, Capital Evolution, is so important for the future of America. 🎧 Links to listen... Apple: https://lnkd.in/ehQUQ2EM Spotify: https://lnkd.in/eU4FExpg

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Two weeks ago on Swimming with Allocators, we sat down with David Clark, CIO at VenCap, to talk about what decades of venture data can teach allocators. One takeaway that stood out: discounts don’t matter as much as people think in venture secondaries. Because venture is such a power-law asset class, outcomes are driven by exposure to a few massive winners. Whether a stake is bought at a small discount, or even a premium, often matters far less than the quality of the underlying company and its upside. Great conversation on venture returns, manager selection, and the nuances of how allocators should think about secondary investments. 👇 Link in the comments.

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The search fund model is built on alignment. But "usually" isn’t "always." While search funds are collaborative by design, collaboration doesn’t eliminate tension. Based on experiences from both sides of the table, our latest note explores the moments when incentives between ETA CEOs and investors naturally drift apart. Why this matters: It’s Structural: These aren't "bad actor" stories; they are inherent constraints of the model. It’s Predictable: Tensions surface when timelines, personal realities, or stakes shift. It’s Navigable: Understanding these frictions upfront builds empathy, clearer expectations, and better discussions. Grateful to collaborate with Alex Hodgkin, CFA, and A.J. Wasserstein on a topic that rewards honesty and dialogue over optimism alone. Read the full paper at: https://lnkd.in/e_eskQ9V #ETA, #SearchFunds, #Searchfund, #EntrepreneurshipThroughAcquisition, #Entrepreneurship, #CorporateGovernance, #InvestorRelations, #PrivateEquity, #YaleSoM, #Kellogg, #Booth

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If you know... A 10x engineer Who loves the speed and intellectual challenge of early stage but also Wants job stability and Equity diversification then This is the one job that checks all of their boxes

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Big milestone for Firmable. We’ve raised $14m Series A led by Airtree. Sales has moved through a few big waves: intuition-led, CRM-led, data-led. We’re now entering the next one – intelligence-led sales. The opportunity isn’t just better data. It’s turning that data into clear direction and action, without adding more work for sales teams. That’s what we’re building at Firmable: a foundation of trusted external data, layered with intelligence that helps sellers know who to focus on and when. Led by Airtree, this round supports our expansion across Asia and into the US – and accelerates the build-out of AI agents that take the admin work off sales teams so they can focus on what they do best. Proud of the team, grateful to our customers and investors. We’re just getting started. Read the exclusive in the AFR. https://lnkd.in/gr66uknb Leigh Jasper | Tara Salmon | Karthik Venkatasubramanian| Chester Thompson| Chath Widanapathirana

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Seth Levine nailed it! The concentration problem isn't just a GP pain point... it's choking innovation. When capital pools around the same 20 funds, emerging managers and founders get shut out. Love that he's using his platform to call this out. Foundry has backed 50+ emerging managers. That's the diversification the ecosystem needs. This is exactly why Carta exists — making capital allocation visible and accessible. Capital Evolution hits at exactly the right moment. Thanks for having us Daniel Dart. Team Carta loves the community of FUTURE TITANS you have built 🚀

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The move from early traction to scale forces a different set of capital decisions. In today's episode of the Private Equity Value Creation Podcast, Jonathan D. Drillings of Riverside Acceleration Capital talks with Shiv Narayanan about how B2B software companies fund that in-between phase—and why the wrong structure at the wrong moment creates problems later. Tune in to learn: - The role of growth lending in hitting milestones - How early equity affects dilution, valuation and future flexibility - What durability actually looks like before scaling - How AI affects risk without changing the fundamentals And much more. The link to the episode is in the comments below.

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The lines between VC, PE, and credit are blurring—and it's reshaping competition. In a recent virtual event, Carta's Ashley (Howard) Neville sat down with Molly O'Shea from Sourcery to break down one of the most significant shifts happening in private markets right now: venture, private equity, and credit funds are moving closer together. What specifically is changing? - Venture funds are adding structured capital and credit sleeves - Late-stage venture and growth equity pricing are overlapping - VC and PE firms are competing for the same companies There's been a big shift to private markets, with hedge funds also making the move. This competition is raising the watermark for what these funds can accomplish. A few years ago, hedge funds were trying to create crossover funds and enter venture—now the entire landscape is converging. If you're investing or operating in private markets, understanding these dynamics is essential. Watch the full event recording: https://lnkd.in/g3GP49UR #PrivateMarkets #VentureCapital #PrivateEquity #PrivateCredit #InvestmentTrends #FundStrategy

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New blog just dropped 🧠 Most VC firms don't have a deal flow problem. They have a signal processing problem. Everyone sees the same launches, the same founder activity, the same market data. The difference isn't who sees more. It's who makes sense of it faster. We wrote about why signal to conviction speed is becoming the real edge in venture and what that means for how investment teams should operate. Link in the comments. Would love to hear how other investors and operators think about this.

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Are we so back? The Q2 2025 Aumni Venture Beacon just dropped and together with our partners at Fenwick & West we've pulled together some must-read insights for anyone raising or deploying venture capital. Are secondary markets stabalizing? Are seed stage companies finally raising As? What's going on with the huge AI deals at later stages? What are market terms for new seed rounds? All your questions and more answered in our free report: https://lnkd.in/ecd8PrFS

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Pumped to double down on the overlooked software founders who have their head down delivering the future in their industries—especially those tired of choosing between bootstrapping or taking excessive VC $$ with boom or boost expectations. Onward!

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I've been on both sides of M&A transactions, and the Wiz deal offers a masterclass in patience and leverage that applies whether you're running a micro-SaaS business or a larger venture. What fascinates me about Wiz isn't just the $32B price tag but how they orchestrated their own leverage. When they rejected Google's initial $23B offer last year, industry insiders thought they were crazy. But they understood something most founders might miss: sometimes your best move is patience. I see this in micro-SaaS all the time. Founders who build real, profitable businesses give themselves options. When you solve a painful problem for a niche audience, you create leverage. People need your product. And that gives you power when it’s time to talk deals. Real value beats a quick exit every time. Whether your market is $100M or $100B - building a sticky, useful product puts you in control. The best part of the Wiz story? It shows you don’t have to chase unicorn status or rush to sell. Slow, deliberate company-building works. And it can lead to life-changing outcomes. Takeaway for founders: → Build something people really need → Keep your options open → And remember... sometimes the best negotiation tactic is simply having the confidence to say "not yet." What's your acquisition strategy like? // P.S. I build in public on Substack >> https://t2m.io/4aDyNCpu For the love of the game 🏴‍☠️ ⚡️ image credit: CB Insights #wiz #acquisition #startups

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Excited to share that Trustible has just raised a $4.6M Seed Round to accelerate AI governance for enterprises. The round was led by Lookout Ventures with participation from Eric Schmidt, Tau Ventures, Inner Loop Capital, Alumni Ventures, and former DC Mayor Adrian Fenty, With 91% of executives feeling unprepared for AI-related risks and regulations, Trustible's platform provides essential tools for enterprises—38% of which are Fortune 500 companies—to manage AI governance seamlessly across compliance, security, and ethics. Congratulations to Gerald Kierce-Iturrioz, Andrew Gamino-Cheong and the Trustible team! Press Release: https://lnkd.in/etzFVc63

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The old SaaS pricing playbook doesn’t work for AI. Madhavan Ramanujam and I partnered with Emergence Capital and Jake Saper to write a new one—built for where AI is going, not just where it is today. We lay out what state-of-the-art AI pricing looks like now—and what it will look like: ✅ Hybrid pricing (seats + usage) is the current best practice 🎯 Outcome-based models are the future—pricing tied directly to impact 💰 The best AI companies already capture 25–50% of the value they create As autonomy and attribution improve, outcome pricing will go from rare to expected. Founders who move early will win. Full read here 👉 https://lnkd.in/gwp6tDtp

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**Strategic Investments in Deep-Tech: The Growing Role of Family Offices** The recent expansion of Q.ANT’s Series A funding to $80 million, bolstered by the Duquesne Family Office, underscores the increasing involvement of Family Offices in pioneering technology sectors like AI and HPC. As a Chief Investment Officer at Regarde Familia Family Office, I see this as a vital opportunity that reflects our need to diversify portfolios through innovative investments. How do you assess the risk and potential of investing in deep-tech? #investing #innovation #familyoffice #finance

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Harpoon Ventures + Black Flag is teaming up with Microsoft for Startups to provide founders with access to up to $250,000 in Azure credits, empowering builders to scale faster, train models more efficiently, and access world-class AI infrastructure. What’s included: ⚡ Up to $250K in Azure credits (usable across Azure OpenAI, Grok 3, Llama 4, and more) 💻 On-demand GPU VMs for model training and fine-tuning 🧠 Access to GitHub Enterprise + Microsoft 365 Business Premium 🤝 Dedicated Microsoft technical + GTM support This partnership is designed to give deep-tech and dual-use founders the tools and resources they need to win. To keep pace with an increasingly hostile near peer environment, we need the complete resource stack: political, capital, technological. This is a great addition.

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We’re thrilled to share that Usul (YC S24) has raised $3.3M in Seed funding led by Scout Ventures with participation from BVVC, Teamworthy Ventures, True Ventures, Y Combinator and more. Usul is the modern platform for defense contract capture and federal growth. Our customers have won hundreds of millions in defense contracts for capabilities across Air, Land, Maritime, AI/ML and more. When Oliver Gomez, Joonghyun Lee and I joined forces during Stanford’s Hacking 4 Defense class, we interviewed 300+ defense companies to intimately understand how difficult it is for national security solutions to get deployed quickly at scale. In normal capital markets this is called dead weight loss. In warfighting, this costs lives. We're building an elite team of hackers and defense enthusiasts in San Francisco. If you’re interested in powering the next 1000 defense primes, email us at founders@usul.com or dm me. Read more about our journey in Erin O'Brien's Tectonic article below in the comments. Lastly, thank you to our amazing cap table for joining the ship. Bradley C. Harrison, Cody H., Nate George, Zach Beecher, Michael Keane, Joe Musselman, Gene Ebersole, Nick Nowlin, Thomas Lehrman, Stephen Schmalhofer, Michael Montano, Gustaf Alströmer 🇺🇦, Jared Friedman, Steve Blank, Jacqueline Tame, Jack Shanahan, Peter Newell, Steve Weinstein, Jeff Decker, Ivan Kirigin, Jeff Heitzman, Keith W. Gibson, CFCM, SCPM, John Tincoff, Michael Malis, Austen Allred, Tom Hsieh, Donald Donckers

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