#269 | Themes that Matter, Ads in the AI age, & more
Feb 1st | The latest from Bessemer, Wing, Slow, 8VC, Madrona, CRV, and others
SandHill.io aggregates and shares the latest investment themes, market insights, and best practices for operating and investing from 700+ VCs, analysts, and operators.
This newsletter curates a selection of posts featured on the website each week.
Investment Themes & Theses
The Themes That Matter for 2026 (Sam Lessin, Slow)
Defense tech roadmap: Five frontiers for 2026 (Janelle Teng, Bessemer)
The Crisis and Opportunity in Rare Diseases (Francisco Gimenez & Susan Liu, 8VC)
Who Will Win the RL Environment Market—and Why (Chris Zeoli, Wing)
Monetizing AI surfaces: Ads in the age of AI (Tanay Jaipuria, Wing)
Industry Developments & Analyses
Traditional AdTech is Dead. Long Live AdTech For AI (Vivek Ramaswami & Sabrina Wu, Madrona)
The Invisible Rebuild: How AI Is Quietly Reshaping the Backbone of CPG (Maveron Team)
The Deployment Gap in Industrial Robotics (Annelies Gamble, Zetta)
Fervo and General Fusion open the exit window (Climate Tech VC)
The Case for AI in Supply Chain (Caitlin Bolnick, CRV)
The Postmodern Data Stack is AI (Tomasz Tunguz, Theory)
Vertical AI (Platform -> Competitor) (Pat McGovern, Bowery)
Leaders, gainers and unexpected winners in the Enterprise AI arms race (A16Z Team)
Guides, Case Studies, and Best Practices for Operating
3 Interviews Is Plenty (Geoff Donaker, GP @ Burst)
Every Good Story Has a Villain (Santosh Sankar, GP @ Dynamo)
The Case for Humans in Sales: Why BDRs Still Win in the Age of AI (Joe DiMento, BCV)
Additional Reads
Brex and The Pros and Cons of Hubristic Fundraising (Jason Lemkin, SaaStr)
Reality Doesn’t Negotiate (Mike Maples Jr., Floodgate)
AI: The Wrong Kind of Bubble (Sameer Singh, Speedinvest)
Vibe Thinking (Kevin Stevens, Energize)
The Rooms You’re Not In (Collin Wallace, Lobby Capital)
Loyalty Is Dead In Tech (Nikunj Kothari, FPV)
As Growth VCs Fight for Top of Market Access, Where do Early-Stage Companies Fit In? (David Talpalar, Shirlawn Capital)
Oxygen Monopolies (Rex Woodbury, Daybreak)
Technology in 1776 (Christian Keil, A16Z)
The Long Arc of Money: From Barter’s Friction to Gold’s Return (Abhishek Singh, Riverwalk)
The Fundability Trap (Euclid Ventures)
Notes:
If you have any great agencies or freelancers that you have worked with and would recommend to other startups, please complete this form to vouch for them! These could be growth firms, deck designers, staffing firms, engineering providers or more. Once we collect enough responses we’ll share the top providers publicly.
The SandHill app is now pulling from 700+ blogs and newsletters (full list here). Respond to this email if we missed a post or a feed.
You can view all the latest posts in a live feed on the web app.