#284 | Hardware-Enabled Software, The App Store Opportunity, & more
May 17th | The latest from Altimeter, Point Nine, A16z, Homebrew, Bessemer, 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 Case For Hardware-Enabled Software (Jamie Tomalin, Triple Point)
The Real App Store Opportunity (Jamin Ball, Altimeter Capital)
The Case for Investing in Lending AI Tools (David Talpalar, Shirlawn)
From “System of Record” to “System of Intelligence” (A16Z Team)
Industry Developments & Analyses
The Memory Triopoly (Chris Zeoli, Wing)
Why ‘stablecoins’ won’t age well (A16Z Crypto Team)
The Architecture of AI Distribution (Jarrod Dicker, TCG)
The Physical AI Inflection Point (Keerat Sethi, Antler)
Tech Earnings Season Takeaways (Tanay Jaipuria, Wing VC)
“No Man Left Behind”: American Technology Ships with Our Values (A16Z Team)
The First Derivative of Inference (Tomasz Tunguz, Theory)
Guides, Case Studies, and Best Practices for Operating
Five Lessons From 50+ Founders on Scaling Across Cultures (Vinnie Lauria, Golden Gate Ventures)
When Your VC Quits, Is The Founder Screwed? (Hunter Walk, Homebrew)
What Top Gun Taught Me About Being a Founder (Brian Sugar, Sugar Capital)
Building a growth engine from zero: How one COO boosted ARR 38% using Claude Code (Bessemer Team)
Forget Moats, Find a Canal (Amy Cheetham, Costanoa)
Seed VC: When to Use AI, and When to Use Your Spidey Sense (Micah Rosenbloom, Founder Collective)
How to Price Out-Of-The-Money Seed Investment (Sam Lessin, Slow)
Additional Reads
What Investing in Software Looks Like in 2026 (Christoph Janz, Point Nine)
The Hubris of Timing (Deciens Team)
On Humanity & Human Beings (Michael Dempsey, Compound)
Friction Points: What Could Slow The AI Rocketship? (Rob May, Half Court)
How the Agent Web Gets Built (Melody Koh, NextView)
When the Tool Does the Thinking (Abhishek Singh, Riverwalk)
The Great Reset: Navigating a Turbulent Post-AI World (Sameer Singh, Breadcrumb VC)
What Do You Have To Believe? (Kyle Harrison, Contrary)
Is Software Losing Its Head? (Seema Amble, A16Z)
Notes:
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