AI agents need to bake for 10 more years
Oct 29, 2025
Kaley Ubellacker
AI agents
Happy Wednesday! If you’re new here, welcome to Necessary Nuggets, your one-stop pre-seed shop. We deliver updates from Necessary Ventures and helpful tidbits on our little corner of the world. Every edition is also on our blog.
Good Reads 📖
For the rushed reader …
Despite increasing anxiety about job cuts thanks to AI, OpenAI co-founder Andrej Karpathy says AI agents will take about a decade before they actually work.
Stardust Solutions, a private geoengineering startup, just raised $60 million to dim the Sun and combat climate change, but the approach is highly controversial.
U.S. companies are facing a cybersecurity arms race as AI enables hackers to launch faster, highly personalized attacks.
For the less rushed reader …
Looking for a Karpathy forward
Is podcasting cool now? Despite increasing anxiety about job cuts thanks to AI, OpenAI co-founder Andrej Karpathy says AI agents will take about a decade before they actually work. Speaking on the Dwarkesh Podcast, Karpathy argued that current agents don’t have enough intelligence, struggle with memory, reasoning, and multimodal understanding, and still need human oversight. They’re more like interns than independent workers. His comments come as companies are now scaling back automation efforts. Half of firms that once planned major customer service cuts by 2027 have dropped those plans, and 95% of AI pilots have failed, according to Gartner. Some firms, such as McKinsey, are finding practical use cases (like cutting project review times from 20 days to two), but agents aren’t job replacements yet. The recipe for artificial intelligence went a little too heavy on the artificial and light on the intelligence.
Shades on to block out the haters
Are we on a path from ozone to oh-no-zone? Stardust Solutions, a private geoengineering startup, just raised $60 million to dim the Sun and combat climate change, but the approach is highly controversial. The company is working on a proprietary particle that could be deployed from planes at high altitudes. Scientists warn that spraying particles into the atmosphere carries unknown environmental risks, especially potential damage to the ozone layer. Critics also question the feasibility of Stardust’s plan to create a safe, scalable alternative to sulfates. Despite the backing of Silicon Valley investors and an Italian industrial dynasty, one big question remains: who decides where and when such interventions occur? The funding highlights a growing tension between venture-driven ambition and the caution many argue is needed when tinkering with the planet. Climate change is hardly light work.
Going phishing
If the Louvre heist blew your mind, cybercriminals are really taking the crown. U.S. companies are facing a cybersecurity arms race as AI enables hackers to launch faster, highly personalized attacks. Nation-state and criminal actors are already experimenting with AI to automate phishing, malware, and reconnaissance, with Chinese, Russian, Iranian, and North Korean groups leading the charge. AI-generated phishing emails, for example, have achieved a 54% click-through rate compared to 12% for traditional attempts. Critical infrastructure and financial services are prime targets, with half of surveyed organizations reporting AI-powered attacks in the past year. At the same time, defenders are leveraging AI to strengthen cybersecurity, automating threat detection, response, and secure code generation, with some companies cutting attack response times from three weeks to under 20 minutes. Guess there’s no need for keyboard warriors anymore.
Market Stirrings 🚩
Here's what the week looked like in pre-seed:
$2.5M
11
Data aggregated from proprietary research and Crunchbase; valuation estimate based on 10-20% ownership stake.
BULKING SEASON
In Q3, the average pre-seed deal size fell 6% year-over-year, and the median remained steady, likely buoyed by accelerator programs like Y Combinator. Despite the dip, average deal sizes are up 55% since 2021 and 22% since 2023, reflecting substantial growth over the longer term.
fintech
Piere - A chauffeur for your Benjamin.
Piere raised $2.1 million led by Grand Ventures. Piere is building an AI self-driving money platform that automatically manages and optimizes finances for everyday consumers.
AI
Ashtra - From lost revenue to Ashtra-nomical gains.
Ashtra raised funding at a $12 million pre-money valuation. Ashtra is developing an AI-powered platform that helps businesses boost efficiency, prevent revenue loss, and optimize visibility across AI search platforms.
AI
Hypeo AI - Brands and creators that click.
Hypeo AI raised $200k from Madica. Hypeo is creating an AI-powered platform that connects brands and influencers to streamline campaigns and collaboration.
JOBORTUNITIES
| Hardware Test Engineer | - Copper:
Rethinking the induction stove and making kitchen electrification more accessible than ever. Picture a fossil-free future, without sacrificing aesthetics.
| Full Stack Software Engineer | - OneImaging:
Envisioning the future of transportation beyond cars and into the realm of personal electric vehicles. Its first product, P1, is the ultimate tool for city navigation.
Outro🚪
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