Browsers are dead. Time for an AI chief of staff.
Jul 16, 2025
Kaley Ubellacker
Happy Wednesday!
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.
What's happening at Necessary Ventures
Portfolio company Infinite Machine released Olto, a minimalist, license-free e-bike built from the ground up with custom components, modular add-ons, and a swappable battery. With a 30 mph top speed and 40-mile range, it’s purpose-built for urban life and a necessary new player in the growing micromobility movement.
Good Reads 📖
For the rushed reader …
Perplexity just dropped Comet, its AI-native browser with a built-in agent that does more than search.
Microsoft's recent layoffs of nearly 9,000 generalist sales reps, 4% of its workforce, signal a big shift in sales.
Brian Singerman and Lee Linden are rewriting the VC script with GPx, a $500M+ fund that blurs the line between VC and fund-of-funds.
For the less rushed reader …
Browser's castle
Startups smell blood in the browser. Perplexity just dropped Comet, its AI-native browser with a built-in agent that does more than search. Comet also schedules meetings, sends emails, and acts like your digital chief of staff. It’s part of a wave of AI startups reimagining the browser as a full-stack assistant, not a passive portal, with OpenAI reportedly building its own competitor too. Google Chrome still dominates with 68% of the market and over 3 billion users, but founders are betting its entanglement in antitrust drama could mean the biggest interface shift since the iPhone. 29% of consumers already use OpenAI regularly (close to Google Gemini’s 30%), so perhaps the timing is right. Will Perplexity’s Comet get the audience it's shooting for, or will it be more like Halley’s, with all the hype but few who actually show up?
Setting sale
Microsoft officially cut out the small talk. Microsoft's recent layoffs of nearly 9,000 generalist sales reps, 4% of its workforce, signal a big shift in sales: the traditional “relationship guy” is being edged out by AI-powered solution engineers who can speak the product language fluently. Customers want fewer middlemen and faster access to experts who can demo AI tools early in the sales cycle, pushing Microsoft to revamp its salesforce. The move reflects a broader industry trend where AI isn’t just augmenting sales, it’s replacing roles that lack product expertise. As investor Jason Lemkin points out in a recent post on X, AI can already replace most outbound SDRs and nearly all inbound BDRs. Unfortunately, all the schmoozing in the world is unlikely to change the fate of sales.
No need for SPV this summer
This new fund is putting the pro in pro rata. Brian Singerman and Lee Linden are rewriting the VC script with GPx, a $500M+ fund that blurs the line between VC and fund-of-funds. Rather than deploying all capital directly into startups, GPx plans to invest about 20% into emerging pre-seed and seed VCs, and the remaining funds will be used to lead later stage investments of emerging VCs’ breakout companies. This approach has a shot at solving a major pain point for small funds who lack the dry powder to maintain pro rata. The model offers early-stage investors a turbocharged path to later-stage ownership without scrambling for SPVs, while giving GPx front-row access to vetted deals. Talk about hitching your wagon to the right horse.
Market Stirrings 🚩
Here's what the week looked like in pre-seed:
$1.9M
9
Data aggregated from proprietary research and Crunchbase; valuation estimate based on 10-20% ownership stake.
AN ACQUIRED TASTE
Contrary to recent top headlines, startup M&A isn’t back. VC-backed acquisitions are on track to fall 32% year-over-year in 2025, and a staggering 58% below the 2021 peak. Last year gave us a glimmer of hope, but don’t pop the champagne yet. The comeback tour might be delayed.
Fire Up the Pre-Seeds🔥
Highlights from this week’s pre-seed raises:
Healthtech
Ingenio Care - Sick care? More like slick care.
Ingenio Care raised funding. Ingenio Care is building an AI-powered platform that connects patients, providers, and payers to reduce wait times, cut admin overhead, and streamline care through one app.
AI
InsForge - A prompt arrival.
InsForge raised $1.5 million led by MindWorks Capital. InsForge is creating an AI-native backend platform where developers simply write a prompt, AI agents generate the code, and it's ready for production.
Loop Smart AI - The business of business is business.
Loop Smart AI raised $400k from Mantra and Monday Capital. Loop Smart AI is developing an AI agent platform specialized for enterprise needs, enabling automation for customer support, business analysis, and sales.
JOBORTUNITIES
Senior Embedded Systems Engineer - Copper:
Rethinking the induction stove and making kitchen electrification more accessible than ever. Picture a fossil-free future, without sacrificing aesthetics.
Production Engineer - Infinite Machine:
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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Thanks for reading, and see you next week!
