Can Bezos deliver a startup in 2 days? 👀
Nov 21, 2025
Kaley Ubellacker
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:
Good Reads 📖
For the rushed reader …
Bezos is back in an operating role for the first time since leaving Amazon, unveiling Project Prometheus, an AI startup fresh out of stealth with $6.2 billion in funding and a mission to reinvent how physical things get built.
A new Medium opinion piece offers a provocative take on Cursor's $2.3 billion fundraise and $29.3 billion valuation, just 3 and a half years after its $400k pre-seed round.
Betaworks, the New York-based venture studio and accelerator known for backing companies like Hugging Face, just unveiled 10 startups from its latest Camp program.
For the less rushed reader …
Playing with f(AI)re
Jeff Bezos is Prime-ing a new era of AI. Bezos is back in an operating role for the first time since leaving Amazon, unveiling Project Prometheus, an AI startup fresh out of stealth with $6.2 billion in funding and a mission to reinvent how physical things get built. Project Prometheus will focus on developing AI that assists engineering and manufacturing in various fields, including computers, aerospace and automobiles. Co-led by Bezos and former Google X and Verily leader Vik Bajaj, the company is part of a new wave of AI labs focused on the physical sciences, aiming to build models that learn not just from text but from real-world experimentation. With nearly 100 researchers already poached from OpenAI, DeepMind, and Meta, Prometheus is Bezos’s boldest move yet in the escalating AI arms race. Does two-day delivery still apply here?
Fast typing, faster fundraising
Something is not clicking. A new Medium opinion piece offers a provocative take on Cursor's $2.3 billion fundraise and $29.3 billion valuation, just 3 and a half years after its $400k pre-seed round. Forbes writer Derick David contends that Cursor relies heavily on foundational models from OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google, while its own model remains costly to operate and difficult to scale competitively. David also questions whether developer switching costs and enterprise traction are as strong as current enthusiasm suggests, noting that core software bottlenecks often lie beyond coding speed. With major AI labs increasingly integrating coding workflows directly into their platforms, the piece raises thought-provoking questions about how much of Cursor’s momentum reflects durable advantage versus broader AI-tool hype. Cursor might be pointing in the right direction, but is it in for the long haul?
Better in beta mode
It might not be long before real life looks more like a Black Mirror episode. Betaworks, the New York-based venture studio and accelerator known for backing companies like Hugging Face, just unveiled 10 startups from its latest Camp program. Focused on next-generation interfaces, the cohort explores brain-computer connections, scent-based AI, ambient computing, and AI systems that function without traditional apps. Standouts include Nubrain, which translates thoughts into text and images, and Telepath, a computer fully managed by AI in the background. Other startups are reinventing productivity, focus, and consumer experiences through AI-driven design. This batch exemplifies Betaworks’ focus on solving one of AI’s emerging bottlenecks, redefining how humans interact with and integrate AI into everyday processes. One thing is certain: Betaworks is channeling big br(AI)n energy.
Market Stirrings 🚩
Here's what the week looked like in pre-seed:
$5.5M
7
Data aggregated from proprietary research and Crunchbase; valuation estimate based on 10-20% ownership stake.
ON THE UP AND UP
According to Carta, startup acquisitions have reached a five-year high in 2025. M&A activity in Q3 is up 18% year over year, and overall deal volume for the year is on track to increase 17% compared to 2024. Black Friday isn’t here yet, but the buying spree started early.
manufacturing
Galadyne - A liquid propulsion diet.
Galadyne raised funding led by Andreessen Horowitz. Galadyne is building next-generation missile systems, leveraging modern liquid propulsion and commercial space technologies.
AI
Spinnable AI - A new spin on the workforce.
Spinnable AI raised $2.3 million from AlphaGraph, Florent Venture Partners, and Heartcore Capital. Spinnable is creating autonomous, human-like AI teammates that help businesses scale operations and overcome traditional workforce limits.
AI
Mindportal - Minding your business.
Mindportal raised funding at a $4.6 million pre-money valuation. Mindportal is building a scalable execution layer that connects AI agents to real-world services.
JOBORTUNITIES
| VP of Finance | - 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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Thanks for reading, and see you next week!
