Unicorns are back and better than ever 🦄
Jul 9, 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
Alex Kendall, cofounder and CEO of portfolio company Wayve, was awarded the Princess Royal Silver Medal from the Royal Academy of Engineering, awarded annually to individuals who have made outstanding personal contributions to UK engineering.
Good Reads 📖
For the rushed reader …
On July 4, President Trump signed the "Big Beautiful Bill" into law, fully loaded with implications for startups and VCs.
AI startups are dominating 2025's unicorn board, but unexpected sectors, from robotics to Medicare to fleet management, are quietly racking up billion-dollar valuations.
Boldstart Ventures just raised a $250M Fund VII to focus on inception-stage AI startups, backing founders before there's a product, pitch deck, or even company name.
For the less rushed reader …
Big bill energy
“Bill” hasn’t been such a controversial topic since 1998. On July 4, President Trump signed the "Big Beautiful Bill" into law, fully loaded with implications for startups and VCs. To start with a win, QSBS got juicer. Founders and investors can now snag partial tax exemptions on exits as early as three years in, and the cap got bumped to $15M or 10x gains. R&D write-offs are also back, with 2022’s painful amortization rules reversed. However, on the down side, elite university endowments are now facing up to 8% in new taxes, potentially chilling their venture activity. Clean energy and EV startups are also impacted by the bill, with credits and subsidies slashed, and Medicaid cuts could dent healthtech models. One notable omission is the controversial AI regulation moratorium, which didn’t make the final cut. Harvard might need to pawn a few rowing machines, but at least founders are feeling exempt-ional.
Unicorn stampede
It’s raining billion-dollar babies, and AI is clearly king of the castle. AI startups are dominating 2025's unicorn board, but unexpected sectors, from robotics to Medicare to fleet management, are quietly racking up billion-dollar valuations. The biggest theme from TechCrunch’s unicorn list is speed: we’re seeing massive valuations early. Thinking Machines is one example, hitting $10 billion at the seed stage. Founders with hot AI infrastructure, agent tech, or enterprise SaaS are skipping the slow climb through stages and jumping straight to billion-dollar valuations. Additionally, vertical platforms like Chapter (Medicare), Fleetio (logistics), and Owner (restaurant ops) are winning in niches with clear ROI, and next-gen infra plays are also seeing strong support, especially when deeply embedded. Despite whispers of a VC pullback, the message is clear: if you’re building something that feels indispensable, investors are still swiping right.
AI AI Captain
Boldstart is giving new meaning to “from zero to hero.” Boldstart Ventures just raised a $250M Fund VII to focus on inception-stage AI startups, backing founders before there's a product, pitch deck, or even company name. Based in Miami and NYC, the firm aims to invest at “day zero” in B2B software startups with a heavy AI edge. With only 10 to 12 new teams backed each year, Boldstart offers deep partnership over spray-and-pray, writing initial checks from $500k to $15 million, with follow-on support from a $175 million opportunity fund. Their track record includes Snyk, Clay, Superhuman, and Protect AI (recently acquired by Palo Alto Networks). The new fund aims to build an “autonomous enterprise,” including AI-native infrastructure, agent-based automation, and crypto-enabled coordination tools. It will be an interesting world when bots do the work, and humans just update LinkedIn.
Market Stirrings 🚩
Here's what the week looked like in pre-seed:
$1.6M
11
Data aggregated from proprietary research and Crunchbase; valuation estimate based on 10-20% ownership stake.
SMALL SEEDS, BIGGER PLANTS?
If you’re a pre-seed founder in consumer looking to raise your seed, we’ve got good news and bad news. Valuations are holding strong, climbing to a peak of $15.7 million last year and staying solid at $13.6 million in Q1. However, round sizes have been shrinking steadily since 2022. When life hands you small lemons, maybe hold on tight and wait for them to grow?
Fire Up the Pre-Seeds🔥
Highlights from this week’s pre-seed raises:
Fintech
Just Everything - Freighteningly fast.
Just Everything raised $100k from FasterCapital at a $2 million pre-money valuation. Just Everything is developing an AI-powered supply chain marketplace on a mission to eliminate inefficiencies in cargo road transportation.
Climatetech
Afrikabal - Traction for the tractor.
Afrikabal raised $250k from Lisk at a $2.5 million pre-money valuation. Afrikabal is creating a decentralized marketplace platform that connects producers, buyers, and logistics providers through the blockchain.
AI
Skarbe - Read receipts instead of spreadsheets.
Skarbe raised $600k led by FIRSTPICK. Skarbe is building an AI sales platform to replace CRMs with chat bots that read your emails, listen in on meetings, and track every deal.
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!
