Upfront Ventures

We're Upfront.

[Upfront Ventures @upfrontvc]

Computers for agents? Count us in!

We’re thrilled to double down with our early and growth funds in Daytona’s 60M Series B announced this week!

Led by our fellow VCs at @FirstMarkCap alongside insiders like @PaceCap and @e2mindset, and a fantastic group of new angels and strategics joined as well: @patrickc, @tobi, @AravSrinivas, @BrendanFoody, @oliveur, @adamdangelo, @ericsyuan, @QualcommVenture, @SamsungNext, @okta Ventures, and more.

Dive deeper into our decision on why we stay on the Daytona train in ‘Thoughts’ from Upfront and our partners @kevinyzhang and @pzakin: https://t.co/6gzlPr0Fpn

[Peter Zakin @pzakin]

Going to be in SF tomorrow and have a few open slots. If we’re mutuals or you’re building something great in dev tools or AI, hmu!

[Speed Dial @speeddialtv]

Speed Dial, Episode 1 is live.

@msuster on why software still has value in a world of AI agents.

@Timbaland on building AI tools for his studio, and why now is the time to get in.

Also this week: micro1's $1B bet on company data, Coatue on AI outgrowing the railroads, Starlink's push to become a phone carrier, and the flying Tesla Roadster.

Hosted by @atlasberry008.

0:00 Intro and this week's rundown
1:16 Chamath: Is software IP dead?
1:47 Headless software, MCP and selling to AI agents
3:36 micro1's $1B plan to buy company data
5:26 Coatue: AI is bigger than the railroads
6:46 The 10x gap in AI spending
7:31 Starlink becomes a phone carrier
9:08 The flying Tesla Roadster
11:38 Calling Mark Suster
12:25 Mark Suster: Software isn't dead
13:22 Building software for AI agents
14:26 Should you sell your data to Micro1?
15:31 Mark on Starlink becoming a carrier
16:16 Where Mark is investing five years out
18:23 AI infrastructure and the US vs China
20:09 Mark's book picks: Chip War and Freedom's Forge
22:15 Calling Timbaland: AI tools for making music
24:40 Timbaland: The door might close in 2 years
25:32 Timbaland: Flying cars with Elon
26:47 Timbaland on building Verzuz
27:46 What we learned

[Peter Zakin @pzakin]

Just astonishing growth. An absolute privilege for @kevinyzhang and me to triple down since leading at seed.

@ivanburazin and @JukicVedran are exceptional entrepreneurs.

[Daytona @daytonaio]

Today we're announcing a $60M Series B at a $1B valuation, led by @FirstMarkCap to build the agent cloud.

The round also saw participation from some top-tier founders, including @patrickc (Stripe), @tobi (Shopify), @AravSrinivas (Perplexity), @BrendanFoody (Mercor), @oliveur (Datadog), @adamdangelo (Quora) and @ericsyuan (Zoom).

Full announcement👇

[Ivan Burazin @ivanburazin]

@daytonaio @FirstMarkCap Glad to have the continued backing of @PaceCap, @upfrontvc and @e2mindset

This round also saw participation from @QualcommVenture, @SamsungNext, @okta ventures, @EverGreen_Ntwrk, @alumniventures and @torch

Read more: https://t.co/mZvhTUTcD8

[Ivan Burazin @ivanburazin]

We just raised a $60M Series B at a $1B valuation to build @daytonaio into the Agent Cloud.

@FirstMarkCap led the round, with all key existing investors and angels doubling down.

We're also thrilled to welcome the founders of some generational companies aboard, including @patrickc (Stripe), @tobi (Shopify), @AravSrinivas (Perplexity), @BrendanFoody (Mercor), @oliveur (Datadog), @adamdangelo (Quora) and @ericsyuan (Zoom)

We're a 35-person team. But that's about to change; we're hiring across the board, and we'd love for you to join us.

[Morgan Barrett @MorganBarrettX]

30 Days of Hard Tech: Day 4 🛟

Andrenam just raised an $18M Series A and delivered its first PEARL acoustic sensing buoys to the Navy

They're building the observability layer for undersea data in the form of a network of intelligent passive acoustic sensing buoys

Jacques Sisteron (Upfront VC) is an investor in Andrenam so I called him to celebrate and explain the opportunity here

"Water is impenetrable to radio frequency communication... what the entire industry has converged on is acoustic systems both for detection and communication of information with submarines"

"The ocean is the foundation of the modern economy"

"Andrenam is mostly going to be focused on defense and security-oriented use cases related to warfare, related to the security of our nearshore assets, like ports, and offshore assets, like critical infrastructure"

[Fortastra @Fortastra_Corp]

Fortastra has raised $30 million to scale on-orbit security.

This capital will be used to expand our engineering team, accelerate development of our autonomy and rendezvous and proximity operations capabilities, and scale our manufacturing infrastructure. https://t.co/F2QUO99HnU

[Kevin Zhang @kevinyzhang]

I met Jiake 15 years ago when I moved back to LA and joined Upfront Ventures. He was tinkering on his first startup then and joined Launchpad LA, part of that first wave of non-consumer, non-adtech entrepreneurs in LA. Outer Spaces is his 3rd startup, having backed his prior 2, it was a no brainer to jump on the journey again with Jiake, Terry and crew. I can't think of anyone who's more obsessed with getting the most out of your home value and energy independence, and now they've created a beautiful, flexible backyard space that requires no permitting and same day installation, complete with solar and custom, thin LFP battery pack that goes inside the floor. Having gone through a painful home solar project and backyard deck project, I wish Outer Spaces had existed. Can't wait to have one in our backyard!

[Jiake Liu @jiakeliu]

Today we’re launching @outerspacesco with $8M in pre-seed funding led by @upfrontvc.

The future of residential energy might not be on your roof. It might be in your backyard.

We’re building beautiful outdoor spaces that generate solar power and store energy for your home.

No roof modifications. No batteries taking up garage space.

Just more living space that also powers your home.

We think this could become an entirely new category of residential energy.

Checkout what we’re building in this video and thread below.

Shoutout to @msuster @kevinyzhang at @upfrontvc, @willhsu at @mucker, @gefkovicz @benmtaft at @geniusventures, and many more awesome investors who believe in our vision!

[Upfront Ventures @upfrontvc]

@iScienceLuvr Thank you for sharing!

[Upfront Ventures @upfrontvc]

@alexmarley Can't wait!

[Upfront Ventures @upfrontvc]

@alexmarley Let's go!

[Upfront Ventures @upfrontvc]

That side project you keep working on at 2 am? It might be a company.

Founder Fellows apps close in 36 hours (TOMORROW, Sept 30, 11:59 pm PT). 8 weeks. 1:1 mentorship. $75K+ in funding. Apply now: https://t.co/If9z2MmoKQ

[Caroline Clark @carolinedclark]

People will forgive almost anything in AI video except output that still reads as AI-made.

We surveyed 243 marketers and creatives who actually use these tools at work. Realism beat brand, speed, price, and editing control as the thing that earns trust. Even the most popular tool in the category hasn't cracked it.

And money doesn't fix it: the segments spending the most on video are consistently the least satisfied.

Something big is coming from us next month. This research is part of why.

↪ State of AI Video 2026:
https://t.co/LOSMzC4HGo

[Jacques Sisteron @jdsisteron]

I'm profoundly grateful to have the opportunity to work with a company with as much ambition and moral clarity as @RainmakerCorp

@ADoricko and the incredible team he has built are on a mission to make Earth more habitable, and in the process seek to build a world-class lab at the cutting edge of atmospheric chemistry and physics.

Excited for @upfrontvc to co-lead Rainmaker's Series B with great partners at @noavctech @lowercarbon @DCVC & more

[Augustus Doricko @ADoricko]

Rainmaker has raised $100M to become the world’s best lab for weather modification and atmospheric science.

Thank you @noavctech @upfrontvc @DCVC @lowercarbon @DreamVenturesVC and other visionary partners.

We are aggressively hiring and scaling our research org to create a flywheel of atmospheric data collection, synthesis, understanding, and intervention.

We will solve the weather and we will set the stage for the terraformation of Earth.

More in my essay below.

[Peter Zakin @pzakin]

This is one my favorite things that we do as a firm.

Would highly encourage any young prospective founder to participate. Feel free to DM if you have any questions.

[Kesar Varma @kesarvarma]

Incredibly excited for the 2nd cohort of founder fellows!

If you’re a recent grad or technical student, highly recommend you apply!