Enterprise Weekly #494: VC Board Member Archetypes, Work-Bench Open Roles, and More
Work-Bench is an enterprise software VC firm leading Seed rounds. If you are or know anyone thinking about founding an enterprise software startup — we’d love to meet! Please reach out to chat. 📩
Happy Friday! Hope you all had fun diving into your Spotify Wrapped 2024—we’ll send a Work-Bench tee shirt to the first person who can guess Jon’s #1 artist here (because iykyk) 🎶
In recent trends, the VC world is seeing a wave of departures, with investors leaving their posts at big firms. This often blindsides founders, as the unexpected news can be a significant blow to the support system of the company.
If your investor leaves, the firm may assign a new point of contact, but here’s the tough truth: replacements rarely bring the same passion for your success. They weren't your early believer who championed the investment to their partnership and might not be as invested in your success.
Even at the Seed stage, having a committed partner on your board can make a world of difference. Seed VCs are often more financially aligned with founders as the company scales, so choosing the right partner matters. Look for someone with a proven track record—or a genuine drive to build one with you. Here’s a deeper dive into some of the dynamics:
On that note…we're hiring! As a lean team of enterprise software nerds who move at startup speed, we celebrate each other's wins, share each other's passion and creativity in rethinking VC, and genuinely enjoy geeking out together. If this sounds like you check out our 3 open roles and reach out!
📚 Read more news:
Affinity: 2025 Private Capital Predictions Report
CNBC: Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger Ousted By Board After Performance
The Information: Databricks’ ‘Truth-Seeking’ CEO Wants to Be Bigger Than Salesforce
Pitchbook: Evolving Economics of 10-Year VC Funds
WSJ: The Smartest People in the Room Are All Listening to the Same Podcast
WSJ: Amazon Invests an Additional $4B in Anthropic, an OpenAI Rival
📚 Read more (th)reads:
🌟 Company of the Week 🌟
Lica raises $4M led by Accel
Collaboration / Productivity • Seed • San Francisco, CA
Co-Founders: Priyaa Kalyanaraman (CEO), Purvanshi Mehta
Wexler AI raises $1.4M led by Myriad Venture Partners
Future of Work • Pre-Seed • London, UK
Freckle raises $1.9M led by Asymmetric Capital Partners
Data / AI / Machine Learning • Pre-Seed • Cambridge, MA
Circleback raises $2.5M led by Transpose Platform, Rebel Fund, and Pioneer Fund
Productivity / Collaboration • Seed • San Francisco, CA
Briefcase raises $3M led by Earlybird
Future of Work • Seed • London, UK
Stackfix raises $3M led by Chalfen Ventures
Infrastructure / Dev Tools • Seed • London, UK
Tempest raises $3.2M led by Abstract Ventures
Infrastructure / Dev Tools • Seed • San Francisco, CA
Talentium raises $3.7M led by EQT Ventures
HR Tech • Pre-Seed • Stockholm, Sweden
NetBird raises $4.2M led by InReach Ventures
Risk / Security • Seed • Germany
Across AI raises $5.8M led by Cota Capital and Village Global
Data / AI / Machine Learning • Seed • San Francisco, CA
Amigo raises $6.3M led by General Catalyst and GSV Ventures
Data / AI / Machine Learning • Seed • New York, NY
MakersHub raises $7M led by QED Investors and TTV Capital
Future of Work • Seed • Austin, TX
System Two Security raises $7M led by Costanoa Ventures
Risk / Security • Seed • Palo Alto, CA
Cake raises $10M led by Gradient Ventures
Data / AI / Machine Learning • Seed • New York, NY
Pathway raises $10M led by TQ Ventures
Data / AI / Machine Learning • Seed • Menlo Park, CA
Vooma raises $13M led by Craft Ventures
Future of Work • Series A • San Francisco, CA
Enterpret raises $20.8M led by Canaan Partners
Sales / Marketing • Series A • San Francisco, CA
PlayAI raises $21M led by Kindred Ventures, 500 Global and Others
Data / AI / Machine Learning • Pre-Seed & Seed • Palo Alto, CA
Tuskira raises $28.5M led by Intel Capital and SYN Ventures
Risk / Security • Venture • San Francisco, CA
Lawhive raises $40M led by GV and TQ Ventures
Future of Work • Series A • London, UK
Yurts raises $40M led by XYZ VC
Data / AI / Machine Learning • Series B • San Francisco, CA
Soda Health raises $50M led by General Catalyst
HR Tech • Series B • Bentonville, AR
/dev/agents raises $56M led by Index Ventures
Data / AI / Machine Learning • Seed • San Francisco, CA
Eon raises $70M led by BOND
Infrastructure / Dev Tools • Series C • New York, NY
Halcyon raises $100M led by Evolution Capital Partners
Risk / Security • Series C • Austin, TX
Upwind raises $100M led by Craft Ventures
Risk / Security • Series A • San Francisco, CA
Constrafor raises $264M led by NFX
Future of Work • Series A & Debt • New York, NY
Tenstorrent raises $700M led by AFW Partners and Samsung Securities
Data / AI / Machine Learning • Series D • Toronto, Canada
Uniphore acquires Action IQ for an Undisclosed Amount
Sales / Marketing • Acquisition • New York, NY