TSV Capital

?? TSVC Portfolio Spotlight ?? Meet #Vega, the groundbreaking general-purpose robot developed in under six months by our portfolio company Dexmate. ??? With high-payload arms, dexterous hands, a foldable torso, and omni-directional mobility, Vega is built for versatility and efficiency—running 10+ hours per charge. We are proud to support visionary founders like Tao Chen, Yuzhe Qin & Chongyang(Max) Wang and the rest of the #Dexmate team Josyula Krishna, Aditya Nisal as they push the boundaries of robotics innovation. Tag someone who could really use Vega right now! ??

??TSVC Portfolio Spotlight?? ??Exa a #TSVC portfolio company, has announced that Websets is live for everyone!?? ExaAI's web search agent helps you find what traditional tools miss, delivering 20x more results than Google and 10x more than Deep Researcher. Perfect for: ??Sales teams ?? Recruiters ?? Investors ?? Researchers Check out the full evaluations: (https://lnkd.in/d-X9wJRh) ?? Kudos to the #ExaAI team: Will Bryk Jeffrey Wang Hubert Yuan Shreyas S. Isabelle Hughes Eugene Chan Thais Castello Branco Vishal Khanna Felix Zeller Stacey Tara Elizabeth Trykin #AI #TechInnovation #Websets #FutureofAI

?? We're thrilled to welcome MIT alumni Kei Onishi ?and Lisheng Wang, who will both join our finance panel at the MIT Sloan Asia Business Conference 2025: InnovAsia this Saturday! Kei Onishi is the CEO and Managing Director of Yamaha Motor Ventures. He previously led Yamaha Motor Group's global digital transformation efforts, focusing on digital marketing and data analytics. Kei has also worked on Yamaha's corporate venture capital activities in areas such as AI, Robotics, and Connectivity, along with developing IoT business as a spin-off company from Yamaha Motor. Earlier in his career, he worked as a manufacturing engineer in Southeast Asia. He has earned MS in engineering from Nagoya University, and MBA from Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Lisheng Wang is a general partner at TSV Capital, a 15-year old Silicon Valley based venture capital firm that was known for being the first institutional investor in companies like Zoom, Carta and Ginkgo Bioworks. Prior to joining TSVC, Lisheng co-founded Propel(x), a leading DeepTech venture and alternative investment platform in the US where he led platform operations and investments. He was also the Co-Founder and Managing Director of Newton Fund, a VC fund affiliated with Propel(x). Lisheng co-founded the MIT Alumni Angels group in the SF Bay Area in 2013 and was one of the first co-directors of the group. Before venture investing, Lisheng was in banking for 10+ years in the US and was one of the first engineers when Microsoft opened its office in Shanghai, China. ?? Secure your tickets today - don't miss out on the chance to explore key innovations affecting Asia and the world and network with visionary global leaders! ??? https://lnkd.in/efyqhCHF MIT Sloan Alumni MIT Alumni Association

Have you seen attitudes toward down rounds change? Let’s discuss ?? For years, down rounds were seen as a signal of distress—something to be avoided at all costs. But in today’s environment, perspectives have shifted. ?? In Q4 2024, 19% of venture deals on Carta were down rounds, continuing a trend that started with the valuation reset in 2022. Many startups that raised funding in 2024 had last raised in a pre-2022 era of higher valuations. Now, with a more cautious investment landscape, some have little choice but to accept a lower valuation to secure new capital. As David Willbrand puts it: "Trying to avoid the down round *was* really important… I think now people have accepted it. It doesn’t look as toxic. Everybody realizes we’re all in the same boat." The key now? Managing the extent of the down round—balancing valuation adjustments with structural terms. A slight drop with reasonable terms may be acceptable, but aggressive liquidation preferences and excessive investor-friendly structures can raise concerns. In this new reality, transparency and fairness in negotiations matter more than ever. Founders and investors must work together to ensure companies can continue to grow, even in a tighter market. #VentureCapital #StartupFundraising #DownRounds #CartaData

????Apple’s $500B Bet on U.S. Manufacturing – A Sign of the Times??? ??Advanced manufacturing is no longer a distant vision—it’s happening now. Apple’s commitment to investing over $500 billion in the U.S. over the next four years signals a major shift in the industry. ??As TSVC Founding Partner Eugene Zhang mentioned: The one constant in this evolution is change itself. ??#TSVC is proud that we planted quite a few seeds in the sector for the past few years, including eBots for high precision #iPhone manufacturing. ??Read here: https://lnkd.in/ehgm5zbn #AdvancedManufacturing #FutureOfAI

?? What’s Missing in Silicon Valley’s AI Agent Boom? ?? In this short video series, #TSVC Founding Partner Eugene Zhang explores the rise of AI-native agent startups and why Silicon Valley may not dominate every vertical. In Part 1, he introduces the key topics he will be discussing: ? The massive opportunity in AI agents ? Silicon Valley’s strengths (and weaknesses) in this space ? A blueprint for building successful AI agent companies ?? Who needs to hear this? Tag a founder, investor, or AI enthusiast who would find these insights valuable! Stay tuned for Part 2—insights you won’t want to miss! #AI #Startups #SiliconValley #Innovation #VC

??TSVC Portfolio Spotlight ?? We’re thrilled to share that our portfolio company AKOOL has been ranked #14 on G2’s 2025 Best AI Software Products list! ??Congrats to the #Akool team Jeff Lu, Deepa Sureka, Elina Lipkin, Jia Li, Mike Alford for this well-deserved recognition. Their dedication to pushing the boundaries of AI-powered content creation continues to make a major impact in the industry.?? Check out the full list here: https://lnkd.in/dH5866wa #AIInnovation #BestAI #TechExcellence #G2Awards

How do VCs make decisions? ?? From deal sourcing to exits, venture capital is a structured yet dynamic process. This framework from the National Bureau of Economic Research breaks down how investors evaluate startups, structure deals, and create value. ?? Key takeaways: ? Deal sourcing – Networks & portfolio companies matter most. ? Investment selection – Founders & teams are just as crucial as financials. ? Post-investment – Strategic guidance & investor connections drive success. ? Exits – IPOs & M&As bring strong returns, but 32% of investments fail. At #TSVC, we’ve seen these principles in action as we back deep tech & AI startups at the earliest stages. Spotting top founders, structuring deals right, and supporting companies post-investment make all the difference. ?? Additional Insight from TSVC Founding Partner, Chun Xia: “It’s hard to forecast a particular deal. Instead, we keep forecasting new market sectors (e.g. efficient AI, Onshore) upfront. Per deal, we have a ‘unicorn test’.” ? Tag a founder who needs to see this before it’s too late! #VentureCapital #Startups #Investment #DeepTech

?? Less Paperwork, More Strategy: The Fund CFO's Dilemma ?? Fund CFOs do *so much more* than paperwork. For example, instead of chasing down late capital calls, they could be: ? Optimizing tax strategies for the firm ? Exploring marketing strategies to elevate the fund ? Evaluating portfolio reserves and secondary opportunities ? Supporting portfolio companies with CFO expertise Clipped from an episode of The Data Minute podcast, Marie D., a seasoned venture fund CFO, talks about the high-impact work CFOs *want* to be doing—if only they weren’t buried in back-office tasks. ??? Watch the clip as she breaks it down with Peter Walker, Head of Insights at Carta #VentureCapital #FundCFO #PrivateCapital

When pitching your startup, what metrics should you highlight? The short answer is: the ones you find most useful to run the business. That means a couple of things: 1) don't search out metrics that look good but aren't actually relevant, on the hope that they will fool someone; and 2) don't add something into your deck just because VCs ask for it. Understand why they are asking, and if it makes sense, then add it ???????? to your pitch and to how you manage your business. On the other hand, if it doesn't make sense, you're actually better off explaining why that's the wrong metric to focus on. That allows you do to a few things: demonstrate confidence, without arrogance; educate the investor on how your market actually works; and test whether they are smart enough and engaged enough to go on the journey with you. Of course you're walking a fine line here - you do want to make sure you really understand why they are asking, and be open to the possibility that their experience has led them to appreciate nuances you don't. The above is a small piece of a guest lecture I did a couple of days ago for a course called "Entrepreneurial Financial Management" at a university that's pretty well known for its entrepreneurship. I'm attaching the slides from that lecture here - a lot of it you may already know, but give it a look, you may find an idea or tidbit that's new to you!