#startups

European startups raised about $24 billion in Q2 2026, the strongest quarter since 2021. North America raised $137 billion in the same three months. The gap didn't close. It got wider in absolute dollars, and the exit problem underneath it hasn't moved at all.

In September 2025, Garry Tan called Delve a top YC startup. Six months later, YC quietly asked them to leave. The Delve scandal isn't really about Delve. It's about what happens when YC's trust network, the thing that's actually the product, gets stress-tested.

Where smart VC money is actually moving in 2025: AI infrastructure layers, defense tech, climate, and the Series A crunch for non-AI startups.