From: The Cryptonite Weekly Rap <cryptoniteventures@substack.com>
Date: Tue, Mar 25, 2025, 9:04 PM
Subject: Saving Dogecoin, top 25 AI VC investors, CoreWeaves's IPO value drops, crypto wallet startups, and other soft land…
To: <g@xny.io>
Elon's empire evolves as the TechBro backlash gets uglyYou can't say Elon is not taking one for the skipper. Tesla shares started to recoil on January 21, the day after President Trump's inauguration, when the Cowardly Lion took over as head of DOGE. Since that inglorious day, Elon has taken a $60 billion stock hit, pushing the value of his Tesla stock below his stake in SpaceX. But save your crocodile tears for the Cowardly Lion. Despite Tesla's recent slump, the company's stock is still up 46 percent over the last year, and Elon remains the world's richest person (not counting Vlad and the Saudis).😭 The stock was also overvalued like the rest of BigTech, and the hit was part of the market correction. The TechBro backlash in 2025 was our second prediction for the year. After witnessing the Biden/Harris in '20-voting 'Magnificent Seven' CEOs lining up at Mar-a-Lago to wash the feet of their new master, you could see it coming. But we didn't predict it would come with Molotov cocktails and stacks of death threats.😳
Since Elon's DOGE appointment, Tesla vehicles, dealerships, and charging stations have faced a notable wave of vandalism and arson attacks across the United States and beyond. A conservative, evidence-based estimate suggests total damages created by these incidents of at least $2.4 million thus far.
Meanwhile, reports have emerged of dramatic declines in Tesla car sales in the first two months of 2025 in Germany, China, and Australia, and analysts at JPMorgan recently cut their global deliveries forecast for the first quarter of 2025. Despite once being the darling of ‘progressives’ for cutting tens of millions of tons of CO2 from going into the ozone and making every auto company on the planet do the same, EDS is ramping up and is terrible for at least the Tesla business.  Finding the cost of freedomUnfortunately, the BLM riots of the Summer of 2020 set a new pattern of using vandalism, arson, looting (a.k.a. smash and steal), and even the death of the innocent as a means of political protest. During the Summer of unrest, which affected over 100 cities, at least 19 innocent people were killed, insured property damage losses reached $2 billion, and uninsured losses were estimated to be three times that figure.😳 The ultimate irony was that the 19 innocent deaths were mostly people of color, and low-income neighborhoods suffered most of the property destruction.🤔
Sadly, the anti-Israeli protests, especially on 'elite' university campuses, have borrowed from these violent tactics. Since the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023, antisemitic incidents in the US have risen 360 percent, including vandalism and arson across all 50 states. Public spaces like libraries, public transportation, and streets have seen 1,540 Israel-related antisemitic incidents since 2023, many tied to anti-Israel protests. Instigators range from anti-Israel protesters to extremist groups, motivated primarily by political opposition to Israel, often expressed through antisemitic rhetoric and actions. Not to pick a side here, but when you analyze the three protest movements that turned violent above, none of the perpetrators were wearing red hats.🤔 We all need to stand up to this craziness and reassert MLK Jr's example of nonviolent resistance because these protests are putting lives at risk. "Gandhi was probably the first person in history to lift the love ethic of Jesus above mere interaction between individuals to a powerful and effective social force on a large scale. It was in this Gandhian emphasis on love and nonviolence that I discovered the method for social reform that I had been seeking. Christ furnished the spirit and motivation, while Gandhi furnished the method." —The Reverand Martin Luther King, Jr., from a 1960 speech, ‘The Rising Tide of Racial Consciousness.’ Humility and a balance of perspective are required from both 'sides' of the political spectrum as the 'creative destruction' tsunami that is the norm for us in Silicon Valley is now engulfing our Federal government. The storm comes in the form of DOGE attempting to decentralize services and resources and modernize our government with the latest technology innovation and best operational practices. We must remember, however, that swift change often spurs fear and loathing within some and can even cost lives if we are not careful. (See our letter to readers below re: USAID cuts). Top VCs in AI for 2025The following list presents the 27 venture capital funds that have invested in the greatest number of the 150 top private AI companies chosen for this year’s Cryptonite 300 (C300). For Silicon Valley insiders, nothing is surprising about what firms are on this list. The Andreessen Horowitz fund dominance, as in 10 more C300 deals than the venerable Sequoia Capital, was a bit eyebrow-raising. It was interesting to see AI chipmaker Nvidia take over the helm from Intel Capital (still on the list, just lower) as the most prolific corporate VC.
Based on our history of picking great private companies, the bottom line is that the 27 funds on this list are going to make a sh*tload of money—and the AI VC action has just begun. According to our historical calculations, most of the great AI companies that will define the era have yet to be founded. Given the ‘deep tech’ nature of AI and quantum computing, it makes sense that the average top VC fund on this list was founded, on average, 26 years ago (appropriately 1999🎉), and over half the funds are from San Francisco/Silicon Valley. The average assets of management numbers (AUM) are now all north of $1 billion, with an eye-watering average fund size of $25 billion💰💰💰! AI is a resource and talent and cash-hungry trade, and it helps to be at the center of the tech universe. Global Silicon Valley companies backed by venture capital investors now generate half of the world's new jobs and wealth. It's good to take time once in a while to appreciate the crafty entrepreneurs and the swashbuckling risk investors who make it all happen! Keep up the good work, mates!
|
