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venture's $200b quarter

CB Insights has published its latest newsletter on venture funding, covering a $200 billion quarter.

State of Venture Q2’26

Funding tops $200B for the second consecutive quarter. Deal count hits a decade low. Mega-rounds take 81% of all capital. SpaceX goes public at a record valuation. Every data point comes from the CB Insights proprietary database, updated in real time.

Lean Startup Lessons for Generative AI

The article argues that most enterprise generative AI failures are process failures, not model failures, and that Eric Ries’s Lean Startup principles remain the right remedy. Citing a 2025 MIT NANDA study that found roughly 95% of enterprise generative AI pilots delivered no measurable impact, the author recommends returning to first principles: observe real work (genchi genbutsu), run very small, fast experiments (build-measure-learn / design sprints), prefer narrow scope or vendor partnerships over large internal bets, enforce pre-release guardrails and human review, and stop treating documentation as an end in itself. The piece frames generative AI as a tool that dramatically lowers experiment cost and cadence — making iterative learning more achievable — and urges teams to measure outcomes (activation, retention, hours saved, revenue) rather than outputs or demos.

• A 2025 study from MIT’s NANDA initiative found roughly 95% of enterprise generative AI pilots delivered no measurable impact.
• Eric Ries published The Lean Startup in 2011, introducing the build-measure-learn loop that the article advocates applying to AI programs.
• The Google Ventures 'Sprint' method outlines a five-day design sprint to test a realistic prototype with users before long builds.