Dear reader,
In each issue we spotlight:
startups that are actually worth your attention,
break down what featured angels and investors are really looking for,
share events that are worth leaving your laptop
Oh, and because no good dealflow comes without a side of drama, expect a sprinkle of spicy tech tea to warm up.
Startup Spotlight: Future Cardia
One Line Pitch: Future Cardia is a MedTech company developing a next-generation implantable, AI-enabled cardiac monitoring device that provides continuous, real-time heart health insights designed to transform how chronic heart conditions are detected and managed.
Raising: Up to $18.5M via Reg A+
Team: Jaeson (Jae) Bang | Founder & CEO
Why yes: Future Cardia’s device is a minimally invasive cardiac monitor implanted in a simple office procedure that continuously collects multi-sensor biometric data (ECG, heart & lung acoustics, motion) and analyzes it with AI. This aims to give cardiologists and healthcare providers earlier and richer insights than traditional intermittent or external monitoring. The company has clinical traction (39 implants + ~60,000 hours of real-world data) and early validation through accelerators like Stanford StartX and Johnson & Johnson Innovation’s JLABS.
Why pause: The shares are illiquid; Healthcare adoption is conservative; entrenched incumbents like Medtronic, Abbott & Boston Scientific dominate current implantable monitoring channels, and Future Cardia must demonstrate clear clinical advantage and reimbursement viability to win market share.
Link / Contact:1 Crowdfunding page
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Tech Tea:
James Mikula dropped a BOMB investigation piece on Kontigo (calling it Y Combinator's “Venezuelan Sanctions Evasion Startup”). Kontigo — a USDC-based fintech for Latin America, is reported to enable transactions with entities in Venezuela that are under U.S. sanctions, and is widely rumored to have connections to figures close to the Maduro regime (his son). JPMorgan Chase and other banking partners were reportedly used to move funds. The startup even became the target of a purported hack shortly after high-profile geopolitical events. Their response to Jason on X.
Google co-founder Sergey Brin is cutting ties with California following the “billionnaire tax bill”. In the 10 days before Christmas, an entity connected to Brin terminated or moved 15 California LLCs that oversee some of his business interests or investments out of the state.
Grok is under (deserved) scruitny all over the world except for US for “undressing women on command” in the comment section of their own posts. AI-generated images that digitally alter real women and girls into sexualised scenarios are well documented. Everyone seems to have realised that image-based abuse is no longer confined to shadowy corners of the internet but is running amok on X, TikTok and Telegram. Daniel Castro put out some ideas on how to actually fix this.
LEGO announced a new “Smart Brick” at CES. LEGO says it is the “the most significant evolution in the Lego System-in-Play since the introduction of the Lego Minifigure in 1978.” First Smart Bricks set come out in March and are Star Wars themes (X-Wing, Tie Fighter).
Polymarket is now an official partner at Golden Globes. I’ll never stop bashing these companies mainstreaming betting addiction, encouraging insider trading and removing all barriers to full-time ludomania. George W. Dent also thouroughly explains in his paper why legalizing insider trading will eventually be a disaster and will also effectively end insider trading.
Your favorite tech billionaires are betting on Greenland! Bill Gates, Sam Altman, Jeff Bezos, Peter Thiel, and others, have invested in AI-driven rare earth mining in Greenland with plans to build a "Freedom City." Meanwhile, Greenland has awarded a 30-year mining permit to a Danish-French group to extract a unique rock that may offer a greener alternative for aluminum production amid US President Donald Trump's threat to annex the Danish territory.
Reverse Pitch: Ethan Austin
E
Ethan is a Founding Partner of Outside VC
Thesis: fintech, embedded finance, payments, and crypto infrastructure
Stage&Check: Pre-seed to Series A. $100K-$250K
Geography: U.S.-centric
Contact: Best through warm intro via founders in his portfolio. (tip: Debbie, Volteras, TAP, Zumma)
How he helps:
He brings operator intuition and fintech domain experience. Go-to-market strategy and product positioning in regulated financial verticals. Network introductions to potential partners, early customers, and follow-on investors. Advisory on compliance strategy, banking partnerships, and growth at scale. Real-world product feedback based on past payments and fintech roles.
Red flags: Prefers founders with deep domain knowledge in fintech — generalized consumer or non-fintech startups may not fit his primary thesis. Looks for traction or strong early indicators — pure concept pitches are less likely to gain priority without data or pilot results.
Fast-pass: Traction with meaningful financial metrics (early revenue, retention). A team with fintech or payments expertise. Regulatory or banking partnerships underway or in late-stage validation. Founders with complementary skill sets (technical + ops/strategy).
Notes: Engaging with his content and community posts can be a strong first touch before formal intro. He’s going to be a guest on Founders N' Funders: Los Angeles VC Reverse Pitch and you can learn from him first hand. (don’t harass-pitch tho — it rarely works) 2
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Featured Events
LA
January 12, Fireside Chat with Pejman Nozad — Join Beverly Hills Mayor Sharona Nazarian as she welcomes legendary investor Pejman Nozad (Founding Managing Partner, Pear VC) for an exclusive, intimate Fireside Chat.
January 13, Founder's Dinner | Hosted by: T Palmer Agency & InsurtechNY — Our Founder's Dinner invites Series A, B, and C Founders, Venture Capitalists, industry leaders, innovators, and key influencers in the Insurtech, Fintech, Healthtech, and AI industries to gather for a night of inspiration, collaboration, and networking.
January 14, StartupExperts LA - Happy Hour and Speed Networking — Join us for cocktails and connections at our StartupExperts LA Hub Happy Hour and Speed Networking!
January 15, TOAST TO 2026 B1G + IVY LEAGUE MIXER — Kick off 2026 in style at Tirebiter Brewery, right on USC’s doorstep, as we bring together alumni from over eight different alumni clubs across Los Angeles.
January 15, Founders N' Funders: Los Angeles VC Reverse Pitch — Join us for an evening of exceptional networking and a chance to hear these VCs pitch to founders on their investment theses, target industries, check sizes, key differentiators, portfolios, and what they look for in founders!
January 17, The LA Wealth and Lifestyle Meetup: What People Here Are Investing In — Join us for a causal social night where LA creatives, professionals, finance and market-curious people come together to talk money, lifestyle, and the investments everyone in the city is buzzing about.
January 20, Burbank Tech Talks: Tech, Talent & the New Learning Economy — Join us for an evening of conversation and connection as we explore how education is adapting to meet the needs of today’s learners and tomorrow’s workforce. From AI in the classroom to upskilling platforms and career-aligned learning, we’ll hear from leaders shaping how people learn, build, and thrive in a shifting world.
January 21, Everything Everywhere AI at Once — the director’s-cut AI + film takeover of Upscale Conf, UPSCALE DAY LA, unites the filmmakers, directors and technologists driving the next chapter of filmmaking.
SF
January 14, Founders in Arms Live: Roundtable with Immad Akhund (Mercury) & Rajat Suri (Tribe, Lima, Lyft) with special guest Max Mullen (Instacart) — Join Immad Akhund (CEO & Co-founder, Mercury) and Raj Suri (Founder, Lima & Tribe) for an in-person, founders-only conversation joined by special guest Max Mullen (Co-founder, Instacart). This event, with food and drinks provided by Mercury, is exclusively for founders with some revenue traction or who have raised at least a pre-seed round.
January 15, MongoDB.local SF: For Founders Building What’s Next — Join hundreds of founders, builders, and leaders from across the Bay Area startup ecosystem to learn how high-growth startups are moving from prototype to production, shipping faster with MongoDB, and unlocking new opportunities for growth.
January 15, Why Good Pitches Don’t Get Funded: A Live Workshop on Clarity & Confidence from OpenAI coach — You’ll learn how to align your thinking, emotions, and body so you feel grounded, credible, and relaxed under pressure — in investor meetings, negotiations, and on camera.
January 22, Llama Lounge 22: The AI Startup Event Series at AWS Loft SF — Waitlist-only.
January 22, San Francisco n8n Meetup with Jan Oberhauser, Founder & CEO of n8n — We’re excited to invite you to our next n8n meetup in SF, hosted by Dylan Watkins (Community Manager at n8n), with a special guest joining us: Jan Oberhauser, Founder and CEO of n8n.
NYC
January 13, Connections & Capital NYC Meetup @ Pubkey — Join us for NYC's #1 founder, operator, and investor meetup at PubKey. Hosted by Introduction.com, a private, invite only community of entrepreneurs, operators, and investors shaping the future with technology.
January 15, AgeTech NYC 2026 Kickoff Happy Hour — For our year kickoff, we’re hosting a low-key AgeTech Connect NYC happy hour - think ping pong + pool. No panels or pitches, just community. We’ll also share a preview of the 2026 AgeTech NYC content + events calendar and get your input on what you want more of this year - topics, formats, collaborators, and ideas worth testing.
January 21, NYC VC Investors - Winter 2026 Mixer — Come hang out with fellow NYC investors to catch up, swap notes on deals, talk AI (or not), and enjoy a fall hangout with refreshing drinks and light bites. No panels, no pitches - just good conversation with great people.
January 21, AI Founders Supper Club (Hosted by The AI Furnace) — The AI Founders Supper Club is a private founders dinner club hosted by The AI Furnace (the largest community of AI startups in the world). Once a month, we host 15-20 early stage AI founders for a night of delicious food, discussions and connections with curated high quality founders in NYC.
Austin
January 14, AI Agent Build Night with AkashML — Join us on January 14th from 6–10pm in Austin, TX for a fun, hands-on evening of AI Agent Building!
January 16, Austin Female Founders & Friends — The Artemis Fund believes technology can create prosperity for all. We lead seed rounds for companies creating resilient families, individuals, and businesses across the US. Join us for our quarterly meet-up to connect with female founders and investors as we cultivate a thriving founder community in Austin.
January 22, The Consumer VC Wake Up! CPG Austin — Austin-area CPG brands, retailers, service providers, and local enthusiasts are welcome to join us for a lively discussion about the CPG scene and helping each other grow our businesses and community. We are especially welcoming to new startups and companies just landing in Austin.
January 22, AI Collective Austin x Atlassian | 5th Street Systems: An Agentic Demo Night — A curated evening of six production-grade AI demos built by founders, engineers, and researchers across Austin. The focus is on real systems: working agents, automation layers, developer tools, and vertical applications that deliver observable impact.
Lingo of the Week — “fintech”
A blanket term for either unicorns or too-good-to-be-true startups. Venezuelans are already looking for alternatives tho.
My personal favorite was the one [a tweet from Kontigo] looking for compliance software several months after they’d already opened.
1 Disclaimer: This newsletter is for information only and is not investment, financial, legal, or tax advice, nor an offer to buy or sell any security. Do your own research and consult a professional; you’re responsible for your decisions and past performance isn’t indicative of future results.
2 This reverse pitch is compiled from public sources. Use it as a founder-oriented cheat sheet when deciding whether to reach out.
