English
Darshan
7.3K posts
Darshan
@DarshanG_
research & investments @polarisfund | excited about web3, ai & frontier tech
Global انضم Eylül 2015
6.4K يتبع3.3K المتابعون
One of the most advanced hardware product (after @UltrahumanHQ) just launched. I have a few invite codes. If you need one, DMs are open. Thanks @cybersahu for building this for India.
sahu@cybersahu
Humans spend 25 years sleeping, yet the sleep environment has barely evolved in decades. Introducing Dreamspan Lucid Pro. World's most advanced sleep system. Request invite: dreamspan.co
English
@puneetiitm had actually DMed u too, just wanted to say hi :)
would be cool to be connected
English
@DarshanG_ Yes, that makes complete sense! I agree with that approach.
English
The leading sectors in Chinese VC by deal count today: semiconductors and robotics.
The leading sectors in Indian VC: consumer, fintech, and SaaS.
The gap will close. It is just a matter of time. These sectors will inevitably be among the largest in India. Super excited to back companies in these segments in the coming years.
English
@puneetiitm ah ok ok makes sense, because i agree semis/power/ nuclear too (if regulations provide) will be a big play in India.
so have been keen to double down on these n track players closely
English
@DarshanG_ Great question. I don't know a good source for tracking deals in China. This is based on the data I got from my colleague who runs our China strategy based in Shanghai.
English
At @plcapital we believe the GPT moment for robotics is closer than many believe, with innovation in the sector rapidly advancing and we see cryptographic and decentralized primitives as central to this narrative 🧵 1/5
English
@ethanyish Hey Ethan - just dropped u a note. Pls if u could check :)
English
2 months ago I said my goal this year was to make $1 on the internet with something I built.
@frontrunvc just crossed +$2k MRR.
Thank you to every VC, ecosystem team, accelerator, and trencher who's used it, given feedback, and pushed it forward.
What started as crypto discovery is becoming something bigger - the discovery layer for all early-stage startups.
AI vertical is next. API + MCP tools are also on the way. 🫡
JG@jongall45
3 days since launching @frontrunvc: My goal coming into this year was simple: make $1 on the internet with something I built... Done. The response has been better than I could've imagined. VCs, ecosystem teams, accelerators, trenchers - all using the product differently, all pushing it forward with valuable feedback. I took @jackbutcher's "Build Once, Sell Twice" course in 2020. 6 years later, I finally have my own "this is pointless" chart. As Jack did for me, hopefully this inspires someone else: build it, ship it, and put your ideas out into the world.
English
@tejeshwi_sharma what's probably the biggest bottleneck for it? combo of low ARPU + gpu import dependancy?
English
Consumer AI in India is being throttled by inference cost. Even open-source isn’t cheap enough at scale.
Low-cost inference layer for India unlocks a wave of apps across education, health, fitness, wealth, entertainment, recruiting, and chatbots for the next 1B users.
Distribution rails are already built (UPI, cheap data, smartphones). Demand is not a constraint, unit economics is.
The moment cost drops 10x, we will see an explosion.
English
I'm hiring for my team at @0xPolygon 🚀
In this position you'll work with me on AI initiatives across the organization in various different capacities. From working with AI, building agentic tools, and more.
Apply here: jobs.ashbyhq.com/polygon-labs/8…
English
We are hiring an ex-HFT quant to work directly on markets- and (AI) research-related work at QFEX.
This role is perfect for those who are thinking of making the switch from quant to startups.
Your noncompete won't apply.
You'll work alongside a team of like-minded individuals on the same journey - we come from Citadel, Jump Trading, Tower Research Capital, Jane Street and Optiver, and are backed by top tier VCs including Y Combinator and General Catalyst.
Comment below if you are interested.
I will reply to every single comment, even if it is a straight no, with any kind of feedback you want.
English
@paraschopra it only literally took me 1-2hrs to set up an e2e flow for a task that used to take like 1-2hrs a day n now it's pretty self serve n keeps running by itself, completing the same job in 2-3mins max lol
English
I don’t get the OpenClaw hype
Connecting Claude with Telegram / WhatsApp is trivially easy, you can literally ask it to help you do this and it’ll guide you. Same story with recurring jobs.
I just did this - now Claude send me local bangalore news summary at 12pm IST daily on Telegram. Took me 15 mins to build.
If the argument is that Claw lets nontech users do this, imagine the security implications when users let an LLM take over their system while having no idea what’s happening under the hood.
Making custom scripts and workflows with Claude lets you at least know what you’re configuring on your system.
English
@DarshanG_ We should chat about @uv - market data is especially tricky + exciting
English
Imo there will not be such a thing as "enough training data" (atleast for the next 5-7yrs), there will always be need and consumption demand.
Margins will definitely compress i agree, but i also think they won't actually go to zero.
Mainly see an opportunity around them still being relevant for a long period for SLMs/ domain-specific usecases
I feel these data labs will mostly turn into specialised usecases and see exits via acquisitions to one of these frontier AI labs
Jamie Quint@jamiequint
On Mercor, Handshake, Surge AI, Turing, Micro1, etc. If you're considering making a career move I would not go work at any of these companies. These businesses are a race to the bottom. There is no structural defensibility in outsourced research/training data for a set of 5-10 very large customers. Once the frontier labs have to start caring about margins, one of two things will happen: they will drive vendor margins down until these businesses trade at 0.5–1x revenue, like every other staffing company (potentially worse because of the customer concentration risk), or they vertically integrate. All arguments about how these are important outsourced research companies that the labs really value are cope.
English
@davidgan1818 @_inceptioncap David just reached out to jam n exchange notes if cool 🫡
English
We’ve gotten strong interest in our research intern program at @_inceptioncap.
A quick update for those considering it:
we’ll be closing first-round interviews next week and expect to make final decisions by the end of the month.
We’ve also decided to make this more of an in-person experience, with New York as the center of gravity.
There’s real value in learning venture from inside a city where founders, capital, and market conversation are constantly in motion.
There is clearly a cohort of young talent that still wants steep learning curves, real proximity to investment work, and exposure to how markets and founders are actually evaluated.
That’s how we’ve designed the program:
real reps in research, writing, and founder-facing work across emerging markets, AI, deep tech, and crypto.
Many of the most impressive candidates we meet are globally minded, highly curious, and willing to work across disciplines early.
That combination compounds.
Inception Capital@_inceptioncap
We’re looking for Investment Research Interns at Inception Capital, a New York-based first-check venture firm with a focus on early-stage emerging markets opportunities across crypto, deep tech, AI, and other adjacent verticals. Our internship program has a strong track record: past interns have gone on to join or found leading firms across the industry. In this role, you’ll get hands-on exposure across investment workflows, market analysis, and founder-facing insights — all at the intersection of AI, deep tech, and crypto. You: • Strong interest in Emerging Markets, Crypto, AI, and Frontier Tech • Solid writing skills • Proficient in reading and writing English materials • Ready to conduct quantitative & qualitative research and write high-quality reports • Available for a 3–6 month full-time internship (5 days/week) • New York and SF-based candidates preferred • Remote possible If this is you, apply. Send your most representative research or product work + resume + a cover letter sharing your insights on the most promising sectors/projects in the current market to recruit@inception.capital
English
@Hercules_Defi @Shaughnessy119 @pierskicks @Delphi_Ventures Couldn’t make the cut with the big guns 🥹🥲
Feeling sad :(
English
The VCs are very much ready to fund your project if you have the right idea and team.
This is a list of Crypto VCs who are ready to deploy.👇
------------------
> @Shaughnessy119 and @pierskicks from @Delphi_Ventures said they are deploying their 4th direct fund, actively and selectively. They also said they are open to early-stage crypto and early-stage AI founders.
---------------------
> @DaveHsu from @etherfi_VC said they are deploying $500K–$1M checks for founders rebuilding finance. Live product with traction required which will also give direct access to the @ether_fi ecosystem.
---------------------
> @neuralunlock, @dara_venture, and @iwillpat from @HashgraphVC said they are deploying $500K–$2M checks. They also said 4 deals done this year and are targeting 35 total.
---------------------
> @maxime_bucaille from @DraperVC said they are still actively deploying and they've done 8 deals so far this year
---------------------
> @EvanTheFeng and @jbrukh from @coinfund said they are active and DMs are open for new ideas. Focusing on AI, prediction markets, stablecoins etc.
---------------------
> @Evanzsolomon from @PortalVentures said they are still leading pre-seed deals.
---------------------
> @MikeZajko from @lattice_fund said they are still actively writing checks.
---------------------
> @alpackaP from @Hack_VC said they are investing more aggressively than ever.
---------------------
> @0xstajus from @v3v_ventures said they are still actively deploying and happy to connect with visionary founders
---------------------
> @0xfishylosopher from @panteracapital said doors and DMs are always opened.
---------------------
> @claudezone, @gleb0x from @greenfield_cap said they are actively deploying and DMs are opened.
---------------------
> @ryanconnor from @Rockaway_X said they are still bullish on crypto founders.
---------------------
> @ARafayGadit from @ZigLabs_ said they are deploying $150K–$500K pre-seed for AI-first and new-age Web3 projects.
---------------------
> @kay_phillips_ from @HivemindCap said they are actively investing pre-seed through series B deals
---------------------
> @maybeltr from @kosmosVC said he's actively deploying and you should hmu anytime, anyday.
---------------------
> @curious_mind21 from @TiogaCapital said they are deploying more than ever with fresh funds and only 10% deployed so far. They are focusing on RWA, perps, frontier tech etc.
---------------------
> @jonah_b from @bcap said they are actively deploying. Also said they have invested in @polymarket, @coinbase, and @tether.
The list continues in the comment👇
Tom Dunleavy@dunleavy89
The shift in the crypto fundraising landscape the past 6 months has been insane. Crypto VCs used to have to constantly be networking/writing/podcasting/going on spaces/promoting your thesis/getting on 10 deal flow calls a week, to get into good deals...now it's literally enough to just have capital to write checks. Deals are being pushed rather than dug out. Inbound if people know you have money is at an all-time high. Most firms are either 1) Out of money 2) Moved to Series A and beyond or 3) Fundraising (with no success). Deals that used to close in 2-3 weeks now close in 2-3 months. Firms with questionable business models or copy pasta of the latest trend are getting zero primary or follow-on funding (Good news!). There are now realistically <20 firms writing checks in pre-seed/seed. VCs basically have the pick of any deal they want, with more time to do DD. IMHO 25/26 are going to be historic vintages for those who stick around.
English
@mlmabc @WazzCrypto @binance What’s the way you’re tracking the linkage? I mean any specific tool u use - meaning to see this especially from API side
English
95.3% is controlled by the RAVE team itself (one entity, all linked onchain). 3.1% is held by users on Bitget (likely also insiders). 0.34% is held by users on Gate (likely also insiders).
That brings total insider control to ~98% (assuming not every exchange holder is an insider).
So you’re not looking at a $10B coin - it’s effectively a ~$200M market cap coin..
English
Biggest crime in recent history on @binance
They short squeezed everyone to $10 Billion Dollars
Wazz@WazzCrypto
They crimed $RAVE to $5 BILLION FDV Incredible work
English
@DarshanG_ @PolarisFund dm'd. We are building the last yield optimizer which rebalances over chains, tokens, and protocols.
English
We are also actively exploring n deploying across venture/ liquid/ yield opportunities at @PolarisFund
Pls do feel free to reach out via DMs as well I’d love to just even jam on market research if nothing else :)
I’m also happy to personally give feedback to each n every deck from a researcher pov in the space
I’ll ensure I circle back to everyone n give some concrete feedback to all that do reach out!
Msg me anytime hehe I’m always available
Tom Dunleavy@dunleavy89
The shift in the crypto fundraising landscape the past 6 months has been insane. Crypto VCs used to have to constantly be networking/writing/podcasting/going on spaces/promoting your thesis/getting on 10 deal flow calls a week, to get into good deals...now it's literally enough to just have capital to write checks. Deals are being pushed rather than dug out. Inbound if people know you have money is at an all-time high. Most firms are either 1) Out of money 2) Moved to Series A and beyond or 3) Fundraising (with no success). Deals that used to close in 2-3 weeks now close in 2-3 months. Firms with questionable business models or copy pasta of the latest trend are getting zero primary or follow-on funding (Good news!). There are now realistically <20 firms writing checks in pre-seed/seed. VCs basically have the pick of any deal they want, with more time to do DD. IMHO 25/26 are going to be historic vintages for those who stick around.
English