VC recalls Bird's $300M party round of 2018 as a warning for AI funding
NYCounihan · x · 2026-09-05
The author recounts how Uber's success made VCs obsess over mobility in 2018, when Bird raised a $300M party round from Sequoia, Accel, CRV, Craft, Index and Upfront — one investor called it "the most obvious investment of his career." He suggests viewing Instinct and Town's current rounds through a similar skeptical lens.
More from Venture
- Satirical Post: $1B 'AI Trading Lab' Allegedly Trades on Model-Release Insider Info — StewartalsopIII · 2026-10-20
- a16z's Ben Horowitz says AI buildout isn't the 90s bubble — an investor pushes back — henloitsjoyce · 2026-10-20
- DeepSeek hands inference providers 90%+ margins, pressuring Moonshot and Zhipu hosting deals — teortaxesTex · 2026-10-20
- a16z leads Eka Robotics Series A, betting on Vision-Force-Action models for dexterous manipulation — a16z · 2026-10-20
- Salesforce signs definitive agreement to acquire customer engagement platform Braze — thedealdirector · 2026-10-20
- Anthropic and OpenAI API gross margins claimed to be as high as 95% — zephyr_z9 · 2026-10-20