Here’s a roundup of interesting startup links I came across today:
The stranger secret: how to talk to anyone – and why you should | Social etiquette | The Guardian
A lot of people have given up taking a chance on other people: that they might want to listen, that they might want to talk. But they have also given up taking a chance on themselves: that they might be able to navigate a conversation with someone new, cope with knockbacks and steer a path through any misunderstandings.
Ghostnote Offers Musicians a Life After Streaming
But the big thing that sets Ghostnote apart is a sophisticated authentication process that, according to Allen, means the artist gets paid not just when the item sells initially—but every time it sells after that.
The AI Skill That Beats Coding, And You Likely Have It | AI Advances
A lawyer, a cardiologist, and a road technician from Uganda. None of them has a software background. All of them built successful AI products liked by thousands in under a week.
MCP is dead. Long live the CLI
I’m going to make a bold claim: MCP is already dying. We may not fully realize it yet, but the signs are there. OpenClaw doesn’t support it. Pi doesn’t support it. And for good reason.
Over $50B Went To Boom-Era Software Companies That Haven’t Raised In 4+ Years
Four-year funding gaps are especially top of mind these days, as it’s been that long since U.S. venture investment hit its all-time peak. During the boom that lasted from 2020 to early 2022, software companies in particular routinely raised megarounds at rich valuations.
What’s My Stage Again? – by Euclid Ventures
It’s increasingly hard to figure out what “seed” means. Carta’s 2025 annual State of Pre-Seed report found that 95th percentile seed valuations reached $80.5M, nearly 3x higher than the 95th percentile just 6 years ago. Meanwhile, 42% of seed rounds last year were >$5M raises. Thinking Machines Lab raised a $2B “seed.” Unconventional AI did $475M, Periodic Labs $300M, Merge Labs $252M, and so on.
Taking stock of the SaaSpocalypse – Foundation Capital
As I see it, two questions are being conflated: what happens to software as AI matures, and what happens to the broader economy as AI displaces knowledge work. The second question has real stakes, given how much of the modern economy runs on software and the people who build and use it, but it’s a different question, and I’ll focus here largely on the first.
Dr. Tokens or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the AI Bubble
Rather than assuage your fears with logic or dull your constipation with infographics, this Essay, instead, offers a core thesis, stated earnestly: humanity has never built anything of note without, first, losing its collective mind.
Weekly Review: Agents Grow Up – by Sam Keen – Altered Craft
Welcome to this week’s Altered Craft weekly AI review for developers. We’re grateful you keep showing up every Monday. This edition has a clear throughline: coding agents are leaving the experimental phase and entering the era of engineering discipline.
OpenClaw: Setting Up Your First Personal AI Agent
Four people with different risk tolerances and technical backgrounds all landed in the same place: Personal AI agents are going to be a basic part of how we live and work.
Let’s Talk About the Humanoid Robot in the Room – Matthias Plappert
If you’re working on general purpose humanoid robots: godspeed. The problems I outlined above are real and they’re hard. The key challenge is to figure out how to overcome these structural deployment and data flywheel issues. But someone has to try, and I hope you succeed!
No one wants to read your AI slop
In the absence of an explicit reassurance to the contrary, you should presume that recounting your AI chatbot sessions to your friends is an imposition on the friendship, and forwarding the transcripts of those sessions doubly so (perhaps triply so, given the verbosity of chatbot responses).
Climate Curious March Updates: Warm Winter, Warmer Community
Next week, we’re holding our first happy hour of 2026. Come find your people as winter gives away to spring. And while you’re here, we’d love your input on this newsletter itself: take our brief survey below so we can make sure we’re bringing you the updates that actually matter to you.
PDX Video Tech 2026 #1 · Luma
We have a great line-up of video tech talks coming up! Reward yourself with pizza and a beverage at this in-person event. Doors open at 6 PM! It will be a SMPTE 2110 kind of night!
Designing the Future: Footwear, Apparel & Softgoods Mixer · Luma
Join Vizcom for a casual, invite-only mixer bringing together design and innovation leaders from across footwear, apparel, and softgoods. This evening is designed to be relaxed and social: with complimentary food and drinks on us! This is a great opportunity to connect with peers and explore how other global brands are using AI in their design workflows.
Startup Couve Coffee: Eastside · Luma
Drink coffee, kindly sponsored by Impact Washington, and talk with other great founders and companies in our local area.
2026 CTC/EE Finals Tickets, Friday, Mar 27 from 12 pm to 5 pm | Eventbrite
Join us for an inspiring afternoon featuring the next generation of innovators from Portland State University. This live pitch event and exhibition unites two of PSU’s flagship innovation programs into one celebratory showcase of student-led innovation.
In new letter to governor, Seattle tech leaders say income tax proposal will hurt region’s AI innovation – GeekWire
They urge state leaders to “pause” work on the so‑called “millionaires tax” — a state income tax that would impose a 9.9% levy on personal income above $1 million — as well as an increase to Washington’s capital gains tax. “These policies would materially undermine Washington’s ability to keep growing the tech sector, which is a core driver of our economy, and would slow the AI innovation and investment momentum that we should be accelerating, not discouraging,” the letter reads.
