Sourcery 2023 Recap
OpenAI, SVB Collapse, Ozempic, Fraud 🥳 Succession, Apple Vision Pro, Improv & GenAI, Superconductors, LongLA, HardTech, X, Techno-Optimism
Happy New Year! 🥳 🥳
If you missed out on the deals last week because you were lost in the space-time continuum vortex of a year’s long recovery condensed into one single week → click here.
There were actually deal announcements like Harvey AI, acquisitions like Chobani & La Colombe, Coupang & Farfetch, IBM StreamSets & webMethods, ServiceNow & UltimateSuite.. as well as a SPAC with Lynk Global (who would’ve thought?).
Sourcery 2023 Recap
First, I’d like to extend a big thank you to everyone who reads Sourcery. This ‘silly little newsletter’ has been going strong for over 3 years now and has amassed over 5.6K+ readers all from word of mouth until I started distributing across social platforms this summer (+30% growth since then - organic marketing works).
I love writing Sourcery ..especially the fun stuff. At the end of the day, it keeps me accountable each week to dedicate time for checking in on what’s going on in the broader tech world, connecting dots, asking questions, exploring new technologies, or just sharing wonderful things like travel or events with family & friends (while I’m on the other side of the country, sometimes the world) and somehow tying them back to the tech/VC world (fwiw the “fun” pieces outperform others that are more tech-dry).
Shout out to Some of Sourcery’s Top Readers:
Jordan, John, Yuri, Hiten, Stephen, Topher, Mustafa, Dave, Rick, Kaveh, Robbie, Pasqual, Emma, Connie, Darian, Tanzeen, Jeffrey, Alex, Trae, Yuliya, Minnie, Robert, Francesca, Jill, Jarrett, Priya, Vivien, Sita
ICYMI - The Year in Charts (click here for thread)
Top Posts from 2023
In chronological order, just so you can remember how long of a year it was. Things really started to pick up in the back half of the year as LA’s HardTech scene began to lift off and OpenAI became even more dramatic.
Q1
(1/9-1/13) More Fraud: Frank + SBF
(1/17-1/20) Layoffs & GenAI
(1/23-1/27) The Great Repricing
(1/30-2/3) What do Ozempic, Generative AI, and the current state of VC markets have in common?
(2/13-2/17) Sam’s OpenAI vs Elon’s Robots
(2/27-3/3) Upfront Ventures Summit Recap
(3/6-3/10) Reflecting on SVB Collapse
(3/20-3/24) Fed up, Cash App Fraud, GPT-4
Q2
(4/10-4/14) Coachella Wkd 1: Frank Ocean Disappoints, Despacio LCD Soundsystem, Labrinth, Carrots Merch
(4/17-4/21) Coachella Wkd 2: Frank < Fred Again
(4/24-4/28) Bruce Springsteen in Barcelona *Cory’s fav*
(5/1-5/5) Kaizen Mindset & "Failure" with Milwaukee Bucks NBA star, Giannis Antetokounmpo
(5/8-5/12) Google I/O AI AI AI AI AI AI
(5/15-5/19) Social Capital & Superpowers (no not Chamath, The Chainsmokers) *Fan fav*
(5/22-5/26) Succession & Silicon Valley; Lessons on power, ego, loyalty, and ‘seriousness’ *Personal fav*
(6/5-6/9) LA Tech Week Recap + Varda’s Launch *Most popular of the year*
(6/12-6/16) USGA @ LACC + Twitter is so back
(6/20-6/23) Elon vs Zuck + AI Acquisitions Begin: MosaicML
(6/26-6/30) Twitter 2.0’s rate limits vs. Instagram Threads
Q3
(7/10-7/14) A Field Trip to The Getty with Arjo: false ‘order’ & ‘seriousness’ of society *Arjo’s fav*
(7/24-7/28) Superconductors, UFOs, Optimize your Retool with Aaron
(8/7-8/11) Post-ZIRP Winners (M&A Bankers/PE) + Building the Perfect Pitch Deck
(8/28-9/1) HE'S BACK + X's new algo
(9/5-9/8) IPOs? + Flexport + Conspiracy Theories
(9/11-9/15) Elon's Book + New Epicenter of US Tech & VC Funding (LA)
(9/18-9/22) Intro to LA HardTech with Commodity Capital’s Xander Oltmann *Xander’s fav*
(9/25-9/29) Aliens at Dinner (Upfront’s Aerospace & Defense event) + OpenAI & Multimodal ChatGPT *Nick Kim & Jacques Fav*
Q4
(10/2-10/6) Alex Kolicich of 8VC’s VC State of the Market + LA Hardtech Factory Tours
(10/9-10/13) Marc Andreessen Drops the Techno-Optimist Manifesto + Peter Thiel on the Stagnation of Science & the AI Revoltion
(10/16-10/20) 3 years of Sourcery!
(10/23-10/27) Convoy Collapses, Techno-Optimist Review
(10/30-11/3) OpenAI DevDay, Wozempic, Fred Again..
(11/6-11/10) So long LA! OpenAI, Flexport, Palmer Luckey
(11/13-11/17) Sam Altman returns as CEO of OpenAI
(11/20-11/24) AI's threat to humanity? US Oil Production ATH
(11/27-12/1) Vinod Khosla, Elon's GFY + Fall of Big Media
(12/4-12/8) Google's Gemini, OpenView, Uber, SaaS Earnings
(12/11-12/15) Adobe≠Figma, Prague, a16z American Dynamism
(12/18-12/22) Rick Rubin, Jeff Bezos, Reid Hoffman, Mistral
Musings
We were able to catch up on some brain training data other than AI AI AI…
Science aka Dr. Andrew Huberman
Rick Rubin: Protocols to Access Creative Energy and Process
Highly recommend, other than the fact that Rick Rubin and I are both recovering vegans and NYU alumnus (that school really knows how to select creative talent), his book, The Creative Act: A Way of Being, was one of my favorite reads from this past year. He has an enlightening perspective and solid mental framework.
Robert Greene: A Process for Finding & Achieving Your Unique Purpose
Great conversation if you’re an aspiring writer or storyteller. I walked away from this wanting to go 2-3 layers deeper with my writing.
Fun fact: On vacation a century ago with my family I was sitting by the pool reading Mastery when an older gentleman came up and pointed out the book, he was surprised I was reading it (as a young female) since most people he knew who read it were middle-aged men. That man was his publisher! We took a photo. Nerd alert.
What Alcohol Does to Your Body, Brain & Health (video has 5.9M views!)
Hopefully, this help those participating in dry January to rationalize & scare themselves a bit into committing to it with science-based learning
Dr. Karen Parker: The Causes & Treatments for Autism
Discusses the biology of social connections and bonding in babies, children, and adults. Dr. Parker explains our current understanding of autism and autism spectrum disorders: what they are, why the incidence of autism has increased so dramatically in recent years, and both the current and emerging treatments for autism. We also discuss the condition formerly called “Asperger’s.” This episode ought to be highly relevant for anyone interested in child and human development, how social bonds form, and to those curious about autism and other spectrum conditions.
Philanthropy, Evening Routine, Light Therapy, Health Metrics & More
Red light before sleep is a major hack.
. . .
Last Week (12/25-12/29):
Relevant deals include the 0+ deals across stages below.
I've categorized the deals below into five categories, FinTech, Care, Enterprise & Consumer, HardTech, and Sustainability, and ordered from later-stage rounds to early-stage rounds. Highlighted deals include
Final numbers on The Year in Charts at the top.
Deals
None.
The material presented on Molly O’Shea’s website are my opinions only and are provided for informational purposes and should not be construed as investment advice. It is not a recommendation of, or an offer to sell or solicitation of an offer to buy, any particular security, strategy, or investment product. Any analysis or discussion of investments, sectors or the market generally are based on current information, including from public sources, that I consider reliable, but I do not represent that any research or the information provided is accurate or complete, and it should not be relied on as such. My views and opinions expressed in any website content are current at the time of publication and are subject to change. Past performance is not indicative of future results.