Index Ventures is a venture capital firm based in London and San Francisco that invests across seed to late stages. Recent coverage focused on its deals: it co-led a $1 billion round for one-year-old AI research startup Flapping Airplanes at a $6 billion valuation, took part in a $20 million pre-seed and seed round for team messaging app Ando, and partner Shardul Shah weighed in on AI security and cybersecurity investing.
AI Research Startup Flapping Airplanes Raises $1B at $6B ValuationOne-year-old AI research startup Flapping Airplanes raised $1 billion at a $6 billion valuation, led by Index Ventures and Lux Capital, with Sequoia, Alphabet's GV and Kleiner Perkins participating. The company has yet to launch a commercial product, and its valuation has quadrupled.
Ando launches team messaging app for humans and AI agentsAndo emerged from stealth with a team messaging platform that lets AI agents join conversations with their own identities, billing itself as a Slack replacement. The startup has raised $20 million in pre-seed and seed funding from investors including Accel, Index Ventures and Emergence.
Index Ventures' Shardul Shah on What's Next in CybersecurityAs concerns over AI safety and rogue agents make headlines, cybersecurity stocks are rising and investors are pouring capital into AI-native security startups, with companies like Instinct and Simile raising nine-figure checks at valuations that once seemed implausible. Index Ventures' Shardul Shah shares his view on what's next.
The A.I. Daily