gm. Any day that an A-lister doesn’t slap someone just feels boring now. 

STARTUPS

The demo days are here at last

Yesterday, another YC Demo Day kicked off leading to lots of hype, breakout stars, and strongly worded think-pieces from the founders of one-click checkout companies.

Here are some of the key themes that emerged from the 394-company winter batch:

1. Fintech: It’s no secret that fintech is eating the world—global funding reached $132 billion last year, good for 2x the amount raised in 2020 and 21% of all venture dollars. This year’s winter batch is following the money. There are 35 international fintech companies, more than double the amount in last year’s winter batch. In all, fintech is the second most represented category behind enterprise b2b.

2. India rising: Speaking of representation, India is far and away the most represented country aside from the US, with 32 startups hailing from the region. India’s influence is accelerating, too: nearly half of the 191 Indian companies that have been funded by Y Combinator were accepted in the last 12 months. 

3. Twinsies: YC was once seen as a place for the misfits of the startup world to take refuge and grow, but recently companies at similar stages, from similar places, working on similar problems are becoming more and more common within its batches. The fine folks at TechCrunch actually went ahead and rounded up the companies in this batch that have a “twin.” It's worth a read.

Are demo days dying? 

Whenever another demo day rolls around, so does the chorus of people questioning whether we need them at all. Critics argue that they are too performative, lead to low investor engagement, and create artificial due dates that don’t make sense for most companies' timelines. Yet the size and scope of YC’s Demo Day still exerts a gravitational pull on the industry that is hard to ignore. 

Bottom line: You can check out the full list of companies that presented if you want to scope out the competition. 

DEFI

Another day, another hack

Last Wednesday, 173,600 ETH and over 25 million USDC were stolen from Ronin, the blockchain supporting NFT-based game Axie Infinity, for a total haul of $625 million (or roughly 25 million entry-level axies, if that’s your preferred unit). After the hack was identified yesterday and the dust had settled, it may go down as the largest DeFi hack ever. 

The details

In a blog post yesterday, Axie Infinity developer Sky Mavis described how the hacker managed to exploit the Ronin network using compromised private keys.

• Ronin is a proof-of-stake chain with nine validator nodes, though only five nodes are needed to verify a transaction.

• Using compromised private keys, the hacker got a hold of the four validator nodes run by Sky Mavis, then found an exploit to get a fifth signature from a third-party validator, completing the Infinity Gauntlet needed to forge withdrawals.

It gets better

The forward thinking hacker also shorted Ronin and Axie Infinity’s tokens with plans to make some extra cash after the hack was uncovered and token prices fell. The only issue? Nobody actually discovered it in time so the hacker’s short position was liquidated at a loss. Congrats, you played yourself.

Zoom out: Proof-of-stake is a huge step towards making crypto faster and more sustainable, but the Ronin hack shows validator nodes still have their security drawbacks. This hack will loom large as the merge approaches and ETH heads toward a PoS model. 

QUICK HITS

Seed round

Stat: The IPO market is looking worse than the Lakers' playoff hopes. A report from Renaissance Capital showed that only 18 companies IPOed in the first quarter of 2022, raising a measly $2.1 billion. That’s the worst stretch in six years and a 95% drop from the same period in 2021. Private equity firm TPG managed to raise a billion, but that was an outlier: the median deal size dipped to its lowest level in at least 20 years, coming in at $27 million.

Startup: Instead of highlighting just one company today, check out the 25 crypto startups that passed through YC this batch. (TechCrunch)  

Rabbit hole: What is money anyways? (Lyn Alden)

WHAT ELSE IS GOING ON

• Robinhood’s stock jumped 25% after the company announced it is extend trading hours.

• Netflix acquired indie game developer Boss Fight Entertainment, furthering its push into the gaming space.

• The FTC sued Intuit for falsely advertising a version of TurboTax as free.

• Verizon announced that it is working with police to identify who is responsible for sending spam texts that appear to come from customers’ own phone numbers.

• The FDA authorized a fourth Covid shot for all adults 50 and older and for immunocompromised people over the age of 12.

TRIVIA

The simulation may be broken, but three of these headlines are actually real while one is from The Onion. Can you spot the fake?

A. Madison Cawthorn says DC is orgy-filled, cocaine-fueled ‘House of Cards’

B. Elon Musk cites Eminem song in latest volley with the SEC

C. Questlove didn’t notice Will Smith’s Oscars slap: I was busy meditating

D. SAT rebuts claim that test classist due to wine tasting portion

FOUNDERS CORNER

The best tips, tricks, and tidbits for founders we came across this week. 

🛬 How to build a landing page that converts

👥 Two talent collectives you should check out if you’re hiring: Lenny’s and Packy’s.

📉 A cautionary tale about wasting $40k on a startup idea

🌴 A guide to all the ~unofficial~ events and parties going down in NFT LA. 

SHARE HOMESCREEN

We've added exactly 50 new readers since Monday. But hey who's counting, right? 

(We are. We are counting very closely.) 

TRIVIA ANSWER

D. Turns out wine tasting isn’t on the SAT, but we could see it being on the GRE.