Sean Glass

Exciting news! We just sent out the inaugural newsletter for Future Frontier Capital, our pre-seed venture fund backing frontier tech startups. As I hit "send," I realized how launching FFC parallels the path of the founders we support. Starting FFC has required the same passion, perseverance, and self-belief that drive entrepreneurs. Just like a startup, getting a VC fund off the ground demands relentless hustle—building the brand, perfecting the pitch, and networking tirelessly. There are constant challenges that test your resolve and endless hours of unglamorous work behind the scenes. And perhaps most daunting - the self-doubt, wondering if you're crazy for attempting something so bold. Pushing through that negative self-talk requires unshakable faith in your mission. Raising this VC fund reminds me of starting our IP strategy and patent analytics firm two decades ago. It’s a powerful reminder of the perseverance, creativity, and resilience needed to turn an ambitious idea into reality. This experience makes us more empathetic partners, ready to support the founders we back. Our work is just beginning, and this inaugural newsletter underscores our commitment to supporting frontier tech startups every step of the way. #startups #VentureCapital #EmergingManagers #Entrepreneurship #InnovationMindSet

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Wonderful article about Emily Knight and the whole The Engine Accelerator team on the amazing work their doing changing the world with #ToughTech!

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Check us out on Substack! If you like what you see, please subscribe. More to follow!

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Excited to announce our investment in Alta Resource Technologies alongside Leonardo Banchik (Voyager Ventures) with participation from Orion Resource Partners, Overture Ventures, and WovenEarth Ventures. Rare earths are critical in products from magnets to ceramics and it's important for the US to develop its own supply chain. While the US has some of the best rare earth resources, separating them has historically proven expensive and environmentally unfriendly. Alta through it's computationally designed and optimized proteins allows the US to bring back rare earth production with a cleaner, lower capex, and lower opex solution - and that's just the beginning. Congrats to Nathan Ratledge and the entire Alta team. Read more here: https://lnkd.in/gbGnAJn3

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Great conversation for Ep 12 of Inside the Hutt with Kenny Rowe and Nick Simmons from Octu Ventures (https://octu.ventures/) to discuss all things Urbit and venture DAOs. Topics included: -Kenny & Nick's history including early work in the Urbit ecosystem -What is Urbit and why is it an interesting category for startup investing -Why has developer and investor activity picked up around Urbit -What is the overlap between Urbit and crypto -Octu's investment strategy and focus -How Octu is structured as an investment DAO and the benefits of utilizing this approach vs. traditional GP/LP structure -Octu's incubation from Hydra Ventures Apple: https://lnkd.in/gbpdvYYe Spotify: https://lnkd.in/gSWUQWii Hutt Capital

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I'm beyond excited to announce that Clifton Choiniere, Mark Zheng, Exa Nexus and I will be launching the world's first series of Agentic Human Accelerator / Hackathons. Visit: https://lnkd.in/eUitAA_W for more information Introducing LaunchAthons (Agentic Hackathons that Scale). The first LaunchAthon will take place in Cambridge at Microsoft. Next up is Providence, RI. Why LaunchAThons ? ​ The prize money is the least interesting part! But it rocks! ​ First Place Team: $3000 Second Place Team: $2000 Third Place Team: $1000 ​ LaunchAthons: Where techSTARtups are Born   LaunchAthons are like nebulas—the cosmic cradles where stars are born—because they serve as fertile environments where raw ideas come together, fueled by the power of AI, to form something entirely new and innovative.   Just as nebulas are chaotic yet full of potential, a LaunchAthon provides an intense, high-energy atmosphere where diverse minds and cutting-edge technologies collide, igniting the creation of new solutions and breakthroughs.   Agentic Human Hackathon + Accelerator   In the same way nebulas give rise to stars that light up the universe, LaunchAthons give rise to startups and products that can illuminate the future of technology and entrepreneurship. ​ Joining one of our AI-powered LaunchAthons gives you a front row participatory seat where you experience and develop future-forward innovation, the implementation of cutting-edge technology and critical mass-level creativity. At their core, LaunchAthons are designed to help    When you join a LaunchAthon, you and your team are required to use AI to code and build at least 60% of your project, pushing the boundaries of what’s possible in rapid prototyping and development.   Build and Meet Your Agentic AI Twins ​ By integrating AI, you’ll supercharge your ability to innovate, drastically reduce development time, increase your output potential ten-fold and enhance your project’s potential. ​ In a LaunchAthon, participants are building their very own Agentic AI Twins—digital doppelgängers that serve as powerful extensions of their abilities. ​ By harnessing AI, they are not just coding faster but effectively creating intelligent counterparts that can automate tasks, optimize processes, and even generate innovative solutions independently. These AI-driven digital twins act as force multipliers, allowing participants to 10x their productivity, creativity, and problem-solving capabilities.   With your Agentic AI Twins by your side, you can explore complex challenges, scale your projects quickly, and unlock new levels of potential that would be impossible through individual human effort alone.   The result? A transformative leap in both speed and capability, pushing the boundaries of what they can achieve.

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What's the fast river in alts? Listen to the latest Alt Goes Mainstream podcast with Mercer's Gregg Sommer & CAIS' Neil Blundell to hear how they are helping advisors approach private markets. Gregg, Neil, and I had a fascinating discussion about how the wealth channel can approach alternatives and how they can think about both diligence and customization. We covered: * The case for alternatives. * How advisors currently approach alternatives and how they can think about it differently going forward. * How to think about portfolio construction that includes alternatives. * How alts can help advisors differentiate their practice and attract clients. * Following the fast river in a career and why alternatives are “the fast river.” * The meaning of “structure over strategy.” * The rise in popularity of evergreen funds. Thanks Gregg and Neil for sharing your thoughts and expertise on private markets. Thanks to our sponsor, Ultimus Fund Solutions, for making this episode possible. https://lnkd.in/eBtyw6Fm

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I'm so excited to continue supporting Prolific Machines, Inc., and the incredible Deniz Kent, PhD ,Max Huisman, and Declan Jones. Today's cellular biology processes are incredibly expensive, inefficient, imprecise, and sometimes purely ineffective. These processes are used from everything from making antibodies to treat diseases, to fermentation used to make high-value nutritional proteins in baby formula, to whole cuts of cultured meat. Prolific has developed a biology platform that leverages light to guide cell behavior and optimize performance over time using AI. By combining light, bioengineering, hardware, and AI in fundamentally new ways, Prolific can help pharmaceutical, nutritional, and therapeutics companies get to market faster, less expensively, and more efficiently — ultimately in hopes of helping improve outcomes — a mission any of us can get behind. Mark Cuban Peter T. Frederick Blackford Cooper Rinzler David Adelman Darco Capital Breakthrough Energy Michael Schulson Kevin Love Tobias Harris Breyer Capital Charles Besser Brennan Besser Lettuce Entertain You Restaurants https://lnkd.in/ea2TqdQk

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Led by Anduril, defense tech funding sets a new record this year | TechCrunch https://buff.ly/4129kts Anduril, a leader in defense technology, has driven defense tech funding to an unprecedented high this year. Investments in this sector have surged, reflecting a growing interest in advanced military solutions and cutting-edge innovations. This milestone underscores the increasing importance of tech-driven defense initiatives in modern security strategies. As global tensions rise, there's a notable shift towards integrating AI, robotics, and autonomous systems into defense operations. The record-breaking funding highlights the critical role technology plays in national and international security landscapes. #DefenseTech #InnovationInSecurity

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Tether has made its first dive into the world of venture capital by injecting $2 million into Arcanum Capital's fund, which focuses on... #venturecapital #veteranventures

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The Cynicism of It All: The Domino Effect of Impunity If such behavior is allowed to persist unchecked, what message does it send to other aspiring corporate puppeteers? Will Singapore become a haven for those seeking to exploit loopholes and manipulate the system for their own gain? Will the pursuit of justice become a Sisyphean task, reserved only for those with the deepest pockets and the strongest resolve? Let's not forget the grand HC spectacle, a legal drama worthy of Shakespeare himself. It's a tale of convoluted claims and counterclaims, a labyrinth of procedural maneuvers designed to confuse and confound.  The irony is palpable. The very individuals who claim to be champions of corporate governance and minority shareholder rights are the ones actively undermining those principles. They're playing a game of legal chess, where the pieces are not pawns and knights, but the livelihoods and reputations of those who dare to question their authority. https://lnkd.in/eJ9hGQmw

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Sharing a few thoughts on why we invested in Jump - Advisor AI:

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An incredible deep dive from Nathan M. into the cultural and structural issues that are plaguing Boeing and how they got to where they are today. This article should be turned into a business school case study it's that good. And many of these issues aren't unique to Boeing. The focus on financial engineering over actual engineering is an issue at play in many scaled aerospace and defense companies. A definite must-read! https://lnkd.in/gkdpF2tM

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How does an institutional LP decide which GPs to back? UTIMCO alum (and now partner at Foundry) Lindel Eakman opened up about how he picks on Samir Kaji's Venture Unlocked podcast 👇 (episode linked in comments) 🎣 "Would you trust them with your children?" Questions like this one tend to elicit genuine reactions and a real sense of a GP’s character and capabilities. Non-answers or silence in response to a pointed question like this one can be telling. 🤨 "Who fires who?" Questions like this help him evaluate governance and conflict resolution dynamics and the overall stability of the partnership. 1️⃣ Unlike some LPs, Lindel is very open to backing solo GPs. One of the reasons being that partnership risk -- which is one of the biggest when investing in VC funds -- is by definition, eliminated. 👍🏻 Lindel shies away from backing investors who may have potential to be top performers but are divisive or unpleasant to work with. Life is too short! Follow me - John Gannon - to learn more about the ins and outs of the VC market from all 3 sides of the table.

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Join us next week for an amazing panel on university ecosystems and accelerators! Not just for students and alumni - all founders can work with these giant research engines. Our all star panel will tell you how and answer your questions. #Startups

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Excited to announce that Unusual Ventures is leading GovSignals' $5.5M Seed Round! GovSignals is transforming government contracting by launching the first AI platform that fully automates 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗯𝗶𝗱𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝗻 𝗴𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝘀. We’re thrilled to lead their $5.5M seed round at Unusual Ventures as they revolutionize the government procurement space! Congrats to the exceptional GovSignals team - Derek, Ethan, Jeremy, and Conner bring deep technical and execution expertise in government, government contracting, and AI from Palantir, Amazon, the DIA, DOE, Stanford, Harvard, and more! To learn more about GovSignals, check out the press coverage below 👇

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"According to Pitchbook, while overall venture capital deals have slowed over the past year, the defense tech sector has weathered the storm better than most others. So far in 2024, private investors have bet $9.1 billion on defense tech startups across 228 investments, Pitchbook research shows." -MARK SULLIVAN-Fast Company Patient capital will win this fight, both in a literal military campaign sense and the private capital competition for the best deals. Will this be a four year ramp to a huge exit? Likely no. Could private capital help provide a balance to the current military industrial complex processes/thinking. I am optimistic.

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