Perspectives from LPs, emerging manager strategies, secondaries, biotech insights, and a snapshot of where venture stands in mid-2025 in this month’s OpenLP roundup.
After 22 years in venture secondaries, Abe Finkelstein, Managing Partner at Vintage Investment Partners has seen multiple cycles. He launched Vintage Fund I in 2003—before DPI was a headline metric and when “quality secondaries” meant something very different. Two decades later, Abe’s discipline hasn’t wavered: “Buying junk at a discount is still junk.”
Rohit Yadav shares highlights from his new report, Rethinking Venture Capital: A Strategic Lens, which offers a data-driven, globally informed perspective on how LPs and GPs can navigate today’s evolving venture landscape, from capital flows and liquidity, to allocation frameworks and portfolio construction.
Dan Feder, Senior Managing Director at the University of Michigan Investment Office, shares insights from his extensive experience managing venture and private equity portfolios across top institutions including Princeton, WashU, and Sequoia Capital’s Heritage Fund. The conversation covers how endowments think about portfolio construction, incentive alignment, and navigating conflicting strategies.
Venture Capital's Next Wave: Strategies for Emerging Fund Managers
On Swimming with Allocators, Evan Finkel and Charlotte Palmer of Integra Global Advisors share their approach to backing emerging managers, emphasizing transparency, differentiated thesis, and strong LP-GP communication. They also discuss challenges in today’s fundraising environment and the importance of succession planning.
Ritujoy Narayan Chowdhury of Franklin Park joins Superclusters with David Zhou for a conversation that feels less like an interview and more like an unfiltered deep dive into the real mechanics of venture investing. From the limits of vintage data to the nuances of reputation-based underwriting, Narayan brings a rare mix of LP experience and entrepreneurial mindset to the mic.
How to Raise a VC Fund & How AI Is Changing Private Markets
Host Turner Novak sits down with Samir Kaji, CEO of Allocate, to explore the evolution of VC and the shifting dynamic of the private markets. With private investment firms now outnumbering public companies 10 to 1, they unpack why 90% of venture funds are struggling to raise captial, and what emerging managers can do to stand out. They also dig into the growing role of secondaries in driving liquidity, share practical advice for today's fundraisers, and break down the complexities of SPVs from both the GP and LP perspectives.
Zach Weinberg, co-founder and CEO of Curie.Bio, is redefining early-stage biotech investing with an operator’s mindset and a founder-first philosophy. His approach combines funding with operational support and direct access to world-class drug hunters to dramatically increase odds of success. Today, Zach sits down with Nick Chirls, GP at Asylum Ventures and Beezer Clarkson, LP at Sapphire Partners to discuss the massive risk associated with traditional therapeutics startups, how pairing a drug discovery partner with a seed investor solves those inefficiencies, and how biotech, the global economy and the political landscape are all closely connected.
Minisode:
Innovation Energy and The Future of Biotech
Origins hosts Nick Chirls and Beezer Clarkson unpack their conversation with Zach Weinberg, Co-Founder and CEO of Curie.Bio. They discuss the “innovation energy” that drives new breakthroughs and take a closer look at Sapphire Partners’ approach to biotech investing.
Featuring Sapphire Partners
PODCAST
Liquidity, LPs, and the Long Game
On The Data Minute podcast, Beezer Clarkson joins Peter Walker for a rapid-fire conversation on what LPs are really thinking, how emerging managers can stand out, and why venture isn’t broken, it’s evolving. They tackle secondaries, exits, failure, and how new GPs are using content, transparency, and AI to differentiate in a crowded market.
Steven Lee, an SV Angel Alum, Launches Seven Stars With $40 Million VC Fund for Seed and Pre-Seed AI Startups
Steven Lee has launched Seven Stars, a new firm focused on backing pre-seed and seed-stage AI startups. The $40 million debut fund came together in just five weeks with support from leading institutions. Nate Leung, Partner at Sapphire Partners and OpenLP Co-Founder, shares why Lee’s track record and clarity of vision stood out and why Sapphire Partners is proud to support Seven Stars from day one.
On Tech Today, Beezer Clarkson joins Kyle Harrison of Contrary to unpack the state of venture funding from the unique perspective of an LP. They dive into why 2025 has been one of the toughest fundraising environments for venture firms in over a decade, what’s driving LP caution, and how structural shifts, like longer fund durations and fewer exits, are reshaping the market.
The Q1 data is in: Carta’s VC Fund Performance Report, based on insights from over 2,500 venture funds using Carta Fund Administration, offers a clear snapshot of where venture stands heading into the second half of 2025—highlighting key metrics like IRR, DPI, and TVPI.
SEC Opens The VC Door a Bit More For Retail Investors
The SEC is signaling a shift toward broader retail access to private markets, prompting VCs to weigh the potential and pitfalls of tapping this investor base. While some see new fundraising opportunities, others warn that early-stage strategies may not align with retail expectations around liquidity and scale.
U.S.Tells Companies to Prepare for Iranian Cyberattacks
The U.S. government and regulators are urging companies to prepare for potential cyberattacks linked to the Iran conflict, warning of likely low-level threats from state-backed and affiliated actors. Officials emphasize the importance of reinforcing basic cybersecurity defenses.
Anthropic Lands Partial Victory in AI Case Set to Shape Future Rulings
A federal judge has ruled that Anthropic's use of legally purchased books to train its AI models qualifies as fair use under U.S. copyright law, a partial win that could influence future AI litigation. Legal experts say the case could set an important precedent for how courts treat AI training and copyright going forward.
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Nothing presented within this article is intended to constitute investment advice, and under no circumstances should any information provided herein be used or considered as an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy an interest in any investment fund managed by Sapphire Ventures, LLC (“Sapphire”). Information provided reflects Sapphires’ views as of a time, whereby such views are subject to change at any point and Sapphire shall not be obligated to provide notice of any change. No assumptions should be made that any investment listed above were or will be profitable. Various content and views contained within this article represent those of third party guests, which do not necessarily reflect the views of Sapphire. Such views are subject to change at any point and do not in any way represent official statements by Sapphire.Due to various risks and uncertainties, actual events, results or the actual experience may differ materially from those reflected or contemplated in any statement made. Nothing contained in this article may be relied upon as a guarantee or assurance as to the future success of any particular company. Past performance is not indicative of future results.
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