| | Alpha co-invests with the world’s leading VCs by sharing economics with early-stage investors in their best growth companies. Learn more → |
|
| | Last week Alpha hosted our sixth annual growth investor summit, AlphaMarket 2026, at the Yale Club in New York City. |
|
|
| The afternoon brought together a group of ~350 curated growth and crossover investors, allocators, and early-stage VCs for sharp, candid conversation.
BlackRock’s Chris Daniels headlined a fireside chat with Fortune’s Diane Brady, and Bloomberg’s Bailey Lipschultz moderated a discussion where Bessemer Venture Partners, Insight Partners, Avenir, and Canaan weighed in on where growth markets are headed.
Citadel, Brevan Howard, LuminArx, and BlackRock added hot takes on the next AI powered IPO wave. PayPal mafioso Jack Selby of Copper Sky Capital and Thiel Capital closed out the summit with MS NOW’s Ron Insana, formerly of CNBC.
Four themes kept coming up across the panels and the side conversations: Investors want to know the unknowns: circular financing, debt, and unclear revenue numbers. Public buyers are often pricing below private marks. Capital is concentrating in fewer names: the companies that get it are staying private longer, and everyone else is finding it harder to raise. The Anthropic IPO is the barometer for the next wave of AI listings.
Noma Security, Talkiatry, and Rillet presented alongside their investors from Evolution Equity Partners, Perceptive Advisors, and Battery Ventures, respectively. Curated 1:1 meetings kept deal conversations moving, and the cocktail reception featured award-winning mentalist Ben Nemzer, who left guests’ jaws on the floor. |
|
| |
|
The conversation didn’t stop when the event ended. Former CNBC senior markets correspondent Bob Pisani shared his takeaways on AI and the IPO market. Fortune’s Diane Brady wrote about where investors see cracks in the AI consensus.
Apply for AlphaMarket 2027 Missed this year’s gathering? Consider this your cue. AlphaMarket returns October 27, 2027 with an LP/GP mixer joining the lineup. Save the date and get ahead of the crowd. Applications are now open for this invitation-only gathering. |
|
| | | A huge thank you to our sponsors: |
|
|
| | | | | |
| Higgsfield adds TCV and NVIDIA to
its Series B
Higgsfield has extended its Series B with new investment from TCV and NVIDIA, and we’re excited to announce we joined them. The round builds on a $400 million raise led by DST Global in August at a $5.4 billion valuation. An AI video and image platform, Higgsfield reports that it crossed $1 billion in annualized revenue in September, 18 months after launch, and now serves more than 40 million users. The company says its enterprise business is growing more than 100% month over month. Read Higgsfield’s announcement → |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| | |
| Perplexity makes all three a16z
consumer AI lists
Only seven products rank in the top 50 for spending, web traffic, and mobile usage, according to a16z’s latest Consumer AI Top 100 data. Perplexity is one of them. It ranks #9 in spending, #12 on web, and #25 on mobile. That puts it alongside ChatGPT, Claude, Canva, Notion, Suno, and Photoroom. Few AI products rank highly for both everyday usage and consumer spending, and Perplexity is doing both. See the a16z rankings → |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| | Company figures and projections are as reported by each company or the cited third party and have not been independently verified by Alpha Partners. Forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties, and actual results may differ materially. |
|
| Conferences we’re attending |
|
| October 28: Milken, Mexico City October 28-29: Tech1 Conference, Israel November 10: MXV Annual Summit, New York City November 17-19: Goldman Sachs Private Innovation Conference, Las Vegas November 30-December 4: AWS re:Invent, Las Vegas December 2: Vintage Summit, Tel Aviv December 7-8: Milken, Abu Dhabi
If you are attending and want to schedule a 1:1, reach out at hello@alphapartners.com.
|
|
| | Introducing Alpha, unfiltered |
|
|
|
We’ve launched Alpha, unfiltered, our new Substack. It’s where we share the best ideas from our conversations with leading VCs, the reasoning behind our deals, and the patterns we see across venture.
Our latest post, Pro rata is the whole game, tackles the recent public disputes over pro rata rights. As investors who back companies alongside early-stage VCs through pro rata, we have a direct stake in how these rights are treated. Our view is simple: founders should honor the right, both sides should negotiate how it’s exercised, and everyone should avoid the courthouse and get back to building.
Subscribe here to get every post. |
|
| |
|
|
|
| | It’s that time again. We’re collecting nominations for our annual Pre Partner Rising Star VC List. Now in its fifth year, Rising Stars is a peer-nominated list recognizing standout investors who are not yet partners but are already building strong reputations in venture. Nominations are due by Friday, November 6, 2026. Submit your nomination → |
|
| |
The portfolio companies identified and described herein do not represent all of the portfolio companies purchased, sold, or recommended for funds advised by Alpha Partners. The reader should not assume that an investment in the portfolio companies was or will be profitable. For a full list of investments, please contact Alpha Partners. Individual portfolio company outcomes vary and past milestones are not indicative of future performance. |
|
| | Follow us on social media |
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
