Specter Monitor is a data-driven newsletter for investors interested in learning about the latest market trends, signals, and opportunities. Our audience includes some of the most legendary VC investors in the world. We’ll work hard to bring you actionable insights into what’s happening in today’s markets while celebrating data-driven wins and predictions. ✨
📹 Video Intelligence Startups: Video 3.0 onwards
Drawing on insights from Insight Partners, we explore the evolution of the Video Intelligence landscape—Video 1.0, 2.0, and 3.0—spotlighting the standout companies driving the 3.0 era forward. Download over 100 Video Intelligence startups in report bellow.
Specter Team
🪖 European DefenceTech Startups: The Quest for Security
Our comprehensive research has identified over 300 European DefenceTech startups, making it the most extensive analysis ever conducted in this sector.
Specter Team
🔮 Talents of the Week
Specter monitors real-time global talent movements to spot investment opportunities before anyone else.
🪄 Predicted: Ivan Esmeral (US, 2024): Co-Founder at Podqi
Advantage on Latest Funding Round: 257 Days
Description: Podqi offers AI-powered IP protection for creators and brands in the sports industry.
Prev. Experience: Ivan Esmeral is the Founder and CPO of Podqi, an AI-powered IP protection platform he launched in March 2024 that recently raised a $3.2M seed round led by General Catalyst. Previously, he worked as a Software Engineer at Microsoft (2021-2024) on the Audio Data Intelligence team under Windows Media. Esmeral was a Founder in Residence at Afore Capital (May-August 2024) and held roles at the University of Pennsylvania as a Teaching Assistant for Introduction to Computer Programming (2018-2020) and Project Lead at Hack4Impact (2018-2020), developing solutions for non-profits in Philadelphia. His achievements include winning Microsoft's "OneWeek" Hackathon with "LinkedIn Bump," a project that received recognition from LinkedIn's CEO Jeff Weiner. Esmeral holds a degree in Computer Science from the University of Pennsylvania, where he was active in multiple student societies and served as Vice President of the Penn Engineering Council.
Total Funding: $3.2M / $3.2M Latest Seed on 03-2025.
Notable Investors: Soma Capital, Afore Capital, General Catalyst.
👻 Opportunity: Henry Liu (US, 2025): Co-Founder at Span
Description: Span provides resource management and coding solutions for product development.
Prev. Experience: Henry Liu is the Co-Founder of Span, an AI developer intelligence platform he launched in June 2023 focused on making "big engineering teams feel small" by automating busywork and improving decision-making. Previously, he served as Vice President of Engineering at Compass (2021-2023) and was CTO/Co-founder of Glide (2017-2023), which simplified real estate paperwork for ~40% of residential transactions in California before being acquired by Compass. Liu's earlier roles include Entrepreneur In Residence at Social Capital, VP of Engineering at Zenefits, and Co-founder of Cloud Nine Media (acquired). A Y Combinator alum (S09), Liu holds a BS in Engineering Physics from UC Berkeley and has been granted multiple technology patents. Span emerged from stealth in March 2025 after nearly two years of development and has partnered with engineering leadership at companies including Ramp, Braze, Carvana, and Vanta.
🎱 Strategic Signals
Specter analyzes the online and social activity of leading investors and industry insiders to predict upcoming funding rounds and acquisitions.
🪄 Predicted: Isaac Struhl (US, 2020): Co-Founder and CTO at Distributed Spectrum
Advantage on Latest Funding Round: 100 Days
Description: Distributed Spectrum provides real-time RF monitoring with low-cost, flexible sensors for critical situational awareness.
Prev. Experience: Isaac Struhl is the Co-Founder and CTO of Distributed Spectrum, a defense tech company he co-founded in August 2020 that recently raised a $25M Series A round. Distributed Spectrum provides real-time detection and localization of RF transmitters at costs significantly lower than existing systems, helping identify critical radio signals for defense missions. Previously, Struhl was a PRISE Research Fellow at Harvard's School of Engineering and Applied Sciences and held multiple leadership positions at Harvard College Consulting Group, including Vice Director of Operations. He also worked as a Teaching Fellow for Systems Programming at Harvard and completed a Software Engineering internship at Google. Struhl holds dual degrees from Harvard University—a Master of Science in Computer Science and a Bachelor of Arts in Physics (2017-2021)—where he was recognized as a John Harvard Scholar (top 5% of his class) and received the Derek Bok Certificate of Distinction in Teaching.
Total Funding: $25.2M / $25M Amount Latest Series A on 03-2025.
Notable Investors: AUKUS Electronic Warfare Challenge, Browder Capital, Felicis, Global Founders Capital, National Science Foundation, United States Department of Defense, Xfund.
👻 Opportunity: Jordan S. Hatcher (EU, 2024): Co-Founder and CTO at The Grid
Description: The Grid creates a standardized directory of Web3 projects and assets.
Prev. Experience: Jordan S. Hatcher is the Co-Founder and CLO/COO of The Grid, a blockchain data company he launched in June 2023 that recently emerged from stealth mode. The Grid provides contextual information about blockchain assets, answering questions like "What project is it from?" and "What products is it used in?" Previously, he served as Senior Legal Consultant at Airwallex (January-September 2024), providing commercial deal support across EMEA for the fintech scale-up. Hatcher is a dual-qualified attorney (Texas) and solicitor (England & Wales) with extensive experience in technology law. Earlier in his career, he contributed to Open Knowledge Foundation and has been active in blockchain, digital rights, and open data communities. Hatcher holds an LL.M. in Innovation, Technology and the Law from The University of Edinburgh (with Distinction) and a JD from The University of Texas School of Law (with Honors). He recently completed a Masterclass in Token Economy (December 2024) and maintains ongoing involvement with TechGC, an invitation-only community for General Counsels.
🍒 Cherry-Picked Companies
Specter tracks the performance of millions of companies and identifies the ones who are likely to increase in valuation.
🪄 Predicted: Olaf Hichwa (US, 2023): Co-Founder and CTO at Neros Technologies
6 Months Growth: Web: 32.6%; Team: 43.7%; Social: 47.6%
Description: Neros Technologies is vertically integrating the development and manufacturing of unmanned defense systems in America, focusing on securing the supply chain.
Total Funding: 45.9M / $35M Latest Series A on 03-2025.
Notable Investors: Sequoia Capital, Long Journey Ventures, Thiel Capital, Keller Rinaudo Cliffton, Interlagos Capital, Vy Capital, BoxGroup, D3, Nkechi Iregbulem, Cantos, Space.VC, John Hering.
👻 Opportunity: Ola Muse (US, 2024): Co-Founder and CEO at Langtrace
6 Months Growth: Web: 386.2%; Team: 150%; Social: 129.9%
Description: Langtrace is an open-source observability and evaluations platform designed for AI agents, enabling users to monitor, evaluate, and enhance the performance and security of their AI applications.
Total Funding: $5.3M / $5.3M Latest Seed on 10-2022.
Notable Investors: Redpoint, Mysten Labs, Howard University.
That’s all for this edition of Specter Monitor!
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