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. ✨
🌱 600+ Startups Leading Europe Sustainable Transformation
Explore 600+ EU sustainability startups tackling climate, energy, food, and circular economy challenges. Discover who's scaling solutions across Europe’s green transition. Get the full landscape now! 🌍📊
Specter Team
🔮 Talents of the Week
Specter monitors real-time global talent movements to spot investment opportunities before anyone else.
🪄 Predicted: Danny Sheridan (US, 2022): Co-Founder at Fern
Advantage on Latest Funding Round: 817 Days
Description: Fern automates SDK and API documentation generation for developers.
Prev. Experience: Danny Sheridan is a serial founder and product leader with deep expertise in developer tools, cloud infrastructure, and e-commerce. As Co-founder and CEO of Fern, he has scaled the company from inception through Y Combinator (W23) to a $9M Series A led by Bessemer, powering SDK and API documentation automation for over 150 leading tech companies including Square, Webflow, and Cohere. Previously, Danny held technical product management roles at Amazon and AWS, where he drove initiatives in satellite connectivity (Project Kuiper), startup tooling, and marketplace automation. Earlier, he built and exited a profitable e-commerce business leveraging AWS, and launched Wolverine Blockchain at the University of Michigan. Danny’s background blends hands-on engineering, entrepreneurial execution, and a track record of delivering products that elevate developer and agent experience at scale.
Total Funding: $22m / $9M Latest Series A in 04-2025.
Notable Investors: Bessemer Venture Partners, Y Combinator, Nkechi Iregbulem, Eight Capital, Ironwood Ventures.
👻 Opportunity: Jayme Hoffman (US, 2025): Co-Founder & CEO at Swamped, Inc.
Prev. Experience: Jayme Hoffman is a repeat founder and product leader with deep experience in consumer, crypto, and marketplace platforms. As CEO and co-founder of Swamped, Inc. and previously Launcher Labs (YC W21, a16zcrypto-backed), he has shipped multiple successful products including Launchcaster (Web3 Product Hunt, acquired by Orange DAO), Maindrop (NFT gifting marketplace), and Launcher (crypto mini-apps platform). Jayme also co-founded Keller Williams Realty’s consumer product team, launching the new KW.com, mobile apps, and the world’s largest agent website creator. He has advised and helped launch vertical labor and hiring marketplaces in real estate (RealPut) and hospitality (foh&boh). Jayme’s approach blends rapid MVP development, user-driven iteration, and scalable product architecture, underpinned by a background in economics from The Ohio State University and Y Combinator alumni network.
🎱 Strategic Signals
Specter analyzes the online and social activity of leading investors and industry insiders to predict upcoming funding rounds and acquisitions.
🪄 Predicted: Karim Nouira (US, 2022): Founder and CEO at Superintelligence Computing Systems
Advantage on Latest Funding Round: 70 Days
Home
Description: Superintelligence Computing Systems provide industry automation through next gen embodied intelligence.
Prev. Experience: Karim Nouira is a seasoned deep tech entrepreneur with a track record of building and exiting ventures at the intersection of AI, robotics, and fintech. As Founder & CEO of Superintelligence Computing Systems (sics.ai), he is pioneering an AGI foundation model for robotics, recently securing nearly €4M in competitive EIC Accelerator funding-one of only 71 startups selected from 1,200 applicants. Previously, he founded Alnair AB, a fintech company specializing in algorithmic securities trading that captured 0.3% of Nasdaq Nordic’s market share before a successful exit. Nouira has also served on investment committees for Vinnova and InnoEnergy, shaping innovation funding in Sweden. With advanced degrees in engineering physics and mathematics from KTH, he combines technical depth with strategic leadership, aiming to disrupt the AI landscape by developing embodied AI systems capable of real-world reasoning and autonomous robotics at scale.
Total Funding: $5.85M / $4.42M Amount Latest Pre-Seed in 04-2025.
Notable Investors: Almi Företagspartner, Nordic Innovation House - Silicon Valley, Swedish Innovation Agency Vinnova, Toydarian Capital.
👻 Opportunity: Emil Liu (US, 2025): CEO at Xoul
Description: Xoul is an open marketplace that allows anyone to create, deploy, and discover powerful agents & agent swarms.
Prev. Experience: Emil Liu is a technical founder and product builder with a strong track record across AI, blockchain, and consumer software. Most recently, he has co-founded stealth ventures at the intersection of AI and culture, including Xoul, focused on intelligent, intimate AI companions. Previously, Emil held engineering roles at Solana Labs and Syncretic Capital, contributing to high-performance blockchain infrastructure and quantitative trading systems. As Chief Product Officer at Layer N, he led product strategy for decentralized finance, and his open-source work includes real-time communication libraries and developer tools. Emil studied computer science at Harvard, where he was recognized as a Slavin Fellow, and is known for applying first-principles thinking to create novel user experiences at the frontier of AI and digital interaction.
🍒 Cherry-Picked Companies
Specter tracks the performance of millions of companies and identifies the ones who are likely to increase in valuation.
🪄 Predicted: Evan Kervella (EU, 2020): Co-Founder and CEO at Chipiron
6 Months Growth: Web: -26.5%; Team: 22.8%; Social: 16.5%
Description: Chipiron designs light, portable MRI machines operating at ultra-low magnetic fields for a fraction of current prices.
Prev. Experience: Evan Kervella is a deeptech entrepreneur and MedTech leader recognized as Forbes 30 Under 30 (France & Europe) and Le Point Innovator of the Year. As Co-founder and CEO of Chipiron, he has spearheaded the development of a new generation of portable, ultra-low field MRI machines designed to democratize access to advanced medical imaging by reducing cost and complexity by an order of magnitude. Under his leadership, Chipiron has raised $17M and is deploying systems in leading European hospitals, aiming to make MRI as ubiquitous as blood tests. Evan’s background includes data science roles at METRON and AT Internet, as well as founding a startup in indoor localization. He holds advanced degrees in mathematics and computer science from Centrale Méditerranée, Aix-Marseille University, and the University of Bologna, graduating with highest honors. His career reflects a blend of technical depth, product vision, and a commitment to transforming global healthcare infrastructure through hardware innovation.
Total Funding: $25.5M / $16.5M Latest Series A in 04-2025.
Notable Investors: France 2030, Bpifrance, Unruly Capital, Exor Ventures, Entrepreneurs First, Région Ile-de-France, EIC Accelerator.
👻 Opportunity: Michael Chiang (US, 2023): Co-Founder at Ollama
6 Months Growth: Web: 406.2%; Team: 52.9%; Social: 29.6%
Description: Ollama is a software firm that runs large language models locally.
Prev. Experience: Michael Chiang is a serial infrastructure and developer tools founder with deep expertise in cloud-native platforms and open-source software. As co-founder of Ollama, he leads the development of a widely adopted open-source framework enabling developers to run and deploy state-of-the-art AI models locally, including Llama 3.2 and Gemma 2. Previously, Michael co-founded Infra, simplifying Kubernetes management for enterprise teams, and was instrumental in product leadership roles at Chef Software and Docker, where he helped launch Docker for Mac and Windows-products now used by over 20 million developers globally. His entrepreneurial journey began with Kitematic, a pioneering Docker desktop tool acquired by Docker Inc., where he drove early product strategy and customer adoption. Michael holds a BASc in Electrical Engineering from the University of Waterloo and is recognized for building developer-centric solutions that bridge complex infrastructure with accessible user experiences
Total Funding: $500K / Undisclosed Latest Venture Round in 04-2024.
Notable Investors: Angel Collective Opportunity Fund, Y Combinator, Essence Venture Capital, Rogue Capital, Sunflower Capital.
That’s all for this edition of Specter Monitor!
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