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What’s happening:

• VanEck, a leading asset manager, has partnered with staking provider Kiln to offer staking rewards for Solana (SOL) within its European Solana fund. This initiative makes VanEck one of the first to integrate staking into a regulated fund.

Why it matters:

• This collaboration enables investors to earn staking rewards in addition to the potential price appreciation of SOL, enhancing the attractiveness of VanEck's Solana fund.
• VanEck's partnership with Kiln reflects a growing trend among asset managers to incorporate staking rewards into crypto investment products.
• As Solana’s network matures, it will become the next large financialized ecosystem, similar to Ethereum and Bitcoin.

Key details:

• VanEck's European Solana fund currently manages approximately $84 million in assets.
• While European regulators have approved staking rewards, U.S. Solana ETF applications have excluded them due to regulatory restrictions.
• VanEck will use its partnership with Kiln to streamline the staking process and provide a regulated option for investors to benefit more from their digital assets. Currently, Kiln manages over 2.5% of the Solana network.

What’s next:

• VanEck plans to fully integrate staking into its Solana ETP offerings in Europe, with the success of this product likely shaping future developments in other markets.

Big idea:

• Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) has launched “Oxygen,” a private GPU cluster program that provides Nvidia H100 GPUs to AI-focused startups in their portfolio. The program will support startups by giving them access to the computational power needed for AI model training and deployment without negotiating market rates.

Why it matters:

• The Oxygen program addresses a critical supply crunch for GPUs, particularly Nvidia’s H100s, which has disproportionately affected AI startups. Startups often struggle to secure these resources as they face stiff competition from tech giants like Google, Meta, and Microsoft, which can offer large contracts. 
• This program allows startups to access GPUs with fewer financial and logistical constraints, leveling the playing field and enabling AI innovation outside big tech.

Key details:

• AI startups face a supply crunch, with major tech companies securing GPU resources through long-term contracts.
• Oxygen provides computing power for model training on a short-term basis, allowing startups to avoid substantial cash outlays and lengthy commitments.
• Startups give a16z an equity stake in exchange for affordable GPU access, making Oxygen an investment strategy and a competitive advantage for a16z.
• While exact cluster size details remain undisclosed, reports indicate that Oxygen could house over 20,000 GPUs, potentially making it the largest GPU resource offered by a venture firm.

“This started from a realization that a number of the AI founders we serve every day had a common problem: We were in the middle of a supply crunch, where Nvidia H100 capacity was in short supply,” said a16z partner Anjney Midha, highlighting the demand and need for Oxygen.

What's next:

• Andreessen Horowitz plans to continue expanding the Oxygen program as the demand for AI compute resources grows, especially if the AI boom continues as projected.
• By offering infrastructure support in addition to capital, a16z will strengthen its relationships with AI startups and might draw in new portfolio companies.

Proof point: 

• The Oxygen program is part of a growing trend among investors to support portfolio companies with critical resources beyond traditional financial backing. Similar initiatives, such as Nat Friedman and Daniel Gross’s Andromeda Cluster and Y Combinator’s GPU partnerships, show a shift toward resource-based support to strengthen the competitive position of startups in the AI space.

What’s happening:

• Following its $20 million Series A round in August 2023, Socket has now raised an additional $40 million in Series B funding led by Andreessen Horowitz. The fresh capital will fuel the expansion of Socket’s open-source cybersecurity platform, which detects threats in software dependencies. 

Why it matters:

• Open-source software is an important part of modern technology infrastructure but the rapid adoption of open-source components makes it vulnerable to dependency attacks. With the new funds, Socket has the resources to scale its security solutions. 
• Socket’s solutions help developers catch threats early, preventing costly breaches and securing a critical aspect of software development.

Socket’s strengths:

• Uses AI to analyze software dependencies, allowing the platform to effectively identify vulnerabilities and prevent zero-day supply chain attacks.
• Socket's platform is designed to continuously monitor open-source packages for threats, allowing it to detect and block malicious behaviors such as malware, backdoors, and typo-squatting in real time.
• The platform is tailored for developers, allowing them to integrate security measures into their workflows without affecting speed or efficiency. 

By numbers:

• Founded in 2020, the company expanded from 5 employees to 32 and aims to reach 100 within a year.
• The startup secured $20 million in a Series A round in August 2023 and a $40 million Series B in 2024.
• It is anticipated to grow revenue by  400% in 2024. 

What next:

• Socket plans to use its funding to hire more engineers, product people, designers, and salespeople and try to deliver its roadmap faster for its customers. It looks to expand its workforce from 32 to 100 employees.
• It will use investor networks, like Andreessen Horowitz and Abstract Ventures, to grow more efficiently and extend market reach. 
• The company aims to develop more features tailored to enterprise needs while continuing to refine its platform's capabilities in response to evolving software threats.