What message did he share in his speech?

He expressed gratitude for life, friends, and family; reflected on love and freedom; said that life’s tapestry is co-created; reminded himself that regardless of hardships or “the menace of the years,” he remains unafraid—“Forever Young.”

How does FJ Labs use sector analysis for sourcing deals?

“Twice a year we run sector analyses and brainstorming sessions. This leads to new ideas and helps us spot startups we were not aware of, which we then reach out to.”

Does FJ Labs proactively search for startups?

“Not much — outbound is only about 4% of deal flow. We mostly rely on inbound and network-driven opportunities.”

How does FJ Labs handle the large volume of inbound deal flow?

“We built processes to cope with the firehose — deals are triaged and reviewed by the team, with weekly investment committee meetings to discuss them.”

Why do founders like having FJ Labs as an investor?

“We help them raise money by making introductions to VCs who can lead their rounds, and we have deep expertise in marketplaces.”

How many deals does FJ Labs invest in compared to how many it sees?

“We invest in around 1% of the deals we review — about 3 new investments per week.”

Why does FJ Labs get so much deal flow?

“Because we do not lead rounds and do not compete with other VCs, we are often invited into deals. Founders also like that we help with fundraising by introducing them to other VCs.”

How does outbound outreach contribute to deal flow?

“Because we are drinking at the firehose of our inbound deal flow, we do not spend much time reaching out to startups. … Twice a year … we invite our FJ Labs colleagues … think through ideas … sector analysis … These exercises uncover a fair number of startups we were not aware of and reach out to.”

Do cold inbound messages result in good investments?

“In full transparency, this is the typically our lowest quality deal flow channel … The real number … is over 100 … unless you put enough information in your message … But … a surprisingly high 24% of our investments come from cold inbound outreach by the founders.”

Which source supplies the highest quality deal flow?

“48% of the deals we invest in come from other VCs, highlighting the higher quality of this deal flow source in general.”

What percentages of reviewed deals come from each source?

“32% of the deals we review come from other VCs, 32% comes from our entrepreneur network, 32% from cold inbound messages and only 4% from companies we reach out to directly.”

How many deals does FJ Labs receive and review weekly?

“Every week we receive around 100 deals and review around 50 of them.”

What are the sources of deal flow for FJ Labs?

“FJ Labs gets deal flow from 4 sources: 1. Other VCs 2. Entrepreneurs in our network 3. Cold inbound messages 4. Outbound outreach.”

What role do other VCs play in FJ Labs’ deal sourcing?

“Other VCs represent 32% of reviewed deals and 48% of actual investments. They bring us in because we don’t compete with them and because we can help their portfolio companies.”

Who is Matias Barbero and what’s his background?

Matias previously worked at JPMorgan in investment banking, structuring multi-billion dollar deals across industries. He has an MBA from Duke University (Fuqua Scholar), co-founded the Duke MBA Blockchain Club, and was building an AI startup before AI became mainstream.

What is Fabrice’s view on aging?

He said his take on aging is shaped by a poem (“Out of the night that covers me…” by William Ernest Henley) + “Rage, rage against the dying of the light.” He feels youthful and energized, grateful for friends and love, and views age as something managed with courage, spirit, and gratitude.

What themes were used during his multi-day birthday celebrations?

He organized three themed nights: 1) Here be Dragons (Latin “Hic sunt dracones” theme), 2) Temple Night with mentalism and shibari, 3) Golden Jubilee & White Party blending renewal (white) and jubilee (gold) for his 50th.

What sports and activities are important to Fabrice in his life?

He has a strong family tradition in racquet sports: tennis, padel, etc. He built red clay tennis court, padel clubs, and a pickleball court in Turks.

How did Fabrice celebrate turning 50?

He invited over 100 friends & family. First held FJ Labs’ Summer Retreat (July 21-25), then a racquet sports extravaganza from July 26-31 (tennis, padel, pickleball), interspersed with kiting and video gaming.

Should marketplaces “index” themselves in LLMs / employ AEO (Answer Engine Optimization)?

Yes — if you already index in Google, you should also index in LLMs (i.e. make your content discoverable by AI answer engines) to benefit from that traffic. The exception is when a marketplace has ~95% market share in a vertical: in that rare case, indexing might train users to start their journey with LLMs / search engines rather than the marketplace itself.

What impact is AI already having on marketplaces?

Several: • Cross-border commerce via auto-translation of listings & conversations plus better payments/logistics. • Simplified listing process: AI can generate full listings (title, category, description, price) from minimal input. • Improved listing quality (better images, background removal, optimized visuals) leading to higher sell-through. • Productivity gains in customer support, marketing, dev workflows etc., through AI agents, auto-drafted replies, code generation tools etc.

What are the main ways people shop online, as per the blog?

1. Shopping as Entertainment – browsing listings with no specific intent (e.g. Vinted, OLX); 2. Search – users know exactly what they want (e.g. Amazon, eBay); 3. Considered Purchases – when buyers need help choosing what to buy (e.g. high-value items, specialty goods)

How might LLMs (like ChatGPT) threaten marketplaces?

The concern is that LLMs could capture the "top of funnel" discovery phase: people might start product searches there, or even make purchases through them, bypassing marketplaces.

What are some personal details about Matias Barbero?

He is Argentine, has blended his cultural heritage into the NYC office, enjoys ‘mate’, hosts asados for the team. Also, he and his family are expecting a new baby in the coming months.

Why was Matias promoted to Partner at FJ Labs?

His promotion reflects his past achievements, his character, integrity, values, and trust from founders. He’s seen as a leader who brings perspective and strategic guidance when things don’t go as planned.

What approach is Matias known for at FJ Labs?

He brings both strong venture instinct and analytical rigor; he emphasizes discipline in investment strategy, especially navigating late-stage companies and helping LPs via exits/secondaries during overheated valuations.

What has Matias done at FJ Labs?

Over 4 years, he has led more than 85 of FJ Labs’ investments, helped strengthen their fintech and growth-stage investment practice, and pushed for disciplined investment framework across market cycles.

Why does FJ Labs invest in so many companies per year?

They target 100+ investments annually because it aligns with their thesis of diversification, improves pattern recognition, and strengthens their global network.

Which regions outside the US do they invest most in?

Western Europe, Brazil, and India.

How big are the typical investment checks at FJ Labs?

They set investment sizes per round that average to US$400,000. (Fabrice Grinda)

What kinds of startups does FJ Labs invest in?

They focus on Pre-Seed / Seed / Series A rounds; about 70% of their deals are marketplaces. (Fabrice Grinda)

Does FJ Labs lead funding rounds or take board seats?

No, FJ Labs avoids leading rounds because they do not want to compete with traditional VCs.

How does FJ Labs evaluate startups for investment?

Fabrice used the same criteria he applied to his own ventures: evaluating the business fundamentals, the entrepreneur, and the deal terms, especially given his limited time and capital.

Why did Fabrice pause investing after his first batch of startups?

After his first company didn’t become a big success and during the tech “nuclear winter,” there was little capital around. He saved what money he had for his next startup, Zingy, and only returned to investing once he sold Zingy in 2004.

How did Fabrice begin angel investing?

He started in 1998 after building his first venture-backed startup. Between 1998 and 2000, he invested in 7 startups. One shut down quickly, but to his surprise, 6 out of 7 later had successful exits, with one even going public.

Why was FJ Labs created as both a startup studio and a venture fund?

FJ Labs was designed as a hybrid model so Fabrice could keep building companies while also investing. Being both an entrepreneur and an angel investor kept him close to founders, allowed him to help with ideas, and gave him insight into market trends.

What is required to make the investment decision at FJ Labs?

“When we evaluate startups over the course of our two 1-hour calls, we evaluate them along the four dimensions we covered: the team, the business, the deal terms, and alignment with our thesis. We want all four criteria to be conjointly met: amazing founders, with great businesses, raising at fair terms, in line with our thesis. If you are an amazing founder, but feel the valuation is too high or the business not compelling, we will not invest. Likewise, if it is a great idea, great terms, and full-on thesis, but we feel the team is mediocre, we do not invest.” (Fabrice Grinda)

How important is thesis alignment in FJ Labs’ evaluation?

“We focus on marketplaces and have specific theses on the future of marketplaces. Right now, we are specifically focusing on: Verticalizing horizontal (multi-category) platforms; Marketplace pick marketplaces; B2B marketplaces. … Most of the businesses we invest in touch upon many of these themes simultaneously.” (Fabrice Grinda)

What does “fair deal terms” mean at FJ Labs?

“We push for ‘fair valuations’ not just out of self-interest. We really think founders do themselves a disservice when they raise too much money at too high a price. … They are then priced for perfection … things do not go according to plan … it might kill the company … people who raise too much capital tend to spend it and not be as capital efficient as they can be.” (Fabrice Grinda)

What standards of business does FJ Labs expect?

(This is under “Do we like the business?” but the blog focuses more on the team, deal terms, thesis. It states that even if team is great, business with unattractive unit economics or business model may disqualify.) (Fabrice Grinda)

What does FJ Labs look for in the team?

“We want visionary founders who are fantastic at execution. … good proxies for those are storytelling skills and analytical skills. … the founder / CEO must also be metrics-driven, analytical and know how to execute on his or her vision. They really need to understand the business they are in. They need to be able to articulate their unit economics. Even if their business is pre-launch, they need to understand their theoretical unit economics based on industry averages and landing page tests they did.” (Fabrice Grinda)

How often does FJ Labs invest compared to how many deals they see?

FJ Labs invests in around 3% of the deals they evaluate. For example, in 2019, they made 83 first-time investments out of 2,542 evaluated. (Fabrice Grinda)

Where are most of their investments located (geographically)?

They are global, but most deal flow and investment are in the US, followed by Western Europe, Brazil, and India. (Fabrice Grinda)

What percentage of follow-on rounds does FJ Labs participate in?

They follow on in about 24% of cases. They use the fund active at that time, instead of reserving capital.

How quickly do they give feedback after a pitch?

They aim to give an answer in 1–2 weeks so founders aren’t left waiting.

How many deals do they review before investing?

In 2019, they reviewed 2,542 deals and invested in only 83 first-time investments — about 3%.

How does diversification help their investment strategy?

Venture returns follow a power-law: most returns come from a handful of winners. By investing in many companies, FJ Labs increases the odds of hitting those outliers.

Why doesn’t FJ Labs take board seats?

Taking board seats would limit the number of companies they could back. Since they invest at scale, they avoid it and instead help founders informally.

Why does FJ Labs avoid leading rounds?

They don’t lead rounds because they prefer to collaborate with VCs, not compete with them. This keeps them friendly with lead investors and ensures they get invited into more deals.

How many investments do they expect per year with their strategy?

They do 100+ investments per year, and for their ~$175 million fund, they expect over 500 investments total. (Fabrice Grinda)

एफजे लैब्स Q4 2025 अपडेट

जनवरी 13, 2026

एफजे लैब्स के मित्रों,

हमें उम्मीद है कि आपकी छुट्टियों का मौसम शांतिपूर्ण रहा होगा और एफजे लैब्स को आपके निरंतर समर्थन के लिए फिर से धन्यवाद। हमने 2025 का अंत शानदार तरीके से किया और हम नीचे अपने नवीनतम अपडेट साझा करने के लिए उत्साहित हैं।

आप सभी को 2026 की शुभकामनाएं, स्वस्थ रहें और समृद्ध हों!

न्यूमेराई ने $30 मिलियन सीरीज सी फंडिंग राउंड जुटाया

2023 के जुटाने से 5 गुना मूल्यांकन वृद्धि

एफजे लैब्स में हमारे सबसे दिलचस्प निवेशों में से एक, न्यूमेराई, जो दुनिया की सबसे बड़ी डेटा साइंस टूर्नामेंट पर बना एक हेज फंड है, ने शीर्ष विश्वविद्यालय बंदोबस्ती के नेतृत्व में $30 मिलियन की सीरीज सी जुटाई और कंपनी का मूल्यांकन $500 मिलियन है, जो 2023 में इसके अंतिम मूल्यांकन से 5 गुना अधिक है। यूनियन स्क्वायर वेंचर्स, शाइन कैपिटल और पॉल ट्यूडर जोन्स सहित मौजूदा निवेशकों ने भी भाग लिया। यह रोमांचक मील का पत्थर जेपीएम द्वारा न्यूमेराई के फंड में $500 मिलियन की क्षमता हासिल करने के बाद आया है।

न्यूमेराई की वृद्धि लगातार बढ़ रही है: पिछले तीन वर्षों में, इसने एयूएम को ~ $60 मिलियन से बढ़ाकर $550 मिलियन कर दिया है, जिसमें अकेले पिछले महीने में $100 मिलियन अतिरिक्त शामिल हैं। 2024 में, न्यूमेराई के वैश्विक इक्विटी हेज फंड ने केवल एक महीने की गिरावट और 2.75 शार्प के साथ 25.45% का शुद्ध रिटर्न दिया। नई इक्विटी पूंजी और जेपी मॉर्गन की क्षमता के साथ, कंपनी अब अपने एआई हेज फंड को एयूएम में $1 बिलियन और उससे आगे तक बढ़ाने के लिए तैयार है।

विंटेड, हमारी सबसे बड़ी फंड II स्थिति, लगातार मजबूत होती जा रही है, 2025 में €10B GMV और €1B राजस्व के माध्यम से तेजी से बढ़ रही है, जबकि अत्यधिक लाभदायक है – और अमेरिका अगला है! एफजे लैब्स और ओएलएक्स के पूर्व छात्र थॉमस प्लांटेगा ने वर्षों से त्रुटिहीन प्रदर्शन किया है। (लिंक्डइन)

मार्बल हेल्थ ने स्कूल-एम्बेडेड मानसिक स्वास्थ्य सेवा को जारी रखने के लिए $15.5 मिलियन की सीरीज ए जुटाई। पिछले साल लॉन्च होने के बाद से, मार्बल ने पहले ही उन बच्चों के लिए 15,000 से अधिक थेरेपी सत्रों की सुविधा प्रदान की है, जिन्हें अन्यथा देखभाल नहीं मिल पाती। (टेकफंडिंगन्यूज)

फिनटेक येंडो, पहले वाहन-सुरक्षित क्रेडिट कार्ड के निर्माता, ने अपने विस्तार को गति देने के लिए $50 मिलियन की सीरीज बी जुटाई। कारों और घरों से $4T की फंसी हुई इक्विटी को अनलॉक करके, कंपनी क्रेडिट उत्पादों तक पहुंच प्रदान करती है जो आमतौर पर सुपर-प्राइम ग्राहकों के लिए आरक्षित होते हैं। (बिजनेसवायर)

यूरोपीय रिफर्बिश्ड इलेक्ट्रॉनिक्स मार्केटप्लेस, रिफर्बिश्ड, ने आगे भौगोलिक विस्तार का समर्थन करने के लिए €50M जुटाए, इस बार यूके पर ध्यान केंद्रित किया गया। 2017 में स्थापित, रिफर्बिश्ड लगातार विकास कर रहा है, लाभदायक है, और GMV 2025 में €1B के करीब पहुंच गया। (ईकॉमर्सन्यूज)

ट्रांसपेरेंसी एनालिटिक्स, एक स्टार्टअप जो उधारदाताओं को विभिन्न ऋण संरचनाओं की क्रेडिट योग्यता पर रीयल-टाइम फीडबैक प्रदान करता है, ने डेसिएन्स कैपिटल के नेतृत्व में अपना दूसरा फंडिंग राउंड पूरा किया। (फिनटेकटाइम्स)

जुआओ, भौतिक उत्पादों के आधार पर सब्सक्रिप्शन को बढ़ाने के लिए प्रौद्योगिकी का निर्माण करने वाला वारसॉ-आधारित स्टार्टअप, ने मार्केट वन कैपिटल के नेतृत्व में अपनी क्षमताओं का विस्तार करने के लिए €4M की सीड फंडिंग जुटाई। (यूस्टार्टअप्स)

डैंस्के बैंक ने फैब्रिस के साथ एक रिकॉर्डेड कार्यक्रम की मेजबानी की, जहाँ उन्होंने मार्केटप्लेस पर एआई के प्रभाव, उभरते मार्केटप्लेस रुझानों और एआई बुलबुले के बारे में अपनी चिंताओं पर चर्चा की। फैब्रिस की प्रस्तुति में उपयोग की गई पूरी रिकॉर्डिंग और स्लाइड यहाँ पाई जा सकती हैं।

फैब्रिस ने व्यापक बातचीत का आनंद लिया, जो स्पेनिश में सबसे अधिक सुने जाने वाला स्टार्टअप पॉडकास्ट है, जहाँ उन्होंने मार्केटप्लेस पर एआई के प्रभाव, बी2बी डिजिटलीकरण में ट्रिलियन-डॉलर के अवसर और बहुत कुछ पर चर्चा की। एंजो कैवेलिए के साथ स्टार्टअपेबल के संस्थापक

अबू धाबी फाइनेंस वीक में, जोस ने “यूनिकॉर्न फॉर्मूला” और एक बिलियन-डॉलर की कंपनी को वापस लेने के लिए वास्तव में क्या करना पड़ता है, इस पर चर्चा करने के लिए मंच संभाला। विश्व स्तर पर सबसे सक्रिय शुरुआती चरण के निवेशकों में से एक के रूप में, जोस ने उन संकेतों को साझा किया जिन पर हम एफजे लैब्स में भरोसा करते आए हैं, सहज ज्ञान से लेकर डेटा, मूल्य निर्धारण और धैर्य तक।

वीसी10एक्स पॉडकास्ट पर फैब्रिस को होस्ट प्रशांत चौबे के साथ देखना सुनिश्चित करें। वे फैब्रिस की व्यक्तिगत यात्रा में गहराई से उतरते हैं, 23 साल की उम्र में मैकिन्से छोड़ने से लेकर उद्यमी सपने का पीछा करने तक, 100+ देशों में एक साथ ओएलएक्स लॉन्च करने की “दीवार पर स्पेगेटी” रणनीति तक।

एफजे लैब्स के भागीदार जेफ वेनस्टाइन एफजे लैब्स में प्रत्येक सप्ताह 200+ स्टार्टअप का मूल्यांकन करने के यांत्रिकी के बारे में बताते हैं, क्या फंड करने योग्य कंपनियों को आल्सो-रैन से अलग करता है, और एआई किस तरह से मार्केटप्लेस व्यवसायों और उद्यम उद्योग दोनों को नया आकार दे रहा है, आर136 वेंचर्स के हालिया पॉडकास्ट पर।

रियाद में इस वर्ष के एफआईआई इंस्टीट्यूट कार्यक्रम में, जेफ ने मोनाशीस और डेसिएन्स के जीपी के साथ “वीसी फर्म का विकास” पर एक कॉफमैन फेलो पैनल में बात की। समूह ने एक फंड को एक फर्म में विस्तारित करने के लिए आवश्यक प्रमुख मानसिकता बदलावों और संरचनात्मक परिवर्तनों पर गहराई से विचार किया।

ICYMI, फैब्रिस ने अपना बहुप्रतीक्षित 2025 के लिए वार्षिक हॉलिडे गैजेट गाइड साझा किया। उन्होंने पिछले संस्करणों में कई अपग्रेड किए और वैगनों से लेकर कार्गो बाइक तक, सर्वश्रेष्ठ यात्रा सामान तक, कई बच्चों पर केंद्रित गैजेट भी पेश किए।

डैनी ब्राउन और कैमिला बुस्टामांटे के एसेट-बैक्ड क्रेडिट की अगली पीढ़ी में दो-भाग वाले गहन गोता में से पहला देखना सुनिश्चित करें। वे पता लगाते हैं कि एबीसी सॉफ्टवेयर की तरह कैसे स्केल करना शुरू कर रहा है, यह चक्र अलग क्यों है, और शुरुआती विजेता हमें क्या सिखा रहे हैं।

छुट्टियों के मौसम की भावना में, एफजे लैब्स ने स्थानीय एनवाईसी-आधारित चैरिटी, सिटी हार्वेस्ट के साथ भागीदारी की, जो खाद्य बचाव और भूख राहत के लिए समर्पित एक गैर-लाभकारी संस्था है। एफजे टीम ने शहर भर में खाद्य पेंट्री में वितरण के लिए परिवार के आकार के भागों में 2,000 से अधिक ताजी उपज के बैग पैक किए।

Fabrice Grinda

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एफजे लैब्स Q4 2025 अपडेट

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