Dear Partners of 500 Global,

We are officially halfway through 2025, which also means that by the time you read this, we will have celebrated 500 Global’s 15th birthday! For a decade and a half, we’ve had a front row seat to the ever-evolving venture landscape, and the first half of 2025 has been no different. This year has already brought record-breaking investment sizes, intense competition for AI talent, and complex new regulatory frameworks.

• Meta acquires Play AI for voice-driven assistant capabilities. While just outside of Q2, this acquisition underscores ongoing demand for AI tech. Read more
• Grammarly acquires Superhuman to reimagine AI-powered productivity. While the deal closed in early Q3, Grammarly acquired Superhuman to expand its AI offerings beyond writing into broader productivity. Read more
• Circle Internet Group’s stock surged 500% from its June IPO price after being priced above expected range. Read more
• Canva intends to acquire MagicBrief, strengthening Canva’s push into enterprise content workflows. Read more
• Deep Infra raised an $18M Series A round to expand its computing resources, including acquiring additional NVIDIA hardware to meet the demand for inference capacity. Read more
• Manychat raised $140 million in Series B funding to fuel AI-driven customer engagement on social and messaging platforms. Read more
• South Africa-based Stitch raised a $55M Series B round, aimed at expanding its in-person payment offerings and improving its online payment suite. Read more
• Babylist officially crosses $500M revenue: How did Natalie Gordon turn Babylist into a $500M company? Read more
• Provider-owned First Choice Health snaps up Orderly Health to integrate AI-powered roster automation and improve accuracy in provider directories. Read more
• The U.S. Air Force trials the heavy-lift MightyFly Cento drone to enhance autonomous military logistics. Read more
• Talkdesk debuts CXA, a customer experience automation platform to elevate support workflows. Read more
• Dinari becomes the first platform to secure broker-dealer registration to offer tokenized stock trading in the United States. Read more

This July, the firm celebrated 15 years– also known as the “crystal anniversary.” Similar to crystal, we've become clearer, sharper, and perhaps a bit more polished with age. While we haven't developed psychic crystal ball powers (yet), we've certainly grown better at identifying emerging opportunities. Reflecting on these past 15 years, we're grateful for the trust and partnership we’ve shared with you all, our limited partners. Here's to another 15 years, and hopefully by then, we'll have cracked the code on fortune telling! I posted on LinkedIn reflecting on 15 years of 500.

We’re excited to welcome Dr. Alaa Murabit as Managing Partner of Sustainable Growth at 500 Global! A globally recognized leader in health, climate, sustainable development, and inclusive security, Dr. Murabit most recently directed a $300M global portfolio at the Gates Foundation and served as Senior Advisor at Bain & Company. With over a decade of experience working across governments, multilateral organizations, and the private sector, she brings a deep understanding of how strategic investment can build more resilient economies.

With Dr. Alaa Murabit’s appointment, 500 Global is doubling down, replacing fragmented development efforts with scalable public-private finance strategies, and building the enabling environment for sustainable economic transformation. Read more about our strategy here and exclusive coverage on Semafor. 

A defining feature of today’s AI revolution is the active, coordinated role that governments around the world are playing in shaping its trajectory. Countries are not only funding AI but also institutionalizing it. Malaysia’s NAIO Lab, a collaboration between the National AI Office and the Global AI Village, illustrates this commitment. Similarly, South Korea has appointed Jung-Woo Ha as Chief Secretary for AI Future Strategy, while Saudi Arabia’s Project Transcendence showcases sovereign-level ambition to become an AI powerhouse. 

The broader message is clear: AI is no longer just a technological evolution; it’s a geopolitical and economic imperative. Government-led initiatives reflect a growing recognition that AI has the potential to drive sustainable growth, shape competitive advantage, and redefine global influence. 

I recently discussed these trends on The Information’s series TITV, including how governments are ramping up their AI capabilities, as well as the Play AI acquisition by Meta.

In June, 500 Global Managing Partner Khailee Ng joined the SuperAI panel “Investing on the Edge: Funding Frontier AI”, where he emphasized building globally significant startups by leveraging regional talent while remaining “revenue religious” and “geographically agnostic.” He illustrated this with examples like Southeast Asian B2B SaaS companies launching in Europe. Expanding on these ideas, Khailee also led a 500 Education webinar, “FOMO vs Fundamentals: Smarter AI Investing,” addressing the evolving AI investment landscape and the need for new frameworks. He highlighted a shift from founder pedigree to execution: shipping fast, iterating with user feedback, and operational efficiency while advising investors to watch for user experience-led adoption trends and bundling strategies. The recording can be viewed here.

• Christine Tsai at Web Summit Vancouver, Future of AI Investing 
• Bedy Yang at Future Investment Initiative, Europe, Big Data, Big Power - Who Holds the Global Reins
• Mareme Dieng, Forbes 30 under 30, Europe 
• Khailee Ng at SuperAI, Investing in Frontier AI
• Christine Tsai on The Information TITV
• 500 Global Move Closer to Capital with Abu Dhabi Expansion

Throughout the next quarter, the 500 Global team will be at a number of events around the world. Please drop us a line if you’ll be at any of these events stated below:
 

• September 11-12,  Try Everything, Seoul, South Korea
• September 15, 500 Global in Nairobi Launch, Nairobi, Kenya
• September 21-25, United Nations General Assembly, New York City, USA
• October 1-3, Milken Asia, Singapore
• October 7, Flagship Demo Day - B36, San Francisco, USA
• October 20-22, GlobalArc, Boston, USA 
• October 27-29, 0100 International, Milan, Italy 
• October 27-30, Future Investment Initiative, Riyadh, KSA
• October 29-31, Singapore Week of Innovation & Technology 2025, Singapore
• November 5, The Earthshot Prize, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 
• November 10-21, COP30, Belem, Brazil
• November 19-20, SLUSH, Helsinki, Finland

The full 500 Global team will be in Palo Alto, September 8th-12th for our Global Investment Summit + Team Retreat. If you’ll also be in the area, we’d love to connect.
 

For September and October, portfolio companies from Southeast Asia, Latin America, Korea, and Japan will be joining us in Palo Alto and across the Bay Area for hackathons, mentorship sessions, and of course, SF Tech Week. Keep an eye out for announcements, events and more.

As a note, this year we will be hosting our Annual General Meeting virtually! We’re excited to share reflections and learnings from the past 15 years, as well as insights on the current VC landscape. More information will be shared in the coming weeks, so please keep an eye out for details.
 

Questions or thoughts to share? Interested in diving deeper on our broader AI thesis and new opportunities? Please send us a note at ir@500.co.

Here's to a restful end of summer and a strong start to fall.

Christine Tsai
CEO and Founding Partner, 500 Global