When we invested in 3Box Labs in 2021, we expressed a thesis that the future of data infrastructure would move from siloed, proprietary databases to open, composable data networks. We saw how this shift would enable developers to build data-rich applications more quickly by leveraging existing networks of data and standards. Today, that vision takes another step forward with the launch of Recall, a project born from the recent merger of 3Box Labs and Textile. Recall extends the concept of com...

John von Neumann famously postulated the idea of a Universal Constructor, a machine that could build anything, itself included. While that may forever remain elusive, our cells contain marvelous constructors called Ribosomes, which assemble all the proteins for us based on reading programming instructions. In one of the most important scientific breakthroughs we have not only learned how to read and decode those instructions but also to write them. This makes cells programmable and is usherin...

The dramatic reduction in the cost of solar energy means we can cheaply produce clean power– but only when the sun is out. Batteries are a natural companion to solar, capable of soaking up surplus energy when the sun is shining, and using that energy or feeding it back to the grid at night. Fortunately, batteries are following a similar reduction in cost to solar, coming down 90% in the last decade alone. As batteries continue down the cost curve, they’re becoming increasingly attractive as a...

Electric vehicles are a prime example of how electricity will be used in more complex ways as we electrify everything to reduce carbon emissions. As batteries, they enable shifting electricity usage in time, and as vehicles, they enable shifting usage in space. At USV, we’ve been interested in facilitating this future of more programmable energy. The EV opportunity today is especially attractive for commercial fleets. They have predictable routes, are sensitive to maintenance costs, and can s...

Over the last decade, there has been a proliferation of new blockchains and onchain assets. This trend is just accelerating as our online world is increasingly built on blockchain rails. Today, creating new chains and tokens is cheaper, faster, and safer than ever. While this fragmentation of chains and assets has enabled diversity and scale in the blockchain ecosystem, it has also made development across it complex. A future of hundreds of chains – each with their own unique assets – require...

What a time to be building! Writing computer code has never been easier. We now have AI models that have memorized every conceivable API and can assist us or even write code for us outright. Especially the more recent so-called “reasoning models” have taken another big step in this direction. At the same time, hardware has become incredibly performant. There are now 1U servers that come with 2 processors with 144 cores each, 96 MB of Cache and 2 TB of RAM and 244 TB of SSD disk space all for ...

We recently started investing out of our newest USV Core Fund. As with each of our previous funds, while it is a new vehicle, our approach will stay the same: small fund, thesis driven, high conviction, and low velocity. We’ll focus on being long term and dedicated partners to a small number of teams creating projects and businesses that are aligned with our thesis. We’ll continue to commit once and then partner with the companies throughout their lifetimes. We run a collaborative partnership...

We are in a moment where the future is both wildly exciting and highly uncertain. The future state and greatest opportunities are likely determined by the axes: rate of advancement and the openness of the frontier models.

At USV, we invest in networks that help coordinate human behavior at scale, particularly at the edge of large markets experiencing transformative pressure. Today we're announcing our investment in the Glow Protocol, which incentivizes the deployment of solar infrastructure. Glow’s approach is radically different from existing subsidy systems for green energy, drawing inspiration from Bitcoin’s open and highly competitive incentive model. Glow addresses a fundamental challenge in solar infrast...

The healthcare system can sometimes feel like it’s not working on our behalf, leading to a loss of trust. When trust erodes, we lose our sense of empowerment. Our sense of agency disappears. Outcomes deteriorate. This isn't inevitable. Instead, people-driven exploration, sharing, and collaboration around health are ways to bring back trust. And when trust re-emerges, changes in the system occur. Moreover, a new system can be built. Our investment in SuppCo, a company founded by Steve Martocci...