A Mobile Carrier That Rewards Data Abstinence, Why AI Leaders are Really Selling Biology, and Volume as a Competitive Advantage

Happy Thursday.

In today’s issue:

• Angel Deals of the Week | 93 Deals, 66 Networks

  • STAY TUNED: We’re about to cross 100 angel deals featured. Special subscriber only analysis dropping on 10/23 to celebrate. Don’t miss it!

• Bookmarks I think you’ll enjoy

• The best nugget from my conversation with Brett Calhoun, General Partner at Redbud VC.

🔥 Angel Deals of the Week

Angel funding rounds announced in recent weeks, compiled from public sources. These deals represent the elite few that survived an angel network’s vetting process. Note: I have not personally analyzed these companies and am sharing for informational purposes only.

🤖 Deal summaries generated using dealmemo.ai.

📊 Angel Network Investment Tracker: 93 Deals, 66 Networks.

Noble Mobile | Mobile carrier rewarding reduced usage

Participating Groups: Brown Angel Group

Noble Mobile is the first mobile carrier that pays customers for using less data, offering cash back for under 20GB monthly usage with 5.5% annual reward growth. The company provides unlimited 5G coverage via T-Mobile's network for $50 monthly with no contracts. Founded by Andrew Yang, Noble Mobile recently raised $10 million in seed funding led by Corazon Capital, with investors including Scott Galloway, Circle Ventures, and Brown Angel Group.

Andrew Yang | $10.3M Seed | New York, NY | September 2025 | Source

CorralData | AI-powered data analytics platform

Participating Group: New York Angels

CorralData is developing an AI-powered analytics platform enabling businesses to unify and analyze data through natural language queries. The platform features 500+ prebuilt data integrations and claims to have processed over one trillion rows of data for clients including Sweetgreen, Pfizer, American Museum of Natural History, Lacoste, and more. NY Angels recently announced a follow-on investment to accelerate growth, expand the company's AI technology, and support team expansion including new leadership in data strategy, growth, and brand marketing.

Alex Lirtsman | New York, NY | July 2025 | Source

Iris Finance | AI-native FP&A platform for CPG brands

Participating Group: Hyde Park Angels

Iris Finance is developing an AI-native FP&A platform specifically for consumer packaged goods brands. The company's proprietary Iris DB integrates data from Shopify, Amazon, NetSuite, and TikTok into a unified model, providing real-time margin tracking, automated cash flow forecasting, and scenario planning. Iris recently closed a $6.2 million Series Seed round co-led by Glasswing Ventures and Founder Collective, with participation from Hyde Park Angels, Revolution's Rise of the Rest Seed Fund, Barrel Ventures, Rosecliff, and others.

Drew Fallon | $6.2M Seed | Chicago, IL | September 2025 | Source

📣 Have an Angel Deal to Announce?

🔖 Bookmarks

1. 🧬 The AI Revolution is actually a Bio Revolution: NFX's Omri Drory explains why every “AI utopia pitch” from leaders like Sam Altman or Jensen Huang is actually all about biology.

2. 🧱 Oh, Your Hair is on Fire? Would a Brick Help? Literally the best visual for thinking about “the ideal MVP customer” I have ever heard. The 1:31 video from YC’s Michael Seibel made me laugh, it’s just so good.

3. 🏗️ We're Still Laying the Foundation for Vertical AI: Deep dive from Trace Cohen captures why it is still early-days for vertical AI (despite the froth). I think this is one of the biggest opportunities for Angels over the next 5 years.

🥇 The Nugget: My Top Takeaway from A Conversation with Brett Calhoun

Hustle is a Moat 📬

“Work smarter, not harder” sounds great.

But, what about working smarter AND working harder?

That’s how Brett Calhoun and Redbud VC built their edge: brute force hustle while ALSO using the best systems and processes available.

Processing the entire YC database. 300 cold LinkedIn messages and thousands on Twitter every single week for five years straight. 1,500+ first calls annually and thousands of deals reviewed.

It’s really really really hard to get access to the deals where, as Brett says, “I have to beg to give them my money.”

But that's precisely why this hustle can be such a competitive advantage.

Takeaway: Most angels can't sustain this kind of volume while prioritizing other obligations. But this is what it takes to be the best.

So consider allocating capital to fund managers and joining angel communities that will take on much of this work. The fees are well-worth the access to deal flow that would be impossible to generate alone.

Want more? Check out my full conversation with Brett👇

Listen now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, and more.

Until Next Week 👋

Thanks for reading - have a great week.

-Andrew

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