Happy Thursday; I hope you had a meaningful Memorial Day earlier this week.
Today, as I pen this issue from the Texas Capitol building at the Texas Venture Gala & Forum in Austin, I’m reminded of the importance (and often underappreciated nature) of effective policymaking for the startup ecosystem to flourish. Balancing the needs of the many is no small task, and I’m grateful to those who step up to the challenge.
On to today’s issue:
Angel Deals of the Week | 188 Deals, 105 Networks
First time featured last week: Maine Angels
Bookmarks I think you’ll enjoy
The best nugget from my conversation with Mark Friedman, Co-founder of RTP Angel Fund and board member at the Angel Capital Association
🔥 Angel Deals of the Week
Angel funding rounds announced in recent weeks, compiled from public sources or via direct announcement. 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.
📊 Angel Network Investment Tracker: 188 Deals, 105 Networks.
Datalogz | BI environment visibility and governance
Participating Group: Gopher Angels
Datalogz is developing a BI Ops platform (a tool that monitors and manages business intelligence reporting environments) that helps enterprises reduce costs, mitigate security risks, and eliminate redundant reports and dashboards. The company says it has managed over 1 million BI assets and delivered more than $50 million in quantified value for clients including PepsiCo and Georgia Pacific. Gopher Angels joined a seed round alongside co-leads Squadra Ventures and GreatPoint Ventures.
Logan Havern | New York, NY | May 2026 | Source
Darkhive | Autonomous defense robotics
Participating Group: Alamo Angels
Darkhive develops software-defined autonomous robotics systems for US defense and public safety markets. Founded in 2021 by Special Operations veterans, the San Antonio company holds active programs with the US Air Force and Defense Innovation Unit. In March, the Pentagon selected Darkhive to lead a $49.7 million APFIT (rapid defense technology fielding) contract, the largest single award in that program's history. The company recently closed a $30 million Series B led by RTX Ventures, with Alamo Angels among returning investors, to accelerate production and expand Pentagon collaboration.
John Goodson | $30M Series B | San Antonio, TX | May 2026 | Source
SunRay Scientific | Conductive adhesives for electronics manufacturing
Participating Group: Central Texas Angel Network
SunRay Scientific is developing conductive adhesives and epoxy systems designed to replace conventional solder, wire bonds, and conductive films in flexible wearables, semiconductor packaging, and X-ray imaging devices. The company's patented ZTACH® ACE material (an electrically conductive epoxy that self-assembles microscopic conductive columns) has been validated by the US Air Force Research Laboratory. SunRay recently closed a $4.5 million seed round with CTAN participation to scale US-based manufacturing.
Madhu Stemmermann | $4.5M Seed | Wall Township, NJ | May 2026 | Exclusive | Source
📣 Have an Angel Deal to Announce?
🔖 Bookmarks
⚖️ Illinois Sets the AI Safety Bar: The Illinois House of Representatives just passed a landmark bill requiring frontier AI companies to undergo annual independent third-party safety audits - a U.S. first.
💸 The Bill Comes Due: Turns out replacing humans with AI isn't cheap - Microsoft is canceling Claude Code licenses and Uber burned through its entire 2026 AI budget in four months.
🦕→🤖 CRM Evolution: a16z makes the case that CRMs are becoming dumb pipes - the AI layer on top is where all the enterprise value is heading.
If You Run an Angel Group, Read This
If you run an angel group, the ACA is the single best place to compare notes with people doing the same job. 250+ member groups, tons of benchmarking data, and a peer network that has spent years answering questions that new angel groups don’t even know to ask. Save yourself years of trial and error: lean in here.
🥇 The Nugget: My Top Takeaway from A Conversation with Mark Friedman
Policy changes don't just “happen” ⚠️
The QSBS reforms included in the recent One Big Beautiful Bill (more detail here) didn't appear out of thin air. They, alongside dozens of other policy changes, are the product of years of thoughtful, coordinated, nonpartisan lobbying and coalition building.
From Mark: "It wouldn't have come about if it weren't for the efforts of groups like the ACA letting legislators know why this is something that's important… Nobody pays us to do public policy. It's just part of the overall view that we have that this is one of the critical things that our membership needs."
Takeaway: Policy wins for the angel ecosystem don't happen by accident. Find who's doing the work and lend them your support (groups like the Angel Capital Association are a great place to start).
Want more? Check out my full conversation with Mark 👇
Listen now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, and more.
💼 Delegate and Elevate
Sourcing. Screening. Member updates. Newsletters. Event management. Reporting.
If you're running an angel group, you’re all too familiar with this list, because these tasks are filling your entire calendar and you’re unable to invest in growing the network the way you’d like to.
Good news: Alongside The Diligent Observer, I run an outsourced operations service for angel networks, and that's the exact gap my team fills. We're currently supporting 4 groups, 200+ angels, and over $5M deployed last year.
I’m opening space for just two new starts later this fall - if your plate feels heavier than it should, let’s chat.
Until Next Week 👋
Thanks for reading - have a great week.
-Andrew
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