Happy Thursday.
It’s been a wild week with all the talk of impending AI-driven doom. In case you missed it, here’s my best attempt to summarize what has happened in just a few words:
Sept 8-9: Evan Hubinger, Anthropic's Alignment Science Lead, backed him up. He wrote that he and his colleagues "earnestly believe AI could kill all humans," put his own odds of that above 10% within the next decade, and said the company has no plan yet for solving alignment for superintelligence (Forbes).
Sept 12: CEO Dario Amodei published "We Must Pace the Frontier." The thesis: "we must slow the pace at which we improve the capabilities of AI models." Sam Altman, Demis Hassabis and Elon Musk all cosigned (Axios, Reason).
Since then: President Trump rejected the slowdown, telling reporters that "whoever wins AI, wins" and that a lot of "negative forces" were raising things that won't happen (AP via Yahoo). China's Foreign Ministry called the warnings "fear mongering" (Quartz). Meanwhile Anthropic is still headed for a public listing, with AI backlash expected to appear as a risk factor in its own IPO prospectus (CNBC).
Now you’re up to speed.
On to today’s issue:
Angel Deals of the Week | 236 Deals, 119 Networks
First time featured this week: NuFund Venture Group
Bookmarks I think you’ll enjoy
The best nugget from my conversation with Linda Jellison and Peter Offringa, the former and current Board Chairs of Bridge Angel Investors in Sarasota, FL
🔥 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: 236 Deals, 119 Networks.
🔓 The Exclusive: 12 Actively Raising Deals Shared to Date
Zulu Pods | Compact fluid delivery for aerospace
Participating Group: Bridge Angel Investors
Zulu Pods is developing a compact fluid delivery system for aerospace and defense applications. Its ZPOD combines a reservoir, pump, and nozzle (the parts that store, move, and release fluid) into one self-contained device used for engine lubrication. According to the company, the technology also extends to emergency backup systems, anti-corrosion solutions, and precision fuel systems for military and aerospace platforms. Bridge Angel Investors recently announced an investment in the company.
Rob Sladen | Coral Springs, FL | September 2026 | Source
ConKay Medical Systems | Transcatheter heart valve repair device
Participating Groups: Gopher Angels and NuFund Venture Group
ConKay Medical Systems is developing a catheter-based implant that tightens a heart valve that no longer closes properly, a failure that lets blood flow backward and leaves patients short of breath and at risk of heart failure. The company is focusing first on the tricuspid valve and says its device copies what surgeons do, reaching the heart through a vein instead of the chest. Gopher Angels recently announced an investment, syndicating with NuFund Venture Group.
Albert Yuan | Pleasanton, CA | September 2026 | Source
Anumio | Veterinary long-acting injectable drug developer
Participating Group: Veterinary Angel Network for Entrepreneurs
Anumio is developing long-acting injectable medicines for companion animals: treatments given by injection that release steadily over months instead of daily pills. Its lead program targets canine urinary incontinence, a condition the company says represents a $140 million annual US market opportunity. Anumio recently secured investment from members of the Veterinary Angel Network for Entrepreneurs to advance this program and its Faros platform, which the company says holds seven issued US patents.
Jeff Missling | Plymouth, MN | September 2026 | Source
📣 Have an Angel Deal to Announce?
But Andrew, Which Ones Are Still Raising?
That’s the question I launched The Exclusive to answer. 12 deals posted so far.
Claim one of just 25 founding seats: $50/month for as long as you stay, full refund within 30 days if you’re not finding it useful. Accredited investors only.
🔖 Bookmarks
💳 Ready to Give AI Your Credit Card? Ant International, Visa, and Mastercard are building a shared standard for AI-agent payments, betting on $3-5 trillion in agentic commerce by 2030.
🧠 Neuromodulation for Dummies: Great deep dive from Contrary Research on where brain stimulation stands and what's still holding it back.
🏛️ AI Self-Regulation? Anthropic, Google, and OpenAI have discussed creating an industry standards body modeled on FINRA, per CNN.
🥇 The Nugget: My Top Takeaway from a Conversation with Linda Jellison and Peter Offringa
Member-led doesn't mean member-run 🙋
One fix I’ve seen for a struggling investor group is to lower the barrier. Make it more approachable. Cut dues, loosen expectations, make it easier to get more people in the room, and the group grows its way out of the hole.
Post-COVID, the leadership team at Bridge Angel Investors considered doing exactly this.
They were down to a handful of members who were struggling to bear the burden of running the group. One obvious move was to drop the price to be able to spread that burden across more members.
But they decided to do the opposite. They DOUBLED dues from $2,500 to $5,000 a year, and the plan was to use the cash to hire paid staff.
From Linda: “If we really wanted to do this, we had to find someone who had the time, and also pay them. We couldn't expect them to just come in and do this for free.”
So, membership tanked after this, right?
Wrong.
According to Linda and Peter, who walked me through exactly what that season was like, membership didn't suffer at all. Turns out that prospective members had plenty of questions and suggestions, but dues were never the main concern.
From Peter (emphasis mine): “Having a higher dues threshold also ensures that the people who are joining actually are serious angel investors and want to participate and, you know, maybe aren't individuals who are looking just to participate in the group to network.”
Takeaway:
Member-led describes who decides, not who has to do the work.
Want more? Check out my full conversation with Linda and Peter 👇
Listen now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, and more.
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Until Next Week 👋
Thanks for reading - have a great week.
-Andrew
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