We’re entering a new chapter at Southern Equity. 🌍 As we continue to evolve, we invite investors, founders, and innovators to follow along as we share industry insights, portfolio updates, and perspectives on the trends shaping the future.

An earnout is a contractual provision in which part of a business's purchase price is tied to its future performance. The buyer pays a portion upfront, and the seller may receive additional compensation if the company meets agreed-upon targets over a set period. These targets are often based on revenue or EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization), a common measure of a company's operating profitability. ↩︎ Earnouts are often used when buyers and sellers can't agree on a valuation. They may reduce upfront risk for the buyer while giving the seller a potential share in future growth. Because payouts depend on how results are measured, earnouts can also lead to post-closing disputes. Clear terms around metrics, accounting assumptions, timelines, and the seller's role after the deal are typically considered essential. ► Learn more: investopedia.com/terms/e/ear… #PrivateEquity #MergersAndAcquisitions #PrivateMarkets #DealMaking #Glossary

The Federal Reserve raised interest rates for the first time since 2023 in September, bringing the federal funds rate to a target range of 3.75%–4%. ⌲ The move comes as PE exits face ongoing headwinds. PitchBook data shows US PE exit value fell 46.3% quarter over quarter to $102.6B in Q2, with middle-market exits at their lowest level since Q2 2020. Median hold periods for US PE assets reportedly reached 4.5 years, among the highest in roughly two decades. According to PitchBook, a single hike may not have a significant impact on its own. However, if further increases follow, higher borrowing costs on floating-rate LBO debt could potentially add pressure to exit activity, particularly in the middle market. ► Read more: pitchbook.com/news/articles/… #PrivateEquity #PrivateMarkets #InterestRates #Exits

Earlier this year, @BainandCompany described private equity's 2025 rebound as a K-shaped recovery: deal value rose 44% to $904B, but deal count fell and just 13 megadeals drove much of the growth. ↖︎ Nine months later, the data suggests that pattern is holding. Global PE investment topped $1T in the first half of 2026, according to KPMG, even as rolling deal count fell to its lowest level in more than five years. Exits also slowed, with 1,315 in H1, the slowest pace in over a decade. Capital appears to be concentrating in fewer, larger, high-conviction deals. For LPs still waiting on distributions, a broader recovery may depend on exit activity picking up across the wider market, not just at the top. ► Read the full report: bain.com/insights/topics/glo… #PrivateEquity #PrivateMarkets #DealFlow #Investing

Cybersecurity startups raised $10.6B globally in the first half of 2026, holding near historically high levels despite AI megarounds dominating the headlines, according to @Crunchbase. Q2 was slower, with funding down roughly 30% from the prior quarter to $4.4B. Still, the quarter produced eight rounds of $100M or more. Given how strong the prior two quarters were, the Q2 dip may not signal a broader pullback. As AI agents become more widespread, demand for more sophisticated security tools could potentially continue to support investment in the space. ► Read the full breakdown: news.crunchbase.com/cybersec… #Cybersecurity #VentureCapital #AI #Startups #PrivateMarkets

A side letter is a legally binding agreement that gives a specific limited partner (LP) tailored terms outside the fund's limited partnership agreement (LPA). ⇢ Common side letter terms include fee discounts, more detailed reporting, co-investment rights, and most favored nation (MFN) clauses, which let an LP adopt better terms granted to other investors. Some LPs also negotiate excuse rights, which allow them to opt out of deals that conflict with their internal policies. Side letters are often key to securing institutional capital, but they can add operational complexity. Because private funds can run a decade or longer, managers typically need a clear system for tracking these obligations across the full fund lifecycle, as well as systems in place to manage the resulting conflicts that can arise. ► Follow Southern Equity for more private markets terms explained. #PrivateEquity #VentureCapital #PrivateMarkets #FundManagement #Glossary

PlayVS has announced it is now reorganized and fully financed, with a newly formed leadership team in place to guide the company's next stage of growth. Jonathan Boswell—who has been with PlayVS for nearly seven years, most recently as Chief Technology Officer—has assumed the role of CEO. Juanita Russell continues as CFO, and Charles O'Donnell has been appointed Chief Revenue Officer after leading partnerships at the company. ⇢ We're inspired to see @PlayVS stabilize and move forward with a new leadership team and a long-term vision for what scholastic esports can become—connecting students to competitions, curriculum, and real career pathways through gaming. ▶︎ Read the full update: playvs.com/community-update-… #Esports #ScholasticEsports #Gaming #EdTech #PortfolioNews #VentureCapital #PrivateMarkets #PlayVS

This summer, Anthropic raised $65B in a Series H, more than doubling its post-money valuation to $965B, according to Crunchbase. ↖︎ The next-largest round was a fraction of that size: Cognition, the developer of AI software engineer Devin, closed over $1B at a $26B valuation. Beyond AI, sizable rounds also went to companies in logistics, insurtech, fusion energy, space tech, and healthcare. The gap between the top deal and the rest of the list may suggest that capital remains heavily concentrated among a handful of AI leaders. Still, steady nine-figure rounds across other sectors could be a potential indicator of investor appetite extending beyond foundational AI. ▶︎ Read the full breakdown: news.crunchbase.com/ai/bigge… #VentureCapital #AI #Startups #Funding #Anthropic #Cogniton

US startups raised more than $400B in the first half of 2026, already exceeding every previous full year on record, including all of 2025, according to the PitchBook-NVCA Venture Monitor. ⇢ Fundraising also rebounded sharply, with VC firms raising nearly as much through June as they did in all of 2025. Exit activity picked up in Q2 as well, with IPOs and M&A both accelerating. The headline numbers appear strong, but the data suggests the recovery is still uneven. Most invested capital went to AI companies and $100M+ rounds, and fundraising was concentrated among a small group of established managers. A broader reopening of the exit market could be key to extending liquidity across the wider ecosystem. ► Read the full breakdown: nvca.org/pitchbook-nvca-vent… #VentureCapital #PrivateMarkets #AI #Startups

Global venture funding reached $42 billion across just over 1,500 startups in August 2026—down 25% from July but up 122% compared to the same month last year, according to Crunchbase data. Seven companies raised billion-dollar rounds during the month, with capital flowing across AI, defense, aerospace, nuclear energy, and home battery technology. ⇢ The pace of megadeal formation appears to be accelerating. Five of August's seven billion-dollar recipients had last raised capital less than 12 months earlier—three within the same year—suggesting investors are doubling down on their highest-conviction bets faster than at any point in recent memory. ► Read the full breakdown: news.crunchbase.com/venture/… #VentureCapital #PrivateMarkets #StartupFunding #AI #DefenseTech #Investing #GlobalVC #Crunchbase

Physical AI—software that enables machines to perceive, reason, and act in the real world—is attracting significant investor attention. According to @SiliconVlyBank's latest report, physical AI and robotics startups raised $9.6 billion globally in H1 2026, on pace to surpass 2025's full-year total, with humanoid robotics accounting for a growing share of both deal count and dollar volume. ⇢ The data could potentially suggest the sector may be at an inflection point. Manufacturing, logistics, and healthcare are emerging as the primary deployment environments, while a small number of well-capitalized companies are pulling ahead on hardware-software integration—a combination that appears increasingly difficult to replicate and may represent one of the more durable moats in the current AI landscape. ► Read the full report: svb.com/trends-insights/repo… #PrivateMarkets #VentureCapital #PhysicalAI #Robotics #AIInvesting #EmergingTech #StartupFunding #Innovation

According to Pitchbook, secondaries generated a 20.6% average gain at private foundations in 2025—the highest return of any alternative asset class. But there's an important caveat: much of that performance may reflect accounting treatment rather than actual cash distributions. According to Mark Hoeing, president and CEO of CF Private Equity, secondary buyers typically purchase assets at a discount and mark them to par after purchase. Against a backdrop of record secondary deal volume—surpassing $120 billion in H1 2026 alone—that practice is producing strong one-year IRRs that may not fully reflect realized liquidity. ► Read more: pitchbook.com/news/articles/…

Large exits are happening at a near-record pace in 2026—but the returns may not be keeping pace with the cost. The median company exiting above $500 million has raised $323.7 million to get there, more than double the figure a decade ago, while exit step-ups have collapsed from 62.8% in 2021 to 15.5% in 2026. ⇢ Is the traditional case for venture risk starting to shift? ► Read the full report: pitchbook.brightspotcdn.com/…

Nearly 90 new unicorns* have been minted so far in 2026—and while most are AI-related, the class is more diverse than the headlines suggest, spanning healthcare, defense, crypto, robotics, and energy. ⌘ The pace of unicorn creation appears to be accelerating alongside the broader AI investment boom, with new companies reaching $1B+ valuations at earlier stages and on smaller amounts of total capital raised than in prior cycles. ► Read the full breakdown: techcrunch.com/2026/07/05/al… *A unicorn is a privately held startup valued at $1 billion or more.

Cybersecurity startup funding is holding at historically high levels in 2026, even as AI megarounds dominate the broader venture landscape. Global funding to security and privacy-related startups reached $10.6 billion in H1 2026, with eight rounds of $100 million or more closing in Q2 alone. ⇢ Exits are also occurring, with M&A activity picking up in the absence of a more active IPO market. As AI agents continue to proliferate, demand for more sophisticated security infrastructure to monitor their activity could suggest a structural tailwind for the sector that extends beyond the current cycle. ► Read the full breakdown: news.crunchbase.com/cybersec…

PlayVS announced it has been reorganized and fully financed, with a newly formed leadership team in place—Jonathan Boswell as CEO, Juanita Russell CPA MBA as CFO, and Charles O'Donnell as CRO. Inspired to support @PlayVS as they continue to create a space for students to compete, connect, and belong—now with the foundation to serve schools, coaches, and communities for the long term.

Mercury has officially launched @Mercury Books, an AI-powered accounting software that categorizes and reconciles transactions the moment they happen, built for bookkeepers and founders alike. Excited to support Mercury as they continue to expand what a financial platform for ambitious companies can look like.

The 2026 exit market is posting record numbers—but the headline figures appear to be masking a deeply bifurcated landscape. U.S. IPOs have already raised more than $140 billion in proceeds this year, and total VC-backed exit value in H1 topped $2 trillion. The catch: a single deal (@SpaceX) accounts for the vast majority of that figure. ⇢ For the rest of the startup market, the exit environment could come down to one variable—AI. Companies that can demonstrate AI-powered growth, strong ARR, and a compelling competitive narrative are reportedly finding appetite from both public investors and strategic acquirers. Those that can't are facing the same difficult window they've navigated for the past three or four years. ► Read the full breakdown: carta.com/data/startup-exit-…

The AI label seems to be becoming harder to trust. According to @SiliconVlyBank's H2 2026 State of the Markets report, an analysis of 9,000 VC-backed companies found that 42% of those marketing themselves as AI companies show little evidence that AI is actually central to their technology. ⇢ The pressure to claim the label appears to be creating noise—but investors seem to be growing more adept at cutting through it, increasingly identifying and rewarding companies where AI is genuinely core to the product rather than the pitch. ► Read the full report: svb.com/trends-insights/repo…