As if early-stage companies didn’t have enough to contend with coming out of the COVID-induced hangover of the last two-plus years, the Trump administration’s 2025 reciprocal tariff regime and its abrupt pause have dropped a proverbial turd in the punchbowl. While hardware companies braced for part-deux of the 2018 Chinese tariff program, software stocks were hammered. And the market has yet to factor in the 2^nd and 3^rd order effects these tariffs unleashed. 

As we enter 2025, the venture capital landscape continues its reset, shaped by the transformative impact of artificial intelligence and the lessons learned from the market conditions of 2024. In this blog post, I examine the emerging trends and key takeaways that I believe will define the year ahead for both investors and startup founders.