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{{#if first_name}}Hi, {{capitalizeFirst (lower first_name)}}.{{else}}Hi.{{/if}} Venture investors spend plenty of time evaluating founders’ technical chops, market knowledge and product vision. Norwest partner Sean Jacobsohn adds another test: He takes CEOs on sales calls before investing and watches whether prospective customers want a second meeting. In our latest investor interview, Jacobsohn explains why even highly technical founders need to know how to sell, where aging finance and HR software remains ripe for disruption, and which accounting tasks he still wouldn’t trust to AI. Plus, Europe’s AI funding race gets a major boost with a record new financing for Mistral AI, and last week, AI infrastructure dominated our top 10 list. 🎯 The sales test this Norwest partner gives founders before investingNorwest partner Sean Jacobsohn has a straightforward way to assess a founder before writing a check: Put them in front of potential customers. The former software operator said he joins CEOs on sales calls and has walked away from investments when prospects consistently showed little interest in a follow-up meeting. In an interview with Crunchbase News, he also discusses why finance software remains fertile ground for startups, where HR incumbents are most vulnerable, and why AI should assist with accounting workflows — but not necessarily do the math. Related Crunchbase lists: 🇫🇷 Mistral raises $3.5B as Europe’s AI funding race acceleratesParis-based AI lab Mistral AI has raised €3 billion, or about $3.5 billion, in a Series D led by Samsung Electronics at a post-money valuation above €21 billion, or roughly $24 billion. The financing is the largest venture round ever raised by a European AI company and adds another enormous AI deal to a region already coming off its strongest venture funding quarter in four years. European startups raised $42 billion in the first half of 2026, per Crunchbase data, as investors increasingly backed the continent’s emerging AI labs and infrastructure companies. Related Crunchbase lists: 🏆 Top 10: Crusoe and Fluidstack lead massive AI infrastructure haulAI infrastructure dominated last week’s largest U.S. startup financings. Crusoe raised $3 billion at a $30 billion valuation, while Fluidstack secured $1.5 billion at an $18 billion valuation as investors continue pouring capital into data centers, GPUs and other infrastructure needed to satisfy surging compute demand. Further down the list, Gimlet Labs raised $300 million for AI inference technology. See also: The Crunchbase Megadeals Board ⚖️ A startup GC knew what she needed from AI, so she built itFormer Replit general counsel Cecilia Ziniti had something many aspiring AI founders lack: She was the customer. After years working as an in-house lawyer, she teamed up with engineer Bardia Pourvakil to build GC AI, an AI platform designed specifically for corporate legal departments. The startup has since grown to roughly 2,100 customers and recently raised a $60 million Series B at a $555 million valuation. Related Crunchbase list: Global Legal And Legal Tech Startup Funding In 2026 |
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