Hey there 👋
It's time for another 🛰️ FounderNest Flyby Newsletter 🛰️, where we help you stay sharp with innovation trends and insights.
In today’s newsletter:
- 💡 Thoughts from our blog
- 🗞️ Quick hits from this week’s news
- 📡 5 emerging trends from our industry radar
- 💼 This week’s manufacturing deep dive
- 🤖 AI prompts and their importance to scouting
(Est. reading time: 5 mins)
Thoughts from our blog.
- FounderNest Recognized in TechRound’s 2025 AITech35 List
- How to fix the innovation metrics gap that is killing exec buy-in
- Netflix vs. Blockbuster: A cautionary tale of innovation ignored
Quick hits.
Short and sweet - news that caught our eye this week.
Cross-industry and cross-border deals - The new normal: In 2025, cross-industry and cross-border deals are rising as companies aim to scale, consolidate, and manage geopolitical and regulatory risks. M&A is shifting to smaller, strategic acquisitions, with top teams exploring unconventional pairings and rethinking industry lines.
The AI-led capital expenditure super cycle and its impact on M&A: The rise of AI is driving a “super cycle” of capital expenditure, which could crowd out traditional M&A in favor of “build” strategies (partnerships, alliances, and internal development). At the same time, AI readiness is becoming a critical filter for target companies.
Case study: Kite AI’s collapse: Kite AI, an AI startup, collapsed despite strong engineering and user growth. Its failure shows the importance of product-market fit, monetization, and agility, highlighting the need to balance innovation with market readiness. This case underscores the need for startups to balance technical innovation with market readiness and sustainable business models.
Industry radar.
Stay ahead of the curve every newsletter we give you 5 of the hottest topics and trends across our reference industries.
1. Healthcare and pharma: Virtual healthcare and digital trials
Wearable devices, mobile apps, and telehealth platforms are becoming integral to chronic disease management and clinical trials, enabling remote monitoring and greater patient diversity.
A sample of digital solutions in the pharmaceutical industry that leverage field-level sensor technologies in FounderNest
2. Banking: M&A activity picking up
Banking M&A is set to pick up in late 2025 as recession fears fade and regulators show greater openness, following a slowdown from regulatory uncertainty and rate volatility.
3. Manufacturing: Sustainability and reshoring
The push for sustainability and government incentives (like the CHIPS Act) are driving reshoring efforts, with 22% of U.S. manufacturers shifting operations back home and pledging $220 billion in capital expenditures through 2026.
4. Aeronautics: Accenture acquires SIPAL’s integrated product support
Accenture has acquired SIPAL’s Integrated Product Support business in Italy to boost its aerospace and defense engineering capabilities, enhancing its product lifecycle and support services.
5. Insurance: Embedded insurance growth
Insurers are partnering with industries such as automotive, retail, and real estate to offer insurance at the point of sale, projecting embedded insurance premiums to exceed $722 billion globally by 2030.
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Deep dive: Manufacturing.
Comprehensive, personalized industry insights - straight from our platform.
TL;DR
- 🏭 M&A as transformation: Digital focus and private equity are driving bold moves in manufacturing
- 🤖 AI and automation: Tech-driven deals are reshaping operations and enabling new capabilities
- 📊 Confidence rising: Strategic acquisitions and favorable market conditions are accelerating innovation
1. 🏭 M&A powers manufacturing transformation
Manufacturing M&A is shifting from scale to strategy, driven by digital innovation, automation, and AI. Companies are shedding non-core assets and reinvesting in tech, while private equity accelerates consolidation, especially in automotive and construction.
2. 🤖 AI and automation drive strategic deals
AI, robotics, and predictive tools are reshaping manufacturing. M&A is a key path to acquiring tech, boosting efficiency, and building resilience, helping leaders stay agile in fast-changing markets.
3. 📊 Confidence up, capital ready
With improving market conditions and strong private equity backing, M&A momentum is growing. Industry leaders are using strategic acquisitions to fast-track digital transformation and unlock new growth.
Summary
Manufacturing in 2025 is defined by bold M&A, digital-first strategies, and operational excellence. Those who embrace change are pulling ahead.
Find the full research here.
The importance of AI prompts - The good vs the bad.
Crafting the right prompt makes a massive difference in discovering relevant startups. Here’s what we found across three industries:
Pharma.
- ✅ Good prompt: “Digital solutions in the pharmaceutical industry that leverage field-level sensor technologies.”
- → 234 results | 44 ideal matches
- View the 234 results in FounderNest
- ❌ Bad prompt: Overly long and detailed with too many requirements so results are missed.
- → Only 82 results | 3 ideal matches
Insurance.
- ✅ Good prompt: “AI-powered analytics in the insurance industry”. Our subspaces help you iterate this further.
- → 286 results | 89 ideal matches
- View the 286 results in FounderNest
- ❌ Bad prompt: Too filtered (e.g., “Pre-seed insurance startups in the UK”). Start wider and filter afterwards.
- → 59 results | 0 ideal matches
Retail.
- ✅ Good prompt: “Retail monitoring solutions using AI to optimize logistics.”
- → 172 results | 25 ideal matches
- View the 172 results in FounderNest
- ❌ Bad prompt: Vague, unstructured, and mixed languages.
- → 21 results | 0 ideal matches
Poor prompts cost you.
Badly structured prompts led to a 69% – 87% drop in relevant company discoveries.
✅ Keep it simple, specific to the solution, and avoid filters or excessive detail in the prompt itself. Use filters and subspaces for refining and you’ll be on your way to better scouting.
Thanks for reading! If you want to explore the space for yourself, or any others, you can run your own search directly in FounderNest.
Feel free to suggest a topic for us to dive into next! If you have any questions, feedback, or just want to connect you can get in touch or connect on LinkedIn.
