Open-Source Data Validation AI Secures $4M, Why Saying "Please" Costs OpenAI Millions, and How to use Financial Models as Founder Diligence

Happy Thursday.

Here are your angel deals of the week, some bookmarks I think you’ll enjoy, and the best nugget from my conversation with Super Angel Katie Dunn.

🔥 Angel Deals of the Week

Angel funding rounds announced in recent weeks, compiled from public sources. 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.

🤝 Want more details on these companies or have an angel deal to share? Reply to this email - I’d be happy to connect you with the source angel group or feature your deal.

🤖 Deal summaries generated using dealmemo.ai.

🧾 Check out every deal we’ve tracked here.

Recce | Data validation for AI systems

Participating Group: SVT Angels

Recce, a provider of data-native code review tools for data transformation projects and AI systems, has launched its cloud platform and raised $4 million in funding led by Heavybit, with participation from Vertex Ventures US, Hive Ventures, and SVT Angels among other investors. Founded in 2023 by CL Kao, the open-source project now sees 3,600 weekly downloads on GitHub, with users including The Philadelphia Inquirer and government entities in Brazil and Australia. The funding will support Recce's mission to ensure data accuracy as AI drives more data transformation.

CL Kao | $4M Pre-seed | San Francisco, CA | April 2025 | Source

CSignum | Underwater wireless communication tech

Participating Group: Archangels

CSignum has raised $8M (£6M) in Series A funding led by Archangels, Par Equity, and Scottish Enterprise. The Edinburgh-based company develops wireless communication technology using patented electromagnetic field signaling for data transmission through challenging environments including water, ice, and rock. With customers across UK, EU, and US markets, CSignum serves underwater IoT applications including environmental monitoring and infrastructure security. Funding will support expansion of its EM-2 product portfolio, global growth, and product development.

Jonathan Reeves | Series A | Edinburgh, Scotland | April 2025 | Source

1Logtech | No-Code logistics integration platform

Participating Group: Queen City Angels

1Logtech Inc. has secured $1.5 million in seed funding led by North Coast Ventures with participation from Queen City Angels. The company offers an AI-powered no-code integration platform specifically for transportation and logistics, enabling professionals to connect carriers, shippers, ERPs, and TMS systems without developers. According to the company, the platform can reduce integration timelines from months to hours, with one case study showing 30 LTL carriers integrated in six weeks. Funding will support product development, team expansion, and go-to-market initiatives across truckload, LTL, final mile, and 3PL segments.

JP Wiggins, Mark Addesso | Seed Round | Columbus, Ohio | April 2025 | Source

🔖 Bookmarks

1. Columbia student suspended for building a tool to cheat on interviews has now raised $5.3M to keep building it 💻 | Sarah Perez @TechCrunch (link)

2. Early-stage is in a world of it’s own: AngelList sees later valuations drop while pre-seed and Series A valuations rise 📈 | @AngelList (link)

3. Stop being so nice: saying “please” and “thank you” to ChatGPT costs OpenAI millions 💬 | Kyle Wiggers @TechCrunch (link)

🥇 The Nugget: My Top Takeaway from This Week’s Conversation with Katie Dunn

Financial Models = Founder Diligence 🧠

The financial model is a window into how a founder thinks.

When Katie reviews early-stage financials, she's not looking for “accuracy” (they’re wrong anyway), she's looking at the built-in assumptions. What margins do they expect in two years? How will inventory levels scale? What's the plan for reducing customer acquisition costs over time?

And, most importantly: do the answers make sense?

When founders claim they'll "be profitable in one year with a million dollars in NOI because it's going to go viral on social," well, that’s a red flag.

Takeaway: Don’t gloss over the next financial model. Literally open the thing in Excel and ask yourself:

• Is this model easy to understand and navigate?

• Do I understand the core assumptions driving it?

• Do I believe these assumptions are reasonable?

P.S. Do financial models feel like greek to you? Click an answer to let me know if a short webinar on the topic would be useful to you. 👇

Want more? Check out my full conversation with Katie 👇

🎙️ Latest Episode

Listen now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, and more.

Until Next Week 👋

Thanks for reading - have a great week.

-Andrew

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