In conjunction with our Q2 2025 Venture Financing Report, we sat down with Lily Lyman of Underscore VC to get her take on the state of venture capital investing.
Key insights from Lily Lyman
On promising workflow automation trends: “The blend between services and software is increasingly merging, as the focus moves toward delivering the ‘work’ or ‘outcome’ to a customer versus just the ‘software to support doing the work.’”
On supporting early-stage founders during key inflection points: “The combination of empathy, candor and a strong community backing them is what makes those moments navigable – and ultimately, transformative.”
On the rebound in life sciences deal activity: “We are particularly excited about new opportunities emerging at the intersection of AI and life sciences, where machine learning can dramatically compress drug discovery, clinical trials and manufacturing timelines. The companies that win here won’t just generate insights, they’ll rewire entire workflows, accelerating science itself.”