I hope everyone had a great end to 2025. I am going to start doing things a little differently than I have in the past. First off, I’m going to make these quarterly updates more focused on what’s happening at FLF than in the broader VC market. If you're interested in diving into the data, I will link the most recent Pitchbook NVCA article in each of my quarterly updates (Q4 2025 linked here). Still, I feel as though my thoughts regarding FLF, our portfolio, and the insights we are picking up in the market are more valuable than the data available online. I want this quarterly piece to feel more like Steve Forbes' letter to his readers that he publishes at the front of each Forbes Magazine. 

As many of you know, our organization has gone through a major leadership change. Effective 1/1/26, I have taken over as managing partner of FLF, and Tom Wallace has moved to an Executive Chairman role. This move for the organization represents the natural changing of the guard, and although I could not be more excited for my new role and what the future holds, I want to ensure we never lose sight of what is true to our core values and always honor the individuals who have worked so hard to help FLF become what it is today. 

Although we are on our way to becoming a national powerhouse in venture capital, we will always be a Florida-first firm, with the goal to continue to drive technology and innovation in this state. I would also be remiss not to discuss the impact Tom Wallace has had on me throughout my life. Tom has been a lifelong mentor and teacher of mine and has taught me essentially everything I know about business. If it weren’t for Tom, there would be no FLF and no Florida technology ecosystem. His methodology and vision will continue to live on, and his bad jokes will always be a part of the culture here at FLF. The foundation built with blood, sweat, and tears will allow us to grow this organization for decades to come. 

Now, let's get down to business. What's going on in the world of FLF? Well, 2025 was a good year, and after two very long years of fundraising, we successfully closed Fund 3 at around $53M. With 2022-2025 among the hardest fundraising years ever for emerging funds and headwinds in the VC market, including a substantial liquidity shortage, I am proud to say this was a successful fundraise. At $53M, we can execute our strategy effectively and continue building a world-class portfolio. 

2025 was also a year of liquidity for the FLF portfolio. We had 6 total exits or partial exits:

1. TSOLife
2. SimpleBet
3. TAO Connect
4. Chattr
5. TotalSDS
6. GoTu

The venture capital market as a whole saw more liquidity in 2025. IPOs were up 48% year over year, IPO exit value was up 198% year over year, and total exit value was up 137%, including both IPOs and M&A. These liquidity tailwinds should continue through 2026, with rumors of major technology IPOs such as OpenAI, SpaceX, and Anthropic. If these three companies alone went public, the VC market would see an avalanche of exit volume as liquidity is pumped back into the system. 

In terms of our existing portfolios, 2025 garnered 10 companies raising rounds. The most notable was Flex, which raised a $60M Series B led by Portage Ventures. Flex is our largest position in Fund 2.

Fund 3 made 6 new investments in 2025:

1. Iris
2. Rebel
3. Curated For You
4. Rapidfort
5. Liminal 
6. Archive

The AI market continues to drive the VC market, both in terms of deal count and investment dollars. In 2025, 30-35% of all deals were AI deals. As for total VC investment value, approximately 60% of all VC dollars went to AI companies. FLF has heavily invested in AI, with 4 of the 6 net new deals in 2025 being AI companies. My analysis of the AI market is that we are in the third inning. ChatGPT wrappers are no longer viable investment opportunities, and we have already seen and are seeing substantial carnage with those types of companies. The market is maturing, and we are interested in investing in true, revenue-generating, vertically deep solutions. Sales and go-to-market are more important than ever in a world where technology is no longer the moat. 

Overall, 2025 was a good year at FLF. 2026 should be a strong year for the VC market, both in terms of liquidity and net new investment. 2022 through early 2025 were tough years for VC, and, just like any market, you have your ups and downs. 2026 feels like a year of ups.

Saxon Baum
Managing Partner 
FLF

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