The July 2026 Connetic Signal explores venture-capital concentration, private-markets portfolio construction, and physical AI in the real world.
Update: Updated to include the condensed newsletter edition.
Hello There,
AI companies captured 86% of first-half venture deal value while representing 43.2% of deal count. Conviction around the category is real, but the dollars are concentrating far faster than the number of companies receiving them.
Three pieces this month, each a short read on its own page: what the concentration gap actually tells investors, what Brad Zapp thinks advisors should take from broader private-market opportunity sets, and how Ottonomy is putting physical AI to work.
Data Corner
AI Owns the Dollars. The Opportunity Set Is Broader.
86.0%
of H1 2026 venture deal value
43.2%
of H1 2026 venture deal count
A relatively small group of enormous financings can dominate the capital picture while company formation and investment activity stay much broader. The 42.8-point gap between those two measures is a reminder to separate category momentum from deal-level selectivity.
The full chart, the sourcing implications, and why Connetic looks past the largest model rounds are on the Data Corner page.
Why the Wealthy Never Invest Like Retail Investors became Advisorpedia's eighth most-read article for the week of June 7. Brad's point is not that advisors should copy a family-office allocation. It is that portfolio construction has to begin with the full opportunity set — because an advisor cannot judge whether an exposure fits a client if it never enters the conversation.
FTSE Russell 2026 U.S. Wealth Pulse Survey
48% of advised investors have never discussed private markets with their advisor — while 72% want to learn more.
The full article covers the liquidity budget, why more funds do not always mean more diversification, and what has to be true before access becomes a workable portfolio exposure.
VCAFX is a closed-end interval fund designed for long-term investors. It is not a liquid investment. See the important Fund disclosures below and read the prospectus carefully before investing.
Cool Private Company
When AI Leaves the Screen
Ottonomy and Sodexo are testing autonomous delivery in a remote Australian mining village. Image: Ottonomy.
Physical AI moves intelligence into machines that must perceive changing environments, make decisions, and safely perform work. Ottonomy is building at that intersection — autonomous delivery robots reported across 14 geographies, plus an orchestration layer designed to coordinate robots, drones, and connected infrastructure.
The spotlight covers the Sodexo Australia pilot at Rio Tinto's Gudai-Darri mine, how the perceive-act-coordinate stack fits together, and why the application layer is where AI becomes repeatable work.
Ottonomy was reported as a VCAFX portfolio holding in the Fund's Schedule of Investments as of December 31, 2025. It is included as an illustration of physical AI, not as evidence of Fund or company performance.
A timely sign that private-market access is moving deeper into the infrastructure advisors already use — and that product access and manager research increasingly need to travel together.
As AI moves into machines that sense, decide, and act, validation and safety become part of the product — not an afterthought. NVIDIA's announcement provides a useful view of the enabling infrastructure forming around robotics.
Connetic Corner
Summer, Family, and a Little Time to Recharge
July took the Connetic team from Niagara Falls and a Cooperstown baseball tournament to Paris, London, and Banff — with Wimbledon, Sunningdale Golf Club, World Cup soccer, and one very memorable home-run ball along the way.
Fourth of July at Niagara FallsA home-run ball from CooperstownParis and London: Wimbledon, Sunningdale, and soccerA family reset in BanffCelebrating a 21st birthday at Covington YardOrlando with an emerging hairstylist
Brad also celebrated a daughter's 21st birthday at Covington Yard and traveled to Orlando with another after she earned a spot at Premiere Orlando. Follow her emerging hairstyling work on Instagram or TikTok at @thezappeffect.
We hope you are finding a little time to recharge, reconnect, and enjoy the season too.
