Revenue Multiples Are Rising Again—Here’s Where They Stand

CHART OF THE WEEK

Startup revenue multiples are rising again—but not evenly. This week’s Chart of the Week tracks how revenue multiples have evolved from the 2021 peak through the recent market correction and into an early 2026 rebound. The data shows a clear divide across industries, with energy and fintech commanding massive premiums while consumer sectors remain grounded. For investors, understanding these benchmarks is key to spotting overpriced deals—and identifying relative value.

UPCOMING EVENTS

Next Monday: Eric Ries on Startups, Capital & the Future of Venture 

On May 11 at 4 PM ET, Kingscrowd CEO Chris Lustrino sits down with Eric Ries — author of The Lean Startup and the forthcoming Incorruptible — and Alumni Ventures CEO Mike Collins for a live conversation on what it takes to build a company that lasts, and keep it that way.

Incorruptible publishes May 26. This is your chance to hear the ideas behind it before the book hits shelves.

INSIDE STARTUP INVESTING

What if emotional intelligence were taught before kids ever needed therapy?

This week on Inside Startup Investing, we spoke with George Moringer about Tapouts—a platform helping kids build emotional resilience through gamified group sessions.

📊 The traction:
• 20,000+ kids served
• 200,000+ sessions delivered
• $5M revenue run rate

With strong engagement, high margins, and expanding distribution opportunities, Tapouts is building a new category in child wellness education.

Listen in your browser

PITCH REVIEW 💸

By Teddy Lyons \ Deal Report

Brief: Lumida Wealth is an AI-powered wealth platform building agentic AI advisors to deliver real-time investment insights, early trend discovery, and access to private deals. Its Lumida Invest App functions like a hedge fund analyst for users, while its SuperApp supports broader wealth intelligence and decision-making. With over 60,000 followers, 47 million impressions, and 330% revenue growth from 2023 to 2025, Lumida is raising funds on Republic to support marketing, its ETF launch, Lumida Invest, and general operations.

Teddy’s Quick Take: 

My first job out of college was at a small VC firm with an associated wealth management arm, which was a registered investment advisor, or RIA. One of the innovations they were attempting was to create a hybrid financial firm that combined venture capital, wealth management, and a long-short hedge fund all under one roof. I loved that vision and was excited to be part of it. For many reasons, that firm did not succeed, but one of the biggest recurring issues was the information wall required by the SEC. This wall is a set of strict rules and barriers designed to prevent the flow of material non-public information between the wealth management and venture sides of the business, making real integration between the two extremely difficult.

That is exactly why Lumida stands out to me.

They have built something I have always wanted to see: a true integration of these areas all under one platform. Through their RIA, Lumida Wealth, they offer discretionary wealth management and family office services to HNW clients. They also run a concentrated long-short hedge strategy and are preparing to launch an actively managed ETF in 2026. On top of that, they have developed Lumida Ventures, their private markets platform, and an AI-powered app called Lumida Invest.

Instead of running a traditional blind pool VC fund, Lumida Ventures sources high conviction opportunities across early-stage ventures, late-stage companies, and secondaries. They then bring these deals to their community, which they call the Tribe, through deal-by-deal SPVs. Lumida invests in every single deal they bring forward right alongside their investors. While this structure is not new, what makes Lumida different is how fully they have integrated it with its wealth management division and long-short hedge fund.

Their content engine, including the Lumida Ledger newsletter and Non Consensus podcast, drives a large portion of their client acquisition and has helped them build a community of over 60K followers. The AI app is designed to serve mass-affluent investors by providing research tools and insights, with the goal of eventually graduating users into full wealth management relationships and private deal access. This creates a flywheel that most traditional RIAs have never been able to build.

Traction is already showing up. Revenue has tripled year over year. They have grown the team significantly, and their private deal track record includes notable wins such as CoreWeave before its IPO via their SPV structure, as well as strong secondary returns on deals like QXO. They also have a substantial pipeline of AUM and deal flow.

Of course, I have real compliance concerns with this company. As they continue to expand, each additional layer of the business will bring added cost and complexity. That said, they have already shown meaningful progress with tripled revenue, strong performance on private deals, and a growing community. For those reasons, I think Lumida warrants a closer look.

STAFF PICKS 🌶️

LiquidPiston

By Léa Bouhelier-Gautreau

Since its latest round 2 years ago, the combustion engine startup has made significant technical progress and got a $35M USAF contract.  However, it only improved annual revenue from $9.2 million in fiscal 2024 to $10.7 million in fiscal 2025. Is that enough to justify a valuation increase from $222.8 million to $297.6 million?

ProShotX

By Léa Bouhelier-Gautreau

As a former handball goalkeeper, I wish I had access to the level of technical analysis that ProShotX offers today. In basketball, where precision and movement are everything, this kind of insight isn’t just helpful... it’s a game changer.

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