Packy McCormick

Packy McCormick received his undergraduate education at Duke University. The early career sequence listed in his public show biography is investment banking at Bank of AmericaBank of AmericaBank of America Corporation is a bank holding company headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, with four segments: Consumer Banking, Global Wealth & Investment Management, Global Banking and Global Markets.Open the full entry Merrill Lynch, followed by Breather, a provider of flexible workspace, and then the founding of Not Boring. Available direct sources do not specify his undergraduate major, degree, or graduation year.⁠[1]

McCormick recalls that on May 17, 2019, he launched the newsletter Per My Last Email as an assignment for a writing course, initially mainly curating and sharing reading links. Two days after launch, it had only 28 subscribers. This attempt became the predecessor of Not Boring.⁠[2]

He left Breather in October 2019, initially planning to run Not Boring Club, which aimed to combine social events with continuous learning. In his retrospective, he said he had managed a team of about 150 people in early 2019; the new project he took on after leaving did not first raise outside funding or sign a venue lease.⁠[2]

Not Boring Club welcomed its first free members in February 2020, but the COVID-19 pandemic made the planned in-person events impossible to continue. McCormick recalls that he announced the postponement of events on March 10; an attempt at an online community also failed to establish a sustainable model, and he ultimately shelved the club and turned his energy to writing.⁠[2]

In late March 2020, Per My Last Email was renamed Not Boring, with 473 subscribers at the time; he then began regularly publishing original long-form essays connecting business strategy, finance, and technology with popular culture. Writing gradually became his entry point for meeting founders and taking part in investing.⁠[2][3]

In the announcement of his first fund, McCormick recalled that in July 2020 he made his first angel investment, in Apt, and wrote an investment memo for the deal. He then used the Not Boring readership network to organize syndicate investments; by the time the fund was announced in July 2021, these syndicate investments totaled more than $4 million across more than 20 companies. These totals are the combined amounts of syndicate participants, not his personal contribution.⁠[3]

On July 12, 2021, McCormick announced Not Boring Capital, introducing an $8 million first venture fund focused mainly on seed through Series B companies. He presented ongoing research, writing, and helping founders explain their businesses as the fund’s distinguishing features, and made the fundraising memo and updates to limited partners public.⁠[3]

On October 18, 2021, McCormick stated in a fund update that the first fund’s final size was $9.9 million and that it was largely deployed. He disclosed that in the third quarter it invested about $6 million in 60 investments across 59 companies. At this stage he made investment decisions as a solo general partner and discussed how small funds can work with other firms.⁠[4]

On January 10, 2022, McCormick announced a planned $30 million second fund and continued to accept expressions of interest from eligible readers. He explained that the fund used a parallel structure to accommodate investors with different qualifications so that more Not Boring readers could participate; the announcement should not be read as meaning that the full $30 million was raised that day.⁠[5]

The same update disclosed that the first fund actually invested about $9.2 million in 91 investments across 89 companies, with the difference between the total raised and the amount invested including fees. The second fund had already invested $8.4 million in 48 companies, decentralized autonomous organizations, and protocols in the fourth quarter of 2021. He also cautioned that increases in the paper valuations of investments are not the same as cash returns.⁠[5]

On January 10, 2023, McCormick announced the launch of Not Boring Capital’s third fund, with a $30 million target and a $50 million cap. Its plan was more concentrated than the first two funds, with about 30 core investments of $500,000 to $1 million each, mainly covering pre-seed through Series A; this was the fundraising and allocation plan at the time.⁠[6]

He summarized the focus as companies that need to solve complex technical and industrial problems, including science, manufacturing, biotechnology, energy, education, Web3, and supply chains. The announcement described Elliot Hershberg’s involvement in biotechnology research and collaborators such as analyst Rahul Rana; the fund sought to support its investments through deep understanding of businesses and public writing rather than simply allocating to popular sectors.⁠[6]

On January 25, 2023, McCormick and Elliot Hershberg co-wrote an essay introducing Atomic AI, which uses artificial intelligence to study RNA, and disclosed it as a third-fund investment. The corresponding Series A totaled $35 million, led by Playground Global, with Not Boring Capital participating; the public essay did not disclose McCormick’s personal contribution or the size of the fund’s specific check.⁠[7]

The essay discusses the potential of using computational models to study RNA structure and drug discovery. These research goals and investment judgments do not mean that any related drug has been approved, nor can they be taken as evidence that the investment has produced a return.⁠[7]

On December 19, 2023, McCormick acknowledged in his year-end review that the third fund had not yet held its final close and remained well short of the $30 million target set at the start of the year, with some investors having withdrawn commitments. The fund continued investing through rolling closes; this update corrects any reading that treats the early-year fundraising target as the amount raised.⁠[8]

That year, he launched the Age of Miracles podcast with Julia DeWahl, produced in partnership with Turpentine, discussing nuclear fission, nuclear fusion, and energy development. The year-end review lists the podcast among the work through which he extended from writing into interviews and topical learning.⁠[8]

On January 23, 2024, McCormick published The Techno-Industrial Revolution, discussing companies that apply software, artificial intelligence, and new technologies to physical production. He called such companies Techno-Industrials, focusing on how technology changes unit costs, product capabilities, and ways of competing in fields such as energy, robotics, biotechnology, and manufacturing.⁠[9]

He argues that some companies need to control software, hardware, and production at the same time for their technological advantages to translate into products; the essay also discusses the difficulties posed by capital requirements, manufacturing, and regulation. This is his investment research framework, not a guarantee of the profitability or future returns of the companies involved.⁠[9]

On January 6, 2026, McCormick launched the paid section Not Boring World, inviting founders, researchers, and creators to co-write pieces, with him involved in topic selection and editing, to share insights from frontline practice. He planned to start at about one piece every two weeks and gradually expand editorial collaboration.⁠[10]

The existing Not Boring essays and Weekly Dose of Optimism remain free. The new section further extends his content work from a personally bylined newsletter to collaboration with other writers; the future team building described in the announcement remains a plan.⁠[10]

On July 2, 2026, AndurilAnduril IndustriesAnduril Industries is a defense technology company headquartered in Costa Mesa, California, United States, co-founded in 2017 by Palmer Luckey and several former Palantir and Oculus employees. It develops autonomous drones, unmanned undersea vehicles, border surveillance towers, counter-drone systems, and the Lattice command-and-control software, and builds its own large-scale weapons manufacturing facilities. As of May 2026, the company was valued at $61 billion.Open the full entry co-founder Matt GrimmMatt GrimmMatt Grimm is a co-founder and the chief operating officer of Anduril Industries, responsible for global operations including procurement, manufacturing, and supply chain. He graduated from Cornell University and previously worked at Booz Allen Hamilton, Palantir, and Mithril Capital Management.Open the full entry issued a clarification about a transaction involving a Not Boring special purpose vehicle (SPV). He said that after speaking with McCormick and learning more about the sequence of the transaction, he retracted his earlier implication that McCormick or Not Boring had acted improperly or unethically. The clarification concerns the difference between USVC acquiring SPV investors’ interests and investing directly in Anduril, and should not be described as a finding of illegal conduct by McCormick.⁠[11]

Not Boring focuses on long-form essays about technology companies and business strategy, along with Weekly Dose of Optimism, which shares technology and industry progress each week. McCormick runs both writing and venture investing businesses, and some essays discuss his portfolio companies; readers need to consider the investment and sponsorship disclosures in those essays to understand the author’s position.⁠[12][3][7]

Bank of America Merrill Lynch: The firm where McCormick worked in investment banking early in his career.⁠[1]

Breather: The flexible workspace company where McCormick worked, which he left in October 2019.⁠[2]

Not Boring / Not Boring Capital: His writing brand and venture investing business, respectively. Official website: https://www.notboring.co (opens in a new window). The About page introduces both the newsletter and the fund, and the newsletter’s readership should not be conflated with the number of fund investors.⁠[12][3]

X: Public account: @packyM, https://x.com/packyM (opens in a new window), with a bio linking to Not Boring. The entry’s portrait uses a clear original photo of him from this account.⁠[13][14]