Foundation Capital

Fellow UC Berkeley grads— As a proud alum, I'm thrilled to share an exciting opportunity: Foundation Capital Cal Build. Here's what you need to know: → What is Cal Build? It's a program designed to assist Berkeley alumni in launching and growing their Enterprise startup. Whether you've recently started your business or plan to do so in the near future, we're here to help. → Who can join? Our initial invite extends to all Bay Area-based UC Berkeley grads. We're eager to welcome 10 new Cal founders to our community every month. → What does it offer? Expect exclusive access to a host of benefits—including in-person and virtual events, mentorship, office space, and more—all without any cost or equity exchange. → Interested in joining? Apply for our first cohort before the end of July and be part of the network that includes successful Cal-founded companies such as Tubi, TubeMogul, Inc., SafelyYou, Conviva, Anyscale, CaptivateIQ, Arize AI, and more. → When and where? The inaugural cohort for Bay Area-based Cal grads will commence in mid-August in San Francisco and we're looking forward to expanding to more cities soon. Learn more and apply here: https://lnkd.in/guyAagiu

🚨 Just 2 days left to submit your pitches for the AI X Software Development Showcase! Despite the tools available in the market, a significant gap remains in solutions that genuinely enhance the efficiency of a) software development and b) operational workflows. This is why I am excited to partner with Foundation Capital on this initiative—to bridge this gap with solutions that drive true efficiency and bring new innovation to our team. Foundation Capital is partnering with Turing to offer you an incredible opportunity to pitch your startup idea to top industry leaders, including Adam D'Angelo (CEO/Founder of Quora), Ashu Garg (General Partner at Foundation Capital), and Jonathan Siddharth (CEO/Founder of Turing). Enter for a chance to win a $250K investment from Foundation Capital and a POC from Turing. We are specifically looking for: 🔹 AI startups poised to enhance developer productivity on a global scale 🔹 Startups with GenAI products designed to deliver cutting-edge experiences to Turing’s service clients Don’t miss out! Apply by 7/3/24: https://lnkd.in/eWq3xVfC #AI #SoftwareDevelopment #Startup #Investment #GenAI #Innovation

What’s next after LLMs? Every CEO, whether they make computer chips or potato chips, has announced an AI strategy. But deployment of LLM-based applications remains nascent, and LLMs have plenty of shortcomings. At Foundation Capital, we think 3 innovations will be huge for building in AI’s next era. 1. Multimodal models are moving beyond text. Inputs / outputs as images, audio, and video opens up a world of new use cases. Customer service chatbots get faster + more accurate voice agents. Multimodal unlocks healthcare, where there’s a mixture of data types. GPTs get deployed for cancer treatment 2. Multi-agent systems transform automating complex tasks. Hands down, autonomous agents calling multiple interacting systems is one of the biggest breakthroughs since ChatGPT. Multi-agents transform AI from passive tool to active player 3. New model architectures will address some limitations of transformers. State-space models (Cartesia), large graphical models (Ikigai), RWKV. Post-transformer architectures have the potential to be equally (or more) performant than LLMs, especially for specialized tasks, while also being less computationally intensive, exhibiting lower latency, being easier to control Founders may feel they’re building on quicksand, with every layer of the AI stack moving fast. But the flywheel also presents a once-in-a-generation chance to build magic. ✨ Latest blog in the comments 👇

According to Vogue, “Trust Fund, 6’5, Blue Eyes” or Otherwise, Men in Finance are apparently hot again. But not for long - what happens when AI comes to automate them?

UC Berkeley grads— I'm excited to announce the launch of Foundation Capital Cal Build. Our objective is to support more Cal grads in their journey to build and scale successful companies. If you're a recent startup founder or planning to become one in the next year, we invite you to apply for our first cohort by the end of July. We're proud to have invested in many Cal-founded companies, including Tubi, TubeMogul, Inc., SafelyYou, Conviva, Anyscale, CaptivateIQ, Arize AI, and many others. Every month, we'll select 10 new Cal founders to join our program, offering exclusive in-person and virtual events, direct mentorship from me and the Foundation investment team, office space, and more—completely free, with no equity required. Our inaugural cohort for Bay Area Cal grads starts in mid-August, with plans to expand to additional cities soon! 📝 Application link in comments.

At the Viva Tech conference earlier this month, NYU Professor and head Meta AI scientist Yann LeCun advised young people to steer clear of working on an LLM. “This is in the hands of large companies,” he told a Paris crowd. “There's nothing you can bring to the table. You should work on next-gen AI systems that lift the limitations of LLMs.” We spent some time recently interviewing different researchers on the directions of AI from a researcher's point of view and what is exciting. Here are some of the key takeaways from the conversations.

Calling AI startups building for developers: you could receive a $250K investment from Foundation Capital and a POC from Turing. We’re looking for startups that can truly enhance engineering productivity with AI—not theoretically, but today. Foundation Capital is teaming up with Turing for the AI X Software Development Showcase, where founders will get the opportunity to pitch their startup idea to me and industry leaders CEO of Quora Adam D'Angelo and Turing CEO and Co-Founder Jonathan Siddharth. Winners receive a $250K investment from Foundation Capital and a POC from Turing. Apply here by 7/3/24: https://lnkd.in/gG4DgycQ

The success of a Fund boils down to DPI (distributions back to LPs in relation to how much capital was deployed). The industry often gets infatuated with TVPI, which accounts for paper gains. However, these numbers are frequently not worth the paper they are printed on. Knowing when to stick or twist is always a challenge, so I favor a balanced approach: the third-third-third strategy. Sell a third of the investment at the first opportunity. Gradually sell the second third. Hold onto the final third for potential upside. Even this model needs adjustments based on market conditions, requiring a mix of aggressive selling or patience. The real issue for LPs is the industry's recent obsession with maximizing TVPI without enough attention to DPI. This can lead to portfolio imbalances and potentially disappointing (or zero) cash returns. 🎙 Listen to my full episode of Fintech Leaders with good friend Miguel Armaza for more on data as the new gold, secrets behind successful VCs, and the importance of founder-market fit: Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3KitB4b Apple: https://apple.co/4bXmmuC Youtube: https://bit.ly/3Vh4HIz

IIT Grads—we're now accepting applications for our next cohort of IIT Build! Our goal is to help more IIT grads start, build, and scale companies. If you're an IIT grad who has started a company in the last six months or is considering starting a company in the next 12 months, please apply. Applications for our next cohort are due at the end of June. Every month we'll accept ten new IIT builders. We'll have intimate in-person & virtual events, access to me and the rest of the Foundation Capital investment team, office space, and a lot more. This cohort is for Bay Area-based IIT grads. We'll also be in additional cities in the future! Learn more and apply here: https://lnkd.in/gbfYQFFi

Of all the founder-CEOs I know, Mohit Aron stands out as a true expert when it comes to building enterprise software businesses. His track record speaks for itself. In 2013, he founded Cohesity, an AI-powered data management and security platform that has become an industry leader. Prior to Cohesity, Mohit co-founded Nutanix, a pioneering enterprise cloud computing, storage, and networking company that went public in 2016. Part of what sets Mohit apart is his commitment to codifying the lessons he's learned throughout his entrepreneurial journey. In his second appearance on the B2BaCEO podcast, he offers his frameworks for validating startup ideas, finding product-market fit, and building and managing high-performance teams. He also speaks candidly about the challenges and rewards of growing from a technical founder into a business leader. Our full conversation here: https://lnkd.in/gkxKit5s