How AI Can Support Startups & Investors + VCs Investing in AI
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Quick Navigation
- An Interview with OpenAI
- AI Solutions to Help Startups Scale Operations, Grow, and Run Their Business
- A Glance At Some AI Solutions That Companies Are Using
- The Future AI Plays in How VCs Invest
- Resources
- Concerns Surrounding OpenAI and Machine Learning
- VCs Investing in AI Startups
“94% of business leaders surveyed say AI is critical to success” Deloitte
AI has been making even more of a splash lately with everyone talking about (and with) OpenAI’s newest innovation, ChatGPT-3. So I thought what better way to learn more about it than by interviewing OpenAI directly through its chat function!
OpenAI shared its history, capabilities, and how it feels it can support startups and VCs with all of its many capabilities. After the interview portion, you’ll find some other great AI insights, resources, and my top picks for VCs investing in AI startups from our Connect Investor Database.
An Interview with OpenAI
Angelina: What is the founding story of OpenAI?
OpenAI: OpenAI is a research institute and startup accelerator that was founded in 2015 by a group of individuals including Elon Musk, Sam Altman, Greg Brockman, John Schulman, and Ilya Sutskever. The organization was founded with the goal of advancing artificial intelligence technologies and applications, and to promote the responsible use of AI for the benefit of humanity. OpenAI was initially funded by a group of high-profile investors, including Musk and Altman, as well as Y Combinator, Peter Thiel, and other individuals and organizations. In the years since its founding, OpenAI has become known for its research on a variety of AI-related topics, including language models, reinforcement learning, and generative models, and has developed a number of widely-used AI technologies and applications.
Angelina: What is GPT-3?
OpenAI: GPT-3 (short for “Generative Pretrained Transformer 3”) is a large-scale language model developed by OpenAI. It is one of the most advanced and powerful language models currently available, capable of generating high-quality human-like text for a wide range of applications. GPT-3 uses a neural network architecture known as a transformer, which is trained on a massive amount of text data to learn the patterns and structures of human language. This allows GPT-3 to generate text that is fluent, coherent, and relevant to the given input. GPT-3 has been used for tasks such as translation, summarization, question answering, and text generation, and has shown impressive results in many of these tasks.
Angelina: What are some examples of how startups can use AI?
- Automation: AI can be used to automate tasks and processes, freeing up time for employees to focus on more valuable activities.
- Data analysis: AI can analyze large amounts of data quickly and accurately, helping startups make better decisions based on data-driven insights.
- Customer service: AI can be used to enhance customer service by providing personalized recommendations and responses to customer inquiries through chatbots or virtual assistants.
- Predictive analytics: AI can be used to predict future trends and outcomes, helping startups make informed decisions about future investments and strategies.
- Personalization: AI can be used to personalize user experiences, such as by providing personalized product recommendations or targeted advertising.
- Marketing and advertising: AI can be used to optimize marketing campaigns and target the right audience with the right message at the right time.
- Supply chain management: AI can be used to optimize the supply chain, helping startups reduce costs and improve efficiency.
- Fraud detection: AI can be used to detect fraudulent activity, helping startups protect their assets and customers.
- Predictive maintenance: AI can be used to predict when equipment is likely to fail, helping startups prevent costly downtime and improve maintenance schedules.
- Risk assessment: AI can be used to assess risks and help startups make informed decisions about potential investments or projects.
These are just a few examples of how startups can use AI to improve their operations and drive growth. It’s important for startups to carefully consider their goals and needs when implementing AI solutions, and to ensure that they have the necessary resources and expertise to effectively utilize AI.
OpenAI: For example, a startup in the e-commerce space could use my language generation capabilities to automatically generate product descriptions or create engaging content for their website or social media pages. A startup in the customer service industry could use me to automatically generate responses to frequently asked questions or to assist in resolving customer issues. Ultimately, the best way for a startup to use my capabilities will depend on the unique needs and goals of the business.
Angelina: How can Venture Capitalists best use OpenAI?
OpenAI: Venture capitalists can use OpenAI’s technology and capabilities in a number of ways to help evaluate potential investment opportunities and support the growth of the startups in their portfolio. For example, venture capitalists can use OpenAI’s language models, such as GPT-3, to automatically generate financial forecasts or market analysis, which can provide valuable insights and help with decision-making. Venture capitalists can also use OpenAI’s machine learning models for tasks such as sentiment analysis, which can help them better understand the sentiment of customers or users towards a particular product or service. Additionally, venture capitalists can use OpenAI’s technology to support the growth and development of the startups in their portfolio by providing access to cutting-edge AI capabilities and expertise.
The Future AI Plays in How VCs Invest
“We found that the best performance, nearly 3.5 times the industry average, would result from integrating the recommendations of the humans on our investment team and the machine-learning model. This shows what I strongly believe—that decision-making augmented by machine learning represents a major advancement for venture-capital investing.” – Veronica Wu
VCs are already using AI in a variety of ways but say it’s still necessary to use human judgment when it comes to decision-making. In an interview with McKinsey Veronica Wu says, “we combined machine learning, which produces insights we would otherwise miss, with our human intuition and judgment. We have to learn to trust the data model more, but not rely on it completely. It’s really about a combination of people and tools.”.
Ways in which VCs are already using AI are:
- Automating the process of researching and analyzing startups. AI can be used to quickly review hundreds of potential investments, identify key trends and patterns, and pinpoint opportunities with the greatest potential.
- Enhancing due diligence processes by using AI to uncover important information that would otherwise be unavailable or difficult to find.
- Utilizing AI to help develop customized investment strategies and portfolios. AI can help VCs to determine which startups are likely to succeed and which are likely to fail.
- Leveraging AI to monitor investments and uncover new opportunities. AI can help VCs to track their investments and alert them to any changes or opportunities in the market.
- Incorporating AI into their internal processes, such as accounting, customer service, and operations. AI can help VCs to streamline and improve their internal processes, allowing them to focus on the core business of investing.
AI Solutions to Helping Startups Scale Their Operations
AI is already helping startups grow their companies by automating certain processes, such as customer service, marketing, and sales. It also analyzes data to provide insights into customer behavior and preferences, allowing companies to make more informed decisions. We’re also seeing it being used to identify opportunities for growth, cost saving, and to target potential customers more accurately, helping startups quickly scale their operations.
AL Landscape Image from Venture Scanner
Here are some of the most popular solutions that companies are using for content creation in the form of text, images, and video:
- Jasper.ai consulted with some of the best SEO and Direct Response Marketing experts to teach Jaspers AI how to write blog articles, social media posts, and website copy.
- Synthesia generates AI videos from plain text, that works in 65 languages.
- Writecream creates marketing content and sales emails
- Descript is an all-in-one video & audio editing.
- Runway generates and edits content in seconds.
- Wellsaid creates realistic AI voiceover for digital content.
- OpenAi is an AI research and deployment company. Our mission is to ensure that artificial general intelligence benefits all of humanity. Their suite of applications includes:
- ChatGPT is a trained model which interacts in a conversational way.
- DALLE is a new AI system that can create realistic images and art from a description in natural language.
- Jukebox a neural net that generates music, including rudimentary singing, as raw audio in a variety of genres and artistic style.
- Darktrace self-learning AI defends against cyberattacks by forming an understanding of an organization’s machines, processes, and people—and then springs into action when it detects signs of abnormality.
- HoppyCopy uses AI to generate powerful copy for hundreds of different email marketing campaigns, drips, newsletters
- LivePerson lets organizations automate straightforward customer service tasks via online chat and text messaging.
- LinkSquares is an AI for legal documents.
- Watson is IBM’s portfolio of business-ready tools, applications, and solutions, which were designed to reduce costs and hurdles of AI adoption.
- SymphonyAI Sensa supports banks and financial institutions with a complete picture of the customer, third-party, and user behavior to discover crime, risk, and competitive opportunity through predictive insights.
- H2O.ai is the leading AI cloud company.
- HrFlow.ai– A suite of AI solutions to enable leading HR experiences & automation.
Resources
- Build your own AI writing assistant w/ GPT-3
- State of AI Report 2022
- Deloitte’s State of AI in the Enterprise, 5th Edition report
- European AI Alliance
- The AI Alliance acts as a multi-stakeholder forum engaged in a broad and open discussion of all aspects of AI development and its impact on the economy and society.
Top VCs Investing in AI Startups
Alpha Intelligence Capital
Locations: San Francisco, Paris, Hong Kong, Singapore, Dubai
About: Alpha Intelligence Capital (AIC) is an entrepreneurs-led, entrepreneurs-invested, family of global venture capital funds. AIC invests in deep Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning (AI/ML) technology-based companies. To us, AI is the science of self-learning software algorithms that execute tasks otherwise typically performed by humans, or that substantially augment human intelligence.
Thesis: AIC invests in deep Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning (AI/ML) technology-based companies
Investment Stages: Series A, Series B, Series C
Recent Investments:
- Aidoc
- Proscia
- ZeroEyes
Check out Alpha Intelligence Capital’s Connect Profile, to learn more!
Air Street Capital
About: Air Street Capital is a venture capital firm investing in AI-first technology and life science companies. We invest as early as possible and enjoy iterating through product, market and technology strategy from day 1.
Thesis: AI-first technology and life science companies.
Investment Stages: Pre-Seed, Seed
Recent Investments:
- Athenian
- Valence Discovery
- V7 Labs
Check out Air Street Capital’s Connect Profile, to learn more!
Two Sigma Ventures
Location: New York, United States
About: Two Sigma Ventures invests in companies run by highly driven people with potentially world-changing ideas.
Thesis: 1. Startups across all industries need to be data driven and getting really good at deriving value from data will continue to be critical 2. VCs can be way more supportive of founders. Our model is to utilize the 1700 mostly technical employees of Two Sigma Investments to assist companies with data science, engineering, recruiting, BD, etc.
Investment Stages: Seed, Series A, Series B, Series C, Growth
Recent Investments:
- Cajal Neuroscience
- Xilis
- Remote
Check out Two Sigma Ventures Visible Connect Profile, to learn more!
DCVC (Data Collective VC)
Location: Palo Alto, California, United States
About: Data Collective is a venture fund with a unique team of experienced venture capitalists, technology entrepreneurs and practicing engineers, investing together in seed and early stage Big Data and IT infrastructure companies.
Investment Stages: Seed, Series A, Series B
Recent Investments:
- Smartex
- Samsara Eco
- ZwitterCo
Check out DCVC’s Visible Connect Profile, to learn more!
1984 Ventures
Location: San Francisco , California, United States
About: 1984 Ventures is an early-stage venture capital firm proptech, fintech, healthcare, marketplace, SaaS, e-commerce, and consumer.
Thesis: Looking for companies from pre-revenue to 100k+ in MRR
Investment Stages: Pre-Seed, Seed
Recent Investments:
- Relevize
- Collaborative Robotics
- SyIndr
Check out 1984 Ventures Visible Connect Profile, to learn more!
Wing VC
Location: Palo Alto, California, United States
About: Wing is a purpose-built venture capital firm founded by two industry veterans with a different perspective on what it takes to create enduring companies.
Thesis: Invest before it’s obvious, Partner for the long term, Focus on business
Investment Stages: Pre-Seed, Seed, Series A
Recent Investments:
- Deepgram
- Supernova
- HeadsUp
Check out Wing VC’s Visibles Connect Profile, to learn more!
Zetta Venture Partners
Location: San Francisco , California, United States
About: Zetta Venture Partners is the first focused fund committed to delivering exceptional returns from the high-growth analytics market.
Thesis: AI & Infrastructure (B2B only)
Investment Stages: Pre-Seed, Seed
Recent Investments:
- EnsoData
- VideaHealth
- Pimloc
Check out Zetta Venture Partners Visible Connect Profile, to learn more!
M12
Location: Redmond, Washington, United States
About: Is the new name for Microsoft Ventures; it invests in AI & machine learning, big data & analytics, business SAAS, cloud infrastructure, emerging technologies, productivity & communications, security. M12 ran a $2m competition for female founders (applications closed in September 2018)
Investment Stages: Series A, Series B, Growth
Recent Investments:
- Valence Security
- RapidSOS
- Insite AI
Check out M12’s Visible Connect Profile, to learn more!
True Ventures
Location: Seed, Series A, Series B
About: True Ventures is a Silicon Valley-based venture capital firm that invests in early-stage technology startups.
Investment Stages: Seed, Series A, Series B
Recent Investments:
- Almond
- Avidbots
- Chameleon.io
Check out True Ventures Visible Connect Profile, to learn more!
AME Cloud Ventures
Location: California, United States
About: AME Cloud Ventures invests in seed to later-stage tech companies that build infrastructure and value chains around data.
Investment Stages: Seed, Series A, Series B
Recent Investments:
- Meez
- Haven
- Kojo
Check out AME Cloud Ventures Visible Connect Profile, to learn more!
Greycroft
Location: New York, United States
About: Greycroft is a venture capital firm that focuses on technology start-ups and investments in the Internet and mobile markets.
Investment Stages: Pre-Seed, Seed, Series A, Series B, Growth
Recent Investments:
- Ostro
- Frame AI
- FrankieOne
Check out Greycroft’s Visible Connect Profile, to learn more!
Hyperplane Venture Capital
Location: Boston, Massachusetts, United States
About: Hyperplane Venture Capital is an investment firm focused on exceptional founders building machine intelligence and data companies. The company was founded by Brendan Kohler and Vivjan Myrto in 2015; and is headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts.
Investment Stages: Seed, Series A, Series B
Recent Investments:
- Relevize
- Givebutter
- Nurse-1-1
Check out Hyperplane Venture Capital’s Visible Connect Profile, to learn more!
Morado Ventures
Location: Palo Alto, California, United States
About: Morado Ventures is focused on high-growth, seed-stage technology companies, with particular emphasis on “Data-fueled” businesses.
Thesis: At Morado we invest in Passionate Entrepreneurs with unique expertise working on hard technological problems with software and hardware.
Investment Stages: Pre-Seed, Seed, Series A
Recent Investments:
- Metrist
- Everest Labs
- Headroom
Check out Morado Ventures Visible Connect Profile, to learn more!
Gradient Ventures
Location: Mountain View, California, United States
About: We help founders build transformational companies. Specialties include;
Artificial Intelligence, Deep Learning, Neural Nets, Machine Learning, Data Science, Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality, Venture Capital, Startups, and Community
Investment Stages: Pre-Seed, Seed, Series A
Recent Investments:
- Payload
- Butter
- The Coterie
Check out Gradient Ventures Visible Connect Profile, to learn more!
Wing
Location: Menlo Park, California, United States
About: Wing is a purpose-built venture capital firm founded by two industry veterans with a different perspective on what it takes to create enduring companies.
Thesis: Invest before it’s obvious, Partner for the long term, Focus on business
Investment Stages: Seed, Series A, Series B
Recent Investments:
- Deepgram
- HeadsUp
- Supernova
Check out Wing’s Visible Connect Profile, to learn more!
BootstrapLabs
Location: San Francisco, California, United States
About: BootstrapLabs, a leading Silicon Valley based venture capital firm focused on Applied Artificial Intelligence, and the first VC firm to focus solely on AI since 2015 – with over 30 investments in AI-first companies and today investing from the 3rd AI-focused seed fund ($115M).
Investment Stages: Seed
Recent Investments:
- Southie Autonomy
- Rabot
- Pryon
Check out BootstrapLabs Visible Connect Profile, to learn more!
East Ventures
Location: Tokyo, Japan
About: Founded in 2009, East Ventures is an early-stage sector-agnostic venture capital firm. The firm has supported more than 170 companies in the Southeast Asian region that are present across Indonesia, Singapore, Japan, Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam.
Investment Stages: Early Stage, Growth
Recent Investments:
- Klar Smile
- The Parentinc
- Wagely
Check out East Ventures Visible Connect Profile, to learn more!
Hyperplane
Location: Boston, Massachusetts, United States
About: Hyperplane Venture Capital is an investment firm focused on exceptional founders building machine intelligence and data companies. The company was founded by Brendan Kohler and Vivjan Myrto in 2015; and is headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts.
Investment Stages: Pre-Seed, Seed
Recent Investments:
- Relevize
- Nurse-1-1
- Butlr Technologies
Check out Hyperplane’s Visible Connect Profile, to learn more!
Streamlined Ventures
Location: Palo Alto, California, United States
About: We are a seed-stage investment firm rooted in the belief that the founders of companies are the true heroes of entrepreneurial value creation in our society. We are passionate about working with visionary founders to help them create exceptional companies and help them capture as much of that value for themselves as possible – they deserve it! If we stay true to our beliefs and we are good at what we do, then we will benefit too. Our style of engagement with all our stakeholders focuses on low ego behavior, mutual respect and clarity of thought. We seed invest in visionary founders who are building the next generation of transformational technology companies.
Investment Stages: Seed, Series A
Recent Investments:
- Hoken
- Fursure
- Ratio
Check out Streamlined Ventures Visible Connect Profile, to learn more!
Looking for Funding? We can help
We believe great outcomes happen when founders forge relationships with investors and potential investors. We created our Connect Investor Database to help you in the first step of this journey.
Instead of wasting time trying to figure out investor fit and profile for their given stage and industry, we created filters allowing you to find VCs and accelerators who are looking to invest in companies like yours. Check out all our investors here and filter as needed. To help craft that first email check out 5 Strategies for Cold Emailing Potential Investors and How to Cold Email Investors: A Video by Michael Seibel of YC.
Related Resource: All-Encompassing Startup Fundraising Guide
After finding the right Investor you can create a personalized investor database with Visible. Combine qualified investors from Visible Connect with your own investor lists to share targeted Updates, decks, and dashboards. Start your free trial here.
* The author generated this text in part with GPT-3, OpenAI’s large-scale language-generation model. Upon generating draft language, the author reviewed, edited, and revised the language to their own liking and takes ultimate responsibility for the content of this publication
