I was honored to host a fireside chat with Clay Bavor, co-founder of Sierra (the AI-native startup recently valued at $10B), at last week's Fellows Forum 2025 organized by Fellows Fund. Before co-founding Sierra with Bret Taylor, Clay spent over 18 years at Google, where he played a pivotal role in shaping many of the company's most iconic products. His work spans from products at massive scale like Search, Ads, and Google Workspace (including Gmail and Docs) to pioneering projects in AR/VR and Google Lens. Most recently, he led Google Labs, which incubated next-generation AI applications like AI Studio and NotebookLM.It was incredibly inspiring to hear his vision for Sierra and the future of AI agents. His insights into the journey of building an AI-native company were particularly valuable, covering everything from the lessons he carried over from Google to the complexities of enterprise agents and Sierra's pioneering outcome-based pricing model.A few key takeaways:Lessons from his Google Experience📍What he unlearned: Google's technology-first approach. In the enterprise world, you must start with the customer's problem.📍What he brought forward: The ambition to build at the boundary of what’s possible and the importance of controlling your technological destiny through deep, in-house research.The Complexity of Enterprise AI Agents📍The "Agent Iceberg": Clay described how the visible part of an agent is just the tip of the iceberg, with over 158 complex, unseen challenges below the surface - from latency optimization to release management.📍Bespoke Voice Design: The platform supports over 34 languages and utilizes a dedicated "voice sommelier" to create custom voice experiences.Sierra's Outcome-Based Pricing Model📍A True Partnership: Sierra only charges when its agents successfully complete a task, directly aligning its success with its customers' success.📍Confidence in Performance: This model demonstrates deep confidence in the reliability and effectiveness of their AI agents.Full fireside chat video: https://lnkd.in/gjwNzHGu           #AI #Agents #FellowsFund #FellowsForum2025 #Sierra

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I'm happy to announce that Founder Institute is bringing on Paul O'Brien as our first Head of Public Affairs.Paul joins FI with decades of experience tackling the systemic reasons startups and local ecosystems fail due to misaligned policy, underperforming startup programs, or institutional neglect of the realities of launching endurable businesses in today's economy. From Austin to Silicon Valley and beyond, Paul has championed the idea that education is infrastructure, and that cities should treat entrepreneurial development as essential as roads, broadband, and water.At FI we couldn't agree more, and as AI transforms our economy I believe the future of our society will be found at the convergence of how we teach, how we govern, and how we serve entrepreneurs. Unfortunately, I speak to government and economic development officials every week that are completely neglecting the education and development of new entrepreneurs in their regions. In his new role, Paul will help us push FI's mission to empower communities of entrepreneurs forward through Policy Engagement, University and Civic Integration, and Ecosystem Accountability.If your city, university, or organization is ready to integrate structured entrepreneurial incubation and acceleration with policy and capital strategy, now’s the time to connect!🔗 Read the full announcement - https://lnkd.in/eenwHujW(and welcome on board, Paul! 👏 )

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Exciting news, just announced by Google's CEO at the White House. Flourish Fund has been awarded a $2 million grant from Google.org to accelerate our work to reimagine the foster care system. These funds will fuel innovative solutions - leveraging technology, collaboration, and bold ideas to better serve vulnerable children and families. This fall, we’ll also launch an Innovation Challenge to invite fresh approaches into this work.  We're so grateful to Hector Mujica and team for their support. Partnering with one of the world’s most innovative organizations will be a force multiplier for our ability to transform this system! https://lnkd.in/eenJwDZg

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We at Upfront Ventures are proud to work with BrightAI as they raise $51M in a Series A to bring AI into America’s critical infrastructure. Story in comments. Much of the world’s essential services, like power grids, water pipelines and HVAC systems, still rely on manual checks and reactive maintenance, which leaves field teams in the dark until something breaks.BrightAI will use this new capital to scale their observability and automation platform and invest in a new HQ in the heart of Silicon Valley. Here’s to a more resilient future. Let’s go!

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🚨 Exciting news from Innerworks 🚨My Co-founders Oscar Hayek, Tom Ryan and I are thrilled to share that Innerworks has raised a $4M Seed Round led by AlbionVC, with participation from DCG, Founders Capital, Firestreak Ventures (Walter Kortschak), Omar Kamal, PhD, Samih Toukan, NVTBL Ventures, Metaversal Ventures, and senior executives from Citi, Coinbase, Checkout.com, and Apple. Our backers also include Crypto.com (Cronos), Tim Draper's Draper Startup House, and my earliest mentors: Eamon Jubbawy, Itay T., and Ahmed Al-Balaghi 柏亚德.We’re building at a pivotal moment: the internet is losing its most fundamental filter — the ability to tell human from AI. Generative AI has blurred that line, and with it comes a tidal wave of synthetic fraud.Innerworks is pioneering Synthetic Threat Intelligence - technology proven to achieve leading detection rates against AI-driven attacks, outperforming multibillion-dollar incumbents. Our platform is already protecting some of the highest-stakes environments in finance, digital assets, and national infrastructure.This funding allows us to accelerate product development, expand our RedTeam adversarial AI ecosystem, and scale partnerships with tier-one financial institutions determined to lead the fight against synthetic fraud.We’re building what we believe will become core security infrastructure for the internet.A huge thank you in particular to Cat McDonald and all our investors, partners, and early customers who share our conviction. The work ahead has never been more urgent — and we couldn’t be more excited to take it on.Dillon Dunteman Rob Eloff George P. Karim Kamal Ahmed Al-Darwish Alia-Maria ACH Reinforced Ventures Ava Labs Contango Digital Assets

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I’m thrilled to announce defy.vc’s investment in Birches Health as part of their $20M combined Seed and Series A funding round, alongside incredible partners like AlleyCorp, General Catalyst, Will Ventures, and others. As someone deeply passionate about backing companies that tackle important problems for our society, I couldn’t be more excited about what Birches is building—a national virtual clinic dedicated to treating gambling addiction and related behavioral disorders like gaming, sex, porn, and internet addictions.What excites me most is Birches’ innovative health assurance model: proactive, accessible, and affordable care that’s evidence-based and delivered right at home. With the explosion of legal sports betting—think nearly $1.5 billion wagered on this year’s Super Bowl alone—we’re staring down a looming public health emergency. Traditional options like hotlines or generic therapy fall short for this high-acuity issue, but Birches changes that by offering specialized therapy from trained clinicians, multimodal treatment, and peer support, all covered by major insurers like United Healthcare, Cigna, Aetna, and Blue Cross Blue Shield. It’s available in all 50 states, breaking down geographical and financial barriers that have left so many without help.The impact is already profound: 96% of patients report an improved quality of life, and 94% give Birches a 5/5 rating. By partnering with state governments, payors, and policymakers, Birches is pushing gambling addiction into the spotlight of behavioral health conversations, where it’s been neglected for too long—often leading to shame, worsened outcomes, and higher suicidality risks. This funding will supercharge their growth: expanding the provider network, boosting clinical excellence, scaling infrastructure, and deepening insurance and state partnerships to meet surging demand.Very excited to partner with Elliott Rapaport and the entire Birches team! See more about our POV in the blog post linked in the comments.#GamblingAddiction #BehavioralHealth #HealthTech #VentureCapital #Innovation

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This week, I’m reflecting on my recent trip to San Francisco where I saw firsthand how the pace of change is accelerating faster than ever before. In startup land, speed is always our edge. We pride ourselves on moving fast, making decisions, and pivoting quickly. But right now, things are moving at an unprecedented rate. Whether you’re in Silicon Valley or Australia, one thing is clear: the speed of change is intensifying.AI is transforming industries, opening new opportunities in security, multi-modal use cases, and more. SaaS companies can still thrive, but they must adopt AI to stay relevant, or risk falling behind.Founders, time is of the essence. If you want to keep up (or leap ahead) in this rapidly evolving landscape, let’s talk.In this edition, we cover:🚀  AI’s rapid acceleration and what it means for SaaS companies🔐 New opportunities in security and AI-powered software🛠️ Tips on building defensibility in AI-driven startups🗞️ The upcoming launch of GPT-5 and key tech news💼 Updates from Australian VC and our portfolio companiesStay ahead of the curve and subscribe to Ramplify for more insights: https://lnkd.in/gSZajMpp#AI #Startups #VC #TechInnovation #BusinessGrowth #AIRevolution #SaaS #SiliconValley

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Everything about clean energy and manufacturing project finance is changing. All at once. Over the next few days, I’ll share charts from the new 85 page Crux Midyear Market Intelligence Report. The report includes multiyear data covering over $40B in transactions. For the first time, the report also includes insight on debt and tax equity — reflecting Crux’s expansion. ⚡️Takeaway #1 - Market composition is changing quickly as volume grows ⚡️1️⃣ In 1H24, stand-alone wind and solar made up 76% of the market. In 1H25, these categories accounted for 43% with a particularly pronounced drop in wind credits (33 -> 9%)2️⃣ Advanced manufacturing credits (45X) accounted for more than half of the market in 2H24 and doubled from 1H24 to 1H25. A significant volume of 45X remains unsold. 3️⃣ Everything associated with batteries is booming. In 1H24, 9% of the market was standalone storage and solar + storage. In 1H25, storage related credits were 26% of the market. 4️⃣ Nuclear credits started to trade in 2H24. Some 45U traded in 1H25 and a lot more remains unsold.5️⃣ Further diversification is observable in early stage project pipelines and is a prominent trend in our debt marketplace where we see growth in storage, equipment financing, 45X bridge loans, and financing for other novel categories. These changes are mostly reflective of the prior development environment and don’t yet really capture the effects of OB3. For example, onshore wind development started to slow in 2022 and the effect on the tax credit market is observable now. Recent changes to the law will catalyze further diversification in the years to come as developers adjust to a more negative policy environment for wind and solar paired with a continued positive environment for storage, nuclear, minerals, some manufacturing, clean fuels, geothermal, and other categories. Stay tuned for more updates and access the report here 👇https://lnkd.in/gCtRkKNh

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As I prepare to speak at the inspiring BeyondX Summit in Fremont, CA, brilliantly organized by Rachel K Zhang, I'm reminded of a profound oversight in how young talent navigates career crossroads. For those under 25, brimming with high-energy ingenuity as engineers, marketers, community builders, or designers, the choice often boils down to optionality and opportunity cost: a stable role at a large corporation, a position at a late-stage startup with polished traction, or diving into an early-stage venture (or founding one) with substantial equity upside.I've found that the conventional analysis is perilously one-sided, reducing the decision to a probabilistic calculus: estimating post-join equity value based on the company's stage. "If I join this Series A outfit, what's my 1% stake worth in five years at a $1B exit?" Or, "A FAANG job offers immediate comp, but caps my wealth creation." It's a linear equation, projecting outcomes as if your presence is a neutral variable, merely along for the ride. This couldn't be more wrong.Here's the underestimated delta: your individual impact on the probability and magnitude of success. The earlier the stage, the greater your leverage to bend the trajectory. In a 10-person team led by seasoned founders, your contributions aren't diluted amid bureaucracy; they're catalytic. As an engineer, you might architect a scalable core feature that accelerates product-market fit. As a marketer, you could forge viral growth loops that double user acquisition. A designer might redefine UX, turning early adopters into evangelists. Community builders? You could cultivate a loyal ecosystem that sustains through pivots.This isn't abstract, it's multiplicative. Consider a baseline: a startup with 5% odds of a $100M acquisition in 5-10 years. Your high-caliber input could plausibly double that probability to 10% while amplifying the exit to $250M, via enhanced execution, innovation, or network effects. Yes, just one person. In edge cases, it spells the difference between dissolution and unicorn status. Suddenly, the equation isn't linear; it's exponential, where your agency compounds the expected value far beyond static projections.To my audience today and my network at large: embrace this truth. When you opt for risk, you're not just betting on the company, you're reshaping its odds. Devoting my Saturday to empowering the next wave of entrepreneurs, I urge you: factor in your delta. The future isn't found in spreadsheets alone; it's forged by those who dare to multiply it.https://lnkd.in/gT65v_eS

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