{"id":1985,"date":"2025-12-09T11:57:26","date_gmt":"2025-12-09T11:57:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/microvibenews.com\/?p=1985"},"modified":"2025-12-09T11:57:26","modified_gmt":"2025-12-09T11:57:26","slug":"key-questions-to-stay-grounded-in-the-ai-frenzy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/microvibenews.com\/?p=1985","title":{"rendered":"Key questions to stay grounded in the AI frenzy"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n

Pop quiz: How do you know if you\u2019re witnessing a real wave of technology transformation, and not just a tech flash in the pan?\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n

Answer: Look at the stack. In a true technology wave, the whole stack changes, not just one layer, says Kindred Ventures\u2019 Steve Jang. And if you look at AI, he says, that\u2019s exactly what\u2019s going on: \u201cRight now you\u2019re seeing it all the way from chips all the way up through the application layer.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jang, Kindred\u2019s founder and managing partner, was speaking at Fortune\u2019s Brainstorm AI conference in San Francisco on Monday, on a panel to discuss how VCs are thinking about these bubbly times in the AI market. His point is that the angst over the AI bubble is kind of besides the point. What really matters is whether the underlying tech transformation is real or not.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Sapphire Ventures partner Cathy Gao, who was also on the panel, said that valuations for some companies have clearly climbed far beyond any sort of fundamentals. But she also noted that the growth curves of certain companies right now \u201cfar outstrip the growth curves of companies we\u2019ve ever seen before.\u201d<\/p>\n

To help sift through the hype in this environment and find the startups with real staying power, Gao said she uses a three-question test.<\/p>\n

First, is the startup\u2019s product a \u201cfeature\u201d or a \u201cworkflow?\u201d The stand-outs, she says, are \u201ccompanies that are able to actually embed and fully overtake an existing workflow, while building significant switching costs.\u201d<\/p>\n

Second, is distribution built-in? People don\u2019t want to learn how to use another tool, says Gao. The key qualities here are whether the tool is \u201cintegrated in usability and in all the other solutions that it needs to be in order for the workflow to be fully functional?\u201d<\/p>\n

And finally, does the company get stronger over time? This is called \u201ccompounding durability,\u201d says Gao. \u201cWith every new user, does the solution get better, does it get cheaper, does it get faster?\u201d<\/p>\n

We\u2019ll have more questions, and answers, at Brainstorm AI today. Watch the livestream here.<\/p>\n

See you tomorrow,<\/p>\n

Alexei Oreskovic
X:<\/strong>@lexnfx
Email:<\/strong>alexei.oreskovic@fortune.com
Submit a deal for the Term Sheet newsletter here.<\/p>\n

Joey Abrams curated the deals section of today\u2019s newsletter.<\/em>Subscribe here.<\/p>\n

Venture Deals<\/h3>\n

– <\/span>Unconventional<\/b>AI<\/b>, a San Francisco-based developer of chips and computer systems designed for AI, raised $475 million in seed funding. <\/span>Andreessen<\/b>Horowitz<\/b> and <\/span>Lightspeed<\/b> led the round and were joined by <\/span>Sequoia<\/b>, <\/span>Lux<\/b>Capital<\/b>, <\/span>DCVC<\/b>, <\/span>Future<\/b>Ventures<\/b>, <\/span>Jeff<\/b>Bezos<\/b>, and others.<\/span><\/p>\n

– <\/span>Airwallex<\/b>, a San Francisco and Singapore-based payments and banking platform for businesses, raised $330 million in Series G funding. <\/span>Addition<\/b> led the round and was joined by<\/span> T. Rowe Price<\/b>, <\/span>Activant<\/b>, <\/span>Lingotto<\/b>, and <\/span>Robinhood<\/b>Ventures<\/b>.<\/span><\/p>\n

– <\/span>Blue<\/b>Current<\/b>, a Hayward, Calif.-based developer of silicon solid-state batteries, raised $80 million in a Series D extension from <\/span>Amazon<\/b>, <\/span>Koch<\/b>Disruptive<\/b>Technologies<\/b>, <\/span>Piedmont<\/b>Capital<\/b>, <\/span>Rusheen<\/b>Capital<\/b>Partners<\/b>, and <\/span>Allen<\/b>& Company<\/b>.<\/span><\/p>\n

– <\/span>Crown<\/b>, a S\u00e3o Paulo, Brazil-based stablecoin issuer, raised $13.5 million in Series A funding. <\/span>Paradigm<\/b> led the round.<\/span><\/p>\n

– <\/span>Resemble<\/b>AI<\/b>, a Mountain View, Calif.-based security platform for enterprise AI, raised $13 million in funding from <\/span>Sony<\/b>Innovation<\/b>Fund<\/b>, <\/span>Berkeley<\/b>Frontier<\/b>Fund<\/b>, <\/span>Comcast<\/b>Ventures<\/b>, <\/span>Craft<\/b>Ventures<\/b>, and others.<\/span><\/p>\n

– <\/span>Scowtt<\/b>, a Seattle Wash.-based AI-powered advertising optimization platform, raised $12 million in Series A funding. <\/span>Inspired<\/b>Capital<\/b> led the round and was joined by <\/span>LiveRamp<\/b>Ventures<\/b>, <\/span>Angeles Investors<\/b>, and <\/span>Angeles<\/b>Ventures<\/b>.<\/span><\/p>\n

– <\/span>Equixly<\/b>, a Verona, Italy-based agentic AI platform designed for API security testing, raised \u20ac10 million ($11.6 million) in Series A funding. <\/span>33N<\/b>Ventures<\/b> led the round and was joined by existing investors.<\/span><\/p>\n

Private Equity<\/h3>\n

– <\/span>ContextLogic<\/b> agreed to acquire <\/span>US Salt Parent Holdings<\/b>, a Watkins Glen, N.Y.-based producer of evaporated salt products, from private equity funds managed by <\/span>Emerald<\/b>Lake<\/b>Capital<\/b>Management<\/b> for $907.5 million.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Exits<\/h3>\n

– <\/span>Berkshire<\/b>Partners<\/b> agreed to acquire <\/span>United<\/b>Flow<\/b>Technologies<\/b>, an Irving, Texas-based provider of process and equipment solutions for water and wastewater systems, from <\/span>H.I.G.<\/b>Capital<\/b>. Financial terms were not disclosed.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

#Key #questions #stay #grounded #frenzy<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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