Steve Milton

The VC funding model when everything works out fine... In real life: Only a few startups make it! So if you are considering going the VC route: Have a backup plan!

7

Excited to publicly announce today that Rebellion Ventures emerges to build the future of AI super capability, generating 10-100x productivity gains. We've been partnering with entrepreneurs for some time and oversubscribed and closed our debut fund but haven't publicly disclosed it until now. We announced today our inaugural fund, which is dedicated to partnering with entrepreneurs to build what we coined the era of artificial super capability (ASC) through autonomous operations and AI agents that have the power to revolutionize business models and unleash the greatest productivity boost in human history. We foresee the shift from passive, intelligence-focused AI to action-oriented artificial super capability that drives business outcomes autonomously. In the real world, it is the context-specific ability to act that delivers results, rather than general intelligence. AI capabilities will evolve to be superior to humans in areas such as speed, cost, and accuracy. This shift will create an era of artificial super capability (ASC), with the potential to increase productivity by 10-100x. We see the emergence of a diverse AI workforce across industries, including AI workers, digital humans, autopilots, and autonomous agents. These will continuously learn, observe, think, and act 24/7 to proactively achieve business goals and elevate human work. Through the fund's companies, we target to collectively create at least $100 billion in annual productivity value for customers by 2030 based on initial ROI metrics. Our fund brings an operating track record of building companies to multi-billion dollar IPO and M&A exits and an advisor network of over 70 unicorn founders, operating executives, and industry experts in AI and automation who are LPs in the fund. We'll provide access to industry relationships, operating playbooks, and critical expertise that entrepreneurs need to build and scale disruptive startups. Our fund has thus far partnered with 12 pre-seed/seed startups creating or enabling autonomous operations and AI agents in areas such as engineering, sales, financial services, insurance, and healthcare (over half of these have already raised more capital at higher valuations). We'll partner with 25+ additional startups over the next 18 months. Recognizing our responsibility in this new era, we seek to be a force for good by elevating human work, committing to ethical practices in AI and automation, and contributing positively to societal and economic development (including pledging 1% of our profits to give back to the community). More details are in the announcement below. https://lnkd.in/gBbnAr3p

257

173 Comments

A few thoughts on fundraising for Defense Tech companies. 1. The best VCs will have prior background in defense, investing experience in other defense tech companies, or at least deep understand of the domain and general dynamics in the space; 2. Not all VC are defense-tech ready, however a number of those firms is growing weekly. Be sure to check whether the firm is serious about the space prior to investing time in a call; 3. Multiple Western funds are ready to talk, but are not yet ready to write checks. Still, your conversations with them help them better understand the market and the level of entrepreneurs on it. Chances are, these conversations will materialize into something significant later. 4. KYC. Make sure your investors don’t have russian or other dubious sources of financing, LPs, employees, or portfolio companies. Ask about this before sharing much about your business. Ask about policies regarding investing in russian founders, or other founders from the countries supporting terrorism. Make it clear you will ask to disclose these details and sign this as a side letter to your investment agreement; 5. Traction comes in different shapes and sizes, but as usual - traction trumps everything 6. Building your business on one customer or one geo-political event is not a good strategy, no matter how significant they are. It’s better to bet on long-lasting societal and technological trends and multitude of applications for your IP. The sooner you can demonstrate it – the better it is. Good luck to everyone building in this space!

183

13 Comments

This analysis, at least anecdotally makes sense to me. In many situations, infringe and holdout is the least painful option for large infringers. The system enables it. - The plaintiff must allocate the time and $$ to assert, taking time and $$ away from selling and developing products. Even if they engage litigation financiers they are limiting their upside potential. - The infringer continues to infringe while employing stall tactics or simply relying on the painfully slow, overburdened legal system. - The cost benefit analysis for infringers - "infringe and pay lawyers" typically outweighs the cost of design around or license. - Enhanced damages and injunctions are rare. - Litigation insurance products reduce risk all around. "The Marcum report shows that there is indeed something wrong with the patent system in the United States but it’s not excessive litigation or patent trolls. The real problem is the inability of patent owners to enforce their rights against infringers. Given the difficulty of obtaining injunctive relief and the limited enhancement of damages, it is unsurprising that predatory infringement has become a standard business practice when, at worst, all an infringer can be expected to pay is a reasonable royalty and, at best, nothing at all."

5

📈 Top Public AI Stocks for April 2024 - ClearOne Inc. (CLRO): A company specializing in audio, video, and web conferencing applications. Their AI configuration and control software, Console, is gaining attention. 🎙️💻 - B.O.S. Better Online Solutions (BOSC): Focused on supply chain and inventory solutions, BOSC’s Intelligent Robotics division incorporates AI technology. 🤖📦 - Opera Ltd. (OPRA): Known for designing web browsers, Opera has integrated ChatGPT and free VPN functionality into its browsers. 🌐🔒 Remember to consider your investment strategy based on value, growth, and momentum! 💡📊 #AI #Investing https://lnkd.in/gPWFe4PF

8

Having a Cars and Capital event tomorrow in Southern California with Oren Klaff. If you want to join message me. https://lnkd.in/gDQ4D39u Oren Klaff Bridger Pennington #InvestorEvent #FamilyOffice #InvestmentOpportunity #CarlsbadEvent #PrivateEquity #WealthManagement #InvestmentConference #CapitalRaising #NetworkingEvent #IndustryLeaders #FinancialGrowth #InvestorsMeetup #WealthBuilding #BusinessGrowth #InvestmentForum

24

1 Comment

This Sequoia Capital article is easily the best article I have read on product-market fit. (link below) Its very relevant to (disruptive) deep tech startups, a category I often feel is ignored in these articles. 3️⃣ There's three methods to get to PMF, and the largely depend on the nature of the product and the perception of the market: 🔥Hair on Fire: Customers are acutely aware of the problem and actively looking for solutions. Success hinges on delivering the best-in-class solution through differentiation. [Smartphone market, after the iPhone] 🪨Hard Fact: Customers acknowledge the problem as an inevitable fact of life and haven't actively sought solutions. The challenge lies in convincing them that there's a better way and overcoming inertia. [Uber/ AirBnB] 👀Future Vision: Customers are either unaware of the problem or believe a solution is unrealistic. The entrepreneur needs to create a new paradigm and win over customers to this vision. [Apple iPhone/ OpenAI] Each of these have different approaches, as the nature of problem to be solved is different. 🔥Hair on Fire: Act fast and prioritize a great product with a strong go-to-market strategy, usually with a unique insight, because if its a hair-on-fire problem, there are likely existing competitors. [Rippling, the HR software did it unified HR Database for businesses] 🪨Hard Fact: Educate the market about the problem and how your solution offers a better approach. [Square had to do this to overcome the cash-only mentality] 👀Future Vision: Be prepared for a long journey, focus on attracting top talent, and find strategic pit stops for commercial traction along the way. [Nvidia did this with gaming chipsets] So which type of problem is your startup solving?

4

3 Comments

I recently had the honor of being featured on The Deal Scout. In this insightful 7-minute interview with Joshua Wilson, I shared early secrets and best practices from 35+ years in the Venture Capital industry that are essential to navigating the VC landscape and establishing a foothold in this dynamic field. You can listen to the interview on Joshua Wilson's post here 👇 #GPN #GuyPaulNohra #VentureCapital #Entrepreneur #Leadership #Philanthropy

9

As an investor, I'm much more excited by fast-growing markets with strong tailwinds than large sounding markets that lack a clear Why Now. 🏄‍♂️🏄‍♂️ 🌊 🌊 Why? Because startup success often requires a market to be in flux. Rapid change in a market is what generates opportunity. In 5 years, all cars will be equipped with ADAS, and 5 years ago this number would have been <10% 🚗 🚗 On the flip side, obviously large markets already have incumbents - and without a catalyst, are difficult to disrupt.

28

1 Comment

Key takeaways from VC Goat - Vinod Khosla podcast. - The firm cares more about working on interesting problems with large technical solutions rather than just maximizing IRR. The team is there because they believe in the mission. - Khosla assumes they've lost the money the day they invest, and then maximizes for the upside opportunity. He calls it "option value investing" rather than IRR investing. - Khosla has contrarian bets in AI (neuro-symbolic computing, probabilistic approaches), biotech, robotics, crypto, and more. - He believes aviation fuels, fusion energy, new transit systems, and other contrarian areas ignored by most investors will be huge opportunities. - Most large innovations come from outsiders, not industry insiders. Khosla looks for founders who can learn a business rapidly rather than have deep domain expertise. The Future Impact of AI - AI will be deflationary and increase productivity growth to 4% annually vs the typical 2% forecast. This will cause great abundance but also increasing income inequality. - Bipedal robots will take over most manufacturing and manual labor jobs within 20-25 years. This will free humans to be more creative and pursue their passions. - Education will shift from job training to creativity. Uniquely human elements like taste and curation will be most valued in an AI-enabled world. https://lnkd.in/gqBsmbks

66

5 Comments

I'm not sure why when I post this YouTube video it doesn't auto play on LinkedIn, but if anyone wants a peak at what we were up to in South Korea, here it is: https://lnkd.in/eecUeRH2 And if you know how to correctly post YouTube videos on LinkedIn, that would be helpful too #founders #venturecapital Antler

26

1 Comment

-Founders should avoid overuse of revenue multiple: what it really means in startups’ valuation- Traditional valuation methods rely on a company's financial statements. If founders use revenue multiples in dealing with potential investors, they should understand the basics of valuation. Otherwise, it might appear as a lack of common sense. Here's a breakdown of the basic approaches and why revenue multiple was invented. https://lnkd.in/gbYqTpAC #Hypergrowth #Valuation #HITSERIESCAPITAL #TANAAKK

8

1 Comment

How did Google's Chrome team use AI to solve a checkout headache, driving double-digit percentage improvements in conversions? Pali Bhat, Reddit's CPO (Chief Product Officer) and ex-Google Exec, spills the secrets on building innovative products and how machine learning transformed online shopping. Quite a fun read. #ai #ml #google #reddit

2

1 Comment

Amazing turnout & insightful discussion for our AI x Blockchain event!! More to come

9

2 Comments

Brad Hargreaves makes a really interesting point about a non-obvious impact of autonomous vehicles on real estate... People aren't taking fully autonomous vehicles seriously because the 2016 hype cycle was premature -- the technology wasn't ready, despite what leading CEOs might have wanted you to believe. But fast forward 8 years and companies like Waymo and Cruise are now offering driverless vehicle services in major metropolitan areas like Los Angeles, Phoenix, Austin, and San Francisco. While the current cost of these services is comparable to Uber, the technology is expected to mature and become more affordable... When this technology is fully realized, it will significantly impact the real estate market by eliminating the need for car ownership and parking spaces or garages. Cars instead become autonomous roving fleets, and Brad doesn't think (I agree) the real estate industry has internalized this yet. Down the line I could also see people willing to commute or take weekend trips much longer distances, if car travel anywhere (level 5 autonomy) becomes as mindless and hands-free as going by train. #realestate #autonomousvehicles

81

29 Comments

The magic of AI will only be unlocked for the agtech ecosystem once we have good ag data to feed the beast. We need digitized, harmonized, standardized, interoperable, machine-readable data for the magical AI tools to do meaningful work in agriculture. Let's get to work!

17

5 Comments

As launching costs for satellites decrease sat imagery companies offer affordable tools to monitor climate accountability. Kayrros now says that its data shows a significant gap between what major oil and gas companies report and their actual methane emissions. It also provides evidence that most conservation projects even in the Amazon and Africa are actually proving effective. Successful climate action relies on transparency. With AI, satellite tech and regulatory backing, companies can be held accountable to build a more sustainable future. #climate #AI #tech #sustainability

12