At TechCrunch Disrupt, investors openly admitted their primary focus is artificial intelligence. Nina Achadjian from Index Ventures, Jerry Chen from Greylock, and Peter Deng from Felicis all discussed the venture capital world’s latest obsession and how startups can stand out in an increasingly crowded market.
Achadjian described the environment as moving fast, with companies experiencing unprecedented growth. She explained that investors spend an enormous amount of time assessing an entrepreneur’s resilience in a period of rapid change. She advised founders to lean into showing their passion and domain expertise while remaining honest about their product-market fit.
Achadjian warned of false positives in this hot market, noting that high demand from enterprises trying the latest AI can generate revenue without delivering true return on investment for customers. This reality makes resilience and an ability to pivot crucial for startups. She referenced a joke that a thousand startups die, underscoring why resilience is so important.
Peter Deng, formerly of OpenAI, expanded on this, stating founders must find their unique data flywheels to separate themselves from others pitching the same idea. He emphasized that enterprise clients often test multiple competing products simultaneously. The key, he said, is going deep to solve a true need in a way clients cannot do themselves, making data management a critical differentiator.
Achadjian added that founders should be prepared to explain why their product won’t simply become a feature within larger foundational models. While a founder may not know if big model makers are building a competitor, they need a clear hypothesis on how their business is defensible.
Jerry Chen observed that currently, three areas are working well in AI: chat applications, coding applications, and AI in customer service. He believes there is still immense change ahead for nearly every sector.
The investors also shared their specific areas of excitement beyond the current trends. Deng is enthusiastic about AI-enabled marketplaces. Achadjian sees this as a potential breakthrough moment for robotics, while Chen is curious to see how AI will impact SaaS and other markets not yet directly transformed.
When asked what non-AI areas are exciting, Achadjian pointed to digitizing pen-and-paper processes. She noted that many blue-collar industries still rely on manual methods, representing a significant opportunity. However, the panel acknowledged that even this area is ripe for automation by AI.