40% total venture funding was invested in AI startups in May. It may seem strategically important for startups to include AI in their pitches to investors.
Two venture capitalists from the Seattle area who spoke at the PAN IIT Seattle 2024 Conference in Bellevue Washington earlier this month said that founders and CEOs need to tread carefully when they talk about their company’s use trendy tech.
Over-branding AI “shows that you are an unserious company and unserious people,” said Vivek ladsariya who recently was hired by Pioneer Square Labs in the role of managing director.
“Serious customers and investors will see right through it,” he said. “That’s not a brand you want to create.”
AI is “almost a given” and should be incorporated into a company’s overall strategy. However, it is important to not overstate its importance, according to Heather Redman. She is the co-founder and managing director at Flying Fish.
“You could lose a great deal of credibility,” said the woman.
Vikram Chalana is the CEO of Seattle-based startup Pictory.ai. He joked about going against the advice given by investors, since the domain name of his four-year-old business literally contains the word AI.
Pictory’s product is based on AI, which automates the creation of videos.
Chalana said, “At the end it’s about the customer.”
Ladsariya also echoed this sentiment.
“When you’re talking to customers, you should focus on what you can do rather than a generic technology,” he said.
Since Flying Fish’s launch eight years ago, AI has been the company’s core thesis. Redman said that the firm targets founders with AI backgrounds.
She said, “We are looking for a PhD in the team.” It’s not a requirement, but it is a nice to have.
But Anoop gupta CEO of SeekOut said that companies don’t need to be “AI experts” in order to benefit from generative AI.
“If you are building AI infrastructure then having a great deal of experience is essential,” he said. “But I think that a smart computer scientist, or engineer can learn a great deal about [AI]. Their ability to conceptualize and define problems, and to experiment, can be very helpful. You don’t need to be a machine-learning specialist.”
Chalana agrees, noting that people with advanced AI education and experience have struggled to adopt generative AI. He said that the 26-year old software developer is his best generative AI engineer.