Farewell M12

“Change is the essential process of all existence” – Spock?

And so has come the time for change for me, as my tenure at M12 and second tour at Microsoft is at an end.?The last 5.5+ years have been an exhilarating journey having done 14 new investments and deploying well over $100m in capital in new and follow-on deals from seed through Series C. ??As I look back, each investment had its twists and turns in the journey from meeting and getting to know founders, funding them, to then having the privilege to serve as a board member in their companies.??Each stage requires flexing different muscles with some coming naturally while others make you uncomfortable and challenge you.?But throughout, the one constant has been a deepening appreciation for the relationship and people centric nature of VC.?So very thankful for having gotten to know and work with entrepreneurs like Mark Hammond , Shakeel Avadhany , Zack Anderson , Roland Memisevic , Moritz Mueller-Freitag , Ingo Bax , Kurt Busch , Stephen Bailey , Jeremy Holleman , Pieter Vorenkamp , Dr. Avneesh Agrawal , David Julian , Anastasia Volkova, PhD , Qasar Younis , Peter Ludwig , Christian Piechnick , Sage Wohns Mohamed AlTantawy , Jeremy O'Brien , Pete Shadbolt, Mark Thompson , Terry Rudolph, Michael Putz , Brad Young , Jen Nwankwo, Ph.D. , Peter Barrett , David Fuller , Joe Doliner , Joey Zwicker , Vid Jain , Aaron Friedman , Jeffrey McGregor , Lior Elazary , Sid Sheth and Sudeep Bhoja .?

In 2017, my time in M12 started with a focus on horizontal AI startups. ?Back then the number of VCs to converse with about the need for MLOPs or the profoundness of generative AI was rather sparse ?? But in short order I had the opportunity to let the technologist in me thrive and take on investing in robotics, autonomy, automotive applications, agtech, simulation, silicon, and quantum computing in addition to all things AI.?My mental models and patterns on investments are that much better from collaborating on deals with Nagraj Kashyap , Mony Hassid , Leo de Luna , Lior Litwak , Matthew Goldstein , Kouki Harasaki, PhD MBA , Priya Saiprasad , Elliott Robinson , Priyanka Mitra , Michael Stewart , James Wu , Irad Dor , Abhi Kumar , Ainhoa ("Noa") Maiz and Shir Sarouf . ??

It was the growth mindset ethos of Microsoft and embodied in the idea of being a “learn it all” vs. “know it all” is what made it possible for me to flourish in M12.? For that, the deepest thanks to Satya Nadella , Peggy Johnson and Nagraj Kashyap .?I also feel smarter in one dimension or another from the many an enlightening conversation with Rick Calle , Kingsuk Maitra, Ph.D., MBA , Bharadwaj Pudipeddi Ade Famoti , Julie Love , Ben Porter , Kouki Harasaki, PhD MBA , Tanya Loh , Elisa Garcia Anzano , Lee Feldman , Priyanka Mitra , Colleen O'Brien , Adam Coccari , Salonee Shah , Andrew Tawaststjerna , Sean Fitzhenry , John Vela Catherine (Waszak) Mulcahy , Carli Stein and Valentina Escudero .? Being able to tap into the tremendous brain trust inside of Microsoft is what made it possible to construct the M12 advisory board with sought after leaders in their respective fields. ?It was a real honor to engage with Matthias Troyer , Saurabh Tiwary , Charlie Miller, PhD , Jocelyn O. Moore, MBA and Ann Johnson for all of the help, support, and guidance over the last several years. And a special big thanks to Krysta Svore , David Reilly, and Matthias Troyer for lighting the path to navigate the quantum computing landscape that I'm sure many other VCs wish they had :) ?THANK YOU!

Finally, all the best to Christopher Young , Michelle Gonzalez , Todd Graham , Peter B. and the rest of the team as they write the next chapter of M12.

Looking at the road ahead, the essential change that Spock spoke of and when put in the context of AI, has me both excited and terrified.?The optimist in me says a better world lies on the other side if we heed the risks we are being shown now. ?ChatGPT has been described in many colorful ways ranging from the Big Bang of Generative AI to its Jurassic Park moment. ?But the metaphor that resonates the most for me is it’s a “text-based Holodeck”.?The symbiotic advances in compute, generative AI, simulation and synthetic data will bring us ever closer to the Holodeck in Star Trek.?There it was an instrument for creativity, entertainment, productivity and well-being.?Of course, many an episode shined the light on the potential for its negative consequences when it is misused, unsafe or unreliable. ?But I am optimistic. When I see giants in quantum computing and theoretical computer science like Prof. Scott Aaronson spending a year at OpenAI working on cryptographic schemes to watermark GPT-3 output text, ?it’s a sign that our best minds are heeding the call to help achieve the potential of the next wave AI in a safer manner. ??Along the way these advances will transform what it means to work, to create, to be entertained and the technology tools we interface with when engaged in any of those activities.?A perfect example today is Github’s Co-Pilot as a force multiplier for software developer productivity.?As an investor I couldn’t be more excited by the potential in the same ingredient tech (generative AI, simulation, synthetic data) to create co-pilot like experiences for scientists, engineers, architects and other professions in the near future. I can’t help but smile and think back to Geoff Hinton’s prophetic statement from 2006 - “to recognize shapes, first learn to generate images” Or even Richard Feynman even before him when he said “What I cannot create, I do not understand”

That’s all for now and I look forward to sharing what’s next for me in VC in 2023.

Happy holidays, live long and prosper!?