Shifting Power Dynamics in the AI-Focused Cloud

We’ve officially entered the “Big 4” era of cloud. The push for AI has increased VC-backed startups’ reliance on AWS, Azure, and GCP, while simultaneously increasing the entire ecosystem’s reliance on NVIDIA. These four companies are not only collectively powering the entire ecosystem, but also they routinely lead the largest financing rounds as they race to establish crucial partnerships with startups to build up their AI edge.?

These new power dynamics, funding patterns, unique incumbent-challenger partnerships, and collective impact on potential exit strategies mean startups must approach competition in the AI era differently. While competing at the foundation and computing layer is prohibitively stiff for most startups, there is considerable opportunity at higher layers of the AI stack.?

In their latest essay, Greylock partners Jerry Chen and Jason Risch outline how startups are finding traction with tooling, infrastructure, and various approaches at the application layer including vertical and horizontal apps, security, codegen, and robotics.

If you are a founder who is starting a company in this space, reach out directly.

Read More.

Portfolio News

Abnormal Security

Abnormal Security was recognized on the 2024 CNBC Disruptor 50. Evan Reiser , CEO and Co-Founder of Abnormal Security, spoke with CRN during the RSA conference about the pressure on security teams, and was featured on Bloomberg Businessweek’s daily podcast.

Cato Networks

During the RSA Conference, CRN spoke with leaders of cybersecurity companies, including CEO and Co-Founder of Cato Networks Shlomo Kramer , who discussed responding to worsening attacks.?

Cresta

Cresta has been named a Leader in The Forrester Wave?: Real-Time Revenue Execution Platforms, Q2.2024.

Cribl

During the RSA Conference, CRN spoke with leaders of cybersecurity companies, including?CEO and Co-Founder of Cribl, Clint Sharp , who discussed the data growth challenge.?

Dazz

During the RSA Conference, CRN spoke with leaders of cybersecurity companies, including Merav Bahat , Co-Founder and CEO of Dazz, who discussed the many aspects of AI.

Discord

Discord was recognized on the 2024 CNBC Disruptor 50 for the fourth time.

Figma

Figma was recognized on the 2024 CNBC Disruptor 50.?

Lyra Health

A study from global professional services firm Aon found that employers offering Lyra's workforce mental health solutions saw an average annual health care cost reduction of 26%, sustained consistently over four years.

Notable

Sturdy Health and Notable announced a partnership where Sturdy Health will leverage Notable’s AI platform to personalize the patient care experience further.?

Novi Connect

Novi was included in a Fast Company story about ways beauty companies are reaching Gen Alpha shoppers. The story quotes Novi CEO and Founder Kimberly Shenk who notes that younger consumers “have an expectation of proof” that a brand is environmentally and socially responsible. She concludes that ”It’s not a nice-to-have.” It’s essential.

Pepper

Pepper announced it raised a $30M Series B, which Greylock participated in after leading the seed and participating in the Series A. Over 200 independent food distributors trust Pepper for order management, analytics, customer support, payment tooling and more.

Ramp

Ramp was recognized on the 2024 CNBC Disruptor 50 for the second year in a row.?

Rubrik

During the RSA Conference, CRN spoke with leaders of cybersecurity companies, including Bipul Sinha , Co-Founder and CEO of Rubrik, who discussed cyber resilience versus prevention.

Wiz

Wiz was recognized on the 2024 CNBC Disruptor 50 for the second year in a row.?

Greylock News and Insights

Rishabh Jain and Saam Motamedi on the Impact of ATT and AI on Commerce

FERMàT CEO and co-founder Rishabh Jain talks with Greylock partner Saam Motamedi about the double impact of ATT and AI on commerce, and how Fermat is helping to build the next generation of online businesses.

Seth Rosenberg and Reid Hoffman on AI-Powered Networks

In the second episode of Seth Rosenberg 's Product-Led AI podcast, Greylock partner Reid Hoffman shares?his thoughts on AI’s potential impact on the next generation of networks, comparing and contrasting with his experience building iconic consumer networks of previous tech eras.

Seth Rosenberg and David Luan on Upleveling Human Work

In the third episode of Seth Rosenberg 's Product-Led AI podcast, Adept Founder and CEO, David Luan discusses how agents are the next level of the human-computer relationship, with potential to leverage our professional abilities beyond imagination.

Jacob Andreou on AI Hardware Startups?

In a Wired story on hardware and AI startups, Greylock partner Jacob Andreou argues that “bigger tech companies are able to have five shots on a hardware product whereas a startup may only have one.” He also believes that some AI hardware startups are likely to turn to original device manufacturers to put their own stamps on or to enhance with software, in order to offload some of the costs of manufacturing the product, and predicts that hardware startups will also increasingly turn to a subscription model to boost revenue.

Edge: Start a New Company at Greylock

Partner with Greylock to initiate a new company from idea to early revenue and product market fit. Greylock Edge is a bespoke 3-month company-building program designed to advance select pre-idea, pre-seed and seed founders from inception to product-market fit, with fully flexible financing. Apply here.

Portfolio Jobs

Our talent team is always looking to connect with engineers, product managers, designers and great operational and GTM talent who are considering an early stage start-up as a next move in their career. Get in touch if you want to learn more about joining a Greylock portfolio company.

Executive Briefings

Greylock hosts CXOs for highly curated briefings and makes targeted introductions based on a company’s priorities — with the goal of arming organizations with vital insights to help them address its current and future challenges. Greylock portfolio companies benefit from product feedback, advice on product-market fit, and opportunities to co-develop in support of an organization’s technology needs. Reach out at [email protected] to schedule an executive briefing.

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