Understanding the AI Platform Shift
Behind The Scenes
The Platform Evolution Cycle
The AI platform shift is currently at a pivotal moment, one that mirrors past transitions such as the internet and cloud. These platform shifts tend to follow a similar trajectory:
Phases 3 and 4 often loop as the platform matures.
To illustrate, consider the evolution of the internet:
The shift into phases 3 and 4 is now occurring in AI, referred to as the 'Reinvention Loop.' Basic infrastructure (such as the buildout of compute resources and models as APIs) has been established, and basic applications (like OpenAI wrappers) are already in use. Attention is now turning to the gaps that hinder the development of more sophisticated AI applications and agents. In response, complex infrastructure is being developed to bridge these gaps and support these advancements. This phase will undoubtedly lead to significant innovation at both the infrastructure and application layers.
A new golden age of tech investing is on the horizon. Unlike previous platform shifts, where innovation often involved improving existing technologies, many AI markets are greenfield. New products are not simply replacing older ones but enabling entirely new experiences and capabilities. This is why AI companies are scaling so rapidly. There is a significant land grab underway, presenting immense opportunities.
While the space is undoubtedly accompanied by hype, the scale of the opportunity justifies the excitement. Though overhype periods are inevitable, the transformation brought about by the AI platform shift will be truly revolutionary.
Reflecting on the early days of the cloud, there are striking similarities to the current moment in AI. While market dynamics remain uncertain, the Reinvention Loop in AI holds tremendous promise. The position to work with early-stage companies at the forefront of this innovation, while also analyzing the strategies of public companies driving similar progress, is a fortunate one.
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Geeks of the Week
Startup Name: Brandback
Geography: Germany
One-liner: Brandback integrate into online retailers' baskets, listings and checkouts to make resale scalable and profitable.
Founder(s) Background: Head of Data Innovation at Wefox ($4.5 billion valuation at peak), VP of Investments & Strategy at Razor Group (merged with Perch, valued at $1.7 billion).
Startup Name: Noto
Geography: US
One-liner: Smart all-in-one vertical software for lesson based businesses.
Founder(s) Background: Founding Engineer / Head of Engineering at Nitra (backed by a16z, NEA, KB Financial Group, Pantera Capital), Co-founder at Hirefly (backed by Nexus Venture Partners).
Startup Name: Virror Health (Please reachout to [email protected] for introduction to the founder)
Geography: Hong Kong
One-liner: Helping people better monitor & manage cardiovascular disease & chronic illness.
Founder(s) Background: Co-founder & CEO of Klarity (acquired by Meltwater).
Startup Name: Pendulum
Geography: UK
One-liner: Pendulum is an applied AI company building new tools for creative industries.
Founder(s) Background: Head of Strategy & Operations (EMEA) at Google, Product Manager (AI) at Spotify.
Founder(s) building in stealth
Episode of the Week
Teddy Himler brings over 15 years of global experience at leading institutions, including Goldman Sachs, SoftBank, Comcast Ventures, and Antler, to his role at Optimist Ventures.
Throughout his career, Teddy has cultivated deep expertise in global technology trends, innovative business models, and firm-building, with a focus on sectors such as artificial intelligence, insurance, healthcare, and industrial automation.
At Antler, Teddy served as a partner, where he played a key role in the firm’s growth, helping it become the world’s most active early-stage venture capital firm by deal count.
Prior to Antler, Teddy was instrumental in scaling SoftBank’s operations in both the U.S. and Southeast Asia. In 2018, he launched SoftBank Group International’s first New York City office, where he managed assets outside of SoftBank’s Vision Fund, including Arm, Sprint, Boston Dynamics, and Brightstar. Earlier, as SoftBank Capital’s first West Coast hire, Teddy served as Vice President, spearheading its Southeast Asia strategy from Jakarta while collaborating with partners like Alibaba.
From 2018 to 2021, Teddy was a Principal at Comcast Ventures in New York, where he focused on investments in consumer internet, robotics, fintech (including insurtech and crypto), and other emerging technologies as part of Comcast’s corporate venture capital platform.
Teddy began his career at Goldman Sachs as an investment banking analyst in the Technology, Media & Telecom group in San Francisco. He holds a B.A. in Government and Economics from Harvard University.
Over the years, Teddy has backed five unicorns at the seed or Series A stages and has been a deal team leader or member in numerous landmark investments, including Kabbage, Fitbit, Dialpad, BigCommerce, Grab, Tokopedia, Cheddar, Acorns, Hippo, Blockdaemon, Madison Reed, Blockchange, ABL Space, KeyMe, Arm, Boston Dynamics, SoftBank Robotics, Sprint, Cybereason, Zola, SoFi, Airspan, OneWeb, Kindbody, Berkshire Grey, Lemonade, Brightstar, Airalo, Earlytrade, Folio, Ora Health, Endless Health, and Inshur.
Teddy’s career reflects a track record of identifying transformative technologies and building global ventures, making him a key figure in the venture capital ecosystem.
This edition is brought to you in partnership with Stella Capital.