The New Role of Early Stage Investors #tech #venturecapital #startup #ai

Farmer also emphasized that venture firms need to take a more active role in capital markets, helping founders plan for M and A structured secondaries or alternative exits rather than relying solely on the IPO market. On the AI side, he argued that owning proprietary, continuously trained data is the only true long term moat, as purchasing third party data sets won't provide a lasting competitive advantage. So Chris talked about how early stage investors now play a bigger role in shaping a startup's long term exit strategy and so of just writing checks. They can help founders line up strategic investors, set the stage for M and A, or even start conversations with private equity firms for companies nearing profitability. So how do you, Charles, think about this specific concept as it pertains to precursor land.