"I remember going to happy hours with other startup investors and pre-seed founders, I'd say I was at Gradient, and people would say 'oh, the AI thing. I haven't done that. Are there AI startups? I certainly don't see them and AI doesn't seem that interesting.' You really had to be a nerd to actually realize that this was a big deal. Everyone was talking about crypto and ICOs at the time."
"Gradient in some sense came from Google's C-suite, it really was a niche idea at that point and didn't resonate with everyone right away. LPs outside Google were wary. I think people thought we sounded like the quantum computing people, and no one wanted to do a dedicated quantum fund."
"Gradient, which focuses entirely on seed and pre-seed AI companies, has backed Lambda, Oura, Sona, Writer, Airspace Intelligence, and Krea. The firm's exits include CentML (acquired by Nvidia reportedly worth more than $400 million), Prepared (acquired by Axon), and Streamlit (acquired by Snowflake for a reported $700-$800 million)."
Gradient was established by Google in 2017, one month after the influential "Attention Is All You Need" paper, to invest in early-stage AI companies. Founders Darian Shirazi and Zach Bratun-Glennon faced significant skepticism from investors and limited partners who viewed AI as niche and unproven, comparing it unfavorably to the then-dominant cryptocurrency trend. The fund struggled initially to gain traction outside Google, with external LPs hesitant about dedicating capital to AI ventures. However, the AI industry experienced exponential growth, transforming from a specialized field into mainstream focus across venture capital. Gradient's portfolio includes successful companies like Lambda, Writer, and Streamlit, with notable exits including CentML's acquisition by Nvidia for over $400 million and Streamlit's $700-800 million sale to Snowflake.
Read at Fortune
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]