Yaniv Golan | lool ventures | What to Build Now? Which Companies Will VCs Back?

Description

Yaniv Golan, a partner at lool ventures (a Pre-Seed and Seed fund active since 2012), lays out a thinking framework that grew out of internal debates at the fund after ChatGPT arrived: how do you analyze companies that are Powered by AI. He explains why he thinks this time it's a revolution and not another hype, why AI agents will probably still go through Gartner's hype cycle, and breaks down four types of companies: AI Native like OpenAI and Base44, AI-Embedded like Notion, Adobe and Microsoft, Vertical AI like Aidoc and Eleos, and AI Resilient like SpaceX and NeoLogic. He also covers when not to take VC money, why model companies' pricing isn't sustainable, what makes the product manager more important in the AI era, and how the AI Rollup model tries to buy businesses and improve them with AI.

Key moments

1. 0:21 · Who Yaniv is and what lool ventures does
2. 6:42 · Where the framework came from: no moat on top of the model
3. 12:32 · A revolution or just another hype?
4. 20:21 · AI Native: companies where AI is the essence
5. 23:53 · AI-Embedded: adding magic to an existing product
6. 31:04 · Vertical AI: deep domain knowledge and unique data
7. 34:22 · Companies in disguise, and when not to take VC money
8. 37:34 · Model pricing and AI Resilient
9. 44:23 · The product manager's skill in the AI era
10. 51:08 · AI Rollup: buying a business and upgrading it with AI