Lightspeed Venture Partners August Newsletter

Welcome to the August 2023 edition of the Lightspeed newsletter. Too often, VC only scratches the surface. Lightspeed takes a different approach.

On a monthly basis, we’ll keep you informed with in-depth reports about how we build and maintain a mastery that enables unwavering conviction in the companies we back. And how we go deep to build something impactful, together. Because possibility grows the deeper you go.

SERVING THE BOLD BUILDERS OF THE FUTURE 🔮

For over twenty years Lightspeed has been the first investor and an early backer of some of the most innovative companies in the world. In service of bold founders with big ideas, we stand behind our companies with high conviction from Seed to Series F and beyond. Meet some of the most recent companies and Founders we are building with:

• Resilience — Securing a Digital World

• Endor Labs — Application Security For All

• Redpanda — Taking Data Streaming Mainstream

• Gardens — Indie Gaming Innovation, AAA Ambition

• Berry Health — Full Stack Healthcare

• Supercritical — Pioneering the Climate Battle

• beehiiv — Finding the Queen Bee 🐝

Visit our Stories and Companies pages for more.

FOUNDER SPOTLIGHT 🌠

We sat down with some of our Founders to hear about their challenges, successes, why they started their businesses, and why they chose to partner with Lightspeed. In this edition, meet Bipul Sinha, Co-Founder and CEO of cybersecurity company Rubrik.

PARTNER PERSPECTIVES: AI 🤖

Our partners aren’t just investors – they’re big picture thinkers. They pair a deep understanding of the market with insights generated by Lightspeed’s data team to stay ahead of the curve. For example, Lightspeed has invested over $850 million in AI-powered startups over the last eight years. Here are some recent AI insights from our team:

• Eight AI Startups WInning The Race For Tech Talent — AI-native startups are in a race to attract the best and brightest to their startups. We crunched the numbers to identify the eight generative AI companies winning the race, and the Next Gen of companies building the future.

• Startups vs. Incumbents: The Battle for AI’s Application Layer — If your AI product is going head to head with an incumbent, you’ll probably lose…unless you fight back with a different game.

• Gaming x AI Market Map: The Infinite Power of Play — An (inevitably incomplete) overview of the emerging landscape of artificial intelligence and procedural generation in interactive media

• Fintech x AI: The Lightspeed View — Not all AI is created equal. How can LLMs work in highly regulated settings? Our Fintech team mapped the market to identify both the incumbent players and the emergent opportunities.

• SaaS 4.0: Say Hello to The Era of Cognition — Generative AI will eventually be a native part of every enterprise software company. Here’s how we see the winners emerging.

• What Lightspeed Is Reading, Listening To, And Thinking About AI — We’re sharing some foundational texts, recent reads, and great resources to stay on top of this world changing technology.

EVENTS 🎟️

We love meeting new people, spotlighting our Founders, and making valuable connections for those in our network.

• Generative NYC: Fintech in AI — The latest in Lightspeed’s Generative meetup series takes place on August 15 at our New York office. (Sign up to be notified about future Generative meetups in NYC, SF, LA, and London.)

• Scott Belsky on Creativity in Generative AI — At our recent Generative NYC summer edition, Scott Belsky, Chief Strategy Officer at Adobe spoke with Michael Mignano, partner, about the influence of generative AI on creativity, work, startups, and healthcare.

• Building Tomorrow’s Boardroom, Today — Our recent gathering addressed the empowerment of under-represented groups in the boardroom. Featuring a conversation with Celia Edwards Karam, Anita Lynch, Baron Davis, and Tammy K. Jones moderated by Lightspeed Partner Sydney Sykes, co-founder of BLCK VC, and Lightspeed’s partner for Executive Talent, Nicole North.

LAUNCH — FOR SEED STAGE FOUNDERS 🚀

Lightspeed is thrilled to announce our new program for Seed-stage founders: Launch. Launch is the culmination of 20+ years of hard-won expertise as Seed investors, partnering with founders who have the drive and irrational optimism to build generational companies.

• Learn more about Launch

LIGHTSPEED RADIO 🎙️

We love talking about the Founders we’re working with and how we think about building Lightspeed to be a great partner to the companies we back. Here are some recent conversations on notable podcasts:

• Staying Global — Bejul Somaia and Eric Newcomer

• Venture Capital Gravitational Physics — Ravi Mhatre and Eric Newcomer

• VC & The Future of Commerce — Sydney Sykes on DTC Pod

• Is the business of podcasting sustainable? — Michael Mignano on Money Talks from The Economist

• Welcome to the Machine — Guarav Gupta on Full Disclosure from NPR

WE’RE SOCIAL ❤️

Follow us! We’re on LinkedIn, Threads, X (fka Twitter), and Instagram. See what our Founders are up to, get notified about events, like our recent Generative NYC meetup with Adobe’s Scott Belsky, and read about what Lightspeed’s partners are doing around the world.

THANKS FOR READING 🙏

We welcome any feedback you have, and we’ll see you soon.

–Team Lightspeed