Sramana Mitra: I have another question along those lines. When you are doing AI, typically machine learning and large data sets are involved, what are you seeing in your portfolio or deal flow in how entrepreneurs are accessing that data?
You are talking about taking the technology risks out, but you need data to take the technology risk out in AI companies. What are the best practices that you are observing in your orbit?
>>>Sramana Mitra: I am going to start double-clicking down on your AI investments. Vertical AI is something that we have seen a lot. I have one specific question that I want to stick around with you for a bit.
You may have read my PaaS article. For those of you who are listening and who may have not read the article, my thesis on PaaS is as follows: You have an AI SaaS company starting with a particular use case – a particular functional domain. They have a whole stack underneath that is often opened up as a platform to build up other verticals and functions.
>>>Laurel Touby, Managing Director of Supernode Ventures, talks about pre-seed investing in Latin America.
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Eric Benhamou is Founder and General Partner at Benhamou Global Ventures.
Sramana Mitra: Let’s focus on where you are in terms of the fund. What fund are you on? What is the size of the fund? What is the fund strategy now?
>>>Sramana Mitra: How big is Viola’s current fund?
Daniel Cohen: We have a few funds at Viola. We have a venture fund and a growth fund. Overall, we manage $3 billion, which is a big number for Israel for sure. I focus my time on the venture’s early-stage side. The early-stage side is about $1 billion under management and five funds of $200 million each.
>>>Cindy Padnos, Founder and Managing Director at Illuminate Ventures, discusses the impact of Covid on the fund’s portfolio, as well as trends she sees.
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Tim Guleri is Managing Director at Sierra Ventures. We have a terrific discussion on Business Model Innovation and Distribution Innovation that Tim believes trumps technology innovation. We go through some excellent examples. Do give this a listen!
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Daniel Cohen, General partner at Viola Ventures, discusses AI, PaaS, and deep tech investments.
Sramana Mitra: We have known each other for ten years. We have observed the industry for a very long time. We often have guests with whom we’ve had long relationships.
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