🤖 #10: Vivian's Deeptech Insider: Leveraging AI for Smarter Deeptech Investments

Jobs at Gilmour Space, Prolific Machines, 2048 Ventures, and Fine Structure Ventures

Author

Vivian Chan, PhD
November 07, 2024

Hello and welcome to #10 edition of the fortnightly Vivian’s Deeptech Insider.

It’s investor series this edition! If you've been following our newsletters, you know we alternate between founder and investor perspectives. Last time, we explored Defining success, so now it’s time to focus on investor insights.

We also track jobs to monitor market momentum, this time outlining opportunities at Gilmour Space, Prolific Machines, 2048 Ventures, and Fine Structure Ventures (scroll down for details).

Deep Dive (Investor Series):

Leveraging AI for Smarter Deeptech Investments

Did you know that AI-powered tools can cut due diligence time in half? As Deeptech investors strive to discover and back groundbreaking technologies, generative AI is proving invaluable across the investment cycle, from deal sourcing to portfolio management. While these tools are making waves broadly across the investment landscape, solutions specifically designed for Deeptech remain scarce.

Here’s what I’m seeing generative AI tools accomplish more broadly in investment:

1. Faster Deal Flow Automation

AI-based deal flow tools are revolutionising how investors identify promising startups amid vast numbers of applications or open data. Platforms like Caena streamline sourcing by surfacing high-potential startups that meet specific criteria. Additionally, Together.ai—a collaborative model-sharing platform—enables investors to access extensive models and datasets, allowing them to explore sectors, emerging tech, or geographical markets they may be less familiar with. This drastically reduces the time spent on initial screening.

Moreover, SignalFire leverages predictive AI modelling to detect startups with exceptional growth potential at an early stage, providing investors with a powerful edge in discovering innovative founders.

2. Enhanced Startup Evaluation and Due Diligence

Evaluating Deeptech startups can be resource-intensive, but generative AI simplifies this process by analysing financials, market position, and growth potential. AI-driven insights empower investors to make well-informed decisions on startup viability with minimal manual effort.

Tools like Perplexity, a conversational AI search engine, quickly compile relevant data, research trends, and competitor insights. By contextualising and synthesising vast amounts of information, Perplexity helps investors gain a more detailed understanding of a startup's market position and technology landscape, making due diligence faster and more informed.

While the benefits are significant, it’s essential to be mindful of challenges such as data quality and the potential for over-reliance on algorithmic analysis. Balancing AI insights with human judgement is crucial to effective evaluation.

3. Real-Time Portfolio Management and Monitoring

For Deeptech investors, effective portfolio management hinges on staying updated with real-time performance metrics and insights. Visible AI Inbox plays a crucial role by transforming unstructured updates from founders into structured data insights. This functionality allows investors to quickly gauge the current status of their investments, providing timely views of growth trajectories and identifying potential risks.

Additionally, Claude by Anthropic enhances oversight across portfolio companies by delivering summarised updates and conducting sentiment analysis. This real-time capability not only fosters proactive decision-making but also helps investors navigate the dynamic landscape of Deeptech, ensuring they remain ahead of market trends and potential disruptions.

4. Streamlined Deal Negotiation and Term Sheet Generation

Generative AI tools like ChatGPT are revolutionising deal negotiation and term sheet generation. By simplifying complex negotiations, these tools facilitate the creation of data-informed agreements that accurately reflect current market conditions. ChatGPT’s advanced language processing enables quick drafting of balanced and transparent deal terms, significantly reducing manual effort. Leveraging extensive data, it ensures that agreements are fair and equitable, fostering a collaborative negotiation atmosphere.

Moreover, ChatGPT supports continuous updates throughout the negotiation process, allowing stakeholders to adapt to market changes without starting from scratch. This flexibility enhances efficiency compared to traditional methods, enabling investors to navigate deal-making with greater agility.

The accessibility of generative AI has spurred a wave of new tools, and there are likely many more emerging specifically tailored for Deeptech investing. As a curious learner, I’m always eager to hear about the latest tools fellow investors are using. If you know of any AI solutions customised for DeepTech, please share them - I’d be happy to pass them along to the community!

Now, onto the jobs - Vivian

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Jobs at Deeptech startups:

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