Joanne Chen
@joannezchen
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2,665
Following
488
Media
165
Statuses
1,418
GP @FoundationCap investing in automation, applied AI, B2B. Chinese, Canadian, Southern, and 100% @Calbears
San Francisco, CA
Joined January 2011
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Insane morning. Hydroplaned on 280 and spun across 4 lanes of traffic, somehow ended up on shoulder facing traffic. Miraculously unscathed.
What saved me: having done track day in the rain, which brought a moment of familiarity as I was spinning.
Advice: do track day, stay safe
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107 yo grandpa with late stage heart failure: still fighting and in high spirits. Gave me a long lecture about lifelong learning.
2024 resolution: be like grandpa; never stop learning!
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SF’s hottest nightclub:
@ycombinator
office on a Wed night where investors and founders bump into each other and you can valet your cybertruck.
Wouldn’t have it any other way.
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My mother, one of the most disciplined women I’ve ever met 👇🏼. She started learning ballet when she turned 60, and this is a result of many years of daily, repetitive work. Proud of and inspired by her!
Her cat, on the other hand, is not so disciplined. 😼
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Many VCs are talking about AI taking a bite out of services. None have quite nailed the enormity of the opportunity.
My colleague
@Jayagup10
and I dug in.
A 🧵
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More 💰 for all the entrepreneurs that make our dream jobs possible. Ping us if you’re changing the future with automation, AI, and solutions that lead to employee and customer happiness!
Foundation Capital, now 24 years old, just closed its ninth fund with $350 million in capital commitments by
@cookie
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@cyantist
In China private companies are forced to magnify the government’s message. Never in a million years would a private company be able to silence the leader of China and the CEO not “disappear.” We are so far away from becoming China. Just the opposite in fact.
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In May, we
@FoundationCap
hosted an unconference with 80+ builders in the
#GenAI
space. We've summarized our learnings in a quick blog post. Key takeaways 👇
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I'm super excited for this next chapter, and grateful for the support that all my partners
@FoundationCap
have given me. Took a small moment to celebrate.. now back to work! If you are starting a B2B company and are obsessed about changing the world, I would love to chat.
Good morning and congratulations to our own
@joannezchen
on her promotion to General Partner!
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My parents after seeing the SVB debacle in the news: “do you need some cash?” 😂❤️
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Excited to announce that
@FoundationCap
led Tennr’s $3.25M seed round. When we invested in May 23, Tennr was pre-product and pre-revenue, but we believed in the founders Trey, Diego, Tyler, and their persistence. 8 months later, Tennr passed $1M ARR.
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AI is not an existential threat, but rather a powerful tool that can create more abundance than we can imagine.
AI can help us build a future - a future more prosperous, equitable, and human.
Watch my latest
@TEDx
@TEDxMarin
@TEDTalks
@FoundationCap
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Phew! We just hosted our annual meeting with our investors where shared this slide. 👇
Super proud of the body of the work we've collectively done investing in AI companies for the past decade+. If you have are starting a newco leveraging AI, let us know ;)
@FoundationCap
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After spending last week in Austin and NYC, I feel so much more happier now back in sf: sitting in a Waymo, watching
@ycombinator
demo day.
#home
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Since the Atlanta shootings, I've had a few dozen conversations with Asian American friends and colleagues, mostly women, to understand their experiences. After taking some time to process and reflect, I wanted to share mine. 👇
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The fire truck / man who saved me and called traffic control said this happens in this spot every time it rains heavily. And that it is a miracle I was unscathed.
@CaltransD4
why haven’t you fixed this???
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Imagine if Clippy and his AI friends could work together to solve complex problems. With multi-agent AI, that vision is becoming a reality.
I spoke with
@Chi_Wang_
, a principal researcher at
@Microsoft
and the creator of AutoGen, about the immense potential of this approach.
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Amazing time hosting data founders in
#austin
with
@jennykaehms
and
@jake_oshea
. Big thanks to
@petesoder
for bringing all these amazing builders together via
@DataCouncilAI
@FoundationCap
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Goodbye, OA.
Startups: get ready for the race of a lifetime. We are here to help.
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Just finished my first
@TEDx
discussing the darker sides of
#AI
. What an experience, definitely one off the bucket list! ❤️
@TEDxMarin
@FoundationCap
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One benefit of having gen Zs on the team: learning how to use words like “tea,” “unhinged,” and “shook” in a completely new way.
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Huge congrats team
#tennr
on this milestone! As a seed investor,
@FoundationCap
is super proud of you. Welcome
@a16z
@kshenster
Come join this 🚀and change the future of healthcare operations with
#AI
!
Thanks for the write up
@danprimack
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HUGE congratulations to
@farhadm
and team
@Tubi
on the acquisition by
#FOX
. It’s been an insane (and fun!) ride and I’m so grateful to have tagged along on the journey as board member and us as the largest investor.
@FoundationCap
@ashugarg
. Keep slaying!
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.
@DaveRogenmoser
wrote about
@heyjasperai
's overnight success... 8 years in the making.
Leading
@heyjasperai
's seed round was the easiest investment decision I've ever made... but only after 7 years of learnings + stalled starts.
🧵
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So proud of
@esbsagi
@tonkean
on closing a $24m series A. Excited to double down and partner with
@lightspeedvp
@ravirajjain
on the next leg of the journey.
@FoundationCap
. We are reinventing
#operations
with the aid of human-centered automation. Join us!
1
7
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Very impressed by the brand that team
@PrimaryVC
(
@bradsvrluga
@bksun
@yesitsmecrissy
) has built so quickly in
#NYC
. Fun banter predicting the future (of work?) with
@glennsolomon
@GGVCapital
@gsands
@costanoavc
@kevinspain
@emergencecap
@ioates
@JustworksHR
@FoundationCap
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Come hang with me and
@mrogati
@saastr
@SaaStrAnnual
if you’re building your first data science / AI team!
@FoundationCap
Join
@joannezchen
and
@mrogati
as they grace us on Thursday afternoon during
#SaaStrAnnual19
with their session “Building your First Data Science/A.I. Team: What to Know, What to Learn? with
@FoundationCap
.
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The next decade of B2B software will create 10x the value that software in the last decade created. Find out why :)
@FoundationCap
@VentureBeat
#AI
#EnterpriseOfTheFuture
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We are seeing an inflection point in the RPA market thanks to LLMs, and believe it will grow 10x.
.
@JayaGup10
and I wrote about this new era: gen3 of intelligent automation.
Very excited for
@tonkean
@IkigaiInc
#tennr
#fulcrum
who are powering this growth!
@FoundationCap
Historically, RPA's goal was to automate routine tasks but it frequently encountered limitations... Studies have cited failure rates of 30-50% for RPA projects
At
@FoundationCap
, we believe that LLMs are a game-changer for RPA
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Since we're still debating the value of associates, it's actually quite simple.
Fundraising is like B2B sales.
Multi-threaded champions > single champions even if it takes more time to develop these champions. Anyone who doesn't get this is a poor enterprise seller.
Any VC associates (present or past) follow me and have 30 mins in the next few days?
Have an idea I’m experimenting with that you might really enjoy.
DM me!
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Shit happens in all stages of startup land - PMF elusive, head of sales not performing, revenues stall, competitor goes public…
What you can control? The rate of change. And that’s what separates the survivors from the rest.
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This is horrifying. I should not feel unsafe in my community. I should not worry about the safety of my parents who live in Raleigh. But now I do. We need your help to change this.
#StopAsianHate
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So excited to announce our
@FoundationCap
investment in
@tonkean
to build the operating system for operations teams and make the promises of 🤖🤖a reality.
Thrilled to partner with
@esbsagi
@offirt
and the amazing team and join the board. We’re hiring!
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@hardimanjames
OpenAI's new LLM is so advanced, it can write entire articles on its own! That's completely unhinged! Can someone spill the tea on how they managed to create such an incredible AI? I'm shook!
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Regardless of the actual breakdown, if you’re the 5%
@OpenAI
tired of this BS and thinking of starting your own newco, call us ;)
Prediction:
30% of OpenAI talent will remain at OpenAI
25% of OpenAI talent will go to Google, Anthropic, Cohere
40% of OpenAI talent will go to Sam Altman NewCo
5% of OpenAI talent will leave and start a new company
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We are entering the era of Service-as-Software and we believe AI has a shot at automating $4.6T of work.
@JayaGup10
and I dig in where the areas of the opportunities lie.
Grateful for
@heyjasperai
@tonkean
#tennr
#fulcrum
@regieai
@airmdr
and others who are charting the path
We at
@FoundationCap
believe there is $4.6T of work to be automated. AI companies are leading a transition from Software-as-a-Service to Service-as-Software, turning the table on the very essence of SaaS.
We look at the areas to be automated in two buckets:
1.) Salaries of
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My new series, “AI in the Real World,” will feature discussions with AI researchers and builders: how are state-of-the-art AI models actually used in enterprises today? Our first exploration is around generative AI agents: what is used in production and what remains in academia?
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Teamwork often beats solo work, and that's true for AI too! I spoke with
@Chi_Wang_
, creator of the multi-agent framework AutoGen, about how they leverage collaboration between AI agents to achieve better results.
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.
@hardimanjames
and I called a
@Cruise
for the first time last week to take us to get dessert. Thoughts:
1) the future is here!
2) damn it is a slow, grandma-driving-style type future
👵 🚗 🤖 🐢
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😰still can’t bring myself to watch videos of myself but it’s out! My first
@TEDx
@TEDxMarin
confessing to the darker sides of AI: how governments (including our own) can abuse it, how it can propagate our biases, and what we can all do to prevent that.
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We loved co-hosting 100+ founders and builders at
@DataCouncilAI
Join us next year!
@FoundationCap
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So excited for the launch of
@turingcom
.
@FoundationCap
is a proud investor! Congrats
@jonsidd
and
@krishnanvijay
!
The Future of Work is Remote.
@jonsidd
and
@krishnanvijay
are excited to announce their new company, Turing. Push a button to hire high quality, vetted engineers sourced from all over the world. Turing reinvents remote work to make it a joyful experience.
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Pondering when AGI will automate VCs’ jobs away
@NavinChaddha
@MayfieldFund
@milesgrimshaw
@benchmark
@KanuGulati
@khoslaventures
moderated by
@TorresJorgeML
of
@MindsDB
. Congrats on a great devcon!
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Remember the days you prayed for the things you have now? Happy thanksgiving! 🦃🍁
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Another silver lining ... Congrats to
@EyalGrayevsky
and
@MyaSystems
on the next round of financing. Excited to have
@NotionVC
@WorkdayVentures
@Cisco_Invests
on board for the next leg of the journey.
@FoundationCap
@emergencecap
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A fresh $500m to partner with founders going from 0 to 1 solving problems in the automated enterprise, web3, and fintech. Come talk to us!
Announcing Our 10th Flagship Fund
cc:
@ashugarg
@cmoldow
@vassallo
@joannezchen
@angusdav
@fifaifofo
@jonathanehrlich
@znoorani
@sidtriv
@apoorvapandhi
@jennykaehms
@JasonDemant
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And that’s a wrap! Some of the most common last names came together to chat
#democratizingAI
.
@drfeifei
@smithmegan
@ai4allorg
@FoundationCap
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Prediction: most VC termsheets will include detailed treasury management requirements going forward. Thoughts on best practices?
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A decade ago, there were only 15 SaaS unicorns. Today we have 416 today. 78% of all unicorns are now SaaS companies.
What has happened in the last decade?
In 2014, IT spend was $3.3T. In 2024, IT spend grew to $5t. This spend consists of software, services, and hardware.
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Full house with MIT founders RavenOps
@JoshuaOuellette
@segment
@reinpk
@realTransposit
@kmonkeyjam
with
@hellomorganlai
co-hosting
@MIT
@mitcnc
@FoundationCap
@ReshmaKhilnani
0
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So excited to partner with
@LauraBilazarian
and
@Teamablehires
continuing the vision of
@vipulsharma
& team
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Happy
#InternationalWomensDay
to all the women who’ve served as mentors, inspiration, and friends. Let’s keep defying the odds!
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Surprised no one has started a religion yet where God is AI and offerings are labeled private data.
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Professor
@hardimanjames
dropping knowledge on computational bio to a room of data science grad students.
@BerkeleyData
@DataEDGEconf
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Gen Z friends: “Why is your location on find my friends in your office in Palo Alto”
Me: I’m working
Them: “Omg r u ok? “You need to set boundaries” “I would never allow that” “my manager wouldn’t dare ask me” “on a long weekend, isn’t that illegal”
Me: bro it’s a recession
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Portfolio company
@Tubi
killing it so far.. with even bigger plans in 2019.
@FoundationCap
@farhadm
. Come join us!
Free streaming service Tubi plans to invest $100M+ on content in 2019, expand internationally by
@sarahintampa
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Fun evening hanging with AI founders in NYC; join
@JayaGup10
and I next time!
Blast hosting 15+ founders for a dinner in NYC. Chatted about evals, demos to production and the excitement around the promise of tools like
@joannezchen
@FoundationCap
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Always fun chatting
#AI
at my alma mater
@UCBerkeley
. Impact of AI on education will be profound, and it’s up to us to guide its development responsibly.
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Full post
. Let us know what you think. 🤓
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Why there is so much AI exuberance right now despite its debut in the 1950s:
Last decade: only the "elites" programmed AI. Example elite = engineer, data scientist, Google, Stanford
Today: person who can't spell AI is creating with AI
Democratization is finally upon us
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Check out 8 takeaways from my chat with legendary
@ericsyuan
on building and founding
@Zoom
on our
#AmericanDreamers
.
@Forbes
@FoundationCap
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Love seeing so many
@Cal
founders pitch at
@SkyDeck_Cal
demo day! ex
@TubeMogul
Nick pitching hone_it
@FoundationCap
http://t.co/7GEJv5V9Vj
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Love the early days of jet lag when I can naturally wake up at 430 am… world is so quiet, resting, and I can be so much more productive!
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Fun chat with these amazing AI experts
@EyalGrayevsky
@mrogati
@dawnsongtweets
at
@SaaStrAnnual
thanks
@mallun
@jasonlk
for the amazing event
@FoundationCap
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1/ 💡 This fall, I spoke at TEDx about the immense promise that I see in AI. After a decade investing in AI startups, I see its vast potential to make the world more prosperous, equitable & human. A thread explaining why:
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Want to build a Snowflake? Join my chat with Frank Slootman on how he led
@SnowflakeDB
to the biggest software IPO... ever. Day 2
#FCBUILD
/ Thursday. Audience questions encouraged! Come prepared.
@FoundationCap
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Think you can be the next
#jasper
? Participate in our generative AI challenge and we’ll help you get there!
@FoundationCap
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Jetlag = most productive time of the year. Wrote 30 emails, read 3 chapters of
#TrillionDollarCoach
, did a HIIT workout, and even cuddled a 😺 all before 530 am.
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My partner
@ashugarg
, one of the first angels in
@databricks
, chatting with
@matei_zaharia
about the
@databricks
founder journey with our early stage b2b founders. 💪🏼
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Loved chatting with
@andyfang
, co-founder and CTO
@DoorDash
, on our how a class project turned into a massive food delivery service in America... as part of our
#AmericanDreamers
series.
@Forbes
@FoundationCap
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Huge congrats to
@DaveRogenmoser
and
@heyjasperai
.
@FoundationCap
co-led the first/seed round in May 21, and I'm so proud that that company is on a path to become the fastest growing AI co. Oh and we raised $125m. How did we get conviction back then?
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An overnight success... 8 years in the making. Inspiring story of grit and determination. So amazing to be a small part of this journey
@DaveRogenmoser
@FoundationCap
Welp, Jasper just raised a $125 million Series A at a $1.5 billion valuation.
From launch to unicorn in 18 months. 🦄
We’re one of the fastest-growing startups of all time, but our journey to this point was FAR bumpier than you may think.
A thread… 🧵
282
613
6K
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The power of images.
http://t.co/VaQmX6z07p
Why companies like
@olapic
and
@readypulse
will transform ecommerce
#DecadeoftheCMO
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In the past 7 days, 90% of pitches I saw included the words "AI copywriting." Despite leading the seed for
#Jasper
, I am not bullish on new entrants building "AI copywriting." Why?
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Congrats to
#SusanLi
on becoming
@facebook
@Meta
newest CFO - at only 36 yo! An immigrant from China, she started high school at 11, college at 15, and made being different an asset, not a hindrance. Learn more:
#americandreamers
@Forbes
@FoundationCap
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We’re hosting an event for early stage B2B / AI
@UCBerkeley
@Cal
founders in September! If you’re building something cool ping
@JayaGup10
to learn more. Go Bears!
@FoundationCap
@Berkeley_EECS
Got a special event coming up for
@UCBerkeley
founders building in AI/ML and B2B. DM for the link to be invited.
There will be an open bar and great food.
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Phases of AI impact
Phase 1: businesses become more productive and cheaper (automation of tasks) <- we are here
Phase 2: new business models emerge. $ for input -> $ for outcome.
Phase 3: nature of tasks we can achieve expands. Net new products that use intelligence emerge
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Excited that team
@FoundationCap
is growing! Welcome new partners
@VinIyengar
to team enterprise and
I'm beyond thrilled to be joining the partnership at
@FoundationCap
today. Below are some of my reflections on the journey so far and why I'm so excited for the next chapter!
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Next up: ringing a certain bell!
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I am SO excited to welcome
@jennykaehms
as our newest partner on the
@FoundationCap
enterprise team. When I met Jenny, I was blown away by her hustle, intellectual curiosity, and genuineness. Now I get to work with her backing founders building from 0 to 1
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When it comes to AI agents, researchers are pursuing two main paths.
1. Agents that handle complex workflows using various tools (automation & efficiency)
2. Simulating human behavior & social dynamics with high fidelity (useful across business, social science & policymaking)
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