Victor Cho

Shout out to Thomas Culhane, a student at UC Berkeley that is helping to bring real-time device data into Hotter Times this summer. He has already made some fantastic improvements to the site, and I'm excited to see what else he can achieve. Our vision is to realize the UN's dream of protecting everyone with an early warning system. Hotter Times will be the public-facing site for the Climate Adaptation Data Platform, where sensor data is transformed into personalized climate risk alerts. When you install a device, the data will immediately become visible on the site and anyone can view active climate risks tied to that device. https://hottertimes.com #climatechange #climateadaptation #reducesuffering #extremeweather #climateaction #iot #datascience

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AI leaders have a crucial chance to address risks now and strengthen governance practices before playing catch-up to regulations, notes Kjell Carlsson, Ph.D. of Domino Data Lab. In a recent VentureBeat article, he shares his perspective on California's AI bill veto and why proactive governance is key to the future of AI innovation. Learn more about this addressing this opportunity: https://gag.gl/4WCTkP #AI #AIGovernance #AIInnovation #DataScience

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🚀 San Francisco: Still the Undisputed Tech Capital of the World Despite headlines suggesting otherwise, new research from SignalFire reveals that San Francisco's tech scene is not just alive—it's thriving. Here's why SF remains the epicenter of innovation: 📊 Key Findings: - SF dominates in tech talent and capital concentration - The Bay Area has more big-tech engineers than the next 10 markets combined - SF, East Bay, and Silicon Valley have more top startup engineers and VC-backed startups than Seattle, New York, and Austin combined - 26% of seed or Series A rounds from top VCs are in SF, with numbers rising since 2022 🧠 AI Boom: San Francisco's lead is even more pronounced in AI, cementing its position as the "epicenter of the new AI gold rush." 💼 Startup Haven: Y Combinator startups increasingly choose SF as their home base, especially in AI. 🌉 Why SF? - Unparalleled concentration of tech talent - Proximity to VCs, clients, and other entrepreneurs - Resurgence of in-person networking and collaboration 💡 The Big Picture: While other cities are growing their tech sectors, SF's lead "looks unlikely to be challenged any time soon." The city's tech ecosystem creates a flywheel effect that continues to attract talent and capital. https://lnkd.in/gCnPCBRU

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Friends/Fellow Founders - TIMELY– As many of you know, I recently visited lawmakers in #Sacramento to speak out against harmful #AI #legislation. This was an incredible experience, and I was grateful for the opportunity to share my story. Thanks to the advocacy of many AI startups, one bad bill was defeated, but another, SB 1047, is headed to the Governor who has not decided whether to let it become law or veto it. #SB1047 would regulate AI in unprecedented ways. Though the bill says it’s about corporate AI giants, I fear small startups will be hit the hardest. Companies like mine will struggle to overcome the new #regulatory hurdles enforced by this reckless #policy. I’m sure everyone agrees AI abuses and misuses should be prevented and prohibited, but SB 1047 would punish businesses that build technology instead of those that misuse it. The government should regulate misuse and harm, not core technology. Please consider joining other #startup and #smallcompany leaders in signing the letter below urging #Governor #Newsom to #veto SB 1047. Thank you! https://lnkd.in/gAJNDEDJ

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Open-source models can be a strong lever for increasing gross margins at AI companies, especially those that have hefty cost structures (e.g., enterprise sales orgs that require significant customer success or implementation resources, as well forward-deployed AI services models common in healthcare and life sciences). One of many reasons to maintain a modular and flexible stack with minimal dependencies when building an AI company. More on the importance of flexibility in the AI stack: https://lnkd.in/eA2XATRk h/t Delip Rao #ai #artificialintelligence #generativeai #healthcare

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An interesting article below, that demonstrates out how San Diego is punching above its weight.  And how Connect's strategy and execution over time, contintues to be central to that success. The article describes the current state of the market in Seattle.  (And i love Seattle.) It's a market that we tend to track with relative to venture fundings.  They used to kick our butts, we outraised them each of the last three years.  This despite the fact they have 3x as many funds there, and 9x the amount of resident capital there. (per pitchbook) Some key takeaways:  * They continue to compare themselves to SIlicon Valley. Instead, we leverage our proximity. *They whine there's not enough local investors (see note above - they have more than us). We bring over 200 VCs to SD annually! * They say founders are not connected with one another. We bring CEOs together regularly, in a variety of ways - private dinners and through our Springboard program. * They say they need to elevate their image on a national & international stage. Why we created and continue to build Five.Ten.Thirty (aka Inno Day).  * And the last paragraph - they need to concentrate on making their region a great place to live. Our mantra: "It's about Better, not Bigger." (See XEO, TL Fund). THANK YOU FOR ALL OF YOUR SUPPORT. WE ARE ON A MISSION TOGETHER!!!  (Comments, whining, suggestions on SD always welcome.) https://lnkd.in/g6Rq_f2Y

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Insightful look into bioplatform strategy, and what it takes to raise a Series A from my partner, Omri Amirav-Drory: https://lnkd.in/dFv7GbF6

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Introducing Stephan Little, a pioneer in entrepreneurship, investment, and mergers and acquisitions, who will be joining the AI Panel at the California Investment Forum in Anaheim, CA, on May 8-11. Steve's journey as a serial entrepreneur began at a young age, and he has since scaled six startups to private nine-figure acquisitions and raised over $2 billion in startup and growth funding for businesses across various industries. As the founder and managing director of Zero Limits Ventures and Zero Limits Capital, Steve has become renowned for generating accelerated value growth and delivering extraordinary acquisition value multiples for his portfolio companies and clients. With a keen eye for unique opportunities and a track record of identifying untapped potential, Steve has mastered the art of spotting valuation growth where others may not. In this introduction video, Steve highlighted the transformative power of AI in three distinct areas. Firstly, he touched on the creation and development of AI and generative tools, which are reshaping industries. Secondly, he delved into AI's practical applications within enterprises, emphasizing how integrating AI can dramatically enhance productivity and growth, ultimately increasing value for entrepreneurs. The third area Steve discussed was the middle ground of AI implementation, which presents an exciting opportunity for companies lacking in-house expertise. This gap in the market suggests a burgeoning demand for external AI knowledge and solutions, which can rapidly propel a company forward. AI is accelerating at an extraordinary pace and significantly impacting market dynamics. As an "older statesman" in the tech world, Steve expressed his excitement about being part of this "big bubble" of innovation. Join us at the California Investment Forum to hear Steve's insights and expertise on AI deployment, bridging the gap between generic AI models and task-specific enterprise applications. Learn how we can harness the power of AI to drive competitiveness, efficiency, and growth, improve productivity, and enhance business values in the next decade. Don't miss this opportunity to learn from one of the industry's most respected visionaries and game-changers. #AI #CIF Daniel Sieu Darlene Bryant (Chiu)

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Instacart is a market leader when it comes to leveraging AI tools to boost productivity at work. I had an amazing conversation with JJ Zhuang, Instacart’s Chief Architect, who has shepherded over 50 AI-driven initiatives to market across the org. We explored what catapulted Instacart to the forefront of AI integration, supporting radically diverse use cases across various functional areas. One striking insight (echoed by Ethan Mollick and others elsewhere) is that you often don't need specialized tools for specialized work. Frontier models like GPT-4 can seamlessly adapt to a wide range of functions and use cases. They're not just for engineers; they're incredibly versatile tools used by marketing, comms, and legal teams. From generating code to proofreading and ideation, GPT-4 empowers every department to leverage AI for enhanced productivity and innovation. By integrating LLM’s like GPT-4 into their workflows, teams can streamline processes, automate repetitive tasks, and unlock bandwidth for new creative possibilities. How can you harness the power of AI in your own work to boost productivity? Share your thoughts below 👇 Want to hear more insights from JJ? Check out the full podcast episode by clicking the link in the comments.

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This is quite a piece on accusations of unethical pay-to-play within the #cyber #VC ecosystem. -Guaranteed first-year sales for portfolio companies -Formal loyalty program for CISOs -Points awarded within the program for CISO commitment level to portfolio companies (meetings, PoCs, product purchases) -Share of GP fees for CISOs in the loyalty program https://lnkd.in/gDta7Gp7

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As we get prepared for our Angel Conference program, we run workshops to help get things lined up for the right conversations between investors and early pre-seed startups. We have a deadline coming up on August 27th for startups. One of the places that we see companies having a bit of trouble is on the customer discovery side of things. So we have a couple of workshops on that early customer discovery and associated efforts to get traction early before your MVP. As Angel Investors, we need to think with a portfolio mindset instead of investing in one or two companies to "see how it goes". We have a panel of SAC alumni talking about their perspectives on their portfolio of companies. We also know that startups don't practice pitching enough. So we we have workshops for improving pitches before people pitch for real. You can see the upcoming workshops here: AI+Lean  Building automated content experiments for customer discovery Tuesday, August 6, 2024 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM PDT https://lnkd.in/gJMiyQZC Building Your Angel Investment Portfolio Tuesday, August 6, 2024 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM PDT https://lnkd.in/gD9ATSyG Pitch Deconstruction and Review Thursday, August 8, 2024 12:00 PM to 2:00 PM PDT https://lnkd.in/g-RRajrX Finding your first paying customers Tuesday, August 13, 2024 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM PDT https://lnkd.in/gN-DaRJ8 Angel Investing and Taxes Thursday, August 15, 2024 12:00 PM to 2:00 PM PDT https://lnkd.in/gjs9cQfy Solving Real Problems: The Key to Market Success Tuesday, August 20, 2024 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM PDT https://lnkd.in/gYkJFD-X Structuring a Pitch Deck That Engages Investors Thursday, August 22, 2024 12:00 PM to 2:00 PM PDT https://lnkd.in/geyYR4wB Seattle Angel Conference (SAC 26) Application Deadline Tuesday, August 27, 2024 9:00 PM to 9:05 PM PDT  (But REALLY … Apply early)  https://lnkd.in/gM_fSmbZ  Companies need to apply here - https://lnkd.in/gWbtkAaf Please let the folks around you know about these workshops.

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I wrote this guide to AI for Chief Learning Officer Magazine (chieflearningofficer.com) in February of 2017. I concluded by saying ".... the pace of innovation and development is faster, and the implications more far-reaching, than most learning leaders realize." I think that's still true today. https://lnkd.in/euJxVQ2Y #clo #AI #ChiefLearningOfficer #l&D #enterpriselearning #learningmanagement

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Generative agents are the next frontier for AI. But what are the most promising applications for this technology? In my conversation with Joon Sung Park, co-author of the landmark paper, “Generative Agents: Interactive Simulacra of Human Behavior,” he shared his perspective. He makes a case for founders to focus on soft-edged problems rather than hard-edged ones. "Soft-edged problems are where we can increasingly hill-climb toward being better. At a certain level, the technology starts to actually become useful."

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CA/WA/OR state & federal legislators (and voters!) need to be aware of food security and rural economic vitality challenges. Case in point - the 'acreage exodus' in CA is real - From 1997 to 2022, USDA Census data show that California lost 4.6 M ag acres (16% of the total) and 24,857 farms (28% of the total). Straight line these numbers for another 30 years and the numbers go to 9 M acres lost and 45,300 farms lost for 55 years – 32% of acreage and 52% of farms. Other western states - WA & OR - also need to pay close attention to policies that are negatively impacting farming. Labor laws, overtime, L&I, real estate values. It's amazing how much we're seeing ag production moving to LatAm and other areas that are much less expensive to farm. Walt Duflock

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Since ChatGPT's launch, many Gen-AI applications have been variations of chatbots using RAG patterns. While RAG systems are improving, AI agent architectures point to the next generation. From reflection to multi-agent collaboration, these patterns are the building blocks of next-gen AI. Whether you're a developer, researcher, or tech enthusiast, understanding these patterns is crucial for staying ahead. A great article about the landscape of emerging AI Agent architectures: https://lnkd.in/e35RS3r9. #AI #AIAgents #AIArchitecture #centerofexcellence Evolution Equity Partners

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Really interesting conversation between Meghan McCarty Carino and Casey Ross about AI in senior care and the potential role that algorithms can play in determining care plans. I think using AI or algorithms in this way has benefits and challenges that come along with it. One positive effect it could have is increased personalization. Instead of giving everyone with a specific illness or medical issue the same treatment, it can help determine a more personalized solution that could improve patient outcomes. However, algorithms aren't always foolproof. In some instances, they can perpetuate bias and bad decision-making. If you're not working with unbiased, high-quality data, it could have major ramifications for a large number of patients. That's why I think if healthcare facilities use algorithms for patient care plans, humans still need to be active in developing the treatment plan. #SeniorCare #PatientCare #AIPersonalization

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