Bernard

Balderton, Altimeter, TVG, Coatue, Alpha & Harmonic: Investment in AI Who Gets Funded and Why

Max, Avid, Antoine, Apoorv, Maliki, Bernard

A recent analysis reveals that generative AI revenue is currently dominated by semiconductor giants like NVIDIA, creating an inverted economic pyramid where early startups face massive infrastructure costs and power grid bottlenecks. Venture capital strategies are shifting toward large, high-conviction checks focused on deep infrastructure and energy assets, while successful founders must combine deep domain expertise with technical literacy to navigate complex enterprise adoption. Despite these challenges, high-velocity "AI-first" companies like Higgsfield and Lovable are achieving rapid scale and superior margins by leveraging internal AI efficiency before productizing their services.