Foundation Capital

Hopefully Eric Morse doesn’t mind me sharing this but when I first met him, he was looking for a job.  Actually I was interviewing him for a job at another portfolio company.  He was our dream candidate, we were so pumped at the possibility he’d join.  My job was to sell hard and get him over the finish line. Clearly that didn’t go as planned.  The trouble was, Eric didn’t actually want a job.  He had an idea.  What I soon learned was a great idea.  Having built Plaid’s first payments products after a long tour of duty at Visa, I’m not sure there’s anyone in the world better suited to build than Eric and Andrew Coover.  As far as I was concerned, we didn’t have a choice.  Push Cash had to be brought to life and usher in the era of multi-rail processing.  Oddly, yes, it was called Push even then.  Today Push is coming out of stealth and starting to move customer funds.  My partners and I here at Foundation Capital are proud to have led their seed round.  This is a geat moment to appreciate how much life Eric, Andrew, and the rest of the founding team (Christian Chew, Ben Drucker, and Vignesh Panchanatham) have breathed into that idea.  Huge congratulations to the entire Push team!  📃 Read more on Axios: https://lnkd.in/e4MCkn_K

AI is reshaping how enterprise software delivers—and prices—value. Companies like Zendesk, Intercom, and Forethought are shifting to outcome-based pricing, charging only when AI autonomously resolves issues. I've been investing in AI for over a decade. The shift to outcome-based pricing in enterprise software is a seismic change. As I told Jon Victor at The Information, software companies now face a critical decision: Does a company decide to change business models at the expense of losing revenue? It's a necessary risk. With cheap access to LLMs, businesses can build their own enterprise apps. Adapt or die. Why this pricing shift matters: → Vendor success ties directly to customer outcomes → Short-term revenue risks enable long-term market expansion → Industry faces widespread pressure to demonstrate measurable value Pitching AI-powered automation software as a clear cost-reduction tool could ultimately lead to greater revenue for vendors. This is because customers may view AI solutions as fundamentally different from traditional enterprise apps, whose business value is often harder to quantify directly. It's a huge market expansion opportunity. Vendors that nail outcome-based pricing could see massive growth as AI transforms enterprise operations. Those that don't? 😬🫣 How do you see this impacting sectors beyond customer support? Leave a comment. And if you're building in this space, send me a message.

Foundation Capital leads $4M seed round for Push Cash, revolutionizing instant payments. Payment processing is slow, expensive, and rife with fraud. Founded by ex-Plaid product leaders, Push Cash is transforming transactions with the first multi-network processing approach for merchants and fintech platforms. Push Cash's solution offers merchants: 1️⃣ Instant, guaranteed transactions 2️⃣ Higher authorization rates at better economics 3️⃣ Eliminated chargebacks and increased approvals Congrats to Eric Morse, Andrew Coover, and the Push Cash team. We're thrilled to back you as you redefine payment processing 🎉 📃 Read more on Axios: https://lnkd.in/e4MCkn_K

A prominent early-stage investor who understands AI better than most, Foundation Capital's Joanne Chen joined Tanya Dua for this week's edition of VC Wednesdays sharing what she looks for in a startup, what areas she's most excited about investing in these days and why AI "wrappers" shouldn't be dismissed. 👇

It’s been 25+ years since I led the IDEO team to create Cisco's first line of VoIP desk phones. When Cisco came to us in 1998, their products lived in data centers or server closets. They didn't have any idea how to develop a consumer product or really, anything with a user interface. I'll never forget our kick-off meeting with Cisco’s program manager, who had recently joined the company following two decades in the enterprise telephone industry. With a devilish smile, he handed me a +100-page product requirements document (PRD) jam-packed with countless features and functions, most of which required a glossary of detailed telephonic terminology and techno-jargon that reflected zero understanding for the audience that mattered most: The user. Rather than sticking to the script/PRD, we ventured into the wild to see how real users were using their desk phones every day. We visited several call centers, a trading floor, and a handful of enterprise offices, and developed a deep understanding of all the ways people struggled with traditional desk phones. We rushed to prototype a new display-based interface that surfaced relevant features and functionality based on the user’s context. This allowed us to replace dozens of hard keys controlling low-frequency and low-immediacy features with a soft interface. So instead of our phone looking like the switch-panel-infected cockpit of a Boeing 747, we converged on something much closer to a dial pad + a context-dependent display. We put the user at the center of our design process, and as a result, the Cisco 7900 became a best seller—the last great desk phone, beloved by billions of users on millions of desktops from The Office to the White House.

Foundation Capital leads $18.5M Series A for Sedric, pioneering AI-powered fintech compliance. Fintech compliance is complex, critical, and often overlooked. Sedric.ai is transforming regulatory adherence with the first compliance-dedicated LLM for financial institutions. Their AI platform turns compliance from cost center to competitive edge. Sedric's solution offers compliance teams: 1⃣ Automated workflows 100x faster than traditional methods 2⃣ Unprecedented visibility across customer touchpoints 3⃣ Streamlined processes that drive growth With global compliance costs surpassing $200B annually, Sedric's timing is impeccable. They've seen 5x revenue growth in 12 months, serving major US and European financial players. Congrats to Nir Laznik, Eyal Peleg, and the Sedric team. We're excited to back you as you redefine fintech compliance 🎉

Fellow UC Berkeley grads— As a proud alum, I'm excited to share an exciting opportunity ICYMI last week: Foundation Capital Cal Build. Here's what you need to know: → What is Cal Build? It's a program designed to assist Berkeley alumni in launching and growing their Enterprise startup. Whether you've recently started your business or plan to do so in the near future, we're here to help. → Who can join? Our initial invite extends to all Bay Area-based UC Berkeley grads. We're eager to welcome 10 new Cal founders to our community every month. → What does it offer? Expect exclusive access to a host of benefits—including in-person and virtual events, mentorship, office space, and more—all without any cost or equity exchange. → Interested in joining? Apply for our 3rd cohort before the end of September and be part of the network that includes successful Cal-founded companies such as Tubi, TubeMogul, Inc., SafelyYou, Conviva, Anyscale, CaptivateIQ, Arize AI, and more. → What is the time commitment? We ask for ~2 hours of your time per week. We hope you spend significantly more outside of the program building. Learn more and apply here: https://lnkd.in/guyAagiu

Today, we’re excited to finally unveil Fulcrum’s P&C AI platform to the world: a set of simple to use yet powerful AI tools that help brokerages grow their accounts without growing headcount. Leading brokerages like Heffernan and Newfront use Fulcrum to automate complex and time intensive tasks such as proposal generation, coverage comparisons and policy checking — this saves AMs 4-8 hours/week and allows them to handle up to 20% bigger books of business. If you would like to learn how Fulcrum can help take your brokerage to the next level, feel free to reach out to us at [email protected]. Come enjoy some free espresso and prizes at #AppliedNet2024 Booth #542, and learn how Fulcrum can revolutionize your brokerage as well. — Some of what our customers say: “We don’t just want this, we need Fulcrum.” “Fulcrum has changed our lives.” “We switched from another AI company to Fulcrum within 2 months. There was just no match.” “From 6-8 hours to 5 minutes on a proposal for our 250 AM brokerage. That’s several million in productivity right there.” “I see a lot of the new AI products out there, but you guys have really nailed it. This is pure magic.” “Katie almost cried when she first tried Fulcrum.” “I’ve been waiting for a tool like this my whole career.” See comments for a link to our website. #FulcrumAI #InsuranceBroker #InsuranceAgency #AI #Innovation

Applications are now open for our 2nd cohort of Cal Build! Our goal is to help more Cal grads start, build, and scale companies. If you're a Cal grad who has started an Enterprise company in the last 6 months or is thinking of starting a company in the next 6 months, please apply! Applications are due by September 30. Each cohort has 10 Cal builders. We have intimate in-person & virtual events, access to me and the rest of the Foundation Capital investment team, office space, demo days with our VC friends, AWS/Azure/vendor offers, and a lot more. Learn more and apply here: https://lnkd.in/guyAagiu

Congratulations to Andrew Feldman, CEO and co-founder of Cerebras Systems, for being named to the TIME100 Most Influential People in AI 2024. As an early investor, it's been a privilege to partner with Andrew and the Cerebras team as they work to reshape the future of AI hardware! Our General Partner Steve Vassallo recently spoke with Andrew about Cerebras' origins and the groundbreaking applications of their tech. 📃 Read the full interview here: https://lnkd.in/gSbPW34b