The Founders Writing Checks into Silicon Valley’s Top AI Startups
Summary
If you look through the cap tables of the hottest AI startups, chances are youll see some individual names alongside the tier-one venture capital firms.A cohort of top AI founders have emerged as prolific angel investors in companies ranging from search engine Perplexity to the video-tool creator HeyGen. Back in the dot-com bubble days, when IPOs were easy, founders were often given the right to buy coveted pre-IPO shares in other startups. Just as importantly, they have the connections to jump in quickly with a small check that could lead to outsize returns.Guillermo Rauch, the founder of Vercel, said his companys platform has been a great source for deals. A lot of these companies and entrepreneurs are building on Vercel and they reach out because they want to learn about how I did it, he said.Rauch also isnt afraid of cold outreach if hes excited about somethingthats how he got connected to Scale AI during the companys seed round and invested after the team went through Y Combinator.A few high-profile AI angelsElad Gil, Nat Friedman and Daniel Grosshave raised funds and effectively operate as individual VCs. A lot of the people I invest in I see socially or through investor events and would want to be friends with anyway, so its a vehicle for me to get close to folks and learn vicariously through them as well, she said.Among her hotter early deals is AI safety startup Haize Labs; General Catalyst reportedly led its latest round at a $100 million valuation.We spoke with top AI investors and consulted databases like Crunchbase and PitchBook to put together a list of founder/angels whove invested in up-and-coming AI startups.Here are 13 founder investors to keep on your radar.