In this episode of The Venture Capital Podcast (VC.fm), hosts Peter Harris and Jon Bradshaw talk with Wally Wang, Founding Managing Partner at Scale Asia Ventures and a Business Insider Seed 100 (2025) investor, about identifying AI winners early — and scaling them across the U.S. and Asia (Japan, Korea, APAC).

Wally brings a unique mix of experience as a machine learning scientist (NYU / CMU / Microsoft), a former operator (YC-backed Pebble, acquired by Fitbit), and an enterprise founder who helped grow DataVisor (raised $150M+). Today, he backs AI infrastructure, enterprise AI agents, cybersecurity, developer tools, and robotics, with a strong cross-border thesis that helps founders expand globally and access strategic distribution partners in Asia.

We discuss:

• How to evaluate “real” AI founders vs hype
• AI moats: why product-market fit isn’t enough anymore
• What actually creates defensibility in enterprise AI (data, trust, workflows, integrations)
• Build vs buy in AI: when enterprises DIY vs purchase software
• Why vertical AI agents are safer than horizontal AI wrappers
• Cross-border expansion strategy: U.S. → Asia vs Asia → U.S.
• Robotics + physical AI opportunities and Asia’s hardware advantage
• Why enterprise + government budgets are still under-targeted

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In this episode of The Venture Capital Podcast (VC.fm), hosts Peter Harris and Jon Bradshaw speak with Roberto Bonanzinga, Founder of InReach Ventures and former Founding Partner at Balderton Capital, about how artificial intelligence is transforming venture capital from the inside out.

Roberto explains how InReach Ventures built a proprietary AI and machine learning platform to discover early-stage founders across Europe — often before they raise capital, build pitch decks, or even seek investors. Drawing on decades of experience backing companies like Revolut, Depop, Vivino, and Contentful, he shares why discovery is the biggest bottleneck in early-stage VC and how AI changes that equation.

The conversation explores:

• AI-first venture capital models
• Investing in founders before ideas
• Early-stage startup discovery in Europe
• GP-only venture firms and fund design
• Why pitch decks don’t predict outcomes
• The future of junior roles, analysts, and associates in VC
• How AI reshapes career paths and investing workflows

This episode is essential listening for founders, venture capitalists, LPs, and operators interested in AI, early-stage investing, and the future of venture capital.

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Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/venture-capital/id1575351789
Website: https://www.venturecapital.fm/

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In this episode of The Venture Capital Podcast (VC.fm), hosts Jon Bradshaw and Peter Harris sit down with Olivia Goldstein, General Partner at StartFast Ventures and CEO of Upstate Venture Connect, to discuss venture capital, startup ecosystems, and why the best founders and companies can be built far outside Silicon Valley.

Olivia shares her founder journey (including building a startup that used influencer marketing and exiting in 2019), her thesis on investing in overlooked markets like Upstate New York, and practical advice for founders raising venture capital from non-traditional hubs.

The conversation also explores emerging opportunities in entrepreneurship through acquisition (ETA), small business succession as baby boomers retire, and how AI and shifting labor markets may push more people toward owning real-world cash-flowing assets.

Keywords and topics:
Venture capital, StartFast Ventures, Upstate Venture Connect, Upstate New York startups, Buffalo startups, Rochester startups, Syracuse startups, B2B SaaS investing, startup ecosystem, founder-led companies, fundraising advice, entrepreneurship through acquisition, ETA, small business acquisition, SBA loans, VC opinions, investing outside Silicon Valley.

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Website: https://www.venturecapital.fm/

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