Episode description

Michael Eisenberg is a Co-Founder and General Partner @ Aleph, one of Israel's leading venture firms with a portfolio including the likes of Wix, Lemonade, Empathy, Honeybook and more. Before leading Aleph, Michael was a General Partner @ Benchmark.

1. The State of AI Investing:

• Why does Michael believe that "foundation models are the fastest depreciating asset in history"?
• Are we in an AI bubble today? As an investor, what is the right way to approach this market?
• Who will be the biggest losers in this AI investing phase?
• Where will the biggest value accrual be? What lessons does Michael have from the dot com for this?

2. Where Is the Liquidity Coming From?

• Why does Michael believe that it is BS that private equity will come in and buy a load of software companies and be the primary exit destination?
• Why does Michael believe that IPO windows are always open? Should founders go out now? What is good enough revenue numbers to go out into the public markets?
• Why does Michael believe that Lina Kahn is a threat to capitalism? How does Michael predict the next 12-24 months for the M&A market?

3. AI as a Weapon: Who Wins: China or the US:

• Does Michael agree with the notion that China is 2 years behind the US in AI development?
• Does Michael agree that AI could be a more dangerous weapon in wars than nuclear weapons?
• Why does Michael suggest that for all founders in Europe, they should leave?
• US, China, Israel, Europe, how do they rank for innovating around data regulation for AI?

4. Venture 101: Reserves, Selling Positions and Fund Dying:

• Why does Michael only want to do reserves into his middle-performing companies?
• What framework does Michael use to determine whether he should sell a position?
• Which funds will be the first to die in this next wave of venture?
• Why does Michael not do sourcing anymore? Where is he weakest in venture?
• Why does Michael believe that no board meeting needs to be over 45 mins?