Carta’s 2025 AI Funding & Equity Insights | Peter Walker
Everyone has opinions about founder equity, funding timelines, and valuations—but Peter Walker holds the data. In this special live Agentic session, I sat down with Peter, Head of Insights at Carta, to unpack what’s actually happening beneath the surface in early-stage AI startups. Peter’s team has a privileged vantage point—cap tables, valuations, and hiring data across 45,000 startups and 83% of U.S. unicorns. We explore:a common equity mistake that’s quietly killing fundraising chanceswhy AI founders are raising bigger rounds… and keeping more of their companieshow lean teams are pushing out serious ARR—and what that means for hiringthe valuation delta between AI and non-AI startups—and why that window may be closingIf you’re raising, hiring, or advising an AI startup in this market, this one’s for you.If you’re in the early innings of building something in AI, especially if you’re figuring things out from first principles—let’s chat. Connect with us here:Peter Walker: https://www.linkedin.com/in/peterjameswalker/George Bandarian: https://www.linkedin.com/in/georgebandarian/Untapped Ventures: https://www.linkedin.com/company/untappedventures00:00 Trailer01:26 Introduction02:44 Untapped Ventures08:39 Carta10:34 Early Equity25:05 Venture Context34:47 AI Story51:04 Questions54:48 Outro
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55:11
How Agentic AI is Rewiring Software, Brokers, and the Future
I brought Ben Collins of Woz and Dakotah Rice and Tushar Nair of Harper for a special episode of Agentic–our AGM!Ben’s Woz lets non-technical founders build scalable apps with no engineering team—think Shopify for software while Dakotah and Tushar’s Harper quotes 476 complex insurance deals with voice AI, turning family brokerage chaos into a data goldmine. On the docket:Harper’s logged-call advantage for scalable precisioncompute’s brewing storm (NVIDIA’s got rivals rising)how reasoning models cut months off build timesConnect with us: Ben Collins: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bentcollins Dakotah Rice: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dakotahrice/ Tushar Nair: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tushar-nair-b08988222/ Woz: https://www.linkedin.com/company/withwoz/ Harper: https://www.linkedin.com/company/harperinsure/ George Bandarian: https://www.linkedin.com/in/georgebandarian/ Untapped Ventures: https://www.linkedin.com/company/untappedventures00:00 Trailer02:06 Introduction02:20 Ben Collins04:02 Dakotah Rice04:37 Tushar Nair05:21 Agentic AI hot takes11:59 Deep dive on Woz17:05 Deep dive on Harper24:15 Y Combinator and the founders community28:21 Non-technical business side of software30:30 Agentic demand, Elon's Grok/xAI32:27 Outro
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Is Big Tech Shaping The Future Of AI? | Wendell Wallach
As AI races forward, one question looms large—who decides what’s right and wrong?Behind the breakthroughs and multi billion-dollar valuations, a power struggle is unfolding. Big Tech is quietly shaping AI policy in the shadows, and governments are stuck playing catch-up. In this episode, I speak with Wendell Wallach, a foremost expert on AI ethics and governance, to break down the challenges and power dynamics steering the course of AI.Co-author of Moral Machines and a key figure at Yale and Carnegie Council, Wendell has spent decades thinking about how to align AI with human values.We cover: • why rogue superintelligence isn’t the biggest threat • how Big Tech is quietly shaping AI policies • AGI vs. ASI: When AI starts making its own rulesConnect with us here: 1. Wendell Wallach: https://www.linkedin.com/in/wendell-wallach-246ba69/2. George Bandarian: https://www.linkedin.com/in/georgebandarian/3. Untapped Ventures: https://www.linkedin.com/company/untappedventures00:00 Trailer00:55 Introduction01:59 AI uplifting humanity04:09 Moral machines09:58 Big tech oligopoly16:00 Cold War18:59 AI will take over the world?29:57 Nefarious purposes34:32 Trade-offs and safeguards38:11 Data security41:00 Finding product market fit43:25 Human dangers47:46 Outro
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Ex-OpenAI Insider on AGI, DeepMind & AI | Logan Kilpatrick
He built AI-powered lunar rovers at NASA.He was in the room when GPT launched. Now, Logan Kilpatrick is helping developers push the boundaries of AI at Google DeepMind.In this episode, Logan shares his front-row view of AI’s most pivotal moments—and how they hint at the next paradigm shifts.We also get into:• inside Open AI on Launch day• how Google DeepMind’s Gemini 2.0 Flash is flipping the script on AI economics• the open-source vs. proprietary AI debate, and• why AI’s next frontier is deeply integrated, multimodal agentsPlus, Logan unpacks his insights as an investor—where he sees opportunity in AI, what founders keep getting wrong, and why the most successful startups won’t look like today’s incumbents.00:00 Trailer01:19 Introduction02:41 Inspired by Floppybird03:53 OpenAI Developer Relations08:55 Where AI is heading14:41 Google DeepMind17:47 As an AI founder, B2B and GSuite customer21:29 Better model, low cost27:12 Agentic AI and Google Gemini29:32 AGI and DeekSeek35:55 Investor and AI founder perspectives44:43 What's next from Google48:38 Outro
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48:45
Move Aside DeepSeek, Here’s Liquid AI, a $2B LLM Startup from MIT, Inspired by Worms | Agentic EP 10
Bigger AI models dominate the headlines—but what if the real breakthrough lies in making AI smaller?In this episode, I sit down with Ramin Hasani, Alexander Amini, and Daniela Rus—who are at the helm of Liquid AI—to discuss how their approach challenges conventional architectures and unlocks new frontiers for AI deployment.Also on the docket:• Ramin explains how insights from a microscopic worm led to a novel AI model.• Alexander breaks down why Liquid AI operates efficiently on local devices—without compromising modality.• Daniela exposes a critical flaw in today’s AI incumbents and why efficiency is the next major battleground.We also unpack all things DeepSeek—its implications for OpenAI, Meta, and enterprises scaling private AI. 00:00 Introduction02:03 Meet the Co-Founders03:01 The Birth of Liquid Neural Networks06:28 Applications and Impact of Liquid AI09:38 The Worm Model and Its Significance16:05 Mathematical Foundations and Breakthroughs24:29 Scaling AI for Real-World Applications28:05 Edge Computing and AI29:58 Future Prospects and Use Cases31:36 The Commoditization of AI Models32:22 Liquid AI: Reducing Intelligence Costs to Zero32:53 Diverse Applications of AI33:43 Case Studies and Real-World Examples38:05 The Impact of Deep Seek on the AI Ecosystem44:13 Advice for Aspiring AI Founders45:40 The Importance of Technical and Non-Technical Collaboration51:03 Ramin's Journey from Scientist to Entrepreneur53:31 Liquid AI's Vision for 202555:10 Conclusion and Future Prospects
The Agentic Podcast, hosted by George Bandarian, General Partner & CEO at Untapped Ventures, leads deep discussions that uncover the untapped potential and breakthroughs of autonomous AI systems shaping the future.
Featuring insights from founders, investors, and industry leaders, we dive into the impact of Agentic AI on industry and society, breakthroughs in machine learning, the future of responsible AI, and the convergence of human and machine intelligence.
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