Madrona

One of our mantras at Madrona is “day one for the long run,” and our relationship with Archon Biosciences epitomizes this philosophy. We originally met James Lazarovits and George Ueda (both translational investigators in the Baker Lab at the Institute for Protein Design, University of Washington) at a dinner well over a year before the company was formally founded. They blew us away with their vision, scientific brilliance, and determination to build a long-term biotech company, and we spent the ensuing year working closely in anticipation of launching a product-focused company. We couldn’t be more excited to lead this round as they come out of stealth! https://lnkd.in/gtMEAgwD

This week’s insights dive into building a winning go-to-market plan, crafting a dynamic hiring strategy, and leveraging AI for enterprise growth. Madrona's S. Somasegar and Sabrina Wu unpack how AI is rewriting the SaaS playbook. Anna Baird and Loren Alhadeff offer takeaways on aligning your GTM strategy to drive impact in the year ahead. The Aspiring for Intelligence team dives into Anthropic’s remarkable trajectory, exploring its approach to reshaping the AI landscape. And a special congratulations to Madrona Managing Director Matt McIlwain on being named to Business Insider’s 2024 AI Power List. From the portfolio, Read AI raised a $50M Series B, INDOCHINO hired a VP of retail sales and operations, and so much more.

During the IA Summit "Models Are NOT All You Need" panel, industry leaders Rama Akkiraju (NVIDIA), Chetan Kapoor (CoreWeave), and Christian Kleinerman (Snowflake) discussed how enterprises are leveraging large language models (LLMs) and AI to optimize operations, improve productivity, and address infrastructure challenges. Moderated by Tom Dotan of The Wall Street Journal, the conversation spanned from AI model commoditization to specific enterprise applications and infrastructure needs, underscoring the evolving landscape of AI-powered enterprise solutions.   This panel didn’t just talk about the potential of AI; it dug deep into what works now and provided great strategies for what founders can implement today: *Optimize for Efficiency with AI* AI models are becoming more accessible, but they’re only part of the solution. As our panelists emphasized, founders need to think beyond models and build out robust systems that ensure data security, modularity, and workflow automation. AI can enhance productivity, but the real value is unlocked when it’s integrated as a seamless part of your operations. *The Infrastructure Opportunity* With the intense demand for compute power, infrastructure isn’t just a supporting element — it’s a differentiator. CoreWeave’s Chetan Kapoor shared how startups can gain a competitive edge by designing efficient, performance-optimized infrastructure that reduces latency and costs while supporting AI at scale. For founders focused on AI-driven products, leveraging infrastructure as a strategic asset is key. *Deploy Domain-Specific Models* Customizing models to suit specific business needs can yield better outcomes and lower costs compared to using massive, generalized models. NVIDIA’s Rama Akkiraju discussed how smaller, fine-tuned models for specific tasks can outperform general-purpose models, delivering high accuracy and lower latency. This means that founders should consider specialized models where possible to drive targeted value for their users. *Build Trust and Manage Risks Early* Trustworthiness is crucial for enterprise AI adoption. Founders need to prioritize secure data governance and ensure AI solutions honor data permissions and governance policies. Snowflake’s Christian Kleinerman highlighted the importance of addressing potential risks upfront, especially as AI opens up more data access across teams. For founders ready to unlock AI’s potential, this panel is a must-watch. Catch the recording or read the transcript to see how to apply these strategies and transform your business with actionable insights that deliver real results. Watch here: https://lnkd.in/gahUAfdN Read the transcript: https://lnkd.in/g-BMxhnM

Founders, as we approach FY 2025, it's time to take a hard look at your go-to-market strategy. Whether you're navigating hyper-growth or refining product-market fit, the decisions you make now will impact your trajectory for years to come. During a recent AMA with Madrona portfolio company CEOs, Anna Baird and Loren Alhadeff explored the elements of a successful FY 2025 plan. From focusing on core priorities to aligning your teams around shared revenue goals, they compiled five actionable insights to help you drive growth in the year ahead. Read the full guide below to learn how to position your startup for success in FY 2025 -- but here's a summary to kick it off! *Stay focused: Pivoting too often leads to lost momentum. Follow Warren Buffet’s 5/25 rule—identify your top 5 priorities and commit to them for real impact. *Customer-first: Align your GTM strategy with what your customers need, not just what your team wants to push. Listen to their pain points, and build from there. *Cross-functional alignment: Revenue is everyone’s responsibility. Sales, marketing, customer success, and product must all contribute to hitting shared revenue goals. *Equip your GTM team: Ensure your sales reps have fair territories and the tools they need to succeed. Focus on realistic quotas and sustainable growth. *Pipeline is lifeline: Without a strong, healthy pipeline, even the best strategies will fall short. Set clear pipeline creation goals and review progress regularly. https://lnkd.in/gMsYFVhb

In the age of AI assistants and agents, Read AI has gone from upstart to incumbent with a 720% increase in active users in the last 12 months. With the introduction of Read AI for Gmail, we’re building on the vision of a copilot everywhere you work, where your meetings and messages are connected to your inbox, threads are summarized, and email replies are drafted based on connected content. To deliver against the vision of 'copilot everywhere', I'm excited to announce the close of our $50MM Series B led by Smash Capital and Bradley Twohig.

Anthropic is breaking new ground in 2024. With major hires from OpenAI’s leadership, a $4B Amazon investment, and fresh product launches like the Claude 3.5 Sonnet and Haiku, the startup is redefining the AI race. While often cast as the “Pepsi” to OpenAI’s “Coca-Cola,” Anthropic's ambitions align more with an Apple vs. Microsoft rivalry: two powerhouses carving distinct paths through tech, culture, and innovation. Friday's Aspiring for Intelligence from Partner Vivek Ramaswami and Investor Sabrina Wu is a great weekend read. Dive into what sets Anthropic apart and explore the full breakdown of the company's recent moves and innovations. Be sure to subscribe to get their bi-monthly insights delivered directly to you. https://lnkd.in/gerUQPFz

How do you capture investor attention when you've only got 2.5 minutes? Madrona Investor Anna Chen will discuss just that during a panel at TechCrunch Disrupt on Oct. 29 at 11:30 a.m. in San Francisco. The panel will dive into how AI is changing fundraising expectations, what startups need to command the right balance in their AI winning deck, and how the right storytelling can make or break your pitch. The session will help founders unpack what investors are really looking for and the pitfalls AI startups must avoid. Whether you're refining your deck or crafting your first pitch, you'll leave equipped to stand out in the fiercely competitive 2025 AI landscape. Other panelists include Dropbox DocSend's Alessandra Andrenacci, 500 Global's Iris Sun, and Bardeen.ai's Pascal Weinberger. Learn more and get tickets here: https://lnkd.in/g_8Pj-wM

Congrats to Madrona Managing Director Matt McIlwain for being named to "The AI Power List 2024" by Business Insider. At a time when AI is revolutionizing every sector, this recognition highlights Matt's pioneering role in the space — from early-stage AI investments in the early 2010s to helping bring together the Cancer AI Alliance to spearheading the IA Summit. More than just investing in AI, though, Matt and the team at Madrona understand that building a great company goes beyond the technology — it's how you turn AI into a sustainable business model. As Matt says, "It doesn't work to just repackage other people's technology if you're not providing clear, differentiated value." If you’re a founder navigating AI’s fast-paced landscape, Matt and the team at Madrona get it — the long game, the business model, and how to build a moat. We're proud to see Matt and Madrona recognized for our commitment to being at the forefront of intelligent applications and AI innovation. This journey is just beginning! BI on Matt: https://lnkd.in/gBY4m8S7 Full List: https://lnkd.in/e43svVbn #AI #Founders #StartupAdvice #AILeadership

Planning for next fiscal year is challenging - I've been a CFO, COO and CRO and know that the foundations for a good plan are critical. As an operating partner at Madrona I work with founders and leaders on issues they face in their companies. So Loren Alhadeff and I now host a quarterly AMA (Ask me anything) session for those leaders focused on GTM challenges. The attached summary is from our second session on planning for FY'25. Whether you're navigating hyper-growth or refining product-market fit, the decisions you make now will impact your trajectory for years to come. We've compiled 5 actionable insights to help you drive growth in the year ahead... 1) How to stay focused and avoid costly strategy pivots 2) Why your customer’s voice should shape your GTM approach 3) The importance of aligning sales, marketing, and product teams around revenue 4) How to equip your GTM team for success 5) And why a strong pipeline is critical to your growth   Read the full guide to take your growth to the next level in FY 2025: https://lnkd.in/gTWrpiJ5   P.S. Stay tuned for more insights after our next AMA on December 4. We're diving into the question of the day - Are the challenges in your business due to the market, your product or your GTM. #startupgrowth #founders #GTMstrategy #FY2025 #startupsuccess #leadership

Thank you Nasdaq for celebrating our $120M Series B financing, led by Bedford Ridge Capital and NVentures, NVIDIA’s venture capital arm! Our platform uniquely blends experimentation and computation to identify and optimize novel small molecule solutions to the most complex problems. This financing will allow us to advance our internal programs to the clinic to bring medicines to patients in need. Press Release: https://lnkd.in/gcRiJUKd Endpoints Exclusive: https://lnkd.in/gtieiu2P #generativeAI #ML #drugdiscovery #biotech