VCs still chase growth at all costs as AI reshapes management

Apr 26, 2026 · Topline
🎧 PodShort 63 min squeezed to 2 AI SprinklerAS Revenue Operations New
Episode artwork
Peter Walker
Senior Director of Subtle Insights at Carta
Sam Jacobs
Host at Topline
Asad Zaman
Co-host at Topline
Topline
63 min squeezed to 2
Full episode from Topline
Quotable Moments

It's definitely not the easiest time to raise money, unless you are already in the legible cohort. And if you're in the legible cohort, you know who you are.

Peter WalkerSenior Director of Subtle Insights at Carta
02:37

Fundamentally, what do investors want to see more than anything else right now? It's growth. What did they have always wanted to see more than anything else? It's growth. All the crap about grow profitably or don't grow at all costs, that was a lie.

Peter WalkerSenior Director of Subtle Insights at Carta
04:54

I think the point is that to a venture capitalist, other than in a few moments in time where interest rates were high, they really don't care all that much about profit. It really does come down to growth.

Asad ZamanCo-host of Topline
06:00
Key Insights
  • Massive investment is currently concentrated in a very small, specific subset of companies, creating a challenging fundraising environment for others.
  • For venture capitalists, growth is the ultimate priority, outweighing profitability in almost all scenarios, except for brief periods of high interest rates.
  • Many companies had positioned private equity as an 'escape hatch' for slower growth, but PE funds are now also prioritizing high-growth companies, leaving others without an exit.
  • AI is compelling companies to accelerate their operational pace, render traditional roadmaps obsolete, and fundamentally rethink their strategies, including exit plans and headcount.
  • The market is consolidating, with 'winners and losers' being permanently separated, meaning average employees and companies without top-tier performance will struggle to find opportunities.
  • The purpose of management — communication, motivation, and strategic decision-making — is being fundamentally altered and compressed by AI, leading to fewer managers and wider spans of control.
  • While AI doesn't appear to be eliminating entire job roles yet, it significantly boosts efficiency, allowing one person to do the work of two or more, which will lead to lower headcount per unit of revenue.
  • VCs are operating in an intoxicating environment where growth leads to a belief in inevitable domination, hindering rational decision-making about long-term sustainability.
Metrics Mentioned
  • 60,000 startups (Number of startups Carta has data on.)
  • 85% (Percentage of US unicorns Carta has data on.)
  • 40-50% (Percentage of VCs that do not return their capital.)
  • 250% a year (Example growth rate for a Series B company.)
  • 86% (Figma's stock decline since its IPO.)
  • $122 billion (Claimed amount of OpenAI's largest funding round, though later corrected by the speaker to $40 billion for OpenAI's second-largest round and $30 billion for Anthropic.)
  • 81,000 (Number of tech workers laid off this year so far.)
  • 530,000 (Number of open tech jobs in the US today.)
  • 250,000 (Number of new tech jobs added in March.)
  • 7 to 10 (Number of new AI job outreach messages an enterprise AE in New York receives weekly.)
  • 5,000 (Open jobs at Microsoft.)
  • 3,000-4,000 (Open jobs at Meta.)
  • less than 20% (Percentage of fund managers who raised Fund 1 in 2020/2021 that have successfully raised Fund 2.)
  • 0.14 (DPI (Distributions to Paid-In Capital) for a fund after 5-6 years, presented as top 10% of all venture funds.)

RevBots.ai View:

  • AI Sprinkler stage companies face pressure to adopt AI or risk obsolescence.
  • Revenue teams must align with VC growth mandates, not profitability, to secure funding.
  • ARM-stage orgs will leverage AI to compress management layers and widen spans of control.
  • Tab Hopper founders without AI strategies will struggle in the winner-take-all market.
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