Eight years after becoming the first female partner at Benchmark, Sarah Tavel recently took on a new role as Venture Partner that allows her more time to fully immerse herself in AI, all while continuing to make new investments on behalf of Benchmark and serving her current portfolio. She sat down with Beezer Clarkson, Partner at Sapphire Partners, and Nick Chirls, Partner at Asylum Ventures, to unpack her learnings over the past few months, including what it means to be truly AI native, how the future of AI is social (not solo), and what that means for AI tools and the people who use them. She also discusses the importance of protecting your time as a VC and the advantages of devoting time each week to play.

This episode of Origins is supported by Sydecar. Visit sydecar.io/origins-podcast to learn more.

Learn more about Sapphire Partners: https://sapphireventures.com/sapphire-partners

Learn more about OpenLP: https://openlp.vc

Learn more about Asylum Ventures: https://asylum.vc

Learn more about Benchmark: https://benchmark.com

Read Sarah’s Substack Posts: https://sarahtavel.com

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Sydecar, Inc. (“Sydecar”) has acted as a financial sponsor within this Origins podcast. Sapphire Ventures, LLC (“Sapphire”) is not affiliated with or invested in Sydecar.

CHAPTERS:

0:00 Welcome to Origins

1:46 Living & Breathing AI

8:58 AI As Both Solo & Social

16:13 What Does It Mean to be AI Native?

23:19 How Do Our Brains Need to Adapt to AI?

31:37 How AI Immersion Has Changed Sarah’s Investment Strategy

37:56 Looking For AI Frontier Companies & the Businesses Around Them