Stephen Straus

Last week, we got to do what Mayfield does best - spotlight the rising builders before the spotlight finds them. At the Golden Gate Club in the Presidio, we celebrated the Mayfield | Divot AI List honorees - founders, product leaders, researchers, media voices, and policy leaders who are shaping the next chapter of AI. Based on the energy in that room, it became clear the next decade of AI won’t be written by the usual suspects. The day brought together honorees, founders, and ecosystem partners for meaningful conversations about where AI is headed. Aparna Chennapragada (CPO for AI Experiences, Microsoft) sat down with Derek Andersen (CEO, Startup Grind) for a powerful discussion on how AI is transforming product development and the structure of modern teams. Then came my fireside with Garry Tan (CEO, Y Combinator) - one of the most thoughtful voices in tech today. We even ended on a fun note when I asked: “What’s one idea a founder could pitch where you wouldn’t even need 10 minutes to decide? Maybe not even a minute, just 10 seconds?” Garry smiled and said, “I just love the demo.” That spirit - a leader’s instinct to show, not tell, perfectly captured the energy in the room. From our conversation, a few themes stood out: - The era of abundance has begun. AI represents a 100x shift in how we build and operate. The challenge isn’t adoption, it’s moving fast and responsibly enough to create a durable impact. - The new AI-native company looks very different. Startups with 1/10 the headcount and 10x the output are redefining what scale means. Those that deeply integrate AI into their own operations will have a lasting advantage. - Founders are getting younger and hungrier. A new generation of AI-native, fearless, and global founders is building from first principles and experimenting faster than ever before. - Humans + AI is the next great partnership. The future belongs to builders who see AI not as a substitute for human creativity, but as a collaborator that amplifies it. The energy at the event was electric - hopeful, grounded, and deeply human. For us at Mayfield, this initiative has always been about recognizing the people doing the hard work behind the scenes before the world catches on. A huge thank-you to Startup Grind and Divot for partnering with us and to everyone who joined us in celebrating this incredible community of AI builders. The age of abundance is here - what opportunities do you think it will create for founders and builders? #Mayfield #Divot #AIList #StartupGrind

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I’m lucky to work alongside colleagues like Richard Fruehauf, who constantly push my thinking. His latest piece unpacks why U.S. robotics and drone manufacturing faces uphill economics, and how public policy can help turn the tide. One key takeaway: 232 tariffs on robotics imports could help reset the economics that are holding back U.S. investment and production. It’s a sharp perspective on how policy can shape the future of advanced tech here at home. Well worth a read: https://lnkd.in/edMPTQPQ Richard Fruehauf, Robert J. Szczerba, Michael Lutzky, Edward Ovando, Karl Sanchack, Herman Herman, Jeff Legault, Phil English, Richard Fruehauf, Ryan Aument, Michael Guido, Sheila Fitzgerald Sterrett, David McCormick

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https://lnkd.in/eWC4SgN3 In Episode 5, I start a three-part series on corporate innovation by focusing on the foundation most companies miss: system design. Before org charts, roles, or pilots, innovation depends on clear authority, mandate, executive sponsorship, and the right success metrics. When those are vague, teams stay busy but impact stays limited. This episode sets the groundwork for the next two, where I’ll cover operating models and ecosystem design. #corporateinnovation #innovation

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One of the most important conversations I heard in Davos today wasn’t about more AI. It was about whether we trust the systems we’re building enough to deploy them at scale. At a Rethinking Risk session at Davos 2026, leaders from media, government, multilateral institutions, and global finance kept circling the same concern: the erosion of trust. The conversation included Ravi Agrawal, Editor-in-Chief, Foreign Policy; Rebeca Grynspan, Secretary-General, UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD); Amer Bisat, Minister of Economy and Trade, Republic of Lebanon; Amb. Yusuf Maitama Tuggar, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Federal Republic of Nigeria; Stephanie von Friedeburg, Managing Director & Global Head of Public Sector, Citi. Across very different vantage points, the message was consistent: misinformation, selective or low-quality data, and a growing post-truth environment are undermining consensus, multilateralism, and sound risk analysis. When trust erodes: — due diligence weakens — uncertainty rises and risk premia increase — fact-based decision-making breaks down for governments and businesses alike The key takeaway: AI doesn’t fail at deployment because the models aren’t powerful enough. It fails when the systems around it aren’t trusted. Rebuilding trust isn’t just a technical challenge. It requires rigorous verification and higher-quality data; transparent analytics and governance; and inclusive, cross-stakeholder consensus-building. As the World Economic Forum continues to emphasize, trust isn’t a soft value layered onto innovation. It’s a prerequisite for scale, resilience, and long-term economic coordination. If we want AI to reduce risk rather than amplify it, we have to start by designing systems people and institutions can trust. That may be the hardest work ahead. And also the most important.

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"OKRs are great, but I don't believe they're a replacement for a Key Performance Indicator." Amos Schwartzfarb, former managing Director of Techstars Austin and author of Sell More Faster and Levers, talks about goal vs. measurement on Tech Scenes Unplugged. #venturebacked #vcbacked #venturecapital #leadership #ceo #founder #operatingsystem #peakOS #foundermode #okrs #kpis

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Looking forward to our #SXSW conversation on venture trends in #Texas, the rise of frontier models and their implications on company building, and what’s ahead for founders starting companies in Texas!

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Trying something new this week - a studio industry roundup with my take on what matters. The studio model is no longer an experiment being run in a handful of places. It is infrastructure being built across geographies, sectors, and institutional types. 5️⃣ stories from the past seven days:  1️⃣ OSS Ventures hit a EUR 40M first close on a EUR 75M follow-on fund -- capital raised specifically to back the 30 companies their studio created since 2019. The "build then fund" lifecycle is maturing. B'More Venture Studio with a similar thesis: studio operations first, then dedicated capital to scale what's working.  2️⃣ Delta40 raised $20M from 54 investors across 13 countries to launch Africa's first integrated venture studio and fund. The LP base is almost entirely DFIs and foundations. Impact capital is discovering the studio model as a deployment vehicle, something I seeing across geographies (conversations with Michael Bob Starr and Damias McDonald this week alone) 3️⃣ Start Holdings launched Start.vc out of NYC and Barcelona after a $200M EV infrastructure exit. Another operator-turned-studio-founder. This is the pattern we see quite often in our work at 9point8 -- experienced operators like Jason Goldsmith who've built and exited deciding the studio model is how they want to build next.  4️⃣ UBC HATCH admitted 10 new deep-tech spinouts for Winter 2026 -- mostly climate tech. University venture builders are quietly becoming one of the fastest-growing segments. Follow Evan Allen and Jaimie Testai to keep track of its rapid evolution.  5️⃣ The INVEST Act is advancing through the Senate. If passed, it expands qualifying VC fund size from $10M to $50M and loosens general solicitation rules for accelerator and university events. For studio-funds -- and for folks in the The Venture Studio Forum community tracking policy -- this could be the most significant capital formation legislation since the JOBS Act. If this roundup format is useful, I'll keep it going. What other noteworthy news hit your desk this week, and what stood out to you?

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I spoke with Christien Louviere of BDE Capital about his journey from a $330mm exit to becoming an independent sponsor. Christien shared excellent insights for folks looking to partner with business owners, rather than buy sellers out completely. Below are a few of the topics we covered: - Why he moved from “zero-to-one” startups to a buy-then-build strategy - How Christien's background shaped a focus on growth vs. cost-cutting - Why 20–40% rolled equity is central to his deal structures—and how it builds trust with sellers - Using scenario analysis with AI tools to evaluate management teams and uncover hidden key-person risks - How to identify when a $3–5M EBITDA company truly has a middle management layer—or is still founder-reliant For anyone investing in or buying small businesses, Christien’s approach provides a fresh lens on growth, alignment, and deal structuring. 🎥 Watch the full interview here → https://lnkd.in/ekfkaiej 🎧 Listen on Spotify: https://lnkd.in/e86Agx6V

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Interesting insights about AI (you never learn enough) by Blair Garrou of Mercury Fund at the Plug and Play Tech Center Fall Expo 2025 here in Sugarland Texas Key Insights: 1) B2B over a 10 year span was more favorable towards middle market and SMBs. AI However, is now all in on enterprise 2) Revolutionizing/Modernizing older industries is where AI will be seamless (in construction, certain types of engineering and older processes in energy) 3) It's better to invest in AI that equips workers with another skillset than ones that result in layoffs #startups #venturecapital #ai #emergingtech

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