Our Manifesto
How we partner with entrepreneurs and build Vertical AI startups.
gAI ventures is a venture builder that launches Vertical AI companies in Financial Services, Enterprise Productivity, and Commerce. We don't place bets, we build conviction. We don't wait for the future - we engineer it. We back domain experts with bold ideas and help turn those ideas into powerful, defensible AI companies that reshape entire industries.
High-Involvement, High-Conviction Company Building
We act as an institutional co-founder - deeply involved in building the AI engine, product/platform, and the company itself.
We:
- Design, build, and deploy core AI systems and software platforms.
- Provide world-class AI product design and engineering (led by an ex-AI researcher who has built 4 AI products and solved some hard problems in AI).
- Support go-to-market motion from Day 1 - we don't just build, we help you sell. This effort is led but the founder and supported by us.
- We bring early capital (our investment) for hiring and other important things in the initial building of a company (travel/industry events) but that's the smallest value add.
- Stay engaged until real traction is achieved - we're in it for the long haul.
In return, we typically hold minority equity through our venture builder contribution and another set of minority equity via capital invested through our fund. We are not advisors. We are not consultants. We build with you.
We Work With Domain Experts, Industry Insiders as Founders
We back domain experts, people who deeply understand their market, not just the technology. If you've lived the problem you're solving, we want to partner.
But we don't box you into our playbook. You bring the domain expertise/insight. We bring the infrastructure. Together, we combine Product Development and Sales Pipeline
Your company, your vision. We amplify it with world-class execution.
We Build Defensible Vertical AI Companies. Not Hype Machines
The AI landscape is littered with LLM wrappers pretending to be companies. We go deeper.
Our technical stack includes:
- Agentic architectures that can reason and act autonomously
- Proprietary workflow automation tailored to vertical-specific processes
- Domain-specific models and fine-tuning that understand industry nuance
- Deep integration with vertical software/data systems that create sustainable moats
- Human-in-the-loop and real-world feedback systems that improve over time
We build for impact, speed, and defensibility. Every company we build is designed to become the operating system for its industry.
Platform Thinking From Day One
We don't build point solutions. We build platforms.
Every product we create is architected with expansion potential — starting focused, but designed to become comprehensive industry operating systems. We think in terms of:
- Network effects that make the product more valuable as it grows
- Data advantages that compound over time
- Integration points that create switching costs
- Ecosystem plays that attract third-party developers and partners
The goal isn't just to solve one problem. It's to become indispensable to how an entire industry operates.
We Scale With You. Or Step Back Gracefully
We're here to help you get off the ground, fast and smart. Once the company reaches self-sufficiency (product-market fit, strong team, etc.) we reduce involvement.
We don't create dependency. We create momentum.
You grow. We celebrate, and stay close as strategic allies who helped architect your foundation.
Our success is measured not by how long we stay involved, but by how quickly you no longer need us to be successful.
Speed as a Competitive Advantage
In AI, timing is everything. Technology advantages erode quickly. Market windows close fast.
That's why we can go from concept to MVP in months, not years. Our integrated approach, combining domain expertise, world-class engineering, and go-to-market execution, creates unprecedented speed to market.
While others are still fundraising for their first hire, we're already building and testing with real customers.
The gAI.ventures Difference
What we're not:
- Traditional VCs who invest and advise from the sidelines
- Consultants who bill hours and walk away
- Accelerators that provide generic startup advice
- Incubators focused on early-stage coaching
What we are:
- Co-builders who share both the risks and rewards
- Technical partners with deep AI engineering capabilities
- Industry specialists with networks that open doors
- Patient capital providers who think in decades, not quarters
We're Open, Selective, and Human
If you're a founder or domain expert ready to build something ambitious in AI, reach out. We're always looking for the right match.
We move fast, ask hard questions, and go deep. But we're also transparent, generous with time, and founder-first in mindset.
We're not looking for the next momentary headline. We're looking for companies that will define what their industries become.
Ready to build the future of vertical AI?
The most important companies of the next decade will be AI companies that understand their customers as deeply as they understand their technology.
Let's build something important.
Are you a domain expert in Financial Services, Enterprise Productivity, or Commerce with a bold vision? We want to hear from you.
- Phone
- +1 (415) 707-0523
- contact@gai.ventures
- Location
- San Francisco and Bengaluru
Build AI Podcast
Live · weekly · 18 eps
Build AI.
Hosted by Amit Goel · 18 episodes · gai.ventures/podcast
Conversations with the founders, investors, and operators shaping vertical AI. New episode every week.
Ep 18Amit Goel, Vijay Rajendran, Kushal Prakash
Co-founders, gAI Ventures
The gAI Ventures co-founders debate why the 2024–25 copilot hype failed enterprises, and why the next decade belongs to hyper-vertical AI built for deep, regulated workflows.
Ep 17Andrew Roberts
Co-founder & CEO, Deliverables AI
Andrew Roberts (ex-TinyMCE, exited 2022) is collapsing weeks of CIM and pitch-book creation into 30 minutes for investment banks, PE firms, and M&A advisors.
Ep 16Lutz Finger
Faculty, Cornell · ex-Google, LinkedIn, Snap
Lutz Finger — ex-product leader at Google, LinkedIn, and Snap, now Cornell faculty — on why AI adoption is failing in enterprises and why memory, not prompts, is the next battleground.
Ep 15Jason Shuman
Partner, Primary Venture Partners
Jason Shuman, Partner at Primary Venture Partners ($625M), on the Vertical AI opportunity, why hardware is underrated, and why software-only moats are dead.
Ep 14Nick Holzherr
Founder, GitLaw & Whisk (Samsung Food)
Nick Holzherr sold Whisk to Samsung, now democratizing legal with AI-native contract generation, review, and e-signature for small businesses.
Ep 13Jahn Karsybaev
Co-founder & Managing Partner, Big Sky Capital
Jahn Karsybaev built a $50M Fund II targeting enterprise SaaS and AI across Southeast Asia, Central Asia, and the US, with 30 portfolio companies and zero shutdowns.