David Thacker

VP Product at Google DeepMind

[Eden Chen @edenchen]

Games marketing is broken. After raising over $50M to support and work with hundreds of studios over the last 6 years, I find that the biggest problem is studios’ lack of direct connection with their players.

Over the last six years, I’ve watched talented teams struggle because they never had a clear way to reach, learn from, and grow with players over time. Without that connection, everything becomes harder - validation, iteration, community growth, and retention all turn into guesswork.

For most of the games industry’s history, platforms have controlled identity, communication, and distribution, which are invaluable to a game’s success.

Apple limited how studios could collect and use player contact information outside the App Store, and Steam still doesn’t give studios access to the contact details of players who wishlist or sign up for playtests.

Studios are left without a direct relationship with the audience they’re trying to serve.

As a result, studios rely on fragmented tools and spreadsheets to manage players across different stages of development and live operations, with no continuity from first contact through long-term engagement.

Today, that changes with the launch of FirstLook 1.0.

FirstLook is the first Player Relationship Platform built specifically for games. It gives studios everything they need to connect with players across the full lifecycle, including playtests and feedback, community and communications, analytics, rewards, and creator programs, all in one place.

We’ve been building under the radar, but FirstLook already powers hundreds of studios, from indies to publishers like Krafton, @ArenaNet, and @Skybound, connecting millions of players with the developers who make the games they love.

As part of the launch, we’re introducing a brand new limited time free plan, with access to all our features for up to 500 players. You can set this up now in under 10 minutes. If you want to learn more, book a demo and we guarantee that you will save you time and money and help you grow. Links in comments!

[Google AI @GoogleAI]

🎉 It's a BIG day for Gemini 2.5

— 2.5 Flash and 2.5 Pro are now stable and generally available in AI Studio, Vertex AI, and the @GeminiApp
— We're launching a preview of the new 2.5 Flash-Lite, our most cost-efficient and fastest 2.5 model yet

More info on each model below ⬇️

[Google DeepMind @GoogleDeepMind]

Welcome to the world, Gemini 2.0 ✨ our most capable AI model yet.

We're first releasing an experimental version of 2.0 Flash ⚡ It has better performance, new multimodal output, @Google tool use - and paves the way for new agentic experiences. 🧵 https://t.co/4V1gJ9yngt

[David Thacker @davthack]

We just opened a new role for a Researcher in Residence at Greylock. This is a great opportunity for an AI researcher to explore the next step in their career, including founding or joining an early stage startup. More details: https://t.co/63TBUOGOPN

[David Thacker @davthack]

Congrats to @airspeedhq launching Coffee Talk—an innovative #Slack app connecting coworkers for virtual coffee chats. The app's AI-generated matches and tailored conversation starters help colleagues forge more intentional connections at work. Learn more: https://t.co/NO9dYfcliF

[David Thacker @davthack]

I'm excited to announce Greylock's investment in @airspeedhq ! We're honored to partner with @camplejohn and the rest of the Airspeed team on their mission to help teams and organizations build great cultures.

[Greylock Partners @GreylockVC]

With its family of Slack Apps, @airspeedhq helps employees feel more connected and celebrated.

We - @Greylock - are excited to partner with founder @camplejohn & team on the seed.

More on Airspeed's products and founding story:
https://t.co/E2Kn0dGxS9

cc @davthack

[David Thacker @davthack]

Excited to have @jacobandreou join our team at Greylock!

[Jacob Andreou @jacobandreou]

I couldn’t be more excited to announce that I’ll be joining @GreylockVC as a GP. My time at Snap has taught me the joy of getting to support a visionary leader and I can’t wait to partner deeply with the next generation of consumer founders.

[Greylock Partners @GreylockVC]

1/ @jacobandreou is the newest general partner at @GreylockVC, where he'll back founders building the next generation of consumer software. Jacob joins us after 8 years at Snap, where he most recently served as SVP of Growth. https://t.co/vF8EbZujps

[David Thacker @davthack]

We're excited to announce our investment in @headraceco! We're honored to partner with cofounders @laszlo_korsos, @amos_barreto, Kevin Brinig and the rest of their team as they build a modern recruiting platform powered by the largest network of experienced recruiters.

[Greylock Partners @GreylockVC]

By leveraging a network of top independent recruiters, @headraceco makes hiring faster and more cost effective for employers. We are proud to partner w/ co-founders @laszlo_korsos, @amos_barreto & Kevin Brinig. @davthack shares more on our seed investment: https://t.co/IQMTzBkstE

[David Thacker @davthack]

Great to see @get_magical integrate team collaboration capabilities into their product!

[Magical @get_magical]

BIG NEWS: Magical has officially gone multiplayer. 🕹 See the full announcement to find out how setting up your team on Magical can improve each of your teammate's productivity by 20%.

https://t.co/f8R0iIy0Sz

[Magical @get_magical]

BIG NEWS: Magical has officially gone multiplayer. 🕹 See the full announcement to find out how setting up your team on Magical can improve each of your teammate's productivity by 20%.

https://t.co/f8R0iIy0Sz

[David Thacker @davthack]

@kevinakwok @saranormous Yes, I think so. Google's way of getting you to pay $12/mo for Google Workspace Business edition!

[Greylock Partners @GreylockVC]

1/ Achievement unlocked: multiplayer design. Congrats to @Figma and @Adobe on an incredible new chapter together. @GreylockVC venture partner @johnolilly shares his reflections on partnering with Figma, starting at series A in 2014: https://t.co/pwGRFwbo2U

[David Thacker @davthack]

@saranormous @GreylockVC We'll miss you Sarah! You've had a tremendous impact at Greylock and it's been a privilege to work with you. Excited to see what you do next!

[David Thacker @davthack]

I'm excited to announce Greylock's investment in @get_magical! It's been a privilege to work with @hsambhi and the rest of the team at Magical. They've built an elegant product that gives users a big productivity boost -- saving time and letting users focus on important work.

[Greylock Partners @GreylockVC]

Repetitive tasks put a drag on our productivity.

With no integrations & just a simple keystroke, @get_magical can move data across websites & apps, speeding up workflows like data-entry, populating spreadsheets & more.

More from @davthack on the seed: https://t.co/5IbN9nmJu7

[David Thacker @davthack]

We're excited to announce our investment in AmplifyMD! We look forward to our continued partnership with the company on their mission to improve access to speciality healthcare.

[Greylock Partners @GreylockVC]

AmplifyMD connects underserved hospitals w/ on-demand specialists, letting patients & specialists connect regardless of location. We co-led the seed w/ @ForerunnerVC, & continued to support w/ the Series A led by @FPrimeCapital. More from @davthack https://t.co/A2OYhPzfSf

[David Thacker @davthack]

Fun conversation with @sumirmeghani, CEO and Co-founder of @instawork. Sumir shares many insights and stories about starting the company, bootstrapping a marketplace business, and how he sees the future of work evolving.

[Greylock Partners @GreylockVC]

The future is flexible (when it comes to work), and that's not just for office workers anymore. Listen to the latest #greymatter to hear @instawork CEO @sumirmeghani & @greylockVC's @davthack discuss the dynamics of the new labor market https://t.co/0NMWNI50IE

[David Thacker @davthack]

I recently spoke with @YouTube's Chief Product Officer @nealmohan to get his thoughts on the evolution of YouTube, the future of the creator economy, running a product development organization, and many other topics. Thank you for sharing your insights Neal!

[Greylock Partners @GreylockVC]

In YouTube's early days, some thought it wouldn't amount to much. Millions of creators had other ideas. That, + smart biz decisions turned the OG of #UGC into what it is today. YT's CPO @nealmohan chats w/@GreylockVC's @davthack on #greymatter
https://t.co/xWHH7VmgLR

[Sumir Meghani @sumirmeghani]

In an oped published in today's @wsj, our Chief Economist @AltmanEcon makes compelling suggestions on how flexible work should be measured and understood by policymakers. Flexible works make the economy run more smoothly and be more resilient.

https://t.co/TTu8hsVsIm