Ben Pederson

Tech Investor @KKR_Co

[Nikesh Arora @nikesharora]

The AI Business model trap: LLMs want cash flow to fund the race to AGI or the next model. Enter free consumer AI - they are losing a lot of money on the breadth of models to serve consumers for free! They are caught in the post training data trap, free consumer usage feeds post training needs, it can't be right to stop serving customers for free?

But they need money for the compute:

The monetization challenge is being pointed to Enterprises.

Phase 1 - seemed easy, value capture in coding, the most bottom up motion in enterprise - with low customization per customer. Developers continue to train coding, tasks and eventually will train flawless skills.

Phase 2 is where the challenge lies, showing true enterprise value. The promise of efficiency, accuracy, elimination of resources - that requires a different approach, build depth with harnesses, context, memory, solving for edge cases with deterministic guardrails! Build skill libraries - enter FDEs. Yes,FDEs will train the enterprise Waymos of the world.

The risk - high token pricing for enterprises while consumers for free! Yes for consumer distribution businesses (aka Google, Meta, Apple, etc) it makes sense to hold on the distribution with free AI.

If you want to win enterprise, you should be forward pricing tokens. The cheaper the tokens for enterprises it will allow for experimentation, workflow reimagination - instead CIOs are busy restricting AI use and working on making the use more efficient!

Paradox: They still haven't fully understood and embraced the value of AI in the enterprise.

If I were them:
1. Cut token pricing now, else send enterprises to secure opensource and end up with friction filled routing layers.
2. Show me how enterprises can use their context, training and data as their competitive advantage.
3. Build tools for rapid edge case learning and reducing false positives.

@HarryStebbings
@sama @DarioAmodei @demishassabis

[Tommy @Shaughnessy119]

Today @Citadel has come out and covered the shift toward cheaper AI models

This is squarely in line with my thesis

https://t.co/oJwIYHavEg

[Ben Pederson @pedersob]

Won’t be surprised if they don’t even make it to an IPO. Continue to believe most likely outcome is an acquisition by MSFT and likely at values below their target IPO valuation below…

[unusual_whales @unusual_whales]

OpenAI reportedly planning an IPO with a targeted valuation between $730 billion and $850 billion, per CNBC

[Ben Pederson @pedersob]

@brandonjcarl Seeing similar patterns / behavior at our most sophisticated dev companies. Moving large portion of their software dev to open source or cheaper models and only calling to Anthropic / OAI for most complex tasks / issues

[Dan Gray @credistick]

There are 12 venture-backed companies that raised >$3B in private markets and then listed in the US.

Only one that has a positive return today, relative to the S&P 500's performance over the same period.

Most are deeply negative (aggregate -117%).

Only two that were positive at lockup expiry, neither stayed that way.

The high cost of private capital means the companies that raise the most, and stay private longer, are almost inevitably overvalued as insiders raise the price of funding events aggressively to stay NPV positive.

[Ben Pederson @pedersob]

@brandonjcarl Agreed.

[Traded: Venture Capital @TradedVC]

Coder, an Austin-based AI development infrastructure company, raised $90 million in Series C funding led by KKR, with participation from Qube Research and Technologies (QRT), Uncork Capital, and existing investors. The company, founded in 2017 and led by CEO Rob Whiteley, plans to use the funding to advance platform innovation, particularly in enterprise AI workflows and governance, as it continues to offer a centralized cloud-based environment that streamlines software development and enables both developers and AI tools to operate within a controlled, standardized infrastructure.

FOUNDERS: Ammar Bandukwala & Kyle Carberry

INVESTORS: KKR, Qube Research and Technologies & Uncork Capital

AMOUNT: $90,000,000

HQ: Austin, Texas

#VentureCapital #Coder #AmmarBandukwala #KyleCarberry #TradedVC

[Paolo Ardoino 🤖 @paoloardoino]

Tether + Anchorage 💪

[Diogo Mónica @diogomonica]

Today, Anchorage Digital is announcing a $100M strategic equity investment from https://t.co/0xIylqnDgA, implying a valuation of $4.2B.

Even more exciting is the fact that these $100M are being used for the first-ever employee tender offer, providing liquidity to long-tenured team members who have helped build the company over nearly a decade.

As a founder there are lots of moments in a company lifecycle that make you truly proud, and this one certainly ranks at the top.

[Anchorage Digital ⚓️ @Anchorage]

Anchorage Digital and @tether are proud to bring you USA₮, a federally regulated, dollar-backed stablecoin. Made in the U.S. 🇺🇸

[Techmeme @Techmeme]

Saviynt, an identity and access management service focused on "human and nonhuman" identity controls, raised a $700M Series B led by KKR at a $3B valuation (@angusloten / Wall Street Journal)

https://t.co/HhvbwbmXQ8
https://t.co/rHSaEXgL4l

[Anchorage Digital ⚓️ @Anchorage]

Anchorage Digital Bank—the first and only crypto bank and stablecoin issuance platform under federal @USOCC oversight—is proud to be the issuer of @tether’s new GENIUS-compliant stablecoin, advancing the strength of the U.S. dollar for decades to come.

[Ontic @ontic_co]

We’re excited to share that Ontic has raised our Series C, led by @KKR_Co.
Thank you to our investors, partners, clients, and the Ontic Team for believing in this mission. Together, we’re building the foundation for #ConnectedIntelligence.
https://t.co/JYrutBF6bb

[Ben Pederson @pedersob]

@unusual_whales He won the primary. Not the mayoral race yet.

[TechCrunch @TechCrunch]

XOi raises $230M, acquires Specifx to expand its tech for field service technicians https://t.co/gG3LNojV6q

[Kirk Herbstreit @KirkHerbstreit]

I’m sorry I couldn’t properly lead to this beautiful tribute the @CollegeGameDay put together. Really wanted to thank all of you for the avalanche of love and support you’ve shown Ben. It gives me and my family such comfort knowing how he impacted so many peoples lives around the country. He was a beautiful and loving soul.

[Marc Andreessen 🇺🇸 @pmarca]

America is an economic coiled spring. We should be growing at least 4% annually and ideally 6-8%+. Growth has been brutally suppressed since before I was born. But there is so much to build. And the payoff for all Americans will be incredible. 🇺🇸

[Nasdaq Exchange @NasdaqExchange]

💡 Financial data should be insightful, unified, & ultimately, help CFOs guide the business.

🤝 That’s where @OneStream_Soft comes in.

💸 @OneStream_Soft: They’re the operating system for modern finance—empowering teams to #TakeFinanceFurther.

🎊 Today, the $OS team is ringing in their listing with us at @NasdaqExchange. Stay tuned for more!

[Nasuni @Nasuni]

Nasuni is proud to announce that a majority investment in Nasuni has been made, led by @Vista_Equity, @TCVTech, and @KKR_Co, valuating us at approximately $1.2 billion! 🎉

Read our press release to learn more: https://t.co/QUqB4wmiFX

#Nasuni #CompanyGrowth #VistaEquity

[TechCrunch @TechCrunch]

Exclusive: KKR just closed its third tech growth fund with roughly $3 billion, $400 million of which came from KKR https://t.co/1QTZvFxQ3h by @cookie