AI, LPs, and the New Era of Venture | Lu Zhang (Founder & Managing Partner, Fusion Fund) скачать в хорошем качестве

AI, LPs, and the New Era of Venture | Lu Zhang (Founder & Managing Partner, Fusion Fund)

Lu Zhang, Managing Partner of Fusion Fund, joins Peter this week to talk about what it takes to scale an early-stage venture firm—and back game-changing companies—at the speed of today’s AI boom. Fresh off her oversubscribed $190M Fund IV raise, Lu talks about what most managers get wrong when pitching institutional LPs, what it takes to stand out in a bubble-driven market, and why true founder support means going way beyond capital. She opens up about her unique CXO and Super Founder networks, team-based investing philosophy, and how Fusion unlocks early commercial contracts—even from highly regulated enterprise buyers. Plus, why Lu took LP calls from Antarctica (via Starlink), how she thinks about data privacy and AI affordability, and why a founder’s revenue durability matters more than their paper markup. If you’re looking to raise a fund, raise a round, or just understand how great institutional investors think, this is a must-listen. Subscribe to Carta’s weekly Data Minute newsletter: https://carta.com/subscribe/data-news... Explore interactive startup and VC data, with Carta’s Data Desk: https://carta.com/data-desk/ Chapters: 00:00 – Intro & welcome to Lu Zhang 01:15 – Fund IV success: fusion in a $190M market moment 02:14 – Why repeat founders are jumping back in 03:32 – Different edges: repeat vs. first-time AI founders 04:46 – Are we in a valuation bubble? 05:40 – Founders, pricing, and capital discipline 07:10 – Fusion’s advice-first approach to early-stage rounds 08:19 – CXO network as a go-to-market advantage 09:44 – Why “revenue is the best capital” 10:14 – Building founder loyalty through value creation 11:33 – Handling tough decisions: shutdowns, M&A, and alignment 13:23 – Lu’s take on the new role for secondaries 14:38 – Distribution vs. recycling: how Fusion thinks 15:15 – Fund structuring and reserving for multiple follow-ons 16:04 – From solo GP to a 12-person team 17:05 – Matching long-term firm vision with scaling founder support 18:12 – Working across sectors with deep research and reports 19:31 – Beyond Silicon Valley: geopolitical signals + timing 20:05 – What CXOs actually want from AI startups 21:29 – Edge compute, vertical models & AI infrastructure 22:24 – Enterprise readiness and compliance bottlenecks 23:10 – The true cost of AI: what founders overlook 24:18 – Portfolio growth stats: 20x revenue in one year 25:04 – When small teams scale to $100M+ 26:13 – Leveraging open source for enterprise distribution 27:15 – How to break into regulated markets with AI 28:25 – Complying with data regulations by design 29:12 – The upside of regulation-readiness for AI adoption 30:18 – Foundation models & new healthcare openness 30:57 – M&A momentum inside Fusion’s most recent exits 32:14 – Fund IV hard cap decisions & LP allocation dynamics 33:24 – LP calls from Antarctica: a real story 34:04 – M&A vs. IPO: timelines, outcomes & premiums 35:07 – From angels to institutions: how Fusion’s LP base evolved 36:01 – Building LP community with intention 36:56 – Graduation moment: from emerging manager to fund IV 37:47 – Why large LPs are warming to small fund strategies 38:44 – Growing with consistency: keeping method over trend 39:42 – The LP metric that matters: revenue at the portfolio level 40:43 – Why clean marks and real revenue matter so much now 41:17 – Has co-investor behavior changed post-2021? 42:12 – Why Fusion’s map of investors is still highly consistent 42:58 – Lightning round: sectors, geographies & support 43:03 – Sector Lu’s most excited about? Healthcare & space 44:04 – Should founders be in Silicon Valley? 44:58 – A founder-first mindset, from housing to liquidity 46:00 – Final thoughts and outro This presentation contains general information only and eShares, Inc. dba Carta, Inc. (“Carta”) is not, by means of this publication, rendering accounting, business, financial, investment, legal, tax, or other professional advice or services, and is for informational purposes only. This presentation is not a substitute for such professional advice or services nor should it be used as a basis for any decision or action that may affect your business or interests. © 2025 eShares, Inc., dba Carta, Inc. All rights reserved.