NFX

Picasso mastered realism by 15. Then he walked away from it. When photography made realistic documentation abundant, painting didn’t die. It expanded: Impressionism. Expressionism. Cubism. AI is creating the same kind of moment for founders. Craft is becoming abundant. Code, design, writing, production, analysis — AI is paying the entry fee for everyone. Taste still matters, but AI is learning patterns fast. So what’s left? Expression. Your worldview. Your conviction. Your ability to see what others don’t. That is the new edge. In this video, Pete Flint breaks down what Picasso’s leap from craft to expression can teach founders building in the AI era — and why the biggest opportunities won’t come from making old workflows 20% cheaper, but from creating entirely new behavior. Weekly insights in your inbox: https://www.nfx.com/subscribe #AI #Startups #Founders #NFX #Picasso #VentureCapital

More founder frameworks → https://www.nfx.com/subscribe Founders are quietly burning out — not from overwork, but from a crisis of self. The smartest person in the room used to be you. Now there's a model on your laptop that thinks faster, writes better, and never sleeps. That dissonance has a name. In this video, James Currier (NFX) introduces "Zen Sickness" — the 1800s Buddhist term for the unsettled feeling that arrives right before awakening. He argues the founders who push through it will define the next decade. The ones who don't will be left behind by their own pessimism. Three moves to get there. One personal moment that stops you cold. And a clear answer to the question every founder is quietly asking: what am I actually worth in a world where cognition is free? — NFX is a pre-seed and seed-stage venture firm investing in founders building network effects businesses. We've backed companies like Lyft, DoorDash, Trulia, Houzz, and Patreon. Apply for funding → https://signal.nfx.com/brieflink Read the essays → https://www.nfx.com/essays Subscribe for more founder frameworks from James, Pete, Gigi, Morgan, and the NFX team. #AIFounders #StartupAdvice #AIZen #VentureCapital #NFX

The last decade of software was built to capture your attention. The next decade will give it back. 👉 Subscribe now for more insights: https://www.nfx.com/subscribe In this video, Pete Flint breaks down a major shift happening in AI: the move toward “screenless” products. Not literally no screens, but software that removes the need for constant attention. From ChatGPT to Cursor to AI agents that act on your behalf, the best products are starting to disappear. You set them up, and they work in the background. This isn’t about new devices. Early attempts like Rabbit and Humane showed that replacing the phone isn’t the answer. The real shift is behavioral — software that does the work for you. We cover: - Why technology always moves toward invisibility - The idea of “calm technology” from Silicon Valley’s early days - How AI changes what software can actually do - Why removing attention is the new competitive advantage - What this means for founders building the next generation of startups The winners in AI won’t be the products you can’t look away from. They’ll be the ones that let you finally look up.

👉 Apply now: https://fast.nfx.com FAST is a new kind of fundraising experience built on one principle: founders deserve better. No more guessing games, no more chasing investors — just a transparent, founder-first process from one of the top Pre-Seed and Seed firms in the world. Here's what makes FAST different: ✅ You know the deal terms upfront ✅ You know exactly where you are at every step of the process ✅ Funded founders join the NFX Guild — a portfolio of 400+ top founders who actively support each other NFX has built 10 companies with $10B+ in exits. They invest in early-stage companies across the US, Israel, LatAm, and Europe — with a strong focus on network effects businesses. Ready to apply? Create a private BriefLink with a deck, a video, and answers to 12 questions. No idea is too early.

Most people haven't experienced natural conversations with AI yet, beyond typing in chatbots, but talking to AI can be an awesome experience, especially when it takes on different roles. We believe that conversational AI is going to be a huge part of the future and a major part of entertainment. #AI #ArtificialIntelligence #VoiceAI #ConversationalAI #FutureOfTech #AIEntertainment #RolePlayingAI #TechTrends #Innovation #AIExperience

Does founder success com down to luck or skill? While luck plays a role, the real skill is in staying alive long enough to learn from your mistakes. By surviving feedback loops and getting smacked around by reality, we've been able to learn and grow—something that wouldn't be possible if we burned out on our first attempt. #LuckVsSkill #Resilience #LearningFromFailure #Survival #PersonalGrowth #FeedbackLoops #SuccessMindset #Experience #Wisdom #SecondChances

In this episode of the NFX Podcast, Max Child (Founder & CEO of Weekend, the #1 voice AI games company in the world, formerly Volley) breaks down why AI will turn everyone into a gamer — not just the hardcore players. We dive into how voice AI, large language models, and smart TVs are unlocking a new kind of interactive entertainment — where games are powered by conversation, not controllers. You’ll learn: - Why AI expands gaming to billions of new users - How conversation is becoming the new gameplay mechanic - Why the living room (TV) is the next major platform shift - The 3 real growth strategies every founder needs to know - The founder lesson that matters most: staying alive long enough for luck to hit Max also shares how AI is already 2–2.5x’ing engineering productivity and what that means for building faster, better products. This isn’t just about gaming — it’s about how AI creates entirely new categories, and how founders can position themselves to win. Chapters: 00:00 Intro 01:12 What Weekend is building (AI games on TV) 05:30 Why AI will create a new gaming category 10:45 Founder lessons: survival, speed, and luck 18:00 The 3 growth strategies that actually work 23:30 AI and the future of product development 27:00 The long-term vision: Roblox for TV If you're a founder, builder, or operator working in AI, gaming, or consumer — subscribe for more conversations on network effects, startup strategy, and building enduring companies. #AI #Startups #Gaming #Founders #VentureCapital #NFX

On March 8, just before GDC, we brought together some of the top builders in AI games for a private summit at NFX in San Francisco. 128 founders, operators, and creators in one room. No panels. No fluff. Just real conversations about where AI is taking games. For years, this moment felt far off. Now it’s here. Teams are rethinking gameplay, production, and entire categories from the ground up. What used to take studios now takes small teams. What used to be static is becoming dynamic. This was the first time this group came together. It won’t be the last. If you’re building in AI games, pay attention. Follow NFX for more: nfx.com/subscribe

Software is about to be built very differently. In this clip of the NFX Podcast, Latitude Games CEO Nick Walton explains how his team is already shifting toward an AI-driven development process — where engineers spend less time writing code and more time directing systems that generate, test, and ship it. Instead of the traditional model where features get handed off to engineers, teams write detailed specs and let AI implement large portions of the work. AI reviews code, analyzes user feedback at scale, and helps teams ship faster than ever before. Nick also talks about why this shift demands a different kind of team — people with strong product judgment, high agency, and the ability to move quickly as the technology evolves. For founders, engineers, and builders, this is a glimpse into how the next generation of software teams will actually operate. Topics in this clip: • Why AI will write more and more of the code • The rise of spec-driven development • AI reviewing pull requests and testing code • Using AI to process thousands of user feedback reports • Why small, talent-dense teams move faster • The new skillset engineers will need in the AI era About Nick Walton Nick Walton is the CEO of Latitude Games, the company behind AI Dungeon and Voyage. Latitude has been experimenting with AI-powered interactive worlds since the early GPT-2 days and is pushing the frontier of what AI can do in games.

AI is accelerating software development so fast that teams have to rethink how they build every few months. This isn’t a productivity boost. It’s a fundamental shift in how software gets built. #AIEngineering #Startups #Tech

D&D lets players create any story they want. Traditional games never captured that magic. But AI finally can. That realization led to AI Dungeon. #RPG #AIGames #GameDev

AI is changing how we create. Images, code, video — and soon entire game worlds. The future of gaming isn’t just playing. It’s creating worlds instantly. #AIGaming #GameDev #AI #NFX #chatgpt

AI won’t just help engineers code faster - it will change how companies build software entirely. But most organizations are not mentally prepared for it. The next wave of startups already are. #AI #Tech #Startups #NFX #software

Nick Walton was experimenting with GPT-2 and trained it to generate interactive stories. He launched the prototype online…100,000 players showed up overnight. #AI #Gaming #StartupStory #GPT

Nick Walton launched his AI game as a Google Colab script. He didn’t even have GPUs. Within a day, there were 100K people were playing. #AIGames #StartupIdeas #NFX #chatgpt

GPT-2 was tiny. Barely coherent. But Nick Walton saw the signal: AI could finally recreate the magic of D&D in digital worlds. Infinite stories. Infinite games. #Founders #AIGames #Startups #NFX #chatgpt

AI is transforming gaming — not incrementally, but fundamentally. Subscribe for more conversations with the founders building what’s next - nfx.com/subscribe In this episode of The NFX Podcast, James Currier sits down with Nick Walton, CEO of Latitude (AI Dungeon, Voyage), to break down what it really means to build an AI-native game company — and why traditional AAA studios may be unprepared for what’s coming. Nick was experimenting with GPT-2 in 2019 before most people had heard of it. Since then, Latitude has become one of the earliest and most advanced players in AI-powered games, pioneering dynamic storytelling, infinite RPG worlds, and multiplayer AI experiences. This is a deep dive into the future of interactive entertainment. Topics We Cover: - What “AI-native” actually means in gaming - Why AI games improve overnight (and traditional games don’t) - The shift from scripted content to infinite, dynamic worlds - Building Voyage: a genre-agnostic RPG platform powered by AI - How world models (like Google Genie) fit into the future of games - Why mental models must change every 1–3 months - AI-native software development and ultra-high talent density teams - The resistance to AI inside gaming studios - UGC, long-tail IP, and unlocking infinite fandoms - The magic of multiplayer AI storytelling - Why AI games will feel more personal — and more emotional If you’re a founder, game developer, or AI builder, this episode breaks down how fast this space is moving — and what it takes to win.

Get more weekly insights - nfx.com/subscribe What if we stopped treating disease one by one - and started treating the root cause of aging itself? In this video, we break down the 3 Rs of Longevity as a framework for radically extending healthy human lifespan: Reprogramming, Regeneration, Replacement. If aging is the root cause of most major diseases, then curing aging could mean curing them all. We cover: - Why aging is the biggest risk factor for disease - Yamanaka factors and cellular reprogramming - Partial reprogramming and eye rejuvenation trials - Unlocking regeneration in human organs - Turning fibrosis into regeneration - Stem-cell derived embryo models - Growing genetically identical young tissues - The path to living to 160 - Why longevity is more than supplements - Treating root causes vs. treating symptoms This isn’t about incremental health hacks. It’s about attacking the core biological driver of decline. If you’re building in reprogramming, regeneration, or replacement — we want to talk.

Weekly insights in your inbox at the link here – https://www.nfx.com/subscribe Read Pete's "12 Killer Wedges" essay here - https://www.nfx.com/post/finding-your-killer-wedge Early-stage founders ask. NFX partners answer. In this episode of Ask NFX, General Partner Pete Flint answers real questions from founders building in an AI-first world. The conversation covers what investors actually look for at pre-seed, how to judge founder conviction, what replaces traditional demand signals, and whether marketplaces still matter in the age of AI. Topics include: Engagement vs early monetization at pre-seed Network effects when revenue isn’t meaningful yet How AI changes demand verification and forecasting Conviction formed after customer exposure The earliest signal a founder is going to win Whether decks still matter If AI has flattened marketplaces into wrappers No slides. No prep. Just direct answers from someone who’s built, invested, and seen thousands of startups up close.

Weekly insights in your inbox at the link here - https://www.nfx.com/subscribe Early-stage founders ask. NFX answers. In this episode of Ask NFX, General Partner James Currier answers real questions from early-stage founders — covering how to think about building, scaling, and avoiding common early mistakes. 0:00 - Is saying 'I don't know' acceptable as a founder? 2:22 - What's a 3-Person Unicorn and why are you looking for them? 3:35 - Why does speed matter in a startup so much? 5:00 - What do you focus on instead of the macro environment? (hint: your “technology window”) 5:45 - When do you know that it's time to pivot? 6:42 - What's your take on remote vs in-person teams in startups? These are the questions founders actually ask when they’re in it. No slides. No prep. Just direct answers from someone who’s seen thousands of startups up close.

Weekly insights in your inbox at the link here - https://www.nfx.com/subscribe Every day, billions of ideas are born — in garages, labs, road trips, and quiet moments no one sees. Most fade. But a rare few endure, reshaping how we live, work, and connect. This short film is about those ideas — and the builders willing to take the risk to bring them to life. We believe there has never been a better moment to build. Creation has no limits. The window is wide open. This is the golden age of startups.

Weekly insights in your inbox at the link here - https://www.nfx.com/subscribe Read the essay here - https://www.nfx.com/post/hidden-structure-startups AI didn’t just change how startups build products. It changed how startups should be built. At NFX, we’re seeing seed-stage companies reach real traction with teams in the low double digits — not because they’re understaffed, but because they’re over-leveraged. In this video, Pete Flint breaks down: - Why AI breaks traditional org charts - How early structure quietly kills momentum - What founders should rethink about hiring, roles, and leadership - How the fastest teams design for speed, not coordination If you’re building an early-stage company, this is a mental shift you can’t afford to miss. Subscribe for more insights on startups, AI, network effects, and company design.

Today, On Me is announcing their $6M seed round — led by NFX, with participation from Lerer Hippeau and Focal. On Me is rebuilding the $447B gift card industry from the ground up. Their digital-first platform blends e-commerce, fintech, and network-driven design to turn gift cards into a modern, mobile-native experience. In this video, we break down the three big reasons we invested: 1. Proven Demand → Massive Untapped Potential The gift card market is huge, but still stuck on plastic and email delivery. With consumers rapidly shifting to digital wallets and mobile payments, On Me is unlocking a much bigger market. 2. Multi-Layered Network Effects On Me turns every gift into a warm communication loop and every vendor into part of a growing marketplace. Personal networks + vendor networks = long-term defensibility. 3. A World-Class Team Founders Darragh Meaney and Sitar Harel bring deep experience from Google, YouTube, and Credit Suisse — the right team for this moment. Congrats to the On Me team! Try sending a gift here → https://onme.com/

Old playbooks don’t work when tokens replace servers. In AI, margin starts tight and widens only if you capture value early. Founders who underprice train customers to expect miracles for pennies. The next wave isn’t “buy software for access” it’s “buy outcomes for work delivered.”

Simplicity in pricing builds trust, not churn. Outcome-based models make switching easy in theory, but rare in practice. When a product embeds itself data, workflow, intuition, the moat forms naturally. The best switching cost isn’t confusion; it’s integration.

Startups can’t outspend incumbents, but they can outthink them. While legacy firms bolt AI onto bloated stacks, new entrants rebuild the contract itself. Outcome-based pricing turns alignment into a weapon “I win when you win.” Disruption doesn’t start with technology; it starts with how you charge for it.

As AI accelerates, pricing drifts toward outcomes, not effort. Machines will soon negotiate with machines, value measured by results, not bias. Even CIOs chasing predictability are warming to aligned incentives. In a world of superintelligence, outcome isn’t a model, it’s the only logic left.

AI founders are learning that pricing evolves with autonomy. The more an agent thinks and acts on its own, the closer you get to outcome-based value. Attribution is the bridge show me the impact, and I’ll pay for the outcome. Great startups don’t pick a quadrant; they build the map to move across it.

If a 10% price hike needs a prayer, you built the wrong business. Most pricing fear is emotional, not logical, costs rise, value should too. Great products earn the right to charge more as they scale. Network effects turn time itself into a pricing advantage.

Everyone’s rushing to show revenue, especially in AI. But $10M ARR means little if it’s built on 90-day experiments. POC dollars aren’t contracts, they’re curiosity in disguise. Durability isn’t about momentum, it’s about who keeps paying once the hype fades.