We are excited to have Alex Kolicich , the founding partner of 8VC, on the pod this week. Alex shares his journey from working at Google and Palantir to joining Peter Thiel's hedge fund, Clarion Capital, and later co-founding 8VC. Alex discusses 8VC’s mission to significantly impact their portfolio companies by leveraging their unique blend of industry insight and investment expertise. And we get Alex's take on the recent AI boom in venture capital, dissecting the mega funding rounds in the AI space and providing a forward-looking perspective on startups and fundraising. We also have a news round-up with John Ruffolo . About Alex Kolicich: Alex Kolicich is a Founding Partner at 8VC, where he focuses on IT and Bio-IT investments. Prior to 8VC, Alex was a Partner at Formation 8 and also worked with Peter Thiel as a Principal at Mithril Capital Management, a growth-stage venture fund, where he helped lead investments in AppDirect, C2FO, and Helion Energy. Before his career as an investor, Alex worked as an engineer and early-product advisor at Clarium, Palantir, and Google. He was an early member of the Clarium Capital quantitative engineering team (with Joe Lonsdale) and a close advisor/collaborator with the early Palantir team; advising on product design and contributing to the product. At Google Research, Alex worked on Google Street View before and during its launch and also worked on the development and launch of the Google Checkout. In this episode, we discuss: (00:01:26) AI's impact on Venture Capital (00:03:13) 2023 fundraising challenges leading into 2024 (00:04:10) The contrast between companies shutting down and those adapting successfully to market changes (00:05:03) Beedie Capital acquires Think Research and the trend of lenders buying out companies (00:06:02) The current state of the private equity market (00:07:00) Differences between the private equity markets in Canada and the United States, and their impact on investment strategies (00:08:26) Foundry Group's unexpected shutdown and the challenges of succession planning in VC firms (00:10:20) The reasons behind recent CEO changes in companies (00:13:32) How NVIDIA's growth affects venture capital funding decisions, particularly in AI and tech startups (00:18:18) Alex Kolicich's journey from engineering to venture capital, including his roles at Google and Palantir, and his focus on early-stage investing (00:30:46) Evolution of Formation 8 into 8VC (00:45:21) The fundraising landscape for 2024, noting potential challenges and opportunities for startups seeking investment (00:53:15) The long-term effects of AI on startup innovation and the venture capital industry's investment approach (00:57:17) Canada's Role in the AI Space Fast Favorites: 🎙- Favorite Podcast: Meb Faber 📰- Favorite Newsletter / Blog: Interconnects 📲- Favorite Tech Gadget: Airpods Pro 📈-  Favorite New Trend: The rebirth of Silicon Valley 📚- Favorite Book: 1984 🤔 - Favorite Life Lesson: Put yourself in a position where you work with the most talented people Follow Matt Cohen and Tank Talks here! Podcast production support provided by Agentbee.ai