Interviewer / Host (2:52)

Is this an example of you investing in the known quantity founder then rather than the idea?

Vinod Khosla (3:00)

Absolutely. When we invested the idea wasn't clear, that was a year and a half or two years ago. But the founder was very careful.

Interviewer / Host (3:12)

David, I trying to track the growth that you've had. So spring of 2024 you kind of come up with the idea, I guess incorporate a business and you've hired, I guess aggressively. You know, you're sub 100 people still, but you've basically gone to companies that are well known globally, not just here in the valley and taking the best people you can. What was that like?

David Zhu (3:36)

Well yeah, that's, that's you're spot on there. The company you build taking a page out of the notes book. But the company you build is the team you build is a company you build, not the plans you make. And when we thought about tackling the space of unifying all of go to market tech in one system spanning marketing, sales, sales and success, we really needed to make sure that we had the talent density both from a technical perspective but also from a go to market to really bring together the combination of the depth of domain knowledge plus the ability to access the first party data to really pull this vision off. So global talent is necessary for us to make this a reality.

Interviewer / Host (4:17)

David, what else do you need the $80 million for?

David Zhu (4:22)

Yeah, well, over the next few months and quarters and years our vision is clear. We need to continue accelerating our product roadmap to build out both the breadth of the surface area to serve our customers, but also making sure that every single capability is the best possible from a depth perspective. But more importantly, in the age of AI, context matters and it's very important for us to double down on making sure that our AI operating system is able to work seamlessly across every single one of these modules. Capabilities, jobs to be done. So we're not replicating another Frankenstein for the future world. So that's what we're going to use the proceeds to to do.

Interviewer / Host (5:05)

Vinod, I go back to you with the concept of the Frankenstein. You know you're invested everywhere. One of the first checks into open air. The world has changed a lot since then. You know we had yesterday Sridhar from Snowflake on the program talking about the problems right now in the data lay. What do you make of the Franken stack? Is that a real thing or this is just a marketing opportunity around this round?

Vinod Khosla (5:32)

No, I think it's a real thing. First, AI enables each startup to do a lot more than it could do. 20 engineers can do the work of 60 engineers. If you use the productivity tools AI enables. But more than that, the user experience can be dramatically different with the help of AI. As I like to say, in the old world of applications, users had to learn an application and they learned each vertical stack. In the new world of AI, the application learns the human and responds the way it should. It's my favorite way to think about the transition AI makes possible. You don't have to be trained on. On an application like SAP or Hubstack, the application gets to know you and other humans on your team and so it facilitates not only the function but also workflow across people and across applications. I think pretty important shift in software to both you.

Interviewer / Host (6:36)

I kind of like to end the conversation by, by going a little bit bigger on the world that we're in right now. You know, David, if you could reflect on what it was like doing this round. There is a lot of energy behind AI right now, but at the other end the spectrum there is valuation concern. You know, there's no difficulty in open air, anthropic, those kinds of frontier labs gaining capital. But there is a lot going on right now. Would you just reflect on what the last few weeks has been like in trying to close this?

David Zhu (7:05)

Well, you know, the fundamental difference is clear with our approach. We are native and purpose built for revenue teams and so, you know, when you talk about the old players that are trying to bow AI onto a legacy stack, it just doesn't work. What we're building with Revo is akin to, to how Tesla built its cars, vertically integrated with AI at its core. This way our AI is able to see and act across the full customer journey. So the old players are held back by their past. And the new players, to your point, you know, don't have the depth of domain knowledge nor the access to the full suite of first party data to pull this vision off. So Revo is building with both and yes, it's hard, but that's really what makes it defensible and worth doing.

Interviewer / Host (7:50)

Vinod, you know you're co leading this round with your friends at Kleiner Perkins. Again, the same question, like what does the environment look like to you right now? This is a very sizable debut round. You had the conviction to do that.

Vinod Khosla (8:07)

Well, it was a while ago we did the seed round of 10 million that wasn't announced and now we just participate in the $70 million round. Obviously we think highly of the, but I think it's the magnitude of the opportunity this opens up for native companies. I like to say most valuations won't hold up in the space, but the ones that are really high quality companies will return disproportionate returns. In 2018, people said to me $1 billion valuation for open Air was too high. Then they said 26 billion was too high and then 100 billion, then 300 billion, and then hundred billion were all too high. So a small percentage of the companies, I suspect much less than 5%, will actually do extremely well and return 10, 50, 100 times their money invested. Most companies will still lose money, and I think that's why you want to back quality founders like David. David's a superstar. I'd back him in almost anything he did.

Interviewer / Host (9:19)

David Zhu, CEO of Revo AI Vino Coast Co founder of Coastal Ventures and as we just discussed, co led that round. Great to have you both on the program. Thank you.

Indiana University Announcer (9:27)

Indiana University is shaping the future of health care. Advancing discoveries that become treatments for Alzheimer's, obesity, cancer and other rare and complex diseases. And training the next generation of providers, doctors and nurses trusted to address health challenges with skill, compassion and purpose. From the lab to the clinic, from research teams to patient care, IU talent is driving medical innovation, improving health outcomes and strengthening communities. See how IU solves. What's next? Iu.

Bloomberg Audio Studios Announcer (9:59)

Edu Impact Hiscock Small Business Insurance knows there is no business like your business. Across America, over 600,000 small businesses, from accountants and architects to photographers and yoga instructors, look to Hiscox Insurance for protection. Find flexible coverage that adapts to the needs of your small business with a fast, easy online quote@hiscox.com. that's his C O X com. There's no business like small business. Hiscox Small Business Insurance.