Bloomberg Talks — "Khosla Ventures Co-Founder Talks Reevo"

Episode Date: November 5, 2025
Host: Bloomberg
Guests: David Zhu (CEO, Reevo), Vinod Khosla (Co-Founder, Khosla Ventures)

Episode Overview

This episode spotlights Reevo, a new AI-driven enterprise software startup emerging from stealth with a substantial $80 million funding round co-led by Khosla Ventures and Kleiner Perkins. Host Bloomberg interviews Reevo CEO David Zhu and influential investor Vinod Khosla about the company’s vision to replace the complicated “Frankenstack” of disconnected revenue tools, their approach to building a world-class team, and their perspectives on the current AI investment landscape.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Reevo’s Mission — Tackling the “Frankenstack” Problem

• Definition of the Frankenstack ([00:22]–[01:39]):
  • David Zhu: Explains that revenue teams today juggle a disconnected mess (“Frankenstack”) of software tools, leading to wasted time and inefficiency.
  • Quote:

    “...revenue teams are still stuck in, like you said, what we call the Frankenstein, which is a dozen different tools that don't really talk to each other, causing sellers to waste over 70% of their time wrangling software instead of talking to their customers.” ([01:08] – David Zhu)

  • Reevo’s Goal: Develop a unified, AI-built revenue operating system to streamline these tools and maximize productivity.

2. Origins of Reevo and Investment Philosophy

• Incubation and Founder Track Record ([01:39]–[03:12]):
  • Vinod Khosla: Discusses the atypical investment journey — the relationship with David Zhu predates Reevo, having previously collaborated across various startups.
  • Quote:

    “We've known David for a long time, from doordash to open door to open store... we cooked up the concept, brainstormed it and thought it was important enough to do in the age of AI...” ([02:13] – Vinod Khosla)

  • Backing Founders over Ideas:

    “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.” ([03:00] – Vinod Khosla)

3. Building a High-Caliber Team

• Approach to Hiring & Talent Density ([03:12]–[04:17]):
  • David Zhu: Describes aggressively recruiting talent globally and emphasizes the direct link between team quality and company success.
  • Quote:

    “The team you build is the company you build, not the plans you make.” ([03:39] – David Zhu)

  • Strategic Talent: Focused on blending deep technical skills with go-to-market expertise, leveraging both domain knowledge and data access to realize Reevo’s vision.

4. Utilizing the $80 Million Raise

• Product Vision & AI Integration ([04:17]–[05:05]):
  • David Zhu: Funds are earmarked for product roadmap acceleration, ensuring both breadth (serving diverse customer needs) and depth (high-quality functionalities).
  • Emphasis on seamless AI operating system integration across multiple modules to avoid “another Frankenstein” in the future.

5. The AI Opportunity & The Changing Application Stack

• Revolutionizing the User Experience ([05:05]–[06:36]):
  • Vinod Khosla: Argues that AI allows startups to do more with fewer engineers and enables a shift in software — from users adapting to software, to software adapting to users.
  • Quote:

    “In the old world of applications, users had to learn an application... 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.” ([05:58] – Vinod Khosla)

  • Software will become increasingly attuned to user workflow and collaboration.

6. Raising in a Heated, Uncertain AI Market

• Reflections on Fundraising & Market Sentiment ([06:36]–[07:50]):

  • David Zhu: Highlights Reevo’s edge—purpose-built for revenue teams, contrasting with older players bolting AI onto legacy systems.
  • Quote:

    “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.” ([07:12] – David Zhu)

  • Reevo combines domain expertise with access to essential first-party data—making their approach both hard to execute and defensible.

• VC Perspective on Valuations and Opportunity ([07:50]–[09:19]):

  • Vinod Khosla: Details their funding timeline (unannounced $10M seed, $70M Series A) and notes the importance of founder quality over hyped valuations.
  • Quote:

    “Most valuations won't hold up in the space, but the ones that are really high quality companies will return disproportionate returns.” ([08:21] – Vinod Khosla)

  • Provides perspective with historical examples (OpenAI’s rising valuations), stressing that fewer than 5% of companies will deliver massive returns.

Memorable Moments & Notable Quotes

• On Efficiency:

  “AI is the biggest shift in enterprise software since the cloud.” ([01:05] – David Zhu)

• On Building the Right Team:

  “The company you build is the team you build, not the plans you make.” ([03:39] – David Zhu)

• On the AI Paradigm Shift:

  “In the new world of AI, the application learns the human and responds the way it should.” ([05:58] – Vinod Khosla)

• On Sustainable Business Building:

  “What we're building with Revo is akin to, to how Tesla built its cars, vertically integrated with AI at its core.” ([07:12] – David Zhu)

• On VC Investment Mentality:

  “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.” ([08:47] – Vinod Khosla)

Key Timestamps for Important Segments

• [00:22] — Introduction of Revo and the Frankenstack concept
• [01:02] — David Zhu explains Revo’s mission
• [02:09] — Vinod Khosla on the investment process and founder relationship
• [03:36] — David Zhu on hiring and building the company culture
• [04:22] — Usage of the $80 million funding
• [05:32] — Vinod Khosla on the reality of Frankenstack and the AI-driven future
• [06:36] — David Zhu on market differentiation and the AI fundraising climate
• [08:07] — Vinod Khosla on venture returns and the importance of backing founders

Final Thoughts

This episode offers a robust dive into the founding philosophy behind Reevo, drawing back the curtain on both the practical challenges of modern enterprise software and the unique conditions of today’s AI investment landscape. Zhu and Khosla emphasize founder pedigree, deep integration of AI, and the importance of holistic, well-rounded teams for building category-defining companies in a turbulent yet opportunity-rich market.