Finding technical AI founders early

2025 was, undoubtedly, the year of AI. In the first episode of 2026 Beezer Clarkson, Partner at Sapphire Partners, and Nick Chirls, Partner at Asylum Ventures revisit some of their favorite moments from the year before to see what the top voices in VC saw as emerging AI trendlines and how the venture ecosystem and global markets might respond next. In this episode we’ll hear from – among others – Sarah Tavel of Benchmark about what it means to be truly AI native, Sunil Dhaliwal & Mike Dauber of Amplify about finding technical VCs in the age of AI, and Micah Rosenbloom of Founder Collective on how early stage venture often misses major trends like AI until it’s too late.

Learn more about Sapphire Partners: sapphireventures.com/sapphire-partners

Learn more about OpenLP: openlp.vc

Learn more about Asylum Ventures: asylum.vc

Learn more about Benchmark: benchmark.com

Learn more about Amplify: amplifypartners.com

Learn more about Founder Collective: foundercollective.com

Learn more about Curie.Bio: curie.bio

Read Sarah’s Substack Posts: sarahtavel.com

CHAPTERS:

0:00 Welcome to Origins

3:36 Being AI Native with Sarah Tavel

10:36 Finding Technical Founders with Mike Dauber & Sunil Dhaliwal

14:31 Early Stage Founders Are 7 Years Too Late with Micah Rosenbloom

23:04 What AI CAN’T Do with Zach Weinberg28:37-Technical vs. Product Genius with Sarah Tavel

38:49 Nick & Beezer’s AI Trends to Watch In 2026

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Origins is produced by Sapphire Ventures in partnership with⁠ Pod People.

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