The Neon Show How a 45 Year Old VC Firm Decides to Invest or Pass? | Somesh Dash, Partner at IVP
130 IPOs from over 400 startups. IVP is now in its 18th fund, with companies like Perplexity, Glean, Slack, Figma, Twitter, Uber, and Abridge in its portfolio. Somesh Dash, general partner at the 45-year-old firm, has been part of IVP for more than 20 years.
We start with something we are both passionate about, building in the US-India corridor. Somesh talks about the group of people who put the silicon in Silicon Valley, the immigrants. From Andy Grove to Elon Musk to Chennai-born Aravind Srinivas.
He recalls the first time he met Aravind at a WeWork, when Perplexity had just 20 employees and a beta product or how Dylan (Founder of Figma) had the vision nobody else had on the future of design, way before ai. The early signals Somesh saw in these founders, long before any signs of massive success were visible. He also talks about the companies they missed, giants like DoorDash, OpenAI, and Anthropic.
Though this seasoned investor truly believes in AI, he says the sector is due for a correction. The bubble will burst. Most Gen 1.0 AI companies are unlikely to reach billion-dollar valuations or go public. But as always in tech, the lessons from this first wave will shape Gen 2.0 companies. And the teams that understand and adapt from this early wave will build the next generation of successful AI companies.
Also, when the bubble bursts, that's the time to invest. Why?
Somesh Dash shares in this episode.
0:00 – Trailer
1:12 – Immigrants who built Silicon Valley
4:27 – India’s incredible contribution to the Valley
5:30 – How the India–US friction will actually help
6:29 – What’s at stake for both countries
10:42 – Where India stands in AI
11:45 – First meeting with Aravind Srinivas
13:47 – Why IVP invested in Perplexity two years ago
17:11 – In AI, don’t take product–market fit for granted
18:43 – Courage to fail & double down on early wins
19:36 – Why multiple investors on a cap table isn’t bad
22:14 – How IVP invested in Figma
24:28 – IPO is a milestone, not the end
25:56 – Why US public markets are not overvalued
27:50 – How a VC defines startup success
31:08 – The best thing about failed startups
32:12 – Why IVP missed DoorDash
34:54 – How IVP decides to invest or pass
38:27 – The doctor who builds tech
45:05 – Future of Content is honesty and vulnerability
47:11 – Meeting OpenAI & Anthropic in the early days
48:52 – AI “startups” with capex the size of nations
49:53 – The power law in venture capital
50:45 – Why we’re close to an AI correction
54:11 – Gen 2.0 startups are built on Gen 1.0 foundations
56:45 – Will the AI bubble burst?
1:01:32 – Do high valuations during peaks still make sense?
1:05:04 – What keeps IVP strong for five decades
1:08:11 – The Co’s making IVP more bullish on India–US corridor
-------------
India’s talent has built the world’s tech—now it’s time to lead it.
This mission goes beyond startups. It’s about shifting the center of gravity in global tech to include the brilliance rising from India.
What is Neon Fund?
We invest in seed and early-stage founders from India and the diaspora building world-class Enterprise AI companies. We bring capital, conviction, and a community that’s done it before.
Subscribe for real founder stories, investor perspectives, economist breakdowns, and a behind-the-scenes look at how we’re doing it all at Neon.
-------------
Check us out on:
Website: https://neon.fund/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theneonshoww/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/beneon/
Twitter: https://x.com/TheNeonShoww
Connect with Siddhartha on:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/siddharthaahluwalia/
Twitter: https://x.com/siddharthaa7
-------------