Technovation with Peter High (CIO, CTO, CDO, CXO Interviews) Backing First-Principles Founders: Rajeev Dham on AI, SaaS, and Agentic Enterprise Tech
Jul 7, 2025
Rajeev Dham, Partner at Sapphire Ventures, specializes in investing in enterprise tech and champions founders who prioritize first-principles thinking. He discusses the evolution of venture capital in the AI era, emphasizing the need for authenticity in AI innovation. Rajeev delves into the transformative potential of agentic AI and its implications for SaaS and software development. He also provides insights for CIOs on identifying promising technologies and adapting organizational culture to embrace these advancements.
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Founder Archetype Shifts in AI Era
- Venture investments focus on founders with first-principles thinking and high agility since AI technology is evolving rapidly.
- The founder's ability to pivot and innovate outweighs relying on past playbooks or past achievements.
Real Agentic AI Defined
- True agentic AI connects to systems downstream, takes automated actions, and adapts pathways without predefined rules.
- Early enterprise AI often mislabels simple tasks as agentic, but real agents can autonomously trigger complex workflows.
AI's Impact on Software Development
- AI is transforming software development by boosting developer productivity and enabling citizen developers.
- Despite coding acceleration, creative product vision and design are crucial competitive moats in AI-driven development.