Term Sheet

This Creator Investor On The Truth About The AI Gold Rush | Term Sheet

Wed, 13 May 2026 12:00:00 -0000

Claire Zau spent six years in venture capital and became the youngest investor to make partner at GSV. Then she did something very few other VCs were doing: she started posting social media videos about AI to inform the general public. A year, 337,000 followers and 1.6 million likes later, Lightspeed Venture Partners hired her in a role that's never existed in venture before: New Media and Investor. Fortune’s Allie Garfinkle sits down with Claire to talk about the AI bubble, AI education, the gap between Silicon Valley and the general public, and why one in three Gen Zers say AI makes them angry.

0:00 — From VC to Viral: How a Lightspeed Partner Built an Audience on Short-Form

0:29 — The Algorithm Is a Feedback Loop and VCs Are Finally Using It

8:37 — Why Some People Are Being Left Out of the AI Story

17:21 — Promethean Fire: The Case for Techno-Optimism When Everyone's Scared

11:23 — AI Literacy Is Like Sex Ed — You Don't Have to Love It, But You Need to Know

13:54 — The Real Problem With How People Are Using AI (And How to Fix It)

23:53 — AI Gives You Leverage, but Only If You Know How to Use It

24:49 — Can You Actually Build a Moat in AI? A VC Answers Honestly

28:21 — Why Early-Stage Investing Is Still a Bet on People, Not Products

30:29 — Bits and Atoms: The New Investment Thesis for the AI Hardware Era

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From a Palo Alto Closet to $1 Billion Revenue: How Gusto Cracked Small Business Software | Term Sheet

Thu, 07 May 2026 12:00:00 -0000

Approximately nine out of every ten net new jobs in America come from small businesses, yet they shoulder over $81 billion a year in federal paperwork. As more Americans launch their own businesses, the back office is buckling under the weight.
In this episode, Josh Reeves, cofounder and CEO of Gusto, a payroll, benefits, and HR platform for small businesses, breaks down the contrarian bet that built a $9 billion company. He and Fortune's Allie Garfinkle discuss why small business tech is often overlooked, why he doesn't think AI labs like OpenAI and Anthropic will touch tax compliance, and how Gusto crossed $1 billion in revenue on its path to what Reeves believes is a trillion-dollar opportunity.

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How to Raise a CEO: The "Godmother of Silicon Valley" Esther Wojcicki

Wed, 22 Apr 2026 12:00:00 -0000

What is the secret to raising world-class leaders? In this episode, Fortune’s Allie Garfinkle sits down with Esther Wojcicki, the legendary educator and "Godmother of Silicon Valley." As the mother of three high-achieving daughters—including the former CEO of YouTube and the founder of 23andMe—Esther shares her leadership and parenting philosophy that works as well in the boardroom as it does in the classroom. She is also joined by her former student, Mary Minno, to discuss their latest collaboration–TreeHub–an ambitious new venture in AI-driven healthcare.

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The Startup Fighting to Save the American Farm with Modern Finance

Wed, 08 Apr 2026 12:00:00 -0000

American agriculture is the backbone of the U.S. economy, yet the average farmer earns only 5 cents of every dollar spent on food. With an almost 50% spike in bankruptcies of U.S. farms and margins thinner than ever due to falling revenues and rising production costs, the agricultural economy is facing an inflection point. In this episode, Mackenzie Burnett, CEO & Co-Founder of Ambrook–a modern finance toolkit for farmers, breaks down the high-stakes world of agricultural finance. She and Fortune's Allie Garfinkle discuss why many farms still rely on paper ledgers, the "unscalable" journey to find product-market fit in a skeptical industry, and how modern financial tools are a critical part of the strategy to save American family farms.

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How Winston Weinberg built his $11 billion AI Company | Term Sheet

Wed, 18 Mar 2026 12:00:00 -0000

Harvey co-founder and CEO Winston Weinberg has a method for leading his legal AI company, now valued at $11 billion after just three and a half years: psychological discipline. On this episode of Term Sheet, Weinberg tells Fortune’s Allie Garfinkle how he tracks his daily to-do list against his goals six months out, what he looks for in new hires, and how he avoids the pitfalls of being trapped by his own ego.

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Why revenue is an outdated metric | Term Sheet

Wed, 18 Feb 2026 13:00:00 -0000

“Give everything you have to the people around you.” That’s Redpoint partner Meera Clark’s advice for aspiring venture capitalists looking to break into the increasingly competitive industry.
In this episode of Term Sheet, Clark defines what “greatness” looks like in founders and explains why revenue is an outdated metric.

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Chemistry cofounder: “more talented founders than ever” are moving into health care | Term Sheet

Wed, 04 Feb 2026 13:00:00 -0000

Chemistry cofounder Kristina Shen says the market may be nearing a “reckoning” point. So why is she still optimistic going into 2026?
In this episode of Term Sheet, Shen discusses why she decided to co-found her own VC firm, her excitement around health care, and why her team is focused on bringing the human element into venture capital. Allie also talks about the recent SpaceX and xAI merger and her exclusive feature story on Kleiner Perkins.

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Exelon CEO on if our utilities can handle the AI boom | Term Sheet

Wed, 21 Jan 2026 13:00:00 -0000

As resource-hungry data centers continue to sprout around the country, many are wondering whether our current utility network has the capability to handle such large-scale demands. Exelon CEO Calvin Butler says yes. Exelon is one of the nation’s largest public utility companies. It serves around 11 million customers, ranging from individual apartment owners to massive corporations. Butler joins Term Sheet to talk about how he and Exelon are working to address the surge in power demands sparked by new data centers while still serving the diverse array of consumers that make up their customer base.

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OpenAI Researcher turned VC on what we’re missing on the AI bubble | Term Sheet

Wed, 14 Jan 2026 13:00:00 -0000

The artificial intelligence PhD to VC pipeline may seem relatively obvious now but Jenny Xiao, cofounder of Leonis Capital, forged this path well before the AI boom ever started. She left a PhD program at Columbia to join OpenAI as a researcher and, one week after the debut of ChatGPT, she left to cofound Leonis Capital, a “research-driven” VC firm. Having seen the world of artificial intelligence through an academic, market, and investor lens, she joins Term Sheet to talk about why AI companies should be valued closer to (or even below) SaaS, the role academia plays in AI progress, the possibility of another “DeepSeek” moment, and more.

Allie also talks about Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s surprising Sunday night video and her recent story on Strava.

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“Healthcare isn't working for anybody,” says Cityblock Health’s Dr. Toyin Ajayi | Term Sheet

Wed, 05 Nov 2025 13:00:00 -0000

On day 36 of the U.S. government shutdown – fueled in part by clashes over the Affordable Care Act and the country’s healthcare system – Allie talks to someone working to disrupt and fix that system: Cityblock Health cofounder and CEO Dr. Toyin Ajayi. A former physician for at-risk patients, Ajayi saw how the system can sometimes work against patients, driving burnout and increasing costs. She cofounded Cityblock Health, a tech-forward healthcare startup that provides care to underserved communities. She joins Allie to talk about healthcare reform and how technology can lead to better health outcomes.

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Vet care for the 21st century with Modern Animal’s Steven Eidelman

Wed, 29 Oct 2025 12:00:00 -0000

On this week’s Term Sheet, Allie talks with Steven Eidelman, founder and CEO of Modern Animal, a tech-forward veterinary clinic with 28 locations across Texas and California. Last month Modern Animal raised $46 million in Series D funding after making 85% year-over-year growth in 2024. Eidelman founded Modern Animal after selling his first start-up, Whistle, for $119 million in 2016. Allie and Steven talk about how the affordability crisis is impacting pet care, why he decided to disrupt the veterinary industry, how AI is integrated into Modern Animal, and more. Allie also muses on the possibility of a trillion dollar startup and talks about OpenAI’s new browser, Atlas.

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“Success disasters,” data privacy, and unlocking growth with Oura CEO Tom Hale

Wed, 22 Oct 2025 12:00:00 -0000

Oura has been making headlines for months, most recently with its massive $900 million funding round, valuing the wearables giant at $11 billion. And before that, for expanding its partnership with the U.S. Department of Defense, causing social media controversy. In September, while at Brainstorm Tech, Allie sat down with Oura CEO Tom Hale to talk about the company’s growth, data privacy, the biggest challenge he’s faced as CEO, the unexpected places he’s unlocked consumer value, and more.

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"Bubbles have almost always preceded some important technological shift”: OpenAI's COO

Tue, 07 Oct 2025 22:21:00 -0000

OpenAI has had a huge week. Fresh off launching the AI video generation and social app Sora 2, they closed a multibillion dollar partnership with AMD that sent the company’s stock soaring. This was quickly followed by the release of new features, like agent-building and ChatGPT app integration, meant to supercharge OpenAI’s hold on the culture.

Allie sat down with OpenAI COO Brad Lightcap at the company’s DevDay in San Francisco to discuss where the company stands in the enterprise market, what he thinks of the “AI bubble,” that MIT study, and more.

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The Sociology of Startup Success with VC Powerhouse Hans Tung

Wed, 01 Oct 2025 12:00:00 -0000

Hans Tung first became a VC in his 20s and has gone on to invest in some of the most successful companies of our time––household names like Airbnb, Slack, Coinbase, and Peloton, among others. He was an early backer of Musical.ly, the app that became TikTok. Hans cofounded the firm GGV Capital, which then split into the Singapore-based operation, Granite Asia, and the U.S.-based Notable Capital, where he’s now managing partner. Allie and Hans talk about what makes a good investor, what he looks for in founders, his take on AI bubble anxieties, and more.

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The “Egoless” Company Culture that Powers Supabase with CEO Paul Copplestone

Wed, 24 Sep 2025 12:00:00 -0000

Paul Copplestone is the CEO and Co-founder of Supabase, the open source Postgres development platform designed for web and mobile apps to scale quickly. The company knows a thing or two about growing fast – only 5 years old, this April they raised $200 million in Series D funding round and were valued at $2 billion. Paul stopped by Term Sheet to talk about how he builds a remote and egoless company culture, why he likes hiring founders, and how being from New Zealand has impacted his entrepreneurial journey.

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Inside Phia's $8 Million Seed Round

Wed, 17 Sep 2025 12:00:00 -0000

Phoebe Gates and Sophia Kianni met as roommates at Stanford. Now, they’re the cofounders of Phia, an AI-powered shopping agent that just raised an $8 million seed round led by Kleiner Perkins and has participation from household names like Hailey Bieber, Kris Jenner, and Sheryl Sandberg. For this episode of Term Sheet, Allie spoke with Phoebe, Sophia, and Annie Case, a partner at Kleiner Perkins, about what’s wrong with online shopping today, how to build a consumer company, why there aren’t more women building companies, and what AI tools can bring to the digital shopping experience.

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Klarna CEO Sebastian Siemiatkowski on the IPO, Loving Walmart, and Embracing AI

Wed, 10 Sep 2025 13:30:00 -0000

Sebastian Siemiatkowski has achieved something few founders ever do: he’s brought a private company to the public market. Now, if you want, you can own a piece of Klarna. But still, to Sebastian, the day he visited Walmart Founder Sam Walton’s grave in Arkansas will always be more exciting than ringing the NYSE bell. On this episode of Term Sheet, Sebastian talks about how being from a Polish immigrant family in Sweden led him to idolize Walmart, Klarna’s bigger than BNPL business model, and how the future financial services will embrace AI and put the customer back in the driver’s seat.

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The Brave New World of AI Cyber Crime with Evan Reiser from Abnormal AI

Wed, 27 Aug 2025 12:00:00 -0000

This week Allie sits down with Evan Reiser, CEO and Founder of Abnormal AI. Evan and Allie talk about Evan’s journey from a “cyber outsider” to a cybersecurity firm founder, how AI tools supercharge both cyber crime and cybersecurity, and why he’s totally “AI-pilled” when it comes to imagining the future. Plus: Allie gives her honest take on whether we are in an artificial intelligence bubble and talks about why the US stake in Intel might not be a good sign for startups.

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Vibe Coding, Tech Jobs, & Democratizing the Web with Vercel’s Guillermo Rauch | Fortune Term Sheet

Wed, 20 Aug 2025 12:00:00 -0000

This week, Allie sits down with Guillermo Rauch, Founder and CEO of Vercel and the “P.T. Barnum of Vibe Coding”. They dive into how vibe coding is playing a role in democratizing the internet, how AI will change the future of entry level tech jobs, and Guillermo’s approach to investing. Also in this episode: the IPO boom, and the state of startup hiring.

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Nvidia + AMD’s Deal & Unfiltered Chat with OG VC, Canvas Prime’s Rebecca Lynn | Fortune Term Sheet

Wed, 13 Aug 2025 12:00:00 -0000

This week, Allie speaks with Rebecca Lynn, Managing Director at Canvas Prime and trailblazing venture capitalist. Together they discuss Rebecca’s roots in the Midwest, her path to Silicon Valley and what she’s learned as an entrepreneur turned venture capitalist. Also in this episode: the unusual deal between Nvidia and the US Government, and the new class of AI billionaires.

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OpenAI Raises More Capital, Joby Aviation’s Air Taxi Play & The Power of Community in Tech

Wed, 06 Aug 2025 12:00:00 -0000

This week, Allie interviews Taylor Otwell, Founder and CEO of Laravel. Together they discuss Laravel's rise as an Arkansas-based tech company, Taylor's early decisions as a founder, and the passionate Laravel community. Also in this episode: Figma's succesful IPO, OpenAI's latest funding round and the deal of week: Joby Aviation.

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Figma IPO: What Investors Need to Know, and Understanding Defense Tech

Thu, 31 Jul 2025 14:08:00 -0000

Welcome to the Term Sheet podcast! In this new series, Allie Garfinkle adapts her newsletter in audio and video format, diving deeper into the latest news and insights on private equity, venture capital and startups. This weekly show will expand on the elements that made the newsletter an essential subscription for investors, with industry leaders guests and a roundup of the biggest funding news.

This week, Allie interviews Will Hurd, Chief Strategy Officer at CHAOS Industries. Together they discuss Will's background as a CIA officer, and a new era for defense, tech and DoD partnerships. Also in this episode: Figma's IPO and the deal of week: Ramp.

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