What VCs Are Looking for and How to Succeed: Insights from the Investing in AI Summit

On November 12, during the Investing in AI Summit hosted by Supermoon, the panel "What VCs Are Looking for and How to Succeed" brought together industry leaders to explore the evolving landscape of decentralized AI. Moderated by Mia Soarez, the discussion featured Hassan from Forbes Web3, Ryan Barney from Pantera, Robert Le from Supermoon Ventures, and Anirudh Pai from Dragonfly.

The conversation centered on the necessity of decentralizing AI to prevent monopolization and misuse by major corporations. Panelists emphasized the importance of creating decentralized systems that prioritize trust, privacy, and data verifiability. They outlined four key areas of focus: decentralized compute, data provenance, model development, and deployment. While the decentralized AI space remains in its early stages, the panelists argued that its potential lies in solving real-world problems with user-friendly products.

“The reason why we’re in Web3 is because we believe in this decentralization,” said Hassan, highlighting the risks of unchecked centralization. Panelists agreed that decentralized AI could counter these risks while unlocking opportunities across industries such as healthcare and finance, where sensitive data makes privacy a top priority.

Ryan Barney pointed out that decentralized AI adoption may follow a phased trajectory, starting with centralized models before transitioning to decentralized solutions as privacy concerns become more prominent. Meanwhile, Robert Le noted that decentralization’s success will depend on building tools people genuinely want. “Imagine when you go online, there’s a 99 percent chance that you’re interacting with a bot or an AI agent,” he said, emphasizing the urgent need for decentralized systems that maintain trust and accountability.

The panel also addressed the challenges of gaining user adoption in decentralized products. Anirudh Pai underscored the importance of clarity and simplicity: “If you can’t explain your product in a sentence, you don’t know what you’re doing.” Hassan added that improving user experience and design is critical, stating, “We want to lead with the fact that this is an amazing product, and here are the additional pros of using a decentralized product.”

The discussion concluded with a shared vision for the future of decentralized AI. While the technology is still in its infancy, the panelists agreed that its potential to disrupt industries, enhance privacy, and create user-driven systems is immense. The Investing in AI Summit provided an invaluable platform for these discussions, underscoring the importance of building meaningful, scalable solutions in this rapidly evolving space.

You can watch the panel here: