Josh Machiz

Finance teams go to @tryramp. Engineers go to @claudeai. Marketers go to @tryprofound. We covered @AdamSandler, @uncutgems, @thebigshort, @usrowing, the brilliance of @dbabbs and more. @thejamescad's movie knowledge is unmatched. This was a fun one with @Machiz + @lightspeedvp.

Consumer search behavior is rapidly transforming with the help of AI-powered applications. Brands need to keep up with user behavior, and @tryprofound aims to bridge the gap. Their software tracks analytics across 10+ AI models to synthesize data and create actionable insights for marketing teams. We’re excited to lead Profound’s $96M Series C and look forward to supporting them as they help define this modern era of AI-native marketing. CC: Lightspeed Partners @sach_pat, @f_fatemi21, and @EliConniff

Today, @tryprofound is excited to announce our $96M Series C at a $1B valuation, led by @lightspeedvp with participation from @sequoia, @kleinerperkins, @mattevantic, @saga_ventures and @southpkcommons. When we started Profound 18 months ago, we had two fundamental beliefs about where marketing is heading: 1. Every company will care deeply about how AI talks about their brand. 2. Every marketer will use AI Agents to do their best work, faster. Those beliefs are becoming reality faster than we imagined. Now, we serve more than 10% of the Fortune 500 and are the number 1 leader on the G2 grid for AEO. To double down on that momentum, we’re taking two big swings: 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗳𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱 𝗔𝗴𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀: AI workers that take marketing teams from concept to execution. 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗳𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱 𝗨𝗻𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗶𝘁𝘆: certifications and cohort-based learning for marketers who want stay at the forefront of AI marketing. Reply with 𝗔𝗚𝗘𝗡𝗧 for free access to one of our most popular agents. No account required and no strings attached.

Lightspeed's Ravi Mhatre on why trust is the unlock for AI adoption: "When AI moves from being a tool to truly being a digital co-worker, people will not do it unless they have confidence that the systems are auditable, observable, and aligned." @AnthropicAI launched Claude Code and in six months, revenues grew from zero to a billion dollars. Ravi says: "That's a testament to the fact that if you trust AI will do the work properly, you will see rapid adoption because the productivity benefits are so great." @ravi_lsvp via CNBC

Visualize technology as an escalator; a steady constant, always carrying us upward into the future. And then, every now and again, something avant-garde emerges, a massive step-function change that thrusts us into the next cycle of technology. A moment that will be remembered for many years to come. To all of us at Lightspeed, @AnthropicAI represents that structural reset. Cc: @ravi_lsvp, @GuruChahal, and Sebastian Duesterhoff

YouTube

So excited to share the first episode of my new podcast, The Upstarts Podcast! I spoke to @canva CEO Melanie Perkins (@melaniecanva), who went from an Upstart founder in Western Australia overlooked by VCs to now running the world's most valuable woman-led startup 👀 Melanie's ambition: “build one of the world’s most valuable companies, and do the most good we can do.” We go into the framework she uses to achieve that at Canva, and her advice for every startup to follow -- including me at @UpstartsMediaCo! A big thanks to our Season 1 presenting sponsor @mercury, for supporting interviews like this 🙏 Chapters: 0:00 - Intro to Melanie 2:15 - Canva’s scale and impact mindset 3:42 - Melanie’s first startup and Canva origins 7:15 - Melanie’s early motivation and facing doubts 10:19 - Learning from customers and a long-term vision 16:35 - Risking her life and her Upstart Moment 19:58 - How to set effective team goals 22:51 - Setting values, culture and priorities as you scale 28:01 - Canva’s 1% pledge and giving away billions 33:02 - Melanie’s homework for founders (like Alex) youtu.be/QjQ7si-H8Ow