Eric Stromberg

The breakout companies of today started by calling their shot... In retrospect, it's clear that the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank in 2023 marked the ceremonial end of one startup era as we begin a new one. That 15-year cycle was defined by increasingly standardized and tracked paths for building startups. Tracks for founders. For employees. For venture capitalists. Roundtables. Market Maps. Playbooks. Themes…so many themes. The track, it was believed, will save you. The starting point is secondary to just getting on. This era is being defined by the opposite — Founders who are intentional in their pursuit of specific goals...not generic themes. SpaceX → Go to Mars. OpenAI → Build AGI that benefits all of humanity. Flock Safety → Eliminate crime. The stakes aren’t about fighting market share but about fighting for the future. At or near founding, these leaders point to a specific point... far on the horizon... that shows us all the shape of the future. They then work intently — day by day, year after year — to forge a path between today’s reality and that future. They call their shot.

My trainer informed me he's quitting to do AI consulting for SMBs. From a boat in the Caribbean, powered by Starlink. He's in his 50s and taking the Google Gemini course now. You really can just do things.

a few months ago we had a whacky idea: what if we built a physical museum of the human web? the internet was a place many of us lived. i grew up pouring hours into every weird niche and the wayback machine the web has a new user now. we wanted to celebrate the weird, whacky, and magical parts that got us here open online today: museum.parallel.ai open to the public in SF May 8-16

When we evaluated agentic web search providers, it was clear that the best solution wasn't just the fastest, or the cheapest. It's a balance of token use, total trajectory latency, and net new information that language models don't already know. Congrats to @p0 on a solid product and some awesome technology.

The web’s second user is coming online. Our customers are building at the frontier - shaping every corner of the economy. pioneers.parallel.ai

Soon, more AIs will use the web than humans. That was the idea @paraga and @travers00 shared with us @terraincap in early 2024. Today it's becoming reality, powered by @p0 and the companies building on it. It's been an honor for us to work with the team from the start.

In the span of ~3 months, the team @basepowerco has built out operational tools that replace or avoid the purchase of an enormous amount of SaaS. Token costs might actually equal the cost of buying the SaaS, but cost isn't the point. It's the fact that the tools are perfectly tailored to our operations, infinitely customizeable going forward, and tied into our data. A sampling: - Warehouse Management System (WMS) - Manufacturing Execution System - CRM for B2B sales - Material Requirements Planning (MRP) - Sales & Operations Planning tool - Labor crew management, forecasting, and associated vehicles tool - Policy objectives and stakeholders tracker - Countless dashboards for each team The impact that AI has had on our business is incredible.

The best web search for agents is now free. Upgrade to Parallel's web search tools in any MCP-supported tool or agent, for free, in under 60 seconds. No account. No API keys. Zero cost. docs.parallel.ai/integrations/m…

Apply by May 15: terrain.com/freeagency?src…

We're hosting Season 3 of Free Agency at our new office in NYC this Summer

I met a super impressive founder the other day. after just a 30 minute chat, I took a note that said, "this guy is going to win" I didn't know it until minute 28 of the chat, but he went through free agency with @terraincap last year. the note immediately made sense. great program for those preparing for their best work yet ↓

Free Agency Season 3: Ideas matter. An eight-week ideas residency in our New York office. Summer 2026. Select, refine, and pressure-test a startup idea before you start the company. Applications now open.

FREE AGENCY SEASON THREE is coming soon, this time from Terrain’s New York office. Free Agency is an 8-week idea residency w/ resources, workshops, and 1:1 partnership to select and pressure-test your idea. More details to come. Apply early here: terrain.com/application

Terrain New York arriving soon

AMAZON ACQUIRES FAUNA ROBOTICS, ENTERING CONSUMER HUMANOID ROBOTICS SPACE

Congratulations, Fauna.

Fauna Robotics is being acquired by Amazon. Congrats Rob, Josh and the entire Fauna team. At @terraincap we're honored to have been a part of it, and excited about what the teams will accomplish together.

Delighted to announce @basepowerco has received its first state license to operate as an electricity retailer outside Texas. We're heading to Illinois! Thank you @ILCommerceComm for approving our application! Let me explain why we're heading to the Land of Lincoln🧵

We first started working with Kahlil last year in Terrain Free Agency, when he was still pre-idea. It’s been incredible to see him move from there to a specific and ambitious vision for agentic payments. Excited for him and the team today as they launch Natural. ⬜️

How SaaS wins in the AI Era