Navigating Platform Shifts and AI Investments

The Tech Trek

In this episode, Amir chats with Samir Kumar, Co-Founder and General Partner at Touring Capital, about platform shifts in technology and the role of AI in future advancements. Samir shares Touring Capital’s investment philosophy, focusing on series B investments in software-centric companies. He discusses the competitive dynamics between startups and tech giants in the AI space, challenges and opportunities in building AI-driven business models, and the future impact of technologies like the metaverse and blockchain.

Highlights:

- 02:53 Platform Shifts in Technology

- 06:22 AI and the Role of Incumbents

- 10:30 Opportunities and Challenges for Startups

- 18:34 Narrow Focus and Industry-Specific AI

- 25:06 Outcome-Based Pricing and Monetization

Guest:

Samir Kumar is co-founder and General Partner at Touring Capital. Before co-founding Touring, Samir was a Managing Partner at M12 (Microsoft’s Venture Fund), where he led investment activities in horizontal/vertical AI, deep tech, and hardware-enabled software companies. Samir’s notable investments include Applied Intuition, Psi Quantum, Wandelbots, Syntiant, D-Matrix, Regrow, and Netradyne. Samir previously held senior product and strategic business development roles at Qualcomm, Samsung, and Microsoft. He developed a strong passion for AI after delving deep into neural networks a decade ago; this ultimately paved the way for him to become a venture investor. Samir is a graduate of Cornell University.

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/samirkum/

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