Why IVP’s Somesh Dash believes that Silicon Valley can look beyond AGI for spirituality

Venture capitalists erected their industry on the altar of profits, with perhaps a dash of rationalism. There is an element of faith needed to power their belief that taking flyers on early-stage companies can lead to billions—the Silicon Valley version of prosperity gospel. Still, it would be hard to argue that venture capital is a religious practice.

That seems to be changing. The tech industry is engaged in its own personal grail quest—the hunt for AGI, or artificial general intelligence—as engineers and investors become increasingly convinced they can mold their own version of God out of code. And amid the fervor, Peter Thiel is hosting a series of lectures in San Francisco on the Antichrist. The first was this week.

But does all tech-based spirituality need to be built around LLMs? I caught up with Somesh Dash, a general partner at the venture firm IVP, who has taken a different approach. Dash grew up Hindu, which he says he still practices in a more cultural sense, arguing for the need for community and service.

As he points out, the recent trend of technology has been the opposite. Rather than fostering connections between people, tech is increasingly focused on building machines that will interact with—and train—other machines. This seems to present a crossroads moment for humanity. It would be easy for us to retreat from each other, though Dash is optimistic that the rise of AI will showcase an important human strength that chatbots lack (or at least can only emulate): empathy. “That, I think, will persist and will never be fully replicated in any form of a machine or AI system,” he tells me.

If that seems too New Age-y to be practical, Dash points to his own experience to illustrate how he infused his investing approach with the ethos. After backing social platforms like Snap and Discord, he witnessed first-hand how initially innocuous forms of communication snowballed into something much more malicious, such as the white supremacist rallies in Charlottesville.

“What I was most excited by was this idea of collaboration, community, and fun,” Dash says, “But what I think I and everybody else was a bit naive to was how much of it, in the name of free speech, could be utilized without safeguards, to actually harm kids and lead to lots of problems.” Now, when Dash makes consumer investments, he makes sure there are trust and safety teams “deeply embedded in the psyche” of the companies.

More broadly, Dash argues that backing for-profit companies can still be an engine for societal change, such as his investment in the health tech company Abridge, which frees up doctors’ time by eliminating menial tasks. “By having the greatest impact, you’ll have likely a big financial return,” he says.

Of course, that’s not a new argument in Silicon Valley. It wasn’t too long ago that social media platforms like Facebook were touting their mission-driven approach to fostering community and change, with monster profits as a nice added bonus. It’s easy for companies to abandon any commitment to social good when the bottom line is at stake—just look at OpenAI’s push to change its nonprofit status.

But Dash still believes that more investors can infuse their strategy with empathy, which seems more fulfilling than funding their own personal AGI deities. “People are looking for meaning and leadership,” he tells me. “Every company I view, and every founder, has a responsibility, in my mind, to do things in a way that is safe and responsible.”

Leo SchwartzX: @leomschwartzEmail: [email protected]

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VENTURE DEALS

– Ollin Biosciences, an Austin, Texas-based biopharmaceutical company developing therapeutics for vision-threatening diseases, raised $100 million in funding. ARCH Venture Partners, Mubadala Capital, and Monograph Capital led the round.

– Omnea, a London, U.K.-based procurement intake and orchestration platform, raised $50 million in Series B funding. Insight Partners and Khosla Ventures led the round and were joined by Accel, Point Nine, First Round Capital, and Prosus.

– Genomines, a Paris, France-based plant-based metal farming company, raised $45 million in Series A funding. Engine Ventures and Forbion BioEconomy led the round and were joined by DeepTech & Climate Fonds, Wind, Lowercarbon Capital, Entrepreneurs First, and others.

– Macroscope, a San Francisco-based product development tracking platform, raised $30 million in Series A funding. Lightspeed led the round and was joined by Adverb, Thrive Capital, and Google Ventures.

– RegScale, a McLean, Va.-based governance, risk, and compliance platform, raised $30 million in Series B funding. Washington Harbour Partners led the round and was joined by M12, Hitachi Ventures, and others.

– Markup AI, a New York City-based developer of software designed to ensure that AI content meets brand and compliance standards, raised $27.5 million in Series A funding. Genui Partners and EMH Partners led the round and were joined by Capital Factory and others.

– Turnout, a San Diego, Calif.-based platform designed to help users access government and financial benefits, raised $21 million in seed funding. Shine Capital and LGVP led the round and were joined by Swish Ventures, Jaz Capital Partners, Zeev Ventures, HoneyStone, and others.

– Birches Health, a New York City-based provider of gambling addiction treatment, raised $20 million in Series A and seed funding. AlleyCorp led the Series A round and General Catalyst led the seed round.

– Atomionics, a Singapore-based developer of quantum gravimetry sensors for mineral discovery, raised $12.7 million in pre-Series A funding. Paspalis led the round and was joined by BHP Ventures, In-Q-Tel, Wavemaker, and others.

– Conduct, a London, U.K.-based developer of agentic AI technology designed to modernize IT systems, raised $12 million in seed funding. Creandum led the round and was joined by Lucid Capital, Booom, and angel investors.

– Ray Security, a Tel Aviv, Israel-based data security platform, raised $11 million in seed funding. Venture Guides and Ibex Investors led the round

– Rec, a San Francisco-based operating system for community recreation departments, raised $11 million in Series A funding. Crosslink Capital led the round and was joined by others.

– GridStrong, a New York City-based electric grid compliance and operations platform, raised $10 million in seed funding. Congruent Ventures led the round and was joined by Energize Capital and others.

– Icarus, a New York City-based company developing robots designed for labor in space, raised $6.1 million in seed funding. Soma Capital and Xtal led the round and were joined by Nebular and Massive Tech Ventures.

– CreatorDB, a Taipei City, Taiwan-based influencer marketing company, raised $4.7 million in Series A funding. Acorn Pacific Ventures led the round and was joined by Pegatron, Meimaii Technology, and others.

– Terra Oleo, a Singapore-based developer of sustainable oils and fats, raised $3.1 million in funding from ADB Ventures, The Radical Fund, Elev8.vc, Better Bite Ventures, and others.

– Ethosphere, a Seattle, Wash.-based developer of voice AI for retailers, raised $2.5 million in pre-seed funding. Point 72 Ventures led the round and was joined by A12 Incubator, Carya Ventures, Pack VC, and others.

– Buscaro, a Karachi, Pakistan-based company that connects companies and schools with commuting buses, raised $2 million in seed funding. Daman Investments led the round and was joined by Cartography Capital, Epic Angels, Wahed Ventures, and others.

PRIVATE EQUITY

– Rithm Capital agreed to acquire Paramount Group, a New York City-based real estate investment trust, for approximately $1.6 billion in total considerations.

– Counsel Press, backed by Align Capital Partners, acquired Firefly Legal, a Mokena, Ill.-based provider of service of process, skip tracing, court e-filing, and litigation services. Financial terms were not disclosed.

– DigiCert, backed by Clearlake Capital Group, Crosspoint Capital Partners, and TA Associates, acquired Valimail, a Boulder, Colo.-based email authentication platform. Financial terms were not disclosed.

– Redslim, a portfolio company of Astorg, acquired CatMan Solution, a Copenhagen, Denmark-based retailer data harmonization and visualization company. Financial terms were not disclosed.

– Sheridan Capital Partners acquired a majority stake in National Care Systems, a Brooklyn, N.Y.-based billing and payroll platform for nursing and assisted living facilities. Financial terms were not disclosed.

– TEAM Technologies, a portfolio company of Arlington Capital Partners, acquired TAG3 Engineering, a Sunrise, Fla.-based developer of interventional medical devices. Financial terms were not disclosed.

EXITS

– Keensight Capital agreed to acquire a majority stake in Isto Biologics, a Hopkinton, Mass.-based orthobiologic company, from Thompson Street Capital Partners. Financial terms were not disclosed.