Chase Packard
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We at @MarathonMP are proud to lead @wafer_ai's Series A alongside @chemistry, @ycombinator, @Wing_VC, @fiftyyears, @AMD, and a great group of angels.
Wafer has built fundamentally new inference architecture from the ground up. Wafer's agents continuously learn from production traffic, identify bottlenecks, test changes, verify the results, and deploy the best-performing configurations. In short, they use AI to drastically improve AI.
I met @gpusteve four years ago on campus - the friend who introduced us called him the smartest person he'd ever met, and after four years I still haven't found evidence to the contrary. Same goes for his co-founder @gpuemi. Backing @UChicago founders has been a long-time goal of mine; very glad it's these two.
CC @gokulr @AlexGorgoni @MBGilroy @GraceGEverett
Wafer has built fundamentally new inference architecture from the ground up. Wafer's agents continuously learn from production traffic, identify bottlenecks, test changes, verify the results, and deploy the best-performing configurations. In short, they use AI to drastically improve AI.
I met @gpusteve four years ago on campus - the friend who introduced us called him the smartest person he'd ever met, and after four years I still haven't found evidence to the contrary. Same goes for his co-founder @gpuemi. Backing @UChicago founders has been a long-time goal of mine; very glad it's these two.
CC @gokulr @AlexGorgoni @MBGilroy @GraceGEverett
i'm sad to announce that our recent fundraising round did not go according to plan...
we initially planned to raise $18m.
we didn't end up getting that number.
we ended up raising a $40m series a instead.
co-led by @MarathonMP and @chemistry, with participation from @Wing_VC, @AMD Ventures, @outsetcap, @fiftyyears, and @ycombinator, and our existing investors doubling down on @wafer_ai. we are also joined by an incredible list of angels, including @JeffDean (CEO, @DiscoLoopAI), @rauchg (CEO, @vercel), @andyfang (CTO, @DoorDash), @kvogt (CEO, Bot), @akothari (COO, @NotionHQ), @eastdakota (CEO, @Cloudflare), @deepgramscott (CEO, @DeepgramAI), and more.
back to the kernel minesView quoted post on X
My @MarathonMP partner-in-crime @MBGilroy does a fantastic job outlining our philosophy in this interview. The work across talent, partnerships, GTM, etc. starts before we invest, so founders see firsthand what they’ll get with Marathon as a partner.
Very fortunate to learn from Michael every day (going on 6 years now!), alongside my other talented partners @gokulr @AlexGorgoni.
The Marathon Continues!
Very fortunate to learn from Michael every day (going on 6 years now!), alongside my other talented partners @gokulr @AlexGorgoni.
The Marathon Continues!
Every VC in the market is now reading the same customer call transcripts. That is not an edge. That is a commodity.
The moment diligence becomes something you read instead of something you do in person, it stops being diligence.
@MBGilroy , co-founder of Marathon Management Partners, which runs $400 million across software and fintech.
"If all my competitors are reading the same transcript, who cares? What am I going to learn from that that's differentiated from the market?" he told me. "You will know if I'm lying, if my eyes are darting around the room, the classic touching your nose."
AI gave every investor the same call notes. It did not give anyone an edge, because an edge that everyone has is not an edge. The firms still doing customer back channels, still getting on Zoom, still watching a founder's eyes when they answer a hard question, are the ones who will actually know something the market does not.
The humans who stayed in the room are about to get paid for it.View quoted post on X
On the list of people you never bet against, @jackiereses is at the very top. Insanely talented operator, fearless leader, and one of the sharpest minds in financial services & broader tech. It’s been a privilege watching her build @Lead_Bank from Day 1
BREAKING: Inside Lead Bank - $56M Investment Now Worth $1.5 BILLION
Jackie Reses is on an iconic run.
@Lead_Bank is the $1.5B tech-first bank powering Stripe, Walmart, Ramp, Affirm & Revolut
Backed by Andreessen Horowitz, Coatue, Greycroft, ICONIQ, Khosla Ventures, Ribbit Capital, Zeev Partners, plus Larry Fink, Rob Goldstein & Larry Summers personally.
CEO & Co-Founder Jackie Reses (@jackiereses)
We cover:
- Sitting on Alibaba's board with Jack Ma, Joe Tsai + Masayoshi Son
"Masa would come in & be like, 'Yes, it shall be blessed.'"
- Taking an HR role at Yahoo, then turning it into Chief Development Officer
- Jack Dorsey: "He'll sit in meetings & not say a word. There's real wisdom in his ability to 'just zip it.' "
- Why she's skeptical of the de-banking narrative
- Building Lead to $280M in revenue with no sales team
𝐓𝐈𝐌𝐄𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐌𝐏𝐒
(00:00) Jackie Reses, CEO of Lead Bank
(01:06) The swiss army knife of Silicon Valley
(02:46) Inside the Alibaba boardroom with Jack Ma and Masa
(05:23) Being one of the only Americans on Alibaba’s board
(10:29) What Jack Ma and Masayoshi Son are really like
(12:32) The biggest lessons Jackie learned from Alibaba
(15:12) From Goldman Sachs to Silicon Valley
(17:44) Why Yahoo hired a PE investor to run HR
(22:53) Yahoo was a hot mess
(25:33) The deal that recovered billions for Yahoo
(26:31) How Jack Dorsey recruited Jackie to Square
(29:53) Three engineers, three days, one crypto platform
(33:51) What Jack Dorsey is really like
(36:13) Being Jack Dorsey’s HR lead during Twitter chaos
(40:03) How to spot real innovation vs hype
(42:21) Why debanking is a myth
(48:10) Why buy a 100 year old bank
(51:23) Growing a bank with no sales team
(54:11) The APIs powering the future of finance
(56:03) How AI is transforming banking
(57:07) The JD Vance connection
(58:39) What it feels like inside the White House
(01:02:53) The biggest misconception about government
(01:04:21) Why Lead Bank’s culture feels different
(01:05:35) The next chapter for Lead BankView quoted post on X
