Latest news with #EdSim
Business Wire
08-07-2025
- Business
- Business Wire
From $1M to $1.1B: Boldstart Ventures Launches $250M Fund VII to Back Inception-Stage Founders Building the Autonomous Enterprise
NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Boldstart Ventures, the inception fund for technical founders building the autonomous enterprise, today announced the close of Fund VII, a $250 million vehicle dedicated to backing bold technical teams from the very first commit. What began in 2010 as a $1 million proof-of-concept, before 'pre-seed' was even a term, has grown into a platform with over $1.1 billion in assets under management. That growth hasn't changed the strategy. Fund VII was significantly oversubscribed, but Boldstart chose to hold firm at $250 million to stay true to its model: high-conviction, hands-on investing at inception and nothing else. 'When others wait for signals, we bet on conviction,' said Ed Sim, Founder and General Partner. 'Fund VII is our biggest commitment yet to the builders reimagining the operating system of the enterprise, where software, agents, and machines plan and act on our behalf. Staying at $250M lets us stay focused, stay early, and keep showing up for founders before the rest of the world believes.' Fund VII will write initial checks from $500K to $15M, with the ability to support breakout growth through Boldstart's existing $175M Opportunities III fund. Video: Backing Myth-Makers from Day Zero 'Inception is about far more than capital, it's about compound leverage,' said Eliot Durbin, General Partner. 'For 15 years, we've worked side by side with technical founders to help shape the earliest story, unlock first customers, and architect the conditions for breakout. That's where Boldstart operates best, before the noise, before the signal.' Standout inception-stage investments from first commit to category leader include: Snyk – creators of developer first security, now AI security leader, last valued at $7.4B Protect AI – AI security leader acquired by Palo Alto Networks for over $700M Clay – creators of GTM engineering valued at $3.1B Kustomer – reimagining customer support, sold to Meta for reported $1B CrewAI – Multi-agent platform powering 60M+ agent runs/month Spectro Cloud – leading enterprise Kubernetes platform, valued at $750M Hypernative – Real-time risk intelligence for crypto and traditional finance Building the OS for the Autonomous Enterprise Fund VII is focused on the core primitives powering a generational rewrite of the enterprise; one where software, agents, and machines operate at machine scale, continuously reasoning, learning, and acting. It'll invest across the stack: AI-native infrastructure Secure identity and permissionless coordination Agents driving autonomous execution, going beyond assistive tools to full-scale operation Semantic interfaces and robotic execution layers Programmable money, smart contracts, and crypto-native automation These aren't just new tools. They represent a full-stack shift from human-in-the-loop to machine-in-the-loop. The autonomous enterprise won't be retrofitted from SaaS; it will be rebuilt from scratch. The autonomous enterprise will require entirely new business models, robotic execution layers, and AI-native workflows built without a traditional back office. Crypto and smart contracts will unlock programmable money and permissionless automation, enabling trustless coordination across systems at scale. Systems will run at machine scale, continuously learning, reasoning, and operating in real time. We have already partnered with teams like Generalist AI and several stealth startups tackling massive real-world problems and rethinking how intelligence moves through the enterprise stack. An early preview of model capabilities | Generalist 'This isn't about optimizing yesterday's stack,' added Sim. 'It's about building the operating system for the intelligent enterprise; from scratch, wired for autonomy, and secured from day one.' For more information, visit: | Watch the Fund VII announcement video: YouTube Link About boldstart ventures boldstart ventures is the inception fund for technical founders building the operating system of the autonomous enterprise. We invest before the product, pitch deck, or company exists, backing bold ideas that feel more like myth than market. Since 2010, we've partnered with 130+ founding teams, helping turn raw conviction into breakout momentum. Our portfolio includes category-defining companies like Snyk, BigID, Protect AI (sold to Palo Alto Networks >$700M, Clay, Kustomer (sold to Meta $1B), Blockdaemon, and CrewAI.
Wall Street Journal
08-07-2025
- Business
- Wall Street Journal
Boldstart Ventures Raises $250 Million AI Fund, Looking to Move Fast
Venture capital deals for hot artificial intelligence startups are happening at lightning speed. That, in part, is why Ed Sim, founder and general partner of Boldstart Ventures, wanted to keep his newest fund small and nimble. Miami-based Boldstart has closed a $250 million fund to double down on the firm's strategy of backing entrepreneurs at the earliest stages of company development—most of the time little more than a back-of-the-envelope business plan. It isn't uncommon for Sim to meet a founder and shake hands on financing the same day, he said.
Reuters
08-04-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Miami AI Agent Summit, Co-Hosted by Miami AI Hub and CrewAI, Sells Out and Sets the Stage for the Future of Agentic AI
MIAMI, FL, April 7, 2025 (EZ Newswire) -- The inaugural Miami AI Agent Summit, hosted by Miami AI Hub in collaboration with CrewAI, drew a sold-out crowd of over 250 founders, engineers, enterprise leaders, creators, and investors to The LAB Miami on Saturday, April 5. The event marked a pivotal moment in the city's growing tech scene, establishing Miami as a rising epicenter for AI innovation. Opening remarks were delivered by Burhan Sebin, founder of Miami AI Hub, who set the tone with an inspiring vision for the future of Miami's tech landscape. He reaffirmed his mission to position the city as a global hub for responsible and accessible AI development. Through his leadership at Miami AI Hub, he has united startups, corporate partners, and technologists in a collaborative space designed to unlock AI's potential across disciplines and industries. He also works to establish strong AI ecosystem linkages between the United States, Europe, and Latin America. João (Joe) Moura, CEO of CrewAI, followed with a bold vision for agent-native organizations and announced several major initiatives, including the launch of the CrewAI Job Board, a new Agent Marketplace, and early traction with enterprise. The day featured four high-impact sessions: Fireside Chat: The State of Agentic AI & Open Source Clem Delangue, CEO of Hugging Face, joined Greg Isenberg, CEO of Late Checkout, in a candid conversation that blended technical insight with humor. Delangue highlighted the importance of building agents 'just for fun' as a low-friction path to innovation. Isenberg underscored the rise of solo founders with agent teams, predicting, "The next billion-dollar startup will be one person with a fleet of AI agents.' AI Agent Infrastructure Moderated by Burhan Sebin, this panel explored how agentic workflows are built, scaled, and trusted. Panelists Garrett Rowe (NeuralSeek), Ryan Doan (Outrival AI), and Lou Mata (Mainframe) shared insights into orchestration, memory, user trust, and the real-time challenges of deploying AI agents in complex environments. Enterprise Adoption & Investment This enterprise-focused session brought together Ed Sim, Partner at Boldstart Ventures, and Hernan Londono, Ph.D., Chief Innovation Strategist at Lenovo, moderated by Ayal Stern of The LAB Miami. Ed Sim emphasized the need for strong founder-market fit in early-stage AI startups, while Hernan discussed how global enterprises are navigating the AI adoption curve. Real-World Use Cases The final panel, moderated by Iman Oubou, Co-Founder of Vocable AI, featured Trevor Lee (Myko AI) and Peter Yared (InCountry). From content creation to field sales and compliance-heavy industries, panelists shared their experience with real-world implementations. Final thoughts were delivered by Burhan Sebin, who reflected on the energy and momentum sparked by the gathering: 'This wasn't just an event, it was a movement,' said Sebin. 'We're proud to have brought this community together to shape the next generation of AI right here in Miami. And we will expand to other cities across the U.S. and beyond.' The Miami AI Agent Summit's success was made possible by the tireless efforts of the Miami AI Hub volunteer team, and the generous support of CrewAI, Atlas Space, Late Checkout, EZ Newswire, 4A Labs, and The LAB Miami. About Miami AI Hub Miami AI Hub fosters innovation and collaboration in artificial intelligence within the city's vibrant tech ecosystem. Its mission is to make Miami a global AI powerhouse and to build bridges across the AI ecosystems of the United States, Italy, Spain, and Latin America. Miami AI Hub has convened over 4,000+ participants, supported more than 50 AI startup showcases, and hosted speakers from major companies including NVIDIA, Apple, Google, AWS, and others. As an innovation catalyst, the Hub champions AI solutions that improve lives and transform industries. As a community platform, it brings together enthusiasts and experts to grow a shared knowledge base. And as a startup launchpad, it supports early-stage ventures with mentorship, funding access, and growth resources. Media Contact Cigdem Oztabak cigdem@ ### SOURCE: Miami AI Hub Copyright 2025 EZ Newswire See release on EZ Newswire
