Could the first wave of AI turn out to be a capital destruction event? On today's episode we're joined by Oli Hammond, Partner at Fuel Ventures, where he leads seed rounds of £1–2 million into B2B companies — and, full disclosure, a SyndicateRoom alumnus who started his career with us before going on to bigger things.Oli believes AI will create enormous value — for a very small number of firms — while most startups in the application layer get swallowed by the very platforms they're built on. We dig into why he thinks 99% of the money chasing AI will lose, why regulated markets may be the last place software can still build a moat, and why founder–market fit misses the thing that matters most: whether a founder can deliver bad news early. Plus how a lead investor sells his money to the best founders, what Fuel's 1,800-strong investor network does for a portfolio company, and the top rule on Oli's list of eight — "mediocre people with unique ideas don't work."Enjoy the episode? Please like, subscribe and tell your friends, and leave a comment or question; we'll do our best to reply. Follow Oli on LinkedIn, find Fuel Ventures at fuel.ventures, and see what we're doing at SyndicateRoom at syndicateroom.comLearn about the Enterprise Investment Scheme.

Ask this episode

“What did the council decide on item 42?” — answered with the speaker and the moment.

Transcript

Related