Q1 Round-up: Portfolio companies in the news

In the past, we typically wait until the end of the year to recap what’s happened here at V1. But with a group of incredible startups doing great things, we’re determined to provide more frequent updates. If you’re not already familiar with the startups and founders making up the V1 portfolio, here’s a summary of […]

AI is moving mainstream, but are users ready to trust it yet?

When DeepMind’s AlphaGo defeated South Korean master Lee Se-dol, it was a historic stride for AI. The depth of this development, coupled with higher computing power and cheaper data storage, is moving AI into the mainstream. Perhaps the most popular application of AI today comes in the form of virtual assistants and bots, or “agents” […]

V1’s latest investment: Booster Fuels – on-demand delivery of gas for vehicles

Last year, we quietly invested in the seed round of Booster Fuels, a then-stealth on-demand gas delivery service.  Today, we’re excited to officially announce our investment as they raise their Series A financing from Maveron, Madrona, and RRE, and other invests, as well as expand into Silicon Valley. Much has been written about the Uberification of the economy […]

Version One in 2015: A year of building, backing, and exits

As 2015 comes to an end, it’s time to reflect on what we’ve done and where we’re headed. It’s hard to believe that it has been just a little over a year since we launched Fund II with $35M in commitments. Since then, we’ve accelerated our pace – backing exceptional entrepreneurs, feeding their growth, and […]

The art of hiring a data scientist

Nearly four years ago, I joined the Insight Data Science team and we launched an intensive 7 week post-doctoral training fellowship bridging the gap between academia and data science. Since then, over 400 Insight alumni have been hired as data scientists or data engineers at top tier companies like Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Airbnb, and Google. Although I formally […]