Gene Frantz’s Post

We're thrilled to see CapitalG's managing partner Laela Sturdy on Barron's list of the 100 Most Influential Women in Finance. A few of our favorite snipets: "Sturdy has invested in four so-called decacorns, or privately held start-ups valued at $10 billion or more. Early stakes in fintech Stripe, Duolingo, and software company UiPath cemented her reputation as a savvy investor in emerging technologies, but her promotion last year to managing partner of CapitalG, Alphabet’s $7 billion independent late-stage growth fund, makes her one of just a handful of women leading an established venture firm of this size solo. Almost two-thirds of U.S. capital-management firms still don’t have any female partners. Her specialty: making concentrated bets on what she sees as 'generational,' or long-lifespan companies with outstanding growth prospects and impact. As she vets new investments, Sturdy looks for joy. 'It matters that you love what you are doing, and that your teammates around the table—or on the court—have that same level of joy and commitment,' she says. 'She has the performance mind-set of the investment business but also a respect and kindness that isn’t associated with it,' says Gene Frantz, a CapitalG general partner. 'People are naturally drawn to her and want to be in her orbit.'" Read the full article by Reshma Kapadia and to learn more about Laela and all of the inspiring women on this list: https://lnkd.in/emUQGvd6

Unveiling Pindrop® Pulse - A revolution in audio deepfake detection! Discover how our cutting-edge solution sets new standards in voice security, offering unmatched accuracy and real-time fraud detection for contact centers. With a 99% detection rate, Pindrop Pulse empowers organizations to combat AI voice cloning threats head-on. Read the Blog: https://bit.ly/3T2L322 #AudioDeepfakeDetection #VoiceSecurity

Boom! This is the power of an explainable deepfake detection system! When President Biden's deep faked robocall came out, most thought it would be impossible to identify the AI application. Our research identified that the perpetrators had used ElevenLabs, which has now been confirmed by Bloomberg. A big shoutout to Margi Murphy Rachel Metz and Mark Bergen for the great article. We are appreciative of ElevenLabs for working with expediency and banning the account that created the deepfake. Check out the article here: https://lnkd.in/eEcXH9_w

New years bring change, and this year I’m leaning in to this and moving on from CapitalG after 8+ years and 14+ years at Google/Alphabet.  Incredibly grateful for a magical ride and opportunity to partner with some of the worlds most consequential founders, from CrowdStrike to Credit Karma, Zscaler, UiPath or Duolingo.  It was a highly entrepreneurial endeavor, and I’m proud of all we’ve built in delivering value to the companies we invest in as a partner on their journey. Repot for growth -- Leaving a fantastic job is always a difficult decision, but any journey needs an ending, and my decision was partly inspired by a philosophy I was exposed to at Stanford – "Repotting, that's how you get new bloom...you should have a plan of accomplishment and when that is achieved you should be willing to start off again."  It's a concept that speaks to the need for change and growth in one's career, and I believe it's time for me to repot, and embark on a new journey.  Deep down, I've always had a passion for building and I believe that now is the right time for me to return to that path.  Excited to explore what comes next - more to come on this after an extended break. Thank you🙏- this has been the longest and most rewarding tenure of my career - a huge thank you to all the friends & colleagues I’ve had the privilege to work with throughout.  There are too many to list, but I especially want to thank the incredible leaders I worked for: at Google Jonathan Bullock (thanks for taking a bet on me!), Val Miftakhov, Anne Bray, Lyndsay Lyle, Christina Wire, and at CapitalG david lawee, Gretchen Howard, Laela Sturdy, Gene Frantz, Derek Zanutto and Jesse Wedler as well as all the leaders at our companies that I learnt so much from every day and the (literally) thousands of Googler advisors who we worked with.  To my team, you have accomplished what at times felt like the impossible, and I will miss working with each and every one of you! Grateful for it all & happy new year!

People often ask me for tips in trying to start a career as an investor. Whether they're looking to dip their toes into angel investing or advising or hoping to join a growth fund like CapitalG, I always emphasize how much hustle and heart it takes to find great companies and to add meaningful value post investment. Logan Bartlett and I had a fun and wide-ranging conversation about this and much more on The Logan Bartlett Show last week. Full conversation available at https://lnkd.in/gcV4TVBn

We are thrilled that CapitalG managing partner Laela Sturdy was featured on Nasdaq Tower today alongside other #WomenWhoLead. Tune in to hear from female leaders across the #Pledge1 community about how they are leveraging their teams and talents to #embraceequity and build a better world for all! Watch here: https://lnkd.in/gE2gkik #IWD2023 #Pledge1