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Atoms

A startup attempting a very ambitious project.

1 source1 tips
At a glancea16z now backs big ambition and avoids small ideas
Three years ago
  • Overly ambitious companies were passed on
  • A $100 million seed made no sense
  • Constraints forced narrow wedges
NowWon
  • Big ambition reads 'challenging, let's see'
  • Too-small ideas are not engaged with
  • AI removes the old constraints

Think bigger: a16z avoids ideas that are too small

From Anish Acharya of a16z

What was said about Atoms

  • Atoms shows why a16z now backs larger ambition over small, narrow ideas. Anish Acharya of a16z cited Atoms as a startup attempting something that would have felt insurmountable 5 to 10 years ago. Today it reads as 'challenging, let's see'.

    Three years ago, overly ambitious companies were passed on and a $100 million seed made no sense. Now a16z avoids ideas that are too small, because AI removes the constraints that forced narrow wedges. In his words: "An idea that's too small is not something that we want to engage with." The lesson for founders is to think bigger.

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