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Building an AI startup is one thing. Raising one of the largest seed rounds of the year before launching a product is something else entirely.
In this episode of Build Mode, host and Startup Battlefield lead Isabelle Johannesen sits down with Andrew Dai, founder and CEO of Elorian and former Google DeepMind researcher, to unpack how his company raised a $55 million seed round at a $300 million valuation before generating revenue or releasing a product.
Andrew shares what investors saw in Elorian’s vision for visual AI, how he approached fundraising after leaving Google DeepMind, and why choosing the right investors mattered more than maximizing valuation. He also offers practical advice for founders building in AI, explains why today’s fundraising environment rewards clear storytelling over technical jargon, and shares what surprised him most as a first-time founder.
They get into:
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How Elorian raised a $55 million seed round before launching a product
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Why visual AI is one of the next major frontiers in artificial intelligence
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What investors look for when backing frontier AI startups
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Why the highest valuation isn’t always the best fundraising outcome
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How to pitch highly technical products to non-technical investors
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What founders should look for when choosing venture capital partners
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How to hire top AI talent away from Big Tech
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Why moving quickly matters more than ever in today’s AI race
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How founders can build defensible AI companies as technology evolves
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Andrew’s advice for first-time founders raising venture capital
Subscribe to Build Mode on (https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/build-mode/id1561051074) Apple Podcasts (https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/build-mode/id1561051074) , Spotify (https://open.spotify.com/show/0Dqmcq2aDrZkS9v1fITOKV) , or (https://pod.link/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vWUZMNjEyNzkzNjQ5NA) wherever you like to listen (https://pod.link/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vWUZMNjEyNzkzNjQ5NA) . And watch the full videos on (https://youtu.be/1jCGsEOizz8) YouTube (https://youtu.be/UUxqcec5Uww) . New episodes of Build Mode (https://techcrunch.com/podcasts/build-mode/) drop every Thursday.
Chapters:
00:00 Meet Andrew Dai: From DeepMind to Building Elorian
01:48 Why Visual AI Is the Next Frontier
04:50 Raising a $55M Seed With No Revenue
08:46 Landing Nvidia, Jeff Dean, and Top AI Investors
12:17 Managing the Pressure of a $300M Valuation
14:40 How AI Founders Should Pitch Investors
20:47 Hiring, Scaling, and Building a Frontier AI Company
27:00 Turning Down Bigger Offers & Advice for Future Founders
Hosted by Isabelle Johannessen. Produced and edited by Maggie Nye. Audience development led by Morgan Little. Special thanks to the Foundry and Cheddar video teams.
