Distinguishing real AI companies from AI theater

Amanda defines AI-native as products whose core offering is AI, and infrastructure that enables AI.

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Amanda “Robby” Robson (Founder of Modern Technical Fund) joins GTMnow to break down how she evaluates companies at the very earliest stages and why discipline matters more than ever in today’s market.

Amanda has spent over a decade in venture before launching Modern Technical Fund, investing across verticals ranging from security and compliance to developer tools at firms like Norwest and Cowboy Ventures. Her investment thesis is centered on backing elite technical founders early and helping them translate deep engineering talent into real products, real customers, and real momentum.

In this conversation, we unpack how Amanda thinks about founder quality, market timing, and risk when there’s limited data and plenty of noise, which is more critical than ever in an AI-heavy investing environment.

Guest Links

Amanda’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amanda-robson-7227685b/

Amanda’s Twitter: https://x.com/robby_mtf

Modern Technical Fund’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/modern-technical-fund/

Modern Technical Fund website: https://moderntechnicalfund.com/

Host links:

Max - LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/maxaltschuler/

Max - X: https://x.com/HackItMax

Paul - LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paulsirving/

Paul - X: https://x.com/PaulGTM

Newsletter: https://thegtmnewsletter.substack.com

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As we expanded from Fund I to Fund II, AngelList took care of the back-office operations, allowing us to stay focused on what matters most: investing in world-class founders and building the strongest go-to-market network in venture.

They’ve scaled with us across funds and into the future.

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Transcript available under the episode here: https://gtmnow.com/tag/podcast/

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Highlights:

00:00 – Why Modern Technical Fund exclusively backs technical founders

02:15 – What actually defines a “technical founder” beyond coding ability

03:45 – Why product judgment and customer instinct matter early

05:05 – How early teams split engineering and go-to-market roles

07:10 – When investor advice helps and when it gets in the way

09:05 – Why calibrating the hiring bar matters more than providing playbooks

12:40 – How network-driven support helps founders see what “great” looks like