The Morning Brief ET in the Valley: Apoorva Pandhi, MD at Zetta Venture Partners
Jan 14, 2026
Apoorva Pandhi, Managing Director at Zetta Venture Partners and an early-stage AI investor, discusses the seismic shifts in Silicon Valley's AI landscape. He reveals the harsh realities behind soaring startup valuations, highlighting the sky-high mortality rate between seed and Series A stages. With researchers taking the reins, Apoorva emphasizes the need for clarity in product-market fit over hype. He also touches on the burgeoning wave of young Indian founders and the challenges smaller funds face against megafunds in seed funding. It's a sobering look at AI's future!
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Require Hard Signals Before Doubling Down
- Prioritize categories with durable market size and sustainable growth before investing.
- Demand clear signals of adoption and product-market fit, not just hype.
Seed-To-A Is The Riskiest Stretch
- The highest failure rate today is between seed and Series A due to similar-looking companies.
- Seed investors must focus on layers that remain asset-light and retain ownership through exits.
Back The Next Platform Layers
- Invest in stack layers that benefit from improving foundation models rather than oppose them.
- Early winners could become the Snowflake/Databricks of the AI-first world.