Mike Annunziata

Alap Shah, former Sentieo CEO and author of the Citrini essay on AI risk; Will Brown, research lead at Prime Intellect building RL tooling for open models; Mike Annunziata, founder of Also Capital and hard-tech investor. They discuss CitriniPocalypse and labor-market risk, reinforcement learning platforms and customization paths, and investing in durable hard-tech and factory-scale strategies.

In this engaging discussion, Mike Annunziata, Founder of Also Capital and former allocator at Cornell Endowment, shares insights on identifying world-class venture founders. He highlights the importance of marrying ambition with credibility for success. Drawing parallels to amateur pilots, Mike explains disciplined risk-taking under pressure. They explore how to assess behavioral tells that differentiate exceptional founders and the increasing role of AI in hard tech. Finally, he emphasizes the need for a strong mission to attract top talent and the value of owning a few great deals deeply.

Mike Annunziata, Founder and General Partner at Also Capital, shares insights from his journey in venture capital, including his time at Soros Fund Management. He discusses the essence of conviction investing and why trust is critical in partnerships. Mike highlights his portfolio of hard tech companies like Varda Space and K2, emphasizing the importance of people-first investing. He reflects on defining early-stage success through relationships and metrics, and shares his vision for the future of hard tech, focusing on building a firm with long-term impact.

Mike Annunziata, investor and founder who moved from institutional roles to start Also Capital, talks about building and funding deep-tech startups. He recounts fundraising hurdles, hiring world-class engineering teams, and pitching with conviction. Short, tactical stories on founding a hard-tech startup and evolving a pre-seed venture firm.

Mariana Perez Mora, Bank of America aerospace and defense analyst, offers market and valuation perspective. Mark Danchak, investor in growth-stage deep tech, focuses on space infrastructure and launch. Mike Annunziata, early-stage investor in aerospace and robotics, explains founder-driven bets. They debate space data centers, launch economics, valuations and NASA’s new lunar roadmap in crisp, fast-paced conversation.