Smash Notes
How Did Menlo Become a Top AI Firm? · The Peel with Turner Novak

The Peel with Turner Novak

Inside the Anthropic Bet That Made Menlo a Top AI Firm | Matt Murphy

Matt Murphy is a partner at Menlo Ventures and led Anthropic's Series D. Before Menlo, Matt sat in Google's board meetings at Kleiner Perkins from the first check to the IPO, and then backed Anthropic before it had a product or revenue. We talk about the similarities between early Google and Anthropic, bending all the rules to invest at a $4B pre-revenue…

People

Notes

  1. Why Is Anthropic's Headline Burn Figure Not Cash? at 0:20

    Matt Murphy says Anthropic's headline burn figure is not cash. Full answer

  2. How Fast Is Anthropic Growing Compared With Google? at 2:07

    Matt Murphy says Anthropic is growing on a clock that makes Google's famous run look slow. Full answer

  3. Why Did Matt Murphy Back Anthropic Before Revenue? at 5:18

    Matt Murphy backed Anthropic before it had revenue because the partnership had decided it had to be in the category. Full answer

  4. Why Did Menlo's Anthropic Check Look Too Small? at 10:20

    Matt Murphy says Menlo's first Anthropic check looked too small to matter to the fund. It did not fit the venture fund or the growth fund. Full answer

  5. How Did Menlo Raise an SPV With No Anthropic Financials? at 18:50

    Matt Murphy says Menlo's first special-purpose vehicle for Anthropic nearly got ahead of the firm. Full answer

  6. Why Did Matt Murphy Join Menlo Ventures? at 24:46

    Matt Murphy joined Menlo because the firm had already done the generational handoff that wrecks other venture firms. Full answer

  7. Why Did Menlo Go All in on AI? at 29:11

    Matt Murphy says Menlo put all its chips on the table when the AI wave arrived. Conviction inside the whole firm was incredibly high. Full answer

  8. How Did Menlo Become a Top AI Firm? at 31:47

    Matt Murphy says Menlo became a top AI firm by stacking pieces for years, not by spotting Anthropic on the day of the round. Full answer

  9. Why Do Venture Firms Decay? at 38:40

    Matt Murphy says venture firms decay through poor handling of generational transition. Full answer

  10. What Is Menlo's Anthology Fund? at 41:33

    Matt Murphy says Menlo's Anthology Fund was a way to see more of the AI map before it was obvious which companies would matter. Full answer

  11. Why Is AI Not a Repeat of 1999? at 46:11

    Matt Murphy says this AI wave is not a repeat of 1999 because that boom hit a wall this one does not have. Full answer

  12. Should Venture Firms Slow Down? at 1:06:26

    Matt Murphy is open to venture firms slowing down, and he does not know that the market needs a lot of changes right now. Full answer

Related notes

Related episodes

Plays from this note through the rest of the episode.

Note

Weekly highlights

One letter a week.

The notes worth hearing, with the minute they were said.