01For partners & investment teams
Training
Your team learns to use AI on real work: triage, diligence, memos, and reporting. You get faster decisions, and partners who can advise founders from experience.
Investors Institute · For venture firms & accelerators
Help your portfolio build with AI Training for your firm, support for your founders
Every AI lab runs a startup program. None of them support your VC firm. The Investors Institute does, with training for your partners, resources for your platform team, and live technical support for your founders, so the companies you back can put AI to work faster.
Open to every venture firm and accelerator, at no cost. Independent and platform-neutral.
WeeklyOffice hours for founders and engineering teams
MonthlyLive build sessions with hands-on technical support
11Programs with one goal: your portfolio getting more from AI
0Fees tied to your investments
Why now
Your portfolio is building on AI
Your firm should be too
Founders are choosing the platforms they’ll build on right now, and most firms aren’t set up to help them do it well. We give your firm the training, resources, and live technical support to help every portfolio company use AI well.
Every pitch says “AI-native”
Few firms can tell a durable product from a thin layer over a model, or say what happens to its margins when model prices fall again.
Every LP will ask about AI
“How is your portfolio using AI?” is becoming a standard diligence question. Most firms answer it with anecdotes rather than data.
Every founder needs an applied-AI partner
Platform teams are stretched thin. Founders need hands-on help with architecture, cost, and the path to enterprise customers.
Engineering teams are changing how they build
AI coding tools are reshaping day-to-day software development. Teams that learn to use them well ship faster, and most need hands-on help to get there.
What’s included
What your firm, platform team, and founders get
Three kinds of support, each aimed at the people who make adoption happen: the partners who set direction, the platform team that serves founders, and the engineers who build.
01
02For platform teams & accelerators
Resources
Guides, coding starter kits, a guide to startup credits, and a peer circle of platform leads. A ready-made playbook to share with every founder and every batch.
03For portfolio companies
Live events & technical support
Build sessions, workshops, hackathons, and office hours where founders and engineers get hands-on help, so they ship AI-powered features sooner.
The goal behind all of it: the companies you back using more AI, from day-to-day development to the products they ship.
Live events
Live events for your firm and your founders
Hands-on sessions, run with your platform team, where founders build with AI and get technical help on the spot. Each one is designed to leave founders with working code, not just slides.
Monthly
Live build session
A virtual, 60-minute session: build something real with AI coding tools, then open Q&A on your team’s own code.
Quarterly
Builder Day
In person in San Francisco and Los Angeles: a half-day workshop, live demos, and one-to-one technical help.
Per cohort
Portfolio hackathon
A focused day where your portfolio companies ship an AI-powered feature, with engineers on hand.
Weekly
Founder office hours
Bookable 20-minute slots on coding tools, model costs, architecture, and the AI labs’ startup programs.
Quarterly
GP roundtable
Partners and platform leads compare notes on how their portfolios are adopting AI.
Open to every firm
“Every firm, and every company in the portfolio, not just the top 1%.”
The programs
Eleven programs
One goal
Each program delivers something your firm values, and every one shares the same goal: the companies you back getting more from AI.
GP Briefing Series
A quarterly closed-door briefing on what's changing on AI platforms and what it means for your theses, plus a one-page brief within 48 hours of every major model release.
Your firm getsEarly warning on categories a model release will commoditize, and the ones it opens up.
One-pager (PDF) ↓AI for the Firm
A 30-day pilot that puts AI to work on two of your workflows (deal triage, diligence, IC memos, portfolio monitoring, or LP reporting), with a before-and-after time study.
Your firm getsHours back every week, and partners who can advise founders from experience.
One-pager (PDF) ↓AI Diligence Desk
An independent 48-hour written assessment of any AI company you're evaluating: proprietary vs. a thin layer over a model, model dependency, cost per task, and whether the claims hold up.
Your firm getsConviction on AI claims before you invest, without hiring a specialist.
One-pager (PDF) ↓LP Story Kit & Portfolio Insights
A quarterly opt-in portfolio survey becomes a dashboard with peer benchmarks, a portfolio AI scorecard, an LP letter section, and an optional annual-meeting presentation.
Your firm getsData behind your “AI-native portfolio” story when it matters most: fundraising.
One-pager (PDF) ↓Founder Introductions & GP Dinners
A monthly, thesis-matched note introducing AI-native founders we've met, plus small invitation-only dinners for GPs built around one theme.
Your firm getsEarly, warm introductions and a seat in a carefully curated room.
One-pager (PDF) ↓Exit & Strategic Pathways
A quarterly map of the corporates and CVCs partnering with and acquiring AI-native companies, with introductions to corporate development when your firm asks.
Your firm getsHelp where returns are made: strategic partnerships and exits.
One-pager (PDF) ↓Platform Lead Circle
An invitation-only peer group of 12–20 heads of platform and accelerator directors. Monthly, virtual, under Chatham House rules (nothing said is attributed to anyone). Members receive a quarterly “State of Portfolio AI” benchmark.
Your firm getsPeer insight, a shared playbook, and benchmarks your partners will notice.
One-pager (PDF) ↓Fractional AI Partner
A named applied-AI advisor on your platform page, with a set number of founder office-hour slots every month and a monthly report back to the firm.
Your firm getsA senior AI bench to point to when competing for the best rounds.
One-pager (PDF) ↓Accelerator Batch Module
A plug-in “Building with AI” module for every batch: a 90-minute workshop, a hands-on build session, mid-batch office hours, and demo-day preparation.
Your accelerator getsStronger batches and sharper AI stories on demo day. Complimentary for your next two batches.
One-pager (PDF) ↓Portfolio Activation Sprint
Four weeks for 8–12 of your portfolio companies: a kickoff workshop, one-to-one applied-AI sessions, and a closing demo, with a scorecard delivered to your firm.
Your firm getsMeasurable AI progress across a cohort, with no added platform headcount.
One-pager (PDF) ↓Enterprise Pilot Bridge
A quarterly match between real enterprise problems and pilot-ready, AI-native portfolio companies, ending with a demo night for buyers and investors.
Your firm getsFaster revenue and enterprise proof points for your companies.
One-pager (PDF) ↓
Now enrolling Delivering today
Applications open Starts when your firm joins
Waitlist Opening to partner firms next
Partnership
Choose how deeply to partner
There’s no fee to take part. What we ask in return is access: introductions to your founders and a place on your platform. The more access you give, the more of the eleven programs we can run for your portfolio.
Tier one
Member
For firms getting started
Your firm receives
- GP Briefing Series
- Monthly founder introductions
- A seat in the Platform Lead Circle
Your firm provides
- Introductions to three portfolio founders
Tier two
Partner
For firms rolling out across the portfolio
Everything in Member, plus
- AI Diligence Desk, two assessments a month
- LP Story Kit & Portfolio Insights
- Seats at GP dinners
Your firm provides
- Listing on your platform page
- One co-hosted event a year
- Portfolio survey participation
Five seats · Year one
Founding Partner
Priority support in year one
Everything in Partner, plus
- Fractional AI Partner for your founders
- A Portfolio Activation Sprint
- Priority on the Enterprise Pilot Bridge
- A voice in how the programs evolve
Your firm provides
- Access across the portfolio
- A quarterly portfolio review
- A testimonial, when it's earned
When companies your firm introduces reach agreed milestones, such as a production launch or a signed enterprise pilot, your firm moves up a tier or receives additional Diligence Desk and office-hour capacity. We never take fees tied to your investments.
How it begins
From first call to a portfolio building with AI
01
Tell us about your firm
Share a few details about your firm or accelerator and your portfolio. There’s no long contract.
02
Train your team
A kickoff workshop for partners and the platform team, plus resources ready to share with founders.
03
Launch with your founders
A live build session for your portfolio, with hands-on technical support for every team that joins.
04
Track adoption
A quarterly scorecard showing which companies are putting AI to work and where they need help next.
Free field guide
Start with the guide partner firms start with
Ten practical ways investment teams, platform teams, and partners are putting AI to work, each with a starter prompt, plus a 30-day plan for your firm.
You'll also receive GP release briefs. Unsubscribe anytime.
Briefings built for partners, not product demosEvery brief answers one question: what does this change for your portfolio?
GP Brief · October 2026
The startup program pause, and why the VC channel matters more
What the flood of open applications says about how founders will reach AI platforms, and the role firms now play.
GP Brief · October 2026
Cheaper small models and your portfolio's gross margins
Why every AI-native company in your portfolio should re-run its cost per task this quarter.
GP Brief · October 2026
When systems of record connect to AI models directly
Which kinds of “AI for HR and finance” products lose their edge as enterprise platforms connect to the models directly, and the new openings this creates.
The Chair
Dhaval Kapadia
Twenty years in institutional capital, and now building AI himself.
He spent five years at Citi, through 2008 and 2009. He helped sell the private equity group he was part of to Apollo Global Management, and joined Apollo in asset management and new product development. In 2012 he founded REAM Partners, an asset management consulting firm whose anchor client was a top-five global alternative asset manager. There he oversaw investor reporting and portfolio monitoring across more than $300 million, and presented to investors at annual meetings.
He is co-founder of Blue Skies AI Studio, where he builds and ships AI-first enterprise software. He is Chairman of TiE LA Angels and host of Enterprise AI Insider.
“He has been on every side of this: the institution, the acquirer, the advisor, and the builder. Partner firms work with someone who has done both jobs.”
CitiApollo Global ManagementREAM PartnersBlue Skies AI StudioTiE LA AngelsEnterprise AI Insider
Our principles
How we keep the work worth your time
Give first
Every relationship starts with something useful: a brief, an assessment, an introduction.
Open to every firm
From emerging managers to established funds, any venture firm or accelerator can take part.
Outcomes, not activity
We measure what shipped, what was adopted, and what it changed.
Discretion
Portfolio data stays confidential. Founder details are shared only with consent.
Independent
No fees tied to your investments, and no affiliation with any AI provider.
Questions
Frequently asked
What does the Investors Institute do?
We help venture firms and accelerators get their portfolio companies using more AI. We do it with training for your team, ready-to-use resources for your platform, and live events with hands-on technical support for your founders.
Are you tied to a specific AI company?
No. The Investors Institute is independent and isn’t affiliated with any AI lab or vendor. We help firms and founders get the most from the leading models and tools, and we can help founders understand and apply for the startup programs those companies offer.
Do you say AI or SI?
Both mean the same tools. Since September 2026, U.S. federal agencies call it “super intelligence” (SI); most founders and investors still say AI. Whatever you call it, our programs help your firm and portfolio use more of it, and use it well.
Who are the programs for?
Venture firms (partners and platform teams), accelerators, and, through them, every founder and engineering team in their portfolio.
What does “using more AI” mean for a startup?
Using AI coding tools in day-to-day development, building intelligent features into the product, and giving the whole team an assistant for everyday work. We help with all three, and founders always choose their own tools.
What does it cost?
Nothing. Our programs are free for venture firms, accelerators, and their portfolio companies. Founding Partner seats are limited only because each includes priority support in the first year.
Why don’t you charge?
Because our goal is adoption. We measure success by how many of your portfolio companies put AI to work well, not by fees. We never take fees tied to your investments.
Do you invest in companies or take fees on deals?
No. We don't take finder's fees, carry, or any compensation tied to your investments, and we don't offer or sell securities. Founder introductions are made only with the founder's consent, and never with a conflict of interest.
How do you handle confidential portfolio information?
Diligence work is done under NDA. Portfolio survey data is opt-in, self-reported, and anonymized in any benchmark. Nothing about a partner firm or its companies is published without permission.
Request an introduction
Bring the Institute to your portfolio
Tell us about your firm or accelerator. We’ll reply personally within two business days with a plan for your first live session, and the field guide arrives with your confirmation.
A personal reply within two business days
The field guide, sent with your confirmation
Your details stay confidential
Prefer a warm introduction? Ask a mutual connection, or write to partners@investorsinstitute.co.