*By Carlo Versano* When Alexis Ohanian and Garry Tan, the co-founders of the early-stage VC firm Initialized Capital, consider seeding companies, they think about software. "Every single piece of GDP will be eaten by a software company," Tan told Cheddar in an interview from the Web Summit in Lisbon, Portugal ー the only question is, whether it'll be an incumbent or a start-up. So while the firms they invest in ー companies like Instacart, Skip, GM Cruise, and Coinbase ー are as varied as can be, they all have great software at their core, Tan said. Ohanian, who also co-founded Reddit, expanded on some of those investments ー like Skip, one of two providers of e-scooters in San Francisco. He's bullish on the red-hot scooter industry because of the so-called "last mile problem" in mobility. "Even the best car-sharing with the most autonomous, smartest vehicles isn't really designed to solve" what simple scooter fleets can, he said. Initialized is "investing for the long-term" with Skip, which Ohanian credits with pioneering the hardware and software platforms that make scooters possible. And Skip is showing that transportation start-ups can successfully work with government in both deploying and scaling. They "learned the lessons the hard way from ride sharing," he said. Tan and Ohanian have long been at the forefront of the crypto craze, and they remain unfazed by recent softening in Bitcoin. "We're in crypto winter," Tan said, noting that there was a similar period five years ago, which led to the creation of Ethereum. "That's the kind of thing we think will happen again." Ohanian and Tan like to think of themselves of contrarians in the world of venture capital, where they like to take chances on "real builders and real makers" and founders that follow their own ethos. "We've never really cared what the rest of the industry thinks is good," Ohanian said. "We make up our own minds." For full interview [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/vc-insiders-share-what-they-look-for-in-start-ups).

Share:
More In Business
Disney content has gone dark on YouTube TV: What you need to know
Disney content has gone dark on YouTube TV, leaving subscribers of the Google-owned live streaming platform without access to major networks like ESPN and ABC. That’s because the companies have failed to reach a new licensing deal to keep Disney channels on YouTube TV. Depending on how long it lasts, the dispute could particularly impact coverage of U.S. college football matchups over the weekend — on top of other news and entertainment disruptions that have already arrived. In the meantime, YouTube TV subscribers who want to watch Disney channels could have little choice other than turning to the company’s own platforms, which come with their own price tags.
Universal Music and AI song generator Udio partner on new AI platform
Universal Music Group and AI platform Udio have settled a copyright lawsuit and will collaborate on a new music creation and streaming platform. The companies announced on Wednesday that they reached a compensatory legal settlement and new licensing agreements. These agreements aim to provide more revenue opportunities for Universal's artists and songwriters. The rise of AI song generation tools like Udio has disrupted the music streaming industry, leading to accusations from record labels. This deal marks the first since Universal and others sued Udio and Suno last year. Financial terms of the settlement weren't disclosed.
Load More