We dive deep into our sectors. Our research drives our insights and thesis-driven approach.

Incumbents poised to cede market share or be disrupted by new upstarts

At Equal Ventures, we invest in the transformation of legacy industries, many of which run on physical assets (think power grids, warehouses, truck fleets, and storefronts). This means bridging “Bits” (technology-driven solutions) with “Atoms” (real-world infrastructure). Across our focus areas, Insurance, Energy, Retail and Supply Chain, we’re seeing a surge in data that has the potential to enhance how these assets are managed, utilized, and monetized. Even small improvements in return on assets (ROA) can generate meaningful enterprise value, but fully capturing that value requires a deep understanding of how these assets operate within capital markets.

Insurance workflows are notoriously rife with unstructured data, regulatory requirements, complexity, multi-stakeholder collaboration/bottlenecks, and high-stakes decisions. Each of these attributes makes the $1T insurance industry a highly compelling use case for vertical AI. Up to 80% of data used across the industry is unstructured/unorganized, and processing this data takes upwards of 40% of employee time. No surprise then that digital transformation and AI enablement is viewed as a “main driver” of insurance industry value creation and M&A.

A couple of weeks back, we highlighted the major problems and opportunities in the retail & eCommerce industry that investors and operators would love to see more innovation around.

Technology revolutions follow a familiar rhythm: they expand access, increase efficiency, and redefine society. The printing press democratized information, allowing knowledge to spread beyond the elite. The internet connected the world, breaking down barriers to communication, commerce, and collaboration. Mobile took this a step further, placing the internet in our pockets, making digital access instantaneous and ever-present. Each shift unlocked enormous progress and introduced unintended consequences - some immediate, others unfolding over time.