Early Groq investor on picking AI startups and expecting failure

Sandhya Venkatachalam, founder and managing partner of venture firm Axiom Partners, shared her investment philosophy in an interview with Crunchbase News. She was an early investor in Groq, the AI chip startup, and says that experience shaped how she evaluates new opportunities.

Venkatachalam said she looks for founders outside traditional profiles rather than only backing familiar pedigrees. She also discussed what she believes makes an AI company durable over time, pointing to factors beyond hype or short-term traction.

She acknowledged that venture investing carries high risk, expecting roughly half of her bets to fail, which she considers a normal part of backing early-stage AI companies.