Jon Lai
@Tocelot • 43,757 subscribers
GP @a16z @speedrun 🌱 | former PM @RiotGames @TencentGlobal | dark souls fan & dad to 3 zerglings
Videos
Mihoyo, creators of Genshin Impact, just launched Olivia - an AI companion who lives on your desktop, plays piano while you work, & exchanges letters with you. 100k downloads on day 1 The brilliant part is the GTM. Olivia debuted on Bilibili last summer as a virtual pianist, spent months building a fanbase and answering fan letters - all before shipping as a companion She launched with a built-in audience - hundreds of thousands follow her as a Shanghai university student majoring in piano (with a minor in psych), who loves old movies and rainy days Character-first AI with distinct personality, recognizable IP, and world building beats faceless agents - this is the way
Jon Lai493,927 views • 11 days ago
🚨 a16z a16z speedrun 🧊 applications are now open! we invest up to $1M in new start-ups building at the frontier - but that's just the start. beyond the investment, founders join a legendary community, work with our world-class operating team, and tap into the a16z network. details below: 1) the founder community - starting a new company is an emotional rollercoaster - being able to talk to founders on a similar journey can make it a bit less lonely - Speedrun is a tight-knit community of founders who support one another closely - providing advice, design partners, talent referrals, even investing in one another’s startups - during the program, we open up the a16z offices in SF and LA to founders as coworking space. dozens of founders work alongside each other before establishing their own offices - we have an alumni community >600 strong that come together every quarter through reunions and events at Tech Week 2) the a16z operating team - our operating team is a team of experts at the top of their field who provide specialized programs and hands-on support to founders. a few examples of how we help Speedrun founders: a) recruiting support to assemble and scale your team - direct intros to top talent in AI research, ML, full stack engineering, etc b) people support on US immigration and comp guidance for new hires / advisors c) GTM support on finding design partners and over $5M in credits on cloud, AI, and software spend d) marketing programs to build your brand and craft the perfect launch video to showcase your product e) capital networks support to refine your pitch deck and connect you to hundreds of prospective investors at demo day - many founders consider our operating team to be an extension of their own team in impact and how closely they work together 3) the a16z network - a16z as a firm has massive breadth and scale - we invest in and have networks across AI, bio/health, consumer, crypto, enterprise, fintech, games, infrastructure, american dynamism, and more - our network provides our founders an unfair advantage - it’s a rolodex they can tap into for intros to potential customers, employees, partners, and investors - providing a sense of power and reach you dont usually build until you're much farther along we know the best founders have many choices. if you’re setting out to build a generational company - we're confident you'll get unparalleled operating support, networks, & community from a16z Speedrun - all from day 0 if this sounds exciting, check out the link below!
Jon Lai784,248 views • 10 months ago
a16z a16z speedrun 🧊 request for startups: GUIs for Agents we’re still in the MS-DOS era of agents today - CLI, terminal sessions, file directories deleted by openclaw etc. while a small slice of silicon valley are power users, we're SO early for the rest of the world at Speedrun, we’re looking for bold founders excited to bring the power of agents to normies everywhere. there's a whole slew of products to be built here - from agent builders to marketplaces to managed infrastructure one broad idea we’re excited about are visual abstraction layers for agents. if you don't know exactly what you want, a command line / chat interface is paralyzing - you need to see options 1 example - think of a GUI or visual command center inspired by strategy games (ex. Factorio) where agents and workflows are represented graphically. skills, tools, MCP connections, background processes, etc could all be configured and shown visually in a workspace on UX, strategy games have long perfected agent management. zoom to get a birds-eye view of your agents, batch and queue orders via shortcuts, assign agents in multiplayer etc. a well-designed agent command center would make multi-agent orchestration for normies feel easy & intuitive most folks today still haven't moved beyond ChatGPT. the potential is enormous - just as Windows unlocked mass-market use of personal computers, the right visual abstraction layer could unlock agentic work for everyone - from individuals to enterprise teams if you share our vision, we'd love to chat!
Jon Lai199,016 views • 3 months ago
a16z a16z speedrun 🧊 request for startups: AI agents for creative storytelling 🎨 we want to see a new agentic UGC platform - like a next-gen Wattpad or Roblox - where agents help users compose their ideas into rich transmedia stories. think vibe coding but focused on creative storytelling why now? - humans love telling stories - but many of us get writer’s block or lack the tools to create rich media - professional storytellers in film, games have large support teams to help with writing, design, animation, etc. AI agents will soon be able to provide that same level of support to anyone a few key features in a new UGC platform: 1) AI creative assistant – an agent that helps storyboard, generate assets, code, & orchestrate elements across models to bring imagination to life 2) end-to-end workflow – set context, pull in references, and craft your entire story all within the platform. think Cursor for storytelling 3) voice creation – create multi-modally by simply speaking to the agent, making creation more accessible 4) multiplayer – storytelling as a social experience. families crafting bedtime stories together, friends building shared worlds after school etc 5) niche distribution wedge - a GTM strategy focused on delivering the best content possible for a niche vertical like anime or romantasy, rather than a generic catalog of “good enough” content for everyone the opportunity is huge - over 100M people visited Wattpad last month for fan fiction. one day, the next Harry Potter or Fourth Wing will be born from everyday consumers, empowered by AI creative assistants if you're building in this space, we’d love to talk! note: this content is not a solicitation or offering for securities, nor should it be construed as investment advice. see for additional information. for a full list of portfolio companies, visit
Jon Lai173,896 views • 1 year ago
![[NEW] a16z a16z speedrun 🧊 request for startups: AI Companions in Cozy Simulations 🎣 AI companions have served as friends and therapists for millions of users already. however, the consumer app that truly unlocks companions for everyone will look more like a cozy game or simulation, rather than a chatbot cozy games like Isabelle and Stardew Valley have sold >120M units ww, providing community and emotional support for decades. Love and Deepspace, an otome game for character relationship building, grossed >$400M revenue just last year we want to see a cozy agentic simulation similar to Love & Deepspace where: - users start playing for fun, but stick around long-term for the real emotional relationships they develop with characters - combines deep game systems such as relationship progression, mini-games, crafting systems, with well-written characters and the dynamic conversations of a LLM for endless replayability - cross-platform so characters go wherever you are - keeping you company at work on your PC, on your phone while you commute, and at home on your living room TV after a long day - multi-modal interactions with text and voice depending on context - the way we naturally talk with another human being we believe a truly mass-market companion app has yet to be built and there will be many winners across different settings and use-cases speedrun has already invested in a few teams exploring the broader space: AI characters Hedra Spark Lingonberry Altera @Genova_labs Cozy games ☁️ Loftia - Wishlist on Steam! ☁️ Everbloom simcluster Therapy Voidpet Sunflower 🌻 if this space is exciting to you, come talk to us about Speedrun!](https://image.24vids.com/tw-1910368811846688832/amplify_video_thumb/1910368036391141376/img/eCQU3g9qru3p1C6d.jpg)
[NEW] a16z a16z speedrun 🧊 request for startups: AI Companions in Cozy Simulations 🎣 AI companions have served as friends and therapists for millions of users already. however, the consumer app that truly unlocks companions for everyone will look more like a cozy game or simulation, rather than a chatbot cozy games like Isabelle and Stardew Valley have sold >120M units ww, providing community and emotional support for decades. Love and Deepspace, an otome game for character relationship building, grossed >$400M revenue just last year we want to see a cozy agentic simulation similar to Love & Deepspace where: - users start playing for fun, but stick around long-term for the real emotional relationships they develop with characters - combines deep game systems such as relationship progression, mini-games, crafting systems, with well-written characters and the dynamic conversations of a LLM for endless replayability - cross-platform so characters go wherever you are - keeping you company at work on your PC, on your phone while you commute, and at home on your living room TV after a long day - multi-modal interactions with text and voice depending on context - the way we naturally talk with another human being we believe a truly mass-market companion app has yet to be built and there will be many winners across different settings and use-cases speedrun has already invested in a few teams exploring the broader space: AI characters Hedra Spark Lingonberry Altera @Genova_labs Cozy games ☁️ Loftia - Wishlist on Steam! ☁️ Everbloom simcluster Therapy Voidpet Sunflower 🌻 if this space is exciting to you, come talk to us about Speedrun!
Jon Lai106,063 views • 1 year ago
In 2026, AI world models will take the spotlight in storytelling - powering new types of interactive experiences & digital economies not seen before World models are progressing rapidly - Marble World Labs and Genie 3 Google DeepMind already generate 3D environments from text prompts, allowing users to explore them as if they were video games As creators adopt these tools, new storytelling formats will emerge. One genre I'm excited about is "generative Minecraft" - where players co-create virtual worlds together by vibe coding with world models. Game mechanics could be programmable with natural language - ex. "create a paintbrush that changes the color of anything I touch to pink" World models will also likely give rise to not just a single game, but an entire new category of generative world experiences - you could have a horror experience where you’re hiding from generated monsters, or a D&D experience where you’re roaming an infinite fantasy world with friends And with a common base model for the underlying worlds, these experiences could be inter-connected in a multiverse we could only dream about previously in science fiction A key affordance here is the role of consumers as co-creators - you can wander the multiverse as a tourist, or break out your pickaxe and become a creator anytime. This in turn would give rise to new digital economies - with creators making a living building and selling interoperable assets, serving as a guide for new players, etc The opportunity is enormous - a new category of generative worlds would not only create a new storytelling medium unlike any we’ve seen before, but also be rich training grounds for agents, robotics, and AGI If you’re excited about building new interactive experiences or the virtual economy stack with world models - we’d love to hear from you!
Jon Lai29,871 views • 7 months ago
![[New] a16z a16z speedrun 🧊 request for startups: Generative MTV 🎶 There’s a Spotify sized opportunity today to build a new generative MTV that can become the defining music platform of the AI generation At the height of its popularity, MTV was one of the most-watched TV stations reaching >99 million US households. The channel turbocharged the cultural ascendance of stars like Madonna, Prince, & more AI music models like udio Suno have unlocked new ways of creating, discovering, and consuming music. For example, imagine a new music app that can: - generate an always-on soundtrack that shapes itself to your daily life using context like your calendar, location, and biometrics. For ex. switching from a commute playlist to a work-out playlist on the fly - generate music video synced to a playlist or listener feedback in real-time, with understanding of the lyrics and musicality of each song. Done well, it would be a multisensory, personalized concert Some might say that a major music platform or label will build this, but there is a time right now where it could be a new start-up instead. If you’re excited about this space, we’d love to jam!](https://image.24vids.com/tw-1917605191760896399/amplify_video_thumb/1917603728200437760/img/j21P_rcQ3GSL8P0V.jpg)
[New] a16z a16z speedrun 🧊 request for startups: Generative MTV 🎶 There’s a Spotify sized opportunity today to build a new generative MTV that can become the defining music platform of the AI generation At the height of its popularity, MTV was one of the most-watched TV stations reaching >99 million US households. The channel turbocharged the cultural ascendance of stars like Madonna, Prince, & more AI music models like udio Suno have unlocked new ways of creating, discovering, and consuming music. For example, imagine a new music app that can: - generate an always-on soundtrack that shapes itself to your daily life using context like your calendar, location, and biometrics. For ex. switching from a commute playlist to a work-out playlist on the fly - generate music video synced to a playlist or listener feedback in real-time, with understanding of the lyrics and musicality of each song. Done well, it would be a multisensory, personalized concert Some might say that a major music platform or label will build this, but there is a time right now where it could be a new start-up instead. If you’re excited about this space, we’d love to jam!
Jon Lai43,577 views • 1 year ago
i'm heading to NYC next week for NY Tech Week! the a16z a16z speedrun 🧊 team and I are hosting several events for early-stage builders across AI x creativity x entertainment. we're closing our summer batch soon but still have a few spots open lmk if you'll be in the city as well!
Jon Lai37,530 views • 1 year ago
AI will be imaginary best friends for this next generation of kids my 4yo son Aiden loves his new LLM-powered @CurioBeta plush. they play make-believe, eat and sleep together. and best of all Grok is free 24/7 - thx for helping us parents sleep! 😴 earlier this morning:
Jon Lai26,506 views • 2 years ago
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