Menlo Ventures' Venky Ganesan on backing Anthropic and why AI is moving from innovators to 'imitators and idiots'
mmurph · x · 2026-10-02
High Flyers Podcast EP #284 interviews Venky Ganesan, Partner at Menlo Ventures and early Anthropic investor:
- Left India alone at 16 for rural Washington State, worked through college
- Turned down a more lucrative offer for McKinsey, co-founded Trigo Technologies (acquired by IBM in 2004)
- 20+ years in VC, early backer of Palo Alto Networks, drove Menlo's AI push (Anthropic, Abnormal AI)
- Invests on 'propensity for action'; VCs often end up with more money in their worst companies than their best
- Sees the AI industry shifting from innovators to 'imitators and idiots'
Also covers his near-fatal stroke and family life.
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