What's Next for Delphi

The Delphi podcast discusses the company's recent retreat in Montenegro, aimed at enhancing team collaboration and aligning goals across its three main entities: Delphi Research, Delphi Ventures, and Delphi Labs. Since its inception in 2018, Delphi Research has evolved from a struggling subscription service to a robust consulting model, emphasizing research and accountability. The consulting team focuses on Applied Research and Economic Design, working closely with top crypto teams like Plasma and developing token designs and strategies.

Delphi Labs identifies market gaps and incubates projects, with successful initiatives like Legion, Medilex, and Oro raising over $80 million. The team is also exploring AI, preparing to build products like DelphiOS to improve information flow and automate tasks. The podcast highlights the distinction between venture capital and incubation, with the Legion team aiming for a merit-based fundraising model that optimizes contributions.

Delphi Ventures, launched in late 2019, has evolved its investment strategies, including the launch of Fun 2 focused on DeFi and Fun 3 incorporating AI and deep tech. With Fun 3 nearly fully deployed, discussions for Fun 4 are underway, potentially broadening the investment range. The introduction of Special Purpose Vehicles (SPVs) allowed for flexible investment management, although challenges led to the decision to sunset the SPV program.

The speakers emphasize a strategic shift towards larger, later-stage investments outside of crypto, with Delphi Intelligence positioned to enhance AI investment strategies. They recognize the convergence of crypto and AI, noting the hesitance within the AI community to engage with crypto. Investment strategies include direct early-stage AI investments, crypto AI investments, fund-to-fund investments, late-stage investments in companies like Neuralink, and internal AI tool development.

The conversation reflects on the current perception of the crypto space, noting a shift from speculation to practical use cases, particularly through stablecoins. The speakers express excitement about growth potential in crypto while emphasizing the need for patience amid unrealistic expectations from past market cycles. They discuss the importance of in-person interactions for team members and the necessity of establishing a strong research brand in a crowded landscape.

The speakers are actively seeking emerging managers in AI, aiming to back top-tier funds and target around 200 deals a year. They believe significant companies worth $100 billion will emerge in the next five years due to AI and other converging trends. To enhance their investment strategy, they are developing AI tools to automate processes and improve due diligence, planning to co-invest in seed stages while focusing on Series A rounds of successful companies. They highlight the importance of identifying companies that could become part of the next "mag seven" of successful firms, expressing enthusiasm about the potential for crypto companies to be included in this future group.