Manufacturing Talks

Mikhail Taver educates us about investing in industrial AI

Jim Vinoski

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You may have heard a bit about AI, am I right?

But have you heard about how to whether a specific AI business is a good economic opportunity?

Mikhail Taver is here to help. He founded his own investment company, Taver Capital Partners, that was focused on AI back before the big hype took off, and he joined us to talk about how he tells a good bet from a bad one.

Now he's launching an outfit specifically focused on industrial AI, so he also gave us insights on what manufacturers should be looking at when folks come along to sell them the "latest and greatest" in AI applications.

Here are some highlights:
3:35 - founded his company in 2016
5:15 - now working on a second fund focused on industry
12:30 - how manufacturing AI startups can get it right (hint: focus on manufacturing first!)
15:30 - pace your runway! (It's a marathon, not a sprint)
16:30 - get somebody onboard with business know-how
17:30 - for manufacturers: AI is not magic - treat it as just another tool
19:00 - launch into AI project gently - your workers probably fear it

Our chat with Mikhail was a great mix of education about how the VC world views AI and manufacturing combined with practical advice for both AI startup folks and people in manufacturing looking to make use of those tools.

Tune in and check it out. Please do throw your questions or your own observations in the comments! And please text a friend to watch this one if you found it interesting!