Casey Caruso, a 31-year-old Google engineer turned tech investor, has raised $75 million for Topology Ventures, a new fund that invests in frontier tech startups. The fund is anchored by Cendana Capital and Accolade Partners and has secured commitments from notable investors such as Marc Andreessen of a16z and Paris Hilton.
Caruso’s investment thesis is centered around her understanding of the rapidly evolving technology landscape. As someone who spent years working on research systems at Google, she believes that investors must have a deep technical grasp to succeed in this space. Topology Ventures invests in startups focused on AI, decentralized networks, neurotechnology, aerospace, and robotics.
The fund has already made six investments, including a stealth-mode startup addressing inference time compute for AI models. Caruso’s approach is to conduct thorough technical research, often reading AI research papers to identify opportunities. She emphasizes the importance of having a strong technical acumen and reaches out to founders through platforms like Discord and GitHub rather than email.
However, Caruso has also seen examples of undisciplined investing in AI products. She warns that investors who fail to understand the underlying technology may misinterpret market trends and make poor investment decisions. Topology Ventures focuses on companies that leverage AI to create real businesses, rather than simply pouring resources into R&D labs.
Caruso believes that investing allows her to scale her impact as an engineer, using her expertise to drive value creation in the tech industry. With its $75 million commitment, Topology Ventures is poised to become a significant player in the frontier tech space.
Source: https://fortune.com/2024/12/12/topology-ventures-frontier-tech-marc-andreessen-google