风投摒弃旧规，人工智能初创企业投资步入"新潮时代"。
内容总结：
在近日举办的TechCrunch Disrupt 2025科技峰会上，风险投资人对人工智能领域的投资逻辑展开深度讨论。与会专家普遍认为，AI浪潮正催生与传统科技行业截然不同的投资范式。
Cowboy Ventures创始合伙人李艾琳指出，当前投资规则已发生根本性转变："部分AI企业竟能在一年内实现从零到1亿美元收入的跨越，这种增长速度前所未见"。但其团队研究发现，A轮投资者并非单纯追求营收暴涨，而是采用包含多重变量的"算法模型"进行评估，包括数据生成能力、技术护城河、创始人履历及产品技术深度等维度。
DVx Ventures首席执行官乔恩·麦克尼尔透露，即便是短期内实现500万美元收入的初创企业，也面临后续融资困境。他强调A轮投资者正将原本用于成熟企业的评估标准前移至种子轮投资，"多数突围企业制胜关键并非技术领先，而是拥有卓越的市场推广能力"。
这一观点引发业界激辩。Kindred Ventures管理合伙人史蒂夫·张对此持不同看法："仅靠平庸技术和强势营销就能获得融资的观点有失偏颇，技术产品与市场能力必须兼备"。麦克尼尔随后补充说明，其本意是强调初创团队必须具备超强的销售与营销战略部署能力。
值得注意的是，行业对产品迭代速度提出更高要求。李艾琳提示初创企业需对标OpenAI等头部公司的更新频率，"必须同步解决产品发布量、速度与质量的平衡难题"。
尽管面临高速增长压力，与会专家一致认为AI行业仍处早期发展阶段。正如史蒂夫·张所言："即便在大语言模型领域也尚未形成绝对垄断，追赶者始终紧随其后"。这预示着无论是老牌巨头还是新兴势力，都仍存在颠覆行业格局的可能性。
中文翻译：
若问风投机构对AI初创企业有何共识，那便是：AI领域需要不同于以往技术变革的投资策略。
"当下是个奇妙的时代，"Cowboy Ventures创始人兼管理合伙人李·艾琳在TechCrunch Disrupt 2025科技大会上表示。这位资深投资人指出，当某些AI企业实现"年度营收从零飙升至1亿美元"时，投资规则已发生深刻变革。
不过她强调，其团队研究发现A轮投资者并非只追求营收暴增。"这就像一套拥有不同变量与系数的算法模型。"据李·艾琳透露，投资者当前关注的要素包括：初创企业的数据生成能力、竞争壁垒强度、创始人过往成就及产品技术深度。"不同企业类型对应的算法输出结果也各不相同。"
初创企业孵化机构DVx Ventures联合创始人兼CEO乔恩·麦克尼尔指出，即便是那些从创立初期迅速增长至500万美元营收的企业，也常面临后续融资困境。"我认为游戏规则已经改变，且正在动态演变中。"他透露A轮投资者正将原本用于成熟企业的严苛标准，提前应用至种子期初创公司。
"多数投资者已经意识到，突围而出的企业往往并非技术最顶尖的，"麦克尼尔解释为何A轮风投会重点关注用户获取与留存能力，"它们强在市场拓展能力。"
Kindred Ventures创始管理合伙人史蒂夫·张对此提出异议，他认为不能片面强调市场策略的重要性："所谓'技术平庸但靠市场策略取胜'并非绝对真理，两者兼备才是必要条件。"尽管麦克尼尔后续补充称产品实力依然重要，但他坚持创始人必须从起步阶段就构建异常强大的营销体系："投资者对市场拓展的评估维度正变得空前精细。"
（这场关于营销与技术的论战在后续议程中持续发酵，当红初创企业Cluely创始人罗伊·李直言：仅靠社交媒体热度推出不成熟产品并非明智之举。）
李·艾琳补充指出，AI初创企业正面临前所未有的产品迭代压力，必须赶在潜在竞争者之前持续推出新功能。"观察OpenAI和Anthropic的迭代强度，企业必须找到与之匹敌的更新频率、速度与品质平衡点。"
尽管面临高速增长与快速迭代的双重压力，与会嘉宾一致认为AI产业仍处早期阶段。正如史蒂夫·张所言："目前尚无明确赢家，即便在大语言模型领域，追赶者仍步步紧逼。"这意味着无论是老牌巨头还是新兴势力，初创企业仍有颠覆行业格局的机会。
英文来源：
If there’s one thing that VCs agree on when backing AI startups, it’s that AI requires a different investment approach than prior technological shifts.
“It’s a funky time,” said Aileen Lee, founder and managing partner of Cowboy Ventures, onstage at TechCrunch Disrupt 2025. The longtime VC noted that the rules of investing have significantly shifted now that some AI companies are leaping from “zero to $100 million in revenue in a single year.”
However, Lee also noted that, based on her firm’s research, Series A investors aren’t just seeking rapid revenue growth. “It’s an algorithm with different variables and different coefficients.”
Some of the factors investors now measure, according to Lee, include whether the startup is generating data, the strength of its competitive moat, the founders’ past accomplishments, and the technical depth of the product. “Depending on what your company is, the output of the algorithmic formula is going to be different,” she said.
Jon McNeill, co-founder and CEO of startup creation firm DVx Ventures, stated that even startups that grow rapidly from inception to $5 million in revenue often struggle to secure follow-on funding. “I think this game has changed, and it is changing dynamically,” he said.
McNeill noted that Series A investors are now applying the same rigorous standards to seed-stage startups that they previously reserved for more mature companies.
“I think a lot of investors have figured out that the breakout companies, in most cases, don’t have the best tech,” McNeill said about why Series A VCs are looking so closely at startups’ ability to attract and retain customers. “They have the best go-to market.”
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Add yourself to the Disrupt 2026 waitlist to be first in line when Early Bird tickets drop. Past Disrupts have brought Google Cloud, Netflix, Microsoft, Box, Phia, a16z, ElevenLabs, Wayve, Hugging Face, Elad Gil, and Vinod Khosla to the stages — part of 250+ industry leaders driving 200+ sessions built to fuel your growth and sharpen your edge. Plus, meet the hundreds of startups innovating across every sector.
Steve Jang, founder and managing partner of Kindred Ventures, disagreed that a strong go-to-market (GTM), an industry term for sales and marketing, holds greater weight for investors. “I don’t think it’s 100% true to say mediocre technology, great GTM wins and raises money and gets customers. I think that it’s a necessary requirement to have both.”
While McNeill later clarified that having a solid product is important, he indicated that his initial comment was related to the founders’ need to develop an exceptionally strong sales and marketing strategy right out of the gate. “Investors are getting much more sophisticated on the go-to market than they have in the past,” he said.
(The debate over marketing versus tech was brought to the forefront later during the conference when Roy Lee, founder of the viral startup Cluely, said onstage that launching a product that barely worked, even with massive social media fame, may not always be the best idea.)
Aileen Lee added that AI startups are now under pressure to deliver product updates and new features at an unprecedented pace, preempting existing companies that might try to introduce similar products. “If you look at how much OpenAI and Anthropic are shipping, you’re going to have to figure out how to match how much you ship, how quickly and the quality of it,” she said.
Despite the expectations for breakneck growth and fast product development, panelists agreed that the AI industry is still in its very early stages. As Jang put it, “There are no clear, outright winners, even in LLMs. There are competitors nipping at their heels.”
This means startups still have a path to unseating perceived leaders, whether they are decades-old companies or fast-moving newcomers.