Top VCs Use Brand Power to Extract Better Terms in AI Deals
Source: Newcomer
Dual-valuation structures—where investors get different share prices based on performance milestones—have shifted from niche to standard practice in AI funding, turning VC pedigree into a direct monetizable asset. The mechanics reveal how concentrated capital and AI hype have tilted negotiating power so heavily toward established firms that they can demand downside protection while founders absorb execution risk, effectively pricing in founder failure from day one. Andreessen, Sequoia, and Benchmark can now command preferential economics that smaller or newer funds cannot, hardening the power gap in venture capital itself.