On Oct 18, 2007, at 11:00 PM, Benjamin Goertzel wrote:
I think that AGI for agent control in virtual worlds is not so
hopeless
in terms of appealing to VC's ... there's a real market there, and
there's
clearly a situation where more and more powerful AGI can yield more
and
more profits...
The problem is that VCs want nominally provable profits. AGI does
not fall under that classification unless it is so good that you do
not need VCs. Mind you, I have no problems with VCs and find them
easy to work with, but they are usually good for a certain type of
business. Angels are better for spec work, but less reliable and the
dollars are smaller.
I have talked to a number of VC's in recent months -- and by and
large they
want to pigeonhole us as a company that forever will be focused on
whatever
our first product is gonna be.... (If your first product is for
instance an animal
in virtual worlds then -- bingo! -- you're a virtual animal company!!)
Heh. Very true. One of the things that has reduced my annoyance
over the years is finding VCs that have sufficient vision that I can
work with them. There are not many of them, but they are not
entirely rare either. The problem is largely if they think the
venture is common. You have to be something pretty special for a
mainstream VC to invest in AGI, which means you have pulled a rabbit
out of the hat at least once. And "special" means having a
conventional track record.
It has been well worth my investment in ruthless conventional
business to develop the contacts required to fund more exotic
ventures no questions asked. It was a long way around, but not much
has changed in the interim. If people make enough money, they'll
invest in crazy ventures.
VC's in nearly all cases don't have a long time horizon, so to find
an AGI
opportunity that synergizes with their needs requires a good bit of
luck...
If the AGI is any good, wouldn't the time horizon be short...?
Cheers,
J. Andrew Rogers
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