If the next generation of great venture companies will be handfuls of humans augmented by AI, why shouldn’t we see the same effect on our business?
Ensemble founding partner Conrad Shang joined Grace Gong on Venture with Grace for a wide-ranging conversation that spanned Ensemble’s investment philosophy, portfolio wins, and the evolving role of VC-facing tech in a changing venture landscape. From the firm’s early conviction in AI-native infrastructure to our big wins in defense and deep tech, Conrad pulled back the curtain on how we succeed as a venture firm intentionally designed for the next decade—not the last one.
Along the way, Conrad shares stories of how the team came together, how Ensemble wins deals by showing up with software (not promises), and why the most important thing in venture is still the people you surround yourself with.
Highlights from the Interview
“We win deals by helping founders win customers.”
That means when other firms are promising intros that may or may not lead to fruitful conversations, we show up to founder meetings with a live demo of GTM 2.0 (our internal go-to-market engine) already populated with a customized list of ideal customers, mapped against the founder’s extended network, complete with decision-maker names, intro paths, and messaging guidance. Founders are used to getting vague promises; with Ensemble, they get fully built-out dashboards for identifying leads.
“We built this firm before data was cool.”
Long before ChatGPT made AI a retail phenomenon, we were getting laughed out of rooms for suggesting that data could inform venture decisions. But we kept building, designing our own data infrastructure, and integrating ML into every layer of the firm. Ensemble launched with six of our first eleven team members in technical roles, because we believed that the next generation of great firms wouldn’t just use data; they’d be built on it.
“Data doesn’t make the decision, but it tells us where to look.”
Our approach isn’t about chasing silver-bullet signals, but about processing hundreds of nuanced attributes across teams, backgrounds, and traction patterns to surface overlooked outliers early. We don’t believe in black-box verdicts. We believe in visibility. Whether it’s a mental health startup like Blueprint or a dual-use defense company like Saronic, our system flags, contextualizes, and accelerates the human judgment process that ultimately drives conviction.
“You are who you surround yourself with.”
At Ensemble, we don’t just underwrite founders; we underwrite founding teams, early hires, and co-founder dynamics, because we know the right team composition is the best indicator of long-term success. That’s why our data platform doesn’t just score individuals, but models full team configurations, contextually weighted by sector, stage, and business model.
Ensemble Headlines & Research
Learn what Ensemble VC is building next.
To get in touch, shoot us a note at ir@ensemble.vc.
WATCH: Collin West talks next-gen VC on the VC10X podcast with Prashant Choubey
In his recent appearance on the VC10X Podcast, Ensemble founder Collin West laid out the art of data-driven venture and the future of the industry.As we've said many times before, there's a lot more to our approach than just collecting data. Over the last decade, Ensemble has been at the forefront of developing the processes integral to converting data insights into actionable, outbound strategies.
Watch: Luke Arrigoni on "AI Masters" | Deep Fake Crisis, Solved.
In this conversation, Luke Arrigoni, founder of Loti AI, explores the evolving role of artificial intelligence in likeness surveillance and digital content protection. He unpacks the ethical challenges posed by AI, especially for public figures, and emphasizes the importance of blending technical skill with creative thinking. The discussion ranges from the mechanics of AI development to its implications for the future of work, arguing that individuals must adapt and retool as the job market transforms.
Greetings from Ensemble's 2025 Summer Onsite
We’re writing from a packed house here at Ensemble’s Summer 2025 onsite — our largest ever.
WATCH: Collin West talks next-gen VC on the VC10X podcast with Prashant Choubey
In his recent appearance on the VC10X Podcast, Ensemble founder Collin West laid out the art of data-driven venture and the future of the industry. As we've said many times before, there's a lot more to our approach than just collecting data. Over the last decade, Ensemble has been at the forefront of developing the processes integral to converting data insights into actionable, outbound strategies.
From Brains to Nervous Systems: The Agentic Revolution in AI Infrastructure
In the second installment of Lilly’s series on AI infrastructure, we explore why Agentic AI is more than a passing trend. As organizations move beyond basic LLMs, autonomous agents are emerging as the key to real-world impact—driving action, orchestration, and results. Learn how this shift is reshaping the AI stack from the ground up.
Press Release: Ensemble VC “Unity” launch
Ensemble VC launches Unity, a first-of-its-kind AI platform to derisk venture capital investing by ranking startup teams with hundreds of objective data points. Already in use by Draper Associates, Boost, Overmatch, and Wilson Sonsini, Unity empowers VCs to source, select, and support high-potential startups with precision across sectors like SaaS, AI, defense tech, and space.
Welcome to the team, Hannah Vu!
We’re excited to welcome Hannah Vu to Ensemble VC as a Data Engineer, where she’ll help scale the back-end infrastructure that powers Unity, Ensemble's proprietary data platform.
Rare Earth Elements: The Next Big Thing Is Buried
In a world obsessed with software, the next decacorn might come from a mine. With China controlling 90% of rare earth processing, a new industrial frontier is opening for founders to rebuild the backbone of modern technology—starting with the ground beneath our feet.
