Is "Software Beyond the Screen" the Next 100x Returner? Sunil Nagaraj

Описание: While many VCs chase software margins, Sunil Nagaraj builds companies where software controls the physical world. Venture capital is moving beyond SaaS, into farming, school buses and space. Sunil Nagaraj of Ubiquity Ventures explains his “software beyond the screen” approach, why disciplined deep tech beats moonshots, how AI enables closed-loop control in the physical world, and why founders should stop chasing hype and start solving overlooked real-world problems.

From turning dairy farms into programmable systems, to modernizing school transportation, to making space startups capital efficient, this conversation is built on technical depth, capital discipline, and empathy for traditional industries.

✅ Converge VC website:
https://converge.vc/

✅ Connect with Sunil Nagaraj:
  / nagarajs  

✅ Connect with Nilanjana Bhowmik:
  / nilanjanabhowmik  

----
🎧 Listen on Your Platform of Choice:

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/pt/podcast...

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/5oUI...

Substack: https://postmoneypodcast.substack.com...

----

CHAPTERS:

0:00 "I invest in greenfield markets, and I don’t pretend to have neat categories."
2:02 Why Sunil left Bessemer to build Ubiquity Ventures around “software beyond the screen.”
3:24 What Sunil looks for in founders.
6:18 The Halter story: turning dairy farms into programmable systems through smart hardware and software.
10:20 The biggest mistake technical founders make when selling into traditional industries.
17:29 Disciplined deep tech: why Sunil avoids moonshots and prefers capital-efficient execution.
20:28 How Sunil runs a concentrated solo GP fund and builds a founder flywheel.
25:22 How AI enables closed-loop control, intuitive interfaces, and new physical-world applications.
31:59 Why space investing is now viable, and how modular, predictable development changes the risk profile.
38:06 How to think about exits in overlooked markets and why underwriting for IPO matters more than M&A.
41:48 Recent investments like iBot and BusRight show how software can modernize traditional industries.

✔️ Sunil shares case studies including:

Halter — turning dairy cows into programmable systems
BusRight — digitizing school transportation with dynamic routing and parent tracking
iBot — AI-powered 90-second vision exams deployed in retail locations
Space startups leveraging modular, capital-efficient infrastructure

We also discuss AI’s impact on defensibility, engineering velocity, interfaces, and how founders can navigate a world where development cycles may compress dramatically.


#venturecapital #deeptech #aistartup #spacetech #startupfounder