It’s widely recognized that data is the fundamental building block of modern artificial intelligence. It’s data that helps AI algorithms learn, adapt, and make predictions. As a result, a popular refrain often uttered in the context of AI is “there’s no data like more data.” The approach that sometimes derives from this statement is to...
Incorporating insights from multiple perspectives has always been a hallmark of SineWave Ventures’ investment decision-making. At a recent Women’s Leadership Summit at the New York Stock Exchange, organized by Supermomos, I was surprised to find valuable insights from a very unexpected perspective: the world of luxury goods. Pauline Brown (former Chairman of LVMH USA &...
McDonald’s suffered a global technology outage last week which left many customers jonesing for french fries – some were even driven to the extreme of trying to pay with cash. While this didn’t reach the level of a global health crisis, it was nonetheless painful for McDonald’s customers and franchisees and left a blot on...
A Pendulum Shift Recent news coverage of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives suggests that we are in the early stages of a pendulum swing away from such programs. In 2023, both investors and tech companies significantly reduced ESG funding and programs, and by association, DEI initiatives. Recent public rhetoric is awash with calls that...
This is part two of a two-part series. In the first installment of this two-part series, I unpacked the nuances and complications of FedRAMP and navigating the federal marketplace. To conclude, I will explore the implications of this system for both the private and public sectors, as well as solutions for startups hoping to break...
This blog is part one of a two-part series. Software as a Service (SaaS) offers many advantages compared to on premise software for the commercial industry and the Federal Government. SaaS software can be deployed rapidly, you only pay for what you consume, and it typically requires less maintenance than on-premise software. It has become...
It’s no secret. We’re in the midst of an Artificial Intelligence (AI) boom! Technical innovations in AI are occurring at a rate we’ve rarely seen. Companies are embracing and rapidly deploying newly developed AI solutions to automate business processes, improve customer experiences, and drive decision-making. Individuals are interacting directly with AI systems in hopes...
An AI model reflects the bias present in the data sets on which it was trained. Historical datasets reflect the bias present in the historical processes on which they were built. How do we build an AI model that reflects our current values and does not condemn us to repeat the decisions of the past?...
Unlike software development, sales is more of an art form than a rote skill, and hiring salespeople is the least objective thing that most startup executives do. There is also an adage, at least in Federal sales, that the first salesperson hired will be fired for lack of production, and the second person will succeed,...
Venture firms are notorious for jumping on bandwagons. Sometimes they are right to do so, sometimes they are just naïve, and sometimes they are trying to distract from their poor performance elsewhere. At SineWave, we built our own wagon almost a decade ago, and built the first private sector venture fund to focus on bridging...
The recently released “Political Declaration on Responsible Military Use of Artificial Intelligence and Autonomy” is a sound statement in favor of the use of common sense and good judgment in applying AI to a particularly dangerous military use case. Certainly, no one would argue to the contrary, suggesting that AI be irresponsible, biased, or unmanaged....
Every good government program manager or acquisition officer knows that every large mission application purchase should be preceded by an analysis of alternatives that includes build vs. buy analysis. Traditionally, this has meant the acquirer had a choice between a purpose-built technology, developed by either in-house or by contract personnel, or a general off-the-shelf commercial...
The startup world has been on a tear recently, driven by the explosion of interest in AI…and for good reason. AI has the potential to transform the technological landscape for a generation. There is a long way to go, but there is reason to be excited. The venture world, recognizing this excitement, has joined the...
The first section of the executive order on the Safe, Secure, and Trustworthy Development and Use of Artificial Intelligence includes the evocative sentence “AI reflects the principles of the people who build it, the people who use it, and the data upon which it is built.” This single sentence nicely clarifies the solution space for...
In the gold rushes of the 19th century, a popular adage emerged: “When everyone is digging for gold, it’s good to be in the shovel business.” Just as miners needed picks and shovels, today’s AI-driven enterprises require certain foundational tools and infrastructure to power them. For an enterprise tech VC, there’s a compelling case to...
One of the root causes of the current meteoric advances in AI has been the free and open disclosure of machine learning (ML) concepts and results through mechanisms such as the arXiv technical paper repository. Another critical but often overlooked driver has been, however, the sharing of machine learning software tools and libraries between AI...
On September 8th, the IRS announced it will start leveraging AI to uncover potential tax fraud, part of their new plan to grow tax revenue through increased compliance. For us at SineWave, the IRS announcement reinforces a trend central to our reason for being: cutting-edge technology can – and will – continue to solve pressing...
Mention ‘multimodal transformer’ to any 6-year-old and you might just trigger impassioned comments about devious Decepticons. But there is another kind of multimodal transformer. And this kind of transformer is of keen interest to SineWave because it creates AI functions that are changing the way we process and add value to information – whether in...
Today, remarkable progress in AI and machine learning (ML) has become commonplace. Every week brings headlines in areas ranging from natural language processing to music synthesis. Between the occasionally breathless declarations of breakthroughs, however, it is still worth pausing – just occasionally – to ask how the field of AI can move so quickly. There...
To continue the theme of putting yourself in the customer’s shoes when pursuing enterprise sales, it is useful to consider some (perhaps unexpressed) expectations typical of enterprise buyers that may not be typical of entrepreneurial design practices. To effectively sell a platform as “enterprise ready” startups must understand and address these expectations. Attempts to address...
![Ken Vertically Integrated AI Blog Image[29]](https://sinewave.vc/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Ken-Vertically-Integrated-AI-Blog-Image29-scaled-e1693427992536.jpg "Ken Vertically Integrated AI Blog Image[29]")
Early AI systems tended to be really good at only one thing. They might, for example, be terrific at classification problems, such as distinguishing a cat from a dog or a West Highland Terrier from a Great Dane. Or they might be outstandingly good at translating English to Hindi. Those were the days of long...
Many startups struggle to establish a viable enterprise sales motion. They have built a brilliant technical platform or tool set and they are eager to sell the brilliance of their solution to enterprise customers. They design excellent pitches describing their technology and why it is special. They speak of its capabilities, all the things it...
The largest enterprise customer in the world – Washington, DC – continues to evade the Valley, and it’s the Valley’s fault! The public sector is perhaps the most significant buyer of new commercial technology out there, with purchasing power unrivaled by any private entity. Landing the government as a customer provides a significant competitive advantage...
In the world of technology, AI continues to emerge as a promising but buzzy reality. While the technology holds transformative potential across sectors, stakeholders and customers alike often react with skepticism at the mention of AI. The core of this skepticism is simple: is AI a practical solution for specific business problems, or just a...
Even within the context of the breathless pace of innovation in AI, Meta’s and Microsoft’s July 18 joint announcementof the release of Meta’s Llama 2 foundational model – the second variant of its large language model Meta AI (Llama) model – was attention-worthy. Why so, one might ask? The answer lies in a possible future...
On Friday, the House passed the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which sets policy for the United States Department of Defense (DOD) for the upcoming year. At SineWave, we are paying close attention to this legislation because the NDAA traditionally includes provisions intended to advance the Pentagon’s adoption of advanced tech. This often opens doors...
The US and India Make AI Promises That Could Benefit Startups Last week’s joint statement between the United States and India marking the occasion of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the White House was packed with global security messaging. While joint commitments ranged from the strategic—such as a pledge to a ‘free, open,...
MWC’23 – A Return to (Troubled) Normality In Dickensian fashion, the cellular communications industry – which lies at the heart of this week’s Mobile World Congress (MWC’23) trade show in Barcelona – is experiencing both the best and the worst of times. The GSM Association (GSMA), which operates the show, claimed almost 90,000 attendees during...
There is lots of buzz recently about the soul of AI machines. Yet while this discussion elucidates the cleverness of AI applications, it ignores one key aspect of thought: intentionality. The soulful person’s thought is intentional. There is some driving impetus behind it, a problem to be solved, an observation that worth exploring, an emotion...
Multi-cloud is a buzzword in the networking space today because we now understand that public, private and hybrid clouds must coexist to meet the needs of the modern enterprise. However, multi-cloud infrastructures and managed services have given rise to operational blind spots and resulting outages – disruptions that result in broken workflows as network engineers...
The distant ancestors of the complex and high performance 4G and 5G broadband wireless systems we know today were the very first generation of cellular systems. These 1G networks were characterized not only by impenetrable system designations – such as AMPS in the Americas, TACS in the UK, and NMT in the Nordic countries –...
Much of the ransomware rhetoric these days comes from the action movie school of cyber security thinking. Let’s fight back against attackers, let’s trace them through cyberspace and steal back the ransom, let’s (gasp) levee political sanctions. While these responses make good stories, they don’t do much to stop any ransomware attack or even to...
By Patricia Muoio The recent Executive Order on Improving the Nation’s Cybersecurity (EO) offers the promise of delivering on two important ideas: the substantial buying-power of the federal government is strong enough to influence the products in the marketplace; and we can and should improve the quality of our software. By using its place in...
While the corona virus has caused hardship and sorrow across the country and has presented financial challenges for many companies, it has also given rise to conditions which present a unique opportunity for early stage venture investments. Revenue numbers that are lower than expected and an increased cautiousness on the part of investors has led...
Today’s startups have serious problems dealing with their real-world impacts. This is how to stay focused on them. By Yanev Suissa founder and general partner, SineWave Ventures @yanevsuissa You might be tempted to roll your eyes when you hear the words “Silicon Valley” these days. Lots of people are increasingly disillusioned with what was once characterized as the most...
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Fostering digital transformation and enabling enterprises to harness the power of their data through machine learning, artificial intelligence, stream processing and other advanced analytics.
We believe data is the driving force of business, and the ability to harness one’s data and to use it in effective decision-making will become the make-or-break success criteria for companies. This means that it must be easy for non-specialists to consume heterogeneous data and to use it in complex decision processes, both human and automatic.
At SineWave, we look for data ingest technologies, developer tooling for AI and ML, understandable AI systems, analytic workflow tools, analytics to control automated processes, and decision analytics. We also believe that data need be useful in a variety of environments in a way that addresses a wide range of latency concerns. We seek technologies that adapt analytic workflows to accommodate processing constraints, and that support the development of just-in-time, just good enough analytic strategies
Improving network adaptivity and assurance and addressing new paradigms like edge computing and 5G.
We believe that a data-driven world requires dynamic network. Data sources and data points of use are proliferating. Operations are becoming distributed, and the network should be able to accommodate changing distribution schemes.
At SineWave, we look for technologies that heighten network adaptivity and that enable the distribution of computation across the network. This includes software-defined networking, edge networks, and 5G technologies. We also believe that adaptive networks need secure network controls, and so we look for technologies that support policy-driven networking and secure network configuration.
Protecting data and systems and enabling new types of secure transactions through improved software, zero-trust solutions, and data-centric technology.
We believe the language used in the cybersecurity conversation has hindered the development of systemic, threat-agnostic solutions. It is easy to be distracted with looking for tools to combat specific system intruders through deployment of multiple point solutions or after-the-fact orchestration efforts. As a result, the market holds a multitude of point solutions and after-the-fact efforts to orchestrate them. At SineWave, we believe cybersecurity is just one dimension of smart system management. We seek solutions that enable you to know and understand your assets (human or machine, endpoint or network) and their behavior, to recognize deviations from the norm regardless of the cause of the anomaly, to provide fine-grained controls that permit only legitimate behaviors, and to assure the correct behavior of software and systems. This includes endpoint security systems, zero-trust systems, novel access control and isolation mechanisms, application security, code analysis, and software-defined perimeters. We also believe that data protection deserves special attention to address both security and privacy concerns, so we look for novel ways to protect data in motion and at rest.
Democratizing big compute and easing access to heterogenous compute platforms.
We believe in the democratization of big compute. Computers are no longer just for data centers and high performance workflows are no longer just for scientists. Data computation has become the engine that drives business, so powerful and accessible computing needs to be available where and when it is needed.
At SineWave, we look for technologies that enable high performance computing from commodity resources, that enable distributed and edge computing, that support stream processing, and that enable the use of specialized processors. We also believe that compute requirements ebb and flow, and so look for technologies that enable the rapid provisioning and configuration of compute resources.
Maggie is the Director of Administration at SineWave Ventures, having previously served as its Director of Operations. Before SineWave, Maggie served as the Chair of the Religion Department at Elizabeth Seton High School, an all-girls school in Bladensburg, Maryland, where she also taught Ethics and coached lacrosse. As a former high school teacher, Maggie’s roles have always demanded attention to detail and the ability to solve problems in complex situations. Maggie holds a Bachelor’s Degree from Fordham University and a Master’s Degree from Yale University.
Howard Levenson has over 30 years of experience solving challenging information technology problems for the intelligence community and other federal customers. He started the Databricks Federal business when the company was doing $1M in revenue and ultimately led the business as the General Manager and Regional Vice President of Databricks Federal, LLC. He helped establish Databricks Federal into one of the leading providers of big data and machine learning analytical solutions with over 50 Federal agencies leveraging the platform to find insights in their data. Howard has spent his career solving challenging, big data, and high-performance computing problems for the Federal Government. He’s performed in leadership roles for companies including IBM and Silicon Graphics/Cray, and has extensive experience leveraging open source technology, cloud, and big data to solve the world’s most challenging problems. He has a BS in Mechanical Engineering from Northeastern University.
Dave has joined SineWave Ventures as a Venture Partner after completing a 32-year career at the National Security Agency (NSA). He began his work at NSA as a Cryptologic Mathematician, and was a trailblazer in applying data mining and machine learning techniques to speech and language processing. In 2004, he reached the Senior Executive Service level, as a Defense Intelligence Senior Leader, and from there, he oversaw various projects and organizations within the Research, Capabilities, Operations, and Workforce Support Directorates. Notably, he served as the first Director of the Laboratory for Analytic Sciences, where he led a collaborative effort involving government, academic, and industry partners to develop and implement technology and methods to meet intelligence analysis needs. His distinguished career at NSA earned him numerous awards and commendations, with a notable highlight being the Meritorious Presidential Rank Award. This prestigious award recognized his sustained professional, technical, and scientific accomplishments on behalf of the U.S. Government. Dave is also currently serving as Senior Advisor to the Director of the Human Language Technology Center of Excellence (HLTCOE) at Johns Hopkins University.
Greg is a Senior Associate at SineWave Ventures. Prior to joining SineWave, Greg worked on the VC & Growth Equity team at StepStone Group, a $30bn AUM investment platform that invests in venture funds, directs, and secondaries. In his role, Greg worked closely alongside StepStone’s portfolio company CEOs, assisting with strategic GTM planning, key fundraising tasks, and connections to technologists from the Fortune 500. Previously, Greg also worked on the revenue operations team at Clutch.co, a venture-backed marketplace that connects technology service providers with enterprise buyers.
Greg is a graduate of the University of Maryland-College Park.
Charlie is a Senior Associate at SineWave Ventures. Previously, Charlie was an analyst at Syno Capital, supporting investment research, deal execution, and fund operations across early-stage healthcare and life sciences. He began his career at KPMG in their Economic and Valuation Services group conducting valuation analyses for venture-backed companies and investment funds.
Charlie received his B.S. in Finance and Economics from Boston College, with a minor in environmental studies.
Kiley is the Chief of Operations (COO) at SineWave Ventures. Prior to joining SineWave, she focused on data privacy and cybersecurity issues as an attorney at Covington & Burling LLP. Kiley previously served in government as Special Counsel at the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee and as Special Assistant to the Associate Attorney General at the U.S. Department of Justice. In these roles, she developed and executed processes that enabled the client, team, or principal to achieve key strategic objectives. Her background in the public sector and experience advising tech companies motivate her interest in SineWave’s investment thesis.
Kiley is a graduate of Northwestern University and Stanford Law School.
Dr. Stewart joined Intel after serving as CTO and CEO for TE Connectivity’s wireless division, where he was responsible for innovation and product development for advanced small cell and digital optical distributed antenna systems, including wavelength division multiplexed fiber distributed radio access networks. Prior to that, Stewart was Vice President of Standards and Research and Fellow at Motorola, where he was responsible for international standards and research work in areas ranging from radio access networks, through multimedia systems to mobile applications and services. Stewart held the position of Motorola Dan Noble Fellow and served on Motorola’s Science Advisory Board.
Dr. Stewart holds more than 100 issued patents, with multiple patents pending. He is a graduate of the Institute for Communications and Signal Processing at the University of Strathclyde, where he has served as Visiting Professor.
Chris is a Venture Partner of Sinewave Ventures. He began his career in the capital markets groups at Bear Stearns and Lehman Brothers in the 1990s. After Lehman Brothers, Chris was the Co-founder and President of global macro hedge fund Big Sky Capital, Founder and CEO of specialty finance company Condesa Financiera, and Co-founder and President of structured credit hedge fund Illumination Asset Management. Chris was also a principal at MatlinPatterson Asset Management, a hedge fund and private equity firm with peak assets under management of over $9 billion.
Chris graduated from Yale University (B.A., Economics & Political Science) and is a CFA Charterholder.
Yanev is the Founder and Managing General Partner of SineWave Ventures. Prior to SineWave, Yanev was an investor at New Enterprise Associates (NEA), where he sourced, managed, and helped advise dozens of early stage investments. Yanev was also a Senior Investment Officer under the Bush and Obama Administrations, and was the first person hired to build the Federal Loan Program, which grew to a ~$150 billion investment vehicle.
Yanev holds degrees from Yale University (B.A., Magna Cum Laude), Harvard Law School (J.D.), Oxford Said School of Business (M.B.A., Christ Church), and Sydney Law School (Masters, Distinction).
Brian currently serves as the director of the Naval Postgraduate School’s Remote Sensing Center NCR. He previously served as Assistant Deputy Undersecretary of Defense for Special Capabilities in the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD). There he managed over $2 Billion in resources and also served as the first Director of the OSD – Special Capabilities Office. Brian has also served as the Chief Scientist and Chief Systems Engineer of Measurement and Signature Intelligence (MASINT) at the Intelligence Communities National Reconnaissance Office (NRO). He also served over 23 years as an active duty and reserve officer in the U.S. Air Force, and has been awarded the Air Force Invention Award, an NRO Silver Medal, and a US Patent.
United States Air Force Academy, B.S. in Physics with Honors (1991) and Air Force Institute of Technology, M.S. in Physics Engineering (1992).
Vivek is featured as one of the General Partner at Sinewave Ventures. Prior to Sinewave, he was a Partner at Fenox VC, where he led several investments in AI, robotics, and healthcare technology companies. Before becoming an investor, he was an entrepreneur having founded and led two successive companies – GameGarage and Moyyer Research. Vivek was recognized on Forbes’ 30 Under 30 venture capitalists in 2018.
Vivek holds an M.B.A. from Yale, and a B.A. in Electrical Engineering from University of Mumbai.
Oliver B. Libby is Managing Director and Co-founder of Hatzimemos / Libby, an impact-focused strategy and venture based in New York City. H/L is dedicated to enhancing and accelerating companies in key growth industries that add value to society. Oliver is also Chair & Co-Founder of The Resolution Project, Inc., a non-profit that helps hundreds of undergraduate students launch new social ventures that help millions of people in nearly 70 countries and across America. Oliver serves as a member of the Advisory Council of the Clinton Global Initiative, a Trustee of the Harvard Club of New York City Foundation, a Presidential Leadership Scholar, a Milken Young Leader, a Concordia Summit Advisor, a GLG Social Impact Fellow, and a NationSwell Councilmember. Mr. Libby graduated from Harvard College.
Robert is the Chairman and Founder of SINET, which brings together innovators with executives from private industry, venture capital, investment banking, system integration, policy, academia, and science, as well as the Federal Government’s civilian, military and intelligence agencies. SINET programs are supported by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, and the UK and Australian Governments. Previously, Robert served 22 years as a Special Agent with the U.S. Secret Service where he held a number of executive leadership positions within the Presidential Protection, Protective Intelligence, Inspection, Criminal Investigation Divisions and the Counter Assault Team. Robert holds a degree from California State University at Long Beach.
