Ann Miura-Ko of Floodgate describes “AI-pilled” companies as organizations that deeply integrate AI across all functions, enabling rapid iteration and scale by empowering all employees with AI tools. Floodgate’s research highlights the investment opportunity in building scalable AI infrastructure and software that democratizes AI adoption, especially for smaller startups lacking internal AI resources.
Ann Miura-Ko, partner and cofounder at Floodgate, discusses her investing thesis centered on what she terms the “AI-pilled” organization. This concept refers to a new way companies are being built and run, where AI is deeply integrated not only in engineering but across all functions such as sales, marketing, and strategy. These organizations are essentially becoming “software factories” that use AI to build software and operate more efficiently, transforming traditional startup structures.
A key aspect of AI-pilled companies is the dramatic increase in speed and scale. Miura-Ko highlights how startups, often founded by alumni of frontier labs or software companies, can quickly reach critical mass due to accelerated learning cycles. These companies leverage AI agents to rapidly gather data, act on it, and learn from outcomes, enabling them to iterate and improve at an unprecedented pace compared to traditional startups.
To better understand this shift, Miura-Ko and her team conducted extensive research by interviewing over 30 companies ranging from small startups to public firms. They discovered that not all AI product companies use AI internally beyond engineering, which led them to focus on organizations that empower all employees to leverage AI tools. Companies like Ramp and Vercel stood out for enabling their entire workforce to use AI agents, demonstrating a more holistic integration of AI into daily operations.
Floodgate uses these insights to guide its investment strategy, recognizing both the opportunities and challenges in AI adoption. While some mature companies like Ramp have the resources to build internal AI tooling and support systems, smaller startups often lack this capability. This gap creates significant opportunities for new infrastructure and software solutions that can help companies of all sizes effectively integrate AI into their workflows.
Looking ahead, Miura-Ko believes that the future of AI-pilled organizations will involve building scalable infrastructure that democratizes AI usage across companies. As not every startup can afford dedicated AI tooling teams, there is a growing need for external tools and platforms to support AI adoption. Floodgate aims to invest early in founders who recognize this need and are developing the next generation of AI infrastructure to empower businesses at all stages.