The generative AI boom was a welcome change for a venture industry looking for a new trend to back (and hopefully profit from).

But the transformative technology could greatly impact the people bankrolling it. The result could be a reduction of roles and changes to how the job is done, writes Business Insider’s Ben Bergman.

Some of the adjustments aren’t novel to the VC industry. Back-office roles everywhere are ripe for automation from AI, and venture capital is no different.

But things get really interesting when it comes to actual investing. Finding and assessing new startups — often key responsibilities of junior employees — is the type of work large-language models could do more efficiently at a large scale.

VCs won’t get entirely automated away by AI — after all, how could they still justify all those fees if they only relied on AI? But a human-AI hybrid approach seems like the future, according to some insiders Ben spoke to.

However, balancing between man and machine for investment decisions isn’t easy. Just ask hedge funds.

Long before the generative AI boom, funds dreamed of combining the best of machine-based quantitative strategies and human-led fundamental approaches. The concept — known as “quantamental” — struggled to find success as the two cultures often clashed.

Now consider venture investing, where ultimately, a singular decision needs to be made: invest or don’t. When push comes to shove, does man or machine reign supreme?