Agentic

We're at the halfway point of 2025, and AI is evolving faster than ever.

In this solo episode, I share Untapped Ventures’ first Request for Startups. It’s a detailed breakdown of the core areas where we’re actively looking to invest. If you're a founder building in AI or exploring ideas, this is the roadmap for what we want to fund next.

I walk through the key themes that reflect our thesis across both Agentic AI and Convergence AI. These are the ideas we believe will drive the next generation of breakout companies.

Inside the episode:
• Why service-as-software will replace traditional SaaS
• How full-stack agentic platforms are reshaping vertical industries
• The rise of outcome-based pricing and what it unlocks
• Where lean AI teams are gaining massive traction
• Why we’re excited about AI converging with biotech, neurotech, energy, defense, and more
• The profiles of founders we love to back

At Untapped, we invest from stealth and pre-salt through seed, writing checks between $500K and $2 million. Whether you're actively raising or still in the idea maze, we want to meet you.

Let’s connect!
George Bandarian: https://www.linkedin.com/in/georgebandarian

Explore further:
1. If in Stealth, let’s chat: https://bit.ly/UntappedE18podS
2. If raising, pitch us: https://bit.ly/UntappedE18pod

Is your AI startup built to survive the next wave?

In this episode of Agentic, Will Manidis, the co-founder of ScienceIO, shares how he built for resilience from day one developing LLMs for healthcare and the frameworks that helped him scale before the world caught up.

He shares how local model training on office gaming PCs laid the unlikely foundation for ScienceIO’s reach across millions in digital health.

We also discuss:
• why OpenAI’s API continues to dominate Gemini
• the hidden fragility behind $500M fast scaling AI companies
• Will’s belief that founders must prove value before overbuilding for scale

Not often do you get to learn from someone who built an LLM before ChatGPT. Tune in now.

If you’re in the early innings of building something in AI, especially if you’re figuring things out from first principles—click here, we'd love to hear from you.

Connect with us here:
1. Will Manidis- https://www.linkedin.com/in/willmanidis/ 
2. George Bandarian- https://www.linkedin.com/in/georgebandarian/ 
3. Untapped Ventures- https://www.linkedin.com/company/untappedventures/

00:00 Trailer
01:41 Introduction
02:45 Thiel Fellow
07:40 Pre-ChatGPT LLMs
10:27 Biggest lessons
12:37 Contrarian takes
13:56 Difficult to sell
15:59 First exit
16:38 Getting world-class talents
23:20 Risk mitigation strategy
25:48 Defensibility and moats
37:10 Basic MVP
44:01 Q&A
50:35 Outro

Most no-code tools give you an MVP. Woz wants to give you a business.

On this episode of Agentic, I was joined by Ben Collins and Brad Eckert, co-founders of Woz, an AI platform that lets anyone build real, scalable web and mobile products with zero coding. Think Shopify, but for launching operational SaaS startups.

If you’re in the early innings of building something in AI, especially if you’re figuring things out from first principles—let’s chat.

Connect with us here:
1. Woz: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/company/withwoz/
2. Ben Collins: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bentcollins/
3. Brad Eckert: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chefeckert/
4. George Bandarian: ⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/georgebandarian
5. ⁠⁠Untapped Ventures:⁠ ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/company/untappedventures

They break down:
• Why shipping your MVP is just 1% of the journey—and what the other 99% really looks like
• The difference between vibe coding, AI engineering, and real startup durability
• What they learned from going through Y Combinator (twice), taking 80+ investor meetings, and raising a breakout seed round.
• Why automation means more software businesses and not fewer jobs

00:00 Trailer
01:07 Introduction
02:29 Empowering entrepreneurs
04:27 Woz's Vision
10:32 Success stories
13:38 The origin story
15:27 AI code generation evolution
17:29 Technical insights
19:44 The Role of AI
30:31 Job markets
31:20 Entrepreneurial mindset shift
32:56 Business building challenges
34:54 Creating a successful platform
37:45 Y Combinator experience
43:41 Fundraising insights
49:29 Advice for AI Entrepreneurs
56:31 Closing

What happens when the former Chief Scientist at Salesforce builds a search engine for enterprises?

In this episode, Richard Socher (CEO) and Bryan McCann (CTO) of You.com reveal how they’re reinventing enterprise search and agentic workflows with their latest product, Ari—a deep research assistant that goes far beyond fast facts.

We explore:
How You.com is going deeper than Google and faster than Perplexity
Why consumer LLMs aren’t enough for serious enterprise work
How a Stanford summer project led to one of the most important AI research breakthroughs
Where Socher and McCann see AGI actually emerging—and why simulation may be the next frontier

00:00 Trailer
01:56 Introduction
03:41 Richard and Bryan's Meeting
09:52 Foundations of search
12:33 Deep research agent
13:49 How You.com stands out
16:03 Custom agents
18:15 ARI use cases
19:43 Going slow to go fast
24:00 Models under the hood
26:00 AGI workflows
29:11 Adoption
33:34 Complicated workflows
36:45 AGI - are we there?
46:20 How to compete as a startup
53:32 Being right
56:23 Outro

Everyone has opinions about founder equity, funding timelines, and valuations—but Peter Walker holds the data. 

In this special live Agentic session, I sat down with Peter, Head of Insights at Carta, to unpack what’s actually happening beneath the surface in early-stage AI startups. 

Peter’s team has a privileged vantage point—cap tables, valuations, and hiring data across 45,000 startups and 83% of U.S. unicorns. 

We explore:
a common equity mistake that’s quietly killing fundraising chances
why AI founders are raising bigger rounds… and keeping more of their companies
how lean teams are pushing out serious ARR—and what that means for hiring
the valuation delta between AI and non-AI startups—and why that window may be closing

If you’re raising, hiring, or advising an AI startup in this market, this one’s for you.

If you’re in the early innings of building something in AI, especially if you’re figuring things out from first principles—let’s chat.

Connect with us here:
Peter Walker: https://www.linkedin.com/in/peterjameswalker/
George Bandarian: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/georgebandarian/⁠
Untapped Ventures:⁠ https://www.linkedin.com/company/untappedventures

00:00 Trailer
01:26 Introduction
02:44 Untapped Ventures
08:39 Carta
10:34 Early Equity
25:05 Venture Context
34:47 AI Story
51:04 Questions
54:48 Outro