Bill Maris: Machine learning optimizes venture capital, small funds outperform larger ones, and delayed IPOs limit public investment access | All-In Podcast

Smaller venture capital funds outperform larger ones, challenging the trend of delayed IPOs and public investment access.

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Add us on Google by Editorial Team Jun. 9, 2026

Key takeaways

• Machine learning can optimize venture capital portfolio construction.
• Entrepreneurs often have unique insights about the future.
• Small venture capital funds tend to outperform larger ones.
• Applying computer science effectively leads to better solutions.
• Smaller funds require lower exit values for high returns.
• Late-stage investing may not be sustainable long-term.
• Companies could benefit from going public sooner.
• Staying private longer is unfair to average investors.
• Capital is often used as a weapon for market share.
• Larger funds need disproportionately higher exits for returns.
• The trend of delayed IPOs impacts public access to investment.
• Data-driven approaches enhance investment strategies.
• Venture capital performance is influenced by fund size.

Guest intro

Bill Maris is the founder and CEO of S32, a venture fund focused on frontier technology. He previously founded and served as the first CEO of Google Ventures (GV) and also served as Vice President of Special Projects at Google/Alphabet, where he created the Calico initiative.

The role of machine learning in venture capital

• Google Ventures used machine learning for portfolio optimization.

• We decided we would as step two use AI…we used machine learning to do two things design the ideal portfolio construction by running millions and millions of simulations

  — Bill Maris

• Machine learning helps in back-testing investment strategies.
• Data-driven approaches are crucial for informed investment decisions.

• We had to call it machine learning and we used machine learning to do two things

  — Bill Maris

• Understanding machine learning’s role can enhance venture capital strategies.
• Machine learning allows for simulations that inform portfolio design.
• The application of AI in venture capital is a growing trend.

Traits of successful entrepreneurs

• Entrepreneurs often know secrets about the future.

• One of the things that I’ve always looked for in entrepreneurs is they know a secret about the future that most of us don’t believe

  — Bill Maris

• Recognizing future trends is a key trait for entrepreneurs.
• Investors look for entrepreneurs with unique insights.
• Future-oriented knowledge can distinguish successful entrepreneurs.
• Entrepreneurs’ foresight is valuable for venture capitalists.

• They know a secret about the future that most of us don’t believe

  — Bill Maris

• Spotting trends early is crucial for entrepreneurial success.

The dynamics of venture capital fund sizes

• Small funds outperform large funds in venture capital.

• This will be heresy to some but small funds outperform large funds this is simply the math

  — Bill Maris

• Smaller funds often achieve higher returns.
• Fund size impacts venture capital performance metrics.
• Larger funds face challenges in achieving high returns.

• Smaller than 750,000,000 average return of 4.76 x and funds larger than a billion 2.42 x

  — Bill Maris

• Smaller funds dominate top decile performance.
• Understanding fund size dynamics is key for investors.

Computer science’s impact on investment

• Applying the right computer science yields the best answers.

• If you apply the right kind of computer science at the right time to the right problem you will get to the right answers

  — Bill Maris

• Computer science can solve complex industry problems.
• Leveraging technology is crucial for innovation.
• Effective application of computer science enhances investment outcomes.

• You will get to the right answers

  — Bill Maris

• Technology plays a vital role in venture capital success.
• Understanding computer science’s role can drive innovation.

Challenges of larger venture capital funds

• Larger funds need higher exit values for returns.

• If you have a $500,000,000 fund…you need $5,000,000,000 of exits to get your money back

  — Bill Maris

• Fund size affects required exit values.
• Larger funds face significant financial challenges.

• You need to return $15,000,000,000 of exit value in your companies

  — Bill Maris

• Smaller funds have a performance advantage.
• Understanding fund mechanics is crucial for investors.
• Larger funds require strategic exit planning.

Sustainability of late-stage investing

• Late-stage investing may not be sustainable long-term.

• I haven’t seen the data science to support that second conclusion of the late stage companies

  — Bill Maris

• Current market conditions influence late-stage trends.
• Historical data questions late-stage investment sustainability.

• This weird moment in time with these multi kind of trillion dollar exits

  — Bill Maris

• Market dynamics impact late-stage investment viability.
• Understanding late-stage trends is crucial for investors.
• Late-stage investments may face future challenges.

The impact of delayed IPOs

• Companies should consider going public sooner.

• What humanity needs is money so it would have might be better to go public sooner

  — Bill Maris

• Delayed IPOs affect public investment access.
• Early public offerings could benefit broader society.

• We’ll see how these multi trillion dollar ipos go

  — Bill Maris

• Going public sooner can enhance capital access.
• Delayed IPOs impact investor opportunities.
• Public offerings play a vital role in market dynamics.

The fairness of private companies to investors

• Staying private longer is unfair to average investors.

• Your four o you know those four zero one k’s those retirement plans to get into those companies now

  — Bill Maris

• Private companies limit public investment access.

• We’re going to force overpriced products on the four zero one k holders of america

  — Bill Maris

• Wealth inequality is exacerbated by private companies.
• Average investors face challenges accessing private markets.
• Understanding the implications of private companies is crucial.
• Private companies impact retirement plan investments.

The use of capital as a strategic weapon

• Companies use capital to gain market share.

• They may be burning investor cash sort of like an uber type model

  — Bill Maris

• Market share is prioritized over profitability.

• Capital as a weapon tokens as a weapon

  — Bill Maris

• Long-term cash generation is often overlooked.
• Business strategies focus on growth over profits.

• Fundamentally at some point you gotta have cash generation

  — Bill Maris

• Understanding capital use is crucial for business success.

Disclosure: This article was edited by Editorial Team. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.