General Catalyst

A New Model to Accelerate Defense Innovation In venture capital, we focus on technology as the key enabler of transformation. But what if tech itself is not enough? What if a different approach or an entirely new business model is needed to transform certain markets? At General Catalyst, we've been investing in defense tech for two decades. We've been successful but we've seen how startups struggle with scaling goverment sales and going after elusive moonshot "programs of record". I co-founded Valinor because there has to be a better way to build for defense tech innovation but I knew it would take a different approach, a new business model and an unparalleled team.   Valinor is not a single company, it’s a company of companies with centralized operations and decentralized engineering. Valinor builds what our government needs, faster and better, and we solve the problems that go unsolved. Valinor has launched ten Product Companies in just a little over a year.  Thank you to my co-founding partners, Trae Stephens and Grant Verstandig and for our partnerships with Palantir, Anduril and Helsing. I'm incredibly grateful for our founding CEO Julie Bush who is the unicorn CEO to make this vision a reality. Julie's built an unparalleled team that has operated at scale in defense tech at every level and is compounding impact for our Product Companies. Read more below about Valinor and how we are building what others won't for our nation and our allies. #GlobalResilience #DefenseResilience #GovTechResilience https://lnkd.in/ePzX_s7r

“You have to get used to the idea that you will have this potent force that lives alongside us.” -Hemant Taneja We're entering a world where AI will be a second species: an intelligent, complementary presence that works alongside us. Some AI will manage humans, some humans will manage AI, and we’ll need to establish new norms for this symbiotic relationship. At the Forbes 30 Under 30 Summit, our CEO Hemant Taneja sat down with Steven Bertoni to explore what it takes to build for abundance in an AI era. Full conversation in the comments. #Forbes30U30

4.6 years. That's how long patients wait for an autoimmune diagnosis, cycling through five physicians, only to enter a system designed for symptom management rather than addressing root causes. Over 50 million Americans, predominantly women, live with these conditions that consume nearly 30% of pharmacy spend for self-insured employers. We're leading WellTheory's $14M Series A to change that with an enterprise platform combining registered dietitians, health coaches, and applied AI to address root causes like nutrition, stress, sleep, and lifestyle. CEO Ellen Rudolph built this from lived experience and has surpassed our expectations from an execution standpoint. The economics are striking: $5,200 average annual savings per patient, 71% reduction in imaging services, 64% fewer ER visits, 15% lower biologics utilization. This is health assurance at work: moving from reactive treatment to proactive, preventive care that bends the cost curve while improving lives. Welcome to the GC Famiglia! Explore why we invested by Holly, Candace, and Tyler in the comments. Sources: Autoimmune Association, Med City News, Accorded

AI is rapidly penetrating every part of our personal and work lives, but today’s solutions are largely isolated into chat environments and away from where users actually get work done. That's why we're leading the seed round for Strawberry, a browser with built-in AI assistants that work alongside you on any website. Strawberry turns browsers into automated assistants that can research, click, type, and summarize, bringing AI directly to people. Founder Charles Maddock started coding at age 10 and co-founded a game development studio in his teens. He combines a deep urge to create with remarkable product intuition and a powerful ability to inspire and attract top-tier talent. Alongside co-founders Sebastian Thunman and Arian Hanifi, he's building the product that can make AI both accessible and practical for knowledge workers' everyday tasks. Welcome to the GC Famiglia! Explore our conversation with Charles and see how we're Seeding the Future with Yuri, Jeannette, Zeynep, and Cecilia in the comments.

Insurance is a €7 trillion market where half of brokers' time disappears into administrative work. When we met Fabian Wesemann and Sergi Baños Lara, we knew we found the right team. They bring deep industry expertise, entrepreneurial grit, and a clear vision for what comes next. Afori turns unstructured communications into structured workflows, letting brokers reclaim an hour per day for advising clients and driving growth. That's why we're leading the seed round for Afori, an AI platform automating insurance brokers’ back-office operations. Welcome to the GC Famiglia! Explore our conversation with Fabian and Sergi and see how we're Seeding the Future with Jeannette, Zeynep, and Samuel in the comments. Sources: Allianz and Afori

Institutional crypto adoption is accelerating, but compliance infrastructure hasn't kept up. Legacy tools can't handle blockchain's speed and complexity. That's why we're co-leading CipherOwl's seed round to build the future of intelligent compliance infrastructure for digital assets. Founders Leo Liang and Ming Jiang bring deep technical expertise from scaling data infrastructure at Coinbase, where they saw firsthand the compliance gaps institutions face with blockchain. CipherOwl's Know-Your-Transaction API delivers what enterprises and regulators need: clear, real-time risk intelligence with full auditability. Their platform integrates seamlessly into existing workflows, letting institutions engage confidently with decentralized networks. Welcome to the GC Famiglia! Explore our conversation with Leo and Ming and see how we're Seeding the Future with Marc Bhargava in the comments.

Vulcan Technologies is building an operating system for the global regulatory compliance market, serving both government and enterprise. That’s why we’re leading their seed round. Founders Tanner Jones, Aleksander Mekhanik, and Chris Minge are developing legal cartography software that reads every law across the U.S., spots conflicts, and helps agencies write new regulations in an efficient way They're already saving the State of Virginia 90 percent on implementation costs (Source: Vulcan Technologies). “Navigating today’s regulatory landscape is costly and complex. Vulcan is building technology to help address these challenges. They’ve assembled a strong team of AI, engineering, and legal experts, and we’re excited by their early traction with government partners. We look forward to supporting their growth as they expand beyond the public sector.” -GC’s Yuri Sagalov Welcome to the GC Famiglia! Explore our conversation with Tanner, Aleksandr, and Chris, and see how we're Seeding the Future by Yuri and Sho Sho in the comments. #AppliedAI

With 27 million online shoppers, India has the second-largest digital customer base in the world, yet there's a massive supply gap for the clean, sustainable brands these consumers are seeking (Source: Bain). That's why we're leading Meolaa's seed round as they build a portfolio of purpose-driven, digital-first microbrands for India's rapidly evolving consumer landscape. At General Catalyst, we back founders who see market gaps as opportunities to build the brands and experiences that consumers truly want. This is precisely the case with founder Ishita Sawant. She brings years of global brand growth experience and shares an unwillingness to accept that India's consumers seeking sustainable products should be underserved by existing supply chains. "What excites us about Meolaa is Ishita's vision to build an AI-native FMCG powerhouse, replacing traditional R&D with intelligent systems that compress brand development from years to months. Her consumer-first approach and global brand insights, combined with her bias for action, position her uniquely to identify whitespace opportunities and execute rapidly. Under Ishita's leadership, they're reimagining how consumer brands are built and scaled for the modern economy." -GC’s Neeraj Arora Welcome to the GC Famiglia! Explore our conversation with Ishita and see how we're Seeding the Future by Neeraj and Siddhi in the comments.

The U.S. spends twice as much on healthcare as other countries, with often worse outcomes (Source: Peter J. Peterson Foundation). Fixing America's healthcare industry requires ecosystem transformation. Enter HATCo, our Health Assurance Transformation Company reimagining health systems where healthcare is proactive, affordable, and accessible for all. Our approach combines expertise, technology, and collaboration to build resilient health organizations and address workforce challenges. We acquired Summa Health, one of Ohio’s largest integrated systems, as a wholly-owned subsidiary of HATCo to create a new, more equitable system of community-based, lifelong healthcare. We think this investment will drive immediate and sustainable value to the organization and the patients it serves. It is designed to serve as a blueprint for broader healthcare transformation in the U.S. and beyond. We work with our network of more than 23 health system partners, representing about 15% of U.S. healthcare revenue, to share best practices and scale impact. We provide strategic advisory services to help health systems adopt value-based care and digital health solutions. HATCo is a generational investment in healthier communities, driven by better outcomes and focused on sustainable transformation. Together with our partners, we're creating a new model for healthcare abundance. Thank you to Cliff Deveny MD, George Strickler, Benjamin Sutton, Daryl Tol, Hemant Taneja, Marc Harrison, Kate Walsh, Reva Nohria, Sing Yuen (Joey) Chan, Josette Beran, Molly Blaauw Gillis, Christopher McCain, Gabriella Giglio, and Paul Fielding for their visionary leadership to build the future of healthcare. Explore the latest edition of Proof Points to discover what HATCo delivers. #Transformation #HealthAssurance