Venture capitalist Mike Ghaffary has embarked on a mission to support startups that address the growing concern of job displacement due to artificial intelligence (AI). As the founder of Burst Capital, Ghaffary is leveraging his experience at prominent firms like Canvas Ventures and Social Capital to find innovative companies that can generate sustainable middle-class employment. His goal is to discover and invest in companies offering vocational training and affordable AI-enhanced solutions.
Ghaffary's extensive background in the tech industry informs his current endeavors. He previously served as a general partner at Canvas Ventures and worked alongside Geoff Donaker at Yelp. Now, at Burst Capital, Ghaffary continues his collaboration with Donaker while focusing on investments in companies such as Superhuman, Strava, Faire, Optimizely, and CloudKitchens. His quest is to bridge the gap he perceives in startups using AI to create high-paying jobs.
“I think there’s a big opportunity,” he says. “And it’s for the sake of our country and our world. Otherwise we have this big underemployed society and it’s not good for anybody.” – Mike Ghaffary
Ghaffary expresses a particular interest in startups that offer vocational training, recognizing the critical need for affordable plans to equip workers with skills for the evolving job market. He is actively seeking companies that can provide AI-enhanced training programs, aiming to empower individuals at risk of being left behind by technological advancements.
“I’ll tell you one company I’m looking for, too, that I haven’t found: vocational training.” – Mike Ghaffary
The venture capitalist is also exploring opportunities to automate networking through Boardy, a platform designed to facilitate introductions between professionals. This initiative aligns with his broader vision of addressing job displacement by fostering connections that could lead to new employment opportunities.
“As we’re seeing this job displacement, we’re actually doing something about it,” he tells TechCrunch. “I feel like there’s a lot of ‘Don’t worry. Don’t look here. AI will destroy a lot of jobs, but it will create jobs, too!’ As tech companies, we need to go create those new jobs we’re promising.” – Mike Ghaffary
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