In a milestone moment for Alpaca VC, we recently held our first in-person Annual General Meeting since founding the firm in 2012. The event gathered the Herd together at The Sacred Space in Miami, with attendees traveling from across the United States and as far as Thailand, Alberta, and South Korea to join us. As venture investors, we have a privileged job. We get to be Futurists – to find the most legendary founders building for tomorrow and help them along their journey. Throughout the day, one thing was clear: what unites all these visionaries is their ability to see around corners – to identify massive inefficiencies in traditional industries and transform them into tomorrow’s opportunities. We’ll dig into both the programming and our thematic areas of interest below.

Highlights + Takeaways

General Partner Ryan Freedman opened the day by reflecting on Alpaca VC’s evolution from its founding vision—to build a partner-led venture firm by founders, for founders—to today: a venture ecosystem managing nearly $200 million in assets and a portfolio (our “Herd”) of over 100 companies. Ryan highlighted key factors defining today’s investment environment, including the prevalence of floating rate debt, significant new capital entering the market and expectations that rates will likely stay higher for longer.

The takeaway:

• This environment rewards discipline and focus
• GPs must articulate not just what they do but why they do it better—a discipline aligning with Alpaca’s entrepreneurial foundations

Founder Spotlight: Intramotev

The day’s first founder spotlight featured General Partner Aubrie Pagano and Tim Luchini, CEO of Intramotev, the company pioneering autonomous zero-emissions rail vehicles to advance the future of freight movement.

The takeaway:

• As the first company to bring an electric, autonomous rail vehicle to market, Intramotev is transforming the $700B global rail industry at a time when rail transportation costs approximately 10% of trucking costs, presenting a significant opportunity for more efficient freight movement
• We believe there’s substantial potential in last-mile rail solutions, particularly in moving volume from trucks to trains
• Intramotev’s unique approach involves partnering with railcar builders to implement their technology on existing cars, rather than competing directly

State of Capital Markets and Venture

After giving some fund updates and an overview of our Field Studies program, the morning session culminated in a State of Capital Markets and Venture panel with Alpaca VC General Partner David Goldberg, General Catalyst’s Charmel Maynard, who is the former CIO of the University of Miami; Peter Braffman, Managing Director, Head of Real Estate, GCM Grosvenor; and Kristina Williams, CEO, Alberta Enterprise Corporation.

The takeaway:

• The private markets have evolved dramatically, with institutional portfolios now holding up to 30% in alternatives
• This shift has driven a return to fundamentals in 2024, with deeper diligence on valuations and metrics
• New centers of innovation are emerging beyond traditional tech hubs, built on four pillars: money, markets, mentors, and management talent
• This geographic diversification creates opportunities in new talent markets

AI’s Evolution and Future Directions

Dr. Li Deng, Chief AI Officer at Vatic, joined Ryan Freedman to explore AI’s past, present, and future.

The takeaway:

• Compute efficiency and understanding scaling laws have emerged as crucial challenges in AI development
• Many breakthrough innovations, such as those from Deepseek, emerged from practical necessity
• For those looking to deepen their understanding of AI’s development, Dr. Deng recommended “The Genius Makers” by Cade Metz

Commerce in the Age of AI

The afternoon featured a commerce panel led by General Partner Aubrie Pagano with Trey Closson of Amplio and Dylan Whitman of Inveterate.

The takeaway:

• Supply chain arbitrage opportunities are abundant today, but AI is poised to eliminate margins that currently exist due to market friction
• Potential tariffs represent a significant concern for the industry’s future
• AI agents are expected to dramatically reduce costs of goods sold (COGS)
• The rise of agentic AI could make traditional agencies and service providers obsolete in the near future

AI’s Cross-Industry Impact

Alpaca VC’s Andrew Peng led a panel with Jonathan Salama of Transfix, Kyle McAllister of Trially, and Jarrod Wolf of Optiversal.

The takeaway:

• While AI dominates headlines today, many companies have been leveraging machine learning and artificial intelligence for years without explicitly marketing it as such, waiting for market readiness
• Teams are increasingly able to focus on strategy and business decisions rather than busy work

Residential Real Estate’s Inflection Point

The day concluded with General Partner Daniel Fetner and Mauricio Umansky, founder of The Agency, exploring the residential brokerage landscape at a pivotal moment of change. At the crux of the conversation: recent legal challenges to longstanding National Association of Realtors (NAR) rules and regulations could fundamentally reshape the industry after decades of stasis.

The takeaway:

• The combination of NAR changes, advancing technology, and limited housing supply creates significant opportunities for disruption
• NAR & MLS providers’ relationship with agents is strained, particularly around data ownership and usage
• While technology will advance, high-touch tasks will still require human agents

Looking Ahead: Fund IV Thematic Focus

Throughout the AGM, conversations with founders, industry leaders, and investors reinforced and expanded upon key themes the Alpaca VC team is tracking as it looks forward:

Artificial Intelligence

AI advancements are creating value across industries, with projected global economic impact between $11T – $17T. We’re seeing this transformation across our portfolio and in new investment opportunities.

Energy Transition & Power Availability

The energy sector is changing rapidly, with industrial and consumer demand reshaping the supply chain. This opens doors for new solutions in power generation, distribution, and management.

Consumer Affordability

With 38% of consumers reporting that high prices affect their standard of living, we’re seeing innovations in making essential goods and services more accessible.

Deglobalization

Reshoring and nearshoring trends, driven by geopolitical changes and supply chain priorities, are creating opportunities in domestic manufacturing, logistics, and resource management.

Demographic Shifts

Two major trends are reshaping markets:

• An aging population (1 in 6 Americans are now 65+) creating opportunities in healthcare, lifestyle, and services
• Generation Alpha (born 2010-2024), the first truly digital-native generation, bringing new perspectives to the workforce and consumer economy

What’s Next

The AGM provided valuable opportunities for our community to connect in person and highlighted the importance of building relationships within our investment community as we remain focused on identifying and supporting founders who are transforming traditional industries.

Thank you to our limited partners, portfolio companies, and the Alpaca team for contributing to this event. As we continue finding and supporting founders building for tomorrow, we’re excited about the opportunities ahead.