Flybridge, a prominent venture capital firm, has released a groundbreaking AI-powered investment memo generator that’s now available free to the public. The tool represents a significant shift in how venture capitalists are leveraging artificial intelligence to streamline their investment processes.
Chip Hazard, a longtime startup investor at Flybridge, traditionally spent hours crafting detailed multi-page investment memos for his partners, outlining risk factors and opportunities for potential investments. Now, using this new AI tool, he’s dramatically reducing the time required for this critical task while maintaining quality and depth of analysis.
The genesis of this innovation came from a playful bet following ChatGPT’s release. Hazard challenged a Flybridge associate with a bottle of wine from his private collection if they could build an AI capable of writing investment memos. The result is a sophisticated system built on OpenAI’s o1 model, which was specifically designed to spend more time “thinking” before generating responses, thereby improving output quality.
The memo generator features a simple web interface where users upload a pitch deck and transcript, input round size and valuation details, and provide links to the founder’s LinkedIn profile and company website. Daniel Porras Reyes, a self-taught developer and Flybridge associate, built the system using CrewAI, one of Flybridge’s portfolio companies, to create autonomous AI agents that can work with minimal human supervision.
These agents leverage Exa, a search engine designed specifically for AI agents, to research and generate content about a company’s competitive landscape and market size. In as little as three minutes, the system produces a comprehensive Word document covering the opportunity, risks, business model, go-to-market strategy, team analysis, and even proposes follow-up questions for founders.
Flybridge’s strategic decision to make the tool publicly available serves a dual purpose. The firm hopes founders will use it to test their pitches before meetings, allowing them to identify and address weaknesses in their presentations. This could lead to more productive conversations and better-prepared entrepreneurs.
While the tool occasionally makes errors—such as missing competitors or miscalculating financial projections—Hazard emphasizes that it’s intentionally designed to be “good enough” rather than perfect. This approach ensures investors still apply critical judgment rather than blindly accepting AI-generated analysis. The tool is now accessible on Flybridge’s website and available as an open-source project on GitHub.
Key Quotes
If we could free up capacity on more routine tasks and therefore give us more time for judgment, that’s a good trade in our business.
Chip Hazard, longtime startup investor at Flybridge, explains the core value proposition of using AI in venture capital. This quote encapsulates the philosophy behind the memo generator—using automation to enhance rather than replace human decision-making in investment processes.
The point is to have it ‘good enough’ that you can then start to really apply your judgment.
Hazard describes the intentional design philosophy behind the AI tool, emphasizing that perfection isn’t the goal. This approach ensures investors remain actively engaged in critical analysis rather than deferring entirely to AI-generated recommendations, maintaining the essential human element in investment decisions.
Our Take
Flybridge’s move to publicly release their AI investment memo generator represents a fascinating case study in “eating your own dog food” within the venture capital industry. By openly sharing a tool that provides genuine competitive advantage, the firm is making a bold statement about the abundance mindset in the AI era—the belief that collaboration and transparency can create more value than proprietary secrecy.
The choice to build on OpenAI’s o1 model and integrate portfolio company CrewAI demonstrates strategic alignment between investment thesis and operational practice. This creates a virtuous cycle where portfolio companies gain real-world validation while the VC firm benefits from cutting-edge tools.
Most intriguingly, the tool’s deliberate imperfection—its occasional errors and limitations—may be its greatest strength. By requiring human oversight and judgment, it forces a healthy balance between automation and expertise that other industries adopting AI should emulate. This isn’t about replacing venture capitalists; it’s about amplifying their capabilities and allowing them to focus on what humans do best: nuanced judgment, relationship building, and strategic pattern recognition.
Why This Matters
This development signals a transformative moment in venture capital operations and demonstrates how AI is reshaping professional services from within. Venture capitalists, who are actively funding AI startups, are now proving the technology’s value by integrating it into their own workflows—a powerful form of validation for the AI industry.
The implications extend beyond VC firms. By making the tool publicly available, Flybridge is democratizing access to sophisticated investment analysis capabilities that were previously exclusive to well-resourced firms. This could level the playing field for smaller funds and individual investors while helping founders better prepare their pitches.
The use of AI agents and specialized tools like CrewAI and Exa showcases the emerging ecosystem of AI-native applications designed for specific professional workflows. This represents a shift from general-purpose AI assistants to specialized, task-oriented systems that can deliver measurable productivity gains.
Most significantly, Hazard’s emphasis on maintaining human judgment while leveraging AI efficiency offers a blueprint for responsible AI adoption across industries. Rather than replacing human expertise, the tool augments it—freeing professionals to focus on higher-value strategic thinking while automating routine documentation tasks.
Recommended Reading
For those interested in learning more about artificial intelligence, machine learning, and effective AI communication, here are some excellent resources:
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Source: https://www.businessinsider.com/vc-firm-flybridge-ai-powered-investment-memo-generator-2025-1