At NEA, we have been long-time believers in backing platforms that help bridge the gap between the digital and physical worlds in novel ways—an important trend that has given rise to an exciting crop of companies and associated business models. Over the years, NEA has been fortunate to back category-defining companies in and around this theme, including: Opendoor, Patreon, Genies, MasterClass, and countless others. It’s a trend that continues to catalyze new opportunities, especially as we…

When I left Airbnb last year, I was delighted to join a group as dynamic as the company itself: the Airbnb alumni. And I’ve been intrigued, though not surprised, to learn how many of those bright and creative professionals are developing their own startup concepts. After all, our time at the company trained us to do just that. Employees of one great company seeding the next generation of startups is the circle of life in Silicon Valley. It started with Fairchild Semiconductor in the 1960s,…

After a nine-year hiatus from venture, during which I was building the product team at Airbnb, I am thrilled to be back, investing in consumer technology as a partner at NEA. The opportunities today are far greater than they were in 2009, in the doldrums of the financial crisis. It feels like a step function change in the level of activity that is occurring in the startup ecosystem. Entrepreneurship has been democratized. Technology has seeped into the lives of everyone around the world,…