Navin Chaddha, managing director at Mayfield, is doubling down on big bets in the investment AI. He now is intent on using its transformative power in industries that have classically been people heavy—like consulting, law, and accounting. He has a smart vision for what comes next. With $100 million in his newly raised war chest, he wants to transform service industries by promoting what he calls “AI teammates” that will augment human talent.
Chaddha’s enthusiasm for AI brilliance comes through in his support of Gruve. This new startup by serial entrepreneurs is off to an absurdly good start with two service businesses in their rearview that have done $500m+ in revenue. His service commitment aside, recent Mayfield was the lead investor in Gruve’s Series A funding round. This landmark decision catapults the startup even farther along in its aim to disrupt the long-established consulting houses that have long monopolized the industry.
Gruve then positions itself to provide software-like gross margins, which is key to delivering lucrative consulting services powered by AI. This new business model promises to challenge established players like McKinsey and Accenture, which currently face the “innovator’s dilemma” of when and how to integrate AI into their operations. Chaddha contends that the firms like these don’t just need to buy AI capabilities, but rather become agile organisms responding to radically reimagined business models.
The Chaddha Then And that Base44 turned out to be over-valued Surprising, sure—at $2.4 million in annual recurring revenue, the startup only sold at $80 million! I thought it was going to bring $800 million,” he further disclosed, emphasizing the dramatic contrast between what he thought it should sell for and what it actually sold for.
Gruve’s revenue tripled from $5 million to $15 million in a matter of six months. This frenetic expansion highlights just how powerful AI can be in creating huge profits and saving time too. The company aims to provide consulting services at a fraction of traditional costs, with a compelling offer: “You pay us zero.” This statement might seem hyperbolic, but it clearly speaks to Gruve’s mission to democratize access to consulting services for small businesses.
Chaddha believes that there are approximately 30 million small businesses in the U.S. and 100 million worldwide that struggle to afford the expertise of knowledge workers. He implores founders to think about these underserved markets. He’s convinced that AI has the potential to be a digital co-pilot, partnering with humans to reach shared goals faster and more effectively.
Chaddha uncovers that law firms, consulting firms, and accounting firms combined already have a massive $5 trillion market cap. This chart illustrates just how much financial clout these industries collectively have. To the AI-first companies, he believes, will go the spoils of this new transformation across industries. These companies will deliver astounding gross margins upwards of 80%-90%. He used AI—if that takes care of 80% of the work—the gross margin would be 80%-90% gross margin. This alone shows the powerful role that AI can play in profitability.
Chaddha is optimistic a big breakthrough may be coming. He sounds the alarm that as AI monopolizes the market, 80% of workers in these fields may lose capital and revenue. As this shift occurs, legacy companies are faced with the desperate need to innovate, lest they join the dinosaurs in extinction.
