Vanessa Larco, partner at Premise and former partner at NEA, thinks 2026 will finally be the year of consumer AI.
Larco, who’s been investing in consumer and prosumer for years, thinks we’re about to see a shift in how consumers spend time online, with AI powering “concierge-like” services. The question is, will legacy consumer products like WebMD and TripAdvisor continue to exist as standalone apps, or will they just get absorbed into ChatGPT or Meta AI? And where can startups carve out an AI-powered niche for themselves?
Today on TechCrunch’s Equity podcast, Rebecca Bellan sat down with Larco to talk about why consumer is back, what OpenAI won’t kill, and where the real opportunities are hiding.
Chapters:
00:00 – Introduction
00:53 – Why founders are excited about consumer again
04:40 – The moat against OpenAI: Managing real humans
09:22 – Apps as disposable as Word docs
12:48 – Social media in the AI era
18:48 – Meta Ray-Bans and why wearables are actually good
23:35 – Stablecoins and consumer fintech opportunities
26:54 – M&A predictions for 2026
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