ACG SV VC Startup Circle October 2026

Where Capital Meets Growth: 
Scaling AI Companies and Driving Enterprise Adoption

Artificial intelligence is creating unprecedented opportunities for founders and investors, but building a successful AI company requires more than cutting-edge technology. It demands the ability to attract capital, deliver measurable outcomes, and navigate the realities of enterprise adoption, particularly within highly regulated industries.

Join experienced founders, investors, and AI leaders for a discussion on the evolving intersection of venture capital, startup growth, and real-world AI deployment. Panelists will share insights on raising capital, building category-defining companies, and overcoming the operational, regulatory, and trust challenges that emerge when scaling AI solutions for enterprise customers. Whether you're an early-stage founder, growth-stage executive, or investor, you'll gain practical perspectives on where the next wave of value creation in AI is taking shape.

Learning Objectives

• Understand how investors evaluate AI companies in today's funding environment
• Learn what it takes to move AI from experimentation to production within large enterprises
• Explore the unique challenges of deploying AI in regulated industries, including governance, risk management, and trust
• Gain practical insights on scaling teams, products, and go-to-market strategies for sustainable growth

Speakers: 

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Shreesha Ramdas, Co-Founder & CEO, Lumber

Shreesha Ramdas is a serial entrepreneur and technology leader with a track record of building and scaling enterprise software companies. Prior to founding Lumber, he built three successful startups that were acquired by Medallia, SAP, and Envestnet.

Today, Shreesha leads Lumber, a venture-backed technology company transforming how the construction industry manages its workforce. Backed by Foundation Capital, Carbide and 8VC, Lumber is reimagining construction payroll, workforce management, compliance, and HR through AI-powered technology.

Passionate about applying innovation to traditional industries, Shreesha brings a unique perspective on entrepreneurship, artificial intelligence, and building companies that solve complex, real-world problems. His mission is to help modernize one of the world's largest and most essential regulated industries.

Umair Khalid
Managing Director - Agentic AI
Wells Fargo

Umair Khalid bring two decades of experience leading product teams, monetizing emerging technologies, and building zero-to-one products across AI, SaaS, cloud computing, and enterprise transformation.

Umair previously served as Head of Product for Artificial General Intelligence at Amazon, where he lead a team focused on content acquisition and grounding services for language models.

Previously, as Head of Product for AWS Enterprise Transformation, Umair scaled programs and platforms that directly contributed to incremental AWS revenue which has served thousands of customers. He also pioneered AI-powered systems that improved customer success outcomes and accelerated enterprise modernization journeys.

Earlier in his career, Umair held product leadership roles at Blue Cross Blue Shield (Cambia Health Solutions), Verizon, Ericsson, and Motorola, where he focused on AI, data platforms, IoT, and emerging technologies. Across these roles, he built platforms that improved healthcare outcomes, helped Fortune 1000 clients scale digital transformation, and shaped early markets for IoT and big data services.

As an open-source contributor and advocate for responsible AI adoption, Umair is passionate about ensuring that AI systems are both technically scalable and aligned with human needs.

Vijay Rajendran
Venture Building
gAI Ventures

Vijay Rajendran is an innovative leader and technology investor with a history of advising global companies, coaching startups, developing new markets, and creating innovative products and services. 

Vijay is creating and investing in new ventures at gAI Ventures, a venture builder that transforms traditional industries with vertical AI. He has led portfolio value at 500 Global, a venture capital firm with $2.7 billion under management that invests early in founders building fast-growing technology companies. He led a global team helping startups in over 80 countries and their founders develop connections, raise capital, and create a thriving community. Previously, he led a venture studio for a global bank, founded fintech and ecommerce startups, and served as a management consultant. 

Vijay received a BS in Business Administration from Boston University as well as an MS in Foreign Service and an MBA from Georgetown University. He is also an alumnus of the Berkeley Executive Coaching Institute. Vijay is the author of The Funding Framework: Secure Startup Funding with Confidence, published in 2025 by Leader’s Press. He also teaches a course on Leadership and Change Management for Startup Founders at UC Berkeley.