Etienne Segal

The vertical AI opportunity isn't in building more apps. It’s where AI and direct P&L ownership transform the industries that already run the world.

→ Read more about my thesis here

I’m an investor and builder working at this intersection. Previously, I launched and scaled consumer brands, invested in distressed UK real estate, and held venture roles at Autopilot and AniVC.

If you’re building in a traditional industry – real estate, logistics, accounting, law – and exploring how AI + ownership could reshape your vertical, let’s connect.

buildouts

• Monarch Caviar — founded a DTC luxury food brand sold online, and through retail and hospitality partners
• AniVC — built brand and operational systems for a venture fund investing across animal health
• PolicyBot — built an AI tool to navigate London’s real estate regulations, adopted by developers
• BirdsEye — building the first AI-enabled PMS for small multifamily portfolios
• Uncle Yoshiro — founded Japanese-inspired healthy snack brand
• esma foods — founded a retail distribution platform for CPG in the UK

deep dives

• The vertical AI playbook
• AI in commercial real estate
• AI in legal services
• Humanoid robotics

company breakdowns

• Stripe
• Ramp
• CloudKitchens
• Flexport
• Anthropic
• Klarna
• Perplexity

→ all company breakdowns