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Consumer AI

Consumer AI: Where the Market Is Actually Taking Shape

To better understand where consumer AI is actually working today and where it is still early, we spent time speaking with founders building across different layers of the stack. Those conversations form the backbone of our Consumer AI Report (2025–2026), published today.

One clear insight stood out. In consumer and entertainment contexts, AI is rarely the product itself. What ultimately matters is the experience. How AI shows up as an interface, how it enables expression, and how communities form around it. In many categories, differentiation is happening at the UX and community layer rather than through model ownership alone.

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Consumer AI: Where the Market Is Actually Taking Shape

AI was the defining investment theme of 2025, and that momentum is carrying into 2026.

2026 Outlook: Building with Discipline in a Changing Market

This blog was a collaboration between Teppei Tsutsui, Yasushi Komori, Patrick Montague, and Yuhan Ma of GFR Fund.

Where Brands Meet Virtual Worlds: The GEEIQ Journey

This blog is produced in collaboration with Charles Hambro of GEEIQ.

2025 Founder Lessons Wrapped: What Our Portfolio Taught Us This Year

As 2025 comes to a close, the GFR Fund team sat down to reflect on the most valuable lessons our founders taught us...

Three Consumer Apps That Broke Out With Zero Paid Ads—Here’s How

Early-stage consumer startups used to follow a predictable playbook: launch an MVP, run paid ads to test acquisition,...

Q3 2025 VC Market: The Megadeal Era and the Great Consolidation

Venture capital funding maintained its strong trajectory in Q3 2025, crossing the $80 billion mark with impressive...

Gamescom 2025: GFR’s Takeaways with Yasushi Komori and Jeremy Lim

Gamescom is where the future of the industry reveals itself. What happens in Cologne often foreshadows where gaming is...

Announcing SF and LA Tech Week Office Hours: Empowering AI- and Community-Driven Innovation

We're thrilled to announce our upcoming Office Hour sessions in San Francisco and Los Angeles during the SF & LA Tech...

Building on TikTok: How Startups Balance Growth, Content, and Community

TikTok has quickly become one of the most powerful growth engines for startups. But scaling effectively on the platform...