Virtual Equity Brands
Today’s note · Sun 4 Oct The week’s money went to agents. Most of it went to tools.
A holding company for AI-native services Portfolio: Vietnam · Holdings 04

We ownservices companiesand run themlike software.

Virtual Equity Brands invests in, and operates, service businesses rebuilt around AI agents. They sell finished work, not tools. That is where we think the next $1 trillion company comes from.

For every dollar on software, six go to services.

Software ate the tools. The work itself — hiring, delivery, back office — is still bought by the hour. That is the bigger budget, and the one agents can now take on.

$1 Software
$6 Services — where we invest
Source: Sequoia Capital, Services: The New Software
§1 — Thesis

Three rules we invest by.

Scroll — they stack
Principle 01 / 03
01

Build around customer outcomes.

The strongest companies are organized around what the customer needs completed, not around the software they use. People remain responsible for the customer relationship and the final result. Agents reduce the time, cost, and effort required to deliver it.

Customer need → human ownership → agent-powered delivery
Principle 02 / 03
02

Expand what each person can accomplish.

Agents should not replace judgment; they should make good people more effective. They can gather information, complete routine tasks, prepare recommendations, and keep work moving. People bring context, discretion, and accountability to the moments that matter.

People provide judgment → agents provide leverage
Principle 03 / 03
03

Grow from service delivery into deeper expertise.

Begin with a service that already has a budget and a clear customer. Use agents to improve speed, consistency, and margins. As the business gains experience and customer trust, it can move into more complex decisions and become a larger part of the customer’s operation.

Paid service → better delivery → trusted partner → higher-value work
§2 — Portfolio

Current holdings

One talent base. One delivery engine. One bridge to legacy systems. One place founders meet.

Holding 01
Talent services · Vietnam

Cloud Nine Software

Hires, screens and employs Vietnam-based engineers and operators for companies in the US, EU and Australia, including payroll, tax, insurance and HR.

MarketsUS · EU · Australia
PricingSuccess-based, no upfront fee
ScreeningHands-on agentic AI experience

“Hire top Vietnam-based remote workers who operate as true members of your team.”

Holding 02
Agentic SCM Solution

Cloud28 AI

Applying agentic into supply chain operation from logistics to warehouse

DeliveryAutomate legacy process
AgentsFreight agent, SOP agent, Invoice agent, Partner Agent, and more...
GuardrailsEscalated action to user for final decision

“No more operating in Excel or Google Sheet”

Holding 03
Coffee + accelerator

The Cupid Group

Runs Cupid Space, a coffee house that doubles as an accelerator meeting space, where founders work, meet operators and investors, and get backed. The accelerator program runs through The Cupid Inc.

VenueCupid Space · coffee + meeting space
ProgramThe Cupid Inc accelerator
LocationHo Chi Minh, Vietnam

“Your perfect place to be.”

Holding 04
AI service platform

Talos AI

An AI service platform that connects AI agents to legacy software, so the systems a business already runs can be worked by agents without being replaced.

FocusAgents ↔ legacy software
ModelCustomize your own open weight models
Platformswarm agentic factory harness

Connect one device at a time

§3 — What we back

If it’s billed by the hour, it can be rebuilt.

Criterion ARevenue ✓ · Software optional

A services business with paying customers

Agencies, outsourcers, back offices, professional firms. Revenue first, software second.

Criterion BRule-bound ✓ · Judgment thin

Work that is mostly intelligence

Repeatable, rule-bound tasks an agent can take on today, with a thin layer of human judgment on top.

Criterion CResults, not seats

Founders ready to rebuild operations

Not bolt-on AI. A willingness to redesign delivery around agents, and to sell results instead of seats.

§4 — Looking for investment?

One deal a day. Our view on it.

All notes
§5 — Looking for investment?

Tell us what you sell.

pitchus@virtualequitybrands.com

Who pays for it today, and how much of the work an agent could already do. We read every pitch.