David Cohen, founder and CEO of Techstars, has backed over 5,000 companies. So when he says the current AI moment is "once in a generation," it's worth paying attention.

At Zendesk Relate, David joined Zendesk VP of AI Revenue Sarah Al-Hassaini for a conversation about what it actually takes to build something defensible right now.

Here's what stood out:

Act now, not next year.

David was blunt about timing: "This is the year that you have to do it, because I think in two years, everyone will say, yeah, everybody's done that. And if you want to be a leader in the context of this moment that we're in, I think you can't hang out till 27 and kind of see what happens. I think you have to rip off a lot of band-aids, move really quickly, and try new things."

Software is no longer the moat.

David said he would not fund roughly half of Techstars' unicorn portfolio if those companies were starting today.

"Software used to be a thing I would invest in. Now, nobody's investing in software. You're investing in data and something that's really special and differentiated."

Data is the new gold.

The companies that win will be the ones with proprietary data loops, systems that get smarter with every transaction, every customer, every interaction. Incumbents have a structural edge here, if they use it.

"You've got to really protect that asset. You've got to really focus on the quality of that asset."

Humans still matter, especially for trust.

Technology can optimize almost anything, but David doesn't think it can replicate trust.

"It's very difficult to transfer trust through AI... What we're all trying to do is make sure that the humans that are in the loop are backed by the technology and being able to focus on the things that matter the most."

Every company needs an orchestrator.

David introduced a new role he sees emerging everywhere: someone who manages agents, understands how they all fit together, and can show, not just tell, the organization where it's going.

"It takes somebody that understands the whole history of the business and is just technical enough to play that role and paint that vision, not by telling people about it, but by showing them."

It's a useful frame for where we all are right now. The technology is accessible. The models are capable. What's scarce is the person who can hold the whole picture and move.

"The hackers are now armed with LLMs, and they're coming for your business. What do you have that's going to stop that disruption?"

Watch the full conversation at the Relate On-Demand 2026 Video Hub. The session is titled "Lessons in AI leadership: Techstars CEO on founders, trust, and innovation."

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