Matt Van Itallie is the Founder and CEO of Sema. He and his team have developed Comprehensive Codebase Scans, the most thorough and easily understandable assessment of a codebase and engineering organization. These scans are crucial for private equity and venture capital firms looking to make informed investment decisions. Sema has evaluated code within organizations that have a collective value of over $1 trillion. In 2023, Sema served 7 of the 9 largest global investors, along with market-leading strategic investors, private equity, and venture capital firms, providing them with critical insights.
In addition, Sema is at the forefront of Generative AI Code Transparency, which measures how much code created by GenAI is in a codebase. They are the inventors behind the Generative AI Bill of Materials (GBOM), an essential resource for investors to understand and mitigate risks associated with AI-generated code.
Before founding Sema, Matt was a Private Equity operating executive and a management consultant at McKinsey. He graduated from Harvard Law School and has had some interesting adventures, like hiking a third of the Appalachian Trail and biking from Boston to Seattle.
On the podcast, Matt would love to talk about:
- Technical Due Diligence: Discussing the critical role of thorough codebase evaluations in informed investment decisions, highlighting key methodologies, best practices, and real-world examples of how Sema's Comprehensive Codebase Scans have influenced investment outcomes and mitigated risks.
- Value Creation for Software Companies: Exploring strategies to enhance the value of software companies from a technical perspective, including operational improvements to streamline processes, reduce costs, and drive revenue growth, along with sharing success stories of value creation through technical enhancements.
- Sell-Side Preparation for Software Companies: Outlining key steps to prepare a software company for acquisition, addressing common pitfalls proactively, and discussing technical improvements that can make a company more attractive to potential buyers, with practical examples and best practices.
- Explaining Tech to Non-Technical Audiences: Matt simplifies complex software concepts using analogies and clear, jargon-free language to make them accessible to everyone.
- Benefits and Risks of GenAI for Developers: Insights into how generative AI can enhance software development and the potential pitfalls to watch out for.
- Peepshi: On a lighter note, Matt can share the fun process of creating Peepshi, a playful combination of marshmallow Peeps and sushi.
Also, here is a link to Sema's blog. Even if Matt wasn't personally the author, he can speak confidently on any topic of interest to you and your audience.
To get a sense of Matt, check out his interview on the Modern CTO podcast In this episode, he discusses the risks associated with AI-generated code and offers strategies for mitigating these risks through smarter software decisions. Additionally, in his recent interview on the Merge with Caution Podcast, Matt delves into the importance of source code due diligence in M&A deals, particularly regarding GenAI code. He explains how investors conduct thorough technical diligence and identifies key risks to watch out for, providing actionable insights on how to manage these challenges effectively.