Humberto Treviño on Using AI to Transform Startup Scouting in Venture Capital
Humberto Treviño on Using AI to Transform Startup Scouting in Venture Capital
AI is everywhere in 2025—but venture capital has been a strange exception. That’s the paradox Humberto Treviño, AI and Data Analytics Director at Katapult VC, set out to solve. In his conversation with Tim Freestone on the Objective Hiring podcast, he explained how his team built an AI scout to supercharge startup sourcing, tackle false negatives, and create a more data-driven way of investing.
“Very few venture funds have integrated AI and these new technologies into the way they operate. Venture continues to operate with Excel, PowerPoint and PDF—and that’s it.”
At Katapult VC, Humberto led the development of tools that help identify high-potential startups using AI. But it’s not just about automating sourcing—it’s about doing it better.
Building the AI Scout
“We’ve essentially built an AI scout. We’re able to augment the amount of information that’s gathered from the different deals we’re evaluating.”
The traditional VC approach often relies on short-term interns or junior analysts manually reviewing companies. The result? Limited time, limited energy, and limited experience—leading to missed opportunities. Katapult’s AI scout addresses these issues head-on, processing far more deals in less time while learning from senior team members to improve its recommendations.
“Our algorithms learn from experience. You don’t lose that capability when your intern leaves. You're honing a more and more capable AI scout.”
Reducing False Negatives
One of the biggest problems in venture? Missing out on unicorns too early in the funnel.
“We found that they were losing the biggest deals in the earlier stages, when more junior profiles were evaluating. That’s where the largest opportunity is.”
False negatives are a nightmare in VC—turning down the next billion-dollar company because someone overlooked the signal. Humberto’s analysis revealed that these mistakes typically happen early, when undertrained team members screen out promising startups. AI helps mitigate this by providing consistency and scale.
The Hiring Analogy
“That’s the business model—you’re trying to find that needle in a haystack.”
Humberto and Tim noted that the challenges VCs face in startup evaluation are mirrored in hiring. Companies rarely reflect on false negatives—those great candidates they turned down without ever knowing it.
“You have a funnel, you have inbound and outbound, and you want an effective screening process. But companies have no idea if they rejected the next Elon Musk.”
This is where platforms like Alooba come in—helping companies reduce hiring mistakes by assessing skills objectively and transparently. If your hiring process has no data and no feedback loop, you’ll never know what you’re missing. Sign up here to improve your hiring outcomes.
Humans in the Loop
While AI improves speed and reach, Humberto stressed the importance of human oversight.
“The human in the loop is key in any AI-supported process. It’s not a magical thing—it’s just a program that needs oversight.”
He’s sceptical of vendors that overpromise AI as a hands-off solution. Systems should be monitored, adjusted, and improved continually to ensure fairness and performance.
Future of AI in Hiring
“There’s an overhype of what AI can do. Users might overtrust it, and that’s a recipe for disaster.”
Despite this caution, Humberto sees promise in AI-driven CV screening and early interview stages—if done thoughtfully. He warns against black-box systems making unchecked decisions, but believes we’re headed toward more automation in hiring.
“The entire process of hiring is just a funnel. The ambition will definitely be to have a system that makes full decisions with minimal human intervention. But is that something we really want?”
Final Thoughts
This episode is a reminder that while AI is transforming how we find startups—and candidates—the human element still matters. Companies and VC firms alike should think hard about how they balance automation with human judgment.
If you're responsible for hiring or investing and haven't reviewed your screening process lately, now’s the time.