Raising Capital in the AI Era: How Businesses Run, Build & Raise in 2026 | Webinar Hosted by Callum (Rally) and Zac (Works AI)
Raising Capital in the AI Era Hosted by Callum Davidson
In partnership with Currents
AI is no longer a sector. It's the prerequisite.
But there's a big gap between "using AI" and being AI-native. And an even bigger gap between how startups used to raise and scale and how they do it now.
Two experts, 30 minutes, three layers from the inside of your business out to the capital markets around it, followed by 20 minutes of open Q&A.
1. What an AI-native business actually looks like — Zac King, Works
AI-native is not a sector or a subscription. Having ChatGPT open at work makes you an AI tourist, not an AI-native business. Zac walks through a real operating stack built on scheduled bots, skills, connectors, and custom builds, run by one operator with no team. The shift it represents: businesses now grow by adding leverage, not headcount. Grounded in a real example, a service business that cut delivery time 75-80% by building these systems internally, then started installing them into clients, which became Works.
2. Building AI into the product — Callum Davidson, Rally
The next layer out. Rally has traditionally been education. Callum on how they're thinking about building intelligence into the product itself, AI inside the architecture, not bolted on top. The same move as the first segment, applied to a product rather than an operating model.
3. AI funding and the new rules of scale — Callum Davidson, Rally
The capital markets around all of it. Where the money is flowing (Australia vs US), how AI-native companies hit traction faster with leaner teams, what investors are actually screening for now, and why the badge of honour has shifted from dollars raised to dollars earned. More traction per dollar means less capital needed, less ownership given away, more control kept.
The through-line: clarity beats hype, at every layer.
Who this is for:
Early-stage founders thinking about how to raise and scale in the AI era, and business owners who want to build an AI-native operating model into the company they already have.
Come for a grounded, current, no-hype take on running, building, and funding a business in 2026.