If a relatively small organization opposes more and more established businesses, it needs to be able to act quickly and quickly, especially when the market situation changes suddenly, especially when the market is related to AI.
The publicly available Blaize sells fully programmable AI accelerator chips and other semiconductor products in the $71 billion energy-efficient edge AI market, employing it against fearsome players such as Nvidia, Intel and Grok.
It's Blaze though By staying versatile, it allows the El Dorado Hills, California-based company to shift its focus to other industries in a relatively short time, says Blaize CFO Harminder Sehmi. That degree of flexibility requires a lot of things, including close alignment with the destination team to the market. Sehmi reveals details in the following interview with author Katie Kuehner-Hebert:
What important decisions and strategies have you adopted to manage your transition from? Announcement of SPAC transactions for transaction completion?
All IPOs are complicated. When pursuing traditional paths, CFOs generally have more time to think and plan. In an accelerated process, the most important priority is to build a team of high-scoring advisors. Companies may already have internal team members with IPO experience, but without a trusted advisor, they will be difficult to manage.
The second important consideration is to treat it like any major project. A detailed timeline, task list and clear views of dependencies are essential when coordinating with bankers, lawyers, finance teams, business leads and investors.
The project plan must be a living document reviewed weekly, as changes are inevitable and teams must remain coordinated and adjusted. Without a dedicated project manager, CFOs should ensure clarity regarding task ownership, follow-up cadence, and sensual communication.
Business planning and forward forecasting are important. Unlike private pay raises, where financial teams can lean towards the aggressive side of forecasting, public pay raises need to make forecasts more conservative. CFOs need to understand how robustly qualified the pipeline is and how potential customers can convert to customers.
Finally, CFOs must be prepared to answer important questions such as “How much money do we have?” And “Why do we need it?” Clarity of funding sources and usage is essential for investors.
The adoption of AI is progressing rapidly across a variety of financial functions. How does AI fit into younger organizations like Blaize?
With AI adoption, and in fact automation and tools, the correct answer is often “dependent.” It depends on the maturity of your business, the consistency of your data, and the pace of change.
For mature or stable businesses that need to generate data and act quickly on insights, some tools can help financial functions become more efficient and insightful. From both accuracy and utility perspectives, these tools thrive with predictability, and CFOs should consider this when making implementation decisions.
But in a startup or a rapidly evolving business, the reality is different. If you need more versatility, complex AI systems too early can be hampered. for example, [as a rule],If historical trends indicate that a transaction takes an average of three months, then companies will always need 3-4x pipeline coverage to be confident they will exceed their forecasts. AI helps you monitor and predict what your pipeline will look like to achieve future revenue targets. But until an organization achieves such a predictable rhythm, in my experience tools like Excel are still the most practical.
Ignoring common tools like ChatGPT brings opportunities costs, but blind use is not a wise approach either. Note that these tools can produce inaccurate results, and therefore overreliance in the output. That's about balance. Use them where they add value, but don't rely on them to replace judgement and simple common sense.
When making tough decisions, finance should always ask, “What does this do to the customer?” And “What does this do to shareholders?”
What lessons have you learned through your career journey in finance?
One still surprises how many CFOs still describe their work today as “business partners,” but don't really take the time to take a walk. Treasurers are not effective without understanding what drives the wider business. This is done by building relationships, from executive teams to report directly.
Members of the finance team need to position themselves not as “no” people, but as those who say “yes, have the right guardrails.” It happens when finance can interact with internal customers, get to know each other and trust each other. Strong finance departments with externally involved thinking actually add value in discerning ways.
Another important lesson I learned early in my career is that customers pay your salary and you work for shareholders. When making tough decisions, finance should always ask, “What does this do to the customer?” And looking at the decision through that lens, “What does this do for shareholders?” generally leads to the right conclusions of the business. CFOs need to not only surface the problem, but also lead clearly and bring constructive solutions.
What advice would you give to a young professional just getting into the financial field?
I'm interested. If you haven't asked “Yes” then you're missing points after looking at numbers, charts or tables. Do not run numbers to perform numbers. Ask what they mean. Ask how they connect to the larger image.
Communication is at the heart of any job, but understanding both the impact of numbers on the page and how to communicate that impact to non-financial readers can go a long way in developing trust. Read publications like economist or Newsweek Also, considering ways to present complex data clearly and concisely is a useful thinking exercise that benefits all financial professionals.
Spending time with other features is also helpful. For example, employees on account payable handling invoices don't just treat them like line items. Instead, they need to pursue an understanding of what the campaign is and what it has led to. That's how you become a strategic business partner.
