Latest Interviews
Showing 76–90 of 243 transcripts.
Clear all filters- Milken Institute45 min
Credit Markets in Transition | Global Conference 2025
Michael Piwowar, Michael Buchanan, Peter Gleysteen, Deborah Orida, Michael Zawadzki, Mike Pivovar, Mike Buchanan
Panelists analyzed the current macroeconomic landscape characterized by tariff uncertainty and Federal Reserve rate cuts, while highlighting a $30 trillion private credit market reshaped by regulatory changes that drive capital from banks to non-competitive partners. Industry leaders identified investment opportunities in infrastructure, asset-backed finance, and investment-grade credit, noting that resilient fundamentals and low leverage support default rates under 50 basis points despite weakening investor sentiment. The discussion concluded with a strategic pivot toward multi-asset credit approaches and structural diversification to mitigate volatility risks and capitalize on market dislocations for tactical offense.
- Milken Institute42 min
The American Athlete: Feeding the US Olympic Pipeline | Global Conference 2025
Pete Stavros, Maya Andrews, Dan Gable, Karch Kiraly, Carl Lewis
Former Olympic legends Maya Andrews, Dan Gable, Karch Kiraly, and Carl Lewis convened to address the critical financial instability threatening U.S. collegiate Olympic sports and the resulting vulnerability of the national team ahead of the 2028 Los Angeles Games. The panelists diagnosed a crisis where rising costs and revenue concentration have decimated programs in wrestling and volleyball, then proposed strategic remedies ranging from philanthropic reinvestment and antitrust lobbying to tuition reform and enhanced financial transparency. Beyond structural solutions, the discussion highlighted philosophical imperatives regarding the mastery of failure and disciplined routines, arguing that preserving the current NCAA-subsidized pipeline is essential for sustaining American athletic dominance and societal leadership.
- a16z43 min
Who's Coding Now? - AI and the Future of Software Development
Guido Appenzeller, Matt Bornstein, Yoko Li
Positioned as a $3 trillion global market following a $200 billion investment surge, the AI coding sector is transforming a workforce of 30 million developers through integrated agents that shift workflows from syntax generation to specification drafting. While industry leaders project productivity gains equivalent to Apple's market value by doubling output efficiency, organizations are adapting to non-deterministic model behaviors by redefining success metrics and enforcing "spec-first" strategies for legacy modernization. This evolution requires a new hybrid of human expertise and structured formal languages to manage hallucination risks, ultimately redefining the developer role from code writer to system architect.
- Sequoia Capital31 min
Google's Jeff Dean on the Coming Transformations in AI
This presentation outlines the trajectory of deep learning from its 2012 scaling breakthroughs toward a future of multi-modal agents and physical robotics capable of performing thousands of tasks within two years. It details a converging industry landscape where a handful of foundational models drive a secondary ecosystem of efficient, specialized architectures supported by Google's upcoming Ironwood TPU generation and Pathways system. The discussion further projects how these advancements will revolutionize scientific discovery, democratize virtual engineering through junior-level AI assistants, and reshape economic structures via dynamic compute allocation.
- Sequoia Capital24 min
Anthropic CPO Mike Krieger: Building AI Products From the Bottom Up
Mike Krieger, Trevor Johnsen, Sam Nelsons, Emily Fortuna, Dave Elliott Smith, Mike McDonald Jr.
At a recent strategic discussion, Anthropic executive Mike McDonald Jr. outlined a paradigm shift where the distinction between AI-generated and human-created content becomes irrelevant, emphasizing instead that provenance via blockchain and compelling human storytelling will define future value. The organization is operationalizing this vision through a "bottoms-up" product philosophy and the development of the Model Context Protocol (MCP), which evolved from engineer-led integrations to establish a standardized, open framework for autonomous agent interactions and economic transactions. Internally, this approach has resulted in massive AI adoption with over 70% of code reviews generated by machines, though leaders note that non-technical organizational bottlenecks now pose the primary constraint on high-velocity development.
- Milken Institute43 min
A Conversation with Citadel CEO Ken Griffin | Global Conference 2025
Ken Griffin critiques current U.S. fiscal policies and immigration frameworks, warning that regressive tariffs and restrictive visa rules threaten to erode national flexibility while failing to retain the international scientific talent essential for future growth. He advocates for aggressive K-12 and higher education reforms driven by school choice and data transparency to dismantle systemic inefficiencies, citing Success Academy and his own Harvard philanthropy as models for overcoming institutional inertia. Looking forward, Griffin aims to mobilize an estimated $150 billion in generational wealth to fund private-sector innovations and inspire a new era of scientific ambition similar to the 1960s space race.
- Sequoia Capital29 min
AI's Trillion-Dollar Opportunity: Sequoia AI Ascent 2025 Keynote
Pat Grady, Sonia, Konstantin Vargas
Sequoia Capital outlines a strategic framework for the AI opportunity, predicting that the sector will disrupt both software and services markets by shifting value from selling tools to selling outcomes. The firm emphasizes investing in companies that demonstrate durable adoption and functional data flywheels, noting that 2024 marked a transition from hype to utility in vertical applications like healthcare and law. Looking ahead, the presentation predicts the emergence of an agent economy where interconnected agents manage resources and tasks, potentially enabling a "one-person unicorn" era through new management strategies.
- a16z26 min
Modernizing Warfare and Beyond
Liz McNally, Qasar Younis, Erin Price-Wright
The Defense Innovation Unit is accelerating the integration of dual-use commercial technology into the Department of Defense by partnering with companies like Applied Intuition to prototype and field software at scale. This strategy leverages new congressional flexibility and the Commercial Solutions Opening model to bridge the gap between agile industry innovation and military needs, addressing critical challenges in the Indo-Pacific against China's advancing autonomy capabilities. By prioritizing "dual fluency" talent and a venture-first procurement approach, DIU aims to modernize the defense industrial base and ensure the U.S. maintains a technological edge in software-defined warfare.
- a16z37 min
What Is an AI Agent?
Guido Appenzeller, Matt Bornstein, Yoko Li
Industry experts define AI agents as multi-step systems capable of dynamic reasoning and tool usage, distinguishing them from simple prompt wrappers despite widespread marketing inflation. Current market adoption is constrained by data silos, security gaps in authentication, and the technical difficulty of enabling non-deterministic models to interact reliably with fragmented user environments. Ultimately, the field is shifting toward specialized workflows and multimodal capabilities, with agents expected to become invisible infrastructure within two to five years rather than standalone products.
- a16z21 min
How to Enable a Manufacturing Renaissance
Bryon Hargis, Chris Power, Ian Cinnamon
Amid a strategic space race against China, Los Angeles-based startups Apex and Hadrian are scaling satellite manufacturing and automated defense production to counter rapid geopolitical shifts and a domestic labor crisis. Despite facing significant regulatory hurdles regarding energy infrastructure and permitting, these companies are successfully attracting top software talent to traditional aerospace roles by merging Silicon Valley innovation with industrial capacity. Their unified efforts aim to establish a resilient, onshored U.S. industrial base while pressuring policymakers to streamline export licensing and incentivize skilled trade careers.
- Goldman Sachs26 min
Will tariffs lead to a recession?
Paul Krugman, Jan Hatzius, Oren Cass, Allison Nathan
Prominent economists Paul Krugman, Jan Hatzius, and Oren Cass debated the Trump administration's historic tariff expansion, which Krugman identifies as an unprecedented economic shock and Hatzius projects will reduce GDP growth by two percentage points while raising recession probabilities to 45%. While Krugman warns that policy uncertainty will stifle business investment and Hatzius cautions that the Federal Reserve faces a difficult trade-off between inflation and stagnation, Cass argues the measures represent a necessary structural correction to global supply chains that will eventually stimulate domestic production. The panel concluded that although immediate data lags obscure the full extent of damage, the severity of the downturn will ultimately depend on the Federal Reserve's ability to balance conflicting price and employment mandates against a backdrop of rapidly shifting trade policy.
- a16z39 min
The Dual-Use Founder: Vets Now Building For America
Matt Shortal, John Doyle, David Tuttle, Grant Jordan
Three former military officers and defense technology veterans founded Cape and related ventures to address the asymmetry between legacy, high-cost defense systems and modern low-cost threats like commercial drones. By rejecting traditional bureaucratic structures, these companies prioritize rapid iteration and dual-use technologies that serve both national security and critical infrastructure needs. Their collective strategy aims to bridge the funding gap between early-stage prototypes and large-scale deployment while advocating for faster government acquisition cycles to match commercial innovation speeds.
- Milken Institute30 min
Bottom-Up Growth: Little is the New Big | Finance Forum 2025
Dan Carol, Evan Feinberg, Michelle Moore, Lynn Overmann, Ryan Streeter
The 2025 Milken Institute Finance Forum, themed "Building Resilient Communities," convened leaders from the Civitas Institute, Groundswell, and Stand Together to launch the "Pathways to Capital" platform and debate bottom-up growth strategies for underserved areas amid declining federal funding. Panelists including Michelle Moore and Evan Feinberg highlighted successful models such as rural clean energy hubs and social service matchmaking tools that utilize data-driven capital stacking to reduce poverty and disaster costs. The event concluded with a consensus on adopting a "scout and scale" methodology and reforming top-down policies to better align with and fund local innovation for 10,000 communities.
- Milken Institute37 min
Driving Transformational Change in Finance | Global Investors' Symposium Hong Kong 2025
Kevin Lu, Marc Antaki, Timothy Reese
Kevin Liu moderated a panel with Tim of the Pennsylvania Municipal Retirement System and Mark of Mubadala to discuss how major institutional investors are leveraging long-term horizons and private market exposure to navigate macroeconomic volatility. The executives detailed strategic shifts toward emerging sectors like AI infrastructure and royalty assets while utilizing diversified portfolio constructions to mitigate risks from inflation and geopolitical instability. By prioritizing on-the-ground intelligence in Asia and adopting multi-scenario planning, these firms aim to transform unforeseen global challenges into catalysts for structural outperformance.
- Milken Institute42 min
Global Overview | Global Investors' Symposium Hong Kong 2025
Olivia Siong, Eric Anziani, Keyu Jin, Christian Stracke, Ke Yu
Panelists from PIMCO and industry leaders projected a cooler global economic trajectory for 2025–2026 while analyzing China's strategic pivot toward technological self-reliance amid real estate debt risks. The discussion highlighted a decisive regulatory shift in the United States, which reclassified Bitcoin as a strategic reserve asset and fostered a competitive race in Asia for digital currency infrastructure. Furthermore, speakers warned of a bifurcating geopolitical landscape that threatens debt sustainability while predicting a future convergence between blockchain settlement layers and agentic AI systems.