Latest Interviews
Showing 361–375 of 1,031 transcripts.
Clear all filters- Milken Institute16 min
A Conversation with US Senator, Amy Klobuchar, Minnesota | Future of Health Summit 2023
Senator Chris Coons leveraged his father's diagnosis of late-onset Alzheimer's to champion bipartisan legislation that has increased Alzheimer's research funding to over $3.7 billion while securing NIH grants for clinical trials. Beyond medical advocacy, Coons and Senator Josh Hawley introduced bills to ban deepfake election ads and collaborate with colleagues to integrate AI into healthcare without replacing human caregivers. This work aims to address the "sandwich generation" crisis and ensure technological innovation balances national security with the protection of voter integrity and workforce equity.
- Y Combinator14 min
You Don’t Have To Be A Billionaire To Launch Satellites
John Gedmark, Ryan MckLinko, Jason Carman
Eight years after transforming from a two-person apartment startup into a multi-billion dollar entity, Astronis became the first Y Combinator-backed company to successfully launch a commercial satellite into space. The firm, founded by John and Ryan, disrupted the $122 billion geostationary orbit market by securing a dedicated Falcon 9 launch for four low-cost satellites while internalizing critical manufacturing and testing processes at their Pier 70 facility. This historic achievement validates a strategy where scrappy engineering and a working prototype overcame traditional funding barriers, proving that regular domain experts can build successful hard tech aerospace companies without billionaire backing.
- Goldman Sachs20 min
More gains ahead for US stocks?
David Kostin, Ryan Hammond, Alison Nathan
Goldman Sachs Research has raised its 2024 S&P 500 year-end target to approximately 6,000, citing an 11% earnings growth forecast for 2025 driven by solid macroeconomic data and semiconductor strength. While mega-cap technology stocks currently dominate the rally and trade at historic valuation highs, the firm identifies mid-cap equities as a key opportunity due to their 15x forward earnings multiple and superior performance track record during Federal Reserve rate cuts. Future market returns are expected to rely on fundamental earnings growth rather than further valuation expansion, though the outlook remains contingent on navigating immediate geopolitical risks and inflationary pressures that could limit further rate reductions.
- Goldman Sachs18 min
Why oil and gold prices could keep rising
Geopolitical tensions in the Middle East have elevated regional war risks, potentially disrupting oil supply despite six million barrels per day of spare capacity held by UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Kuwait. While Goldman Sachs forecasts Brent crude between $70 and $85 for 2025 driven by U.S. demand growth, a Strait of Hormuz closure could spike prices to triple digits, whereas China's modest economic stimulus limits demand expansion. Simultaneously, gold prices are projected to rise to $2,900 by early next year as central bank diversification and a global monetary easing cycle provide structural support, making gold a superior hedge against non-supply driven macroeconomic risks.
- Y Combinator18 min
Signs Your Company Is Recovering From ZIRP
Hosts define the current economic recovery from the "Zerp" era as a period marked by the elimination of vanity projects, the removal of excessive perks, and a mandatory return to office to enforce a culture of accountability. This shift involves high executive turnover and founders reclaiming operational control to replace ineffective leadership with a wartime mentality that prioritizes substantive output over comfort. The speakers advise employees to adapt to increased work intensity and stricter standards, warning that those remaining in stagnant organizations should consider leaving to join entities genuinely correcting their strategic errors.
- Milken Institute17 min
Conversation with Naval Ravikant, Founder & Chairman of AngelList | Middle East & Africa Summit 2023
Naval Ravikant, Louise Tabbiner
Naval Ravikant characterizes Silicon Valley as undergoing a vibrant "Cambrian explosion" of early-stage startups, driven by the departure of legacy tech giants and a continued influx of immigrant founders drawn to the region's concentration of intellectual capital. While acknowledging regulatory headwinds in crypto and biomedicine, he dismisses narratives of regional decline or AI existential risks, reframing natural language computing as a pivotal shift comparable to the invention of the graphical user interface. This ecosystem thrives on "genuine tinkerers" prioritizing craft over fame, supported by an investment philosophy that seeks individuals with unique worldviews rather than chasing established thematic trends.
- Dwarkesh Patel7 min
The bacteria that shaped history: Yersinia pestis – David Reich
Ancient DNA sequencing reveals that *Yersinia pestis* caused mortality rates of 25% to 50% across Western Eurasia over five millennia, fundamentally altering transmission dynamics by lacking the flea-rat plasmid and likely spreading via aerosols from steppe rodent reservoirs. This biological pressure precipitated a radical demographic shift around 4,500 years ago, where approximately 90% of Neolithic farmers in Europe were replaced by Eastern Steppe migrants within a century, simultaneously dismantling social structures and facilitating the rise of new economic systems. While the pathogen is also documented as a key factor in the decline of the Roman Empire and the inflation of the medieval period, these findings collectively demonstrate how sustained high mortality can drive mass migrations, societal collapse, and long-term economic transformation.
- a16z6 min
Krea: Building the UI for AI Art
CREA, founded by CEO Victor and CTO Diego, empowers non-technical artists to generate high-fidelity imagery by combining text prompts with intuitive visual controls like shape placement and creativity sliders. The platform gained rapid traction by swiftly adapting to viral trends, such as a 48-hour spiral image tool, and operates on an agile model that releases specialized AI tools every six months. This approach aims to automate routine creative tasks while maintaining professional-level output, with the ultimate goal of merging the utility of Adobe and Autodesk with Pixar-quality rendering into a single ecosystem.
- Milken Institute18 min
A Conversation with CDC Director Mandy Cohen | Milken Institute Global Conference 2024
CDC Director Mandy is advancing a strategic realignment that treats public health as a cornerstone of national security and economic stability, prioritizing the forward deployment of personnel to contain outbreaks in Sub-Saharan Africa before they reach U.S. borders. Domestically, the agency targets critical life expectancy disparities and a mental health crisis through zero-to-ten age interventions, while simultaneously modernizing data infrastructure to leverage artificial intelligence and eliminate legacy reporting silos. This comprehensive approach seeks to unify government, business, and community voices to build lasting public trust in vaccines and optimize workforce health as a financial imperative.
- Goldman Sachs9 min
Is the big tech trade over?
The S&P 500 recently declined 5% following a year-end rally, driven by reassessments of mega-cap valuations amid shifting inflation data and skepticism over AI profitability. Goldman Sachs analysts characterize this correction as a market rotation where capital is flowing from large-cap tech stocks to small-cap equities, a divergence that benefits smaller companies anticipating interest rate cuts. Despite the drop, the firm maintains a positive outlook, citing robust earnings and historical precedents where similar market dips often result in higher valuations within three months.
- Goldman Sachs10 min
Biopharma opportunities and macro challenges: A check-up on the industry
Asad Haider, Chris Shibutani, Salveen Richter, Sylvain
Major pharmaceutical and biotech leaders converged to identify GLP-1 agonists and AI integration as primary drivers for a market revised upward to $130 billion, while strategically addressing patent cliffs through aggressive external collaborations and M&A targeting metabolic and neurology assets. Although the biotech IPO window has reopened with nine clinical-stage offerings, investor sentiment remains sensitive to interest rate trajectories and the need for immediate commercial validation of AI-driven discoveries. Consequently, industry capital allocation prioritizes balancing near-term revenue generators with long-term growth catalysts to navigate complex clinical challenges in the central nervous system and cardiovascular disease sectors.
- Y Combinator14 min
Tarpit Ideas: The Sequel
YC partners Dalton and Michael define "tar pit" ideas as market spaces that appear highly attractive but historically fail due to a lack of genuine technological shifts or fundamental behavioral changes. While Large Language Models have rendered some previously impossible ventures viable, founders must demonstrate concrete problem-solving capabilities rather than relying on social validation or assuming the first successful iteration is imminent. This dynamic framework warns against behavioral coordination failures and fast wealth arbitrage, urging entrepreneurs to rigorously validate ideas against historical precedents and actual user needs.
- The Economist20 min
An assassination attempt: what next for America?
Rosie Bloor, Idris Kahloun, Daniel Franklin
Former President Donald Trump survived an assassination attempt at a Pennsylvania rally in which the gunman was killed by Secret Service agents, resulting in one attendee's death and critical injuries to two others. While President Joe Biden temporarily halted attack ads and called for national unity, the event triggered immediate partisan maneuvering that forced both campaigns to recalibrate their messaging strategies ahead of the 2024 election. Historical analysis suggests this crisis will momentarily consolidate support for Trump and stall Democratic succession rumors, though polling indicates the fundamental election trajectory remains largely unchanged despite the intense polarization.
- Goldman Sachs18 min
Taking stock: Can the US rally continue?
Goldman Sachs U.S. Equity Strategist David Kostin raised the firm's year-end S&P 500 target to 5,600, citing resilient earnings expectations despite the index's heavy reliance on just five AI-driven stocks that accounted for 60% of year-to-date gains. While forward valuations remain near historic highs at 21 times earnings, Kostin projects a slight multiple compression to 20.5 times as market participants pivot from AI euphoria to scrutiny over the timing of revenue realization in upcoming earnings reports. The outlook further incorporates potential election-related volatility and tariff uncertainties, with the primary downside risk identified as a rapid valuation correction if AI investment returns fail to materialize alongside robust corporate share repurchase demand.
- Y Combinator18 min
What Is ZIRP And How Did It Poison Startups?
During the Zero Interest Rate Phenomenon, a flood of cheap capital distorted venture capital markets, prompting fund managers to chase assets under management while founders prioritized aggressive hiring and inflated valuations over product-market fit. This environment spawned a wave of unsustainable businesses that collapsed immediately when rates normalized, separating companies with viable profit models from those reliant on infinite liquidity. In response, experienced investors and accelerators like Y Combinator are now urging a return to realistic growth strategies that prioritize operational efficiency and enduring business models over market timing.