Latest Interviews
Showing 1486–1500 of 3,059 transcripts.
Clear all filters- Goldman Sachs1h 4m
Dr. Michael Mina of the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health
Michael Mina, Salveen Richter, Terence Flynn, Solving Richter
Dr. Mina outlines the novel coronavirus as a highly transmissible pathogen with reduced virulence that threatens global pandemic spread through widespread asymptomatic transmission and unstable immunity patterns. Current U.S. diagnostics face critical supply chain bottlenecks that necessitate triage-based testing, while therapeutic strategies rely on supportive care and experimental antivirals like Remdesivir alongside accelerating vaccine development. The speaker predicts that aggressive social distancing can suppress transmission to protect healthcare capacity, though long-term management will likely require balancing economic needs with endemic cycles rather than aiming for total eradication.
- a16z45 min
How Gaming is Changing the Media Landscape
This event analyzes the transformative growth of the global games industry, which now surpasses traditional media in revenue and audience size by leveraging real-time 3D rendering and a shift toward "Games as a Service" business models. It details how major technology firms like Unity and Tencent are driving vertical integration in esports and expanding into non-gaming sectors such as automotive and architecture through photorealistic digital twins. The discussion further addresses critical technical challenges in cloud gaming latency and forecasts a future where AI, 5G, and cross-platform ecosystems create persistent virtual economies accessible to billions of users worldwide.
- Milken Institute21 min
Public Health Response to the Coronavirus
Dr. Christopher Morris of George Washington University assesses the early trajectory of the novel coronavirus outbreak, noting over 45,000 confirmed cases and 1,100 deaths while questioning the transparency of Chinese data reporting. He identifies two primary outcomes: the virus either becoming a severe seasonal pathogen or triggering a global pandemic, a scenario compounded by a lack of sustained funding for coronavirus research. Morris further highlights the WHO's enforcement delays and the urgent need for rapid diagnostic technologies, as vaccine development remains a minimum one-year process.
- Milken Institute23 min
Lunch Program | Part 1: A Conversation with Alex Azar, Secretary, US Department HHS
The HHS, led by Secretary Alex Azar, outlined a 2017 healthcare strategy prioritizing affordability, patient choice, and quality through three pillars: financing reform, value-based payments, and targeted interventions. Key initiatives include a 5% decline in opioid overdose deaths driven by the $400 million Healing Communities Initiative, a shift from center-based to home dialysis via the KidneyX program, and a Medicare risk-sharing pilot affecting one-quarter of beneficiaries. Despite noting progress in reducing ACA premiums and expanding plan availability, the administration maintains that systemic flaws persist, aiming to replace fee-for-service models with incentives focused on prevention and long-term outcomes for the entire US population.
- Milken Institute1h 0m
New Pathways to Neuroscience Breakthroughs
Rick Berke, Cara Altimus, Jeffrey Borenstein, Niranjan Bose, Johannes Streffer, Mike Belville, David Mongeau, Janet Knupp, Jing Lu, Ian Kramer, Anna McAllister
A panel of experts highlighted the critical gap in preventing and treating brain disorders despite projections that dementia cases will double over the next three decades. To address historical stagnation and corporate retreat, the discussion emphasized a strategic pivot toward diverse biological hypotheses, early biomarker detection, and philanthropic de-risking led by organizations like the Gates Foundation. This approach aims to overcome diagnostic delays and therapeutic failures by integrating real-world data, stem cell modeling, and patient-centric outcomes to accelerate the development of rapid-acting treatments.
- Milken Institute1h 1m
A Journey to the Cutting Edge of Bioscience: Cancer as a Case Study
Margaret Anderson, Greg Friberg, Douglas Lowy, Fouad Namouni, Ellen Sigal, Nikhil Wagle, Angie Wilson, Sebastian Hermelin
Advancing from a generalized approach to highly personalized medicine, oncology has achieved unprecedented five-year survival rates for metastatic melanoma and long-term remission in lung cancer through immunotherapy and combination strategies. Despite these clinical successes, the sector faces significant hurdles including low clinical trial enrollment in community settings, fragmented electronic health record data, and ethical barriers to information sharing. To overcome these obstacles, stakeholders are leveraging artificial intelligence, patient-centered initiatives like "Count Me In," and predictive modeling to integrate community biospecimens and accelerate the development of functional cures.
- Milken Institute35 min
MIc'd Up | Part 1: The Future of Education and Leadership
Deepak Chopra, Dave Asprey, VIKAS KHANNABISWAMY
Dr. Deepak Chopra outlines a transformative leadership framework defined by the LEADERS acronym, which redefines authority as a symbolic unification of collective dreams rather than bureaucratic power. He argues that true leadership requires a shift from ego-driven survival instincts to a state of flow, utilizing deep listening and emotional bonding to foster collective emergence. Furthermore, Chopra projects a future where AI and immersive VR technologies will revolutionize personalized health interventions and childhood development by bypassing traditional limitations to enhance intuition and creativity.
- Milken Institute33 min
The New Age of Consumerism
Dan Murphy, Mohammed Alshaya, Mike Novogratz, Mohamed Alshayer
Mohamed Alshayer outlines Alshaya Group's $5 billion investment strategy in Saudi Arabia, emphasizing a pivot toward experiential retail and health sectors to capitalize on Vision 2030's rapid liberalization and shifting consumer behaviors. Concurrently, Mike Novogratz argues that Bitcoin's value rests on its narrative as a digital store of value, predicting institutional adoption will drive its valuation toward $10 trillion. The dialogue highlights how both legacy retail giants and emerging digital assets must reinvent their trust-based social constructs to survive in a market prioritizing speed, ethics, and immediate gratification.
- a16z16 min
Gamers are Entering a New Era of Monetization
Addressing the severe economic barriers within the $150 billion global gaming industry, Forte is deploying blockchain infrastructure to democratize participation for the 2.4 billion existing gamers. This ecosystem facilitates true digital ownership, peer-to-peer asset trading, and creator monetization through smart contracts that secure royalties for developers. By transforming passive consumers into active entrepreneurs and service providers, the platform aims to bypass the elite-only models of traditional game development, esports, and streaming.
- Milken Institute39 min
A Conversation with Rajeev Misra
SoftBank's Vision Fund and Vision Fund 2 manage a diversified global portfolio of 88 investments, with recent strategic pivots toward Life Sciences and Financial Services utilizing AI to reduce healthcare costs and disrupt regulated lending. The firm distinguishes its value proposition through mid-stage capital, extensive ecosystem synergies like cross-selling between Grab and Ping, and operational support derived from SoftBank Mobile, which drove a portfolio valuation surge from $240 billion to approximately $300 billion. As the funds mature, the team has shifted focus to 75% portfolio management, celebrating eight IPOs and major exits including Uber and Flipkart while preparing for the economic impact of 5G adoption via the Sprint-Deutsche Telekom merger.
- Y Combinator56 min
YC SUS: Eric Migicovsky & Dalton Caldwell discuss pivoting & pitching
Eric Migicovsky, Dalton Caldwell, Eric Majerjkowski, Rick Viscomi
This discussion outlines critical strategies for startup founders, emphasizing that pivots should be driven by a complete lack of traction and validated through concrete customer payments rather than theoretical debates. It further details how to effectively apply to Y Combinator by prioritizing clarity, avoid common pitfalls like over-relying on patents, and ensure sustainable unit economics by focusing on retention and revenue. Ultimately, the guidance stresses that success relies on building genuine product-market fit and maintaining financial flexibility to adapt quickly to external shocks.
- a16z16 min
The 5 Revolutions in Cancer Treatment
Jonathan Lim, Patrick, Jimmy Carter
Drawing on personal loss and a career launching seven approved oncology products, the speaker argues that eradicating cancer requires integrating five distinct revolutions: surgery and radiation, genomically targeted therapy, immunotherapy, the targeting of extra-chromosomal DNA, and metabolic interventions. While highlighting breakthroughs such as the recovery of metastatic patients via drugs like Entrectinib and Keytruda, the presentation emphasizes that current single-modality approaches fail to address the complexity of advanced disease or the role of factors like ecDNA and nutrition. Ultimately, the event advocates for a personalized, multimodal strategy that combines these scientific advances to improve long-term survival rates beyond the current limits of one-third of patients.
- Goldman Sachs19 min
Theresia Gouw, Founding Partner of Acrew Capital
A Crew Capital leverages its unique multi-generational partnership to navigate a venture capital landscape marked by a sharp decline in mega-deals and a resurgence in early-stage Series A activity. The firm differentiates itself by exclusively targeting software subsectors like cybersecurity, fintech, and consumer internet, utilizing a diverse investment team that secures 40–45% of backed founders with female co-founders. By compressing deal timelines while mitigating overcapitalization risks, A Crew focuses on "white space" opportunities to identify high-potential companies before they enter the public eye.
- a16z18 min
The Future Will Be Genetically Engineered
Asimov, a Cambridge-based company founded by Alec, is redefining biotechnology by merging software engineering with biology to create living systems that function as advanced molecular nanotechnology. Building on a history of genetic milestones ranging from insulin production to CRISPR-like therapies, the firm utilizes machine learning and computer-aided design to develop next-generation therapeutics, such as personalized cancer vaccines, and future applications including sustainable manufacturing and space exploration. This shift from manual genetic manipulation to computational genome design aims to overcome biological complexity, positioning engineered biology as a ubiquitous infrastructure comparable to integrated circuits.
- Goldman Sachs27 min
Andy Jassy, Chief Executive Officer of Amazon Web Services
AWS reported over $45 billion in annual revenue, contributing more than half of Amazon's total profits while serving millions of enterprise and government customers across diverse sectors. The division drives innovation by prioritizing autonomous "builder" roles and offering a three-tiered AI stack that democratizes machine learning access for organizations facing talent shortages. Additionally, AWS emphasizes converting capital expenditure to variable costs to accelerate business agility, while maintaining industry-leading security standards and committing to net-zero carbon emissions by 2040.