Latest Interviews

How To Build The Future: Sam Altman

Sam Altman, Garry Tan

Sam Altman characterizes the current era as the optimal time for launching technology companies, projecting that Artificial Superintelligence could emerge within a decade if deep learning progress continues to compound. He outlines a five-level roadmap where AI evolves from basic chatbots to autonomous organizational managers, emphasizing that energy abundance and rapid iteration are the critical inputs for unlocking material prosperity. While acknowledging past strategic pivots and leadership turbulence at OpenAI, Altman maintains that speed and conviction allow startups to outmaneuver established corporations in achieving AGI.

Look at who’s talking: divining Trump’s Middle East plans

Trump, Rosie Bloor, Jason Palmer, Greg Karlstrom, Andy Laidlaw, Tom Sass, Anne Lowe

Donald Trump's anticipated second term presents a complex Middle East dynamic where Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu seeks relief from diplomatic pressure while Iranian leaders brace for potential nuclear sanctions and a return to "maximum pressure" tactics driven by a fractured advisory circle. Concurrently, Western European nations face a severe prison overcrowding crisis, prompting British officials to reject the long-standing "prison works" ideology in favor of decarceration models proven effective in the Netherlands and select US states. The era is further marked by the passing of Quincy Jones at 91, whose career broke racial barriers in music and film while producing historic works like *Thriller* and the charity single "We Are The World."

America's New Consumer: CPG, Sports, Four-Wall | Jason Fiedler, Left Lane Capital

Jason Fiedler, Molly O'Shea

Left Lane Capital has pivoted its strategy to target high-growth physical and consumer brands in stagnant markets, leveraging a disciplined, data-driven framework inspired by SaaS metrics to evaluate opportunities in sectors ranging from beverage to sports. With assets exceeding $2 billion and a portfolio including leaders like Olipop and League One Volleyball, the firm actively sources minority stakes in Series A companies by combining aggressive outbound networking with rigorous unit economics analysis. Managing partners like Jason Fiedler prioritize businesses with strong defensibility and repeat purchase potential, aiming to capture value as legacy incumbents fail to adapt to shifting consumer preferences for healthier and more efficient solutions.

What Trump’s win means for markets and portfolios

Trump, Christian Mueller-Glissmann, Brian Garrett, Alison Nathan

Following Donald Trump's presidential victory, U.S. stocks, bond yields, and the dollar surged sharply as clients rapidly shifted from underweight to long positions in banks, technology, and energy sectors. Goldman Sachs analysts project a potential S&P 500 rally to 6,100 by mirroring 2016 post-election patterns, while noting that European equities and renewable energy stocks face immediate pressure from tariff fears and policy changes. Although the VIX dropped to historic lows due to suppressed hedging, the firm maintains an equity-overweight strategy with a neutral duration outlook, warning that sustained yield spikes or reflation frustration could eventually trigger market indigestion.

Do the after math: how Trump won

Trump, Jason Palmer, Dan Rosenheck, Slavia, Vishnu Padmanabhan

Kamala Harris conceded the 2024 election as Republicans secured a trifecta amid a broad repudiation of the Biden administration, while polling errors and a significant Latino voter realignment cemented Donald Trump's victory. Concurrently, experts are redefining ADHD as a spectrum of executive function rather than a binary disorder, urging a shift toward environmental accommodations and neurodiversity models over traditional medicalization. Meanwhile, India's religious sector is undergoing a massive digital transformation with fundraising surging to $51 million, driven by a cultural embrace of faith-tech and a projected religious market value exceeding $60 billion.

The Investing & Crypto Expert: "We Only Have 6 Years Until Everything Changes!" - Raoul Pal

Raoul Pal

Raoul Pal warns that rapid currency debasement and stagnant real wages are eroding traditional wealth vehicles like real estate and savings, necessitating a shift toward digital scarcity assets to preserve purchasing power. He advocates for a "building season" strategy focused on deep specialization in high-value skills, with capital allocated primarily to Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana to capitalize on the projected transition from centralized banking to a decentralized financial system. This approach aims to secure generational freedom by aligning investment horizons with long-term macroeconomic cycles while avoiding leverage and prioritizing self-custody of assets.

The Winter 2025 application deadline is in less than a week! Apply at ycombinator.com/apply.

Y Combinator is accepting applications for its Winter 2025 batch by November 12th as it transitions to a four-batch annual schedule to capitalize on a unique twenty-year cycle of technological advancement. The program specifically targets early-stage technical teams with co-founders, emphasizing that hesitation is unnecessary given the organization's history of radically altering founders' trajectories even when applications began on a whim. By encouraging ambitious applicants to submit proposals immediately, YC asserts that the selection process offers a risk-free opportunity to fundamentally reshape the future course of their ventures.

Don of a new age: Trump’s decisive win

Trump, Jason, John Prudhoe, Charlotte Howard, Idris Kalloun, Tamara Gilkes-Boer, Adam O'Neill, Aaron Braun

Donald Trump is projected to secure the presidency and a unified Republican trifecta, becoming the only president since Grover Cleveland to win non-consecutive terms while defeating Kamala Harris across key swing states. The campaign's "base-first" strategy drove significant gains among working-class and cross-racial demographics, allowing Trump to potentially appoint new Supreme Court justices and pursue an unchecked legislative agenda. Conversely, the Democratic Party faces intense internal scrutiny over its nomination process and policy failures as Republicans prepare to leverage their control of Congress and the judiciary for a second term.

Marc & Ben on AI Policy, Safety, Censorship & Unexpected Risks

Marc Andreessen, Ben Horowitz, Satya Nadella, Brad Smith, Andy Ayrey, Nick Bostrum

Amidst the upcoming US presidential election, experts are urging policymakers to pivot from speculative existential risks to concrete threats like election-disrupting deepfakes and ideological capture within AI safety teams. The discussion highlights a strategic divergence between China's centralized state control and the United States' decentralized market innovation, arguing that regulation should criminalize specific harms while preserving the open internet required for technological superiority. By rejecting the precautionary principle for non-existent scenarios, speakers advocate for a policy framework that uses digital signatures to verify content authenticity without stifling the competitive engine driving American economic and military dominance.

Vote! Our election-day special

Jason Palmer, Idris Kahloun, Aaron Braun

The 2024 U.S. presidential election will likely hinge on a razor-thin margin across seven swing states, with Pennsylvania serving as the critical tipping point for either Kamala Harris or Donald Trump to reach the 270 electoral votes required for victory. While economic concerns drive voter sentiment, the outcome faces significant uncertainty due to heightened security threats, potential legal challenges, and a potentially split Congress where control of the House remains volatile. International allies are closely monitoring the result, as the winner's approach to trade, NATO commitments, and geopolitical stability will determine the trajectory of global affairs in the coming years.

How Clearlake Capital’s José E. Feliciano is finding value across private markets

José E. Feliciano, Michael Brandmeier

ClearLake Capital co-founders Jose Feliciano and Big Dog Ibali leverage an $80 billion asset base to execute distressed investments, restructuring, and sector-specific buyouts with a primary focus on technology and industrials. Their strategy targets a "15-year supply" of undervalued tech companies for transformation through their proprietary OPS operational framework, which integrates AI integration and business model pivots to drive recurring revenue and efficiency. Beyond financial returns, the firm actively deploys over $200 million to support underrepresented minority leaders and applies rigorous operational standards to unique assets like Chelsea FC to diversify revenue streams.

Last-ditch pitch: America’s campaigns conclude

Rosie Bloor, Jason Palmer, Daniel Franklin, Piotr Zalewski, Anne Hanna, Zoe Bulsara

The 2024 U.S. presidential election remains a virtual tie in key swing states, characterized by intense rhetorical conflicts between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris that have intensified concerns regarding election integrity and democratic stability. Simultaneously, the Organization of Turkic States has evolved from a diplomatic forum into a strategic economic bloc of 89 nations, utilizing a shared alphabet and the Middle Corridor trade route to diversify away from Russian influence. In the UK, remote work trends have driven a 33% surge in canal boat residency as a housing solution, though this demographic shift faces mounting infrastructure risks due to insufficient government funding and rising maintenance costs.

Global Health: Connectiveness for Better Outcomes | Asia Summit 2024

Esther Krofah, Mina Hamoodi, Ganen Sarvananthan, Tom Snow

Tom Snow's Snow Research Foundation, Lina Al Jaber's Mubadala, and Ganon Savaranthan's TPG Capital Asia outlined distinct strategies to accelerate healthcare innovation across the region through a combined focus on early-stage equity funding, sovereign wealth market expansion, and value-based service delivery. These leaders emphasized a shift from traditional grant models toward partnership-driven approaches that leverage local expertise to address Asia's unique demographic challenges, including rapid aging and the need for scalable clinical trials. By integrating advanced technologies like AI and electronic medical records with targeted investments in immunology, women's health, and infrastructure, the panelists aim to bridge the critical gap between academic discovery and commercial bedside application within one to two years.

Can Psychedelics Improve Mental Health? With C. Angermayer & Uma Thurman | Global Conference 2021

C. Angermayer, Uma Thurman, Christian Angermayer, Robert Mancini

German biotech investor Christian Angermeyer founded Atai Life Sciences to develop psychedelic therapeutics capable of treating over one billion people suffering from mental health conditions that current standard medications often fail to address. By targeting the brain's Default Mode Network to induce neuroplasticity, Angermeyer's pipeline includes non-addictive compounds like psilocybin and MDMA intended to be administered under strict medical supervision rather than for recreational use. The strategic goal is to reclassify these substances through rigorous FDA protocols to resolve widespread anxiety, addiction, and trauma while eventually fostering broader societal reconciliation as medical efficacy becomes undeniable.

Inflated GDP?, Google earnings, How the media lost trust, Rogan/Trump search controversy, Election!

Rogan, Trump, Jason, Chamath Palihapitiya, David Sacks

The All In Holiday Spectacular is a $1 million non-profit event hosted by podcasters David Sacks, Jason Calacanis, and Cameron Freiber at San Francisco's Palace of Fine Arts, featuring VIP bundles purchased by Sacks's firm Athena. The gathering coincides with a comprehensive analysis of Q3 US GDP growth, Google's record-breaking earnings, and the shifting media landscape that favored Donald Trump's long-form podcasting strategy over traditional broadcast formats. Attendees and hosts also debated critical macroeconomic risks, including rising commercial real estate refinancing costs, the sustainability of federal debt, and the systemic implications of algorithmic bias on voter trust.