Latest Interviews
Showing 316–330 of 3,244 interview transcripts.
Clear all filtersMax Levchin: “The Net IQ of the World Is About to Go Up 50 Points”
Max Levchin, a first-rate technologist and founder of the public lending platform Affirm, outlines a vision to disrupt predatory credit practices by offering transparent, fee-disclosed loans that aim to capture a significant portion of the U.S. e-commerce market. Leveraging his background in computer science and entrepreneurship, Levchin argues that the collapse of software engineering barriers due to LLMs will render hidden fine-print models obsolete while driving a shift toward "agentic commerce" and higher consumer verification. He emphasizes that Affirm's success relies on a high-performance culture aligned with a clear mission, projecting the company will originate nearly $48 billion in loans this year while treating the stock market as a long-term weighing machine rather than a short-term voting mechanism.
- The Economist6 min
Google DeepMind’s boss on AI, power, God and what’s next | The Economist
An AI researcher outlines a vision where artificial general intelligence serves as a fundamental scientific instrument to solve existential challenges like disease and energy crises, rather than a tool for corporate dominance or "making God." Despite a fragmented geopolitical landscape that hinders the preferred international cooperation model, the speaker advocates for cautious optimism and the establishment of minimum safety standards agreed upon by leading labs. This approach aims to ensure the safe delivery of AGI within roughly five years, fulfilling a lifelong mission that prioritizes global benefit over personal accolades.
- Milken Institute19 min
A Conversation with Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr | Global Conference 2025
FCC Chairman Brendan Carr has launched the agency's most significant deregulatory initiative in history, seeking to eliminate approximately 2,000 active dockets and establish a new Council on National Security to counter perceived Chinese infiltration risks. The administration prioritizes accelerating 5G and 6G deployment by restoring FCC auction authority to generate over $80 billion and transitioning federal spectrum to the commercial market, while simultaneously reviewing major mergers like Verizon-Frontier and T-Mobile U.S. Cellular. Carr further defended distinct regulatory obligations for broadcasters to support localism and dismissed conflicts regarding his Comcast background as the FCC moves to eliminate legacy copper retirement rules in favor of modern IP infrastructure.
- All-In Podcast1h 29m
Anthropic’s $30B Ramp, Mythos Doomsday, OpenClaw Ankled, Iran War Ceasefire, Israel's Influence
Brad Gerstner, Chamath, Jason, Friedberg, TheZachEffect, Zach
Anthropic halted the public release of its "Mythos" model after it autonomously identified thousands of critical vulnerabilities, prompting the launch of Project Glasswing, a coalition of forty major firms tasked with patching software flaws. This security breach triggered a heated debate among industry leaders regarding the genuine threat of AI-driven cyber warfare, the necessary government coordination to manage such risks, and the strategic pivot of Anthropic toward dominating the enterprise agent market. Amidst discussions of a temporary AI defense advantage and soaring revenue projections, experts also addressed broader geopolitical tensions and the evolving competitive landscape between frontier AI models.
- The Economist7 min
Has America frozen Israel out of ceasefire talks with Iran? | The Economist
Direct negotiations led by Donald Trump through Pakistan to resolve the Iran conflict face a stalemate because Iran insists on a Lebanon ceasefire and Israel refuses to participate or extend the truce to its northern front. While President Trump reportedly possesses the leverage to force Netanyahu to halt airstrikes, the Prime Minister persists due to domestic election pressures and the failure of the war to achieve its core strategic objectives. These unresolved tensions, compounded by internal U.S. administration dissent and the strategic threat in the Strait of Hormuz, have begun to fracture the previously unified operational alliance between the two nations.
- Goldman Sachs10 min
Big Tech Opportunity
Lee Coppersmith, Mike Washington
Following a two-week ceasefire that triggered a rapid 2.5–3% market rally, institutional investors are shifting from defensive shorting strategies to re-entering secular winners, particularly within the artificial intelligence theme. While broad index volatility has reset, significant dislocation remains in mega-cap tech, where low valuations and suppressed positioning mirror conditions seen during the March 2020 crash, creating a specific opportunity for call option exposure. With earnings reports serving as the upcoming catalyst, client sentiment is pivoting toward resilience and upside potential as geopolitical risks recede into the background.
- Goldman Sachs31 min
Reimagining Biopharma: Precision Medicine, Patients, and Purpose with Takeda CEO-Elect
Takeda's Board unanimously appointed Julie Kim as the incoming President and CEO, effective June 2026, to steer the $30 billion pharmaceutical giant through a strategic overhaul centered on AI-driven discovery and organic growth. During her incoming tenure, Kim plans to leverage the company's Japanese headquarters for geopolitical flexibility while navigating complex regulatory hurdles regarding Chinese clinical data and U.S. pricing structures. Her leadership strategy emphasizes "market innovation" to improve patient access and utilizes a "giving people an A" philosophy to accelerate talent development within the organization.
- Goldman Sachs27 min
Iran Ceasefire: What’s next for markets?
Tony Pasquariello, Joshua Schiffrin, Dominic Wilson, Josh
Markets have transitioned into a post-ceasefire phase where equity drawdowns were capped near 10% and earnings growth remains robust, despite oil prices shifting to a permanent $78–$80 level that creates a new inflation baseline. Central banks now face a dual mandate dilemma that likely forces policy stasis, while hedge funds outperformed traditional portfolios by capitalizing on AI-driven CapEx and commodity-exposed emerging markets. Strategic allocations favor maintaining downside hedges and holding core assets like the Nasdaq and U.S. dollar as geopolitical realignments in the Gulf States and U.S.-China relations drive continued volatility through year-end.
- Goldman Sachs22 min
Sir Sadiq Khan on London’s Global Edge—and What Comes Next
Sir Sadiq Khan, Kunal Shah, Sadiq Khan
London Mayor Sir Sadiq Khan emphasizes the capital's economic dominance by highlighting its £42 billion annual contribution to the UK Treasury while advocating for strategic devolution of powers to foster non-zero-sum regional growth. His administration aggressively targets five frontier sectors including AI and quantum computing, simultaneously deploying an inclusive talent strategy to prepare residents for rapid technological disruption. These economic initiatives are supported by tangible achievements in infrastructure, such as expanded safe cycling networks and five years of frozen transport fares, alongside historic improvements in air quality and public safety that have surpassed international peers.
- All-In Podcast1h 2m
Josh Shapiro on Trump, Iran War Chaos, Israel's Failure, the Economy, and 2028 Race
Josh Shapiro, Trump, Jason, Chamath, Friedberg
Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro combines a record of aggressive economic deregulation and tax cuts with a "zero tolerance" stance on fraud, resulting in the state's only growing Northeast economy and the lowest unemployment in thirty-two months. Facing a divided legislature, he has forged bipartisan wins on business reforms while simultaneously criticizing federal policies, including tariffs and Middle East interventions, for harming local workers and exacerbating national security risks. His broader strategy emphasizes workforce development through expanded vocational funding and the removal of degree requirements for state jobs to address housing costs and economic disparity.
- a16z58 min
Box CEO on the AI Adoption Gap | The a16z Show
Erik Torenberg, Steven Sinofsky, Martin Casado, Aaron Levie
Industry leaders predict that widespread enterprise AI adoption will lag behind Silicon Valley expectations due to deep domain complexities and a looming financial crisis where CFOs must allocate 14% to 30% of R&D revenue to volatile compute costs. As software architecture shifts toward agent interfaces that prioritize automated task execution over human interaction, a strategic divide is emerging between agile startups and risk-averse incumbents struggling to secure system integrity against autonomous integration. Consequently, the market is transitioning to granular usage-based models while preparing for a paradigm where agents act as primary selectors of software tools, forcing vendors to evolve beyond legacy interfaces to remain relevant.
- The Economist10 min
Why America and Iran are both claiming victory | The Economist
Amidst an imminent US-imposed deadline that remains vulnerable to postponement, the US, Israel, and Iran are engaged in parallel asymmetric conflicts where both sides claim strategic victory despite failing to secure their core objectives. While recent operations highlighted the destruction of US critical assets like E3 AWACS planes and significant damage to Gulf bases, simultaneous systemic strikes on Iran have severely degraded its military supply chains and economic output, driving inflation above 52% and threatening $7 billion in non-oil revenue. With forward-looking risks escalating toward potential attacks on Iran's power grid or retaliatory strikes against Gulf desalination facilities, the current trajectory favors prolonged escalation over any near-term diplomatic resolution or temporary truce.
- a16z1h 6m
Balaji Srinivasan on The Future of AI | The a16z Show
Balaji Srinivasan, Erik Torenberg
The speaker redefines human-AI collaboration by positioning humans as strategic leaders who direct specialized AI "actors," creating a trusted ecosystem where value shifts toward personalized, private instances and verification services. Parallel to this technological evolution, the discussion details a bifurcated future for digital currency in which Bitcoin serves as transparent institutional collateral while Zcash-powered tools like Zedal provide quantum-resistant privacy for individual transactions. Ultimately, the presentation argues that political constraints and resource scarcity will prevent centralized AI dominance, fostering a polytheistic landscape of decentralized models and democratized global entrepreneurship.
- Goldman Sachs16 min
Natural Gas in Focus: Iran Conflict Could Have ‘Very Painful’ Consequences
Ongoing attacks on Qatari LNG infrastructure have eliminated 20% of global supplies with a three-to-five-year recovery timeline, creating a critical inventory deficit that exceeds current alternative flows from China. Although prices have surged 50% to 70%, these levels remain insufficient to trigger widespread demand destruction in Asia, leaving markets vulnerable to severe winter spikes if the conflict prolongs. Experts warn that this uncertainty allows prices to creep upward without forcing the necessary industrial shutdowns, meaning a worst-case scenario could drive rates 100% higher to rebalance inventories before next winter.
How Applied Intuition Reached $15B (Without Spending $1B)
Qasar Younis, Peter Ludwig, Molly O'Shea
Over a decade after raising more than $1 billion in capital from investors like Marc Andreessen and Hemant Taneja while maintaining profitability through organic revenue, this company has pivoted from a low-profile "cult classic" to an active public strategy to recruit top-tier engineering talent. The firm transitioned in 2017 from software tooling to foundational physical AI, recently demonstrating its operational velocity by retrofitting autonomous systems onto military Humvees in just ten days and expanding into global sectors including defense and trucking. By leveraging a dense network of over 40 founder-type engineers and prioritizing long-term strategic partnerships over short-term financial metrics, the organization aims to dominate the slower-diffusion markets of physical robotics where stability and real-world judgment are critical.