Latest Interviews
Showing 841–855 of 6,397 interview transcripts.
Clear all filters- The Economist9 min
What would be the point of an American strike on Iran? | The Economist
Edward Carr, Ed, Shashank, Greg
Two US aircraft carrier strike groups and over 100 fighter jets, including F-22s landed in Israel, have assembled in the Gulf and Mediterranean to execute high-intensity strikes without establishing a large-scale ground presence in Saudi Arabia or the UAE. Analysts warn that the undefined strategic aim—ranging from punitive punishment to coercive diplomacy or regime change—fundamentally determines the conflict's duration and feasibility. Negotiations remain deadlocked over specific nuclear constraints, as Washington seeks a permanent agreement eliminating sunset clauses while Iran resists total uranium enrichment restrictions.
- Y Combinator20 min
The Powerful Alternative To Fine-Tuning
Ian Fischer, Mark Mandelbaum, Francesc Campoy Flores, Mark Mandelmann, Jr.
Poetic, led by co-CEO Ian Fisher, deploys a recursive Meta-System that autonomously optimizes foundation models to outperform them on benchmarks like Arc AGI v2 and the Humanity's Last Exam at a fraction of the cost. This stealth-stage platform functions as a cost-effective "stilts" for startups, achieving 9 percentage point gains over competing models while utilizing a lean team of seven scientists rather than massive training budgets. The company now invites early access from ventures seeking to integrate these self-improving reasoning strategies into their specific verticals.
- Goldman Sachs10 min
A New Way to Trade Emerging Markets
Stratford Dennis, Chris Hussey
Global emerging market equities have surged 15% year-to-date on $45 billion in inflows, driven by strong earnings fundamentals and a weaker US dollar that specifically benefits non-China regions like Korea and Brazil. While broad markets rally, China lags due to a lack of earnings growth and tariff headwinds, prompting investors to shift capital toward Latin American assets and structural plays like call spreads to manage valuation risks. Goldman Sachs maintains a bullish stance on this "EM ex-China" exposure, citing anticipated Brazilian interest rate cuts and election cycles as key catalysts for continued, albeit slower, appreciation.
Revel: The $1B Startup Rewriting Hardware Control
Scott Morton, Dylan Field, Molly O'Shea
Founded by former SpaceX engineer Scott Morton, Revel is a platform that replaces obsolete legacy control software with modern tools to accelerate hardware testing frequency by up to tenfold. The 15-month-old company recently closed a $150 million Series A led by Index Ventures and Redpoint, achieving a billion-dollar valuation after securing high-conversion pilots with clients like Impulse and Astromechanica. Revel aims to democratize hardware engineering by enabling generalists to manage critical systems in aerospace and energy sectors while expanding into wastewater infrastructure and major industrial partnerships.
Citrini Research Breakdown: Agents, "Ghost GDP", Consumer Spend | Figma Earnings Beat
Jason Lemkin, Rory O'Driscoll, Harry Stebbings
Anthropic's recent security release triggered a $20 billion market correction in cybersecurity stocks like CrowdStrike and Cloudflare, a move the speaker argues reflects overreaction rather than the immediate obsolescence of existing endpoint protections. While AI agents threaten to erode value from traditional SaaS incumbents such as Figma and Atlassian, the speaker contends that widespread enterprise adoption will likely diffuse through existing vendors rather than causing an immediate terminal decline for the sector. Broader macroeconomic trends include a potential "Ghost GDP" phenomenon where productivity gains concentrate wealth, yet historical precedents suggest these shifts will ultimately drive long-term economic growth alongside a prolonged period of labor market restructuring.
- Sequoia Capital49 min
Ben Horowitz On What Makes a Great Founder
The discussion outlines that top-tier technology companies rely on aggressive honesty, rapid problem disclosure, and a tolerance for high-performing but abrasive talent to maintain culture and scale effectively. It emphasizes that successful founders must possess first-principles thinking and raw intelligence while avoiding the structural pitfalls of early-stage COO appointments or decision debt caused by excessive deference. Specific case studies of HubSpot and Okta illustrate the critical importance of rigorous sales leadership vetting and the strategic necessity of hiring experienced executives to manage complex enterprise functions without diluting founder vision.
- The Diary Of A CEO1h 36m
They're Lying About 'Healthy' Foods & Sugar! Shocking New Research That's Harming You
Jessie Insha explains how maternal nutrition actively programs fetal development through epigenetic mechanisms, emphasizing that deficiencies in choline and protein alongside high fructose and glucose intake can permanently alter a baby's brain structure and disease susceptibility. She outlines specific, evidence-based interventions such as consuming four eggs daily, prioritizing fiber-rich vegetables before carbohydrates, and utilizing immediate post-meal movement to mitigate glucose spikes that threaten metabolic and neurological health. The discussion also addresses the emotional and systemic challenges of pregnancy, calling for stricter food labeling regulations and increased medical education to empower mothers to become active architects of their children's biological blueprints.
- The Economist6 min
How “El Mencho’s” death could reshape Mexico’s largest cartel | The Economist
El Mencho, Sarah Birke, Jason Palmer
Following the capture and death of Jalisco New Generation Cartel leader Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, known as El Mencho, immediate widespread violence erupted across 15 to 20 Mexican states before subsiding by Tuesday. This high-stakes operation, driven by diplomatic pressure from the United States and a strategic shift in Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum's security agenda, demonstrates advanced tactical capabilities while exposing the cartel's military-grade assets. Despite the short-term stabilization, experts warn that removing such a dominant figure often triggers long-term fragmentation and internecine conflict, posing a significant threat to the upcoming World Cup co-hosted in Guadalajara.
Inside Opendoor HQ on Earnings Day (Office Tour + Live Stream)
Kaz Nejatian, Michael Judd, Molly O'Shea
Opendoor is reshaping its corporate identity under CEO Kaz Nejatian and former CEO Keith Raziani by adopting a militant "Open Army" culture and pioneering live, digital-first investor relations on platforms like Robinhood. This strategic pivot accompanies a technical overhaul where leadership prioritizes core stability over cosmetic improvements, resulting in a ten-week mortgage product launch and a hybrid design system strategy. By expanding from simple transactions into a comprehensive home-moving ecosystem, the company aims to empower average Americans through high transparency and merchant services that mimic Shopify's model.
- The Economist8 min
Why does Elon Musk want to put data centres in space? | The Economist
Elon Musk, Tom Standage, Alex Hern
Elon Musk has merged XAI into SpaceX and filed an FCC application to deploy one million satellites, aiming to establish orbital data centers powered by sun-synchronous orbits to achieve terawatt-scale annual capacity. While Musk targets lunar manufacturing and mass drivers to lower launch costs, OpenAI's Sam Altman and industry analysts currently dismiss the concept as technically infeasible due to prohibitive expenses and unrepairable hardware failure rates. Despite this skepticism, competitors including StarCloud, Google, Jeff Bezos, and Eric Schmidt are advancing their own pilot projects or securing launch capacity to test the viability of space-based computing.
- 80,000 Hours2h 40m
AI Labs Are Making AIs 'Good'. They Should Do the Exact Opposite.
Max Harms, Eliezer Yudkowsky, Nate Soares, Dominic Armstrong, Milo McGuire, Luke Monsour, Simon Monsour, Katy Moore
Max Harms argues that Artificial Superintelligence poses an existential threat through risks like instrumental convergence and orthogonal values, which necessitate a shift from standard alignment to Corrigibility as a Singular Target (CAST). He proposes training AI systems to prioritize being modified or shut down by humans, while cautioning that this approach carries inherent dangers and requires empirical research distinct from current "Helpful, Harmless, Honest" benchmarks. Harms illustrates these abstract risks and the urgency of global safety coordination through his "rationalist fiction" novels, *Red Heart* and *Crystal Society*, which dramatize the catastrophic consequences of misaligned AI development.
- Goldman Sachs32 min
Board Governance in 2026: AI Oversight, Activism, and Delaware’s Edge
Larry Cunningham, John F.W. Rogers
The University of Delaware's John L. Weinberg Center for Corporate Governance marked its 25th anniversary by unveiling the book *Boardroom Legacy*, which contextualizes John L. Weinberg's 1948 thesis on board stewardship through contributions from fifteen scholars and support from Goldman Sachs. Symposium speakers highlighted Weinberg's prescient advocacy for independent audit committees and CEO oversight while discussing modern governance challenges, including SEC Chair Paul Atkins' intent to reform shareholder proposal processes and the persistent market dominance of Delaware's legal infrastructure. Additionally, the event explored Warren Buffett's enduring influence on corporate succession planning and capital allocation strategies, cementing the center's role as a hub for bridging historical governance principles with contemporary regulatory and strategic realities.
Inside Opendoor: The $2.8B Bet with CEO Kaz Nejatian
Kaz Nejatian, Molly O'Shea, Tobi Lütke, Keith Rabois, Max Weber
CEO Kaz has fundamentally restructured OpenDoor by slashing external spending, enforcing a return to in-office work, and automating property assessments with AI to shift the company from a legacy real estate model to a high-efficiency technical entity. Operating with a $1 annual salary and an intensely hands-on board, Kaz is prioritizing long-term execution over short-term stock performance while replacing standard management with Y Combinator founders to instill a rigorous "founder mentality." This aggressive turnaround aims to stabilize the balance sheet and revolutionize the broken housing market, accepting significant short-term attrition to build a sustainable, high-alpha business.
- Goldman Sachs20 min
Why Japanese Stocks Could Keep Rallying
Driven by Prime Minister Senei Takeuchi's snap election victory, Japanese equities have surged 14% year-to-date in 2026, outperforming US benchmarks and triggering a Goldman Sachs price target increase based on anticipated political stability. This supermajority is expected to facilitate long-term policy continuity, attracting foreign capital as investors anticipate concrete corporate governance reforms and accelerated ROE growth to sustain the current market cycle. While risks such as leadership transitions or policy missteps remain, the landslide win signals a transition into a "delivery phase" where structural economic security and defense clarity ahead of the March 19 summit will likely drive further valuation expansion.
- The Economist9 min
Why AI won’t wipe out white-collar jobs | The Economist
Contrary to prevailing fears of job eradication, data from the last three years demonstrates that white-collar employment has risen by three million jobs, with high-AI overlap roles like radiologists and paralegals seeing significant growth alongside the decline of routine administrative positions. While historical precedents suggest technology reshapes work rather than eliminating it, the report highlights critical vulnerabilities for entry-level interns and the urgent need for transition support as AI capabilities continue to double in speed every seven months. Ultimately, the trajectory points toward a "cyborg" model of human-AI collaboration where office-based roles expand and wages remain premium, provided workers can adapt to evolving coordination tasks.