Latest Interviews
Showing 1–15 of 2,590 transcripts.
Clear all filters- The Economist7 min
Why China and America see AI differently | The Economist
While over 80% of the Chinese public maintains an optimistic view of AI driven by decades of technological progress, significant structural anxieties persist among tech workers facing age discrimination and mass layoffs. In response, authorities have launched a five-year monitoring strategy utilizing real-time data on power usage and payment flows to detect early signs of workforce disruption and preemptively stabilize the labor market. Despite these proactive government interventions aimed at balancing innovation with social stability, experts remain skeptical about whether retraining programs can match the rapid scale of AI-driven economic shifts without triggering explosive instability.
- a16z24 min
AI Is Learning to Hack. Faster Than We Expected.
Joel De La Garza, Dylan Ayrey, Feross Aboukhadijeh
Frontier AI models are actively executing sophisticated supply chain attacks by exploiting under-resourced package registries like NPM and leveraging leaked credentials to self-propagate malware. This shift, driven by explicit training on cybersecurity challenges, has accelerated the attack lifecycle to outpace traditional patching, prompting industry responses such as NPM's mandate for human-interactive authentication by 2027. Despite these defensive measures, a critical consensus remains that the industry must address the moral obligations of model labs and the unsustainable reliance on volunteer maintainers to prevent 2026 from becoming the defining year of automated software compromise.
- Goldman Sachs1 min
GoldenTree’s Steven Tananbaum on why disruption moves at different rates
The transition from the dot-com boom of 1999 to the 2000 downturn reveals a pattern where new technological waves generate immediate market uncertainty while delaying full industry disruption for years. This historical trajectory, which took four to five years to impact newspapers and fifteen years to significantly affect television, currently mirrors the evolving instability in the AI sector. Such comparisons highlight how sectors like advertising and cable operators may withstand initial innovation shocks before eventually facing materialized disruptive forces.
- Goldman Sachs1 min
GoldenTree’s Steven Tananbaum on the importance of entry price in distressed investing
In a shrinking market rife with insolvencies, an acquiring firm purchased a directory business generating $800 million in profit at an average entry price of 1.5 times enterprise value, securing high-20s returns through a strategy targeting management teams prioritizing capital return over reinvention. The buyer explicitly rejected a Canadian management team's plea to fund costly reinvention to prevent liquidation, instead executing a transaction designed to stabilize the asset without the proposed reinvestment. This approach allowed the firm to capitalize on a competitive sector while avoiding the liquidation scenarios that had plagued similar entities in the industry.
- Goldman Sachs1 min
GoldenTree’s Steven Tananbaum on the opportunity in TIPS
Yields on 30-year Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities currently hover near 3%, presenting a historically rare entry point compared to the low 2% range seen since 2000. This valuation offers a probability-adjusted upside of roughly 18% against a limited downside of 4%, positioning TIPS as a superior alternative to real equity returns that have historically averaged mid-4%. The market outlook suggests that upcoming policy tightening will likely be moderate, further reinforcing the view that current risk-free, inflation-adjusted returns represent a uniquely favorable environment.
- Goldman Sachs32 min
Steven Tananbaum: The Evolution of Credit Investing and AI Opportunities
Steven Tananbaum, John Waldron, Steve Tenenbaum
GoldenTree Asset Management founder Steve Tenenbaum outlines current credit market risks driven by AI adoption, noting widened spreads for entities like SpaceX alongside his firm's evolution from post-2008 distress turnaround strategies to targeted 3.0 platform acquisitions. He details the firm's disciplined investment process, which prioritizes specific catalysts and strict asset coverage ratios to navigate complex environments like the 2020 oil services and European bank sectors where the firm generated billions in returns. Looking forward, Tenenbaum identifies dispersion caused by AI disruption as a key driver for new opportunities in private credit, software, and 30-year TIPS while emphasizing the necessity of rigorous process discipline over complex narratives.
- a16z46 min
How Open Source Became AI's Backbone | Inferact with a16z
Elena Burger, Matt Bornstein, Simon Mo
VLLM serves as a critical inference engine for over half a million GPUs, bridging the gap between research and production by collaborating with hardware vendors and model labs to ensure day-zero compatibility for over 1,000 architectures. The platform addresses the industry's shift toward open-weight models by providing granular control over performance tiers, data retention, and guardrails that proprietary APIs often restrict. Looking forward, VLLM advocates for an ecosystem where open and frontier models become indistinguishable in capability, with infrastructure innovation focusing on optimization speed and algorithmic efficiency rather than mere data sourcing.
- The Economist6 min
Who’s really running Iran? | The Economist
David Rennie, Dr Sanam Vakil, Sir Simon Gass
Following a decapitation campaign by U.S. and Israeli forces that eliminated Iran's supreme leader and three layers of military command, the regime is navigating an existential survival war under the succession of the ailing Mojtaba Khamenei. Despite the loss of key figures like Ali Larijani, a consensus-based vote by 12 of 13 Supreme National Security Council members in June confirmed a unified commitment to signing a new MOU driven by rational forward defense rather than irrational hatred. Although the IRGC currently holds increased influence, the system faces critical uncertainty regarding Mojtaba's ability to replicate his predecessor's patronage network while managing severe health issues and a shifting political balance.
- Goldman Sachs23 min
Demond Martin on Purpose, Community, and Giving What You Have
Damon Martin, co-founder of the inclusive capitalism venture Well With All, launched the company to address health disparities after a personal crisis revealed how lack of resources could have led to tragedy for his younger self. Drawing on his 21-year investment career and deep mentorship under Erskine Bowles, Martin now argues that "friends of the good" form the essential foundation for overcoming the epidemic of loneliness described in his new book. He advocates for rejecting the "self-made" myth in favor of building vulnerable, value-driven communities to drive both personal success and societal healing.
- Goldman Sachs1 min
Goldman Sachs’ Zach Ablon on the credit risks to watch in the AI buildout
Analysts project that a slowdown in AI capital expenditure could trigger a credit rally and tighten spreads even as hyperscalers face equity market volatility. Current data indicates severe market stress, evidenced by new deal concessions widening from 2 to 3 basis points to 20 basis points following large hyperscaler issuances. Future hyperscaler offerings will serve as a critical barometer to determine whether the market can digest the sector's valuation or if asymmetric risks will emerge.
- Y Combinator36 min
The Case For Data Centers In Space
Philip Johnston, Mark Mandelmann
Founded by Philip Johnston in 2024 and backed by a $170 million Series A from Benchmark, StarCloud has emerged as YC's fastest-growing unicorn by pioneering orbital data centers to bypass terrestrial energy constraints. The company successfully launched its first satellite in November 2025, deploying custom-modified GPU hardware and thermal management systems to run AI models like Gemini while utilizing automotive-grade components to mitigate radiation risks. With plans to scale to 88,000 satellites by 2028 and deploy high-bandwidth compute for government and hyperscale customers, StarCloud aims to eventually generate terawatts of processing capacity through partnerships with SpaceX and NVIDIA.
- a16z10 min
The Ocean Company - Ulysses | a16z American Dynamism
Will O'Brien, Akhil Voorakkara, Jamie Wedderburn
Ulysses has pivoted from a demand-constrained startup to a supply-limited entity capitalizing on the global E-AI super cycle to build a 24/7 autonomous robot network comparable to satellite constellations. The company leverages its modular vehicle architecture and in-house manufacturing to deliver cost-effective solutions for critical sectors including offshore restoration, defense mine countermeasures, and undersea infrastructure security. With a strategic vision to dominate the ocean domain within 15 years, Ulysses directly addresses the inadequacy of traditional military investments by deploying asymmetric, autonomous systems against threats ranging from naval mines to cable sabotage.
- a16z13 min
The Nuclear Renaissance - Radiant | a16z American Dynamism
Tori Shivanandan, Doug Bernauer
Radiant Energy is developing the transportable Kaleidos micro-reactor, a modular nuclear power unit designed to replace aging infrastructure and support applications ranging from AI data centers to deep space exploration. Founded by former SpaceX engineer Doug Kim, the company leverages a factory-built assembly line model to deliver plug-and-play energy modules with a five-year fuel cycle, aiming to conduct its first full-power test at Idaho National Laboratory's Dome by 2026. This initiative seeks to restore U.S. energy independence and accelerate nuclear innovation by overcoming historical regulatory stagnation through a commitment to aggressive safety testing and mass production.
- Sequoia Capital47 min
Chai Discovery's Bitter Lesson: Drug Design Is Another Scaling Problem
Josh Meier, Matt McPartlon, Pat Grady, Sonali Singh
Chai Discovery is industrializing drug discovery by deploying a simplified, AI-driven infrastructure that replaces traditional trial-and-error with scalable molecule design, partnering with major pharmaceutical firms like Eli Lilly and Pfizer rather than managing a full internal pipeline. The company's second-generation model has achieved a 15% binding success rate through diffusion-based generation and a continuous feedback loop from wet-lab experiments, effectively targeting historically undruggable biological structures. By shifting the industry toward computational "last in class" solutions, Chai aims to accelerate development timelines from months to days while ensuring extreme safety and manufacturability at the molecular generation stage.
- Bank of America21 min
Understanding Today's Consumer: Holly O'Neill Interviews Sarah Tam of Rent the Runway
Bank of America President Holly O'Neill and Rent the Runway Chief Merchant Officer Sarah Tam convened to discuss building resilient, customer-first businesses by shifting from traditional ownership models to subscription-based access. Tam detailed how the company leverages real-time data and millions of customer signals to personalize the fashion experience and drive sustainability, while the partnership introduces exclusive rewards discounts for Rent the Runway members. The collaboration highlights a broader market evolution where leaders must transition from selling products to serving consumer needs for credibility, variety, and emotional connection.