Latest Interviews
Showing 346–360 of 3,131 interview transcripts.
- a16z54 min
Palantir CTO on The SaaS Apocalypse & Preventing The Next World War | a16z
Shyam Sankar, Katherine Boyle, Erik Torenberg
The speaker, now serving as a senior advisor to the U.S. Army alongside executives from OpenAI and Meta, argues that national security requires a return to FDR-style industrial mobilization to counter the post-Cold War consolidation that has left the defense sector vulnerable to internal cultural decay. By contrasting the historical success of "heretical" innovators like Hyman Rickover with today's financialized monopsony, the presentation advocates for direct government commissions of private-sector talent and a cultural shift toward optimistic storytelling to rebuild American competitive advantage against China. This reform strategy emphasizes co-locating R&D with production and leveraging AI for hardware and infrastructure rather than standardized software to prevent economic "suicide" and restore strategic deterrence.
How Reddit Went From $12M to $2.2B + Cracked Social Media Monetization
Steve Huffman, Molly O'Shea, Rich Barton
In March 2024, Reddit successfully completed its IPO at $34 per share, leveraging a record-breaking Directed Share Program to achieve immediate GAAP profitability despite an initial valuation lower than previous private rounds. CEO Steve Huffman and executive leadership have driven a 69% year-over-year revenue increase to $2.2 billion by capitalizing on the platform's unique "human-first" ad model and its role as a primary data source for AI training. The company's strategy prioritizes community authenticity over algorithmic engagement, a philosophy credited with sustaining 60% growth for five consecutive quarters while navigating challenges from the API controversy and the integration of generative AI tools.
- Goldman Sachs10 min
"The Market Is Fragile"
Goldman Sachs analysts describe a market characterized by conservative positioning and elevated volatility, where financial conditions have tightened significantly despite the S&P 500's resilience against multiple geopolitical and economic shocks. Investors are rotating from asset-light sectors facing AI valuation uncertainty toward asset-heavy industries such as semiconductors and defense, which have outperformed by 25% year-to-date as a defensive measure. While a prolonged energy disruption remains a primary risk for the European economy, the firm anticipates limited downside for US equities and highlights European financials as a favored investment theme.
- Milken Institute19 min
Conversation with Columbia Investment Management Company CEO & President Kim Lew | Future of Finance
Columbia University manages the complex transition from traditional globalization-driven investing to a fragmented landscape defined by geopolitical risk, AI integration, and restrictive cross-border regulations. The institution deploys advanced artificial intelligence tools to rapidly analyze data, streamline operational dashboards, and provide an unbiased perspective within its Investment Committee, thereby distinguishing itself from over-allocated peers. Ultimately, the approach emphasizes building horizontal networks and cultivating future thought leaders to ensure mission-driven organizations can navigate volatile markets while maintaining long-term tactical flexibility.
- a16z47 min
The New Media Playbook with Marc Andreessen & Ben Horowitz
Marc Andreessen, Ben Horowitz, Erik Torenberg
The firm fundamentally redefines media strategy by replacing the defensive posture of traditional journalism with an offense-oriented approach that prioritizes speed, founder-led personal branding, and content saturation to control narratives within a 24-hour cycle. By treating viral posts as the primary medium and leveraging an OODA loop of rapid observation and action, the organization enables portfolio companies to generate immediate engagement through direct CEO communication rather than abstract corporate messaging. This ecosystem now functions as a comprehensive launch service and talent development pipeline, positioning the firm as the definitive standard for "New Media" roles while advising leaders to embrace controversy as a necessary signal of power in a landscape where old media acts only as a lagging indicator.
- Goldman Sachs15 min
Emerging Markets: Stirred, But Not Yet Shaken
Kamakshya Trivedi, Alison Nathan
Goldman Sachs analysts observe that risky assets recently reversed gains following an Iran conflict-driven oil spike, shifting market expectations from rate cuts to an inflation shock that has strengthened the US dollar through favorable terms of trade. While traditional hedges have underperformed, the firm maintains a positive outlook for emerging market equities, projecting 10–12% upside driven by robust earnings and structural trends like the AI semiconductor supply chain rather than multiple expansion. This bullish stance assumes the energy crisis remains short-duration; however, a prolonged conflict threatening physical supply shortages could force a re-evaluation of growth estimates and trigger significant market damage.
- All-In Podcast45 min
John Fetterman: 'I'm the Only Democrat in Congress Saying This'
John Fetterman, David Friedberg
Senator John Fetterman positions himself as a fiscally conservative Democrat who rejects the party's progressive label and current leadership while maintaining full support for recent military strikes against Iran and strict voter ID measures. He argues for prioritizing national security over partisan loyalty, citing concerns over non-citizen voting and the need to counter China's technological rise, though he simultaneously criticizes his party's base for adopting policies that alienate working-class voters. Despite acknowledging internal party dysfunction, Fetterman remains open to a future presidential run as he seeks to bridge ideological divides on issues ranging from immigration enforcement to AI development.
- The Economist8 min
Why are Iranian drones so deadly? | The Economist
Russia has adapted Iranian Shaheed drones into low-cost Geran munitions, creating a strategic challenge by outpacing traditional missile interceptors with volume and maneuverability. To counter this, Ukraine is exporting its operational expertise in FPV interceptor drones to Gulf states, offering technology transfers in exchange for defense investments and pressure on Western partners to supply high-end interceptors. This emerging alliance leverages Ukrainian successes in air and maritime defense to offset the economic imbalance of Russia's drone swarm tactics while reshaping regional security dynamics.
- Milken Institute22 min
Global Economic Outlook: A Conversation with Dan Katz | Future of Finance 2026
The IMF warns that escalating Gulf conflict introduces significant inflation and growth risks by disrupting energy markets and straining fragile economies, necessitating cautious monetary responses based on the duration of the instability. Simultaneously, the Fund highlights excessive global external imbalances, specifically criticizing the United States' large current account deficit and China's reliance on weak domestic consumption, while urging structural shifts to reduce trade tensions. In parallel, the IMF addresses the emerging stablecoin ecosystem, noting its potential for financial inclusion alongside risks of banking disintermediation, and reaffirms the US dollar's enduring central role in the international monetary system despite recent market deleveraging.
- Jane Street1h 48m
Why Testing Is Hard and How to Fix It with Will Wilson
Antithesis CEO Will Wilson founded the company to solve the non-determinism and state-space explosion challenges that plague traditional testing in complex distributed systems. The platform utilizes hypervisor-level emulation to create deterministic simulations of unmodified software, enabling exhaustive state-space exploration without the need for extensive manual test definitions. This approach has attracted major institutional users like Jane Street, which serves as both a customer and a Series A investor to validate the tool's efficacy in finding critical concurrency bugs and accelerating AI-driven development cycles.
- a16z47 min
Why Scale Will Not Solve AGI | Vishal Misra - The a16z Show
Researchers have mathematically validated that Large Language Models function as "Bayesian wind tunnels," where in-context learning precisely updates token probability distributions in real-time rather than relying solely on statistical correlation. Despite demonstrating this capability through the open-sourced "TokenProbe" tool and reproducing results across transformer architectures, current models remain fundamentally limited by their frozen weights and inability to perform causal reasoning or discard established axioms. Bridging the gap toward Artificial General Intelligence therefore requires a new architectural approach to implement true continual learning and move from association to simulation, as identified in recent work comparing LLM behavior to Judea Pearl's causal hierarchy.
Deel Hits $1.4B+ in ARR | CEO Alex Bouaziz Shares Growth Playbook
Alex Bouaziz, Molly O'Shea, Shuo Wang, Micky Malka
Deel, co-founded by Alex and Shuo, has grown its annual recurring revenue from $800 million to over $1.4 billion, securing a $17 billion valuation through a funding round led by Rivet Capital. This fully remote organization now serves over 40,000 global clients by providing integrated HR infrastructure across 120 countries while maintaining profitability and raising minimal external capital prior to its Series A. With a strategic focus on IPO readiness, a $100 billion valuation target, and the productization of internal AI tools, the company continues to expand its ecosystem through specialized acquisitions and brand partnerships.
- All-In Podcast1h 16m
Two Legendary Founders: Travis Kalanick & Michael Dell Live from Austin, Texas
Travis Kalanick, Michael Dell, Friedberg, Brad Gerstner
At the All-In Summit, Travis Kalanick officially ended the seven-year stealth phase of his new physical AI venture, Adams, by unveiling a platform that treats atoms like bits to revolutionize food production and mining automation. Concurrently, Michael Dell detailed the explosive growth of his AI infrastructure business and championed the bipartisan Invest America Act, a capital account initiative designed to seed $1,000 for every U.S. child to foster broad-based ownership. Both leaders emphasized a strategic pivot toward Texas as a pro-growth hub for industrial scaling while advocating for aggressive AI integration and open-source collaboration to drive future economic abundance.
- Y Combinator40 min
AI Is Unlocking Millions Of New Builders
Led by twins Mukund and Madhav Jar, Emergent is a YC Summer 2024-funded platform that empowers non-technical users to generate production-ready software through AI agents, having already built seven million apps across 190 countries. The company differentiates itself by utilizing a custom Kubernetes infrastructure and multi-agent architecture to solve the "it works on my machine" problem, while its core team achieved top-tier status on the SWE-bench benchmark within two months. By pivoting from automated testing to full-stack application development, Emergent has democratized software creation, allowing solopreneurs to launch functional products for thousands of dollars instead of the traditional half-million-dollar cost.
- Goldman Sachs28 min
Europe’s Opportunity, AI, and Market Volatility with Goldman Sachs International's Co-CEOs
Anthony Gutman, Kunal Shah, Allison Nathan
Goldman Sachs navigates Middle East geopolitical instability while reinforcing its regional foothold through a new Riyadh wealth license and a $25 billion partnership with the Qatar Investment Authority. Strategically, the firm capitalizes on resilient Asian markets and European growth pockets in Spain and Poland, targeting infrastructure financing and private wealth expansion despite short-term currency volatility. Driven by robust corporate balance sheets and AI-fueled efficiency, leaders maintain a positive long-term economic outlook and anticipate continued M&A activity and capital market issuance as markets differentiate between structural trends and event-driven shocks.