Latest Interviews
Showing 961–975 of 1,935 transcripts.
Clear all filters- Milken Institute1h 18m
Part 1: A Conversation with Steve Case | Part 2: New Entrepreneurs for a New Economy
Steve Case, Dan Premack, Nick Green, Jeanette, Irene, Ibrahim Ajami
Steve Case and a diverse panel of executives from companies like Thrive Market and AirAsia Digital convened to analyze the permanent shift of venture capital toward regional hubs and the integration of the internet into legacy sectors like healthcare and logistics. The discussion highlighted how remote work, accelerated pandemic trends, and a strategic pivot from pure travel to digital ecosystems are reshaping investment strategies, with leaders emphasizing sustainability, operational agility, and a "flight to quality" in the SPAC market. Key outcomes included the identification of a "Third Wave" of internet innovation where domain expertise in the Midwest and Southeast offers competitive advantages, alongside a renewed focus on closing diversity gaps and supporting Black founders through targeted partnerships.
- The Economist10 min
Putin, the poisoning and Belarus: what's really going on?
Following the August 20 Novichok poisoning of Alexei Navalny and the violent suppression of the 2020 Belarusian election, sustained cross-border protests in Khabarovsk and Minsk have exposed the fragility of Vladimir Putin's and Alexander Lukashenko's regimes. As European nations move to deny diplomatic recognition to Lukashenko and Putin provides emergency financial aid to maintain power, the survival of opposition leaders like Navalny and the coordinated actions of female activists are undermining the legitimacy of these authoritarian systems. Analysts warn that these unexpected collapses in long-standing autocracies signal a historic shift where the regimes' inability to control human agency creates unpredictable instability for Russia and its neighbors.
- Goldman Sachs19 min
Stephen Hawthornthwaite, Chairman and CEO of Rothy’s
Stephen Hawthornthwaite, Jennifer Davis, Stephen Hawthorne-Puig
Founded in 2012 by finance professionals Stephen Hawthorne-Puig and Roth Martin, Rothy's revolutionized the footwear market by launching seamless, machine-washable shoes produced from recycled plastic through a vertically integrated supply chain. The company achieved profitability in 2016 while remaining self-funded, leveraging 3D knitting technology and a core sustainability strategy to build a loyal customer base that drives over half of its traffic through word-of-mouth. Now expanding into handbags and exploring international growth and physical retail, Rothy's maintains a robust research pipeline for men's footwear while continuing to prioritize long-term sustainability over rapid scaling.
- a16z34 min
From Unknown Title to Viral Game: 12 Growth Lessons From Spellbreak
Proletariat leveraged a high-risk, community-first strategy to grow *Spellbreak* from a 2018 pre-alpha concept to over 1.8 million sign-ups by prioritizing viral social channels like Imgur and Discord over traditional owned media. The studio built momentum through an exclusive NDA-gated ecosystem that utilized referral incentives, mandatory voice chat for social bonding, and a "cool kids club" dynamic to drive organic acquisition and retention without monetary rewards. This approach generated millions in free marketing value and a highly engaged global base, positioning the free-to-play Battle Royale for a cross-platform launch while acknowledging that the initial success relied heavily on executing authentic content cadence to overcome the studio's lack of initial brand traction.
- a16z15 min
Healthcare: The Great Unlock
Accelerated by the pandemic, the healthcare sector is compressing a decade of transformation into two to three years through a fundamental shift from local, fee-for-service models to national, digital-first, value-based care. This dislocation is driven by labor reversals, insurance coverage changes, and regulatory mandates that favor remote care, forcing legacy providers to cede ground to startups owning the end-to-end patient journey. Consequently, a once-in-a-generation opportunity has emerged for startups to replace fragmented infrastructure with an automated, interoperable operating system that utilizes AI for intelligent supply-demand matching and dynamic insurance products.
- The Economist10 min
China v America: who is in charge?
The UN General Assembly convened an online summit to pledge billions for a coronavirus vaccine while explicitly excluding the Trump administration, which has concurrently halted funding to the World Health Organization and withdrawn from key international agreements. Amidst this diplomatic rift, China has steadily expanded its influence by securing leadership roles in UN agencies and utilizing veto power to block resolutions, prompting the U.S. State Department to deploy senior diplomats like Mark Lambert to counter these gains. Experts warn that without a reassertion of American global commitments and necessary institutional reforms, the rules-based liberal order faces significant erosion as the balance of power shifts toward an emerging Chinese-led alliance.
- Milken Institute1h 2m
In Search for a Cure: Are We Nearing a Treatment for COVID-19?
Esther Kofa, Meg Terrell, Dr. Tony Fauci, Albert Bourla
The Milken Institute Summer Series concluded by analyzing the U.S. resurgence of COVID-19 infections and the global development of nearly 250 treatment compounds, featuring critical insights from Dr. Anthony Fauci and Pfizer CEO Dr. Albert Bourla. Dr. Fauci warned of severe fall surges driven by behavioral shifts while outlining a vaccine timeline with Phase III trials expected to begin in July, whereas Dr. Bourla detailed Pfizer's autonomous mRNA strategy aiming for safety and efficacy data by September. As the organization prepares its 23rd Global Conference for a likely online format in October, these discussions underscored the urgent need for robust public health protocols alongside rapid medical solutions.
- Goldman Sachs24 min
Mayors LaToya Cantrell, Eric Johnson, and Nan Whaley
LaToya Cantrell, Eric Johnson, Nan Whaley
Dallas, New Orleans, and Dayton mayors jointly addressed the compounding crises of the pandemic and civil unrest, implementing specific lockdowns, dual disaster declarations, and targeted equity initiatives to protect vulnerable populations. Each city deployed distinct economic recovery strategies, including Dallas's $15 million small business fund, New Orleans's French Quarter re-envisioning, and Dayton's focus on minority-owned enterprises, while collectively advocating for critical federal financial support. The leaders emphasized that these disruptions present a unique opportunity to enact systemic reforms and rebuild their municipalities with greater resilience and social justice in mind.
- Goldman Sachs11 min
The Scale and State of the Semiconductor Industry
Facing a projected 10% semiconductor industry decline in 2020 driven by pandemic-induced global GDP contraction, market dynamics have diverged with robust cloud computing demand offsetting weakness in handsets and automotive sectors. While the supply chain demonstrated unexpected resilience outside of specific disruptions in Wuhan, Malaysia, and the Bay Area, geopolitical trade restrictions and US-China tensions continue to create significant regulatory uncertainty for major OEMs like Huawei. Simultaneously, competitive pressures have intensified as top buyers consolidate purchasing power and tech giants vertically integrate their chip designs, shifting the battlefield toward advanced manufacturing triopolies and diversified data center compute cycles.
- Goldman Sachs8 min
The Evolution of Europe’s Tech Landscape
European technology companies have leveraged robust pre-existing infrastructure to maintain business continuity while accelerating market trends like e-commerce adoption and digital collaboration tools. This sector is simultaneously experiencing a surge in private unicorns and capital availability driven by returning executives and a shift toward ambitious global valuations. Although currently underweighted in public markets compared to the U.S., a wave of high-profile listings and deal activity across defensive, opportunistic, and strategic phases signals a maturing ecosystem.
- a16z19 min
Healthcare Has Left the Building
A structural transformation is dissolving traditional silos between payers, providers, and technology firms to shift care from centralized hospitals to home settings while leveraging mobile diagnostics and AI-driven logistics. Major market entrants are challenging established models through value-based care initiatives and programmed therapies that enable proactive monitoring and personalized treatments like gene editing. This evolution modernizes the medical ecosystem to prioritize patient outcomes and efficiency, though the fundamental human need for care remains the driving force behind these technological accelerations.
- Goldman Sachs44 min
Adm. Timothy J. Keating, USN (Ret.) and Brig. Gen. Robert S. Spalding III, USAF (Ret.)
Timothy J. Keating, Robert S. Spalding III, Admiral Timothy Keating, Brigadier General Robert S. Spalding III, Norman Nye, Tim Keating, Rob Spalding
Hosted by Goldman Sachs's Norman Nye on April 15, 2020, Admiral Timothy Keating and Brigadier General Rob Spalding assessed how the COVID-19 pandemic accelerated U.S.-China geopolitical rivalry, particularly regarding Taiwan, supply chain decoupling, and 5G surveillance infrastructure. The experts concluded that the crisis would permanently shift global alignment toward a "democratic bloc" prioritizing national security over economic integration, forcing a reshoring of critical industries and tighter restrictions on Chinese technology. They further warned that economic strains could provoke China to employ gray zone tactics while the United States pivots toward strengthening alliances in the Indo-Pacific, India, and Latin America.
- Jane Street1h 5m
Raph Levien: A Taste of GPU Compute
The presentation details how modern GPU architectures prioritize throughput over single-thread latency to overcome the plateau of CPU scaling, leveraging parallelism to achieve tenfold improvements in performance per dollar and watt. It outlines a functional programming model for GPU compute that employs hybrid tiling and bitmasking strategies to minimize branch divergence and maximize read efficiency in rendering workloads. Finally, the event analyzes the industry's shift from proprietary CUDA ecosystems toward standardized open APIs like Vulkan and WebGPU, which facilitate portable, high-performance computing through intermediate languages like SPIR-V and formal memory models.
- a16z45 min
How Gaming is Changing the Media Landscape
This event analyzes the transformative growth of the global games industry, which now surpasses traditional media in revenue and audience size by leveraging real-time 3D rendering and a shift toward "Games as a Service" business models. It details how major technology firms like Unity and Tencent are driving vertical integration in esports and expanding into non-gaming sectors such as automotive and architecture through photorealistic digital twins. The discussion further addresses critical technical challenges in cloud gaming latency and forecasts a future where AI, 5G, and cross-platform ecosystems create persistent virtual economies accessible to billions of users worldwide.
- a16z16 min
Gamers are Entering a New Era of Monetization
Addressing the severe economic barriers within the $150 billion global gaming industry, Forte is deploying blockchain infrastructure to democratize participation for the 2.4 billion existing gamers. This ecosystem facilitates true digital ownership, peer-to-peer asset trading, and creator monetization through smart contracts that secure royalties for developers. By transforming passive consumers into active entrepreneurs and service providers, the platform aims to bypass the elite-only models of traditional game development, esports, and streaming.