Latest Interviews

AI in 2026: 3 Predictions For What’s To Come (a16z Big Ideas)

Oliver Hsu, Bryan Kim, David Haber

Speakers Oliver Hsu, Brian Kim, and David Haber analyze distinct trajectories for AI adoption, ranging from autonomous scientific discovery in life sciences to consumer platforms shifting focus from productivity to digital connectivity. Hsu identifies the maturation of robot learning and simulation as prerequisites for closing the loop on self-driving labs, while Kim argues that future consumer value hinges on AI agents facilitating human relationships through deep emotional engagement. Concurrently, Haber demonstrates that the most robust business models integrate AI to directly reinforce revenue generation and proprietary data loops, as seen in contingency law firms and loan servicing platforms that scale success rather than merely cutting costs.

Adam Marblestone – AI is missing something fundamental about the brain

Adam Marblestone

Steve Burrows proposes that the human brain's superior learning efficiency arises from a dual-subsystem architecture where a general-purpose cortical learning engine is guided by a specialized subcortical steering system that encodes evolutionarily tuned reward signals. Empirical research suggests that future artificial general intelligence may surpass current scaling limits by adopting diverse multi-agent co-evolutionary strategies, while formal verification tools like Lean offer a pathway to provably secure AI by translating mathematical proofs into verifiable reinforcement learning rewards. Concurrent efforts to map connectomes and implement brain-inspired training methods aim to reduce scientific timelines to a decade, shifting the focus from massive data scaling to understanding the biological constraints that govern cognitive generalization.

2025 Highlight-o-thon: Oops! All Bests

Kyle Fish, Ian Dunt, Sam Bowman, Buck Shlegeris, Luisa, Rob, Helen Toner, Hugh White, Paul Scharre, Beth Barnes, Tyler Whitmer, Toby Ord, Andrew Snyder-Beattie, Eileen Yam, Will MacAskill, Neel Nanda, Tom Davidson, Marius Hobbhahn, Holden Karnofsky, Allan Dafoe, Ryan Greenblatt, Daniel Kokotajlo, Dean Ball

This forum convened experts to debate the accelerating timeline of AGI by 2029 while critiquing US geopolitical strategies for abandoning global primacy in favor of a multipolar order. Participants examined critical risks including AI scheming, biological defense asymmetries, and the erosion of human context in warfare, contrasting them with corporate reforms at OpenAI and the rising costs of AI inference. The discourse further highlighted the widening perception gap between AI developers and the public, the potential of mechanistic interpretability as an "AI biology," and the structural necessity of aligning urban planning with community quality of life rather than NIMBYism.

The most influential books of all time

Ollie, Catherine, Josie DeLapp

Hosts Ollie, Brian Aldiss, Catherine, and Josie DeLapp analyze how foundational texts like *Frankenstein* and *A Room of One's Own* shifted cultural paradigms from divine to human agency while establishing materialist requirements for creativity. The discussion further evaluates *Pride and Prejudice* and the *Harry Potter* series for their economic and social redefinitions of marriage and childhood, noting Rowling's controversial stance on gender as a flashpoint for debating the limits of artistic expression. Ultimately, the dialogue concludes that literature functions as a vital vehicle for conceptualizing the future and preserving human joy against purely ideological critiques.

Jeffrey Katzenberg's $2.8 Billion Fund

Jeffrey Katzenberg, ChenLi Wang, Molly O'Shea

Founded in 2016 by Jeffrey Katzenberg, Sujay Keshav, and Anthony Noto, WonderCo has evolved from an investment holding firm into a builder strategy that has generated eight startups and targets $400 million in annual free cash flow. The firm deploys capital ranging from $500,000 seed checks to $75 million for proprietary builds like Wonder Health, prioritizing founders with deep grit over standard benchmarks to navigate a predicted 2026–2027 market reckoning. Their portfolio includes major unicorns such as Cruise, Harvey, and 1Password, reflecting a philosophy that identifies critical gaps in markets ranging from longevity to workplace AI where immediate ROI and tangible utility are required for survival.

Where does consumer AI stand at the end of 2025?

Anish Acharya, Olivia Moore, Justine Moore, Bryan Kim

The analysis identifies a "winner-take-most" dynamic in the LLM market where ChatGPT retains dominance with nearly 900 million weekly users, despite significant growth in Google's Gemini desktop base and emerging competition from specialized startups. While major labs struggle with risk-averse product execution and internal compute allocation conflicts, 2026 is projected to trigger a consumer builder boom driven by unified multimodal models and shifting revenue models toward usage-based pricing. Experts predict this landscape will favor opinionated, standalone applications from startups over the incremental improvements offered by big technology incumbents.

Chris Williamson: Fix This One Habit And 2026 Will Be Your Best Year!

Chris Williamson

This episode features Chris Williamson, Huberman, and Shetty discussing a strategic framework for annual planning that prioritizes subtraction over addition to overcome the statistical likelihood of failing resolutions. The speakers analyze psychological barriers like productivity dysmorphia and the "Movie Audience" test while offering concrete behavioral tactics, such as the "Never Miss Two Days" rule and specific sleep hygiene protocols, to optimize human performance. Finally, the dialogue explores decision-making under uncertainty, the necessity of enduring social friction during personal growth, and the cultural differences between UK stoicism and US optimism in navigating mental health and relationship stability.

Four stories to watch out for in 2026

In 2026, the United States will deepen its military competition by deploying the "Golden Dome" defense shield and relying on SpaceX's Starship to maintain orbital dominance amid rising tensions with Russia and China. Domestically, President Trump will challenge central bank independence by nominating a successor to Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell who supports lower interest rates, echoing global political pressures on monetary policy. Simultaneously, the nation will grapple with ideological division over its semi-quincentennial as rival commissions organize conflicting celebrations that juxtapose official historical archives with a politicized "America First" agenda, while Las Vegas hosts the controversial Enhanced Games to normalize human performance enhancement.

Visionaries of Tomorrow: A Conversation with Nova Sky Stories Founder & CEO Kimbal Musk | MEA Summit

Kimbal Musk, Curtis S. Chin

Founded by Kimball Musk in 2022, Nova Sky Stories revitalized Intel's shuttered drone division by transitioning from unprofitable free displays to a cash-flow-positive model of ticketed narrative entertainment that employs top talent from Pixar and Marvel. The company has secured partnerships with Jeff Katzenberg and Pharrell Williams to execute major productions in 43 countries, including a historic 3,000-drone show at the Vatican and events for the Abu Dhabi royal family. Targeting a scalable market of two million ticket sales by 2026 through local fleet bases and localized storytelling, Nova Sky Stories aims to establish "Art in the Sky" as a profitable alternative to traditional concerts and theme parks.

Why Lightspeed Bet on xAI, Neuralink, Suno, Granola, & Pika | Michael Mignano

Michael Mignano, Molly O'Shea, Daniel Ek

Michael Seibel, a partner at Lightspeed managing a $30 billion fund, argues that human creativity in devising novel business models remains the critical defense for AI startups against incumbent capabilities. He outlines a shifting investment landscape where accelerated funding cycles, larger check sizes, and a pivot toward early-stage user retention dynamics are reshaping how venture capital approaches generative AI opportunities. Additionally, Seibel predicts a transformation from the current creator economy to a "recommendation media" model while forecasting near-term IPOs for major players like OpenAI and Discord.

AI Is Coming For These 3 Industries In 2026 (a16z Big Ideas)

Ryan McEntush, Angela Strange, Sarah Wang

Ryan McIntosh, Angela Strange, and Sarah Wang identify three pivotal 2026 inflection points defining the future of American industry, finance, and software architecture. These experts forecast a transition where the U.S. must vertically integrate its electro-industrial ecosystem to match China, financial institutions must abandon legacy mainframes for AI-native data systems to unlock tenfold operational scaling, and dynamic AI agent layers must displace traditional systems of record to enable autonomous execution. Collectively, these shifts emphasize that future economic and military power depends on controlling embodied electrified components, unifying data across unstructured sources, and achieving product velocity through continuous AI-driven iteration.

The 6 Science Backed Brain Fixes Most People Are Ignoring!

Dr Rhonda Patrick, Dr Wendy Suzuki, Andrew Huberman, Dr Nathan Bryan, Dr Daniel Amen, Simon Mills, Steven

This presentation establishes the brain as the primary asset for life achievement, detailing how aerobic exercise, quality sleep, and specific nutritional interventions like creatine and nitric oxide optimization drive neurogenesis and metabolic clearance. It further explores the mechanisms of adult neuroplasticity, emphasizing that physiological rewiring requires intense focus and subsequent consolidation during rest, while highlighting social connection as a critical factor for longevity. The discussion concludes with a warning against sedentary lifestyles, passive digital consumption, and toxic work environments, advocating instead for coordinated movement, strategic AI use, and specific botanical aids to sustain cognitive health.

All-In x Kill Tony: A Hilarious Holiday Special

Tony Hinchcliffe, Chamath, Friedberg, Jason Calacanis, David Sacks

The All-In Podcast team hosted its second annual holiday party in San Francisco, featuring comedian Tony Hinchcliffe to fill the void of Chamath Palihapitiya while Jason Calacanis, David Sacks, and David Friedberg delivered personal roasts. During the event, the hosts presented their annual "Bestie Awards" to identify major business winners like NVIDIA and Alphabet alongside political and scientific winners such as the crypto industry and asteroid nucleic acid discoveries. The gathering also served as a platform to discuss free speech trends, comedy industry shifts, and future technological breakthroughs while mocking specific political and social figures.

FinTech Mega Trends: The Disruption Revolution is Here | Middle East & Africa Summit 2025

Nicole Valentine, Her Excellency Deemah AlYahya, Rob Heyvaert, Rishi Khosla, Travis McGhee, Deemah AlYahya

This event establishes FinTech as a foundational economic pillar essential for global stability, highlighting critical infrastructure gaps that leave 1.3 billion people unbanked and necessitate trillions in investment to modernize legacy systems. It analyzes transformative market shifts toward democratized assets, AI-driven personalization, and "super apps," while noting rapid growth in the Middle East and Africa driven by a young demographic dividend and the looming $84.4 trillion wealth transfer. Finally, the discussion addresses the tension between regulatory fragmentation and innovation, advising professionals to join high-growth startups to tackle unstructured problems with a disruptive mindset rather than relying on traditional banking structures.

Why China wants Taiwan

David Rennie, Da Wei

Mainstream Beijing officials dismiss the notion of trading Taiwan for US concessions, viewing the island as a non-negotiable historical necessity that requires decades of patriotic re-education to overcome its democratic identity. While analysts note that Donald Trump's unpredictability creates diplomatic openings to unsettle Taiwanese voters, the prevailing strategy avoids immediate military conflict in favor of a long-term timeline extending 30 to 40 years. Current discourse involves debating Taiwan-specific governance models that differ from the Hong Kong precedent, aiming for a negotiated reunification that extinguishes local democracy without triggering full-scale war.