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The gaming industry stands as a pioneer of cutting-edge technologies, ushering in innovations like GPUs, virtual and augmented reality, physics engines, and immersive multiplayer experiences.
In this episode, a16z cofounder Marc Andreessen and Andrew Chen, General Partner at a16z Games, dig into why a16z was compelled to establish a dedicated games fund. They explore the origins of tech pessimism, effective engagement with government in tech, its significance for the gaming community, the ongoing AI revolution, and even what Marc himself would build today if he didn't have his hands full.
Recorded as part of a16z's extensive games fund accelerator, SPEEDRUN, this session offers valuable insights for founders and innovators at the intersection of games and technology.
If you're passionate about shaping the future of gaming, consider applying for SPEEDRUN 3.0 at a16z.com/speedrun3.
Resources:
FInd Marc on Twitter: https://twitter.com/pmarca
Find Andrew on Twitter: https://twitter.com/andrewchen
Submit your SPEEDRUN 3.0 application: https://a16z.com/speedrun-la-2024
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Find a16z on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/a16z
Subscribe on your favorite podcast app: https://a16z.simplecast.com/
Follow our host: https://twitter.com/stephsmithio
Please note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. a16z and its affiliates may maintain investments in the companies discussed. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures.
From air-defining radar and electronic systems that helped the Allies win World War II, the origins of Silicon Valley are deeply rooted in government and defense.
In today's episode, we get the chance to revisit that relationship with the United States Deputy Secretary of Defense, Kathleen Hicks.
Deputy Secretary Hicks has spent decades of her career focused on defense policy and in her keynote address from a16z's second annual American Dynamism Summit in Washington, D.C., you'll get an inside look into the priorities of the DoD and how it views its past, present, and future.
In the second half of the episode, you?ll hear highlights from Deputy Secretary Hicks' fireside chat with Wall Street Journal?s National Security Editor, Sharon Weinberger, where they dive into the numerous issues facing our country today, from Ukraine to the use of AI on the battlefield.
Resources:
Find Deputy Secretary Hicks on Twitter: https://twitter.com/depsecdef
Find Sharon on Twitter: https://twitter.com/weinbergersa
To learn more about the American Dynamism Summit: www.a16z.com/ad-summit
Visit the full playlist of American Dynamism Summit videos on YouTube: https://bit.ly/3IqWn1W
Stay Updated:
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Find a16z on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/a16z
Subscribe on your favorite podcast app: https://a16z.simplecast.com/
Follow our host: https://twitter.com/stephsmithio
Please note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. a16z and its affiliates may maintain investments in the companies discussed. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures.
?If America is going to be America in the next one hundred years, we have to get this right.? - Ben Horowitz
This week on ?The Ben & Marc Show?, a16z co-founders Ben Horowitz and Marc Andreessen take on one of the most hot button issues facing technology today: tech regulation and policy.
In this one-on-one conversation, Ben and Marc delve into why the political interests of ?Big Tech? conflict with a positive technological future, the necessity of decentralized AI, and how the future of American innovation is at its most critical point. They also answer YOUR questions from X (formerly Twitter). That and much more. Enjoy!
Resources:
Watch full episode: https://youtu.be/dX7d6bRJI9k
Marc on X: https://twitter.com/pmarca
Marc?s Substack: https://pmarca.substack.com
Ben on X: https://twitter.com/bhorowitz
Ben?s Article: ?Politics and the Future? bit.ly/3PGKrgw
Stay Updated:
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Find a16z on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/a16z
Subscribe on your favorite podcast app: https://a16z.simplecast.com/
Follow our host: https://twitter.com/stephsmithio
Please note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. a16z and its affiliates may maintain investments in the companies discussed. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures.
From judging inventions on ?Shark Tank? to reshaping the image of NBA ownership, Mark Cuban is known for many things. In this chat with a16z General Partner David Ulevitch, he discusses the importance of entrepreneurship for maintaining America?s status as the most innovative place on the planet. This includes making big bets, like he?s doing with Cost Plus Drugs, his latest venture that seeks to upend the prescription drug markets.
Resources:
Find Mark on Twitter: https://twitter.com/mcuban
Find David Ulevitch on Twitter: https://twitter.com/davidu
Learn more about the American Dynamism Summit: www.a16z.com/ad-summit
Stay Updated:
Find a16z on Twitter: https://twitter.com/a16z
Find a16z on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/a16z
Subscribe on your favorite podcast app: https://a16z.simplecast.com/
Follow our host: https://twitter.com/stephsmithio
Please note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. a16z and its affiliates may maintain investments in the companies discussed. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures.
At the a16z LP Summit, we brought hundreds of our limited partners and portfolio founders together in Las Vegas.
The event was truly overflowing with stories of how founders are challenging the status quo and harnessing technology to make the world a better place. Amidst these stories, it became clear that in the realms of public safety and healthcare, the stakes couldn't be higher?these sectors not only hold lives in balance but also stand as fertile ground for technological breakthroughs.
In this episode, a16z General Partner Vijay Pande chats with Ed and Todd Park, the visionary siblings behind Devoted Health. Their mission? To overhaul a healthcare system they describe as critically essential yet deeply flawed. The Park brothers delve into the genesis of their ambition to construct a healthcare system from scratch, underscoring the sector's urgent need for technological innovation and the game-changing role of AI.
Kicking off with an American dream story, this episode is a must-listen for anyone interested in how technology can reshape healthcare for the better.
Resources:
Find Vijay on Twitter: https://twitter.com/vijaypande
Find Ed on Twitter: https://twitter.com/edparkdevoted
Find Todd on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/todd-park-3232573
Learn more about Devoted Health: https://www.devoted.com
Stay Updated:
Find a16z on Twitter: https://twitter.com/a16z
Find a16z on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/a16z
Subscribe on your favorite podcast app: https://a16z.simplecast.com/
Follow our host: https://twitter.com/stephsmithio
Please note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. a16z and its affiliates may maintain investments in the companies discussed. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures.
Generative AI has initiated a transformative shift, reshaping our world in unprecedented ways. In a16z's AI Revolution series, we engage some of the most impactful builders in the field of AI discussing and debating where we are, where we?re going, and the big open questions in AI.
In this episode, General Partner David George chats with Adam D'Angelo, the CEO and founder of Quora, wade into this fast-moving AI landscape, and specifically touch on how building infrastructure for creators can democratize AI.
Adam, who is now building AI aggregator Poe and is on the board of OpenAI, has long been paying attention to this AI wave. He recounts this evolving fascination, and together Adam and David explore the dynamic synergy between humans and AI, highlighting the critical role of experimentation for founders in the AI realm.
As a reminder, this conversation comes from our AI Revolution series, which you can dive into more deeply at a16z.com/ai.
Resources:
Watch the the full interview: www.a16z.com/AIRevolution
Find Adam on Twitter: https://twitter.com/adamdangelo
Find David George on Twitter: https://twitter.com/DavidGeorge83
Stay Updated:
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Find a16z on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/a16z
Subscribe on your favorite podcast app: https://a16z.simplecast.com/
Follow our host: https://twitter.com/stephsmithio
Please note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. a16z and its affiliates may maintain investments in the companies discussed. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures.
Nuclear energy accounts for 20% of the electricity in the United States, but remarkably, 2023 marked the commissioning of the U.S.'s first new nuclear reactor in over three decades. The past few years have been a story of changing public opinion, but equally, innovative startups crafting groundbreaking reactor designs and an ambitious announcement by the U.S. government to triple nuclear power production by 2050.
In this episode recorded at a16z?s American Dynamism Summit in Washington DC, a16z podcast host Steph Smith is joined by a16z General Partner David Ulevich, Doug Bernauer ? CEO of microreactor company Radiant ? and Dr. Kathryn Huff, Assistant Secretary of the Office of Nuclear Energy.
From energizing the country's data centers to propelling the electric vehicles on our roads or powering the factories crafting tomorrow's innovations, they discuss why expanding our nuclear capacity is a national imperative.
Stay tuned for more exclusive conversations from a16z's second annual American Dynamism Summit in Washington DC.
Topics Covered:
00:00 - The Promise of Advanced Nuclear Reactors
03:43 - Nuclear Energy's Current Landscape
07:00 - Vulnerabilities in Fuel Delivery
10:30 - Nuclear Energy's Timeline
12:11 - Portable Microreactors and Mass Production
15:06 - Nuclear Energy's Role in America
21: 24 - Government's Role in Nuclear Energy
26:08 - Challenges of Portable Micro Reactors
30:03- The Evolution of Nuclear Reactors
32:11 - Nuclear?s Public Perception and Safety
39:21 - The Global Need for Nuclear Power
Resources:
Learn more about American Dynamism Summit 2024: www.a16z.com/adsummit
Find Dr. Kathryn Huff on Twitter: https://twitter.com/katyhuff
Find Doug Bernauer and Radiant on Twitter: https://twitter.com/radiantnuclear
Find David Ulevitch on Twitter: https://twitter.com/davidu
Stay Updated:
Find a16z on Twitter: https://twitter.com/a16z
Find a16z on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/a16z
Subscribe on your favorite podcast app: https://a16z.simplecast.com/
Follow our host: https://twitter.com/stephsmithio
Please note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. a16z and its affiliates may maintain investments in the companies discussed. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures.
Artificial intelligence has taken the world by storm. But despite the hype around personalized avatars or podcast language translation, artificial intelligence is not only impacting the creative spheres; in fact it?s hard to find an industry that isn?t being touched by this technology ? and defense of our country is far from excluded.
In this episode, originally recorded in the heart of Washington DC this January during a16z?s American Dynamism Summit, a16z General Partner Martin Casado and a16z enterprise editor. Derrick Harris are joined by the first-ever CTO of the CIA, Nand Mulchandani.
In this wide-ranging conversation, they discuss the evolving relationship between analysts and AI, how governments can keep up with this exponential technology, and finally, how it?s impacting both offense and defense.
This episode is essential listening for anyone interested in the intersection of technology, national security, and policy-making in the age of artificial intelligence. Stay tuned for more exclusive conversations from a16z's second annual American Dynamism Summit in Washington DC.
Topics Covered:
00:00 - Intelligence in the Age of AI
02:28 - Rethinking Jobs and AI's Asymmetric Power
05:00 - The History of AI in the Intelligence Community
07:00 - Operational Utilization of AI
10:40 - Analytic Capabilities and Uncertainty
12:56 - AI's 'Hallucination' Concerns
16:37 - Analyst Skill Sets and AI Tools
26:29 - Supply Chain and Open Source
31:35 - Public-Private Partnerships
41:33 - Government as a Customer and Partner in Tech
42:43 - Policy, Technology, and Regulation
Resources
Learn more about AD Summit 2024: www.a16z.com/adsummit
Watch all of the stage talks at AD Summit 2024: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLM4u6XbiXf5pAKmk1AeZ9964KGScf4lHM
Read the CIA?s announcement around the new CTO role: https://www.cia.gov/stories/story/cia-names-first-chief-technology-officer/
Find Nand Mulchandani on Twitter: https://twitter.com/nandmulchandani
Find Martin on Twitter: https://twitter.com/martin_casado
Find Derrick on Twitter: https://twitter.com/derrickharris
Stay Updated:
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Find a16z on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/a16z
Subscribe on your favorite podcast app: https://a16z.simplecast.com/
Follow our host: https://twitter.com/stephsmithio
Please note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. a16z and its affiliates may maintain investments in the companies discussed. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures.
The last few decades have been a period of transition for defense. An increasing number of startups have begun to rival large defense primes, the industry has gradually become a calculus of both hardware and software, and exponential technologies have forced the DoD to rethink how it has traditionally done business.
These changing conditions were some of the inputs to resulting in the DIU ? Defense Innovation Unit ? starting in 2015 within the Department of Defense, focused on accelerating the adoption of technology.
In this episode recorded at a16z?s American Dynamism Summit in January, a16z General Partner Katherine Boyle is joined by the Director of the DIU, Doug Beck, plus two critical founders ushering in this new era of defense: Brian Schimpf, cofounder and CEO of Anduril and Brandon Tseng, cofounder of Shield AI.
So what does the next wave of defense innovation really look like? Let?s find out.
00:00 - The Future of Defense Innovation
03:30 - The Defense Innovation Unit (DIU)
05:45 - Adoption of Startup tech by the DoD
07:42 - Acquisition, Budgeting, and Contracting
13:17 - Traditional Primes vs Startups
14:25 - Cost-Plus Fixed Fee Contracts
20:11 - The Replicator Program
22:26 - The New Threat Environment
27:11 - Scale and Readiness for Modern Warfare
32:15 - Procurement Reform and Feasibility
39:30 - Success Metrics for Defense
Resources:
Learn more about AD Summit 2024: www.a16z.com/adsummit
Watch Brian?s stage talk at AD Summit 2024: https://a16z.com/securing-americas-future-how-technology-companies-and-washington-are-building-a-safer-world/
Watch all of the stage talks at AD Summit 2024: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLM4u6XbiXf5pAKmk1AeZ9964KGScf4lHM
Find Katherine on Twitter: https://twitter.com/KTmBoyle
Find Brandon and Shield AI on Twitter: https://twitter.com/shieldaitech
Find Brain on Twitter: https://twitter.com/schimpfbrian
Find Doug and the DIU on Twitter: https://twitter.com/diu_x
Stay Updated:
Find a16z on Twitter: https://twitter.com/a16z
Find a16z on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/a16z
Subscribe on your favorite podcast app: https://a16z.simplecast.com/
Follow our host: https://twitter.com/stephsmithio
Please note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. a16z and its affiliates may maintain investments in the companies discussed. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures.
American Dynamism. A term coined by a16z General Partner, Katherine Boyle, two years ago, when she and David Ulevitch founded the firm's American Dynamism investing practice.
Beyond a sector or movement, American Dynamism embodies innovation, community, and a unique philosophy touching every facet of American life.
In this episode, we hear from 10 voices, including policymakers, founders, and funders, as they share what American Dynamism means to them. They discuss the critical technologies shaping the future and the challenges on the path to the next decade of dynamism.
Stay tuned for more exclusive conversations from a16z's second annual American Dynamism Summit in Washington, D.C.
Resources:
Find Dr. Kathryn Huff on Twitter: https://twitter.com/katyhuff
Find Nand Mulchandani on Twitter: https://twitter.com/nandmulchandani
Find Doug Beck and the DIU on Twitter: https://twitter.com/diu_x
Find Mitch Lee on Twitter: https://twitter.com/dontmitch
Find Ian Cinnamon on Twitter: https://twitter.com/IanCinnamon
Find Doug Bernauer and Radiant on Twitter: https://twitter.com/radiantnuclear
Find Chris Bennett on Twitter: https://twitter.com/8ennett
Find Mike Slagh on Twitter: https://twitter.com/MikeSlagh
Find Rahul Sidhu on Twitter: https://twitter.com/rahoolsidoo
Find Wyatt Smith on Twitter: https://twitter.com/wyatt_h_smith
Learn more about American Dynamism: https://a16z.com/american-dynamism
Stay Updated:
Find a16z on Twitter: https://twitter.com/a16z
Find a16z on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/a16z
Subscribe on your favorite podcast app: https://a16z.simplecast.com/
Follow our host: https://twitter.com/stephsmithio
Please note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. a16z and its affiliates may maintain investments in the companies discussed. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures.
You might recognize the name Mark Pincus but we almost guarantee you recognize the game Farmville.
Mark Pincus is the founder and longtime CEO of Zynga, known for its massive global franchise of games, including those household names like Farmville and Words with Friends. Zynga was also at the forefront of the transition to mobile and the use of large platforms like Facebook for distribution.
In this episode Mark joins Josh Lu from the a16z Games team for a fireside chat. They discuss navigating major tech waves and recognizing "true signal" opportunities, and explore a wide range of topics, from the strategic insights that propelled Zynga to success, the future of the Metaverse, and the philosophy behind minimum viable products.
This conversation offers invaluable insights for both gaming industry insiders and enthusiasts looking to understand the dynamics of tech innovation and entrepreneurship.
Topics Covered:
00:00 - How Zynga Spotted the Mobile Wave
02:47 - Challenges of Starting Zynga
05:24 - Zynga's Early Workforce and Learning HTML
07:40 - Preparing for Tech Waves
11:29 - The Importance of Being Too Early
15:42 - The attribute of great founders
18:33 - Hiring Philosophy
22:02 - ?Everyone is a CEO?
24:20 - Fast Iteration and Learning from Failures
31:06 - Personal Gaming Preferences
32:52 - Advice on Reevaluating Projects and True Signal
35:50 - AI's Role in Consumer Adoption and Gaming
40:17 - Community as a Core Element
43:31 - UGC Gaming Space and Future Computing Paradigms
Resources:
Find Mark on Twitter: https://twitter.com/markpinc
Find Josh on Twitter: https://twitter.com/joshlu
Learn more about SPEEDRUN 3.0: https://a16z.com/speedrun3
Learn more about SPEEDRUN: ttps://a16z.com/speedrun-your-gaming-startup
Stay Updated:
Find a16z on Twitter: https://twitter.com/a16z
Find a16z on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/a16z
Subscribe on your favorite podcast app: https://a16z.simplecast.com/
Follow our host: https://twitter.com/stephsmithio
Please note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. a16z and its affiliates may maintain investments in the companies discussed. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures.
In early 2024, the notion of high fidelity, believable AI-generated video seemed a distant future to many. Yet, a mere few weeks into the year, OpenAI unveiled Sora, its new state of the art text-to-video model producing videos of up to 60 seconds. The output shattered expectations ? even for other builders and researchers within generative AI ? sparking widespread speculation and awe.
How does Sora achieve such realism? And are explicit 3D modeling techniques or game engines at play?
In this episode of the a16z Podcast, a16z General Partner Anjney Midha connects with Stefano Ermon, Professor of Computer Science at Stanford and key figure at the lab behind the diffusion models now used in Sora, ChatGPT, and Midjourney. Together, they delve into the challenges of video generation, the cutting-edge mechanics of Sora, and what this all could mean for the road ahead.
Resources:
Find Stefano on Twitter: https://twitter.com/stefanoermon
Find Anjney on Twitter: https://twitter.com/anjneymidha
Learn more about Stefano?s Deep Generative Models course: :
https://deepgenerativemodels.github.io
Stay Updated:
Find a16z on Twitter: https://twitter.com/a16z
Find a16z on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/a16z
Subscribe on your favorite podcast app: https://a16z.simplecast.com/
Follow our host: https://twitter.com/stephsmithio
Please note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. a16z and its affiliates may maintain investments in the companies discussed. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures.
The electric grid needs an update.
In this explainer, a16z Partner Ryan McEntush discusses the escalating complexity of the grid, unveils its vulnerabilities, and traces the evolutionary path that has led us to this point. From the surging demands of AI to outdated infrastructure, we delve into the potential roles of cutting-edge technologies such as solar batteries, natural gas, and nuclear power in shaping the grid's future.
Timestamps:
(00:00) - Introduction
(02:28) - The Need for Grid Modernization
(04:43) - Understanding the Grid's Operation and Challenges
(06:47) - The Complexity of Grid Management
(08:31) - Increasing Outages and Volatility
(11:49) - The Role of New Technologies
(17:53) - The Potential and Limitations of Renewable Energy Sources
(19:08) - Energy Storage Solutions
(24:57) - The Future of Natural Gas and Nuclear Power
(29:46) - The Impact of Policy on the Grid
(31:47) - The Concept of a Smart Grid
(34:04) - Decentralization of the Grid
(36:57) - The Role of the Free Market in Grid Reliability
Resources:
Find Ryan on Twitter: https://twitter.com/rmcentush
Read Ryan?s latest articles: https://a16z.com/author/ryan-mcentush
Stay Updated:
Find a16z on Twitter: https://twitter.com/a16z
Find a16z on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/a16z
Subscribe on your favorite podcast app: https://a16z.simplecast.com/
Follow our host: https://twitter.com/stephsmithio
Please note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. a16z and its affiliates may maintain investments in the companies discussed. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures.
"The Ben & Marc Show" features a16z's co-founders Ben Horowitz & Marc Andreessen. In this episode, Marc and Ben continue their in-depth exploration of the current education system. While Part I of their discussion unpacked the crisis facing higher education, Part II presents solutions to overhaul the modern university.
In this one-on-one conversation, Ben and Marc delve into actions that existing institutions can take to improve their current and future situations. This includes exploring new methods for talent recruitment, providing a more individualized education experience for students, and reducing administrative bloat. They also apply an entrepreneurial lens to each university function, revealing startup opportunities poised to emerge ? including the building of brand new institutions, nonprofits, and research entities. Enjoy!
Resources:
*Watch Part I: https://youtu.be/7J2_G4oHRQ0
*Watch Part II: https://youtu.be/EeIdalo2huI
Marc on X: https://twitter.com/pmarca
Marc?s Substack: https://pmarca.substack.com/
Ben on X: https://twitter.com/bhorowitz
?South Park? episode mentioned in this discussion: ? Eps 1505 (stream on Max): https://bit.ly/3HrZQg0
Stay Updated:
Find us on X: https://twitter.com/a16z
Find us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/a16z
with @cdixon @rhhackett
Welcome to the web3 with a16z crypto podcast. I'm Robert Hackett, an editor here at a16z crypto, and I'm here with Chris Dixon, founding partner of a16z crypto and author of the new book Read Write Own: Building the Next Era of the Internet. I had the privilege of editing Chris throughout the book writing process, and I'm thrilled now to talk to you about what went on behind the scenes, the big themes of the book, the challenges, and also about the crypto industry at large as well as what we can expect from it in the future.
Learn more at https://readwriteown.com/.
Resources for references in this episode:
Black Swan by Nassim Nicholas TalebThe Tipping Point by Malcolm GladwellSpider-Man: Across the Spider-verse"'It's a canon event' TikTok trend, explained"Chris Dixon's blog at cdixon.org"Come for the tool, stay for the network""The next big thing starts out looking like a toy""Can't be evil"The Cold Start Problem by Andrew ChenOn Andrew Chen's writing habitsOn investing in Coinbase in 2013Guidance from the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission in 2019: "Framework for 'Investment Contract' Analysis of Digital Assets"On blockchains as "a programmable computer that lives in the sky" via a16z crypto head of research Tim RoughgardenGödel Escher Bach by Douglas Hofstader"How Aristotle Created the Computer" by Chris Dixon for The Atlantic"A Symbolic Analysis of Relay and Switching Circuits" by Claude ShannonPrincipia Mathematica by Bertrand Russell and Alfred North WhiteheadAn Investigation of the Laws of Thought by George BooleThe End of Education by Neil Postman"Inside out vs. outside in: The adoption of new technologies" by Chris Dixon"The Inevitable Showdown Between Twitter and Twitter Apps" by Chris Dixon"Elon Musk says X is discouraging links in posts" by Sara Fischer"Make Ethereum Cypherpunk Again" by Vitalik Buterin"What Will Happen in 2024" by Fred Wilson"A Logical Calculus of the Ideas Immanent in Nervous Activity" by McCullough and PittsCrossing the Chasm by Geoffrey A. MooreOn "thesis, antithesis, and synthesis" and Hegel's DialecticsAs a reminder, none of the following should be taken as business, legal, tax, or investment advice; please see a16z.com/disclosures for more important information, including a link to a list of our investments.
In 2022 and 2023, US IPOs hit decade lows after the record high of 2021. Now, in 2024, will the IPO window reopen?
In this episode, we revisit a conversation with Jeff Jordan, former CEO of OpenTable, and J.D. Moriarty, the former Head Managing Director and Head of Equity Capital Markets at Bank of America Merrill Lynch.
Joined by Sonal Choksi, the pair takes you behind the scenes to unravel the complexities surrounding IPOs, including pricing, allocations, and the elusive "pop." They also discuss OpenTable?s IPO, which occurred immediately following the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression, and weigh in on the question: Can you time an IPO in an unpredictable year?
Resources:
Find Jeff on Twitter: https://twitter.com/jeff_jordan
Find J.D on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jdmoriarty
Find Sonal on Twitter: https://twitter.com/smc90
Stay Updated:
Find a16z on Twitter: https://twitter.com/a16z
Find a16z on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/a16z
Subscribe on your favorite podcast app: https://a16z.simplecast.com/
Follow our host: https://twitter.com/stephsmithio
Please note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. a16z and its affiliates may maintain investments in the companies discussed. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures.
(00:00) - The Future of Jobs
(03:15) - Job growth over the last 80 years
(05:06) - The shelf-life of jobs
(09:11) - Education trends
(12:25) - The importance of learning the foundations
(17:18) - Regional access to education
(20:19) - How companies are hiring and looking at strategic priorities
(22:58) - The economic mobility and economic stability of degrees
(25:59) - Job and training trends at Grow with Google
(28:11) - Do companies train or hire for skills?
(29:23) - The future of the traditional degree
(31:10) - The employer and educator ecosystem
(35:36) - How to approach upskilling
In a world where technology is moving at an unprecedented pace, what will the jobs of the future look like?
Kai Roemmelt, CEO of the online learning platform Udacity, and Lisa Gevelber, a key figure at Google responsible for building the Grow with Google program, unpack the seismic changes reshaping the tech and education realms.
From disrupting hiring norms to redefining how we acquire degrees and engage globally, this episode poses the question: How can you skillfully navigate the challenges and seize the opportunities awaiting in this evolving landscape?
Resources:
Find Kai on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kai-roemmelt
Find Lisa on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisagevelber
Learn more about Udacity: https://www.udacity.com
Learn more about Grow with Google: https://grow.google
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Please note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. a16z and its affiliates may maintain investments in the companies discussed. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures.
Big news from a16z: Bio Eats World, our sibling show from a16z Bio+Health, is now Raising Health!
We?re excited to share Raising Health?s first episode here where Sean Duffy, cofounder and CEO of Omada Health, joins Vijay Pande, founding general partner of Bio + Health.
Sean and Vijay discuss the building and growth of Omada, from the early days to now. As the cofounder of one of the original digital health companies, Sean has unique insight into the growth of both the digital health field and the changing venture capital environment. They also talk about the future of AI, how Omada is leveraging AI, and the challenges that might arise with using a technology in a caregiving environment.
You can listen to more episodes of Raising Health here: https://link.chtbl.com/IqBoJ2By?sid=a16z11824
In this one-on-one conversation, Marc and Ben tackle the university system ? what has certainly been a hot topic that?s been dominating the news over the past few months. As Marc states at the top of the episode, universities matter tremendously to our world, but they?re currently in a state of crisis.
Together, Ben and Marc take a ?structural? look at higher education, delving deep into the twelve functions of the modern university. They also unpack the numerous challenges that universities face today ? student debt and the replication crisis, among them.
They also discuss topics including DEI, student athlete admissions, accreditation, inflation, and much more.
As colleges face an existential threat that could have long lasting repercussions, how can we find ways to improve these institutions, while being open to new entrepreneurial opportunities in education?
Check out the Ben and Marc show: https://link.chtbl.com/benandmarc
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Please note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. a16z and its affiliates may maintain investments in the companies discussed. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures.
Flock is a public safety technology platform that operates in over 4,000 cities across the United States, and solves about 2,200 crimes daily. That?s 10 percent of reported crimes nationwide.
Taken from a16z?s recent LP Summit, a16z General Partner David Ulevitch joins forces with Flock Safety?s founder, Garrett Langley and Sheriff Kevin McMahill of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department. Together, they cover the delicate balance between using technology to combat crime and respecting individual privacy, and explore the use of drones and facial recognition, building trust within communities, and the essence of objective policing.
Resources:
Find Garret on Twitter: https://twitter.com/glangley
Find Sheriff McMahill on Twitter: https://twitter.com/Sheriff_LVMPD
Find David on Twitter:https://twitter.com/davidu
Learn more about Flock Safety: https://www.flocksafety.com
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Please note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. a16z and its affiliates may maintain investments in the companies discussed. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures.
Nature?s blueprint ? DNA ? is an incredibly efficient machine. You cannot see it with the naked eye, yet it can last for hundreds, maybe even millions of years. Plus, the storage capacity of a single gram of DNA is over 200 million gigabytes! As the cost of DNA sequencing (reading) and synthesis (writing) comes down, scientists are looking to our very own biology for applications reaching as far as data storage. Learn more about this fascinating world with a16z General Partner Vijay Pande, as he says, this next wave of biological computing will ?be the mother of many new exponentials to come.?
Resources:
Save As: DNA Part 1: https://exo.substack.com/p/saving-our-story-in-dna-part-1
Save As: DNA Part 1: https://exo.substack.com/p/save-as-dna-part-2
Stay Updated:
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Please note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. a16z and its affiliates may maintain investments in the companies discussed. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures.
As we close off 2023, we wanted to revisit some of our favorite episodes from the last year. From AI hardware, to healthcare regulation, to disrupting the world?s largest asset class, to the electrification of nearly everything? there?s something in here for all listeners.
Resources:
AI Hardware, Explained:
https://a16z.simplecast.com/episodes/ai-hardware-explained
Chasing Silicon: The Race for GPUs: https://a16z.simplecast.com/episodes/chasing-silicon-the-race-for-gpus
The True Cost of Compute: https://a16z.simplecast.com/episodes/the-cost-of-compute
AI Revolution: Disruption, Alignment, and Opportunity: https://a16z.simplecast.com/episodes/ai-revolution-disruption-alignment-and-opportunity
The Robot Lawyer Resistance; https://a16z.simplecast.com/episodes/the-robot-lawyer-resistance
The Quest for AGI: Q*, Self-Play, and Synthetic Data: https://a16z.simplecast.com/episodes/the-quest-for-agi-q-self-play-and-synthetic-data
The Road to Autonomous Vehicles: Are We There Yet?: https://a16z.simplecast.com/episodes/the-road-to-autonomous-vehicles-are-we-there-yet-PstZz2G_
The Electrification of Everything: From Sky to Sea: https://a16z.simplecast.com/episodes/the-electrification-of-everything-from-sky-to-sea
When Two Giants Intersect: Healthcare Meets Fintech: https://a16z.simplecast.com/episodes/when-two-giants-intersect-healthcare-meets-fintech
Salary Transparency: Clarity or Chaos?: https://a16z.simplecast.com/episodes/salary-transparency-clarity-or-chaos
Disrupting the World?s Largest Asset Class with Adam Neumann: https://a16z.simplecast.com/episodes/disrupting-the-worlds-largest-asset-class
The Data Highway Above with Privateer?s Steve Wozniak, Alex Fielding, and Dr. Moriba Jah: https://a16z.simplecast.com/episodes/new-the-data-highway-above-with-privateers-steve-wozniak-alex-fielding-and-dr-moriba-jah
Stay Updated:
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Please note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. a16z and its affiliates may maintain investments in the companies discussed. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures.
Welcome to ?The Ben & Marc Show?, featuring a16z?s co-founders Ben Horowitz and Marc Andreessen. In this week?s episode, Marc and Ben are joined by special guest Tony Robbins to discuss the future of longevity.
Tony Robbins is an entrepreneur, #1 NY Times bestselling author, philanthropist, and the nation?s #1 life & business strategist. For over four and a half decades, Tony has empowered more than 50 million people from 100 countries around the world through his audio programs, educational videos, and live seminars. He?s also the author of six international bestsellers, including ?Money: Master the Game? (2014), ?Unshakable: Your Financial Freedom Playbook? (2017) and ?Life Force: How New Breakthroughs in Precision Medicine Can Transform the Quality of Your Life and Those You Love? (2022).
Joined by a16z?s own Dr. Vijay Pande, PhD ? General Partner since 2014, and founder and leader of a16z Bio + Health ? the group discusses new breakthroughs in regenerative medicine, AI, biohacking, gene editing, mindset and confirms why this might be the best time to be alive. Enjoy!
Watch the full video version of this episode: https://youtu.be/V8h11baC_ok
Resources:
Marc on X: https://twitter.com/pmarca
Marc?s Substack: https://pmarca.substack.com/
Ben on X: https://twitter.com/bhorowitz
Dr. Vijay Pande on X: https://twitter.com/vijaypande
Learn more about Tony Robbins: https://tonyrobbins.com
Tony?s Time to Rise Summit (Jan 25-27, 2024): https://timetorisesummit.com/join-now
Pre-order Tony?s upcoming book ?The Holy Grail of Investing? (Feb 2024): http://theholygrailofinvesting.com
Stay Updated:
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Find a16z on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/a16z
Subscribe on your favorite podcast app: https://a16z.simplecast.com/
Follow our host: https://twitter.com/stephsmithio
Please note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. a16z and its affiliates may maintain investments in the companies discussed. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures.
A new age of maritime exploration, the rise of the developer as a buyer in financial services, and more applications for computer vision and video intelligence. We asked over 40 partners across a16z to preview one big idea they believe will drive innovation in 2024.
Here in our 3-part series, you?ll hear directly from partners across all our verticals, as we dive even more deeply into these ideas. What?s the why now? Who is already building in these spaces? What opportunities and challenges are on the horizon? And how can you get involved?
Topics Covered:
00:00 - Big Ideas in Tech 2024
01:39 - Big Idea: The Rise of the Developer as a Buyer in Financial Services
07:03 - Examples of financial service infrastructure products
08:40 - Building products and cost/selling structures
09:56 - How financial institutions will adopt new technology
13:07 - Regulatory shifts and updates
14:09 - The impact on customers
16:30 - Big Idea: A New Age of Maritime
18:15 - The challenges of maritime exploration
19:56 - Why is 2024 the year of iInnovation in maritime exploration?
23:32 - Space and aerospace exploration?s impact on maritime
26:51 - Geopolitical supply chain and climate applications
29:40 - Autonomous fleets
31:49 - Key challenges in modernizing maritime
34:11 - Opportunities for builders in the space
36:23 - Big Idea: New Applications for Computer Vision and Video Intelligence
38:06 - The current use of video and it?s data
38:53 - The unlocks in hardware and software driving change
41:40 - Emerging applications and use cases
43:20 - Video and privacy
44:49 - Why is 2024 the year of change and innovation?
Resources:
Find Angela on Twitter :https://twitter.com/astrange
Find Grant on Twitter: https://twitter.com/grant__gregory
Find Kimberly on Twitter: https://twitter.com/kimberlywtan
View all 40+ big ideas: https://a16z.com/bigideas2024
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Follow our host: https://twitter.com/stephsmithio
Please note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. a16z and its affiliates may maintain investments in the companies discussed. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures.
General Partner Anjney Midha explores the cutting-edge world of text-to-video AI with AI researchers Andreas Blattmann and Robin Rombach.
Released in November, Stable Video Diffusion is their latest open-source generative video model, overcoming challenges in size and dynamic representation.
In this episode Robin and Andreas share why translating text to video is complex, the key role of datasets, current applications, and the future of video editing.
Topics Covered:
00:00 - Text to Video: The Next Leap in AI Generation
02:41 - The Stable Diffusion backstory
04:25 - Diffusion vs autoregressive models
06:09 - The benefits of single step sampling
09:15 - Why generative video?
11:19 - Understanding physics through AI video
12:20 - The challenge of creating generative video
15:36 - Data set selection and training
17:50 - Structural consistency and 3D objects
19:50 - Incorporating LoRAs
21:24 - How should creators think about these tools?
23:46 - Open challenges in video generation
25:42 - Infrastructure challenges and future research
Resources:
Find Robin on Twitter: https://twitter.com/robrombach
Find Andreas on Twitter: https://twitter.com/andi_blatt
Find Anjney on Twitter: https://twitter.com/anjneymidha
Stay Updated:
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Find a16z on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/a16z
Subscribe on your favorite podcast app: https://a16z.simplecast.com/
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Please note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. a16z and its affiliates may maintain investments in the companies discussed. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures.
Voice-First Apps, AI Moats, Never-Ending Games, and Anime. We asked over 40 partners across a16z to preview one big idea they believe will drive innovation in 2024.
Here in our 3-part series, you?ll hear directly from partners across all our verticals, as we dive even more deeply into these ideas. What?s the why now? Who is already building in these spaces? What opportunities and challenges are on the horizon? And how can you get involved?
Timecodes:
00:00 - Big Ideas in Tech 2024
01:39 - Big Idea: Voice-First Apps Will Become Integral to Our Lives
04:14 - The limiting factors of voice technology
05:27 - What would a voice-first app look like?
06:52 - Voice tech for companionship and productivity
08:05 - The primary modality voice applications
10:08 - How builders and founders can integrate voice technology
13:31 - Big Idea: The Consumer AI Battleground Moves from Model to UX
15:49 - How user experience can contribute toward building a moat
17:57 - The commoditization of models
19:55 - How should builders differentiate between model and experience?
22:58 - Breakout examples for 2024
25:10 - Open source vs closed source
26:44 - The impact of applications splitting from the infrastructure layer
28:14 - Big Idea: AI-First Games That Never End
29:59 -Generative AI in gaming and AI native games
31:12 - Introducing generative agents as game companions
33:57 - Does the gaming community want hyper personalization?
38:00 - New entrants vs the incumbents
41:57 - How business models and cost structures are evolving
46:21 - Advice for game builders in 2024
48:03 - Big Idea: Anime Games Go Mainstream
49:28 - What defines anime?
52:05 - Anime?s monetization strategy and how it differs from other genres
54:04 - Why are we seeing a rise in anime?
55:56 - What is required to be successful in anime
58:20 - AI, XR and inventing the next wave of anime
Resources:
View all 40+ big ideas: https://a16z.com/bigideas2024
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Find a16z on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/a16z
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Please note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. a16z and its affiliates may maintain investments in the companies discussed. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures.
Arthur Mensch is the co-founder of Mistral and the co-author of Deepmind?s pivotal 2022 "Chinchilla" paper.
In September 2023, Mistral released Mistral-7B, an advanced open-source language model that has rapidly become the top choice for developers. Just this week, they introduced a new mixture of experts model ? Mixtral ? that?s already generating significant buzz among AI developers.
As the battleground around large language models heats up, join us for a conversation with Arthur as he sits down with a16z General Partner Anjney Midha. Together, they delve into the misconceptions and opportunities around open source; the current performance reality of open and closed models; and the compute, data, and algorithmic innovations required to efficiently scale LLMs.
Resources:
Find Arthur on Twitter: https://twitter.com/arthurmensch
Find Anjney on Twitter: https://twitter.com/anjneymidha
Learn more about Mistral: https://mistral.ai
Learn why we invested in Mistral: https://a16z.com/announcement/investing-in-mistral/
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Find a16z on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/a16z
Subscribe on your favorite podcast app: https://a16z.simplecast.com/
Follow our host: https://twitter.com/stephsmithio
Please note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. a16z and its affiliates may maintain investments in the companies discussed. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures.
Smart energy grids. Voice-first companion apps. Programmable medicines. AI tools for kids.?We asked over 40 partners across a16z to preview one big idea
they believe will drive innovation in 2024.
Here in our 3-part series, you?ll hear directly from partners across all our verticals, as we dive even more deeply into these ideas. What?s the why now? Who is already building in these spaces? What opportunities and challenges are on the horizon? And how can you get involved?
View all 40+ big ideas: https://a16z.com/bigideas2024
Stay Updated:
Find a16z on Twitter: https://twitter.com/a16z
Find a16z on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/a16z
Subscribe on your favorite podcast app: https://a16z.simplecast.com/
Follow our host: https://twitter.com/stephsmithio
Please note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. a16z and its affiliates may maintain investments in the companies discussed. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures.
One topic at the center of the AI universe this week is a potential breakthrough called Q*. Little has been revealed about this OpenAI project, other than its likely relationship to solving certain grade-school mathematical problems.
Amid much speculation, we decided to bring in our new general partner, Anjney Midha ? focused on all things AI ? to sift through the sea of noise.
Today, we discuss the key frontier research areas that AI labs are exploring on their path toward generalizable intelligence, from self-play, to model-free reinforcement learning to synthetic data. Anjney also shares his insights on which approach he expects to be most influential in the next wave of LLMs and why math problems are even a suitable testing ground for this kind of research.
Topics Covered:
02:03 - What is Q*?
06:21 - Applying model-free reinforcement learning to complex spaces
13:17 - The role of self-play
19:04 - Synthetic data?s big unlock
24:44 - What does this unlock for society?
Resources:
Follow Anjney on Twitter: https://twitter.com/AnjneyMidha
Stay Updated:
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Find a16z on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/a16z
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Please note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. a16z and its affiliates may maintain investments in the companies discussed. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures.
with @davidmarcus @smc90
This wide-ranging conversation covers company building, big to small -- including what cadence and when is the right "time" to ship; the relationship between centralization, decentralization, platforms, and financial freedom; moving from web2 to web3 in both crypto AND payments... as well as why bitcoin, views on remote work, and much much more.
Our guest is David Marcus, CEO and co-founder of Lightspark; Marcus was also a co-creator of Diem (aka Libra and Novi, the cryptocurrency project initiated by Facebook). Before that, he was vice president of messaging products there, where he ran the Facebook Messenger unit; and prior to joining Facebook, Marcus was the former president of PayPal (which had acquired his previous startup).
This episode begins with an interview just to help kick things off and then features a rich set of questions from the audience -- as this originally took place live on stage at our Crypto Startup School 2023.
As a reminder: none of this should be taken as investment, legal, business, or tax advice; please see a16z.com/disclosures for more important information -- including a link to a list of our investments.
related readings:
Regulate apps, not protocols series (2022-2023) - Miles Jennings et al, a16z crypto)What it will take to create the next great Silicon Valleys (2014) - Marc Andreessen (Politico, a16z)Why bitcoin matters (2014) - Marc Andreeessen (NYT, a16z)When one app rules them all: The case of WeChat and Mobile in China (2015) - Connie Chan (a16z)
Subscribe to web3 with a16z: https://link.chtbl.com/web3witha16z
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Find a16z on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/a16z
Subscribe on your favorite podcast app: https://a16z.simplecast.com/
Follow our host: https://twitter.com/stephsmithio
Please note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. a16z and its affiliates may maintain investments in the companies discussed. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures.
Taking a company from idea to household name is always difficult. But the past few years presented challenges that caught even the most-seasoned CEOs off guard.
In this episode, you?ll hear from two CEOs that navigated these waters and somehow, came out on the other side. These recordings come straight from our exclusive Connect/Enterprise event, bringing together top executives across the a16z network.
Resources:
Additional content from Connect/Enteprise:
Enterprise Startups: Advice on Hiring, Firing, Scaling, and SellingBuilding Products With Generative AILearn more about company-building: https://a16z.com/category/company-building/
Stay Updated:
Find a16z on Twitter: https://twitter.com/a16z
Find a16z on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/a16z
Subscribe on your favorite podcast app: https://a16z.simplecast.com/
Follow our host: https://twitter.com/stephsmithio
Please note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. a16z and its affiliates may maintain investments in the companies discussed. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures.
Fei-Fei Li, PhD, Professor in the Computer Science Department at Stanford University, and Co-Director of Stanford?s Human-Centered AI Institute, joins Bio + Health founding partner Vijay Pande.
In this candid conversation, Li unfolds her transformation from a young immigrant to an influential figure in AI. The conversation explores the birth of ImageNet, a pivotal step that bridged the gap between visual intelligence and accessible AI technology. They delve into the notion of a 'Dignity Economy,' hinting at a future where technology serves to elevate human experience rather than undermine it. Li also touches on the delicate balance between relentless innovation and life's humble pursuits. This episode peels back the layers on the human side of AI, offering a rare glimpse into the personal and professional realms of a pioneer shaping the AI landscape.
Check out her new book, The Worlds I See, here: https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250897930/theworldsisee
Check out other episodes form our sister podcast, Bio Eats World: https://a16z.com/podcasts/bio-eats-world/
Stay Updated:
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Please note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. a16z and its affiliates may maintain investments in the companies discussed. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures.
Is it possible to construct a virtual society that authentically replicates human behavior? AI Town, a virtual town experiment where AI residents live, interact, and engage, provides valuable insights into the future of AI's believability and its interaction with humanity.
In this panel discussion, Joon Park, the author of 'Generative Agents: Interactive Simulacra of Human Behavior,' and Martin Casado from a16z, discuss the influence and potential of Generative Agents, exploring their practical applications in the real world.
Topics Covered
00:00 - Simulating human behaviors
04:49 - What are generative agents?
07:47 - Simulations, new technology, and LLMs
11:45 - The architecture behind simulating human behavior
16:37 - Generative agents interactions: observing, planning, and reflecting
20:22 - What is the value in advancing generative agents?
24:01 - Use cases for simulation behavior technology
29:31 - What are the ethical frameworks?
33:12 - Q&A from the audience
Resources:
Find AI Town: https://www.convex.dev/ai-town
Read the paper ?Generative Agents: Interactive Simulacra of Human Behavior?: https://arxiv.org/pdf/2304.03442.pdf
Find Joon on Twitter: https://twitter.com/joon_s_pk
Find Martin on Twitter: https://twitter.com/martin_casado
Find a16z on Twitter: https://twitter.com/a16z
Find a16z on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/a16z
Subscribe on your favorite podcast app: https://a16z.simplecast.com/
Follow our host: https://twitter.com/stephsmithio
Please note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. a16z and its affiliates may maintain investments in the companies discussed. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures.
Software crosses borders effortlessly. The globalization of money, however, is considerably more challenging. This is especially true for multinational businesses, which grapple with managing multiple accounts in diverse currencies, navigating costly foreign exchange rates, and unpredictable money transfers.
As businesses increasingly embrace a global default, top fintech entrepreneurs are rising to the challenge, addressing cross-border infrastructure issues and offering comprehensive solutions.
In this episode, a16z partners Angela Strange, Joe Schmidt, and Gabriel Vasquez discuss the challenges of cross-border payment infrastructures and what fintech entrepreneurs are doing to create a more integrated, financially inclusive world.
Topics Covered:
00:00 - Software crosses borders easily; money does not.
03:02 - Why has global payments been a challenge for so long?
05:44 - How global payments and money currently moves
07:25 - The metrics used to measure a country's financial health
12:13 - The impact of regulation on financial services
16:23 - Can the same regulations be applied to any country?
21:29 - Why each country has its own fintech system
24:54 - Opportunities in global payments infrastructure
34:47 - Advice for founders navigating global fintech systems
36:58 - What does a truly global system enable?
Read the Fintech Fuels Global Payments package: https://a16z.com/global-payments
Watch ???Foreign Exchange 101: What Happens When You Send Money Abroad??: https://youtu.be/eoXdyO9oGJc?feature=shared
Find Angela on Twitter: https://twitter.com/astrange
Find Joe Schmidt on Twitter: https://twitter.com/joeschmidtiv
FInd Gabriel Vasquez on Twitter: https://twitter.com/GEVS94
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Please note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. a16z and its affiliates may maintain investments in the companies discussed. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures.
Subscribe to The Ben & Marc Show on Apple Podcasts: https://bit.ly/3SdsfNt
Subscribe to The Ben & Marc Show on Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3SclPOr
Read the full manifesto: https://a16z.com/the-techno-optimist-manifesto/
This past week, Marc released his new vision for the future ? ?The Techno-Optimist Manifesto?.
In an article that has sparked widespread conversation across traditional and social media, Marc challenges the pessimistic narrative surrounding technology today, and instead celebrates it as a liberating force that can lead to growth, progress and abundance for all. In this one-on-one conversation based on YOUR questions from X (formerly Twitter), Ben and Marc discuss how technological advancements can improve the quality of human life, uplift marginalized communities, and even encourage us to answer the bigger questions of the universe.
We hope you?ll be inspired to join us in this Techno-Optimist movement. Enjoy!
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Please note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. a16z and its affiliates may maintain investments in the companies discussed. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures.
As VR technology inches forward, completely new experiences loom on the horizon.
In today?s episode, we expose listeners to the very real-world use cases already present on these devices, from fitness to education.
First up is Gym Class VR, one of the top-rated apps on the Quest. Cofounder, Paul Katsen, shows us how to dribble and dunk in the metaverse, but more importantly, discusses the social impact of VR, the technological prerequisites to get there, and the role of AI as we progress.
Following on is a founder on a mission to revolutionize education. Anurupa Ganguly from Prisms VR, explores how virtual reality has the potential to close the gap ? one where 70% of US 8th graders are not proficient in foundational math.
Head over to our YouTube channel to see two a16z Podcast firsts: a full interview in VR, and host Steph slam dunking on an NBA court.
Topics Covered:
00:00 - The current state of VR
03:38 - How do you build the #1 VR app?
05:56 - How will VR become an everyday activity?
07:37 - The social and the technical arc of VR
11:47 - Untapped opportunities in VR
13:24 - Integrating AI into VR
17:09 - Prisms VR
20:10 - Why it?s critical to fix America?s math problem
21:12 - Why put VR in classrooms now?
23:23 - The successes of VR in the classroom
26:03 - Stats from the impact report
27:44 - Other curriculums could benefit from VR
31:04 - Opportunities for AI in VR
Resources:
Find Paul on Twitter: https://twitter.com/pavtalkLearn more about Gym Class: https://www.gymclassvr.comFind Gym Class in Meta Quest: https://www.meta.com/experiences/3661420607275144/Find Anurupa on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anurupa-ganguly-92790379Learn more about Prisms VR: https://www.prismsvr.comStay Updated:
Find a16z on Twitter: https://twitter.com/a16z
Find a16z on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/a16z
Subscribe on your favorite podcast app: https://a16z.simplecast.com/
Follow our host: https://twitter.com/stephsmithio
Please note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. a16z and its affiliates may maintain investments in the companies discussed. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures.
Today?s episode continues our coverage from a16z?s recent AI Revolution event. You?ll hear directly from a16z cofounder Ben Horowitz and Databricks cofounder and CEO, Ali Ghodsi as they answer questions around AI and the enterprise, plus their perspectives on open source, whether benchmarks are BS, and the scramble of universities to take part in the very wave they kicked off decades ago.
If you?d like to access all the talks from AI Revolution in full, visit a16z.com/airevolution.
Resources:
Find Ali on Twitter: https://twitter.com/alighodsiFind Ben on Twitter: https://twitter.com/bhorowitzCheck out Databricks: https://twitter.com/databricks
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Please note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. a16z and its affiliates may maintain investments in the companies discussed. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures.
Today?s episode continues our coverage from a16z?s recent AI Revolution event. You?ll hear a16z Bio & Health GP Vijay Pande speak with Daphne Koller about the fascinating convergence of machine learning and genomics ? two industries that have benefitted decades of investment and progress ? which are now colliding head on.
Daphne is a prominent innovator at this intersection, as a long-time professor in computer science at Stanford and co-founder of Coursera, who has decided to step back into the arena with her company Insitro. In fact, Insitro is a blend of in silico and in virto!
If you?d like to access all the talks from AI Revolution in full, visit a16z.com/airevolution.
Resources:
Find Daphne on Twitter: https://twitter.com/DaphneKollerFind Vijay on Twitter: https://twitter.com/vijaypandeFind Insitro on Twitter: https://twitter.com/insitro
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Please note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. a16z and its affiliates may maintain investments in the companies discussed. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures.
The AI Revolution is here. In this episode, you?ll learn what the most important themes that some of the world?s most prominent AI builders ? from OpenAI, Anthropic, CharacterAI, Roblox, and more ? are paying attention to. You?ll hear discussion around the real-world impact of this revolution, on industries ranging from gaming to design, and the considerations around alignment along the way.
This footage is from an exclusive event, AI Revolution, that a16z ran in San Francisco recently. If you?d like to access all the talks in full, visit a16z.com/airevolution.
Topics Covered:
00:00 - AI Revolution
02:39 - Putting technology in users? hands
08:21 - AI alignment and safety
21:44 - Future opportunities
Resources:
Catch the all the talks at https://a16z.com/airevolution
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Please note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. a16z and its affiliates may maintain investments in the companies discussed. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures.
The AI Revolution is here. In this episode, you?ll learn what the most important themes that some of the world?s most prominent AI builders ? from OpenAI, Anthropic, CharacterAI, Roblox, and more ? are paying attention to. You?ll hear about the economics of AI, broad vs specialized models, the importance of UX, and whether we can expect scaling laws to continue.
This footage is from an exclusive event, AI Revolution, that a16z ran in San Francisco recently. If you?d like to access all the talks in full, visit a16z.com/airevolution.
Topics Covered
00:00 - AI Revolution
01:42 - The economics of AI
06:55 - The third epoch of compute
13:52 - Recognizing scaling laws
17:42 - Can scaling laws continue?
22:34 - Potential bottlenecks
25:58 - Personalization vs generality
29:43 - The importance of UX
31:55 - The future of multi-modality
Resources:
Catch the all the talks at https://a16z.com/airevolution
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Please note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. a16z and its affiliates may maintain investments in the companies discussed. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures.
The space industry is evolving rapidly, with the cost of launching payloads to orbit dropping significantly. But who's investing in this sector, and how will it evolve?
In this episode, we delve into the transformative journey of the satellite industry with Andy Lapsa, co-founder of Stoke Space. With over a decade of experience at Blue Origin, Andy is now at the forefront of sustainable space travel, pioneering fully reusable rockets.
Don?t forget to check out Part 1 in this mini series, where we explore the public and private players in space with John Gedmark from Astranis.
Resources:
Learn more about Stoke: https://www.stokespace.com
Find Andy on Twitter: https://x.com/AndyLapsa?s=20
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Please note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. a16z and its affiliates may maintain investments in the companies discussed. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures.
The cost of launching payloads to orbit has dramatically dropped, igniting a space renaissance. In 2022, a record 186 rocket launches (41 more than the previous year!) underscores this shift.
In Part 1 of our satellite economy mini-series, we sit down with John Gedmark, co-founder of Astranis, to reflect on today's innovations, who?s on the other side of the satellite market, the capabilities they?re looking for, competition, and their mission to provide internet access to 4 billion underserved people.
Look out for Part 2, where we tackle the challenges of rapidly reusable rockets with Andy Lapsa from Stoke Space.
Resources:
Learn more about Astranis: https://www.astranis.com
Find John on Twitter: https://x.com/Gedmark?s=20
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Please note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. a16z and its affiliates may maintain investments in the companies discussed. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures.
with @alive_eth @danboneh @smc90
This week's all-new episode covers the convergence of two important, very top-of-mind trends: AI (artificial intelligence) & blockchains/ crypto. These domains together have major implications for how we all live our lives everyday; so this episode is for anyone just curious about, or already building in the space.
The conversation covers topics ranging from deep fakes, bots, and the need for proof-of-humanity in a world of AI; to big data, large language models like ChatGPT, user control, governance, privacy and security, zero knowledge and zkML; to MEV, media, art, and much more. Our expert guests (in conversation with host Sonal Chokshi) include:
Dan Boneh, Stanford Professor (and Senior Research Advisor at a16z crypto), a cryptographer who?s been working on blockchains for over a decade and who specializes in cryptography, computer security, and machine learning -- all of which intersect in this episode;Ali Yahya, general partner at a16z crypto, who also previously worked at Google -- where he not only worked on a distributed system for a fleet of robots (a sort of "collective reinforcement learning") but also worked on Google Brain, where he was one of the core contributors to the machine learning library TensorFlow built at Google.The first half of the hallway-style conversation between Ali & Dan (who go back together as student and professor at Stanford) is all about how AI could benefit from crypto, and the second half on how crypto could benefit from AI... the thread throughout is the tension between centralization vs. decentralization. So we also discuss where the intersection of crypto and AI can bring about things that aren't possible by either one of them alone...
pieces referenced in this episode/ related reading:
The Next Cyber Reasoning System for Cyber Security (2023) by Mohamed Ferrag, Ammar Battah, Norbert Tihanyi, Merouane Debbah, Thierry Lestable, Lucas CordeiroA New Era in Software Security: Towards Self-Healing Software via Large Language Models and Formal Verification (2023) by Yiannis Charalambous, Norbert Tihanyi, Ridhi Jain, Youcheng Sun, Mohamed Ferrag, Lucas CordeiroFixing Hardware Security Bugs with Large Language Models (2023) by Baleegh Ahmad, Shailja Thakur, Benjamin Tan, Ramesh Karri, Hammond PearceDo Users Write More Insecure Code with AI Assistants? (2022) by Neil Perry, Megha Srivastava, Deepak Kumar, Dan BonehAsleep at the Keyboard? Assessing the Security of GitHub Copilot's Code Contributions (2021) by Hammond Pearce, Baleegh Ahmad, Benjamin Tan, Brendan Dolan-Gavitt, Ramesh KarriVoting, Security, and Governance in Blockchains (2019) with Ali Yahya and Phil DaianAs a reminder: none of the following should be taken as investment, legal, business, or tax advice; please see a16z.com/disclosures for more important information -- including to a link to a list of our investments ? especially since we are investors in companies mentioned in this episode.
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Please note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. a16z and its affiliates may maintain investments in the companies discussed. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures.
With recent landmark legislation being passed around salary transparency, many companies are playing catch up as they interpret and implement changes.
In this episode, members of the a16z People Operations team, Shannon Schiltz and Brandon Cherry explore how companies can best prepare themselves to not just survive, but thrive in this new environment.
Topics Covered:
00:00 - Salary transparency legislation
01:52 - The culture around pay transparency
03:39 - What is the legislation?
07:01 - How are companies reacting?
11:03 - Structuring a compensation philosophy
12:30 - Pay ranges
15:35 - Exceptions to the pay range
18:17 - Leveling staff
22:30 - Ranges and roles and company growth
28:24 - Location based pay
30:05 - What should employees look for when applying for work?
32:19 - Job postings
35:05 - Reviewing compensation ranges
35:42 - At what stage do you hire help?
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Please note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. a16z and its affiliates may maintain investments in the companies discussed. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures.
How many people spend more time organizing their ?second brains?, instead of leveraging the information within them?
With consumer AI now capable of processing simple language prompts and interfacing with unstructured data, is the landscape of information management on the brink of a transformative evolution?
Founders of Mem, Kevin Moody and Dennis Xu, plus writer Nat Eliason, explore what?s gotten in the way of a true second brain, and how AI may finally unlock what ?knowledge management? tools have promised for so long.
Topics Covered:
00:00 - A true second brain
02:45 - Knowledge management
06:01 - Thiago Forte's ?Building a Second Brain?
10:24 - Digital hoarding
12:53 - The fun of organizing
14:16 - Levels of utility
19:09 - Can the unstructured nature of AI help?
21:46 - What does a second brain unlock?
25:23 - Time spent searching for information
31:07: LLMs and technology unlocks
34:22 - Personalization
36:24 - Is the second brain a new PA and EA?
38:57 - Challenges
44:32 - Moats and differentiators
Resources:
Link to Mem?s website: https://mem.aiFind Kevin on Twitter: https://twitter.com/kevinfmoodyFind Dennis on Twitter: https://twitter.com/DennisHXuFInd Nat on Twitter: https://twitter.com/nateliasonNat?s course on Effortless Output in Roam: https://www.effortlessoutput.com/
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Please note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. a16z and its affiliates may maintain investments in the companies discussed. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures.
In this exclusive conversation from a16z?s Bio and Health BUILD Summit, founding partner Ben Horowitz sits down with general partner Jorge Conde. They discuss everything from the inspiration behind Ben?s book The Hard Thing About Hard Things, how the open Internet was secured, the difference between wartime and peacetime CEOs, scaling culture, and understanding how bio & healthcare differs from other forms of technology.
Topics Covered:
00:00 - Introduction
02:09 - What are the most important lessons for a CEO?
08:45 - Surprising leaders in history
11:41 - Wartime CEO vs the peacetime CEO
14:54 - Cultures role
20:59 - Communication and scaling
25:39 - Culture as a moat
27:46 - The interplay between startups and incumbents
30:22 - Advice for founders on navigating AI
Resources:
Find Ben on Twitter: https://twitter.com/bhorowitzFind Jorge on Twitter: https://twitter.com/jorgecondebioBen?s Book: https://www.amazon.com/Hard-Thing-About-Things-Building/dp/0062273205
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Subscribe on your favorite podcast app: https://a16z.simplecast.com/
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Please note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. a16z and its affiliates may maintain investments in the companies discussed. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures.
From artificial limbs to memory foam, many inventions have emerged from our quest to understand the cosmos.
In this episode we explore cosmic history, space's impact on technology, and the enduring human fascination with space exploration. To take us on this journey is astrophysicist John Mather, a Nobel Prize winner for his work on the COBE satellite and a key figure in the James Webb Space Telescope project.
Prepare to be intrigued and left with a sense of wonder about the universe's influence on our world.
Topics Covered:
00:00 ? Innovations through the pursuit of space
03:52? John?s early life
06:44 ? Proving The Big Bang Theory
13:30 ? The mysteries of quantum mechanics
15:10 ? Leading the James Webb Telescope
17:12 ? Images from James Webb
20:32 ? Are we alone?
24:20 ? New telescopes
25:18 ? Engineering in space for earth
29:31 ? What would you like to see solved in your lifetime?
32:24 ? What came before The Big Bang?
25:04 ? Misconceptions about space
37:17 ? Can humans be a multiplanetary species?
38:20 - Private vs public spending in space
40:24 ? What?s the future of space exploration?
Resources:
COBE satellite imagery: https://www.nasa.gov/topics/universe/features/cobe_20th.htmlImages from the James Webb Telescope: https://webbtelescope.org/imagesExoplanet transmission spectrum: https://webbtelescope.org/contents/media/images/2022/032/01G72VSFW756JW5SXWV1HYMQK4
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Please note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. a16z and its affiliates may maintain
With students learning in more places and different ways than we have ever seen, the pace of change in education is dizzying. Can this progress narrow learning gaps exacerbated by COVID-19 or will it fuel divides? How can we make the most of this once-in-a-generation opportunity?
Join our panelists from Khan Academy, PrismsVR, and Minecraft Education as we discuss the classroom of the future, and how important technologies including AI, XR, and gaming should play a role in it.
Topics Covered:
00:00 ? The classroom of 2023
04:30 ? Data on the current classroom
05:40? Developing the next gen of STEM talent
08:00 ? AI in the classroom
13:10 ? The role of gaming in the classroom
16:00 ? Misconceptions of technology in classroom
17:51 ? The ways teachers and students use AI
21:15 - The future role of a teacher
24:25 ? Personalization and ownership in education
27:11 ? Getting hardware into the classroom
29:54 - Misconceptions of teacher?s abilities and appetite for tech
31:25 ? Why implement these changes now?
36:05 ? Call to action for the classroom of 2050
Resources:
Find Sal Khan on Twitter: https://twitter.com/salkhanacademyFind Romy Drucker on Twitter: https://twitter.com/romydruckerFind Allison Matthews on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/allison-matthews-4050677/Find Anurupa on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anurupa-ganguly-92790379/Learn more about Khan Academy: https://www.khanacademy.org/Learn more about The Walton Family Foundation: https://www.waltonfamilyfoundation.org/Learn more about Minecraft Education: https://education.minecraft.net/en-usLearn more about Prisms VR: https://www.prismsvr.com/Watch more panel discussions from The Aspen Ideas Festival 2023: https://www.aspenideas.org/
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Subscribe on your favorite podcast app: https://a16z.simplecast.com/
Follow our host: https://twitter.com/stephsmithio
Please note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. a16z and its affiliates may maintain investments in the companies discussed. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures.
With software becoming more important than ever, hardware is following suit.
As the world generates more data, unlocking the full potential of AI means a constant need for faster and more resilient hardware.
But how much does this all really cost? In this final segment of our AI hardware series, we tackle that question head on.
Be sure to check part 1 and 2, where we explore the emerging architectures and the momentous competition for AI hardware.
Topics Covered:
00:00 ? The cost of compute
02:20 ? Is this sustainable?
03:23 ? The cost to train a model
05:39 ? Computation requirements
09:05 ? The relationship between compute, capital, and technology
11:15 ? GPT4 commenting on the technology with help from ElevenLabs
Resources:
Find Guido on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/appenz/Find Guido on Twitter: https://twitter.com/appenz
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Subscribe on your favorite podcast app: https://a16z.simplecast.com/
Follow our host: https://twitter.com/stephsmithio
Please note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. a16z and its affiliates may maintain investments in the companies discussed. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures.
With the world constantly generating more data, unlocking the full potential of AI means a constant need for faster and more resilient hardware.
In this episode ? the second in our three-part series ? we explore the challenges for founders trying to build AI companies. We dive into the delta between supply and demand, whether to own or rent, where moats can be found, and even where open source comes into play.
Look out for the rest of our series, where we dive into terminology and technology that is the backbone of the AI, how much the cost of compute truly costs!
Topics Covered:
00:00 ? Supply and demand
02:44 ? Competition for AI hardware
04:32? Who gets access to the supply available
06:16? How to select which hardware to use
08:39? Cloud versus bringing infrastructure in house
12:43? What role does open source play?
15:47? Cheaper and decentralized compute
19:04? Rebuilding the stack
20:29? Upcoming episodes on cost of compute
Resources:
Find Guido on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/appenz/Find Guido on Twitter: https://twitter.com/appenz
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Subscribe on your favorite podcast app: https://a16z.simplecast.com/
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Please note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. a16z and its affiliates may maintain investments in the companies discussed. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures.