a16z Podcast

The Olympics features over 11,000 athletes competing in 32 sports, attracting an audience of more than 10 million.

In this episode, Charlie Ebersol, co-founder of the Alliance of American Football and Infinite Athlete, explores how new innovations like AI and bespoke broadcasting technologies are shaping the future of sports.

Charlie also reflects on the storytelling legacy of his father, Dick Ebersol, a legendary sports producer who transformed how we experience the Olympics. We discuss the importance of making sports more accessible and engaging through technology that enhances, rather than distracts from, the human stories at the heart of the games.

Whether you're a tech enthusiast or a sports fan, this episode offers a unique look at the convergence of these two worlds.

Resources: 

Find Charlie on Twitter: https://x.com/CharlieEbersol

Learn more more about Infinite Athlete: https://infiniteathlete.ai/

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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.

On June 27th, the a16z team headed to New York City for the first-ever AI Artist Retreat at their office. This event brought together the builders behind some of the most popular AI creative tools, along with 16 artists, filmmakers, and designers who are exploring the capabilities of AI in their work.

In this episode, we hear from the innovators pushing the boundaries of AI creativity. Joined by Anish Acharya, General Partner, and Justine Moore, Partner on the Consumer team, we feature insights from:

• Ammaar Reshi - Head of Design, ElevenLabs
• Justin Maier - Cofounder & CEO, Civitai
• Maxfield Hulker - Cofounder & COO, Civitai
• Diego Rodriguez - Cofounder & CTO, Krea
• Victor Perez - Cofounder & CEO, Krea
• Mohammad Norouzi - Cofounder & CEO, Ideogram
• Hang Chu - Cofounder & CEO, Viggle
• Conor Durkan - Cofounder, Udio

These leaders highlight the surprising commonalities between founders and artists, and the interdisciplinary nature of their work. The episode covers the origin stories behind these innovative tools, their viral moments, and their future visions. You'll also hear about the exciting potential for AI in various creative modalities, including image, video, music, 3D, and speech.

Keep an eye out for more in our series highlighting the founders building groundbreaking foundation models and AI applications for video, audio, photography, animation, and more.

Learn more and see videos on artists leveraging AI at: 

a16z.com/aiart

Find Ammaar on Twitter: https://x.com/ammaar

Learn more about ElevenLabs: https://elevenlabs.io

Find Justin on Twitter: https://x.com/justmaier

Find Max on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/maxfield-hulker-5222aa230/
Learn more about Civitai: https://civitai.com

Find Diego on Twitter: https://x.com/asciidiego?lang=en

Find Victor on Twitter: https://x.com/viccpoes

Learn more about Krea: https://www.krea.ai/home

Find Mohammed on Twitter: https://x.com/mo_norouzi

Learn more about Ideogram: https://ideogram.ai/t/explore

Find Conor on Twitter: https://x.com/conormdurkan

Learn more about Udio: https://www.udio.com/home

Find Hang on Twitter: https://x.com/chuhang1122

Learn more about Viggle: https://viggle.ai/

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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.

Gaming is not just entertainment—it's a revolution reshaping our culture, technology, and economy. 

a16z’s Jonathan Lai and Andrew Chen dive into the current gaming renaissance and its future impact. Joining them are Michael Chow, CEO and Steven Snow, CPO of The Believer Company, and Eros Resmini, Founder and Managing Partner of The Mini Fund.

They explore the intersection of tech, art, psychology, and design in gaming, discussing how startups can navigate intense competition, distribution challenges, and high production costs. With insights from these industry leaders, this episode covers the transformative potential of AI, the importance of player feedback, and strategies to stand out in a crowded market.

Recorded during Speedrun, a16z’s extensive games accelerator, this episode offers a glimpse into the strategies and innovations driving the gaming industry forward.

Resources: 

Find Steven on Twitter: https://twitter.com/StevenSnow

Find Michael on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/believer-paladin/

Find Eros on Twitter: https://twitter.com/erosresmini

Find Jonathan on Twitter: https://twitter.com/Tocelot

Find Andrew on Twitter: https://twitter.com/andrewchen

Learn more about Speedrun: https://a16z.com/games/speedrun/

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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.

Former gymnast and current investor Aly Raisman joins general partner Julie Yoo and investment partner Daisy Wolf of a16z Bio + Health.

In this episode, Aly Raisman shares her quest for healthier living—physically, mentally, and financially—on her journey from gymnast to a business investor. Having transitioned from an intensely structured routine, Aly emphasizes the need for more open conversations about mental health and financial literacy. She speaks passionately about the gap in women’s health solutions and hopes to inspire entrepreneurs to create impactful businesses. Aly’s experiences as a patient, survivor, and global figure adds a unique dimension to her perspective as an investor. This candid conversation with Aly and Julie Yoo sheds light on Aly’s passion for more education within the investment space, offering invaluable insights for entrepreneurs, particularly in biotech and healthcare.

Resources: 

Find Aly on Twitter: https://x.com/aly_raisman

Find Julie on Twitter: https://x.com/julesyoo

Find Daisy on Twitter: https://x.com/daisydwolf

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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.

Less than two years since the breakthrough of text-based AI, we now see incredible developments in multimodal AI models and their impact on millions of users.

As part of New York Tech Week, we brought together a live audience and three leaders from standout companies delivering AI-driven products to millions. Gaurav Misra, Cofounder and CEO of Captions, Carles Reina, Chief Revenue Officer of ElevenLabs, and Laura Burkhauser, VP of Product at Descript discuss the challenges and opportunities of designing AI-driven products, solving real customer problems, and effective marketing.

From the critical need for preventing AI misuse to ensuring international accessibility, they cover essential insights for the future of AI technology.

Resources: 

Find Laura on Twitter: https://x.com/burkenstocks

Find Carles on Twitter :https://twitter.com/carles_reina

Find Gaurav of Twitter: https://twitter.com/gmharhar

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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 Ben & Marc Show," featuring a16z co-founders Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz. 

In this special episode, Marc and Ben dive deep into the REAL story behind the creation of Netscape—a web browser co-created by Marc that revolutionized the internet and changed the world. As Ben notes at the top, until today, this story has never been fully told either in its entirety or accurately. 

In this one-on-one conversation, Marc and Ben discuss Marc's early life and how it shaped his journey into technology, the pivotal moments at the University of Illinois that led to the development of Mosaic (a renegade browser that Marc developed as an undergrad), and the fierce competition and legal battles that ensued as Netscape rose to prominence. 

Ben and Marc also reflect on the broader implications of Netscape's success, the importance of an open internet, and the lessons learned that still resonate in today's tech landscape (especially with AI). That and much more. Enjoy!

Watch the FULL Episode on YouTune: https://youtu.be/8aTjA_bGZO4

Resources: 

Marc on X: https://twitter.com/pmarca 

Marc’s Substack: https://pmarca.substack.com/ 

Ben on X: https://twitter.com/bhorowitz 

Book mentioned on this episode: 

- “Expert Political Judgment” by Philip E. Tetlock https://bit.ly/45KzP6M 

TV Series mentioned on this episode: 

- “The Mandalorian” (Disney+) https://bit.ly/3W0Zyoq

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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.

We know that technology has changed art, and that artists have evolved with every new technology — it’s a tale as old as humanity, moving from cave paintings to computers. Underlying these movements are endless debates around inventing versus remixing; between commercialism and art; between mainstream canon and fringe art; whether we’re living in an artistic monoculture now (the answer may surprise you); and much much more. 

So in this new episode featuring Berlin-based contemporary artist Simon Denny -- in conversation with a16z crypto editor in chief Sonal Chokshi -- we discuss all of the above debates. We also cover how artists experimented with the emergence of new technology platforms like the web browser, the iPhone, Instagram and social media; to how generative art found its “native” medium on blockchains, why NFTs; and other art movements. 

Denny also thinks of entrepreneurial ideas -- from Peter Thiel's to Chris Dixon's Read Write Own -- as an "aesthetic"; and thinks of technology artifacts (like NSA sketches!) as art -- reflecting all of these in his works across various mediums and contexts. How has technology changed art, and more importantly, how have artists changed with technology? How does art change our place in the world, or span beyond space? It's about optimism, and seeing things anew... all this and more in this episode.

Resources: 

Find Denny on Twitter: https://x.com/dennnnnnnnny

Find Sonal on Twitter: https://x.com/smc90

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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.

Is it time to hand over cybersecurity to machines amidst the exponential rise in cyber threats and breaches?

We trace the evolution of cybersecurity from minimal measures in 1995 to today's overwhelmed DevSecOps. Travis McPeak, CEO and Co-founder of Resourcely, kicks off our discussion by discussing the historical shifts in the industry. Kevin Tian, CEO and Founder of Doppel, highlights the rise of AI-driven threats and deepfake campaigns. Feross Aboukhadijeh, CEO and Founder of Socket, provides insights into sophisticated attacks like the XZ Utils incident. Andrej Safundzic, CEO and Founder of Lumos, discusses the future of autonomous security systems and their impact on startups.

Recorded at a16z's Campfire Sessions, these top security experts share the real challenges they face and emphasize the need for a new approach. 

Resources: 

Find Travis McPeak on Twitter: https://x.com/travismcpeak

Find Kevin Tian on Twitter: https://twitter.com/kevintian00

Find Feross Aboukhadijeh on Twitter: https://x.com/feross

Find Andrej Safundzic on Twitter: https://x.com/andrejsafundzic

Stay Updated: 

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Find a16z on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/a16z

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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.

Brooke Boyarsky Pratt, founder and CEO of knownwell, joins Vineeta Agarwala, general partner at a16z Bio + Health.

Together, they talk about the value of obesity medicine practitioners, patient-centric medical homes, and how Brooke believes the metabolic health space will evolve over time.

This is the second episode in Raising Health’s series on the science and supply of GLP-1s. Listen to last week's episode to hear from Carolyn Jasik, Chief Medical Officer at Omada Health, on GLP-1s from a clinical perspective.

Listen to more from Raising Health’s series on GLP-1s:

The science of satiety: https://raisinghealth.simplecast.com/episodes/the-science-and-supply-of-glp-1s-with-carolyn-jasik

Payers, providers and pricing: https://raisinghealth.simplecast.com/episodes/the-science-and-supply-of-glp-1s-with-chronis-manolis

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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 latest episode on the State of AI, Ben and Marc discuss how small AI startups can compete with Big Tech’s massive compute and data scale advantages, reveal why data is overrated as a sellable asset, and unpack all the ways the AI boom compares to the internet boom.

Subscribe to the Ben & Marc podcast: 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.

Over the past decade, usage-based pricing has soared in popularity. Why? Because it aligns cost with value, letting customers pay only for what they use. But, that flexibility is not without issues - especially when it comes to predicting revenue. Fortunately, with the right process and infrastructure, your usage-based revenue can become more predictable than the traditional seat-based SaaS model. 

In this episode from the a16z Growth team, Fivetran’s VP of Strategy and Operations Travis Ferber and Alchemy’s Head of Sales Dan Burrill join a16z Growth’s Revenue Operations Partner Mark Regan. Together, they discuss the art of generating reliable usage-based revenue. They share tips for avoiding common pitfalls when implementing this pricing model - including how to nail sales forecasting, adopting the best tools to track usage, and deal with the initial lack of customer data. 

Resources: 

Learn more about pricing, packaging, and monetization strategies: a16z.com/pricing-packaging

Find Dan on Twitter: https://twitter.com/BurrillDaniel

Find Travis on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/travisferber

Find Mark on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mregan178

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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.

On May 21, the California Senate passed bill 1047.

This bill – which sets out to regulate AI at the model level – wasn’t garnering much attention, until it slid through an overwhelming bipartisan vote of 32 to 1 and is now queued for an assembly vote in August that would cement it into law. In this episode, a16z General Partner Anjney Midha and Venture Editor Derrick Harris breakdown everything the tech community needs to know about SB-1047.

This bill really is the tip of the iceberg, with over 600 new pieces of AI legislation swirling in the United States. So if you care about one of the most important technologies of our generation and America’s ability to continue leading the charge here, we encourage you to read the bill and spread the word.

Read the bill: https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=202320240SB1047

Consumer AI is moving fast, so who's leading the charge? 

a16z Consumer Partners Olivia Moore and Bryan Kim discuss our GenAI 100 list and what it takes for an AI model to stand out and dominate the market.

They discuss how these cutting-edge apps are connecting with their users and debate whether traditional strategies like paid acquisition and network effects are still effective. We're going beyond rankings to explore pivotal benchmarks like D7 retention and introduce metrics that define today's AI market.

Note: This episode was recorded prior to OpenAI's Spring update. Catch our latest insights in the previous episode to stay ahead!

Resources:

Link to the Gen AI 100: https://a16z.com/100-gen-ai-apps

Find Bryan on Twitter: https://twitter.com/kirbyman01

Find Olivia on Twitter: https://x.com/omooretweets

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.

a16z General Partner David Haber talks with Marty Chavez, vice chairman and partner at Sixth Street Partners, about the foundational role he’s had in merging technology and finance throughout his career, and the magical promises and regulatory pitfalls of AI.

This episode is taken from “In the Vault”, a new audio podcast series by the a16z Fintech team. Each episode features the most influential figures in financial services to explore key trends impacting the industry and the pressing innovations that will shape our future. 

Resources: 
Listen to more of In the Vault: https://a16z.com/podcasts/a16z-live

Find Marty on X: https://twitter.com/rmartinchavez

Find David on X: https://twitter.com/dhaber

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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.

This was a big week in the world of AI, with both OpenAI and Google dropping significant updates. So big that we decided to break things down in a new format with our Consumer partners Bryan Kim and Justine Moore. We discuss the multi-modal companions that have found their voice, but also why not all audio is the same, and why several nuances like speed and personality really matter.

Resources:

OpenAI’s Spring announcement: https://openai.com/index/hello-gpt-4o/

Google I/O announcements: https://blog.google/technology/ai/google-io-2024-100-announcements/

Stay Updated: 

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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.

Make sure to check out our new AI + a16z feed: https://link.chtbl.com/aiplusa16z
 

a16z General Partner Anjney Midha joins the podcast to discuss what's happening with hardware for artificial intelligence. Nvidia might have cornered the market on training workloads for now, but he believes there's a big opportunity at the inference layer — especially for wearable or similar devices that can become a natural part of our everyday interactions. 

Here's one small passage that speaks to his larger thesis on where we're heading:

"I think why we're seeing so many developers flock to Ollama is because there is a lot of demand from consumers to interact with language models in private ways. And that means that they're going to have to figure out how to get the models to run locally without ever leaving without ever the user's context, and data leaving the user's device. And that's going to result, I think, in a renaissance of new kinds of chips that are capable of handling massive workloads of inference on device.

"We are yet to see those unlocked, but the good news is that open source models are phenomenal at unlocking efficiency.  The open source language model ecosystem is just so ravenous."

More from Anjney:

The Quest for AGI: Q*, Self-Play, and Synthetic Data

Making the Most of Open Source AI

Safety in Numbers: Keeping AI Open

Investing in Luma AI

Follow everyone on X:

Anjney Midha

Derrick Harris

Check out everything a16z is doing with artificial intelligence here, including articles, projects, and more podcasts.

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 2009 Discord cofounder and CEO, Jason Citron, started building tools and infrastructure for games. Fast forward to today and the platform has over 200 million monthly active users. 

In this episode, Jason, alongside a16z General Partner Anjney Midha—who merged his company Ubiquity6 with Discord in 2021—shares insights on the nuances of community-driven product development, the shift from gamer to developer, and Discord’s longstanding commitment to platform extensibility. 

Now, with Discord's recent release of embeddable apps, what can we expect now that it's easier than ever for developers to build? 

Resources: 

Find Jason on Twitter: https://twitter.com/jasoncitron

Find Anjney on Twitter: https://twitter.com/AnjneyMidha

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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.

Human nature fears the unknown, and with the rapid progress of AI, concerns naturally arise. Uncanny robocalls, data breaches, and misinformation floods are among the worries. But what about security in the era of large language models?

In this episode, we hear from security leaders at OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google DeepMind. Matt Knight, Head of Security at OpenAI, Jason Clinton, CISO at Anthropic, and Vijay Bolina, CISO at Google DeepMind, are joined by Joel de la Garza, operating partner at a16z and former chief security officer at Box and Citigroup.

Together, they explore how large language models impact security, including changes in offense and defense strategies, misuse by nation-state actors, prompt engineering, and more. In this changing environment, how do LLMs transform security dynamics? Let's uncover the answers.

Resources:

Find Joel on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/3448827723723234/

Find Vijay Bolina on Twitter: https://twitter.com/vijaybolina

Find Jason Clinton on Twitter: https://twitter.com/JasonDClinton

Find Matt Knight  on Twitter: https://twitter.com/embeddedsec

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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 recent years, the AI landscape has seen huge advancements, from the release of Dall-E 2 in April 2022 to the emergence of AI music and video models in early 2024.

While creative tools often steal the spotlight, AlphaFold 2 marked a groundbreaking AI breakthrough in biology in 2021. Since its release, this pioneering tool for predicting protein structures has been utilized by over 1.7 million scientists worldwide, influencing fields ranging from genomics to computational chemistry.

In this episode, DeepMind's VP of Research for Science, Pushmeet Kohli, and a16z General Partner Vijay Pande discuss the transformative potential of AI in scientific exploration. Can AI lead to fundamentally new discoveries in science? Let's find out.

Resources: 

Find Pushmeet on Twitter: https://twitter.com/pushmeet

Find Vijay on Twitter: https://twitter.com/vijaypande

Learn more about Google DeepMind: https://deepmind.google

Read DeepMind’s AlphaFold whitepaper: https://deepmind.google/discover/blog/a-glimpse-of-the-next-generation-of-alphafold

Read DeepMind’s AlphaGeometry: https://deepmind.google/discover/blog/alphageometry-an-olympiad-level-ai-system-for-geometry

Read DeepMind’s research on new materials: https://deepmind.google/discover/blog/millions-of-new-materials-discovered-with-deep-learning/

Read DeepMind’s paper on FunSearch, focused on new discoveries in mathematics: https://deepmind.google/discover/blog/funsearch-making-new-discoveries-in-mathematical-sciences-using-large-language-models

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.

Over 3,700 companies applied to a16z’s SPEEDRUN. In this episode, we meet the founders pushing the boundaries of what games can be.

From the fusion of traditional gaming elements with modern tech-twists, a16z General Partner Andrew Chen and Partner Josh Lu discuss the challenges and wins of creating games that are not only fun but also integrate seamlessly into the digital age, from AI-twins to games that “move at the speed of culture”. 

Whether you’re a developer, an enthusiast, or just curious about the future of interactive entertainment, this episode provides a glimpse into how today's creators use creativity and technology to captivate.

If you're passionate about shaping the future of gaming, consider applying for SPEEDRUN 3.0 at a16z.com/speedrun3.

Resources: 

Submit your SPEEDRUN 3.0 application: https://a16z.com/speedrun-la-2024

Find Andrew on Twitter: https://twitter.com/andrewchen

Find Josh on Twitter: https://twitter.com/JoshLu

Learn more about Avi and Magic Circle: https://twitter.com/aviromanoff

Learn more about Lil Snack: https://www.lilsnack.co

Learn more about Neon Wild: https://www.neonwild.com

Learn more about Open Souls: https://www.opensouls.studio

Learn more about Altera: https://altera.al

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.

Senator Todd Young (R-IN) speaks with a16z General Partner Martin Casado about the importance of open innovation and American leadership in AI, and why we need to support AI research at all levels — from the classroom to the war room.

In this episode, we distinguish science fiction from science reality in the ever-evolving AI landscape.

Resources:

Find Senator Todd Young on Twitter: https://twitter.com/toddyoungin

Find Martin Casado on Twitter: https://twitter.com/martin_casado

Watch the American Dynamism stage talks on YouTube: https://bit.ly/3IqWn1W

To learn more about the American Dynamism Summit, visit our website: a16z.com/ad-summit

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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 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

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 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

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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: 

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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.

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: 

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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.

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: 

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.

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: 

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 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 Brian 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 Taleb
• The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell
• Spider-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 Chen
  • On Andrew Chen's writing habits
• On investing in Coinbase in 2013
• Guidance 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 Roughgarden
• Gödel 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 Shannon
• Principia Mathematica by Bertrand Russell and Alfred North Whitehead
• An Investigation of the Laws of Thought by George Boole
• The 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 Pitts
• Crossing the Chasm by Geoffrey A. Moore
• On "thesis, antithesis, and synthesis" and Hegel's Dialectics

As 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: 

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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.

(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

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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: 

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.

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: 

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.

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: 

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.

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

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.

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: 

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.

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

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.

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/

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.

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: 

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.

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

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.

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 Selling
• Building Products With Generative AI
   

Learn more about company-building: https://a16z.com/category/company-building/

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.

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/

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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

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.

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/pavtalk
• Learn more about Gym Class: https://www.gymclassvr.com
• Find Gym Class in Meta Quest: https://www.meta.com/experiences/3661420607275144/
• Find Anurupa on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anurupa-ganguly-92790379
• Learn more about Prisms VR: https://www.prismsvr.com

Stay Updated: 

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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.

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/alighodsi
• Find Ben on Twitter: https://twitter.com/bhorowitz
• Check 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/DaphneKoller
• Find Vijay on Twitter: https://twitter.com/vijaypande
• Find Insitro on Twitter: https://twitter.com/insitro

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 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

Stay Updated: 

Find a16z on Twitter: https://twitter.com/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.

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

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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 Cordeiro
• A 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 Cordeiro
• Fixing Hardware Security Bugs with Large Language Models (2023) by Baleegh Ahmad, Shailja Thakur, Benjamin Tan, Ramesh Karri, Hammond Pearce
• Do Users Write More Insecure Code with AI Assistants? (2022) by Neil Perry, Megha Srivastava, Deepak Kumar, Dan Boneh
• Asleep at the Keyboard? Assessing the Security of GitHub Copilot's Code Contributions (2021) by Hammond Pearce, Baleegh Ahmad, Benjamin Tan, Brendan Dolan-Gavitt, Ramesh Karri
• Voting, Security, and Governance in Blockchains (2019) with Ali Yahya and Phil Daian   
   

As 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.

Stay Updated: 

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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.

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?

Stay Updated: 

Find a16z on Twitter: https://twitter.com/a16z

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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.

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.ai
• Find Kevin on Twitter: https://twitter.com/kevinfmoody
• Find Dennis on Twitter: https://twitter.com/DennisHXu
• FInd Nat on Twitter: https://twitter.com/nateliason
• Nat’s course on Effortless Output in Roam: https://www.effortlessoutput.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.

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/bhorowitz
• Find Jorge on Twitter: https://twitter.com/jorgecondebio
• Ben’s Book: https://www.amazon.com/Hard-Thing-About-Things-Building/dp/0062273205

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 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.html
• Images from the James Webb Telescope: https://webbtelescope.org/images
• Exoplanet transmission spectrum: https://webbtelescope.org/contents/media/images/2022/032/01G72VSFW756JW5SXWV1HYMQK4

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

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/salkhanacademy
• Find Romy Drucker on Twitter: https://twitter.com/romydrucker
• Find 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-us
• Learn 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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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.

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

Stay Updated: 

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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.

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

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.

In 2011, Marc Andreessen said, “software is eating the world.” And in the last year, we’ve seen a new wave of generative AI, with some apps becoming some of the most swiftly adopted software products of all time.

So if software is becoming more important than ever, hardware is following suit. In this episode – the first in our three-part series – we explore the terminology and technology that is now the backbone of the AI models taking the world by storm. We’ll explore what GPUs are, how they work, the key players like Nvidia competing for chip dominance, and also… whether Moore’s Law is dead?

Look out for the rest of our series, where we dive even deeper; covering supply and demand mechanics, including why we can’t just “print” our way out of a shortage, how founders get access to inventory, whether they should own or rent, where open source plays a role, and of course… how much all of this truly costs!

Topics Covered:

00:00 – AI terminology and technology

03:44 - Chips, semiconductors, servers, and compute

04:48 - CPUs and GPUs

06:07 - Future architecture and performance

07:01 - The hardware ecosystem

09:05 - Software optimizations

12:23 - What do we expect for the future?

14:35 - Upcoming episodes on market  and cost

Resources: 

• Find Guido on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/appenz/
• Find Guido on Twitter: https://twitter.com/appenz

Stay Updated: 

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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.

Despite the ease of product building, sustainable growth has become increasingly challenging as many traditional channels no longer deliver the same results.

In these challenging times, we explore the remaining growth opportunities. How can we achieve a balance between efficiency, profitability, and growth? Which channels are still relevant and how can they be effectively mastered in 2023?

Join us as we discuss these questions with three seasoned experts who have successfully navigated similar confusing times in the past: Gina Gotthilf, leading Latitud and renowned for her impressive tenure as the VP of Growth at Duolingo; Kieran Flanagan, a long-time SVP of Marketing at HubSpot; and Bryan Kim, Consumer Partner at a16z, who held various leadership roles during Snap's hypergrowth phase up to its IPO.

Topics Covered:

00:00 – What growth opportunities exist in 2023?

03:00 – What still works in growth?

05:02 – The fundamentals and framework of growth

07:02 – Assessing growth potential and product lead growth

09:33 – Distribution

11:15 – Your moat and growth

14:00 – Integrating AI for product lead growth

16:23 –Trust as a moat

17:23 – B2C growth - discovery and breaking through

18:51 – Can you get ahead of the incumbents?

22:03 – Examples of companies and products

24:59 – How do you foster a growth culture?

28:38 – Experimentation  

34:20 – How companies using AI in distribution

44:43 – Growth challenge: What would you do with $10K?

Resources:

• Check out Latitud: https://go.latitud.com/
• Check out Zapier: https://zapier.com/
• Find Bryan on Twitter: https://twitter.com/kirbyman01
• Find Kieran on Twitter :https://twitter.com/searchbrat
• Find Gina on Twitter: https://twitter.com/ginag

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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 is with Mark Cuban, founder of multiple businesses, owner of the Dallas Mavericks, one of the sharks on Shark Tank, and cofounder of the Mark Cuban Cost Plus Drug Company. He is joined by Vijay Pande, founding partner of a16z Bio + Health. 

Together, they talk market forces in healthcare, the importance of trust to patients, and Mark’s ideas to tackle the Gordian knot that is American healthcare.

Listen to our last two episodes on Healthcare x Fintech:

• When Two Giants Intersect: Healthcare Meets Fintech
• How Fintech is Reshaping Our $4T Healthcare Industry

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.

Remote work is a big, divisive topic right now. Some think it’s the future, while others think it was an experiment gone wrong.

But it’s also not the only way to attract top talent. And the equation for doing so has only gotten more confusion as a myriad of trends intersect, from layoffs to emerging technologies like AI.

So how can companies navigate this storm and truly attract the talent that matters? Listen in to find out.

Topics Covered:

• 00:00 – Introduction
• 03:26 – What it takes to attract top talent in 2023
• 06:36 – What employees really care about
• 14:13 – Positives and negatives of benefits
• 17:32 – Generational differences
• 27:44 – Will the return to office work?
• 34:35 – Differentiating through benefits
• 38:35 – Advice to attract top talent
• 44:16 – Closing thoughts

Resources:

• A-Team study referenced:https://www.a.team/mission/college-grads-survey
• iCIMS study referenced: https://www.dropbox.com/s/2q3hepreozaurte/iCIMS-Class-of-2021-Report.pdf
• Most recent iCIMS study: https://www.icims.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/iCIMS-2023-Workforce-Report-FINAL.pdf
• Find AJ on Twitter: https://twitter.com/ItsAJThomas
• Find Rob on Twitter: https://twitter.com/RobFrohwein
• Find Hung on Twitter: https://twitter.com/HungLee
• Check out Keep Financial: https://keepfinancial.com/
• Check out Recruiting Brainfood: https://www.recruitingbrainfood.com/

Self-driving cars have been on the horizon for quite some time. But, they might actually be here.

We got to ride around in one all over San Francisco with Waymo’s Chief Product Officer, Saswat Panigrahi.

We discussed so much, including the five levels of autonomy, the infamous LIDAR vs video debate, regulation, UX, and the role of AI in fine-tuning these models. But most importantly, if autonomy is here… now what?!

Topics Covered:

• 00:00 - Introduction
• 03:20 - A first look at Waymo
• 05:21 - 5 levels of autonomy
• 09:45 - Technology challenges
• 14:32 - LiDAR vs video debate
• 18:19 - How Waymo differentiates
• 19:01 - Technological unlocks on the horizon
• 20:39 - The role of AI in autonomous vehicles
• 25:37 - How Waymo views safety
• 32:05 - Collaborating with regulators
• 37:26 - Learnings from the first 2m miles
• 39:45 - Driving user retention
• 43:47 - Waymo’s expansion strategy
• 47:00 - Changing regulation
• 47:41 - Societal unlocks enabled by autonomy
• 52:21 - Will self-driving cars replace humans?
• 52:58 - Closing thoughts

Resources:

Check out Waymo: https://waymo.com/

Check out Waymo's Youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@Waymo

Find Saswat on Twitter: https://twitter.com/saswat101

Check out a16z's 8-part series on the autonomous vehicle ecosystem: https://a16z.com/2018/02/03/autonomy-ecosystem-frank-chen-summit/

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.

with @skominers @smc90

In this deep dive and tour through key business concepts, from theory to practice, we cover the topics of strategy, competitive advantage,  network effects, moats, and more -- covering both both basic foundations, as well as the tricky nuances in a new world of open source, including web3.  In the first half of this discussion, we cover foundational business concepts and questions -- such as the nature of competition, and how it *really* changes in web3; as well as how network effects really work -- and then, in the second half (in case you want to skip ahead), we cover mindsets and general guidance for builders…

Our expert guest -- in conversation with editor in chief and host Sonal Chokshi -- is a16z crypto research partner Scott Duke Kominers, who is also a professor at Harvard Business School; a faculty affiliate in Harvard’s Department of Economics; and advises several companies on marketplace development, incentive design, and more; as well as advises, and is directly involved, in several NFT communities. 

Scott also teaches on these topics -- both at Harvard and also recently at our Crypto Startup School -- so be sure to subscribe to our playlist for those talks on the a16z crypto YouTube channel to get the latest updates as we release more videos from the 2023 cohort.  

Listen to web3 with a16z: https://web3-with-a16z.simplecast.com/

related links // see also:

• Can web3 bring back competition to digital platforms? by Christian Catalini and Scott Duke Kominers
• Why build in web3 by Jad Esber and Scott Duke Kominers
• Vampire attacks: A theory (and thread) on 'blood sucking' platform competition by John William Hatfield and Scott Duke Kominers
• Why NFT creators are going cc0 by Flashrekt and Scott Duke Kominers
• Decentralized identity: Your reputation travels with you by Scott Duke Kominers and Jad Esber
• Increasing returns and the new world of business (1996) by W. Brian Arthur
• Network effects, origin Stories, and the evolution of tech with W. Brian Arthur, Marc Andreeessen, and Sonal Chokshi
• The five competitive forces that shape strategy (2008 reformulation of 1979 paper) by Michael Porter
• Strategies for two-sided markets (2006) by Tom Eisenmann, Geoffrey Parker, and Marshall Van Alstyne

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.

This week, a16z’s own cofounder Marc Andreessen published a nearly 7,000-word article that aimed to dispel fears over AI's risks to our humanity – both real and imagined. Instead, Marc elaborates on how AI can "make everything we care about better." 

In this timely one-on-one conversation with a16z General Partner Martin Casado, Marc discusses how this technology will maximize human potential, why the future of AI should be decided by the free market, and most importantly, why AI won’t destroy the world. In fact, it may save it. 

Read Marc’s full article “Why AI Will Save the World” here: https://a16z.com/2023/06/06/ai-will-save-the-world/

Resources:

Marc on Twitter: https://twitter.com/pmarca 

Marc’s Substack: https://pmarca.substack.com/ 

gptplaysminecraft - Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/gptplaysminecraft

Why AI Will Save the World: https://a16z.com/2023/06/06/ai-will-save-the-world/

Youtube discussion: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0wIUK0nsyUg

Stay Updated: 

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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.

The holy grail of company building is finding product-market fit. But what most people don’t tell you is that once you’ve found it, product-market fit brings its own set of challenges, particularly when it comes to scaling rapidly and hiring the right executives at the right time.

Drawing from their extensive experiences, a16z cofounder Ben Horowitz and Databricks cofounder and CEO Ali Ghodsi sit down to talk about the hardest things about executive hiring and firing, and what is at stake.

They dive into the common reasons an exec fails, why sometimes micromanagement is a good idea, and the difference between someone who has written a playbook and someone who has only run one.

If you’d like to dive even deeper, the Growth team at a16z has spent the last year compiling insights from dozens of leaders at late-stage startups to literally write the book on hiring executives to scale. You can find that book at: http://a16z.com/executive-hiring-playbook

Topics Covered:

• 00:00 - When is it time to let someone go?
• 05:41 - When do you give someone a chance to grow into the role?
• 07:05-  Let go or level?
• 09:27 - How do you have the tough conversation? 
• 16:39 - Exit packages
• 18:40 - Setting a new leader up for success
• 24:27 - The importance of the first quick win 
• 26:24 - The impact a new leader has on culture
• 32:52 - Common ways new leaders fail
• 37:35 - Closing thoughts

Resources:

Read the Executive Hiring: The Key to Scaling in the Growth Stages: http://a16z.com/executive-hiring-playbook

Learn more about Databricks: https://www.databricks.com

Find Ben on Twitter: https://twitter.com/bhorowitz

Find Ali on Twitter: https://twitter.com/alighodsi

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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. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures

Demand for electric cars is booming. More than 10 million electric cars were sold worldwide in 2022, and consumer behavior is changing as more people embrace alternative and sustainable modes of mobility.

While the electrification movement is a critical element of climate action, it also presents new challenges - from the sky to the sea.

In this episode, industry experts Gregory Davis, CEO of Eviation Planes, Mitch Lee, co-founder and CEO of Arc Boats, and Duncan McIntyre, founder and CEO of Highland Electric Fleets, dive into how the electrification movement is shaping the future of transport and technology.

Topics Covered:

• 00:00 - Introduction
• 03:29 - The sustainable aviation industry
• 04:47 - Electric school, municipal and government vehicles
• 07:57 - Electric boats
• 10:49 - What can be transferred from the EV car market?
• 14:06 - Battery challenges and architecture
• 19:06 - Providing grid services 
• 22:55 - Building a multimodal business
• 33:19 - Gaps in the market
• 46:16 - Do you make, buy, or borrow?
• 57:26 - What does the future look like for each industry?

Resources:

Learn more about Arc Boats: https://arcboats.com

Learn more about Highland Electric Fleets: https://highlandfleets.com

Learn more about Eviation: https://www.eviation.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.

Today’s episode is with Magi Richani, founder and CEO of Nobell Foods. She is joined by a16z Bio + Health general partner Vijay Pande.

Together, they talk about the details of engineering plants to create the future of food, why Nobell started with soybeans to produce their cheese, and her dream of finding a cheese pizza—with Nobell cheese—at any pizza shop across the country.

Many companies today are grappling with a few things: an economic downturn, potential layoffs and restructuring, and trying to keep up with the latest tech trends… all while still maintaining a growth trajectory.

In this episode, you’ll learn which companies are uniquely designed to weather this storm and what attributes these exponential organizations have. We’re joined by the co-authors of Exponential Organzations, Peter Diamandids and Salim Ismail, both also well-known for their involvement in XPrize and Singularity University, among many other companies.

Topics Covered:

• 00:00 - Introduction
• 03:11 -What is an ‘Exponential Organization’?
• 04:46 - What has changed in business since 2014
• 07:06 - Building companies with minimal cost supply ***
• 11:49 - Can  incumbents become exponential organizations?
• 16:27 - Massive Transformative Purpose (MTPs)
• 19:04 - How can you tell if you have a good MTP
• 22:34 - Unilever’s MTP
• 23:27 - Staff on demand
• 29:35 - Building interfaces and dashboards
• 30:36 - The importance of experimenting
• 34:19 - The economic downturn and restructuring
• 38:00 - Peer-to-peer collaborative technologies
• 42:30 - Digitizing your business
• 43:53 - Kodak example
• 45:37 - Automation and the humans role
• 52:06 - How have you seen companies integrate AI?
• 56:56 - Emerging roles due to exponential trends
• 59:56 - The framework and diagnostic survey
• 01:00:02 - Creating APIs you can build on
• 01:05:00 - Opportunities in the market

Resources:

Attend the Exponential Organization workshop on June 6: https://www.diamandis.com/exo

Learn more about Peter: https://www.diamandis.com/about

Learn more about Salim: https://salimismail.com/

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.

In this episode, you’ll hear directly from 6 founders trying to reinvent the healthcare system with the help of Fintech.

They’re tackling everything from the lack of price transparency, the complexity of billing, getting clinics paid on time, mental health support for the masses, virtual first-care, and the millions of Americans about to lose access to Medicaid.

Topics Covered:

• 00:00 - The biggest problems in healthcare
• 02:22 - The lack of price transparency
• 07:13 - The complexity of medical billing
• 14:32 - Getting health clinics paid on time
• 20:00 - Mental health support for the masses
• 24:58 - Millions about to lose Medicaid
• 29:12 - Adopting virtual-first care

Resources:

• Learn more about the intersection of Healthcare and Fintech: https://a16z.com/healthcare-meets-fintech/
• Check out Turquoise: https://turquoise.health/
• Check out Cedar: https://www.cedar.com/
• Check out Juniper: https://www.juniperplatform.com/
• Check out Headway: https://headway.co/
• Check out Propel: https://www.joinpropel.com/
• Check out Firefly: https://www.firefly.health/
• Find Chris on Twitter: https://twitter.com/crsevern?lang=en
• Find Florian on Twitter: https://twitter.com/flottobrasil?lang=en
• Find Jade on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jadeyychan/
• Find Andrew on Twitter: https://twitter.com/andrewlangadams?lang=en
• Find Jimmy on Twitter: https://twitter.com/jimmychen?lang=en
• Find Fay on Twitter: https://twitter.com/fyietc

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.

2022 was a breakout year for AI. While machine learning had already been integrated into applications for millions of users, for many, these tools still felt like their first real-world encounter with AI.

As AI continues to revolutionize industries, CEOs are discussing how to integrate this new superpower. They are also considering important questions around data privacy, competition, cost, accuracy, and speed.

In today's episode, we talk with Cresta, Hex, and Sourcegraph, three companies at the forefront of integrating AI into their existing products. From navigating data privacy concerns to optimizing accuracy and managing costs, these leaders are navigating the complexities of this new superpower.

Topics Covered:

• 00:00 - Introduction
• 02:51 - How AI can enhance customer service
• 08:26 - Using AI to shape data and analytics
• 09:33 - Solving the challenges on contextual understanding
• 12:01 - Giving AI the right information and context
• 13:31 - Tools that help build language Models (LLMs)
• 15:39 - Building open source tools
• 18:40 - Constructing prompts
• 22:26 - How do you differentiate?
• 23:48 - Customization as a moat
• 25:26 - Privacy challenges
• 29:14 - Language models and search engines
• 30:41 - Cost and pricing of models
• 32:48 - What does the contact center look like in 2028?

Resources:

Find Barry McCardel on Twitter https://twitter.com/barrald

Find Beyang Liu on Twitter: https://twitter.com/beyang

Find Zayd Enam on Twitter: https://twitter.com/zaydenam

Recent AI episodes:

• From Promise to Reality: Inside a16z's Data and AI Forum
• Beyond Avatars: How AI is Reshaping Online Identity
• Unlocking Creativity with Prompt Engineering

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. For more details please see

Most people don’t need a reminder of the state of healthcare in America. But it’s not just the consumer that’s hurting.  Medical debt is increasing, billions are lost in unpaid claims, hospitals are in the red, service prices can range up to 30x…. 

In this episode, a16z GPs Julie You and David Haber explain where the healthcare system breaks down and how the three party system — between payors, providers, and consumers — can be rethought through the lens of Fintech.

Learn more about Healthcare x Fintech here: https://a16z.com/healthcare-meets-fintech/

Topics Covered:

• 00:00 - Introduction
• 02:50 - The intersection of healthcare and fintech 
• 05:40 - The problems within US healthcare 
• 09:00 - The stats behind US healthcare
• 12:10 - Where do the problems stem from in healthcare?
• 15:50 - New opportunities and regulatory changes
• 17:50 - Pushback on regulations
• 19:40 - Provider and patient models and transparency
• 21.10 -  The ‘No Surprises Act’ and the ‘Cures Act’
• 23:20 - Applying fintech infrastructure to healthcare
• 26:00 - Example: how Juniper in embedding fintech in healthcare
• 30:10 - Opportunities in the healthcare/fintech market
• 33:05 - Payvidors unbundled 
• 34:55 - The financial operating system for healthcare
• 37:40 - How founders can approach the problems
• 39:23 - The investor standpoint on company opportunities
• 41:00 - Unsolved problems in the market
• 45:25 - The bridge between start-ups and incumbents 
• 47:20 - Healthcare incumbent stats  
• 48:50 - The window of opportunity for healthcare and fintech

Resources:

• Read the article ‘Healthtech x Fintech’s Biggest Prize: The Financial Operating System for Healthcare: https://a16z.com/2023/02/07/healthtech-x-fintechs-biggest-prize/
• Read the article ‘ Payvidors, Unbundled: Opportunities in Healthcare Fintech’:https://a16z.com/2022/06/01/payvidors-unbundled-opportunities-in-healthcare-fintech/
• Find Julie on Twitter :https://twitter.com/julesyoo
• Find David on Twitter: https://twitter.com/dhaber

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. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures.

Nvidia’s CEO Jensen Huang declared in a recent keynote, “we are in the iPhone moment of AI.”

This special episode will give you an inside look into a16z’s Data and AI Forum, hosted the day GPT-4 came out, featuring many of the most influential builders in the space – from the companies building foundational models like OpenAI to those building the underlying infrastructure like AWS.

Resources:

Check out CoactiveAI: https://coactive.ai/

Check out CharacterAI: http://character.ai/

Check out Hex: https://hex.tech/

Follow Cody on Twitter: https://twitter.com/codyaustun

Follow Myle on Twitter: https://twitter.com/myleott

Follow Barry on Twitter: https://twitter.com/barrald

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. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures.

In a recent episode, we delved into the first wave of technology that was used to create digital influencers like 'Lil Miquela back in 2016.

Fast forward to today, we're presented with a whole new set of tools that enable almost anyone to build their own digital influencer. 

In this episode, Sinead Bovell and Danny Postma discuss the transformative impact of artificial intelligence on the world of modeling, online creation, and self-representation.

From the rise of AI-generated photos to the democratization of creativity, they discuss the potential of AI in shaping the future of digital expression.

Topics Covered:

• 00:00 - Introduction
• 03:08 - The key insight
• 08:00 - The photo studio of the future
• 09:44 - Programs and models behind deep fakes
• 10:58 - How the technology is used today
• 12:36 - How real is today’s content?
• 15:29 - The cost of a virtual model
• 17:13 - Industry benefits
• 19:28 - Market appetite
• 23:25 - Evolving tech
• 25:15 - Unlocking a new wave of creativity
• 28:38 - Future predictions
• 30:23 - Keeping up with tech
• 32:02 - Finding a moat
• 34:09 - Stacked AI models
• 35:25 - Running your own GPUs and models
• 37:33 - Product ideas

Resources:

Find Danny Postma on Twitter: https://twitter.com/dannypostmaa

Headshot Pro, ProfilePicture.Ai plus all of Danny’s projects at: https://www.postcrafts.com/

Find Sinéad Bovell on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sineadbovell/?hl=en

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. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures.

There is arguably nothing that impacts our daily lives more than consumer technology. This technology can drive our ability to change careers, build an audience, or feel understood. 

And in this episode, listeners get a sneak peek into our new consumer series, Field Notes, where a16z’s very own Connie Chan speaks with the builders, creators, and investors behind the technology that shapes our daily lives.

If you like these segments, you can find the full episodes at a16z.com/fieldnotes.

Topics Covered:

• 00:00 - Introduction
• 02:13 - Chris Schroder
• 08:15 - Brian Wong
• 15:35 - Tracy Sun
• 23:03 - Deb Liu
• 30:56 - Susan Plagemann

Resources: 

Find the full series: https://a16z.com/fieldnotes

Find Connie on Twitter: https://twitter.com/conniechan

Deb's Part 1:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Is2pm06MNt8

Deb's Part 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=osJp6S66u2U

Chris's episode: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zux1wVirUjs

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. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures.

with @amandacassatt @kimbatronic @smc90

All about marketing, and web3 -- not just for marketers already in or seeking to enter web3, but also anyone doing community marketing/ community management, devrel (developer relations); or simply doing marketing in web2 or classic growth marketing, seeking to understand the latest trends and tactics.

With the  author of the new book, Web3 Marketing: A Handbook for the Next Internet Revolution, Amanda Cassatt (who was also the first CMO at ConsenSys, helping bring Ethereum to market; and also founded and leads the pioneering, native web3-marketing agency Serotonin). Also joining this episode to share insights on marketing web3 -- in conversation with host and editor in chief Sonal Chokshi -- is Kim Milosevich, CMO at a16z crypto, where she oversees brand, marketing, events, and communications (and before that was VP of communications at Coinbase, where she took the company through its direct listing while leading internal, policy, product, and corporate communications internationally). 

The episode also covers key top of mind questions for web3 builders and others, including how to do community marketing, manage "profiles" in decentralized and open source, and finding your audience... including feedback for product-market fit. And much. much more! 

People often say that building a hardware company is like “playing on hard mode”. Building a hardware company during a global pandemic, with the unpredictability of supply chains and markets, is harder than hard. Trying to penetrate the phone market in particular – where only a few players own almost all the market share – is REALLY hard.

In today’s episode we chat with Carl Pei, founder of Nothing. Between Nothing and previously co-founding OnePlus, Carl has twice managed to do what many others have failed to do. Nothing has sold over 1m units and built a team of over 400. In this episode, Carl chats with us about why he’s at it again, what it takes to successfully build hardware, and how he thinks about making technology fun again.

Timestamps:

• 02:11 - The hardware market
• 02:53 - Breaking into the phone market
• 05:19 - Securing factories and stakeholders
• 07:39 - Differentiating products
• 10:32 - Hardware design
• 11:53 - Strengthening software proposition
• 16:04 - Table stakes
• 17:49 - Marketing and Youtube
• 19:34 - Underestimating the value chain
• 21:50 - Manufacturing
• 23:27 - Supply chain
• 26:05 - Remote work
• 27:36 - The future of hardware
• 30:45 - Breakthrough hardware
• 32:35 - Making tech fun again

Resources:

• Nothing website: https://us.nothing.tech/
• Nothing’s Youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@NothingTechnology
• Find Carl on Twitter: https://twitter.com/getpeid
• Find Nothing on Twitter: https://twitter.com/nothing
• Nothing’s recently launched Ear (2): https://us.nothing.tech/products/ear-2

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. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures.

You’ve probably heard of ‘Lil Miquela. The 19 year-old Brazilian-American influencer has millions of followers and has partnered with the likes of Samsung and Prada. But despite capturing the hearts of many, she’s not real. 

But you probably haven’t heard her origin story. In this episode we take a trip back to 2016, to a world that looked much different to today, together with two of Miquela’s creators – Trevor McFedries and Isaac Bratzel – cofounder and Chief Design and Innovation Officer of Brud at the time.

We learn what inspired the experiment and what early signs indicated that Miquela was not just a novel idea. In a world where spinning up an influencer, we learn what it took to capture mindshare, the pushback they’ve received, what a “scalable influencer” means, and what they think is to come.

Resources:

‘Lil Miquela on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lilmiquela/

‘Lil Miquela on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWeHb_SrtJbrT8VD-_QQpRA

Find Trevor on Twitter: https://twitter.com/whatdotcd?lang=en

Find Isaac on Twitter: https://twitter.com/izykbenjamin

Find Brud on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brud.fyi

Isaac’s new avatar company: https://www.avataros.com/

Timestamps:

• 00:00 - Introduction
• 02:18 - The key insight
• 04:05 - A new breed of influencers
• 06:25 - Miquela’s aesthetic
• 09:30 - Early signs of success
• 13:01 - Narrative and fan engagement
• 16:45 - The technology
• 18:14 - Expanding past Miquela
• 22:34 - Traction and generative AI
• 26:45 - A new reality
• 31:55 - Early pushback
• 33:38 - Misunderstanding reality
• 36:23 - Fear of new technologies
• 37:47 - New technological unlocks
• 41:13 - Scalable influencers

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. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures.

Over the last decade, we’ve seen the marketplace model evolve and grow, and this year a16z is back with our fourth edition of the Marketplace100 – a ranking of the top private marketplaces by GMV – giving a unique window into what may be to come.

This year’s list features nearly three dozen newcomers, including marketplaces for refurbished electronics, precious metals, and sustainably raised meat. And in this episode, we break down key trends from the report together with a16z’s Consumer partners Connie Chan, Olivia Moore, and Zach Cohen.

If you’d like to see the full ranking of the largest consumer-facing marketplace startups and private companies, you can find the full report at https://a16z.com/marketplace-100.

Resources:

• Find the full Marketplace 100 report: https://a16z.com/marketplace-100
• Find Connie on Twitter: https://twitter.com/conniechan
• Find Olivia on Twitter: https://twitter.com/omooretweets
• Find Zach on Twitter: https://twitter.com/zachcohen25

Topics Covered:

• 00:00- Introduction
• 02:28 - Why marketplaces? 
• 05:18 - What metrics matter
• 07:55 - Newcomers on the list
• 09:49 - Entertainment and personalization
• 13:46 - Curated marketplaces
• 14:47 - Trust and safety
• 21:23 - Mental health trends
• 22:42 - Untapped supply
• 24:40 - Disintermediation
• 27:42 - Transient vs foundational trends
• 31:33 - Companies entering the category
• 36:52 - Sleeper categories for 2024

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. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures.

It’s both easier and harder than ever to build a successful podcast. In this episode, we chat with Sriram and Aarthi from the Good Time Show, who ventured into the world of audio peak pandemic and have since interviewed the likes of Elon Musk, Calvin Harris, and Naomi Osaka.

We get their perspective on how to succeed in this competitive landscape, differentiation and the sliding scale of entertainment and information, the difference between an audience and a community, podcast analytics and how they’re changing, and even what Sriram has learned from his frontrow experience at Twitter recently.

Topics Covered:

• 00:00 - Intro
• 02:20 - Podcast trivia
• 06:07 - Starting a podcast
• 08:45 - Differentiating
• 13:10 - Information vs entertainment
• 18:08 - Getting off the talk track
• 20:40 - Growth and metrics
• 22:31 - Authenticity
• 27:10 - Secret sauce of podcasting
• 28:10 - Advice for new podcasters
• 29:58 - In-person events
• 32:06 - Tech as a force for good
• 34:50 - The next wave of social
• 37:23 - Creator middle class
• 41:16 - Podcast infrastructure
• 42:55 - ChatGPT
• 45:10 - Swapping lives with a celebrity
• 52:26 - Your personal monopoly

Resources:

Find Sriram on Twitter: https://twitter.com/sriramk

Find Aarthi on Twitter: https://twitter.com/aarthir

Find Aarthi and Sriram on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@AarthiAndSriram

Check out the Good Time Show: https://www.aarthiandsriram.com/

Stay Updated: 

Find us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/a16z

Find us 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. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures.

With every new technology, some jobs are lost while others are gained. People often focus on the former, but in this episode we chose to highlight the latter – a highly creative role that emerges alongside AI: the prompt engineer.

Until AI can close the loop of its own, each tool still requires a set of prompts. Just like a composer feeds an instrument the notes to play, a prompt engineer feeds an AI a map of what to produce. And if we know anything from music it’s that composing great music takes great skill!

In this episode we explore the emerging importance of prompting with Guy Parsons, the early learnings of how to do it effectively, and where this field might be going.

Will the prompt engineer be more like the highly sought after DevOps engineer, or a proficiency like Excel that you find on every resume? Listen in to hear Guy’s take.

Interested in the prompt competition? Email us at [email protected].

Resources:

DALL-E 2 Prompt Book: https://dallery.gallery/the-dalle-2-prompt-book/

Find Guy on Twitter: https://twitter.com/GuyP

Guy’s combining image experiment: https://twitter.com/GuyP/status/1612880405207580672

Guy’s amorphous prompt experiment: https://twitter.com/GuyP/status/1608475973300948993

Guy’s space duck: https://twitter.com/GuyP/status/1601342688225525761

Prompt base: https://promptbase.com/

Lexica: https://lexica.art/

Topics Covered: 

0:00 - Introduction

01:49 - DALL-E 2 Prompt Book

05:29 - Parallel skills

06:51 - 80/20 prompting

10:16 - New ways of prompting

13:44 - Pulling the AI slot machine

18:09 - Comparing models

21:04 - Requested features

26:34 - Learning with AI

27:58 - Practical use cases

32:08 - A top 1% prompt engineer

36:17 - The most popular images

Stay Updated: 

Find us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/a16z

Find us 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. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures.

Starting in the 1960s, technology companies, funded by the U.S. Department of Defense, were essential for creating the processors that would eventually launch satellites and guide missiles. Half a century later, today’s tech companies can — and need — to move even faster and smarter, as international adversaries scale up their aggressions. In this episode, Anduril Industries Founder Palmer Luckey will discuss how Silicon Valley is using new technologies to build new tools, systems, and companies to defend our nation and its interests.

Resources:

American Dynamism Summit: https://a16z.com/AD-summit/

Anduril’s website: https://www.anduril.com/

Find Palmer on Twitter: https://twitter.com/PalmerLuckey

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. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures.

What happens when you don’t have the resources to fight for your rights? Whether it’s a major medical bill or a more minor parking ticket… even if you were in the right, is it easier to just… pay?

Well, Joshua Browder's answer is Do Not Pay! 

He’s built a thriving company of the same name, that helps consumers “fight corporations, beat bureaucracy, and sue anyone at the press of a button.” Through the power of technology, DoNotPay has resolved over 2m cases successfully and in this interview we get to hear where Browder hopes to take the organization, including his first-hand account of his recent plan to bring the robot lawyer into the physical courtroom.

Topics Covered:

00:00 - Introduction

01:51 - DoNotPay’s origin

03:09 - Surprising laws

05:49 - General counsel for consumers

06:54 - The role of AI and technology

09:26 - Ensuring quality counsel

13:19 - Prioritizing features

14:43 - Corporate pushback

17:11 - Reshaping the legal system

20:28 -  Entering the physical courtroom 

24:50 - Cross border possibilities

26:14 - Looping humans into modeling

29:01 - Deflationary impacts

30:05 - Recent pushback

33:13 - Is AI already writing law?

35:15 - Why is law so complex?

37:54 - Entering the Supreme Court

38:38 - Lawyer support

39:47 - Looking forward

43:07 - Building horizontal vs vertical

45:28 - Does this law exist?

Resources: 

DoNotPay: https://donotpay.com/

Find Josh on Twitter: https://twitter.com/jbrowder1

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. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures.

What would you do if you believed in an idea but everyone said it would fail, nobody would fund you, and the industry was experiencing a nuclear winter?

Despite experiencing exactly that, Sandbox VR founder Steve Zhao doubled down and invested all of his personal savings into the unproven business. 7 years and 1 bankruptcy later, Steve has built the world’s leading full-body VR experience with over 30 locations across the globe. 

In this interview, we get to chat with Steve about the many challenges he faced, how Sandbox made it through the pandemic, the future of VR, and the difficult task of tackling hardware, software, a new computing platform, and real estate.

Resources:

Check out Sandbox VR: https://sandboxvr.com

Find Steve Zhao on Twitter: https://twitter.com/zhaosaurus

Learn more about the Squid Game partnership: https://venturebeat.com/games/squid-game-is-coming-to-sandbox-vr-immersive-experience-locations/

Watch Steph’s highlight video: https://sandboxvr.com/event/b0b22aad-7c73-475d-ab43-281a456ff590

Stay Updated: 

Find us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/a16z

Find us 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. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures.

A small minority – likely less than 1% – of the world can code. Yet also widely known that the skillset tends to yield outsized returns, with developers generating some of the highest paying salaries out there.

But the field is quickly shifting, especially with the advent of wide-scale AI. In this podcast, we get to chat with Amjad Masad, founder of Replit, about these foundational shifts.

We cover how Replit has integrated AI into its platform and the implications on both current and future developers. It’s easier than ever to learn to code, but is it still worthwhile? Listen in to find out.

Timestamps:

• 00:00 - Introduction
• 02:04 - What is Replit?
• 04:15 - Stories behind Replit
• 11:10 - The software hero’s journey
• 13:09 - Making coding fun
• 15:58 - AI powering software
• 19:37 - Training your own models
• 22:36 - Building UX around AI
• 24:16 - The developer landscape
• 26:23 - The 1000x engineer
• 30:40 - Should you still learn to code?
• 34:41 - What does AI enable?
• 40:54 - Developing on mobile
• 43:24 - A software labor market
• 45:53 - Differentiating a marketplace
• 48:23 - Building new market dynamics
• 50:45 - Looking ahead

Resources: 

Replit: https://replit.com/

Replit Ghostwriter: https://replit.com/site/ghostwriter

Replit Bounties: https://replit.com/bounties

Find Amjad on Twitter: https://twitter.com/amasad

Stay Updated: 

Find us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/a16z

Find us 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. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures.

A few weeks ago, Apple released a stunning statistic: they’ve paid developers over $320B — yes, billion! — since the launch of the App Store in 2008, highlighting the cast opportunity in the marketplace.

And around the same time, a16z Consumer Partner, Olivia Moore, compiled a list of the top apps across the US app store throughout 2022.

In this episode, you’ll get to hear which apps made it to the top and what they have in common. Hint: the big winners were in social, but perhaps a new wave of social apps!

We also get the scoop on what it really takes to not just hit #1, but stay there. This episode highlights numerous surprising examples ranging from a new-age Beanie Baby app, a viral talking dog, an app from 2012 that finally broke the top 10, and the Chinese app that’s been at #1 for a majority of 2023, and it’s not TIkTok!

There are endless learnings about how new founders can take advantage of these opportunities.

Timestamps:

• 01:51 - Top apps in 2022
• 03:32 - A new era of social?
• 07:22 - Hitting #1
• 09:30 - Staying on top
• 11:20 - Building a sticky product
• 13:46 - Growing an app in 2023
• 15:35 - User-generated growth
• 17:48 - 2022 category winners
• 20:39 - Anonymous social
• 22:24 - Early monetization
• 26:30 - Monetization trends
• 31:07 - Leveraging platform shifts
• 35:26 - Surprising hits
• 37:50 - Looking toward 2023
• 39:38 - Invisible AI products
• 41:46 - Limiting virality
• 45:13 - Vertical social networks
• 48:37 - When digital goes physical
• 51:44 - TikTok growth
• 53:27 - Geographic trends
• 56:18 - A decade old app
• 1:00:25 - App challenge

Resources: 

• Follow Olivia on Twitter: https://twitter.com/omooretweets
• Olivia's 2022 analysis: https://twitter.com/omooretweets/status/1605983056682045440
• Olivia's 2021 analysis: https://twitter.com/omooretweets/status/1483482099562602500
• Justine’s Boating app commentary: https://twitter.com/venturetwins/status/1616121691830390784
• Olivia’s Tinder subscription commentary: https://twitter.com/omooretweets/status/1616480480546942976

Apps mentioned: 

• BeReal: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/bereal-your-friends-for-real/id1459645446
• TikTok: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/tiktok/id835599320
• Gas App: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/gas/id1641791746
• Talking Ben the Dog: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/talking-ben-the-dog/id416345319
• Argo Boating Navigation: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/argo-boating-navigation/id1463869636
• NoteIt: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/noteit-widget-get-it-now/id1570369625
• Locket Widget: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/locket-widget/id1600525061
• LiveIn: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/livein-share-your-moment/id1606780589
• Slay: https://apps.apple.com/de/app/slay-komplimente-umfragen/id1645858841
• Lensa AI: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/lensa-photo-editing/id1436732536
• Starlink: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/starlink/id1537177988
• NOAA Weather: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/noaa-weather/id436760574
• Stardust Period Tracker: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/stardust-period-tracker/id1495829322
• Temu: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/temu-team-up-price-down/id1641486558
• SquadApp: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/squadapp-collection-database/id1623120952
• TravelBoast: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/travelboast-my-journey-routes/id1476504378
• Subway Surfers: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/subway-surfers/id512939461

Stay Updated: 

• Find us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/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. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures.

Back in August, after a16z announced our investment into Adam Neumann’s new company, Flow, it felt like almost everyone – whether it was other VCs, founders, or journalists – had something to say.

But the one person that you didn’t hear from was Adam himself.

In this never-before shared footage from a16z’s American Dynamism Summit in Washington DC, Adam Neumann sits down with Marc Andreessen and David Ulevitch, to discuss the opportunities that have emerged from post-pandemic shifts in both work and home, and what Flow is doing to capitalize.

Find the full library of American Dynamism Summit recordings at a16z.com/ad-summit.

Timestamps:

• 00:00 - Introduction
• 01:40 - Getting back in the arena 
• 09:03 - The opportunity in housing 
• 16:19 - Lessons from WeWork 
• 19:13 - Work & home post-pandemic 
• 27:34 - Moving to the cloud 
• 34:23 - Office serendipity 
• 37:51 - Building Flow 
• 43:51 - Cities as startups

Resources:

Flow’s website: https://www.flow.life/

American Dynamism recordings: https://a16z.com/ad-summit

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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. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures.

In this cross-over episode from Bio Eats World, Kristen Fortney, cofounder and CEO of BioAge, joins Vijay Pande, founding partner of a16z Bio + Health, and Olivia Webb, editorial lead, to discuss the biology of aging, how she started a company, and some fun things — like how long a hypothetical venture capitalist can expect to live.

Resources:

Greg Egan, whose writing inspired Kristen, has a list of his books on his website

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. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures.

At the end of 2022, our team at a16z asked dozens of partners across the firm to spotlight one big idea that startups in their fields could tackle in 2023.

Emerging from this exercise came 40+ builder-worthy pursuits for the year, ranging from entertainment franchise games to precision delivery of medicine to small modular reactors, and of course loads of AI applications.

In our 2-part series, we’ll be covering 12 of these big ideas with the partners that shared them.

Here in part 2, we’ll cover Fintech, American Dynamism, and Bio & Health. Listen in as we chat with Anish Acharya, Angela Strange, Michelle Volz, Ryan McEntush, Vijay Pande, and Julie Yoo.

And for the full list of 40+ ideas, check out the full article: https://a16z.com/2022/12/15/big-ideas-in-tech-2023/

Topics Covered:

• (0:59) GPT Unlocks Credit Counseling - Anish Acharya
• (9:53) Compliance as a Competitive Advantage - Angela Strange
• (23:31) Small Modular Reactors Advance the Nuclear Renaissance - Michelle Volz
• (33:48) Overhauling the Space Supply Chain - Ryan McEntush
• (44:40) The Biggest Company in the World - Vijay Pande
• (51:17) The Value-Based Care Stack - Julie Yoo

Resources:

https://a16z.com/2022/11/02/america-space-age/

https://a16z.com/2022/11/11/the-biggest-company-in-the-world/

https://a16z.com/2021/01/08/the-new-tech-stack-for-virtual-first-care/

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. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures.

At the end of 2022, our team at a16z asked dozens of partners across the firm to spotlight one big idea that startups in their fields could tackle in 2023.

Emerging from this exercise came 40+ builder-worthy pursuits for the year, ranging from entertainment franchise games to precision delivery of medicine to small modular reactors, and of course loads of AI applications.

In our 2-part series, we’ll be covering 12 of these big ideas with the partners that shared them.

Here in part 1, we’ll cover Consumer, Games, and Enterprise, with a little Fintech sprinkled in. Listen in as we chat with Connie Chan, Anne Lee Skates, Jack Soslow, Doug McCracken, Sarah Wang, and Sumeet Singh.

And look out for part 2 dropping soon, covering Fintech, American Dynamism, and Bio & Health!

For the full list of 40+ ideas, check out the full article: https://a16z.com/2022/12/15/big-ideas-in-tech-2023/

Topics Covered:

• (1:30) Breakthroughs in Buying (Finally!) - Connie Chan
• (16:40) Unlocking the “Third Place” - Anne Lee Skates
• (30:14) Games as a Neverending Turing Test - Jack Soslow
• (46:09) The Metaverse Goes Fashion Forward - Doug McCracken
• (59:24) Generative AI Advances Beyond “Text to Image” to Complex Workflows - Sarah Wang
• (1:12:23) Embracing Large Language Models and Maintaining Trust - Sumeet Singh

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. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures.

In this special episode, we share never heard before footage from Steve Wozniak alongside his cofounder and best man, Alex Fielding. 

Listeners get an inside look into what drove Woz to building a computer, but also how Steve’s zest for life was applied beyond computers – from the rare opportunity to play Tetris on the side of a building or throw a concert across borders.

Full Privateer episode: https://a16z.simplecast.com/episodes/new-the-data-highway-above-with-privateers-steve-wozniak-alex-fielding-and-dr-moriba-jah

Full Privateer episode on Youtube: https://youtu.be/ZZbrwxOs0y4

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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. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures.

New year, new you! Right?

Well, as much as we’d all like to believe that we embrace the new… the reality is that we often resist change.

That’s why we’ve brought in someone who has studied how humans respond to and adapt to change – or sometimes how we fail to. That person is Jason Feifer – long-time editor in chief at Entrepreneur Magazine, host of two popular podcasts, and recent author of his book Build for Tomorrow. 

Today, Jason shares 6 specific frameworks around the very natural human responses to change, which he’s developed through interviewing and studying some of the most influential people in the world – past and present. We also play a fun game at the end, where Jason comments on current technologies encountering pushback, and assesses where they might fit into his framework.

Jason’s website: https://www.jasonfeifer.com/

Jason on Twitter: https://twitter.com/heyfeifer

Jason’s book Build for Tomorrow: https://www.jasonfeifer.com/book/

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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. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures.

In this episode, Marc Andreessen and Vijay Pande discuss expert AI and its role in healthcare, bio, and more.

Watch on Youtube: https://youtu.be/c7ScUDYSRYo

Subscribe to Bio Eats World: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/bio-eats-world/id1529318900

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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. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures.

with @robertiger @cdixon @smc90

A wide-ranging conversation with Bob Iger on the interplay between technology, content, and distribution; as well as Bob’s journey -- and that of various creators! -- especially as the industry evolved from TV and cable to the advent of the internet/ web 1.0 to 2.0 to briefly touching on web3 and other emerging technologies. As well as topics top of mind for all company and community builders: from build vs. buy and the innovator's dilemma, to managing creativity, decentralization, remote work, and much more.

Subscribe to web3 with a16z: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/web3-with-a16z-crypto/id1622312549

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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. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures.

We’ve had some incredible guests join us on the a16z podcast this year, ranging from moonshot entrepreneurs, to top creators, to some of the most forward thinking technologists – all of which are busy shaping the future right before our eyes…

We have so much more in store for 2023 and cannot wait for you to see who we bring on as guests. But before we turn the page, we wanted to recap some of the most interesting, thought-provoking segments from our 2022 roster. Here are 8 of our favorite clips, covering topics from AI to space to the metaverse… and beyond.

Catch the full playlist here.

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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. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures.

The predecessor to the office was Florence’s Uffizi Gallery – an admin building to the Medici mercantile empire. That was in… 1560. In the centuries to come, work was revolutionized, with perhaps the most well-known inflection of Ford Motors adopting the 40-hour work week in 1926. The cubicle? We have Robert Propst to thank for that, entering the picture in 1968. 

It wasn’t until the 80s when the Internet appeared on the scene and wifi released in 1997, forever changing the way people live and work. Since then, companies have continued to adopt many of the practices from the 20th century, despite the possibilities being fundamentally different.

COVID sent a shock into that system, forcing many people to adopt a distributed model and despite much debate about what the future holds, this episode will highlight the many ways that companies are continuing to adapt.

Will companies shift toward more asynchronous work? How will a distributed model shift the way we hire? How will companies attract top talent, and is remote the only benefit that matters? What workers and companies will come out on top of this sea change?

And of course… is the office dead? We’ll address these questions, and much more!

Topics covered:

• 00:00 - History of remote work
• 3:27 - Is the office dead?
• 7:05 - Async vs sync
• 16:18 - Building culture remotely
• 27:15 - Attracting top talent
• 31:16 - The evolution of benefits
• 36:04 - Remote work vs work
• 39:29 - Location-based pay
• 46:36 - Open salaries
• 51:23 - Vetting top talent
• 55:32 - The need to adapt
• 58:39 - Rewriting the rules
• 1:03:09 - Infrastructure gaps

Resources: 

GitLab’s Remote Handbook: https://about.gitlab.com/handbook/

Deel’s Salary Insights Tool: https://www.deel.com/salary-insights

Deel’s State of Global Hiring report: https://www.deel.com/state-of-global-hiring-2022

Deel:

• Deel’s website: https://www.deel.com/
• Deel on Twitter: https://twitter.com/deel
• Alex on Twitter: https://twitter.com/Bouazizalex

SafetyWing

• SafetyWing’s website: https://safetywing.com/
• SafetyWing on Twitter: https://twitter.com/safetywing
• Sondre on Twitter: https://twitter.com/SRasch

GitLab: 

• GitLab’s website: https://about.gitlab.com/
• GitLab on Twitter: https://twitter.com/gitlab
• Darren on Twitter: https://twitter.com/darrenmurph

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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. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures.

In this episode, we tackle three carbon removal projects of varying scale, business models, and technical challenges.

• Biomass pyrolysis via Charm Industrial
• An electrochemical process via Travertine
• Mineralization via 44.01

We cover these companies through the lens of their founders – Peter Reinhardt (CEO of Charm Industrial), Laura Lammers (CEO of Travertine), and Karan Khimji (COO of 44.01) – who share the fascinating stories of how they stumbled into this industry, how their processes work, whether they can economically scale, and ultimately why each of them is dedicating their time and energy to this field.

This episode also closes out our carbon removal mini series, where we’ve seen a unique convergence of attention, capital, policy, and creativity being applied. With that combination, it's rare that humans don't surprise one another in progress.

Resources: 

Charm Industrial:

• Charm Industrial’s website: https://charmindustrial.com/
• Charm Industrial on Twitter: https://twitter.com/CharmIndustrial
• Peter on Twitter:  https://twitter.com/reinpk

Travertine:

• Travertine’s website: https://www.travertinetech.com/
• Laura on Twitter: https://twitter.com/limestonedr

44.01:

• 44.01’s website: https://4401.earth/
• 44.01 on Twitter: https://twitter.com/4401earth
• Karan on Twitter: https://twitter.com/kdkhimji

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. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures.

If you’ve been following the news, you’ve probably heard of the recent FTX scandal.

While there’s much still unknown, in this episode we get the unique opportunity to hear from Brian Armstrong – co-founder and CEO of Coinbase – about what’s top of mind for the crypto industry. That includes the impact of this current event on future regulation, how this crypto winter might be different from previous ones, founder psychology during downturns, the transparency that comes with being public, and much more.

Brian is interviewed by a16z cofounder and general partner Ben Horowitz, who has the unique perspective of having invested in, built, and been on the board of numerous companies during the ups and downs, leading him to his well-known book The Hard Thing About Hard Things.

Resources: 

Subscribe to web3 with a16z: web3-with-a16z.simplecast.com/

Coinbase’s website: coinbase.com

Brian’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/brian_armstrong

Ben’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/bhorowitz

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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. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures.

In part 1 of our carbon removal series, we talked to Nan Ransohoff — Head of Climate at Stripe — about what it might take to jumpstart the market of carbon removal solutions. But what happens when there is a true, thriving market of buyers and sellers? How will suppliers effectively reach the right buyers, and as more solutions become available, how will buyers effectively vet the options?

In part 2, we address these questions and more, together with Brennan Spellacy, co-founder & CEO of Patch – a growing marketplace for carbon credits. 

We also cover many evolving market dynamics, like the potential differences between two sets of tons delivered, the opportunity and challenge of effectively educating buyers, the integration of software like Patch's API, verification solutions and their current limitations, how even the voluntary market is being held accountable for their carbon claims, and the role that Patch is playing to help develop this nascent industry.

By the way, if you like this episode, be sure to look out for part 3 of our series where we get into the nitty gritty of 3 emerging carbon removal solutions — ranging from biomass pyrolysis to carbon mineralization.

Resources: 

Patch’s website: https://www.patch.io/

Follow Patch on Twitter: https://twitter.com/usepatch

Follow Brennan on Twitter: https://twitter.com/bspellacy_

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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. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures.

What happens when there’s demand for a solution that doesn’t quite exist yet?

Today, we bring on Nan Ransohoff to talk about this exact problem as it relates to carbon removal, and how Frontier — the initiative out of Stripe that she is leading – is using a nearly $1B advanced market commitment fund to try to jumpstart this market.

If you don’t know what that means, don’t worry – we’ve got you covered.

Throughout the episode, we discuss the multivariate carbon equation and why emission reductions are not enough, the difference between offsets and permanent removal, who’s paying for tons today, what solutions already exist and how Frontier is vetting them, moving down the cost curve, where policy fits in, and ultimately what success might look like in this nascent industry.

This is part 1 of our 3-part series on carbon removal. Look out next week for part 2 and part 3, where we dive into a growing marketplace for carbon and showcase several carbon removal solutions.

Resources: 

Frontier’s website: https://frontierclimate.com/

Nan’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/nanransohoff

Nan’s article: https://nanransohoff.com/A-mental-model-for-combating-climate-change-846be1769d374fa1b5b855407c93da66

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. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures.

In today’s episode, we have a special treat. Flexport’s co-CEO and Founder, Ryan Petersen, chats with a16z Growth Editor Das Rush. They start with the question of why Ryan has chosen – of all the problem spaces to work on – improving the resiliency of the supply chain. They cover just how complex the supply chain is in the era of ecommerce, evolving customer expectations, and ultimately how we can rearchitect our supply chain to meet them. Given the holiday shopping coming up, you won’t want to miss this.

Timestamps:

​​0:00 - Introduction

1:24 - Why the supply chain?

3:31 - Land and expand

6:38 - The most interesting company?

9:24 - The impact of ecommerce

14:05 - Building resiliency

Resources: 

Ryan’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/typesfast

Flexport’s website: https://www.flexport.com/

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. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures.

When Neal Stephenson coined “the metaverse” three decades ago, his book Snow Crash was found on the shelves of “science fiction”. While the book remains in that category, many of its concepts are now found in reality…

Fast forward to 2022, where numerous companies are now building toward their version of the metaverse, including Neal himself – working on Lamina1 – a blockchain company oriented toward creators. 

While the present metaverses don’t perfectly mimic that from Stephenson’s early imagination, we get the unique opportunity to discuss the various design decisions that he’s making, but also the intersection between the metaverse and gaming, the involvement that AR/VR might play, the evolving role of IP, how artificial intelligence fits in, what he’s building and why, and where he gets all of his ideas from.

Timestamps:

0:00 - Introduction

1:20 - Tech's highest impact position

4:35 - What is the metaverse?

6:46 - Interoperability

8:52 - Incentive alignment

13:06 - Immersion requirements

16:30 - VR engineering challenges

20:09 - Skeuomorphism

24:17 - Commercial VR/AR applications

27:26 - AI and gaming

30:51 - The value chain

38:13 - Right of refusal

42:05 - Good and bad tech

46:05 - Fighting “free”

49:16 - Building Lamina1

58:07 - Neal’s design designs

1:03:40 - Inspiration for Snow Crash

1:09:16 - Looking ahead from 2022

1:11:59 - Science fiction writing

1:13:46 - Carbon removal

Resources: 

Neal’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/nealstephenson

Lamina1’s website: https://www.lamina1.com/

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. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures.

Today, we have an episode with Chris Power, the founder and CEO of Hadrian. Hadrian is a company trying to build the most efficient factories on the planet. 

In this conversation, we’ll introduce the audience to advanced manufacturing, and expose them to the reality that it’s a remnant of the first space race. We also cover the challenge of manufacturing, the importance of visibility in complex systems, the killer app for space, how simplifying the world of atoms can be done through bits – and ultimately, what kind of experimentation that may unlock.

Timestamps: 

0:00 - Introduction

1:28 - What is advanced manufacturing?

4:18 - When a hatch is jammed at the ISS

6:11 - What’s happened since Space Race 1?

8:56 - A retiring workforce

13:20 - What is at stake?

21:03 - Onshoring manufacturing

24:06 - Is capital enough?

24:43 - Fixing the problem with technology

28:55 - Convincing the old guard

31:20 - Building a new culture

34:45 - Experimenting with hardware

37:24 - The value of observability

41:47 - The cost of timeliness

46:09 - Hadrian’s key risks

49:22 - Why Hadrian pivoted

52:22 - What talent is needed

57:31 - Why focus on space first?

1:03:38 - The killer app of space

1:10:36 - Who inspires Chris?

Resources: 

Hadrian’s website: https://www.hadrian.co/

Chris’ Twitter: https://twitter.com/2112Power

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. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures.

In this episode, we’ll explore the concept of The Network State with Balaji Srinivasan. As the world becomes more digital, it also becomes more distributed. This is obvious on the individual level – how you order goods, the way you chat with friends, and the news you consume… all from a handheld computer. It’s also becoming more obvious at the company level. The pandemic shook the world into remote work and many companies have decided that maybe work can be done in ways they never imagined. But what about the state – whatever that means? Could the network rival the state? 

In this episode we’ll explore what a nation state even is and how it may be challenged by a new Leviathan: the network. We also cover the difference between a nation and a state, how constants become variables, the cloud continent, digital power, your identity stack, calibrating risk, polycentric law, cloud regulations, building fast with atoms, founding vs inheriting, the powerful vs the powerless, and just about everything in between.

Timestamps: 

0:00 - Introduction

2:41 - Nation vs state

14:38 - Constants becoming variables

16:12 - The cloud continent

20:10 - The three leviathans

30:00 - Digital power

37:20 - The identity stack

53:22 - Cloud first, land last

55:49 - Diplomatic recognition

1:01:47 - Root access to land

1:06:35 - Calibrating risk as society

1:16:13 - Regulatory harmonization

1:28:15 - Polycentric law

1:34:49 - Building fast with atoms

1:38:57 - Looking to history

1:42:00 - Founding vs inheriting

1:50:46 - The one commandment

2:17:33 - The powerful vs powerless

2:28:46 - The competition for people

2:33:45 - Historical lines

2:42:23 - v3 of governance

Resources: 

Balaji’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/balajis

Balaji’s website: https://balajis.com/

The Network State: https://thenetworkstate.com/

Stay Updated: 

Find us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/a16z

Find us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/a16z

Subscribe on your favorite podcast app: https://a16z.com/podcasts

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. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures.

Many people consider space to be the next frontier and equally an infinite horizon to explore. But the reality is that not all “space” is the same and there are strategic zones that don’t only matter up there – but down here on Earth. Lower Earth Orbit (LEO) is one of those regions – a zone filled with satellites that support life on Earth, from agriculture to climate to navigation to defense. Unfortunately, these live satellites are not alone in our space highways. LEO is getting increasingly clogged with space debris; we’re polluting our skies just like we’re polluting our land. 

In this episode, we have the pleasure of speaking with all three cofounders of Privateer – Steve Wozniak, Alex Fielding, and Dr. Moriba Jah, as they explore just how much junk is up there, how this challenge is expected to progress with time due to lower launch costs, and ultimately, what infrastructure is missing in this fragile ecosystem – from tracking to global treaties to a sharing economy of satellites.

By the end of the episode, listeners should be more equipped to understand how our infrastructure in space vastly impacts life on Earth, how the preservation of this ecosystem is crucial, and how Privateer is providing the map to better understand and fix the issue.

Timestamps: 

With Steve Wozniak

00:00 - Intro

3:24 - Why space and why now?

8:55 - The changing perception around space

13:29 - Exponential technologies and thinking different

16:32 - Inventors vs engineers vs visionaries

18:46 - Early days at Apple and moving towards the future

20:53 - Steve’s personal fascinations

23:58 - How vocabulary drives awareness

1:21:55 - Woz returns!

With Alex Fielding and Dr. Moriba Jah

24:43 - Is space really an infinite void?

25:55 - The growing pollution in space

29:14 - The impact of space down on Earth

30:34 - The challenge of space policy and governance

38:27 - Orbital highways and carrying capacities

41:05 - Dependence on space infrastructure and its fragility

45:14 - Privateer’s role in the evolving ecosystem

46:52 - Democratizing space through data sharing

49:45 - Can we undo the damage that’s been done?

52:01 - Determining intent in space

58:17 - Talent needed in the space industry

1:01:04 - Privateer’s biggest challenges

1:09:22 - Space stewardship and Hawaii’s kuleana

1:15:19 - Who inspires Alex?

Resources: 

Privateer’s website: https://mission.privateer.com/

Privateer’s Wayfinder tool: https://mission.privateer.com/

Privateer on Twitter: https://twitter.com/PrivateerSpace

Steve Wozniak on Twitter: https://twitter.com/stevewoz

Alex Fielding on Twitter: https://twitter.com/Alex__Fielding

Dr. Moriba Jah on Twitter: https://twitter.com/moribajah

Stay Updated: 

Find us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/a16z

Find us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/a16z

Subscribe on your favorite podcast app: https://a16z.com/podcasts

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. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures.

Generative AI tools like DALL-E, Midjourney, and Stable Diffusion have taken the world by storm in recent months, wowing the masses with their uncanny ability to produce images via text prompts. 

In this interview, we’ll chat with Karen Cheng about how she’s leveraged these tools among others, with a focus on how this new paradigm is reshaping the creator landscape. You’ll get to hear the behind the scenes of many of her viral works, including a video of her becoming a lawnmower, her AI-generated Cosmo magazine cover, her DALL-E fashion show, her transforming iconic art into 3D museums to explore, and much, much more. By the end of this episode, listeners should have a better understanding of the new tools at their fingertips (literally!), how AI can indeed enhance the creative process, and the second-order effects of these innovations, like how creators are paid.

Since we’re just at the beginning of the AI era, this is just the beginning of our coverage as well.

Timestamps: 

00:00 - Intro

02:59 - Karen’s journey to content creator

06:32 - Creative unlocks for viral content

09:28 - The changing social media landscape

12:08 - Innovating with AI

14:59 - Unique AI tools available today

17:52 - How AI tools might differentiate

21:04 - Cosmo’s first AI-generated magazine cover

24:19 - Inpainting, outpainting, and the fungibility of artists

31:54 - AI enhancing the creative process

32:39 - The virality of optimism vs pessimism

38:19 - Turning attention into business

43:13 - IP and ownership in the age of AI

46:18 - The downward pricing pressure of AI

47:21 - Is generative AI still a gimmick?

53:32 - The adaptiveness of humans

58:26 - The importance of AI ethics

Resources:

Karen’s TED Talk

Karen’s Instagram account

Karen’s website

Cosmo magazine cover and tutorial

DALL-E fashion show and tutorial

DALL-E outpainting announcement

I spent $15 in DALL·E 2 credits creating this AI image

Stay Updated: 

Find us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/a16z

Find us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/a16z

Subscribe on your favorite podcast app: https://a16z.com/podcasts

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. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures.

With much coverage of technology lined with pessimism, the a16z Podcast returns to highlight the bright side of technology, alongside the founders building it. But before featuring the solutions in progress, we wanted to explore why building the future is still so important.

And who better to traverse this ground than a16z’s own cofounder Marc Andreessen, who has built and invested in the future time and time again, especially when it wasn't the obvious thing to do.

Together with Marc, this episode explores technology through the lens of history – including the three stages of human psychology as we encounter new technologies, how that process often manifests in regulation, when to change your mind, the Cambrian explosion of opportunity coming from distributed work, the importance of founder-led companies, and perhaps most importantly, we examine why there's still much reason for optimism.

Timestamps: 

00:00 - Welcome back!

02:19 - The importance of tech today

05:25 - Historical negativity toward technology

9:40 - The invention of the bicycle

13:16 - Innovation vs status in society

20:45 - Automobile moral panic and red flag laws

24:52 - Balaji’s arc on social networking

27:44 - Surfacing signal from noise

34:06 - The role of timing in innovation

37:39 - Today’s major unlocks

44:59 - Remote work and society reshuffling

49:49 - Changing your mind

54:06 - Retaining a lens of optimism

1:04:25 - What Marc’s excited about

1:08:41 - Bourgeois vs managerial capitalism

1:17:32 - Reform vs starting anew

Resources:

Marc on Twitter: https://twitter.com/pmarca

Pessimist’s Archive: https://pessimistsarchive.org/

Stay Updated: 

Find us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/a16z

Find us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/a16z

Subscribe on your favorite podcast app: https://a16z.com/podcasts

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. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures.

The long-standing (and chart-topping) a16z Podcast returns to cover the most important topics within the world of technology. Brought to you by the minds at Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) and hosted by Steph Smith, each episode goes beyond headlines, giving listeners insider access to the edge of innovation.

Subscribe to be the first to receive upcoming episodes featuring industry leaders like Steve Wozniak, Marc Andreessen, Balaji Srinivasan, and Neal Stephenson, and covering a range of topics, from AI to space to the metaverse to genomics, and beyond.

Find us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/a16z

Find us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/a16z

Subscribe on your favorite podcast app: https://a16z.com/podcasts

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. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures.

In this special episode from a16z’s Bio Eats World podcast, general partners Vijay Pande and Jon Lai join bio editorial lead Olivia Webb to discuss the intersection of games and health, including:  what constitutes a game, the “healthy dessert” problem, and the challenge of building a game that’s both fun and therapeutic.

You can subscribe to Bio Eats World wherever you get your podcasts. 

This week, we have a special episode for you, from our newest podcast, "web3 with a16z" . This episode features Chris Dixon – founding general partner of a16z crypto and former entrepreneur himself – and Kevin Rose – the co-founder of Proof Collective, as well as co-founder of Digg, former investor at GV, and longtime entrepreneur and podcaster.

In this wide-ranging hallway-style conversation from web3 with a16z, these two veterans of both web2 and web3 movements go long on tech trends both in web3 and beyond, including NFTs and art; AI; the evolving roles of modding, copying, and copyrights on the internet; tech’s expansion from Silicon Valley to LA and New York; and more. Their discussion is not just a journey through time (long cycles of computing, web2 to web3) and place (LA, SF, NYC), but into "the age of wonders". Are we at the end of (computing) history, or the beginning?

For more on the latest in web3 trends, be sure to subscribe to our podcast “web3 with a16z” (which is hosted by Sonal Choksi, the longtime former showrunner of this show) wherever you listen to your pods.

Audio is no longer just audio anymore -- podcasts now pull from new video platforms like TikTok and older ones like radio, user experience is growing and changing, and it's easier than ever to create audio content. Where do all these mediums converge and where do they diverge -- when it comes to user experience, product design, recommendations, discovery, and more?

In this episode from October 2020, a16z general partner Connie Chan and Spotify’s chief R&D officer Gustav Söderström join host Sonal Choksi to discuss the past, present and future of audio. They dig into everything from what the past in radio can tell us about the future, what audio can and will borrow from mediums like video and platforms like TikTok, the role for more interactivity and increased use of tools like machine learning and AI, and more. 

While building and shaping culture is as relevant as ever for startups and companies today, leaders have sought the answers to these questions for hundreds of years – and there is practical advice to be had by examining different cultures across time and around the globe.

In this episode from December 2019, a16z co-founder Ben Horowitz sits down with host Sonal Choksi to talk about what actually makes up culture, whether in a company or any organization or team, as based on Ben’s best-selling book, What You Do is Who You Are. They discuss the idea of culture as code, the nuances of setting and changing a culture, and how to apply the principles of his book to startups, the tech industry and any company today.

Behind many great leaders, you’ll usually find a great mentor. The mentor-mentee relationship is often one of the most important and most fulfilling relationships people have, in both their careers and in their lives. So how do you find a mentor? What are different kinds of mentorship? And how can it help you break into an industry – or help others break in themselves?

In this episode from July 2018, a16z co-founder Ben Horowitz discusses mentorship with his mentor, Silicon Valley pioneer Ken Coleman, and Ben’s mentee, Michel Feaster, founder of Usermind and now Chief Product Officer at Qualtrics. They begin with their personal journeys and share advice and frameworks for mentorship, leadership, and growing as a founder.

In this episode from October 2021, Michael Dell, founder and CEO of Dell Technologies and one of the longest serving founder-CEOs in the technology industry, joins a16z general partner Martin Casado, a16z co-founder Marc Andreessen, and host Sonal Choksi on the occasion of Michael’s book, Play Nice to Win: A CEO’s Journey from Founder to Leader. 

There are lots of challenges in being public while trying to innovate, and limits to being a private company as well; but it's rare to see a company go public then private then back to public again. As is the case with Dell Technologies, one of the largest tech companies -- which went private 2012-2013 and then also pulled off one of the most epic mergers of all time with Dell + EMC + VMWare 2015-2016 (and which we wrote about here at the time).

Is there a method to the madness? How does one not just start, but keep, and transform, their company and business? Michael, Marc, Martin and Sonal debate these questions, as well as the impact of the cloud wars, how innovation happens when a company is private and when its public (something Michael knows well, having taken Dell public to private to back to public again), whether you can actually play nice to win as a leader, and more.

In this episode from February 2019, Jyoti Bansal, founding CEO of AppDynamics and co-founder of Unusual Ventures, joins a16z general partner Peter Levine, a16z partner Sateesh Talluri, and host Sonal Choksi to discuss how product and sales evolve together for enterprise go-to-market, including key milestones for both product development and marketing, frameworks for how to think about pre- to post-product market fit, the role of additional levers like services or pricing, and more.

For the show transcript, you can go here.

This week, student loans are back in the news, with the administration's announcement of a plan to forgive student loan debt for certain kinds of borrowers. Outside of the specific policies, though, student loans are often the first of many big financial decisions that young people make as they begin to build credit history and join the labor force. So what role can technology play in serving this demographic's particular needs, now and into the future?

In this episode from October 2020, Amira Yahyaoui, the founder and CEO of Mos, a platform that helps students with their banking needs, like getting financial aid for college, joins a16z general partner Anish Acharya, partner Seema Amble, and host Lauren Murrow to discuss fintech for Gen Z and millenials. They dig into some of the issues around student loans today, the underserved banking needs of this group, and how fintech can help younger consumers today as well as set them up for a better financial future.

Can you get better at decision-making with practice? Many founders, investors, and builders must make many critical decisions, big and small, every day, and improving the quality of your decision-making process can become a big competitive advantage. 

In this episode from October 2020, expert decision strategist, author and professional poker player, Annie Duke, joins a16z managing partner Jeff Jordan, to discuss some of the frameworks, strategies, and tactics for better decision-making by both individuals and organizations that she outlines in her second book, How to Decide. This was Annie’s second appearance on the podcast – she first joined a16z co-founder Marc Andreessen and host Sonal Chokshi to discuss her first book, Thinking in Bets, where they  went deep into how to frame taking risks and placing bets, especially in the context of innovation. 

You can read the full transcript of this episode here, and you can read the transcript of Annie's first episode on the a16z Podcast with Marc Andreessen here. 

What can we learn from the evolution of open source communities and how might they be applied to online communities and the creator economy today? Author Nadia Asparouhova joins host Sonal Choksi to talk about Asparouhova's book, Working in Public: The Making and Maintenance of Open Source Software, from Stripe Press.

They start with a  a taxonomy for communities, and then dig into how open source has changed over time, which learnings from open source do and don’t apply to new communities online, how communities intersect with the growing desire for more "high-shared context" groups and spaces (including even podcasts and newsletters), and more.

Whether it’s moderating a live panel discussion, managing your (virtual) All Hands meeting, or even guiding a cross-functional team to a decision in an important meeting, mastering the art of helping a group communicate is a critical skill for many of us.

In this episode from November 2020, expert communications and presentations coach Matt Abrahams, who is also a lecturer at Stanford’s Graduate School of Business, sits down with Sonal Choksi to share frameworks, strategies and many concrete tips for how anyone can become a better moderator and facilitator. They cover everything from how to approach prep work (like, can you be too prepared?) and how to handle disruptions on the fly to the subtle differences between in-person and virtual events, the ways our own ticks can manifest before an audience, and more. 

What does the success of TikTok's algorithmically-driven product tell us about the future of creators and the creator economy, product design, and innovation within video?

In this cross-over archive episode from our tech news podcast, 16 Minutes on the News, we go deep into the what, why, and how of TikTok's algorithm, which lies at the heart of the product and drives its "creativity network effects." The conversation features Eugene Wei (former head of product at Hulu, Flipboard, and video at Oculus), in conversation with host Sonal Choksi. This episode originally aired in September 2020, when there was talk of U.S. ownership/partnership for the American version of TikTok, which is from Chinese company ByteDance. 

In this episode from December 2018, Hennessy, currently the chairman of Alphabet as well as Turing Award-winning computer scientist, joins a16z co-founder Marc Andreessen, a16z general partner Martin Casado, and host Sonal Choksi for a wide-ranging conversation about moving from academia to startups, the history of Silicon Valley, the “Stanford model”, how to build enduring organizations, and more.

Hennessy also co-founded startups, including one based on pioneering microprocessor architecture used in 99% of devices today (for which he and his collaborator won the prestigious Turing Award)... so what did it take to go from research/idea to industry/implementation? And  how has the overall relationship and "divide" between academia and industry shifted, especially as the tech industry itself has changed? Finally, in his book, Leading Matters, Hennessy shares some of the leadership principles he's learned, offering nuanced takes on topics like humility (needs ambition), empathy (without contravening fairness and reason), and others. What does it take to build not just tech, but a successful organization?

In this hallway-style conversation with a16z's Margit Wennmachers, longtime operating partner for Marketing, and Kim Milosevich, CMO for a16z crypto, open up the black box of crisis communications with Sonal Choksi and explore the process and mindsets before, during, and after a crisis.

They discuss common FAQs like: What constitutes a crisis? Can someone inside a company "call it" early and prevent a crisis from becoming a bigger deal? How do you respond when there's a lag or too much time between acknowledging the issue and finding out all the facts? Who should be in the (war) room ? Should you share the off-the-record background story with reporters? How do you know when a crisis begins and ends -- or that you're ready for a "comeback" story? We explore all this and more.

Over the last 20 years, the idea of “designing biology” has gone from science fiction to just science, as the field of synthetic biology has exploded, with applications from therapeutics to manufacturing and more. 

In this episode from January 2019, one of the pioneers in the field, professor James J. Collins of MIT, joins a16z general partner on the Bio + Health fund, Vijay Pande, and editorial partner Hanne Winarsky, to discuss the origins of synthetic biology or "synbio", to what "engineering and designing" biology really looks like in action and the disciplinary differences between how biologists and engineers see the world.

In this episode from July 2019, Kurt House, CEO and co-founder of Kobold Metals, John Thompson, professor of earth and geosciences at Cornell; and Connie Chan, a16z general partner for consumer, talk with editorial partner Hanne Winarsky about the way technology is transforming how we find cobalt, and the mining industry as a whole, as well as the science behind why cobalt is so critical for batteries, the data and knowledge behind mining today vs the past, and more. 

In this episode from October 2019, People.AI founder and CEO Oleg Rogynskyy and a16z partner Peter Lauten discuss with Das Rush about what the rise of AI in B2B means for enterprises, workers, and startups. They explain why AI provides a strong first mover advantage to enterprises that adopt it early; how it can automate lower level tasks, maximize our focus, and, ultimately, make our work more meaningful; and for startups, they provide a playbook for seizing the next AI opportunity.

To learn more about the latest in AI, ML, data, and how enterprise are working with these technologies, go to future.com/data.

In this episode from October 2019, a16z co-founder Marc Andreessen and former a16z podcast showrunner Sonal Choksi bring on MIT economist and bestselling author Andrew McAfee to discuss why the lessons of human growth in times past, from the Industrial Revolution onwards, might not apply to our future. It used to be that the only way for humanity to grow — and progress — was through destroying the environment. But is this interplay between human growth vs. environment really a zero-sum game? Even if it were true in history, is it true today? If capitalism is not responsible for environmental degradation, than who or what is? And where does (and doesn’t) technology come in?

The conversation is based on McAfee’s 2019 book More from Less: The Surprising Story of How We Learned to Prosper Using Fewer Resources -- and What Happens Next,  ranging broadly across many areas of growth, from the future of energy and agriculture to the role of capitalism and technology today and tomorrow, from dematerialization  to Tesla, Buckminster Fuller, and more.