POPULARITY
Categories
This week we chat with Eric Newcomer!Eric is the founder and writer behind Newcomer, which is a deeply reported newsletter on the inner workings of the startup industry. He's widely regarded as one of the sharpest independent journalists and observers of power, money, and ambition in tech. He's built Newcomer from a Substack newsletter into a must-read publication with over 100,000 subscribers.After spending six years at Bloomberg, Eric took the leap in 2020 to build Newcomer full time - breaking stories that shape how founders, investors, and operators understand the startup world. From leaked slide decks at Coatue and Tiger Global to deeply reported interviews with top venture capitalists, his work consistently uncovers breaking news. Eric is also the host of the Newcomer Podcast, which launched with a debut episode featuring Reid Hoffman, and the co-creator of major tech events like the Cerebral Valley AI Summit, bringing together CEOs from Stability, Runway, Hugging Face, and leading partners from firms like Sequoia and Greylock.Earlier in his career, Eric was the first employee at The Information, where he broke news including Amazon's acquisition of Twitch. A Harvard graduate with a background in philosophy and a journalist's instinct for truth, Eric has built a platform that founders and investors can't afford to ignore.✨ This episode is presented by Brex.Brex: brex.com/trailblazerspodThis episode is supported by RocketReach, Gusto, OpenPhone & Athena.RocketReach: rocketreach.co/trailblazersGusto: gusto.com/trailblazersQuo: Quo.com/trailblazersAthena: athenago.me/Erica-WengerFollow Us!@ericnewcomer https://www.newcomer.co/@thetrailblazerspod: Instagram, YouTube, TikTokErica Wenger: @erica_wenger
One of GPP's most requested episodes is back.In this archive episode of Gio's Passion, we explore the power of physical connection — the hug, the cuddle, the kiss — andwhat it really means to break the touch barrier.This isn't about stealing someone's relationship or pushing boundaries. It's about energy, intention, and being clear about where you stand. Sometimes touch is comfort. Sometimes it's chemistry. Sometimes it simply reminds you that you're human.If you've ever felt the electricity of a simple embrace and wondered what it meant… this one's for you.Enjoy The Ride!!!Follow and Subscribe for bold conversations on several of Life's Topics.Boston Trip YouTube Video Link:https://youtu.be/xzSj3qJZInk?si=ju3BSmM09PhGJ4_1
The follow-up to One of GPP's most requested episodescalled “Her Touch” is back.In this archive episode of Gio's Passion called “Does She Know?” we explore the power of energy, attraction, andnon-verbal communication — and why passion isn't always about sex. It's about presence. The look. The touch. The tension that speaks louder than words.What happens when someone feels emotionally unfulfilled in a relationship?Can unspoken chemistry awaken something they didn't realize was missing?If you've ever felt that magnetic pull and wondered, “Does she know?” — this one's for you.Enjoy The Ride!!!Follow and Subscribe for bold conversations on several of Life's Topics.Boston Trip YouTube Video Link:https://youtu.be/xzSj3qJZInk?si=ju3BSmM09PhGJ4_1
"They are changing venture capital from a 30% tax to 0% tax. If Robinhood succeeds, it makes Sequoia and Andreessen's business model untenable." — Keith TeareThe Silicon Gods must have their blood. And they've finally come for the funders of disruption, the venture capitalists, who are now being disrupted by something called Public Venture Capital (PVC). That, at least, is the view of That Was The Week publisher Keith Teare, who leads his newsletter this week with Robinhood's new venture fund. This new stock-trading app for millennials is going after Sequoia and Andreessen Horowitz—not by competing on deal flow, but by charging 0% carry instead of 20-30%. Robinhood promises it blows the doors off traditional venture capital.But Keith urges caution over PVCs. Robinhood is packaging late-stage private assets—companies like Databricks that would have IPO'd years ago but are staying private longer. By the time retail investors get access, employees are already cashing out through tender offers because they think the peak is near. The poster child: Figma, which did secondaries at $12 billion after Adobe's $20 billion acquisition failed. A lot of (dumb) people bought at the top and are now slightly less stupid.Fortunately, this week's tech roundup isn't just about get-rich-quick investment schemes. We also discuss Yasha Mounk's sobering experiment: he asked AI to write a political philosophy paper and found it "depressingly good"—publishable in an academic journal. Keith reframes this supposed "death of the humanities" as automation, not democratization. The humans aren't being leveled up; they're masquerading as producers while AI does the work. But craft still matters. When technology relieves humans of the mundane, he hopes, it elevates the special.Lastly but not least, we get to the abundance debate. Peter Diamandis and Singularity University have promised something called "exponential abundance" by 2035. Keith is sympathetic. I am not. The only thing I'm willing to guarantee is that we'll still be talking abundantly about abundance in 2035. And that the Silicon Valley Gods will have their blood. Five Takeaways● Robinhood Is Charging 0% Carry: Sequoia and Andreessen take 20-30% of profits. Robinhood takes nothing. If they scale, the traditional VC model becomes untenable.● But You're Buying at the Top: These are late-stage assets. Employees are selling through tender offers because they think peak valuation is near. Ask the people who bought Figma at $12 billion.● AI Is Automating the Humanities: Yasha Mounk found AI could write "depressingly good" political philosophy. This isn't democratization—it's humans masquerading as producers.● Craft Still Retains Its Power: Technology relieves humans of the mundane—and elevates the special. Creativity that breaks through will always command attention.● The Abundance Debate Continues: Diamandis says abundance by 2035. Keith agrees land is already abundant. Andrew calls this "such a stupid thing to say." About the GuestKeith Teare is the publisher of That Was The Week and Executive Chairman of SignalRank. He is a serial entrepreneur and longtime observer of Silicon Valley. Keith joins Keen On America every Saturday for The Week That Was.ReferencesCompanies mentioned:● Robinhood is launching a publicly listed venture fund, raising up to $1 billion at $25/share with 0% carry. They already have $340 million in assets including Databricks.● Figma is cited as a cautionary tale: after Adobe's failed $20 billion acquisition, it did secondaries at $12 billion—many bought at the top.● Polymarket is a prediction market platform that Robinhood has responded to by adding prediction markets to its offerings.People mentioned:● Yasha Mounk wrote about AI writing "depressingly good" political philosophy papers that could be published in academic journals.● Peter Diamandis and Dr. Alexander Wisner-Gross of Singularity University argue that exponential abundance is coming by 2035.● Packy McCormick wrote about power in the age of intelligence.About Keen On AmericaNobody asks more awkward questions than the Anglo-American writer and filmmaker Andrew Keen. In Keen On America, Andrew brings his pointed Transatlantic wit to making sense of the United States—hosting daily interviews about the history and future of this now venerable Republic. With nearly 2,800 episodes since the show launched on TechCrunch in 2010, Keen On America is the most prolific intellectual interview show in the history of podcasting.WebsiteSubstackYouTubeApple PodcastsSpotify Chapters:(00:00) - Introduction: If it's Saturday, it must be revolution (02:11) - Robinhood's venture fund announcement (03:17) - What is Robinhood's day job? (07:43) - Secondary markets and tender offers (10:33) - Democratization or late-stage risk? (14:09) - Is Robinhood just gambling? (16:08) - Private vs. public market returns (19:02) - Is finance merging with betting? (24:23) - Blowing the doors off Sequoia and Andreessen (26:27) - Yasha Mounk: AI automating the humanities (28:47) - Where does power go in the age of AI? (30:42) - Craft retains its power (31:33) - The abundance debate (34:00) - Is land abundant? Andrew loses patience (00:00) - Chapter 15 (00:00) - Chapter 16 (00:00) - Introduction: If it's Saturday, it must be revolution (02:11) - Robinhood's venture fund announcement (03:17) - What is Robinhood's day job? (07:43) - Secondary markets and tender offers (10:33) - Democratization or late-stage risk? (14:09) - Is Robinhood just gambling? (16:08) - Private vs. public market returns (19:02) - Is finance merging with betting? (24:23) - Blowing the doors off Sequoia and Andreessen (26:27) - Yasha Mounk: AI automating the humanities
Lenny's Podcast: Product | Growth | Career ✓ Claim : Read the notes at at podcastnotes.org. Don't forget to subscribe for free to our newsletter, the top 10 ideas of the week, every Monday --------- Brian Halligan co-founded HubSpot, ran it as CEO for about 15 years, and now coaches Sequoia's fastest-growing founders as their in-house CEO coach.We discuss:1. His LOCKS framework for evaluating founders2. Why you should build your team like the 2004 Red Sox3. Why hiring “spicy” candidates beats consensus picks4. Why enterprise sales will be the last white-collar job AI replaces5. Some of my favorite “Halliganisms”—Brought to you by:Sentry—Code breaks, fix it faster: http://sentry.io/lennyDatadog—Now home to Eppo, the leading experimentation and feature flagging platform: https://www.datadoghq.com/lennyWorkOS—Modern identity platform for B2B SaaS, free up to 1 million MAUs: https://workos.com/lenny—Episode transcript: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/sequoia-ceo-coach-why-its-never-been—Archive of all Lenny's Podcast transcripts: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/yxi4s2w998p1gvtpu4193/AMdNPR8AOw0lMklwtnC0TrQ?rlkey=j06x0nipoti519e0xgm23zsn9&st=ahz0fj11&dl=0—Where to find Brian Halligan• X: https://x.com/bhalligan• LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/brianhalligan• Delphi: https://www.delphi.ai/bhalligan• Podcast: https://sequoiacap.com/series/long-strange-trip—Where to find Lenny:• Newsletter: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com• X: https://twitter.com/lennysan• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/—In this episode, we cover:(00:00) Introduction to Brian Halligan(03:56) The perpetual state of constructive dissatisfaction(05:25) Coaching CEOs(07:49) The art of interviewing and hiring(11:21) Getting the most out of reference calls(13:10) Homegrown talent vs. big company hires(16:31) Traits of successful CEOs(19:40) Brian's LOCKS framework for evaluating founders(21:34) Are great CEO's born or made?(23:41) Giving effective feedback(25:54) The future of go-to-market strategies(31:56) Understanding forward deployed engineers(34:17) How the CEO role has evolved over the last 20 years(38:10) Halliganisms(01:01:18) The CEO's role in scaling a company(01:02:41) Lightning round and final thoughts—Referenced:• Dev Ittycheria on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dittycheria• HubSpot: https://www.hubspot.com• Parker Conrad on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/parkerconrad• McKinsey & Company: https://www.mckinsey.com• Brian Chesky's new playbook: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/brian-cheskys-contrarian-approach• Jensen Huang on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenhsunhuang• Winston Weinberg on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/winston-weinberg• James Cadwallader on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jsca• Gabriel Stengel on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gabestengel• He saved OpenAI, invented the “Like” button, and built Google Maps: Bret Taylor on the future of careers, coding, agents, and more: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/he-saved-openai-bret-taylor• Scaling Entrepreneurial Ventures: https://orbit.mit.edu/classes/scaling-entrepreneurial-ventures-15.392• OpenClaw: https://openclaw.ai• Ruth Porat on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ruth-porat• Mike Krzyzewski: https://goduke.com/sports/mens-basketball/roster/coaches/mike-krzyzewski/4159• Dalai Lama's 18 Rules for Living: https://www.prm.nau.edu/prm205/Dalai-Lama-18-rules-for-living.htm• Zigging vs. zagging: How HubSpot built a $30B company | Dharmesh Shah (co-founder/CTO): https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/lessons-from-30-years-of-building• Kareem Amin on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kareemamin• Glassdoor: https://www.glassdoor.com• Tobi Lütke's leadership playbook: Playing infinite games, operating from first principles, and maximizing human potential (founder and CEO of Shopify): https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/tobi-lutkes-leadership-playbook• Katie Burke on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/katie-burke-965767a• Jerry Garcia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerry_Garcia• Bob Weir: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Weir• Phil Lesh: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phil_Lesh• Ron “Pigpen” McKernan: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ron_%22Pigpen%22_McKernan• Marc Andreessen: The real AI boom hasn't even started yet: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/marc-andreessen-the-real-ai-boom• The American Revolution: https://www.pbs.org/kenburns/the-american-revolution• Delphi: https://www.delphi.ai• Sonos: https://www.sonos.com• Yamini Rangan on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yaminirangan• The Boston Red Sox: https://www.mlb.com/redsox—Recommended book:• Marketing Lessons from the Grateful Dead: What Every Business Can Learn from the Most Iconic Band in History: https://www.amazon.com/Marketing-Lessons-Grateful-Dead-Business/dp/0470900520—Production and marketing by https://penname.co/. For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email podcast@lennyrachitsky.com.—Lenny may be an investor in the companies discussed. To hear more, visit www.lennysnewsletter.com
Lenny's Podcast: Product | Growth | Career ✓ Claim Key Takeaways Check out the episode pageRead the full notes @ podcastnotes.orgBrian Halligan co-founded HubSpot, ran it as CEO for about 15 years, and now coaches Sequoia's fastest-growing founders as their in-house CEO coach.We discuss:1. His LOCKS framework for evaluating founders2. Why you should build your team like the 2004 Red Sox3. Why hiring “spicy” candidates beats consensus picks4. Why enterprise sales will be the last white-collar job AI replaces5. Some of my favorite “Halliganisms”—Brought to you by:Sentry—Code breaks, fix it faster: http://sentry.io/lennyDatadog—Now home to Eppo, the leading experimentation and feature flagging platform: https://www.datadoghq.com/lennyWorkOS—Modern identity platform for B2B SaaS, free up to 1 million MAUs: https://workos.com/lenny—Episode transcript: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/sequoia-ceo-coach-why-its-never-been—Archive of all Lenny's Podcast transcripts: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/yxi4s2w998p1gvtpu4193/AMdNPR8AOw0lMklwtnC0TrQ?rlkey=j06x0nipoti519e0xgm23zsn9&st=ahz0fj11&dl=0—Where to find Brian Halligan• X: https://x.com/bhalligan• LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/brianhalligan• Delphi: https://www.delphi.ai/bhalligan• Podcast: https://sequoiacap.com/series/long-strange-trip—Where to find Lenny:• Newsletter: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com• X: https://twitter.com/lennysan• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/—In this episode, we cover:(00:00) Introduction to Brian Halligan(03:56) The perpetual state of constructive dissatisfaction(05:25) Coaching CEOs(07:49) The art of interviewing and hiring(11:21) Getting the most out of reference calls(13:10) Homegrown talent vs. big company hires(16:31) Traits of successful CEOs(19:40) Brian's LOCKS framework for evaluating founders(21:34) Are great CEO's born or made?(23:41) Giving effective feedback(25:54) The future of go-to-market strategies(31:56) Understanding forward deployed engineers(34:17) How the CEO role has evolved over the last 20 years(38:10) Halliganisms(01:01:18) The CEO's role in scaling a company(01:02:41) Lightning round and final thoughts—Referenced:• Dev Ittycheria on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dittycheria• HubSpot: https://www.hubspot.com• Parker Conrad on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/parkerconrad• McKinsey & Company: https://www.mckinsey.com• Brian Chesky's new playbook: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/brian-cheskys-contrarian-approach• Jensen Huang on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenhsunhuang• Winston Weinberg on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/winston-weinberg• James Cadwallader on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jsca• Gabriel Stengel on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gabestengel• He saved OpenAI, invented the “Like” button, and built Google Maps: Bret Taylor on the future of careers, coding, agents, and more: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/he-saved-openai-bret-taylor• Scaling Entrepreneurial Ventures: https://orbit.mit.edu/classes/scaling-entrepreneurial-ventures-15.392• OpenClaw: https://openclaw.ai• Ruth Porat on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ruth-porat• Mike Krzyzewski: https://goduke.com/sports/mens-basketball/roster/coaches/mike-krzyzewski/4159• Dalai Lama's 18 Rules for Living: https://www.prm.nau.edu/prm205/Dalai-Lama-18-rules-for-living.htm• Zigging vs. zagging: How HubSpot built a $30B company | Dharmesh Shah (co-founder/CTO): https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/lessons-from-30-years-of-building• Kareem Amin on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kareemamin• Glassdoor: https://www.glassdoor.com• Tobi Lütke's leadership playbook: Playing infinite games, operating from first principles, and maximizing human potential (founder and CEO of Shopify): https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/tobi-lutkes-leadership-playbook• Katie Burke on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/katie-burke-965767a• Jerry Garcia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerry_Garcia• Bob Weir: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Weir• Phil Lesh: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phil_Lesh• Ron “Pigpen” McKernan: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ron_%22Pigpen%22_McKernan• Marc Andreessen: The real AI boom hasn't even started yet: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/marc-andreessen-the-real-ai-boom• The American Revolution: https://www.pbs.org/kenburns/the-american-revolution• Delphi: https://www.delphi.ai• Sonos: https://www.sonos.com• Yamini Rangan on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yaminirangan• The Boston Red Sox: https://www.mlb.com/redsox—Recommended book:• Marketing Lessons from the Grateful Dead: What Every Business Can Learn from the Most Iconic Band in History: https://www.amazon.com/Marketing-Lessons-Grateful-Dead-Business/dp/0470900520—Production and marketing by https://penname.co/. For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email podcast@lennyrachitsky.com.—Lenny may be an investor in the companies discussed. To hear more, visit www.lennysnewsletter.com
In this episode of Badlands Book Club, CannCon and Ashe in America are joined by Colonel Towner Watkins as they continue working through Stolen Elections, covering the next section of the book and unpacking its claims in real time. The discussion revisits allegations surrounding Venezuela, cartel activity, Chinese money laundering, and narco-trafficking, with the hosts challenging the sourcing, math, and logic presented in the text. As the chapter shifts toward Smartmatic, Sequoia, Dominion, and international election contracts, the panel scrutinizes assertions about corporate ownership, offshore registrations, CFIUS investigations, and the role of figures like Lord Mark Malloch-Brown. They compare the book's claims to publicly available records, question the reliance on unnamed whistleblowers, and dissect the interview excerpts used as evidence. Throughout the episode, the hosts emphasize the difference between documented proof and layered hearsay, pushing back on what they argue is narrative framing rather than substantiated fact. The result is a detailed, point-by-point analysis of the book's claims and the broader story it attempts to tell about elections and foreign influence.
The Twenty Minute VC: Venture Capital | Startup Funding | The Pitch
Sebastian Siemiatkowski is the co-founder and CEO of Klarna, the global digital bank with over 114 million global active users and 3.4 million transactions per day. Seb is one of the leading public company CEOs pushing the boundaries of AI. AGENDA: 04:50 — The Real Threat to SaaS is The Switching Cost Coming Down 05:57 — What revenue multiple will software companies trade at in the future? 14:12 — Why you need to build your own customer service AI to win 23:51 — Klarna has two times the customer base of Revolut. They will beat Revolut 25:39 — How I lost a billion dollars not investing in Nubank 30:57 — Why Nubank are more likely to win the US than Revolut? 34:28 — We used to be 6,000 people. Now we are just 3,000 39:58 — When is a high valuation too high and can be dangerous? 42:45 — How we got Sequoia to invest and Michael Moritz to join the board 53:14 — If you are an investor today that is not building then you're at a fundamental disadvantage 01:11:43 — I have changed my mind on the adoption cycle... I think it will take longer than people think 20VC: Is SaaS Dead: Klarna Replaces 1,500 Internal SaaS Products | Why Systems of Record Will Die in an Agentic World | What Revenue Multiple Will Software Companies Trade At? | From 7,000 to 3,000: We Need Less People Than Ever with Sebastian Siemiatkowski
On today's episode, we discuss AOC's viral “this dude is not smart” jab at Elon Musk, playing her halting Taiwan‑defense answer from Munich alongside footage of a SpaceX booster landing itself and asking what it says about today's political class when one of Musk's harshest critics cannot give a coherent response on war and peace. The panel then turns to Louisiana politics: Ben unloads on Senator Bill Cassidy as a “rhino” who reliably votes with Democrats, warns that outdated Sequoia voting machines are being replaced by Dominion systems after one more election, and argues that unless the state returns to hand‑marked paper ballots, the establishment can engineer Cassidy's third term regardless of voter sentiment. In a lighter but revealing tech segment, James offers a Tesla FSD update—explaining the new “strike” policy for inattentive drivers, how profiles now live in the cloud, and why the car sometimes lets him exceed its recommended speed only after flashing on‑screen liability warnings—while Dwayne reads Grok's official description of the temporary autopilot suspensions and jokes about a future registry for “habitual bad drivers.” The conversation broadens into concerns about hacking autonomous 18‑wheelers, the promise of safer robot truck fleets, and an exploration of “Alpha Schools,” an AI‑driven homeschool model whose students reportedly test in the top 1 percent, prompting questions about whether the tool is transformative or simply amplifying already motivated families. Finally, the crew revisits Pam Bondi's handling of the Epstein files and DOJ priorities, contrasts her emotional testimony with Oliver North's unflappable Iran‑Contra performance, and debates whether limited federal resources should chase every past atrocity (from island trafficking to Russiagate) or be concentrated on a few, clearly winnable cases even if that leaves some victims without full legal closure. Don't miss it!
Brian Halligan co-founded HubSpot, ran it as CEO for about 15 years, and now coaches Sequoia's fastest-growing founders as their in-house CEO coach.We discuss:1. His LOCKS framework for evaluating founders2. Why you should build your team like the 2004 Red Sox3. Why hiring “spicy” candidates beats consensus picks4. Why enterprise sales will be the last white-collar job AI replaces5. Some of my favorite “Halliganisms”—Brought to you by:Sentry—Code breaks, fix it faster: http://sentry.io/lennyDatadog—Now home to Eppo, the leading experimentation and feature flagging platform: https://www.datadoghq.com/lennyWorkOS—Modern identity platform for B2B SaaS, free up to 1 million MAUs: https://workos.com/lenny—Episode transcript: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/sequoia-ceo-coach-why-its-never-been—Archive of all Lenny's Podcast transcripts: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/yxi4s2w998p1gvtpu4193/AMdNPR8AOw0lMklwtnC0TrQ?rlkey=j06x0nipoti519e0xgm23zsn9&st=ahz0fj11&dl=0—Where to find Brian Halligan• X: https://x.com/bhalligan• LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/brianhalligan• Delphi: https://www.delphi.ai/bhalligan• Podcast: https://sequoiacap.com/series/long-strange-trip—Where to find Lenny:• Newsletter: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com• X: https://twitter.com/lennysan• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/—In this episode, we cover:(00:00) Introduction to Brian Halligan(03:56) The perpetual state of constructive dissatisfaction(05:25) Coaching CEOs(07:49) The art of interviewing and hiring(11:21) Getting the most out of reference calls(13:10) Homegrown talent vs. big company hires(16:31) Traits of successful CEOs(19:40) Brian's LOCKS framework for evaluating founders(21:34) Are great CEO's born or made?(23:41) Giving effective feedback(25:54) The future of go-to-market strategies(31:56) Understanding forward deployed engineers(34:17) How the CEO role has evolved over the last 20 years(38:10) Halliganisms(01:01:18) The CEO's role in scaling a company(01:02:41) Lightning round and final thoughts—Referenced:• Dev Ittycheria on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dittycheria• HubSpot: https://www.hubspot.com• Parker Conrad on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/parkerconrad• McKinsey & Company: https://www.mckinsey.com• Brian Chesky's new playbook: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/brian-cheskys-contrarian-approach• Jensen Huang on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenhsunhuang• Winston Weinberg on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/winston-weinberg• James Cadwallader on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jsca• Gabriel Stengel on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gabestengel• He saved OpenAI, invented the “Like” button, and built Google Maps: Bret Taylor on the future of careers, coding, agents, and more: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/he-saved-openai-bret-taylor• Scaling Entrepreneurial Ventures: https://orbit.mit.edu/classes/scaling-entrepreneurial-ventures-15.392• OpenClaw: https://openclaw.ai• Ruth Porat on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ruth-porat• Mike Krzyzewski: https://goduke.com/sports/mens-basketball/roster/coaches/mike-krzyzewski/4159• Dalai Lama's 18 Rules for Living: https://www.prm.nau.edu/prm205/Dalai-Lama-18-rules-for-living.htm• Zigging vs. zagging: How HubSpot built a $30B company | Dharmesh Shah (co-founder/CTO): https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/lessons-from-30-years-of-building• Kareem Amin on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kareemamin• Glassdoor: https://www.glassdoor.com• Tobi Lütke's leadership playbook: Playing infinite games, operating from first principles, and maximizing human potential (founder and CEO of Shopify): https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/tobi-lutkes-leadership-playbook• Katie Burke on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/katie-burke-965767a• Jerry Garcia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerry_Garcia• Bob Weir: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Weir• Phil Lesh: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phil_Lesh• Ron “Pigpen” McKernan: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ron_%22Pigpen%22_McKernan• Marc Andreessen: The real AI boom hasn't even started yet: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/marc-andreessen-the-real-ai-boom• The American Revolution: https://www.pbs.org/kenburns/the-american-revolution• Delphi: https://www.delphi.ai• Sonos: https://www.sonos.com• Yamini Rangan on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yaminirangan• The Boston Red Sox: https://www.mlb.com/redsox—Recommended book:• Marketing Lessons from the Grateful Dead: What Every Business Can Learn from the Most Iconic Band in History: https://www.amazon.com/Marketing-Lessons-Grateful-Dead-Business/dp/0470900520—Production and marketing by https://penname.co/. For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email podcast@lennyrachitsky.com.—Lenny may be an investor in the companies discussed. To hear more, visit www.lennysnewsletter.com
This week, we're joined by Anish Agarwal, CEO of Traversal, an AI-native site reliability platform helping teams detect, diagnose, and remediate incidents before they spiral into prolonged downtime.Anish shares how Traversal is tackling the full lifecycle of reliability work: identifying what caused an incident, determining which signals actually mattered during alert triage, and helping teams plan how their infrastructure should evolve over time. As modern systems grow more complex, spanning microservices, serverless, and multi-cloud environments, the surface area for failure continues to expand, especially as AI-generated code accelerates change faster than humans can reasonably keep up.We talk about why observability has produced some of the largest outcomes in software, why the traditional dashboard-first model is breaking down, and why the next generation of tooling needs agents that can search, reason over, and act on observability data, not just display it. Anish also breaks down where “self-healing systems” are real today, where expectations need to be reset, and why many AI-SRE products risk building faster horses instead of rethinking the experience entirely.Episode chapters:1:50 — Anish's background and early building2:30 — The origins of SRE and why it emerged8:40 — Research-driven thinking in product and engineering10:07 — Building for large enterprise environments13:00 — AI-driven code and the growing infrastructure surface area16:11 — Preparing infrastructure for an AI-native future20:10 — Fear, trust, and operating critical systems23:05 — From detection to automated action24:20 — How the SRE role is changing26:05 — Hiring and building the right team29:08 — Raising capital from Sequoia and KP32:38 — Reflections and lessons learned35:50 — Quick-fire round This episode is brought to you by Grata, the leading deal sourcing platform for private equity. Grata's AI powered search, investment grade data, and intuitive workflows help you find and win the right deals faster. Visit grata.com to book a demo.This episode is also sponsored by Overlap, the AI powered app that uses LLMs to surface the best moments from any podcast. Overlap reads full transcripts, finds the most relevant clips, and stitches them into a personalized stream of insights. Tap into podcasts as a real information source with Overlap 2.0, now available on the App Store.
Neste episódio entrevisto Mateus Costa-Ribeiro, Fundador e CEO da Enter. Essa entrevista foi gravada na sede da Sequoia em São Francisco e conta um pouco da história e missão da Enter!É uma história incrível e espero que todos gostem deste podcast tanto quanto eu gostei de gravar!!IMPORTANTE: esse episódio foi dublado usando ferramentas de IA, confira o episódio original em inglês aqui: https://open.spotify.com/episode/6nE05Ck4VQ4pI4oawFDMwK?si=f6e9a5b88c9f41c2Linkedin de Mateus: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mateus-costa-ribeiro-456475195/Linkedin do Filipe: https://www.linkedin.com/in/filipe-lauar/Linkedin da Enter: https://www.linkedin.com/company/getenter/Site da Enter: https://www.getenter.ai/Aqui está o link para a página de vendas para saber mais sobre mim e sobre o curso: https://www.cursovidacomia.com.br/
Send a textFor over 25 years, the Sequoia Training program has helped wholesalers be†ter organize their sales systems and increase their effectiveness. President John Sierawski joins today's show to discuss:Modern Territory Management: travel rotations with anchor meetings3x2 Referal system and how that leads to more new business16 touchpoint approach to adding more advisors amongst your client listReach out to John directly or check out their website for more details:LinkedInSequoia WebsiteSequoia LinkedInTo watch video clips including today's charts and videos, check out Internal Use Only on YouTube:https://www.youtube.com/@InternalUseOnlySupport the show
Mon Carnet, le podcast de Bruno Guglielminetti Vendredi 6 février 2026 Le grand magazine francophone de l'actualité numérique Débrief avec Jérôme Colombain (2:47) Retour sur l'actualité technologique de la semaine Entrevues : L'ex-évangéliste en chef de Google, Nicolas Darveau-Garneau, présente son livre Be a Sequoia, Not a Bonsai (30:27) Regards sur l'utilisation de l'IA par les entreprises d'ici avec Etienne Elie, Y Square (52:50) Quantique : Banc d'essai Kirq en télécommunications quantiques à Québec (1:10:03) Billets : Stéphane Berthomet : Retour sur l'édition 2026 du Paris Radio Show (1:25:47) Carl-Edwin Michel : Nintendo, Apple Arcade et Ubisoft (1:31:25) Thierry Weber : Agents autonomes, promesses et zones de friction (1:37:45) Stéphane Ricoul : Automatisation, IA physique et fiscalité (1:43:55) Entrevue : Jean-François Poulin : Logiciel libre et culture d'entreprise avec Christophe Villemer de Savoir-Faire Linux (1:51:55) Collaborateurs : Jérôme Colombain, Stéphane Berthomet, Carl-Edwin Michel, Thierry Weber, Stéphane Ricoul, Jean-François Poulin www.MonCarnet.com Une production de Guglielminetti.com Février 2026
Benny Chen is the cofounder of Fireworks AI, an AI infrastructure platform. They have raised $327M in funding from Benchmark, Sequoia, Lightspeed, Index, and others. Benny's favorite book: Principles (Author: Ray Dalio)(00:01) Intro and why AI infrastructure is having a moment(00:06) Training vs inference: what's working and where the real bottlenecks are(01:25) Why inference is the hard problem in production(03:30) What breaks at scale when AI systems hit real users(05:29) GPUs, hardware constraints, and why power is now a first-class concern(06:02) What you're actually paying for in inference(07:21) Reliability, compliance, and enterprise expectations(09:49) Training and inference capacity: when they blur together(11:06) How to make inference fast in practice(13:06) System design choices behind modern inference platforms(15:28) Inference economics and cost tradeoffs(18:02) When fine-tuning actually makes sense(21:58) What “best model” really means for real companies(24:25) Production LLM architectures that actually work(27:46) Building an AI infra company customers can trust(29:27) Shipping fast without breaking reliability(31:14) Go-to-market lessons for infra startups(34:17) Where inference platforms are heading next(36:32) Rapid fire round--------Where to find Benny Chen: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/benny-yufei-chen-2238575a/--------Where to find Prateek Joshi: Website: https://prateekj.com Research Column: https://www.infrastartups.comLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/prateek-joshi-infiniteX: https://x.com/prateekj
How could climate change and a plague impact how humans love and grieve? Sequoia Nagamatsu's 'How High We Go in the Dark' explores this question through interconnected sci-fi short stories that really leave us thinking. Conversation starts around 29:15. Before we grapple with some existential questions, let's check in on some of the things we've been playing, watching, and thinking about lately.Playing?Breath of the Wild (Switch 2)Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 (PS5)Watching?Little Amélie or the Character of Rain (2025 Film)Pop Culture Jeopardy! (Amazon Prime)Thinking About?Mothership (Gaming Website)Find us on Twitter & Instagram: @NovelGamingPodSend us an e-mail: novelgamingpodcast@gmail.comLogo by: Katie!Theme song: "Bit Bossa" by Azure
In this episode I interview Mateus Costa-Ribeiro, Founder and CEO of Enter. This interview was recorded in Sequoia's HQ in San Francisco and tells a little bit of Enter's history and mission!It's an incredible story and I hope you all enjoy this podcast as most as I enjoyed recording!!Mateus' Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mateus-costa-ribeiro-456475195/Filipe's Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/filipe-lauar/Enter Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/getenter/Enter website: https://www.getenter.ai/Aqui está o link para a página de vendas para saber mais sobre mim e sobre o curso: https://www.cursovidacomia.com.br/Aqui está o link para se inscrever: https://pay.hotmart.com/W98240617U?off=sgcxar41&bid=1770724234216
Fala galera, nesse episódio eu falo sobre a minha visita aos escritórios da Sequoia e dos Founders Fund, 2 dos maiores fundos de VC do MUNDO! Eu falo sobre as histórias que eles contaram pra gente sobre a NVIDIA, Nubank, PayPal, OpenAI e Anthropic. Além disso eu explico o que são fundos de VC e como eles funcionam!Aqui está o link para a página de vendas para saber mais sobre mim e sobre o curso: https://www.cursovidacomia.com.br/Aqui está o link para se inscrever: https://pay.hotmart.com/W98240617U?off=sgcxar41&bid=1769049109622Link do grupo do wpp: https://chat.whatsapp.com/GNLhf8aCurbHQc9ayX5oCPInstagram do podcast: https://www.instagram.com/podcast.vidacomiaMeu Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/filipe-lauar/
Sponsored by Chargebee, subscription and revenue management → check out their startup offer: https://www.chargebee.com/startupsJake Stauch, Founder of Servalhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/jakestauch/
A new AI lab called Flapping Airplanes launched yesterday, and a Sequoia partner has an interesting take on why they stand out. Also, Upwind's $250 million Series B was led by Bessemer Venture Partners, with participation from Salesforce Ventures and Picture Capital. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
What separates the companies that win from the ones that quietly fade away?Nicolas Darveau-Garneau — former Google Chief Evangelist, multi-time founder, angel investor, and author — joins me to unpack what he's learned after advising over 1,000 CEOs and investing in more than 25 companies.Nicolas breaks down why product-market fit is everything, why most founders misunderstand who their best customers really are, and how a single clear metric can align an entire organization. Drawing on stories from Google, SpaceX, Amazon, Enterprise Rent-A-Car, and St. Jude's Children's Hospital, he reveals why speed, clarity, and purpose consistently outperform complexity and brute force.They explore why storytelling is not a talent but a practiced skill, why timing matters as much as the idea itself, and why the ability to “get better at getting better” may be the only sustainable competitive advantage in the age of AI.This conversation is essential listening for founders, operators, investors, and anyone building something that matters. In this episode, you'll learn: - The three traits great founders consistently share- Why 10% of customers often drive 80–90% of profits - Why speed and operational cadence beat perfection - How great companies build systems that improve without the CEO - The biggest mistakes founders make when scaling - Why purpose—not profit alone—sustains founders through hard times Check out Nicolas' new book: Be a Sequoia, Not a Bonsai: The Seven Growth Secrets of the World's Most Successful Companies https://www.amazon.com/Sequoia-Not-Bonsai-Successful-Companies/dp/1400254248Like this episode? Leave a review here:https://ratethispodcast.com/commondenominator
Our 232st episode with a summary and discussion of last week's big AI news!Recorded on 01/23/2026Hosted by Andrey Kurenkov and Jeremie HarrisFeel free to email us your questions and feedback at contact@lastweekinai.com and/or hello@gladstone.aiRead out our text newsletter and comment on the podcast at https://lastweekin.ai/In this episode:OpenAI announces testing of ads in ChatGPT and introduces child age prediction to enhance safety features, amidst ongoing ethical debates and funding expansions in AI integration with educational tools and business models.China's AI landscape sees significant progress with AI firm Jpu training advanced models on domestic hardware, and strong competitive moves by data centers, highlighting the intense demand in AI manufacturing and infrastructure.Silicon Valley tensions rise as startup Thinking Machines experiences high-profile departures back to OpenAI, reflecting broader industry struggles and rapid shifts in organizational dynamics.AI legislation and safety measures advance with the US Senate's Defiance Act addressing explicit content, and Anthropic updating Claude's constitution to guide ethical AI interactions, while cultural pushbacks from artists signal ongoing debates in intellectual property and AI-generated content.Timestamps:(00:00:10) Intro / Banter(00:02:08) News Preview(00:02:26) Response to listener commentsTools & Apps(00:11:55) OpenAI to test ads in ChatGPT as it burns through billions - Ars Technica(00:18:05) OpenAI is launching age prediction for ChatGPT accounts(00:23:37) Google now offers free SAT practice exams, powered by Gemini | TechCrunch(00:24:57) Baidu's AI Assistant Reaches Milestone of 200 Million Monthly Active Users - WSJApplications & Business(00:26:53) The Drama at Thinking Machines, a New A.I. Start-Up, Is Riveting Silicon Valley - The New York Times(00:31:44) Zhipu AI breaks US chip reliance with first major model trained on Huawei stack | South China Morning Post(00:36:31) Elon Musk's xAI launches world's first Gigawatt AI supercluster to rival OpenAI and Anthropic(00:41:25) Sequoia to invest in Anthropic, breaking VC taboo on backing rivals: FT(00:45:18) Humans&, a 'human-centric' AI startup founded by Anthropic, xAI, Google alums, raised $480M seed round | TechCrunchProjects & Open Source(00:48:51) Black Forest Labs Releases FLUX.2 [klein]: Compact Flow Models for Interactive Visual Intelligence - MarkTechPost(00:50:35) [2601.10611] Molmo2: Open Weights and Data for Vision-Language Models with Video Understanding and Grounding(00:52:53) [2601.10547] HeartMuLa: A Family of Open Sourced Music Foundation Models(00:54:46) [2601.11044] AgencyBench: Benchmarking the Frontiers of Autonomous Agents in 1M-Token Real-World ContextsResearch & Advancements(00:57:05) STEM: Scaling Transformers with Embedding Modules(01:06:22) Reasoning Models Generate Societies of Thought(01:14:21) Why LLMs Aren't Scientists Yet: Lessons from Four Autonomous Research AttemptsPolicy & Safety(01:19:41) Senate passes bill letting victims sue over Grok AI explicit images(01:22:03) Building Production-Ready Probes For Gemini(01:27:32) Anthropic Publishes Claude AI's New Constitution | TIMESynthetic Media & Art(01:34:13) Artists Launch Stealing Isn't Innovation Campaign To Protest Big TechSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
- Apple Outs More Powerful Second-Gen AirTag - Most iPhones Since the 15 Series Support Better AirTag Precision Finding - First-Gen AirTag Prices Drop with Third-Party Sellers - New AirTag Ushers in a Slew of Software Updates - iPhone 5s and iPhone 6 Get Surprise Messages Support - iOS Updates Address Emergency Calling Issue in Australia - Apple Seeds Third Developer Betas of blankOS 26.3 - Apple Seeds Third RCs of Sequoia and Sonoma Updates to Developers - "Melania" Director Posts Pic with Cook from Screening - Sponsored by Squarespace: Get 10% off of your first purchase of a website or domain with offer code MACOSKEN at Squarespace.com/MACOSKEN - Sponsored by Copilot Money: Get a two months free trial with Offer Code MACOSKEN at try.copilot.money/macosken - Catch Ken on Mastodon - @macosken@mastodon.social - Send Ken an email: info@macosken.com - Chat with us on Patreon for as little as $1 a month. Support the show at Patreon.com/macosken
Watch The X22 Report On Video No videos found (function(w,d,s,i){w.ldAdInit=w.ldAdInit||[];w.ldAdInit.push({slot:17532056201798502,size:[0, 0],id:"ld-9437-3289"});if(!d.getElementById(i)){var j=d.createElement(s),p=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];j.async=true;j.src="https://cdn2.decide.dev/_js/ajs.js";j.id=i;p.parentNode.insertBefore(j,p);}})(window,document,"script","ld-ajs");pt> Click On Picture To See Larger PictureChina & Canada are trying to bypass Trump trade tariffs. This has already failed, and Trump calls out Carney.EU economy is weak and it is getting weaker, there are two paths, one that follows the [CB] agenda the other is Trump economic agenda. Inflation declines again, Gold and Silver are up, Trump’s plan is working, its time to end the endless.The [DS] is now calling for the insurgency to accelerate. Clinton and Obama are now calling on their foot soldiers to push the insurrection against Trump. Trump has put a message to all D’s, lets work together, the optics are very good, the D’s will do this for a short period of time but in the end they will push the insurrection. Once they do this, they lost the people. Timing and optics are very important. Economy Carney Cracks: Canada Has ‘No Intention’ Of Pursuing Free Trade Deal With China After Trump Threatens 100% Tariffs To review: right before Davos, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney returned from a trip to Beijing and announced a new 5-point ‘strategic partnership’ to ‘diversify our trade partnerships.’ The agreements included slashing tariffs on Chinese EV imports from 100 percent to 6.1 percent for the first 49,000 units, in exchange for China cutting tariffs on Canadian canola from 85 percent to 15 percent until at least the end of the year. Other exports, including Canadian canola meal, lobsters, crabs, and peas will also not be subject to Chinese anti-discrimination tariffs until at least the end of 2026. A week later, Carney told the global elite at Davos resort that the “rules-based order” established by the United States and its allies following WW2 was fraying amid the current rivalry between China and America, so the “middle powers must act together because if we’re not on the table, we’re on the menu.” Carney said that for their survival, nations should no longer “go along to get along” with Trump. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney says Canada has “no intention” of pursuing a free trade deal with China, after Donald Trump threatened to slap a 100% tariff on Canadian exports if Ottawa “makes a deal” with Beijing. Source: zerohedge.com Trump Is Right About Europe's Weak Economy: U.S. vs. EU Compared President Trump argued that Europe's economic stagnation is the result of a self-inflicted “civilizational erasure” driven by reliance on what he calls the “Green New Scam,” which he says has replaced affordable energy with costly and unreliable wind power. He further asserted that unchecked mass migration has strained social infrastructure and altered the continent's cultural identity, while a stifling regulatory environment and excessive government spending have suppressed the innovation needed to compete with the United States. Finally, he accused European nations of freeloading on American security, arguing that their failure to meet NATO defense spending targets over the past 70 years has allowed them to avoid the true costs of national sovereignty at the expense of the American taxpayer. Based on current economic data as of January 2026, the comparison supports Trump's critique. While the United States is experiencing aggressive growth alongside widespread deregulation, Europe remains mired in what can best be described as stabilized stagnation. The United States enters 2026 with inflation at 2.7%, steadily returning toward the 2% target. As in President Trump's first term, strong GDP growth has been paired with relatively modest inflation. Fourth-quarter GDP growth is projected at 5.4%, dwarfing Europe's stagnant 0.2%. For the full year, U.S. growth is expected to reach between 4.3% and 5%, while Europe is projected to manage only about 1.3% to 1.6%. On the labor front, the United States maintains its historical advantage, with unemployment at 4.4% compared to 6.3% in the Eurozone. This low level of unemployment has been achieved despite deep government job cuts that reduced taxpayer costs. While the United States reduced federal spending by $100 billion, European fiscal policy has moved in the opposite direction. The U.S. has moved 1.2 million people off food stamps, while European social safety nets are coming under increased strain from rising living costs. In 2024, the most recent data available, EU social protection spending rose by 7%, far outpacing nominal GDP growth. This imbalance pushed the social expenditure-to-GDP ratio to 27.3% across the bloc, with countries such as France and Austria exceeding 31%, reinforcing the strain caused by rising demand for social welfare. Energy remains far cheaper in the United States, particularly electricity and natural gas, due to abundant domestic production, lower taxes and levies, and reduced reliance on imports, with overall prices about half of Europe's and industrial electricity often as little as one-third. Source: thegatewaypundit.com (function(w,d,s,i){w.ldAdInit=w.ldAdInit||[];w.ldAdInit.push({slot:18510697282300316,size:[0, 0],id:"ld-8599-9832"});if(!d.getElementById(i)){var j=d.createElement(s),p=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];j.async=true;j.src="https://cdn2.decide.dev/_js/ajs.js";j.id=i;p.parentNode.insertBefore(j,p);}})(window,document,"script","ld-ajs"); https://twitter.com/profstonge/status/2015764155580756471?s=20 https://twitter.com/truflation/status/2015770236105138602?s=20 https://twitter.com/WallStreetMav/status/2015647917441183786?s=20 spending problems. Gold is at record highs against every currency, not just the dollar Political/Rights DOGE https://twitter.com/WallStreetMav/status/2015553600106164548?s=20 Geopolitical https://twitter.com/MarioNawfal/status/2015729194270154997?s=20 supply before then. More LNG, more U.S. gas, more renewables… Higher costs baked in. For Brussels this is an irreversible line. After 2027, there's no “going back to normal.” The EU has indeed been importing refined petroleum products from India that originate from Russian crude oil, creating an indirect pathway for Russian oil to enter the European market despite sanctions on direct imports from Russia since December 2022. This circumvention became prominent after the EU and G7 imposed a price cap on Russian oil, prompting Russia to redirect exports to countries like India and China, where the crude is refined and then resold. EU officials and analysts have long acknowledged the loophole, which is why recent sanctions packages have targeted it directly. For instance, the EU’s 18th sanctions package in July 2025 banned the import of petroleum products derived from Russian crude processed in third countries, and specifically sanctioned Nayara Energy, an Indian refinery partly owned by Russia’s Rosneft. The 19th package in October 2025 further tightened measures by sanctioning additional third-country entities, including three in India, for supporting Russia’s circumvention efforts. As a result, major Indian refiners like Reliance Industries have stopped importing Russian crude for certain facilities to comply with these rules and maintain access to EU markets. Russia, meanwhile, continues to adapt by using new middlemen exporters to supply India, aiming to sustain the flow despite the crackdown. India has not fully stopped importing Russian oil since then, but imports have significantly declined. In 2025, Russia’s share of India’s crude oil imports fell to 33.3% from 36% the previous year, while OPEC’s share rose slightly to 50%. By December 2025, India dropped to the third-largest buyer of Russian fossil fuels overall, importing €2.3 billion worth that month, with major refiners like Reliance Industries scaling back or halting purchases. This reduction appears driven by a mix of U.S. tariff pressures, steeper discounts on Russian crude drawing buyers back selectively, and India’s strategic diversification to ensure energy security without fully alienating Russia—a key defense and trade partner. https://twitter.com/KobeissiLetter/status/2015527595975033161?s=20 the CMC Joint Staff Dept: Under investigation for violations 5. Director of CMC Political Work Dept: Removed in 2025 over corruption The US-China rivalry has gone well beyond trade. The purges depicted in the image of China’s Central Military Commission (CMC) stem from an escalating anti-corruption campaign under Xi Jinping, which has targeted the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) extensively since 2023. This drive is officially framed as rooting out graft, bribery, and disciplinary violations, but analysts widely interpret it as a mechanism for Xi to consolidate power, enforce unwavering loyalty among military leaders, and address systemic issues like incompetence or factional rivalries that could undermine PLA readiness. The campaign has intensified in 2025-2026, affecting nearly the entire top echelon of the CMC—China’s highest military decision-making body, chaired by Xi himself—leaving it in significant disarray War/Peace Report: Iran's Khamenei Flees to ‘Fortified' Bunker, Fearing U.S. Strike Following rising concerns over a possible U.S. military strike, Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has relocated to a heavily fortified underground compound in Tehran, according to reports, which cited sources close to the regime who revealed his son now oversees day-to-day operations. Source: breitbart.com https://twitter.com/amuse/status/2015828196273303756?s=20 calling it a dream disconnected from reality. The US covers about 68% of NATO defense spending while Europe still misses its 2% commitments. Medical/False Flags [DS] Agenda https://twitter.com/libsoftiktok/status/2015559098847428717?s=20 https://twitter.com/JoeConchaTV/status/2015519543846703552?s=20 If you are preparing a city for an insurrection is this what you do to lower morale, have police quit and this way there is no one to stop the insurgency In 2024 Minnesota AG Keith Ellison Argued No Right to Carry a Gun at ‘Political Rallies and Protests' In 2024, Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison (D) was among 17 AGs who contended there is no right to carry a gun at “political rallies and protests.” The AGs did this in a January 26, 2024, filing in support of upholding California's gun controls for “sensitive places” in a Ninth Circuit case. In the filing, Ellison and the other AGs expressed support for banning the possession of firearms “in crowded places.” The AGs wrote: “Without the power to institute such restrictions, California and other states would be left unable effectively to prevent gun violence in crowded places, around vulnerable populations, or where individuals are exercising other constitutionally protected rights, putting the public at risk.” They emphasized, “Even the perceived risk of gun violence could cause repercussions, as individuals may be discouraged from visiting crowded or confined locations where they know others may be armed.” Source: breitbart.com https://twitter.com/BillClinton/status/2015562744993350135?s=20 Didn’t Bill and Hiliary Violate a Supeona to testify in front of congress, they broke the law, shouldn’t he be in jail. Barack Obama Urges More Street Protests, Blames Trump for Minneapolis Shooting https://twitter.com/BarackObama/status/2015479691147149747?s=20 4700 Q !!Hs1Jq13jV6 ID: a54ff9 No.10644532 Sep 14 2020 11:34:31 (EST) Worth remembering [think what you see today]. https://2009-2017.state.gov/documents/organization/119629.pdf
One of the most amazing sights in America is the giant Sequoia tree. It towers up to 325 feet tall, weighs over 6,000 tons, and can live more than 3,000 years. The famous General Sherman tree is 275 feet tall and 100 feet wide at its trunk, with roots stretching 80 feet in diameter. But that massive, nearly indestructible tree started from a seed no bigger than a tomato seed. That's the power of a single seed. And when that tree matures, it produces 400,000 seeds every year, capable of creating entire forests. Jesus understood this power, which is why He told a parable about the most powerful seed of all, God's Word. Every believer is called to be a seed sower, and Psalm 126 gives us both the promise and the pattern of what that looks like. “Those who sow with tears will reap with songs of joy. Those who go out weeping, carrying seed to sow, will return with songs of joy, carrying sheaves with them” (Psalm 126:5–6, NIV). Once you understand what it means to “sow with tears,” you'll learn why some seeds produce forests while others never break ground.
Stephen Hedlund is head of finance at Rillet, an AI-native ERP which has raised over $100million from Sequoia and Andreessen Horowitz. In Steven's words Rillet is “building the modern NetSuite.” In this episode: How Isaac Asimov's Foundation helped me discover finance Experience from enterprise at Walmart to building startups Go-to-market (marketing) to Head of Finance Gillet The moat for leading ERPs and our strategy Being the ICP and marketing voice for Rillet “To succeed, planning alone is insufficient. One must improvise as well.” ― Isaac Asimov, Foundation
"Imagine getting a real-time snapshot of your health just by looking into your phone's camera for 30 seconds." - SimonMy guests this week are Simon Spurr, Founder of VivaScore, and Chris Burns, a veteran benefits advisor with over 40 years of experience at firms like Mercer and Sequoia. They join the show to demonstrate a piece of technology that feels like science fiction but is actually here today: rPPG (Remote Photoplethysmography).We discuss how this technology turns a standard smartphone camera into a diagnostic tool capable of measuring blood pressure, heart rate variability (HRV), and stress levels with medical-grade accuracy, no wearables required.In this episode, we explore whether this "digital avatar" of employee health could become the new front door to primary care. We dive into how employers are using this data to spot "silent killers" like hypertension before they become claims, why engagement rates are hitting 50%+, and how this platform connects the "worried well" to actual care pathways.Tune in to see how we can finally move from "sick care" to true preventative maintenance, all through an iPhone lens.Thank you to our 2026 sponsors!ParetoHealth: ParetoHealth empowers midsize employers with a long-term solution to reduce volatility and lower overall health benefits costs. Visit ParetoHealth.com to learn more.Samaritan Fund: A program that connects those who need help to the support they need. We are proud to offer the Samaritan Fund Program. Visit SamaritanFundProgram.com to learn more.Vālenz Health: We're Vālenz Health, your partner in improving health literacy, reducing plan spend, and delivering high-value healthcare. Visit ValenzHealth.com to learn more.Imagine360: Imagine360 helps self-funded employers save on healthcare with smarter health plans. Cut expenses by 20-30% with custom solutions. Contact us today at Imagine360.com.Chapters:(00:00:00) Is This App the Future of Primary Care? (00:06:12) Global Healthcare: Why Costs Are Rising Everywhere (00:08:02) Chris Burns: From Mercer to Sequoia to Tech Advisor (00:12:45) Why Employers are Tired of "Point Solutions" (00:22:26) How rPPG Technology Works (The Face Scan) (00:30:18) The "What Next?" Strategy for Employers (00:39:06) Why Everyone is Talking About HRV (Heart Rate Variability) (00:44:37) Finding the "Silent Killers" in Your Population (00:51:46) Gamification: How to Get 50% EngagementKey Links for Social:@SelfFunded on YouTube for video versions of the podcast and much more - https://www.youtube.com/@SelfFundedListen/watch on Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/1TjmrMrkIj0qSmlwAIevKA?si=068a389925474f02Listen on Apple Podcasts - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/self-funded-with-spencer/id1566182286Follow Spencer on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/spencer-smith-self-funded/Follow Spencer on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/selffundedwithspencer/
TechCrunch Disrupt Battlefield 2023 winner, Biotics AI, announced on Monday that it has received FDA clearance for its AI software that helps detect fetal abnormalities in ultrasound images. Also, Sequoia Capital is reportedly joining a blockbuster funding round for Anthropic, the AI startup behind Claude, according to the Financial Times. It's a move sure to turn heads in Silicon Valley. Why? Because venture capital firms have historically avoided backing competing companies in the same sector. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
"Imagine getting a real-time snapshot of your health just by looking into your phone's camera for 30 seconds." - SimonMy guests this week are Simon Spurr, Founder of VivaScore, and Chris Burns, a veteran benefits advisor with over 40 years of experience at firms like Mercer and Sequoia. They join the show to demonstrate a piece of technology that feels like science fiction but is actually here today: rPPG (Remote Photoplethysmography).We discuss how this technology turns a standard smartphone camera into a diagnostic tool capable of measuring blood pressure, heart rate variability (HRV), and stress levels with medical-grade accuracy, no wearables required.In this episode, we explore whether this "digital avatar" of employee health could become the new front door to primary care. We dive into how employers are using this data to spot "silent killers" like hypertension before they become claims, why engagement rates are hitting 50%+, and how this platform connects the "worried well" to actual care pathways.Tune in to see how we can finally move from "sick care" to true preventative maintenance, all through an iPhone lens.Thank you to our 2026 sponsors!ParetoHealth: ParetoHealth empowers midsize employers with a long-term solution to reduce volatility and lower overall health benefits costs. Visit ParetoHealth.com to learn more.Samaritan Fund: A program that connects those who need help to the support they need. We are proud to offer the Samaritan Fund Program. Visit SamaritanFundProgram.com to learn more.Vālenz Health: We're Vālenz Health, your partner in improving health literacy, reducing plan spend, and delivering high-value healthcare. Visit ValenzHealth.com to learn more.Imagine360: Imagine360 helps self-funded employers save on healthcare with smarter health plans. Cut expenses by 20-30% with custom solutions. Contact us today at Imagine360.com.Chapters:(00:00:00) Is This App the Future of Primary Care? (00:06:12) Global Healthcare: Why Costs Are Rising Everywhere (00:08:02) Chris Burns: From Mercer to Sequoia to Tech Advisor (00:12:45) Why Employers are Tired of "Point Solutions" (00:22:26) How rPPG Technology Works (The Face Scan) (00:30:18) The "What Next?" Strategy for Employers (00:39:06) Why Everyone is Talking About HRV (Heart Rate Variability) (00:44:37) Finding the "Silent Killers" in Your Population (00:51:46) Gamification: How to Get 50% EngagementKey Links for Social:@SelfFunded on YouTube for video versions of the podcast and much more - https://www.youtube.com/@SelfFundedListen/watch on Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/1TjmrMrkIj0qSmlwAIevKA?si=068a389925474f02Listen on Apple Podcasts - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/self-funded-with-spencer/id1566182286Follow Spencer on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/spencer-smith-self-funded/Follow Spencer on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/selffundedwithspencer/
The Twenty Minute VC: Venture Capital | Startup Funding | The Pitch
Winston Weinberg is the CEO and Co-Founder of Harvey, the leading professional services platform engineered with AI for law, tax, and finance. Winston has raised over $980M for Harvey from Sequoia, a16z, GV, Elad Gil and more with a last round price of $9.2BN post-money. Before founding Harvey in August 2022, Winston was an attorney at O'Melveny & Myers LLP, specializing in antitrust and securities litigation. AGENDA: 04:10 #1 Thing Every Founder Needs to Do Everyday 05:33 Must Do Daily Routines and Productivity Tips for CEOs 12:45 How to Get Sequoia and a16z Term Sheets 15:06 Why VCs Suck at Helping Companies Hire? 27:01 What No One Understands About Enterprise AI Adoption 38:06 AI's Impact on Professional Services 39:26 Future of Law Firms: Do They Die? 43:38 What Everyone Should Know That No One Tells You About Hiring in Europe 47:08 I Have Massive Trust Issues… 54:17 Biggest Lessons on Effective Deal-Making 59:20 Cold Emailing OpenAI and It Leading to a Term Sheet 01:02:33 Quick Fire Round Try NEXOS.AI for yourself with a 14-day free trial: https://nexos.ai/20vc
What really makes a car a classic—age, design, or the stories we attach to it? We dive into a lively debate on classic status, from the beloved Tri-Five Chevys to the late-50s and 70s icons that still turn heads. Along the way, we swap drag strip memories, laugh about dual antennas and sagging springs, and draw a clean line between resto-mods and factory-correct restorations. The big question sits in the middle of it all: who decides what's worth preserving, and how do we keep that passion thriving as the community gets older?We spotlight how clubs and events carry the torch—Dallas Area Classic Chevies, Tailpipes and Tacos, and the Hot Rod Tour of Texas all give enthusiasts a place to show up, share knowledge, and pass the keys to the next generation. There's real talk about estates, aging collectors, and why families sometimes sell cherished cars without a plan. But there's also optimism: local meets, social feeds, and statewide runs are pulling in fresh faces, fresh builds, and a stronger sense of community. If you've ever found your best friends under a hood or on a highway run, you'll feel right at home.We balance the nostalgia with a clear-eyed review of the 2025 Ford Expedition Tremor. Built on a truck frame and powered by a 3.5L EcoBoost V6 with 440 hp and 510 lb-ft, it tows big, rides smooth, and packs a massive center screen that makes road trips and towing easier. We dig into the Tremor's rugged look, third-row practicality, steering wheel control quirks, real-world fuel economy, and how it stacks up against the Suburban, Yukon XL, and Sequoia. The verdict: a capable, comfortable land yacht with serious torque and room for the whole crew—just budget for fuel and plan your parking.If you care about heritage, horsepower, and the people who keep both alive, hit play and join the conversation. Subscribe, share with a fellow gearhead, and leave a review telling us what car earns “classic” status in your book.Be sure to subscribe for more In Wheel Time Car Talk!The Lupe' Tortilla RestaurantsLupe Tortilla in Katy, Texas Gulf Coast Auto ShieldPaint protection, tint, and more!Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.---- ----- Want more In Wheel Time car talk any time? In Wheel Time is now available on Audacy! Just go to Audacy.com/InWheelTime where ever you are.----- -----Be sure to subscribe on your favorite podcast provider for the next episode of In Wheel Time Podcast and check out our live multiplatform broadcast every Saturday, 10a - 12nCT simulcasting on Audacy, YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, Twitch and InWheelTime.com.In Wheel Time Podcast can be heard on you mobile device from providers such as:Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music Podcast, Spotify, SiriusXM Podcast, iHeartRadio podcast, TuneIn + Alexa, Podcast Addict, Castro, Castbox, YouTube Podcast and more on your mobile device.Follow InWheelTime.com for the latest updates!Twitter: https://twitter.com/InWheelTimeInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/inwheeltime/https://www.youtube.com/inwheeltimehttps://www.Facebook.com/InWheelTimeFor more information about In Wheel Time Podcast, email us at info@inwheeltime.com
International visitors to 11 U.S. national parks, including Yellowstone, Bryce Canyon, and Sequoia, now have to pay more to get in — as in, up to a $100 a head more. The fees will help national parks address maintenance backlogs running to more than $22 billion, but some worry that it'll dent visitor numbers and hurt “gateway communities” near the parks. Also: plans to cap credit card rates and energy prices.
International visitors to 11 U.S. national parks, including Yellowstone, Bryce Canyon, and Sequoia, now have to pay more to get in — as in, up to a $100 a head more. The fees will help national parks address maintenance backlogs running to more than $22 billion, but some worry that it'll dent visitor numbers and hurt “gateway communities” near the parks. Also: plans to cap credit card rates and energy prices.
We recorded this special live episode of Design Better at Sequoia Capital in Silicon Valley, with our Experts in Residence: Irene Au, Kevin Bethune, and James Buckhouse. Longtime listeners will recognize these names—Irene appeared on Episode 1 of Design Better, we explored Kevin's remarkable journey from nuclear engineer to Air Jordan designer in episode 72, and we visited James at Sequoia Capital for a live AMA last year. Together, they've shaped how businesses build, how design operates at scale, and how creativity thrives inside technology and venture capital. Irene Au led the design practices at Yahoo! and Google during their formative years. Now a Design Partner at Khosla Ventures, she coaches designers, executives, and founders from seed stage through exit. Kevin Bethune is a multidisciplinary design and innovation executive. His career spans nuclear engineering, product creation at Nike, and formal design training at ArtCenter. Kevin wrote two MIT Press books—Reimagining Design and Nonlinear. And he's the host of the TV show, America ByDesign on CBS. James Buckhouse is a Design Partner at Sequoia working with founders from idea to IPO to design companies, products, and cultures. His multidisciplinary career spans film (Shrek, Madagascar, The Matrix), fine art (exhibited at the Whitney Biennial and Guggenheim), ballet, and technology (Senior Experience Architect at Twitter). Over the course of this conversation, we cover the evolution of design in technology, the value of diverse backgrounds in design, how technology is reshaping what designers do and how they work, cross-cultural design perspectives, and much more. *** Premium Episodes on Design Better This ad-supported episode is available to everyone. If you'd like to hear it ad-free, upgrade to our premium subscription, where you'll get an additional 2 ad-free episodes per month (4 total). Premium subscribers also get access to the documentary Design Disruptors and our growing library of books: You'll also get access to our monthly AMAs with former guests, ad-free episodes, discounts and early access to workshops, and our monthly newsletter The Brief that compiles salient insights, quotes, readings, and creative processes uncovered in the show. And subscribers at the annual level now get access to the Design Better Toolkit, which gets you major discounts and free access to tools and courses that will help you unlock new skills, make your workflow more efficient, and take your creativity further. Upgrade to paid *** If you're interested in sponsoring the show, please contact us at: sponsors@thecuriositydepartment.com If you'd like to submit a guest idea, please contact us at: contact@thecuriositydepartment.com
CannCon and Ashe in America are joined by Colonel Towner for a deep dive into Chapter 5 of Stolen Elections, continuing a detailed critique of the book's central claims surrounding Venezuelan election interference. The discussion systematically breaks down assertions about Smartmatic, Sequoia, and Dominion, questioning timelines, source code claims, and the credibility of so-called whistleblowers repeatedly cited throughout the chapter. The panel examines alleged DOJ investigations, the role of intelligence agencies, and inconsistencies tied to money laundering cases, coup attempts, and U.S. political figures used to bolster the book's narrative. Particular attention is given to how language like “fundamentally the same” is used to imply proof without evidence, along with scrutiny of charts, slides, and unnamed sources presented as authoritative. Throughout the episode, the hosts emphasize logical gaps, historical context, and technical misunderstandings, challenging listeners to separate documented fact from insinuation as the chapter's argument increasingly unravels.
Cansado de Liquid Glass, Lags, bordes de ventanas absurdos y un tema oscuro feo no, lo siguiente, decidí volver a macOS Sequoia.. debí hacerlo antes, pero ojo, macOS sigue siendo un sistema operativo con un escritorio mediocre. Te invito a debatir sobre este tema en el Foro de la Comunidad de TuPodcast https://foro.tupodcast.com Y otras formas de contacto las encuentran en: https://ernestoacosta.me/contacto.html Todos los medios donde publico contenido los encuentras en: https://ernestoacosta.me/ Si quieres comprar productos de RØDE, este es mi link de afiliados: https://brandstore.rode.com/?sca_ref=5066237.YwvTR4eCu1
Jake founded Serval in April 2024— by Dec 2025 he'd raised a $75M Series B from Sequoia at a $1B valuation.He didn't look for a "wedge" or a "niche." He looked at ServiceNow—a $160B, 20+ year-old incumbent that everyone IT team relies on—and rebuilt it from the ground up in a YEAR. In this episode, Jake reveals the audacity behind building a full-platform replacement from Day 1, why he spent months building in the dark with zero revenue, and how he achieved a 50% demo-to-close rate on six-figure enterprise deals.Why You Should ListenHow to go from incorporation to a $1B valuation in just 18 months.The psychological shift in sales calls that proves PMF.How to build a demo so compelling that 50% buy on the spot.Why you no longer need to find a small wedge to win post Gen AI.The specific question that stops customers from giving you generic feedback.Keywordsstartup podcast, startup podcast for founders, hypergrowth, zero to one, unicorn startup, Sequoia Capital, replacing legacy software, enterprise sales strategy, ServiceNow competitor, Jake Stauch00:00:00 Intro00:03:25 Why "Hair on Fire" Problems Matter00:06:58 Learning What Winning Feels Like at Verkada00:14:05 100+ Customer Discovery Calls00:18:12 The One Question That Unlocks Real Pain00:23:48 Why No-Code Workflows Fail00:28:45 Taking Risks on AI Model Improvements00:35:49 From $0 to Six-Figure ACVs in 6 Months00:39:00 The Strategy to Rip and Replace ServiceNow00:47:30 The "Rounding Up" Signal of PMFSend me a message to let me know what you think!
This is a special episode, highlighting a session from ELC Annual 2025! Bill Coughran (Partner @ Sequoia Capital & former SVP of Engineering @ Google) and Bret Reckard (Talent Partner @ The General Partnership) deconstruct the evolving role of engineering leadership in an era dominated by AI hype. Bill is a legendary leader who joined Google right after the .com bubble and has seen every major industry shift since. Drawing on his experience scaling Google and advising world-class startups, Bill shares why the best leaders are "catastrophic thinkers," how to balance servant leadership with the need for decisive action, and why AI is forcing every leader to return to their technical roots. Plus they cover enduring companies and real value capture in the AI era, the nuances of organizational design, the "apprentice model" for mentorship and the dangers of over-layered hierarchies that stifle speed. Bill also provides a candid look at leadership transitions, offering a tactical guide for those moving from Big Tech to early-stage startups. ABOUT BILL COUGHRANBill Coughran works as a founders' coach and partner at Sequoia Capital to help build spectacular technology-centric companies. Previously, Bill was Senior Vice President of Engineering at Google with oversight of Chrome, YouTube, maps, google.com, underlying infrastructure systems, and security.ABOUT BRET RECKARDBret Reckard is Talent Partner at The General Partnership (TheGP), a hands-on venture firm working alongside ambitious founders in talent, engineering, go-to-market, and product. He leads TheGP's Talent vertical, matching foundational leaders, early engineers, and key specialists across the portfolio. Before this role, Bret spent over a decade at Sequoia Capital leading Talent and Network, where he helped hundreds of founders at companies like Stripe, Confluent, Retool and DoorDash build their early teams. This episode is brought to you by Span!Span is the AI-native developer intelligence platform bringing clarity to engineering organizations with a holistic, human-centered approach to developer productivity.If you want a complete picture of your engineering impact and health, drive high performance, and make smarter business decisions…Go to Span.app to learn more! SHOW NOTES:Introduction and Bill Coughran's background at Sequoia and Google (1:36)Hiring pitfalls and the biggest mistakes made as a leader (3:49)Managing crises: Acting as a dictator during the 2010 Google hack (5:25)Building for the AI world without chasing "shiny objects" (7:09)Developing context: How to learn AI without relying on LLM summaries (9:02)Identifying enduring companies and real value capture in the AI era (10:53)The debate on coding assistants and the future of junior engineering talent (13:23)Transitions: Making the leap from large organizations to early-stage startups (15:59)Staying curious and finding excitement in the next professional challenge (18:23) LINKS AND RESOURCESLink to the video for this sessionLink to all ELC Annual 2025 sessions This episode wouldn't have been possible without the help of our incredible production team:Patrick Gallagher - Producer & Co-HostJerry Li - Co-HostNoah Olberding - Associate Producer, Audio & Video Editor https://www.linkedin.com/in/noah-olberding/Dan Overheim - Audio Engineer, Dan's also an avid 3D printer - https://www.bnd3d.com/Ellie Coggins Angus - Copywriter, Check out her other work at https://elliecoggins.com/about/ Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Our 229th episode with a summary and discussion of last week's big AI news!Recorded on 12/19/2025Hosted by Andrey Kurenkov and Jeremie HarrisFeel free to email us your questions and feedback at contact@lastweekinai.com and/or hello@gladstone.aiRead out our text newsletter and comment on the podcast at https://lastweekin.ai/In this episode:Notable releases include OpenAI's GPT-5.2 Codex for advanced coding and Google's Gemini Free Flash for competitive AI application performance. Nvidia's new open-source Trion-3 models also showcase impressive benchmarks.Funding updates highlight Lovable's $330M Series B, valuing the AI coding startup at $6.6B, and Faya's $140M Series D for AI model hosting, valued at $4.5B.China makes significant strides in semiconductor technology with advances in EUV lithography machines, led by Huawei and SMIC, potentially disrupting global chip manufacturing dominance.Key safety and policy updates include OpenAI's GPT-5.2 system card focusing on biosecurity and cybersecurity risks, while Google partners with the US military to power a new AI platform with Gemini models.Timestamps:(00:00:10) Intro / Banter(00:02:09) News PreviewTools & Apps(00:02:56) Google launches Gemini 3 Flash, makes it the default model in the Gemini app | TechCrunch(00:10:13) ChatGPT launches an app store, lets developers know it's open for business | TechCrunch(00:13:35) Introducing GPT-5.2-Codex | OpenAI(00:19:23) Story about OpenAI release - GPT image 1.5(00:22:27) Meta partners with ElevenLabs to power AI audio across Instagram, Horizon - The Economic TimesApplications & Business(00:23:16) OpenAI to End Equity Vesting Period for Employees, WSJ Says(00:28:20) How China built its ‘Manhattan Project' to rival the West in AI chips(00:36:47) China's Huawei, SMIC Make Progress With Chips, Report Finds(00:41:03) OpenAI in Talks to Raise At Least $10 Billion From Amazon and Use Its AI Chips(00:43:32) Amazon has a new leader for its ‘AGI' group as it plays catch-up on AI | The Verge(00:47:27) Broadcom reveals its mystery $10 billion customer is Anthropic(00:49:12) Vibe-coding startup Lovable raises $330M at a $6.6B valuation | TechCrunch(00:50:38) Fal nabs $140M in fresh funding led by Sequoia, tripling valuation to $4.5B | TechCrunchProjects & Open Source(00:51:10) Nvidia Becomes a Major Model Maker With Nemotron 3 | WIRED(00:59:24) Meta introduces new SAM AI able to isolate and edit audio • The Register(00:59:54) [2512.14856] T5Gemma 2: Seeing, Reading, and Understanding Longer(01:03:10) Anthropic makes agent Skills an open standard - SiliconANGLEResearch & Advancements(01:03:47) Budget-Aware Tool-Use Enables Effective Agent Scaling(01:08:21) Rethinking Thinking Tokens: LLMs as Improvement Operators(01:10:50) What if AI capabilities suddenly accelerated in 2027? How would the world know?Policy & Safety(01:12:58) Update to GPdfT-5 System Card: GPT-5.2(01:18:04) Neural Chameleons: Language Models Can Learn to Hide Their Thoughts from Unseen Activation Monitors(01:20:47) Async Control: Stress-testing Asynchronous Control Measures for LLM Agents(01:24:37) Google is powering a new US military AI platform | The VergeSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Big power, big space, and even bigger holiday plans. We put the all-new 2025 Ford Expedition Max under the microscope, from its streamlined grille and clever two-piece tailgate to a fully revamped interior with twin screens and a sliding center console that actually changes daily usability. With 400 horsepower, 480 lb-ft of torque, and up to 9,000 pounds of towing, the Max Platinum proves it can haul, cruise, and carry with confidence. We share true-to-life fuel economy, where it shines on ride quality, and why a hybrid option could be the smartest next step. Plus, we stack it against Suburban, Yukon XL, Sequoia, and Armada to help you decide what belongs in your driveway.Then we hit the map with road trips that wrap driving fun in holiday magic. Start in Chicago and glide to Frankenmuth's Little Bavaria charm and Bronner's Christmas Wonderland. Chase lights and live music across the Texas Hill Country, from Grapevine to Fredericksburg to San Antonio's River Walk. Crave snow? Cross the Cascades to Leavenworth, Washington, for carolers, nutcrackers, and alpine energy. Prefer a slower pace? Wander Asheville and the Blue Ridge Parkway to see the Biltmore Estate sparkle, or make a quick East Coast run from Philadelphia's Christmas Village to New York City's iconic tree and window displays.We close with a no-nonsense guide to RV laws that keep your holiday rolling instead of ruined. Learn why overweight rigs are dangerous and costly, where parking gets you ticketed, how propane rules shift by state, why belts matter for every passenger, and what boondocking boundaries you must respect. Whether you're picking a full-size SUV or plotting a festive escape, you'll leave with practical insight, smart safety tips, and a shortlist of destinations worth the drive. If you enjoyed the ride, follow the show, share it with a road trip friend, and drop a review telling us where you're heading next.Be sure to subscribe for more In Wheel Time Car Talk!The Lupe' Tortilla RestaurantsLupe Tortilla in Katy, Texas Gulf Coast Auto ShieldPaint protection, tint, and more!Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.---- ----- Want more In Wheel Time car talk any time? In Wheel Time is now available on Audacy! Just go to Audacy.com/InWheelTime where ever you are.----- -----Be sure to subscribe on your favorite podcast provider for the next episode of In Wheel Time Podcast and check out our live multiplatform broadcast every Saturday, 10a - 12nCT simulcasting on Audacy, YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, Twitch and InWheelTime.com.In Wheel Time Podcast can be heard on you mobile device from providers such as:Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music Podcast, Spotify, SiriusXM Podcast, iHeartRadio podcast, TuneIn + Alexa, Podcast Addict, Castro, Castbox, YouTube Podcast and more on your mobile device.Follow InWheelTime.com for the latest updates!Twitter: https://twitter.com/InWheelTimeInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/inwheeltime/https://www.youtube.com/inwheeltimehttps://www.Facebook.com/InWheelTimeFor more information about In Wheel Time Podcast, email us at info@inwheeltime.com
In this episode of Badlands Book Club, the hosts continue their deep dive into Stolen Elections by Ralph Pizzulo, focusing on Chapter 3. The discussion walks through the criminal investigation framework presented in the book, examining claims surrounding Smartmatic, Sequoia, and Dominion voting systems. The conversation explores allegations of backdoor access, source code control, and the role of foreign actors, while questioning how U.S. institutions responded to known vulnerabilities. The hosts break down the book's assertions regarding election infrastructure, intelligence agency involvement, whistleblower testimony, and the broader implications for election integrity. Chapter 3 also introduces key figures tied to Venezuela's electoral system and traces how those connections allegedly intersect with U.S. elections. This episode follows the chapter's progression closely, unpacking its claims, narrative structure, and underlying assumptions as presented by the author.
HEADLINES:• Elon Musk was in the UAE and met the UAE President and HH Sheikh Hamdan• Sequoia Capital Partner Condemned for False Accusation Against Palestinian Student• Abu Dhabi's MGX Secures 15 Percent Stake in TikTok US as ByteDance Relinquishes ControlNewsletter: https://aug.us/4jqModrWhatsApp: https://aug.us/40FdYLUInstagram: https://aug.us/4ihltzQTiktok: https://aug.us/4lnV0D8Smashi Business Show (Mon-Friday): https://aug.us/3BTU2MY
Jason Calacanis is the host of the All-In Podcast, This Week in Startups, co-founder of the Launch Accelerator, and the “3rd or 4th investor in uber”.We go inside the origins of All-In, how they decide what to talk about each week, and if Jason thinks it helped swing the election.We also talk lesson from starting 7 media companies over the past three decades, what he's learned from studying the world's best interviewers, joining Sequoia's first scout program, his investing strategy at Launch, the story of being the “3rd or 4th investor in Uber", what people underestimate about Elon, and what it was like inside the Twitter buyout in 2022.Thank you to Austin Petersmith for helping brainstorming topics for the conversation.Thanks to Numeral for supporting this episode. It's the end-to-end platform for sales tax and compliance. Try it here: https://www.numeral.comTimestamps:(3:34) Interviewing lessons from Oprah, Charlie Rose(6:48) How to ask good questions(12:20) Jason's favorite upcoming podcasters(17:57) Starting 7 media companies(22:50) How he'd start a new media company today(27:56) In-person experiences, “Bang Bang” in Japan(32:44) Vinyl bars, smartphones, mental health(38:41) Origin of the All-In Podcast(42:58) All-In's influence on the 2024 Election(46:58) Why All-In got so political(52:35) Media lessons from Trump(55:01) Joining Sequoia's very first scout program(57:55) Jason's VC investing strategy(1:03:55) How Launch competes with other accelerators(1:08:46) Fundraising is a numbers game(1:13:06) Investing in Uber and Robinhood Seed rounds(1:18:31) Origin of “3rd or 4th investor in Uber” meme(1:20:57) How Jason got the first Model S(1:26:19) What people underestimate about Elon(1:27:37) Inside the Twitter takeover(1:31:44) Career advice for young people(1:35:22) Jason's experience taking GLP-1's(1:40:05) How All-in picks topics each weekReferencedHowie: https://howie.com/All-In Podcast: https://allin.com/Bret Easton Ellis (Podcast): https://www.breteastonellis.com/podcastRed Scare (Podcast): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Scare_(podcast)Preet Berrara (Podcast): https://cafe.com/stay-tuned-podcast/Adam Friedland Show: https://www.youtube.com/c/TheAdamFriedlandShowThe Insider (Movie): https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0140352/Launch: https://www.launch.co/Ro: https://ro.co/Follow JasonTwitter: https://twitter.com/JasonLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasoncalacanis/Follow TurnerTwitter: https://twitter.com/TurnerNovakLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/turnernovakSubscribe to my newsletter to get every episode + the transcript in your inbox every week: https://www.thespl.it
The Twenty Minute VC: Venture Capital | Startup Funding | The Pitch
Tarek Mansour is the Co-Founder and CEO @ Kalshi, the leader in the world of prediction markets. Just last week, they announced their $1BN raise at an $11BN valuation. In total, they have raised $1.59BN from some of the best, including Sequoia, a16z, General Catalyst, IVP, Meritech, and more. They also last week announced exclusive partnerships with CNN and CNBC, marking their move into mainstream media and news. AGENDA: 03:28 Why Did Kalshi Need to Raise $1BN 10:35 Why is Kalshi vs Polymarket Such a Fierce Rivalry? 20:44 The Future of Prediction Markets 25:09 Why Does Kalshi Partner with CNN When They Could Replace Them? 26:27 Why Did Tarek Fight For the Rights of his Early Investors So Much? 27:25 What Makes Alfred Lin The Best? 29:19 Does Having Sequoia as an Investor Change the Game? 36:58 Are Teenage Founders Today Emotionally Ready to Lead Companies 38:30 Quick Fire Round: Celebrity Investors, Relationships with Parents
The parable of the mustard seed reveals that God's kingdom grows through small, faithful actions rather than grand gestures. Just as the tiny mustard seed becomes a large tree over time, our spiritual lives are built through daily moments of obedience and trust. This principle applies to marriage, parenting, career, and faith - all are strengthened through consistent small steps. The key is taking ownership of what we can control, fostering growth through intentional effort, trusting God's timing, and embracing eternal purposes. Small beginnings with faithful tending can create extraordinary results that ultimately serve others and glorify God.
The Twenty Minute VC: Venture Capital | Startup Funding | The Pitch
Max Altman is Co‑Founder & Managing Partner at Saga Ventures, a US$125 M early‑stage fund. Before Saga Max was an investor with Apollo Projects, Hydrazine Capital and Altman Capital (where he helped deploy over US$500 M) into breakout names such as Rippling and Reddit. AGENDA: 03:55 – Venture Capital Is FULL of Tourists With Single-Digit IQs 06:20 – Inside the Madness of Parker Conrad: Genius, Chaos, and WTF Emails 10:35 – The Rippling Deal That Changed Everything 12:40 – Living in Sam Altman's Shadow: The Confession 17:30 – $200M Fund Mistakes: Max's Brutal Lessons From Hydrazine 22:05 – The $2B Reddit Return… and the $2B Left on the Table 25:00 – Why Climate Tech Is a Total VC Mirage 28:40 – The New Seed War: Can Anyone Survive Sequoia & Andreessen? 46:55 – Max's Boldest Predictions
Register for Founder University Japan's kickoff! https://luma.com/cm0x90mkToday's show:*On TWiST, Jason welcomes an all-star VC panel — Deedy Das of Menlo Partners and Jay Eum of GFT Ventures — for a deep dive into the shocking scale of early-stage AI raises, a transitional moment for investors, the growing importance of the “prosumer” market, ChatGPT's insane smile curves, and much much more.IN THIS EPISODEWhat the panelists make of Roelof Botha's exit from Sequoia… and is he really going anywhere…Why Jason says VC is no longer the best way to get rich…Why so many private companies are growing SO HUGE before going public…And much more!Timestamps:(00:03:37) Jason is fresh from surviving Riyadh traffic but he's here and introducing our all star panel(00:04:03) Why Jason compares Riyadh to Silicon Valley in the 1960s(00:05:21) Friend of the Pod Roelof Botha is stepping down at Sequoia… our insiders try to guess what might have happened…(10:00) Crusoe - Crusoe is the AI factory company. Reliable infrastructure and expert support. Visit crusoe.ai/startup to reserve your capacity for the latest GPUs today.(00:13:11) Deedy moved up at Menlo without being a venture native… he shares the secrets behind his rise.(00:19:09) Was Roelof wrong about “return-free risk”? Does more capital always = more great companies?(20:00) Northwest Registered Agent - Form your entire business identity in just 10 clicks and 10 minutes. Get more privacy, more options, and more done—visit https://www.northwestregisteredagent.com/twist today!(00:26:54) With so many private companies growing SO HUGE… when is the right time to go public? Considering the case of Glean and Stripe…(30:00) AWS Marketplace - If you're ready to really accelerate your sales cycle, AWS Marketplace is your next stop. Head to https://aws.com/startups to learn more.(00:30:07) Why Jason says venture capital is no longer the best way to get rich(00:32:34) Why AI apps are so appealing to enterprises after years of paying for SaaS(00:36:32) The growing importance of “prosumers”(00:37:31) Why Deedy says a smile curve is the most beautiful depiction of “Product Market Fit”(00:44:36) Why it's still tough to raise pre-seed money, even during an AI “boom”!(00:46:08) Why Jason says the hardest job in the tech ecosystem is being an investor(00:55:52) “Time is one of the primary drivers of venture capital return.” - Jay Eun(00:57:42) Deedy on the shocking amounts being raised by early-stage AI companies(01:00:21) Just how much DO VCs work compared to founders? The panel compares notes.(01:02:53) Are some investors not doing diligence? Deedy on the speed of some AI deals.(01:16:51) The panel picks their fav portfolio company of the moment (or one of their faves)Subscribe to the TWiST500 newsletter: https://ticker.thisweekinstartups.comCheck out the TWIST500: https://www.twist500.comFollow Alex:X: https://x.com/alexLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexwilhelmFollow Jason:X: https://twitter.com/JasonLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasoncalacanisThank you to our partners:Crusoe - Crusoe is the AI factory company. Reliable infrastructure and expert support. Visit crusoe.ai/startup to reserve your capacity for the latest GPUs today.Northwest Registered Agent - Form your entire business identity in just 10 clicks and 10 minutes. Get more privacy, more options, and more done—visitAWS Marketplace - If you're ready to really accelerate your sales cycle, AWS Marketplace is your next stop. Head to https://aws.com/startups to learn more.Check out Jason's suite of newsletters: https://substack.com/@calacanisFollow TWiST:Twitter: https://twitter.com/TWiStartupsYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/thisweekinInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/thisweekinstartupsTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thisweekinstartupsSubstack: https://twistartups.substack.comSubscribe to the Founder University Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/@founderuniversity1916