Podcasts

a16z general partners Erin Price-Wright and Erik Torenberg speak with Doug Bernauer, founder and CEO of Radiant, and Drew Baglino, founder and CEO of Heron, about rebuilding American energy infrastructure. They discuss portable micro nuclear reactors, solid state power electronics, why delivery rather than generation is the real bottleneck, the case for modular manufacturing, and whether data centers are actually good for the grid. Resources: Follow Doug Bernauer on X: https://twitter.com/DougBernauer Follow Drew Baglino on X: https://twitter.com/baglino Follow Erin Price-Wright on X: https://twitter.com/espricewright Follow Erik Torenberg on X: https://twitter.com/eriktorenberg Stay Updated: Find a16z on YouTube: YouTube Find a16z on X Find a16z on LinkedIn Listen to the a16z Show on Spotify Listen to the a16z Show on Apple Podcasts Follow our host: https://twitter.com/eriktorenberg Please note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, bus

This episode originally aired on The Twenty Minute VC with Harry Stebbings. Marc Andreessen explains why learning from past investment mistakes can be a trap, shares his framework for evaluating founder greatness through IQ, courage, and drive, and makes the case that venture investors should back the person over the business plan. They also discuss why AI is reconcentrating the tech industry in Silicon Valley, the concept of consumer surplus and where 99% of AI's value will actually go, and why the labor displacement narrative is fundamentally wrong. Resources: Follow Marc Andreessen on X: https://twitter.com/pmarca Follow Harry Stebbings on X: https://twitter.com/HarryStebbings Listen to 20VC: https://www.youtube.com/@20VC Stay Updated: Find a16z on YouTube: YouTube Find a16z on X Find a16z on LinkedIn Listen to the a16z Show on Spotify Listen to the a16z Show on Apple Podcasts Follow our host: https://twitter.com/eriktorenberg Please note that the content here is for informational p

The “Hard Fork” team is off this week, taking a much-needed break. While we’re away, we wanted to draw your attention to a recent episode of “The Ezra Klein Show.” In this conversation, Ezra speaks with Jack Clark, a co-founder of Anthropic, about how he is using A.I. agents; how the technology is leading to meaningful changes in the ways we work and think; and how policy can or must change to anticipate potential job displacement on the horizon. We’ll be back with a new episode next week. Guest: Jack Clark, a co-founder and the head of policy at Anthropic. Additional Reading: A full transcript and video of this episode can be found here. We want to hear from you. Email us at [email protected]. Find “Hard Fork” on YouTube and TikTok. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The Ne

Erin Price-Wright speaks with Chandler Luzsicza, founder and CEO of Galadyne, and Turner Caldwell, cofounder and CEO of Mariana Minerals, about what they actually learned building Starship and Tesla's lithium refinery, and how those lessons translate to their own startups. They cover decision velocity, flat organizations, critical path management, vertical integration, hiring for high-talent-density teams, and how to set aggressive milestones without burning people out. Resources: Follow Chandler Luzsicza on X: https://x.com/_chandlerl https://x.com/tbc415 https://x.com/espricewright Stay Updated: Find a16z on YouTube: YouTube Find a16z on X Find a16z on LinkedIn Listen to the a16z Show on Spotify Listen to the a16z Show on Apple Podcasts Follow our host: https://twitter.com/eriktorenberg Please note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not di

David Ulevitch speaks with Justin Fanelli, CTO of the Navy, and John Doyle, founder and CEO at Cape, about how the Navy is transforming its approach to technology adoption, from running bootcamps for program managers to piloting commercial solutions in months instead of years. They discuss the Salt Typhoon breach that exposed China's infiltration of American cellular networks, how Cape built a secure alternative, and what defense tech founders need to understand about selling to the government. Resources: Follow Justin Fanelli on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/justinfanelli/ Follow John Doyle on X: https://twitter.com/JohnDoyleCape Follow David Ulevitch on X: https://twitter.com/davidu Stay Updated: Find a16z on YouTube: YouTube Find a16z on X Find a16z on LinkedIn Listen to the a16z Show on Spotify Listen to the a16z Show on Apple Podcasts Follow our host: https://twitter.com/eriktorenberg Please note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken

David Ulevitch speaks with Chris Power, founder and CEO at Hadrian, and Vice Admiral Robert Gaucher, the Pentagon's first direct reporting portfolio manager for submarines, at the opening of Hadrian's Factory Four in Cherokee, Alabama. They discuss the state of America's submarine industrial base, why the Navy now needs more than five times the manufacturing capacity it had a decade ago, and how software-driven factories and a new workforce can close the gap. Resources: Follow Chris Power on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/powerc/ Follow VADM Robert Gaucher on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/robertgaucher/ Follow David Ulevitch on X: https://x.com/davidu Stay Updated: Find a16z on YouTube: YouTube Find a16z on X Find a16z on LinkedIn Listen to the a16z Show on Spotify Listen to the a16z Show on Apple Podcasts Follow our host: https://twitter.com/eriktorenberg Please note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, o

Erin Price-Wright speaks with Adam Warmoth, founder and CEO of Chariot Defense, and Alex Miller, CTO of the U.S. Army, about the power crisis at the heart of modern military operations. As the battlefield becomes more distributed and electronics-heavy, the Army's legacy power infrastructure, built around diesel generators and lead-acid batteries, is struggling to keep up. They examine how commercial breakthroughs in EV and aviation technology are being adapted for the front line, why fuel convoys are a military liability, and how procurement reform is letting startups get hardware into soldiers' hands faster than ever. Resources: Follow Adam Warmoth on X: https://x.com/AdamWarmoth Follow Alex Miller on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alex-m-0983a5201/ Follow Erin Price-Wright on X: https://x.com/espricewright Stay Updated: Find a16z on YouTube: YouTube Find a16z on X Find a16z on LinkedIn Listen to the a16z Show on Spotify Listen to the a16z Show on Apple Podcasts Follow our host

Bridgit Mendler, Co-founder and CEO of Northwood, joins a16z’s Erik Torenberg to discuss the critical but overlooked bottleneck in space: ground infrastructure. Northwood is building the systems that connect satellites back to Earth, enabling faster, more scalable space missions. They cover Bridgit’s unconventional path to founding a space company, why vertical integration matters in hard tech, and how modern ground networks could unlock the next wave of innovation in the space economy, from national security to new commercial applications. Resources: Follow Bridgit on X: https://x.com/bridgitmendler Stay Updated: Find a16z on YouTube: YouTube Find a16z on X Find a16z on LinkedIn Listen to the a16z Show on Spotify Listen to the a16z Show on Apple Podcasts Follow our host: https://twitter.com/eriktorenberg Please note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or securi

Jensen Huang is the co-founder and CEO of NVIDIA, the world’s most valuable company and the engine powering the AI computing revolution. https://lexfridman.com/sponsors/ep494-sc Transcript: https://lexfridman.com/jensen-huang-transcript CONTACT LEX: Feedback – give feedback to Lex: https://lexfridman.com/survey AMA – submit questions, videos or call-in: https://lexfridman.com/ama Hiring – join our team: https://lexfridman.com/hiring Other – other ways to get in touch: https://lexfridman.com/contact EPISODE LINKS: https://nvidia.com https://x.com/nvidia https://x.com/NVIDIAAI https://youtube.com/@nvidia https://www.instagram.com/nvidia/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/nvidia/ https://www.facebook.com/NVIDIA/ https://github.com/NVIDIA https://developer.nvidia.com/nemotron SPONSORS: Perplexity: AI-powered answer engine. https://perplexity.ai/ Shopify: Sell stuff online. https://shopify.com/lex LMNT: Zero-sugar electrolyte drink mix. https://drinkLMNT.com/lex Fin: AI agent for customer se

This week, we start by talking about the new wave of tech layoffs at Atlassian and Block, as well as reports that Meta plans to cut up to 20 percent of its work force. This raises the question of whether A.I. job loss has truly begun, or if there are other factors at play. Then, we’re joined by the writer Jasmine Sun to talk about why chatbots are still so bad at creative writing. And finally, it’s tokenmaxxing time! Kevin takes us behind the scenes of his latest reporting about why tech companies are building leaderboards to measure who is using the most A.I. Guest: Jasmine Sun, journalist and writer at jasmi.news Additional Reading: I Worked for Block. Its A.I. Job Cuts Aren’t What They Seem. Meta Planning Sweeping Layoffs as A.I. Costs Mount Meta Delays Rollout of New A.I. Model After Performance Concerns The A.I.-Washing of Job Cuts Is Corrosive and Confusing The Human Skill That Eludes A.I. We want to hear from you. Email us at [email protected]. Find “Hard Fork” on YouTube and

with Shyam Sankar

In this conversation, Shyam Sankar, chief technology officer at Palantir Technologies, discusses his new book Mobilize, his commission in the U.S. Army, and why he believes the most important thing America can do right now is inspire its latent heretics to step forward. He also breaks down how he thinks about the SaaS market under AI pressure, what the "alpha versus beta software" distinction means for which companies survive, and why he started a film production company. Stay Updated: Find a16z on YouTube: YouTube Find a16z on X Find a16z on LinkedIn Listen to the a16z Show on Spotify Listen to the a16z Show on Apple Podcasts Follow our host: https://twitter.com/eriktorenberg Please note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. a16z and its affiliates may maintain investments

Yoko Li, Guido Appenzeller, and Joel de la Garza discuss OpenClaw, the open source personal AI assistant that's forcing a rethink of how identity, permissions, and security work on the internet. They cover why setting up Gmail integration took seven hours, what happens when an agent asks for domain-wide access to every email in your company, and why consumer websites like DoorDash and Amazon have no incentive to make their services agent-friendly. Resources: Follow Yoko Li on X: https://twitter.com/stuffyokodraws Follow Guido Appenzeller on X: https://twitter.com/appenz Follow Joel de la Garza on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/3448827723723234/ Check out everything a16z is doing with artificial intelligence here, including articles, projects, and more podcasts. Please note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investo

A new paper, “Some Simple Economics of AGI,” is making the rounds—Web3 with a16z we sat down with author Christian Catalini (MIT Crypto Economics Lab) and Eddy Lazzarin (CTO of a16z crypto), in conversation with Robert Hackett, to unpack what AGI could mean for work and markets. EPISODE NOTES: A hot paper — "Some Simple Economics of AGI" — has been making the rounds, so we sat down with the author, covering: Automation vs. verification: the key economic split Why AI agents now feel like coworkers - What's happening to junior roles and the “codifier’s curse” The “AI sandwich” structure for firms The value of "meaning-makers," consensus, and status economies Why crypto may become essential infrastructure for identity, provenance, and trust Two possible futures: a hollow vs. augmented economy Featuring Christian Catalini (founder of MIT Crypto Economics Lab) and Eddy Lazzarin (CTO of a16z crypto) in conversation with Robert Hackett, our discussion dives deep into how automation is reshapi

Erik Torenberg sits down with Jacob Helberg to discuss AI, manufacturing, supply chains, and the new geopolitics of technology. Drawing on themes from Helberg’s book The Wires of War, they explore why hardware, industrial capacity, and secure supply chains have become central to both economic strength and national security. They also unpack what it means to “win the AI race” — from model leadership and global adoption to energy, compute, tariffs, and reindustrialization in the U.S. Resources: Find Jacob Helberg on X: https://x.com/jacobhelberg Stay Updated: Find a16z on YouTube: YouTube Find a16z on X Find a16z on LinkedIn Listen to the a16z Show on Spotify Listen to the a16z Show on Apple Podcasts Follow our host: https://twitter.com/eriktorenberg Please note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential inve

Vishal Misra returns to explain his latest research on how LLMs actually work under the hood. He walks through experiments showing that transformers update their predictions in a precise, mathematically predictable way as they process new information, explains why this still doesn't mean they're conscious, and describes what's actually required for AGI: the ability to keep learning after training and the move from pattern matching to understanding cause and effect. Resources: Follow Vishal Misra on X: https://x.com/vishalmisra https://x.com/martin_casado Stay Updated: Find a16z on YouTube: YouTube Find a16z on X Find a16z on LinkedIn Listen to the a16z Show on Spotify Listen to the a16z Show on Apple Podcasts Follow our host: https://twitter.com/eriktorenberg Please note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or pot

with Olivia Moore

In this episode, originally aired on Big Technology Podcast, Olivia Moore discusses whether AI startups can compete with the big chatbots, why American sentiment toward AI is so negative, and what she learned from giving LLMs personality tests. She also breaks down where ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini are diverging, why Open Claw signals a new wave of agentic products, and what makes memory the most underrated feature in consumer AI. Resources: Follow Olivia Moore on X: https://x.com/omooretweets Follow Alex Kantrowitz on X: https://x.com/Kantrowitz List to Big Technology Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLADd6sStSis77HKfbf4KCY6SvthfxeUgn Stay Updated: Find a16z on YouTube: YouTube Find a16z on X Find a16z on LinkedIn Listen to the a16z Show on Spotify Listen to the a16z Show on Apple Podcasts Follow our host: https://twitter.com/eriktorenberg Please note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advi

with David Senra

Marc Andreessen joins David Senra for a conversation about entrepreneurship, history, and what drives some of the world’s most ambitious builders. In this conversation with David, Marc reflects on patterns he’s seen across great founders, why many of them focus relentlessly on building rather than introspection, and how technology and entrepreneurship continue to shape the future. Resources: David Senra Website: https://www.davidsenra.com X: https://x.com/davidsenra Show notes: https://www.davidsenra.com/episode/ma... Marc Andreessen X: https://x.com/pmarca a16z: https://a16z.com/author/marc-andreessen Substack: https://pmarca.substack.com Stay Updated: Find a16z on YouTube: YouTube Find a16z on X Find a16z on LinkedIn Listen to the a16z Show on Spotify Listen to the a16z Show on Apple Podcasts Follow our host: https://twitter.com/eriktorenberg Please note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be u

A.I. is changing the ways war is waged. This week, we explore how the U.S. and Israel are using A.I. to identify targets in the conflict with Iran — and why data centers and fiber optic cables are targets on the front lines. Then, researcher Julie Bedard breaks down “A.I. brain fry,” a new condition she and her colleagues studied among A.I. users at work. And finally, Casey shares his battle with Grammarly after the company used his identity in a new A.I. feature, without his consent. Guest: Julie Bedard, managing director and partner at Boston Consulting Group who is also the lead author of a survey of “A.I. brain fry” in the workplace. Additional Reading: U.S. at Fault in Strike on School in Iran, Preliminary Inquiry Says How A.I. Is Turbocharging the War in Iran Anthropic’s A.I. tool Claude central to U.S. campaign in Iran, amid a bitter feud A.I. Fatigue Is Real and Nobody Talks About It Token Anxiety A.I. Doesn’t Reduce Work — It Intensifies It Grammarly Is Using Our Identities Wi

This conversation with Emil Michael, undersecretary of defense for research and engineering and acting director of the Defense Innovation Unit, was recorded at the a16z American Dynamism Summit in Washington, D.C. Michael walks through how he inherited a department running 14 undefined technology priorities, cut them to six, and made applied AI number one. He also gives the first detailed account of why commercial AI contracts written under the previous administration created a vendor-lock crisis that put active military operations at risk. Stay Updated: Find a16z on YouTube: YouTube Find a16z on X Find a16z on LinkedIn Listen to the a16z Show on Spotify Listen to the a16z Show on Apple Podcasts Follow our host: https://twitter.com/eriktorenberg Please note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investo

This conversation with Alex Karp, cofounder and CEO of Palantir, was recorded at the a16z American Dynamism Summit in Washington, D.C. Karp discusses the role of technology in modern warfare, Silicon Valley's obligations to national defense, and why he believes America's single greatest competitive advantage is its ability to cultivate and protect unconventional talent. Stay Updated: Find a16z on YouTube: YouTube Find a16z on X Find a16z on LinkedIn Listen to the a16z Show on Spotify Listen to the a16z Show on Apple Podcasts Follow our host: https://twitter.com/eriktorenberg Please note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. a16z and its affiliates may maintain investments in the companies discussed. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures. Hosted by Simplecast, an A