The Intersection of Immigration and Innovation in America

Immigration isn’t just a humanitarian issue—it’s a strategic lever for American innovation. Jeremy Neufeld, Director of Immigration Policy at the Institute for Progress, joins us to explain how student visas, OPT, and H-1Bs quietly power the U.S. tech and startup ecosystem. He breaks down why high-skilled immigration is essential to America’s edge in AI, what a modern-day “Project Paperclip” might look like, and how visa policy missteps are helping competitors like China.

We also get into why 70% of top AI startup founders came through the student visa pipeline—and why only a fraction get to stay. Plus, Jeremy lays out the path forward for building a more talent-friendly immigration system that strengthens national security rather than weakens it.

We also covered a new potential dwarf planet beyond Neptune, Grammarly’s $1B revenue-based financing deal, Andreessen’s latest AI megadeal, and China’s bid to lead the humanoid robot market.