"Turpentine VC" | Venture Capital and Investing
E67: Defense Tech’s Rise with 8VC’s Alex Kolicich
Dec 3, 2024
Molly O'Shea chats with Alex Kolicich, founding partner at 8VC, known for his investments in Palantir and SpaceX. They dive into the rising trends in defense technology spurred by geopolitical factors. Alex discusses the evolving landscape for AI investments and the unique challenges of capturing value. He also highlights the shift towards innovative defense startups over traditional contractors, driven by new government practices and a favorable fundraising environment amid economic uncertainties.
58:51
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Podcast summary created with Snipd AI
Quick takeaways
- The current landscape of AI investments shows a mix of optimism and caution due to market instability affecting investor decisions.
- There is a significant divergence between public and private market valuations for AI software companies, highlighting inflated private funding amid historical corrections in public markets.
Deep dives
AI Investment Paradox
The discussion highlights the dualities present in the current landscape of AI investments. While there is significant optimism surrounding rapidly advancing AI capabilities, this optimism is met with caution due to market instability and accompanying uncertainties for investors. Investors are faced with the critical challenge of identifying which companies and business models will succeed in capturing value during this period of transition. As firms boast sky-high valuations often exceeding traditional revenue multiples, the pressure is on investors to research and differentiate truly viable businesses from those that are merely benefiting from the AI hype.
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