Sourcery What Travis Kalanick Taught Bradley Tusk, & Why He Closed His VC Fund
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Nov 29, 2025 
Bradley Tusk, a venture investor and political strategist known for his role in Uber's early days, shares valuable insights from his experiences with Travis Kalanick. He highlights Kalanick's quick, analytical approach that helped reshape Uber's political landscape. Tusk discusses the impact of AI on tech valuations and the regulatory environment, revealing the shift from traditional venture capital to an equity-for-services model. He emphasizes the importance of aligning advisory work with equity, offers advice on navigating regulation, and reflects on his transition from political consulting to working with startups.
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AI Build-Out May Be Narrative-Driven
- Much AI infrastructure spending may be driven by narrative and share price incentives rather than true long-term need.
- Executives often benefit from short-term valuations, which can misallocate capital into heavy capex like data centers and GPUs.
Inference Models Could Shrink Compute Needs
- Inference-style models that trade slight accuracy for huge cost reductions could drastically cut future compute and energy needs.
- If cheaper 90%-accurate models prevail, much current capex could be unnecessary.
Where AI Capital Actually Flows
- AI-related capital flows into data centers, GPUs, and energy, with location and energy sources shaping costs and politics.
- This surge could revive interest in nuclear or regional hydro as low-cost, clean power for compute hubs.