The Twenty Minute VC (20VC): Venture Capital | Startup Funding | The Pitch 20VC: OpenAI's Multi $BN Deal with AMD | Polymarket, Vercel and Supabase Raise Mega Rounds | Does King Making Really Work in Venture Capital: Harvey vs Legora | Chamath is Back: The SPAC is Back
277 snips
Oct 9, 2025 
Join Rory O’Driscoll, a seasoned VC partner with insights into SaaS and market dynamics, and Jason Lemkin, founder of SaaStr and expert on startup fundraising. They dive into OpenAI's groundbreaking partnership with AMD and its implications for the tech landscape. The duo discusses venture capital's forgiving nature regarding valuations, analyses mega funding rounds, and debates the efficacy of kingmaking in venture. With SPACs making a comeback, they explore whether Chamath’s latest initiative signals a new era for IPOs.
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OpenAI Uses User Power As Leverage
- OpenAI wields market power by using user growth as leverage to secure favorable vendor terms.
- The AMD warrant deal shows Sam Altman extracting equity upside from suppliers without immediate cash payment.
AI's Windows-Intel Parallel
- OpenAI is playing a role analogous to Microsoft decades ago, with NVIDIA as the Intel-equivalent supplier.
- This creates an oligopoly around models and chips that shapes the industry architecture.
NVIDIA Balances Monopoly With Concessions
- NVIDIA retains enormous pricing power but must concede some market share to avoid conflict.
- The ecosystem choreographs supplier relationships carefully to protect NVIDIA's dominant margins.
