Empire AI Breaking Software Economics, CLARITY Bill, & Debating BitGo’s IPO | Weekly Roundup
Jan 23, 2026
This week, the hosts dive into the rapid acceleration of AI and its transformative influence on venture capital and SaaS. They unpack the implications of the CLARITY Bill, while BitGo's controversial IPO valuation raises eyebrows. Polygon's strategic acquisitions aim to enhance their payment capabilities, and the challenges facing decentralized social platforms spark an engaging debate. Additionally, Larry Fink emphasizes the importance of tokenization as a national priority, rounding out a fascinating discussion.
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Episode notes
AI Speeds Prototyping And Decision Cycles
- Claude lets small teams prototype complex features in days, drastically changing what teams can build.
- Jason says this shifts how Blockworks assesses and iterates on product ideas quickly.
Require Leadership To Use AI First
- Mandate AI use from management to accelerate adoption across engineering teams.
- Rob recommends C-suite buy-in so reluctant senior engineers adopt AI tools faster.
Memory Isn't A Strong Lock-In Yet
- Memory in chat models proved weaker lock-in than expected; switching between models is easy.
- Jason moved from ChatGPT to Claude and found model lock-in far lower than he predicted.
