The Newcomer Podcast

Eric shares insights from a biotech summit in Park City, highlighting funding cuts and mixed sentiments in the industry. There's optimism around AI tools, while fintech buzzes with hopes for IPOs and stablecoins. However, concerns about currency stability linger due to tariffs. Madeline discusses how stricter immigration policies are impacting startup talent, leaving many uneasy. This dynamic poses challenges for innovation, especially as the industry grapples with political pressures and the need for a diverse workforce.

In this lively discussion, Mark Benioff, co-founder and CEO of Salesforce, shares his insights on the AI gold rush transforming the tech landscape. He introduces 'Agent Force 2.0', a groundbreaking vision where AI changes the nature of digital labor. The conversation dives into the ethical implications of AI and discusses how tech can address homelessness in San Francisco. Benioff reflects on navigating politics, the evolving SaaS model, and maintaining personal values while influencing industry and community.

This week’s guest is Josh Wolfe, co-founder of Lux Capital, who dives into the surprising dynamics of international politics and technology. He discusses the significant role of private group chats among Silicon Valley elites in shaping political decisions. Wolfe warns about emerging threats from the Sahel region and Latin America, highlighting the misconceptions surrounding Taiwan as the primary flashpoint. He debates the future of American manufacturing and the implications of friend-shoring versus reshoring, revealing a broader perspective on global power dynamics.

The podcast dives into the shifting landscape of tech media, spotlighting Erik Torenberg's hire by A16z. The hosts reminisce about past 'going direct' strategies and explore what makes today's approaches different. A focus on balancing narrative with business relationships reveals how media shapes VC identities. Later, they discuss frustrations within the crypto community, particularly surrounding the political antics of Trump and their impact on the legitimacy of the industry. It's a lively take on media evolution and its intersection with politics.

This week, Tom breaks down his scoops on how the big foundation model providers are doing.and much to the chagrin of our resident skeptic, they’re earning lots of real revenue! OpenAI is on track to crack over $12 billion in revenue this year, and Anthropic projects it will double its ARR to $4 billion by the end of the year. But have we hit the AGI moment? Eric relays his o3 experiments as evidence. Madeline gets into the perpetual VC optimism in spite of market turmoil and why AI has early stage investors mostly unphased. In the second half of our show, Eric interviews Contrary’s Kyle Harrison about his viral foundation model market map and why AI has led many VCs to embrace startup polyamory. 

Tom Dotan, former Wall Street Journal co-host, joins the crew to dissect the chaos of tariff announcements and their impact on the market. He humorously reflects on the confusion created by misleading headlines on platforms like Twitter. Ryan Petersen, CEO of Flexport, shares insights on how these tariffs affect global trade and supply chains. The conversation touches on Silicon Valley's relationship with Trump's policies, the implications for AI development, and the evolving views on trade and labor amid political turmoil.

Kareem Amin, CEO and co-founder of Clay, discusses how his company empowers non-engineers with programming capabilities. He shares insights into the evolving role of AI in marketing, emphasizing data aggregation and user experience. The conversation also touches on the challenges of adopting new technologies and the importance of aligning software solutions with customer needs. Additionally, there’s a gripping backdrop of corporate espionage and a debate on OpenAI's ambitious valuation, adding layers of intrigue to the tech landscape.

Dive into the buzz of vibe coding and discover the highs and lows of new tools like Lovable. Explore the quirky world of AI-generated Studio Ghibli memes while unraveling copyright conundrums. Uncover the controversy surrounding a sales AI startup's dubious customer claims and its impact on the tech landscape. Plus, get the scoop on Waymo's exciting expansion into Washington, D.C., and the safety showdown between autonomous vehicles and human drivers. It's a fascinating blend of tech, creativity, and market intrigue!

Paul Klein, Founder and CEO of BrowserBase, shares his insights on leveraging headless browsers for AI applications. He discusses the explosive growth of their technology and its role in optimizing web interactions. Klein also reveals the innovative features of StageHand, which revolutionize web automation. The conversation touches on the exciting ramifications of Google's significant acquisition of Wiz and the broader landscape of tech mergers. Listeners are treated to a peek into the future of bots and automation on the internet.

We’re recording this episode on the ground from two different tech conferences, the flashy new HumanX summit in Las Vegas and the now-veteran status South By Southwest in Austin. We cover how the attendees diverge, with more consumer-tech making a showing at SXSW and the new guard of AI business leaders heading over to HumanX (with a few exceptions.) At both summits, though, coding assistants are far and beyond the breakout use case of generative AI applications.We also briefly touch on the threat to free speech in America under the Trump administration following the arrest of the Columbia student protestor Mahmoud Khalil. Next up, we talk about Anthropic’s major revenue growth and how Claude itself is one of the strongest coding assistants on the market, notching it up in the model maker race. We close with, yes — another coding assistant — Anysphere, the makers of Cursor, and its rumored funding round at a $10 billion valuation.Produced by ⁠Christopher Gates⁠