Dario Amodei says the industry needs to "pace the frontier." Sam Altman and Elon agreed. Dave and Aman aren't buying the official story. They break down why slowing down might be good for business, and why they would welcome government regulation.
The macro backdrop compounds things. Oil's back over $100, the 10-year just touched 5% for the first time since 2023, and the national deficit keeps rising past $40 trillion. Dave and Aman debate whether Washington will ever get serious about the debt, or whether AI-driven growth is the only way out.
Additionally: Oura is reportedly eyeing a $16B IPO, a wave of AI mega-rounds landed: Cognition at $48B, Crusoe at $30B, Shield AI at $20B. And corporate tender offers are on pace to hit 600 deals this year as companies stay private longer and look for new ways to give employees liquidity.
Plus: a Valuation Corner deep-dive on Harvey AI, the legal-tech company that just raised at $15.5B. Aman breaks down Harvey's founding story, and discusses how they might protect themselves from ruin against the AI giants.
[ Tech & VC News ]
03:07 state of the economy: oil, interest rates, and inflation all up
06:25 importance of reducing the deficit
08:13 AI leaders hit the brakes
20:27 why AI giants want to be regulated
25:22 upcoming Oura IPO
28:34 mega-round raises for a host of AI companies
38:09 tender offer boom
43:30 [ Valuation Corner: Harvey AI @ $15.5B ]
45:42 founder stories
47:43 breaking down the legal AI ecosystem
50:07 Harvey vs AI giants
57:30 tribute to a legend: Bill Draper
[ links ]
[ invest = https://practicalvc.com ]
[ trading places socials = www.linktr.ee/tradingplacespod ]
[ aman verjee = https://www.linkedin.com/in/aman-verjee | https://x.com/amanverjee ]
[ dave mcclure = https://www.linkedin.com/in/davemcclure | https://x.com/davemcclure ]
Thank you for watching!
#amanverjee #VentureCapital #PrivateMarkets #davemcclure #bigbubbletrouble
