My Brain Food This Week...

Jul 20, 2024

Here’s some motivation from a note I wrote earlier this week, inspired by the assassination attempt of President Donald Trump.

Venture Capital Firm a16z stashing GPUs, including Nvidia’s, to win AI deals. Why is this a good strategy?
There’s been increasing talk about how the AI wave is proving to be a bubble because 1) the amount of money that companies are spending is not producing returns because 2) its unclear where the winners will be as every few months there appears to be newer and better AI models with stronger capabilities, rendering the spending of companies somewhat “wasteful” as they struggle to produce a viable product. Other than OpenAI there does not seem to be a more obvious example of a productive company in the AI space. This move by a16z to create infrastructure that startups can use to test, perfect and grow their products is a perfect way to get a first hand look at which new companies are in the market without spending much to invest in a company that might end up being be a dud. Interestingly, Chamath suggested this idea months ago as well when asked how he would invest $40 billion in AI. (Click on the video below)
AI Startups Have Plenty of Cash. They Often Don’t Yet Have a Business. Some startups are raising hundreds of millions of dollars before having a product or revenue. I wrote a LinkedIn post a while ago about how capital allocators can play safely in light of this… (Tap image for full post)

Vestible is allowing fans to buy stock in their favourite athletes. What does this mean?
Vestible allows fans to financially and legally participate in the rise of an athlete. The athlete profits off of his name and likeness very early on in her career, and fans do the same. The athlete creates a vehicle to raise money, in exchange for a percentage of her future earnings. This is a great opportunity for athletes to make money, especially early in their careers, before they’ve built a big enough track record to be able to benefit from endorsement deals. This idea leverages a similar product called the Bowie Bond, where artist David Bowie profited off of a bond he sold to fans, leveraging his music discography. (Click on the video explainer below)

Which piece of content sticks out for you?

Let me know in the comments!👇🏾

Self-Taught MBA