🗳️ How did the city with one of the biggest shifts to the right in the 2024 presidential election just vote for a socialist?This week the pod breaks down Zohran’s rise from 1% in the polls to winning the Democratic nomination for NYC mayor. They discuss how Zohran was able to create a memorable brand and also dive into his most talked about policies:🚼 universal childcare🥶 a rent freeze🛒 a city-run grocery store💵 raising the minimum wage to $30Then we get into Elon’s rideshare launch in Austin that he’s been hard launching since 2019, but it was a soft launch with 10 to 20 cars in a fenced-in area, priced at $4.20. Of course. The hosts discuss:📷 Tesla’s bet on cameras over lidar🚗 a Tesla dropping a passenger in the middle of an intersection…🤖 Tesla’s other moonshots like the humanoid robot Optimus00:00 Intro 00:47 NYC mayoral election and Zohran Mamdani 45:56 Tesla's rideshare launch in Austin
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1:04:40
YC Demo Day & Building Sim Studio with CEO Emir Karabeg
This week we sat down with Emir Karabeg, the co-founder of Sim Studio (YC X25), an open-source AI agent builder used by the Department of Defense. We debriefed his YC Demo Day and discussed his insane lore, including:💥 Building a crypto mining operation at 14 that accidentally triggered an MI6 raid🧠 Why what he learned at YC was life changing🚗 How he gave away 10 Teslas with David Dobrik (and one extra by accident)📞 Leaving in the middle of a UC Berkeley final to take a call from Olaf Carlson-Wee (Coinbase employee #1)00:00 Intro01:54 Crypto mining at 14 years old12:34 Dropping out of Berkeley (for a semester)22:10 YC Demo Day30:12 Building Sim Studio40:54 Founder philosophies51:29 Reaching AGI
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55:41
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55:41
Scale AI/Meta, No Kings Protest
Meta just dropped a casual $14.3 billion on Scale AI for a 49 percent non-voting stake. The hosts are wondering if Zuck is in his desperation era handing out NBA sized contracts to anyone that can rescue Llama. Alexander Wang is now running Meta’s new Superintelligence Lab, and the hosts breaks down what Alex leaving means for Scale. In the short term, employees are getting a massive cash payout, but long term Google, Microsoft, and xAI have already said they’re not renewing contracts with Scale, which opens the door for Scale’s competitors like Snorkel, Surge AI, Mercor, and Turing to step in. Maya floats the idea that Scale may be a product play and not just an acqui-hiring of Alex, if Meta has a bigger plan to use Scale to build continual learning models inside Meta.Then the episode covers the largest single-day protest in American history. Around 5 million people turned out for the No Kings marches in response to ICE raids and Trump’s executive overreach. Anika shares what it was like on the ground at the SF protest. The hosts also unpack the very public back-and-forth between Gavin Newsom and Trump. They also analyze Trump’s immigration strategy in comparison to Obama’s. Finally, they get into the messy economic and ethical logic (or lack thereof) behind targeting undocumented immigrants who’ve been here for decades. 00:00 Intro 01:18 Meta acquires 49% of Scale AI 37:13 ICE Raids lead to the No Kings protest
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1:09:12
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1:09:12
Nucleus Genomics, IPO landscape, AI trend report
The hosts get together at 7am after Anika and Maya both managed to sleep through 6am alarms. This week the trio dives into Nucleus Genomics, the hot IPO market, and Mary Meeker’s AI trend report.Nucelus Genoomics just launched a new product called Nucleus Embryo. Nucleus Embryo lets IVF parents compare embryos based not only on health markers, but also on traits like height, eye color, and even IQ. The hosts explain the science behind polygenic risk scores (PRS) versus traditional embryo screening for rare diseases. Finally they dive into the many controversies around genetic selection including the accuracy, risks of eugenics, potential for ableism, and the implications of a genetically engineered upper class that gets solidified over multiple generations.IPOs are so back. Circle, the company behind USDC, had a great IPO, jumping from $31 to $115 a share in a week. The hosts explain how Circle makes its money mostly from interest on the billions in reserves backing the stablecoin, thanks to high Fed rates. The discussion also touches on Circle’s failed SPAC attempt and why crypto might be going mainstream. They also cover Omada Health’s more modest IPO and discuss how digital health IPOs are slowly returning after a long dry spell post the pandemic era. Finally they go over potential IPOs rumored for the rest of the year.The episode wraps with a breakdown of Mary Meeker’s hyped 2025 AI trend report. They dive into 340 pages of charts, graphs, and the word “unprecedented” (which is used 64 times!). The hosts discuss why ChatGPT adoption has been so much faster than Google. They also discuss how the commodization of AI is going to impact the business model of AI players.00:00 Intro03:04 Nucelus Genomics27:14 IPO market including Circle and Omada Health40:16 Mary Meeker’s AI trend report
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Grammarly raises $1B, Rhode acquired by e.l.f., VC invests in AI roll ups
On this episode of Get the Check, the trio kicks things off with a vulnerable chat about work besties (RIP to Maya’s). The hosts cover Grammarly’s relevance post the rise of AI, Rhode’s $1B exit, and why venture capital is taking a page out of the private equity playbook.Grammarly just raised a billion dollars in funding from General Catalyst, but the twist is they’re not giving up equity. The hosts break down how non-dilutive revenue-based funding rounds work (think Mr. Wonderful on Shark Tank). They also discuss why this deal makes sense at Grammarly’s stage. Next, they unpack why Grammarly is still doing $700M ARR and has huge enterprise logos, despite many people now using AI to correct their writing. They end the segment by talking about Grammarly’s future after acquiring Notion competitor Coda and the product adjacencies like email that Grammarly may expand into.Next, Hailey Bieber gets the check. Her skincare brand Rhode just sold to e.l.f. for a billion dollars after only three years. The hosts break down why they see this deal as a win-win. Rhode gets access to a more mature company that can help their push from e-commerce to Sephora, and e.l.f. gets to diversify their revenue in the face of Trump’s tariffs. E.l.f. also gets access to an older customer base with a higher propensity to spend.Lastly, the hosts discuss why VC firms are cosplaying as PE firms these days. They explain how acquiring “boring” small businesses (hi, car washes) and layering on AI software has become the latest VC trend. They break down what makes a good AI rollup target (fragmented, low-margin, could be tech enabled but isn’t) and how this new strategy may impact software revenue models down the line.00:00 Intro01:34 Grammarly raises $1B17:07 Rhode acquired by e.l.f27: 35 VC invests in AI rollups
USA