Bill G and Zuck on life with AI, Palantir founder Alex Karp says either we win the AI arms race or China will, and, Yes!, the bulls (and IPOs) are back $$
Neither Bill Gates nor Mark Zuckerberg has ever been on the top end of our 'love to have a beer with' list. It was cool that both ditched Harvard early, though. It's like the ultimate coup—you get into The 'Vard (a.k.a. the 'Stanford of the East'), claim victory, then go about your business earning your first billion. The next time you hit campus is to deliver a commencement speech and pick up an honorary degree. 😎🤙🏼
There was something special about Steve
Steve Jobs’ speech to the Stanford graduating class of 2005 (46.5M views)
Zuck’s speech to the Harvard graduating class of 2017 (6.8 M views)
Bill G and Zuck are chess players more than innovators. Yes, Bill Gates was once the King of PC Land, but even the first MS-DOS operating system, which he sold to IBM to reach the top, was developed by a third-party software company. Zuck earns credit for learning from the Friendster disaster by initially scaling TheFacebook one college at a time and then later emerging as the world's number one social network. But Zuck's real genius was acquiring Instagram in 2012 and WhatsApp in 2014 (to the later regret of the founders of both companies). As Zuck told Joe Rogan in January, Meta services combined now touch over 3.6 billion unique users a day, which is mad.
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Instagram cofounders Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger. Mr. Systrom testified in April during the FTC antitrust trial against Meta that Zuck deliberately constrained Instagram's potential to protect Facebook's dominance. 'As the founder of Facebook, he [Zuck] felt a lot of emotion around which one was better, meaning Instagram or Facebook."
Bill G and Zuck are both full of unfulfilled innovation dreams. For years, Bill G talked about how the 'Tablet PC' would be the Next Big Thing until Steve Jobs envisioned the iPad and delivered it in 2010. Today, Apple dominates the tablet sector with a 35% market share, having shipped almost 50 million iPads globally in 2024, which generated a whopping $28.3 billion in revenue. This success is driven by premium models like the iPad Pro, featuring M2/M4 chips. Meanwhile, Microsoft's Surface tablet ranks sixth in sales.
Somebody's watching you. 👀 Two million camera-equipped Meta Ray-Ban smart glasses have been sold since 2023, generating roughly $600 million in sales, and are the best-selling product in 60% of Ray-Ban stores across Europe, Africa, and the Middle East.
We must also remember Zuck's decision in October 2021 to change the name of his company from Facebook to Meta, because he intended to boldly lead 'a billion users' into the Metaverse, where they will generate 'hundreds of billions in digital commerce' within a decade. Well, last time we looked, Zuck wasn't shepherding legions of avatars to the Promised Land; he was scrambling to get on the AI gravy train driven by Elon's xAI, Perplexity.ai, OpenAI, and any number of other emerging AI companies. And the Metaverse? Well, the Metaverse got no mention in Meta's Q1 2025 earnings call, with AI devices taking center stage.
In late April, Zuck explained to Dwarkesh Patel on his podcast how he thinks AI bots will serve as social companions and help solve the loneliness epidemic. 'There's the stat that I think is crazy—the average American has fewer than three friends,' noted Zuck. 'And the average person has demand for meaningfully more—like 15 friends, right?' Zuck then deduced that 'this need for more personalized connection and companionship could be filled with virtual friends!' 😳
A 2022 survey by The Cigna Group found that 58% of U.S. adults are considered lonely. A startling 79% of young adults (aged 18–24) report experiencing loneliness compared to 41% of seniors (aged 66+).😔 In a 2024 Harvard study, 73% of the adults surveyed cited technology as a top factor, with heavy social media use linked to feelings of inadequacy and isolation.
A poetic dramatization of how Zuck's AO bot vision plays out was foretold in the now-epic 2013 film Her, written and directed by Spike Jonze. The stars of Her are the equally splendid actors Joaquin Phoenix and Scarlett Johansson, who acted out our current reality 12 years before its time.
Emotional entanglements with your AI bot
The following are the conclusions from four recent studies that investigated the psychosocial, social and practical implications of using AI chatbots.
Emotional Dependency: Regular interactions with chatbots that mimic empathy and understanding may lead some users (particularly with strong emotional attachment tendencies) to prefer AI over human connections and reduce their real-world socialization.
Mental Health Implications: When users blur boundaries between artificial and real relationships, this can exacerbate issues like depression, detachment, and loneliness.
Ethical Concerns: AI can be (and is being) designed to exploit psychological vulnerabilities, manipulating users and keeping them hooked.
Research Gaps: A 2024 study found that 60% of frequent chatbot users reported feeling emotionally supported; however, 45% also admitted to experiencing reduced motivation to seek human interaction.
It is now quite evident that the apps we most depend on will evolve into a team of agents who find your stuff, prepare reports, execute regular tasks, arrange your travel and schedule, you name it. Aravind Srinivas, the CEO and cofounder of Perplexity AI, says AI agents are becoming the 'next battleground for the web' as search evolves from providing links to enabling actions. 'Whoever builds the most useful, trusted agents will win,' he says.
The move to AI agents will be a big net positive for personal ease and productivity. However, getting too close to your AI bot, as Joaquin's character in Her, Theodore did, is a very unhealthy psychosocial boundary to cross. It falls into the same disordered basket as being addicted to your sex doll, local stripper, or favorite OnlyFans model. No matter how much you try, you will not find true human empathy in AI. Chatbots cannot replicate the depth of in-person human interactions and never will.
Zuck strategized out loud in the podcast, in an eerie Orwellian way, that 'We need to find the vocabulary as a society to articulate why this [AO bots as friends] is valuable and why people choosing these relationships are rational.' Zuck predicted that 'as personalization improves, the relationship between AI and the user becomes more compelling.' Reminder to readers: Meta reaches 3.6 billion people every day—Zuck can change the vocabulary in a snap🫰if he wants to.
“The greatest disease in the West today is not TB or leprosy; it is being unwanted, unloved, and uncared for. We can cure physical diseases with medicine, but the only cure for loneliness, despair, and hopelessness is love. Many in the world are dying for a piece of bread, but there are many more dying for a little love. The poverty in the West is a different kind of poverty—it is not only a poverty of loneliness but also spirituality.”
Bill G brushing up for the two-day workweek. Art by Grok3
'Free intelligence' and the 2-day workweek
On the People by WTF podcast in April, Bill G said he is betting that the 'free intelligence' created by AI will largely replace doctors and teachers within a decade.😳 'High-quality medical advice and tutoring will be widely accessible,' says Bill G. Yes, AI is advancing rapidly—tools like diagnostic algorithms and personalized learning platforms are already assisting professionals—but human creativity, judgment, empathy, and contextual understanding remain critical in these fields. He acknowledged that jobs requiring emotional intelligence, like therapy or caregiving, would likely remain human-driven.
AI does have significant potential, as Bill Gates explained, to fill the gaps in underserved regions like India and Africa, which face a shortage of doctors and mental health professionals, and also to extend to blue-collar roles. Net-net, Bill suggests, 'AI will come in and provide medical IQ, and there won't be a shortage.' He also believes that the new AI-powered productivity tools could lead to shorter workweeks and redefine societal roles. 'What will jobs be like? Should we work like 2 or 3 days a week?' he pondered out loud.
Who you know, what you know, and when you know it is the most valuable currency in the global Silicon Valley. Paid members get even more privileges.
Only one dawg will win the global AI arms race
Palantir cofounder and CEO Alex Karp is well-informed about what's happening inside the U.S. Department of Defense and throughout our intelligence agencies, particularly regarding our AI innovation and counterintelligence status compared to that of the Mighty Dragon from the East.
Mr. Karp bluntly told CNBC recently, 'My general bias on AI is it is dangerous. There are positive and negative consequences. In the AI arms race, Alex says only one country will emerge as the winner. 'Either we win that race or China will,' he says. ‘So we need to run harder, run faster in an all-country effort to develop more advanced AI models.'
In April, Chairman Xi expressed to his fellow Politburo members, "Breakthroughs must be achieved in methodologies and tools to gain a first-mover advantage and secure China's competitive edge in AI."
Alex Karp excerpts from Q1 2025 letter to Palantir shareholders
‘The artificial intelligence revolution is not a distant horizon—it is here, and it is a race we must win. Our platforms are built to give the U.S. military and its allies the edge in decision-making, from the battlefield to the command center, ensuring that our technology underpins the strength of the West."
Alex Karp Wants You to join the US AI team. Art by Grok.
"We take pride in standing shoulder-to-shoulder with our partners in the Department of Defense and intelligence community. Our software is not a commodity; it is a force multiplier that transforms how our nation’s most critical institutions operate, enabling them to outpace adversaries in an increasingly complex global landscape."
"We have chosen sides, and we are unapologetic about it. Our work is rooted in the belief that the United States and its democratic allies must lead in the development and deployment of transformative technologies. This is not just a business—it is a mission to preserve the principles that define our way of life.”
'“All men are to be loved equally. But since you cannot do good to all, you are to pay special regard to those who, by the accidents of time, or place, or circumstance, are brought into closer connection with you.”
Alex also told CNBC that he believes the U.S. currently has a leg up in the AI race. ‘There is no economy in the world with this kind of corporate leadership which understands technologies, has such a deep domain expertise, and is willing to look at new things and pivot quickly if necessary,’ he said. “Our allies in the West, in Europe, are going to have to learn from us.”
Alex also rebuffed a recent New York Times report that Palantir is helping the Trump administration gather data on Americans. He made it clear, 'We are not surveilling Americans.'
Join us at Silicon Valley ‘25 — Sept. 16th & 17th
Welcome to Silicon Valley ‘25—The future of Web3
The first annual Silicon Valley ‘25 (SV’25) is an invitation-only gathering of 600 CEOs and founders from 300 top Web3 private companies (AI, quantum computing, blockchain dApps, crypto, robots, drones, and green vehicles) along with their venture capital backers, as well as distinguished members of the business press, bloggers, analyst communities, and other industry thought leaders.
The SV '25 program centers on conversations between entrepreneurial thought leaders and risk capitalists about how Web3 innovation can create new efficiencies, opportunities, and wealth, and further decentralize power away from institutions we no longer trust.
Bitcoin King, Tim Draper, will be at SV ‘25 for a fireside chat with fellow Silicon Valley OG and Cryptonite founder and editor, Tony Perkins, and cohost some sessions. Drape promises to share his ‘first check’ strategy for seed capital success, and why he thinks BTC will hit $250K by the end of the year, so that we can become rich like him. 😎👍🏼
The Bitcoin Metaphor and the downsizing of Wall Street. Where DeFi and TradFi meet.
"The decentralized future is not just about creating new applications; it's about rethinking how we organize society. You shouldn't have to trust any single person, institution, or centralized organization to transact and get things done."
SV’25 is presented by Voting Block USA (VB USA), a 501 c3 non-profit, nonpartisan, grassroots project dedicated to educating the public on how Web3 innovation will impact our daily lives and professional futures. VB USA is supported by The Draper Family Trust and Draper Associates and produced by Cryptonite Ventures.
The bulls (and tech IPOs) are back
We hate to tell you so, but we will. The hysterical corporate business media and the Masters of the Universe on Wall Street (that is, Jamie Dimon and Bill Akerman) just took stockholders on a wild roller coaster ride that was completely unnecessary.
The skies over Wall Street were falling
Give Jaime your money; he sees where the world is not going.🤔
‘The recent tariffs will likely increase inflation and are causing many to consider a greater probability of a recession. I think a recession is a likely outcome.'
—Jamie Dimon, CEO of JPMorgan Chase, April 3, 2025
Actually, the inflation numbers are the best in four years. So why don't we stop trying to say this could happen, and wait and see what does happen.’
—Scott Bessent, US Treasury Secretary on Face the Nation, June 1, 2025
The tariff panic.
Readers' reminder: Wall Street titans make money when we buy and sell our stocks. They have had a profitable couple of months, which has fueled the panic
The NASDAQ index was approximately 17,606.93 on April 2, 2025, right before Trump announced his tariffs. As of June 10, 2025, NASDAQ was 19,714. This represents an increase of approximately 11.97%. There you go. The goal of the Boogeyman's tariff threats has always been to lower tariffs for the US and its trade partners, as was recently accomplished with the UK. It is currently in progress with India, South Korea, Japan, Vietnam, and the European Union. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, even China has just received a deal in hand, negotiated over the last couple of days in London, that would lower both the US and China's current tariffs.
More groovy economic times ahead
The price of a dozen eggs dropped almost in half, from $4.95 in January to $2.65 in June. The cost of gas has similarly fallen from $3.65 a gallon at the end of the Biden Administration to $3.11 today. The US economy created almost a million (991,500) new jobs so far this year, and the unemployment rate remains steady at 4%. Real GDP growth for Q2 2025 is projected to rebound strongly at 3.8%, reflecting improved consumption and investment trends. And finally, (Are you listening, Jamie?) inflation (CPI) dipped from 3.0% in January to 2.4% in May, showing a cooling trend.
We agree with Elon that the ‘Big Beautiful Bill’ includes barrels full of pork that our Federal government has no business funding. We believe in continuing the shift of Federal taxpayer money away from centralized agencies and toward first responders, including firefighters, police, EMTs, and dispatchers, who care for our communities, as well as charities and churches that assist the homeless and single mothers.
Web3 technologies will facilitate this transformation through AI bots, which will help eliminate outdated bureaucratic structures within government and decentralize tax collection and distribution systems, giving taxpayers more privacy and control over how their tax dollars are spent.
AI and Blockchain IPOs
We are at the beginning of a 20- to 30-year, $200 trillion Web3 innovation boom (10x the size of Web2) now that AI and crypto regulations are being sorted out. Thankfully, we are leaning towards a more unbridled innovation and free market approach, which allowed the Internet to flourish quickly in the 1990s.
As this multi-trillion-dollar opportunity, driven by AI, quantum computing, blockchain dApps, crypto, robots, drones, and green vehicles, among others, comes into sharper focus, billions of dollars in risk capital are flowing into startups throughout the global Silicon Valley.
Regarding the IPO market, we are sticking with our 2025 prediction that 25 private companies in the innovation sectors we cover will break out of the IPO gates this year. So far, we are counting the six Cryptonite Top 100 companies below that have either gone public, filed, or moved to NASDAQ this year.
eToro (ETOR)—The Tel Aviv-based company, founded in 2017, is a social trading platform that integrates blockchain technology for transparent cryptocurrency trading and portfolio management, providing accessible investment tools. eToro’s successful IPO debuted on March 13th.
CoreWeave (CRWV)—The Roseland, New Jersey-based company, founded in 2017, offers cloud infrastructure optimized for GPU-intensive workloads, which significantly reduces costs and improves performance for AI and ML tasks. CoreWeave’s successful IPO debuted on March 27th.
Circle (CRCL)—The Boston-based company, founded in 2017, offers the USDC stablecoin, pegged to the U.S. dollar, and leverages blockchain for fast, low-cost global payments and financial interoperability. Circle’s highly successful IPO debuted on June 4th.
Amber(AMBR)—The Hong Kong-based company, founded in 2017, leverages algorithmic trading and liquidity provision to offer crypto financial services, including trading, wealth management, and lending, optimized for high-frequency market opportunities. Amber’s highly successful IPO debuted on June 4th.
Galaxy(GLXY)—The New York-based company, founded in 2014 by Michael Novogratz, provides investment management, trading, advisory services, and venture capital investment in the cryptocurrency and blockchain space. Galaxy moved from the X exchange to list on the Nasdaq in May.
Gemini—The New York-based company, founded in 2018 by Tyler Winklevoss and Cameron Winklevoss, is a regulated, centralized cryptocurrency exchange that utilizes advanced security and blockchain auditing to ensure safe trading and custody, powering its trading platform. Gemini confidentially filed for an IPO in March 2025.
A slew of Cryptonite Top 100 have also received new capital at bullish valuations.
Perplexity AI—The San Francisco-based company, founded in 2022, offers an AI-powered answer engine for complex queries, delivering precise information synthesis. Perplexity AI is in advanced talks, led by Accel, for a new funding round that would value it at $14 billion, a more than 50% increase from late last year.
TON Foundation—Dubai-based Telegram’s TON (The Open Network) blockchain enables fast, scalable transactions, powering decentralized apps and services integrated with its messaging platform. The Open Network Foundation disclosed that it sold over $400 million in Toncoin, which was purchased from Sequoia Capital, Ribbit, Benchmark, and Kingsway. Draper Associates is a big backer.
Anduril—The Costa Mesa, California-based company founded in 2017, develops AI-powered defense technology, including autonomous drones and surveillance systems. Anduril recently raised $2.5 billion at a $30.5 billion valuation, doubling the company's valuation from last August in a round led by Peter Thiel's Founders Fund.
Speaking of the Founders Fund, the San Francisco-based venture capital firm closed a $4.6 billion late-stage venture fund, according to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
In addition to this flurry of IPOs and investments, Alphabet, Microsoft, Meta, and Amazon have told investors that they will invest more than $300 billion in AI-focused infrastructure this year.
The Boogeyman's one-on-one with Maurine Devine of the NY Post
Trump: 'Drones are the thing—they are the new weapons of choice. When you look at this horrible war between Russia and Ukraine that we are trying to get over, it's all drone warfare. You wouldn't believe how quick and smart they are and what they are able to do.
Miranda Devine: So, are you thinking of banning them?
Trump: No, I don't think we can ban them. I guess we just have to buy more drones than they do—and better ones.
Miranda Devine: You had a lengthy conversation with Vladimir Putin last week. How did that go?
Trump: We mostly talked about how to end the war. I had a great relationship with him, and this war would never have happened if I were in office. They [the Russians and Ukrainians] are losing 5,000 soldiers every single week! Putin is losing a lot of soldiers, and so is Ukraine. We make progress, then someone bombs something that shouldn't be bombed, and then the progress stops. This is not about money; it is about humanity! My God, they are losing 5,000 people a week! That is a vicious war. There has not been anything like this since the Second World War. We've [Trump and Putin] have had good conversations, but nothing has come from it.
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Very true