$200M woolly mammoths and a farewell to TikTok

A Cinderella Ball and Potential TikTok Ban

• A Cinderella Ball is being held by David Sacks, which is a crypto-themed event, and some people are trying to get invited or attend the party in hopes of meeting a crypto billionaire (42s).
• The hosts mention that they have not been to any notable balls or events recently, but they are open to attending if they receive invitations (1m34s).
• There is a possibility that TikTok may be banned on Sunday, and in anticipation, many high-profile TikTok users have migrated to other Chinese apps, such as Rednote and Lemon8 (2m8s).
• The hosts find it ironic that users are moving to other Chinese apps, despite the potential ban on TikTok being due to concerns over its Chinese ownership (2m33s).
• The Mandarin course on Duolingo has seen a spike in popularity as users claim to be learning Chinese in support of the Chinese apps they are migrating to (2m41s).
• The hosts discuss how the potential ban on TikTok seems to be ineffective, as users are easily finding alternative Chinese apps to use, and the ban may not accomplish its intended goals (3m46s).
• Conservative influencers may face challenges due to a potential ban, which could impact their ability to spread their message, especially with the 2020 decision looming (3m58s).

News Topics: Maki, Colossal Biosciences, and VC/AI Companions

• The show will discuss various news topics, including Maki, an AI agent recruiter, Colossal Biosciences, and the anti-consolidation of VC and AI companions (4m36s).

Maki and AI in Job Interviews

• Maki, a startup, raised $28.6 million in a series A and developed a conversational skills assessment based AI agent for job interviews and candidate filtering (4m59s).
• The AI agent can conduct interviews with prospective employees and uses a provided avatar, which raises concerns about the dehumanizing aspect of the job search process (5m1s).
• The use of AI in the job search process can be demoralizing, as it may lead to applicants feeling that their efforts are not being recognized by human evaluators (5m52s).
• The automation of the job search process can be dispiriting, as applicants may feel that their cover letters and resumes are not being read by humans, but rather by AI tools searching for specific keywords (6m13s).
• Startups are developing AI agents to aid in the job search process, while others are creating tools to help prospective employees optimize their resumes and applications, potentially leading to AI tools interacting with each other (6m57s).
• The use of AI in the job search process may make it more frictionless, but it also raises concerns about the human aspect of the process and the potential for applicants to feel undervalued (7m33s).
• The idea of AI applications meeting AI interviewers is unlikely to leave anyone happy, as it lacks the emotional matchmaking process that a human recruiter like Peterson Conway provides, which results in happy people and successful job placements (7m55s).

Synthesia and AI in Job Interviews

• Companies like Maki and Synthesia are raising large amounts of money, with Synthesia raising $180 million at a $2.1 billion valuation for their B2B AI video platform, but it's unclear if this is the peak for AI agent job candidate job tools (8m45s).
• Synthesia initially focused on AI avatars for company training videos, but is now moving into AI interviewers, which may or may not be their product market fit (9m37s).

Colossal Biosciences and the Woolly Mammoth

• Colossal Biosciences, a company trying to bring back the woolly mammoth through gene editing, has raised $200 million at a $10.2 billion valuation, with investors including billionaire Thomas Tull, who made his money as a Hollywood producer, and TikTokers like Josh Richards (10m37s).
• Colossal Biosciences' eclectic group of investors and ambitious goal of bringing back the woolly mammoth make it a fascinating company to watch (10m43s).
• Colossal, a startup founded by billionaire George Church, a world-renowned geneticist, aims to bring back the woolly mammoth through de-extinction, with the ultimate goal of using artificial wombs (11m29s).
• The startup's origin story began when CEO Ben Lamb had a conversation with George Church, who mentioned his idea of bringing back the woolly mammoth, sparking excitement and leading to the creation of Colossal (12m0s).
• The goal of de-extinction is not to create a theme park, but rather for biodiversity purposes, although there are risks involved due to the differences between the current ecosystem and that of the woolly mammoth's time (12m23s).
• Colossal plans to generate revenue through biodiversity credits, similar to carbon credits, and government contracts, although the business plan is not fully understood (12m53s).
• The possibility of using artificial wombs raises concerns that it could lead to the creation of an amusement park with the animals (13m3s).
• A conspiracy theory suggests that the woolly mammoths could be located in Greenland, which is currently a topic of debate over ownership (13m27s).
• If Colossal is successful in bringing back the woolly mammoths, it is unclear where they will be located, with possibilities including a Greenland-type atmosphere (14m20s).
• Colossal has already spun out other startups from the main company, which could potentially generate revenue and fund research (14m37s).
• The idea of investing $200 million in bringing back woolly mammoths is considered a great use of venture capital money, even if it doesn't end up making a profit, as it can lead to interesting products and scientific breakthroughs (14m58s).
• The company behind the woolly mammoth project is already valued at $10 billion, despite not having an actual product yet (15m47s).
• There's a mix of legitimate excitement and concern about the company's valuation, with some people investing in the science and others just drawn to the idea of bringing back the woolly mammoth (16m2s).

Power Set and Decentralized Venture Capital

• A program called Power Set gives 5-10 founders a year $1 million to invest in whatever they want, with no timeline, and the founders have final say over their investments (17m16s).
• Power Set is considered a decentralized venture fund, giving talented founders the freedom to invest in whatever they want, and is seen as a way to support emerging managers and return to venture capital's core of bespoke mentorship (17m43s).
• In 2024, 44% of VC fundraising went to General Catalyst and a16z, highlighting the need for programs like Power Set to support emerging managers (17m58s).
• The Power Set model is considered interesting and has the potential to bring a new approach to venture capital (18m26s).
• There are questions about whether a particular individual is starting a new trend or is an outlier in the venture capital industry, given his experience at AngelList and his passion for alternative ways to deploy venture capital (18m34s).
• The current venture capital landscape is dominated by mega funds, such as Andreessen Horowitz and General Catalyst, which are pushing large seed deals and imposing limitations on smaller firms (19m5s).
• A firm with a similar decentralized VC model is expected to be written about soon, which may indicate the start of a trend, although it is unclear if two firms are enough to make a trend (19m24s).
• The pendulum may be swinging in reaction to the dominance of mega funds, with a decentralized approach gaining traction (19m45s).
• Midsize firms are expressing concerns about the impact of mega funds on their business model, feeling that they operate in a different world and cannot compete with the large sums of money invested by mega funds (20m2s).
• The question remains whether the world is big enough for both the mega fund model and the decentralized approach, with some seeing room for both in the market (20m26s).
• The future of venture capital may involve a mix of mega funds, decentralized firms, and smaller traditional firms, although the latter may struggle to compete (21m9s).
• The rise of decentralized VC firms may pose a challenge to traditional smaller firms, which may not have the same expertise or network (21m22s).
• The landscape of venture capital has changed over the past two years, with investments from mega funds like Andreessen Horowitz and General Catalyst now being seen as a significant factor in a company's prospects (21m40s).
• The perception of startups backed by large firms has shifted, as these firms invest in many companies, making it less of an indicator of a startup's potential success (21m48s).
• The SoftBank Vision Fund's massive investments in various companies led to a closer examination of their portfolio, rather than an automatic assumption of success (22m12s).
• The decision-making process for allocating funds to founders is not strictly governed by rules or parameters, with the primary requirement being that the founders have customers and are immersed in the tech community (22m54s).
• Founders must have reached a certain scale within the tech community to be considered for investment, but there are no specific timelines or guardrails for the investment process (23m23s).

AI Companions and Loneliness

• A recent AI-related contest involved training an AI bot to fall in love, with the winner receiving a $20,000 prize, and someone successfully convinced the AI bot that they were in love (24m25s).
• A New York Times story reported on a woman who developed a relationship with ChatGPT, starting with casual conversations and eventually forming a connection (25m5s).
• A person has developed feelings for Chat PT, an AI companion, which raises concerns about the potential influence of AI on humans, especially vulnerable individuals such as the young and lonely (25m14s).
• While acknowledging the potential benefits of AI, there are concerns about the responsibility of companies like Open AI to ensure that their tools are not used in ways that could lead to harmful outcomes (25m43s).
• The Character AI lawsuit, in which a young person developed a parasocial relationship with an AI bot and eventually took their own life, highlights the potential risks of AI companions (27m5s).
• The issue of AI companions is part of a broader societal problem of loneliness, particularly in the United States, and tech solutions like Chat GPT are not a substitute for addressing the underlying causes of loneliness (27m52s).
• Companies are developing wearables that allow users to interact with their AI friends in new ways, such as a $99 necklace that allows users to share their AI friend with others (28m23s).
• The development of AI companions raises questions about the potential for harm, the responsibility of companies, and the need for guardrails to minimize the risk of negative outcomes (26m55s).
• The use of AI companions is a complex issue that will likely be the subject of investigation, litigation, and debate in the coming years (27m44s).
• The use of AI to combat loneliness was a notable trend at CES, with various devices and companions being showcased, including an AI spice dispenser, which highlights the potential implications of AI on society as people interact with these companions in their daily lives (28m34s).
• The increasing presence of AI companions raises questions about their potential impact on human interaction and the possibility of people preferring to interact with their AI friends rather than others in public (28m58s).
• The use of headphones to interact with AI companions in public may become more common, but this could also lead to concerns about people being disconnected from the world around them (29m13s).
• The growing trend of AI companions may lead to a litigious year, with potential lawsuits and scrutiny over their impact on society, particularly among teenagers (29m31s).
• Instagram's recent launch of teen accounts and the scrutiny they have faced over the years may be a precursor to the challenges that AI companions will face in terms of regulation and public pressure (29m41s).
• The Trump Administration's allies have expressed concerns that guardrails around AI are a form of censorship, which may lead to a partisan debate over AI regulation (30m14s).
• The prediction is that AI companions will be a major topic of discussion in the coming year, with potential implications for society and regulation (30m28s).