Economics
Who Pays for the Chips? 20VC on Why AI's Build-Out Is Moving From Debt to Shareholders and Staff
Jason Lemkin and Rory O'Driscoll argue AI spending has outgrown cash flow and debt, so big tech is selling stock and cutting staff. We check Anthropic's S-1, Meta's $95B raise and Microsoft's buyouts.
Production Is Deterrence: Why a16z Says America's Real Bottleneck Is Factories, Mines and Power, Not Weapons
a16z's 2026 American Dynamism 50 says deterrence now depends on what America can build. Why founders are betting on factories, mines and power, and why defense makes a useful first customer.
The Sea Beats the Land: Historian Sarah Paine on Why Conquest Burns Wealth, and What Russia's War Reveals
Naval War College historian Sarah Paine says conquest burns wealth while the rules-based maritime order compounds it. Her toolkit explains Russia's war, sanctions as chemotherapy, and her warning to America.
Patient on the Goal, Impatient on the Day: An Ex-Amazon VP on How Jeff Bezos Really Ran Amazon
Ex-Amazon VP Ethan Evans on Jeff Bezos: decades-long patience, daily urgency, the one-character "?" email, why a B is sometimes enough, and how being right so often led to the Fire Phone.
Trust Is the Product: Mark Cuban on Why Healthcare Costs Hide in the Contracts, and How to Drag Them Out
Mark Cuban says trust is the real product at Cost Plus Drugs, and US healthcare stays expensive because prices and contracts are hidden. His fixes: published markups, direct contracts and AI before you sign.
Own the Test, Rent the Model: Satya Nadella on Why Your Company's Real AI Asset Isn't the AI
Satya Nadella says treat every AI model as an insider risk, rent cheaper models where they're good enough, and keep your real asset at home: a private test of what good work looks like. We check his claims.
The Gambler Who Beat the Horses Explains Why Almost Everyone Else Loses
Bill Benter built one of the most successful betting operations in history on Hong Kong horse racing. In a 2004 lecture he explains the math behind it: expected value, the law of large numbers, Kelly sizing and a model of every horse. Plus the real money figures.
AI Isn't the Bubble. The Debt Behind It Might Be.
A company drowning in orders just saw its debt priced like it was in distress. French economics channel Grand Angle says the AI boom is three bubbles stacked up, and the one to watch isn't the tech. It's the money borrowed to build it.