Tom Chi — founding member of Google X and founder of At One Ventures — shares why 95% of ideas don't work as described, how rapid prototyping beats months of debate, and what skills will matter most in a world shaped by AI and automation: the Four C's.

About Tom Chi

Tom Chi is a founding member of Google X, where he worked on Glass, self-driving cars, Project Loon, and the glucose-sensing contact lens. A named inventor on 75 patents, he is also founder of At One Ventures, a deep tech fund investing in companies that make humanity a net positive to nature.

What We Cover

• Why Tom launched At One Ventures and what "at one with nature" means in practice
• How rapid prototyping outperforms discussion-based decision-making
• What corporates get wrong about experimentation
• The Four C's: creativity, compassion, community, and critical thinking
• Radical Harmony and the future of the industrial economy

Timestamps

00:00 – Every experiment can be small, but ambition shouldn't be
02:06 – Deep tech investing and rebooting polluting industries
05:07 – Google X: Glass, self-driving cars, Project Loon
08:39 – Prototype thinking: design science in practice
12:56 – Why corporates resist experimentation
26:37 – The Future Skills Toolbox and the Four C's

Key Takeaways

1. 95% of ideas don't work — so stop debating and start making. Prototype thinking skips the argument phase because three hours of building reveals more than two months of discussion.
2. The Four C's are the future of human work. Creativity, compassion, community, and critical thinking are the skills robots won't master soon — they're the foundation of most future jobs.
3. Culture is observable behavior, not a slogan. To change culture, identify specific behaviors you want more or less of, then run experiments to shift them.

Resources & Links Mentioned

• At One Ventures: atoneventures.com
• Tom Chi's website: tomchi.com

Where to Find Tom Chi

Website: tomchi.com
At One Ventures: atoneventures.com

Where to Find Yaniv Corem

Link in bio: sleek.bio/yanivcorem
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/yanivcorem

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