Greymatter

By Greylock PartnersBusiness Entrepreneurship Technology

Greymatter episodes

March 30, 2023 Reid Hoffman & Saam Motamedi | AI's Transformative Power
Greylock general partners Saam Motamedi and Reid Hoffman talk with Umi Mehta, who is the Global Head of tech Private Equity and Venture Capital Investing at Morgan Stanley. In this conversation, they discuss the current investing environment in the context of artificial intelligence technology – specifically, its impact on pretty much every industry across enterprise and consumer sectors. AI has evolved rapidly in recent years, and that pace of advancement is only getting faster. Saam and Reid explain how AI is becoming an enabling platform technology, much the same as previous waves of tech transitions like mobile and cloud did in earlier eras. This conversation was recorded at Morgan Stanley’s annual TMT Conference, which draws an audience of more than 3,000 investors and members of tech companies. On that note, the audio quality isn’t the highest, but each speaker is clear. And if you have any difficulty hearing some of the parts, rest assured that you can find all of the conversation in the transcript here: https://greylock.com/greymatter/ais-transformative-power/

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50 min
March 27, 2023 Greylock Welcomes Jacob Andreou
Greylock welcomes Jacob Andreou as the firm's newest investor. Andreou joins Greylock following 8 years at Snap, where he most recently served as SVP of Growth. There, he ran teams across growth, data science, analytics, and user research, and helped scale the company to more than 360 million daily active users and $4.5 billion in revenue. At Greylock. Andreou is eager to partner with founders building the next generation of consumer products.
You can read Greylock's blog post and a transcript of this interview here: https://greylock.com/firm-news/welcome-jacob-andreou/

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39 min
March 21, 2023 Rubrik CEO Bipul Sinha | Scaling with Intuition
Greylock general partner Asheem Chandna talks with Rubrik CEO and co-founder Bipul Sinha about a core leadership lesson he's learned: not losing sight of one's own intuition, especially during times of high growth. Today, the data security company works with more than 5,000 customers around the world and across nearly every industry. When Rubrik launched in 2014, its mission to secure the world's data resonated immediately with clients, and the company grew rapidly in the first few years. Then came a rough patch, as the company's relentless push for expansion – and the many more people involved in every decision, from hiring to product pipeline – impacted Sinha's ability to listen first to his own assessment and judgment. Recognizing this, Sinha recalibrated his approach, and Rubrik got back on track. In this discussion, he shares his strategy for collaborative decision-making without losing sight of one's own ideas.

You can read a transcript of this interview here: https://greylock.com/greymatter/rubrik-scaling-with-intuition/
You can watch the video of this interview here: https://youtu.be/wIjkX2gfzmE

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21 min
March 16, 2023 Impromptu: Amplifying Our Humanity Through AI
Audio version of the introduction to Greylock general partner Reid Hoffman’s latest book, entitled “Impromptu: Amplifying Humanity Through AI."
Impromptu was co-written by Hoffman and ChatGPT-4, OpenAI’s latest and most powerful large language model. The book aims to serve as a sort of “travelog” of Hoffman’s experience with GPT-4, as he explores the tool’s strengths and limitations. Through hundreds of prompts, Hoffman and GPT-4 discuss the potential advantages and drawbacks of AI, argue about human nature, conceive original sci fi plots, and even try to make a few jokes. As AI is quickly advancing, Hoffman hopes his book can serve as a guide to encourage people to learn more about the technology, consider how we might use it, and ponder the complex questions about how our choices might play out in the future. You can read the text of this chapter here: https://greylock.com/greymatter/amplifying-humanity-through-ai/ ‎
Impromptu is now available:
As a free PDF:
https://lnkd.in/eZSsGYgB
On Kindle:
https://lnkd.in/eUE2ukM3

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42 min
March 15, 2023 Introducing Possible: A New Podcast hosted by Reid Hoffman and Aria Finger
A special guest episode of Possible, the new podcast hosted by Greylock general partner Reid Hoffman and Aria Finger. Possible looks at the future through a decidedly optimistic lens - and what it will take to get there. Each episode features a visionary from a different field, such as media, climate science, criminal justice, and more. Also joining for each episode is ChatGPT-4, OpenAI’s latest language model. GPT4 will provide a companion story to serve as a jumping off point for each discussion, which will explore what could possibly go right if we as a society work together to leverage technology effectively.
Comedian, writer, and former Daily Show host Trevor Noah joined Reid and Aria for the inaugural episode of Possible. They discuss what a world would look like if every TV show could be perfectly tailored to each viewer’s interest, knowledge level and needs. Trevor responds to a speculative story, generated by GPT-4, that paints a picture of a futuristic “AI-ly Show.” Plus, he reviews some unexpected AI-generated light bulb jokes. Is GPT-4 actually funny?

Follow the Possible podcast wherever you listen here.
Read the AI-generated story for this episode here.
Read the transcript of this episode here.
Read Reid Hoffman’s essay “A Co-Pilot for Every Profession” here.

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1 hr 5 min
March 14, 2023 Adept CEO David Luan and Stanford's Percy Liang | Words into Action
A re-broadcast of Greylock general partner Saam Motamedi's interview with Adept CEO and co-founder David Luan and Stanford computer science and statistics professor Percy Liang. In this conversation (recorded in mid-2022), David and Percy discuss how large language models are paving the way for the next wave of AI. Adept is developing an AI "teammate" tool that is trained to use every software tool and API for knowledge workers. The company just raised $350 million in Series B funding to further its mission. Greylock has been partnered with Adept since co-leading the Series A in 2022.
You can watch the video from this interview on our YouTube channel here:
https://youtu.be/_ydBm3tADvA
You can read a transcript of the conversation on our website here: https://greylock.com/greymatter/ai-language-words-into-action/ ‎

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32 min
March 07, 2023 Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi on Decision-Making
Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi talks with Greylock general partner Reid Hoffman about his strategy for decision-making. Like most companies, Uber has experienced many ups and downs. Getting through each phase (good or bad), depends on how the leadership team responds, says Khosrowshahi. In difficult moments, which he refers to as "war time," it's critical to prioritize speed and quick decision-making. Conversely, during "peace time", he is more team-oriented and focused on incorporating as many viewpoints as possible.
You can watch the video of this interview on our YouTube channel here: https://youtu.be/Dn46NeZrRt0
You can read a transcript of this interview here: https://greylock.com/greymatter/uber-dara-khosrowshahi-navigation-systems/

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33 min
February 28, 2023 Instacart's Fidji Simo | Building A Tech-Enabled Food System
Instacart CEO Fidji Simo shares the company's vision for building a tech-enabled food system for all. Simo, who previously spent 10 years at Meta, is accustomed to taking bold bets on transformative tech. She spoke with Greylock general partner David Thacker about joining Instacart in 2021 following a period of significant growth; how she identifies moments in time where new technology can find traction; what she learned from leaders and mentors throughout her career; her approach to leadership; and how she separates major disruptive events from secular trends in order to chart a sustainable business course forward.
You can watch the video of the interview on our YouTube channel here: https://youtu.be/agAJbOhuNaQ
You can read an essay with the highlights of the conversation here: https://greylock.com/greymatter/whats-in-store/

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29 min
February 21, 2023 OpenAI's Sam Altman | AI for the Next Era
A re-broadcast of Greylock general partner Reid Hoffman's interview with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, recorded during Greylock's Intelligent Future summit in August 2022. Founded in 2015, OpenAI has recently released several high-profile products in quick succession: succession: its generative transformer model GPT-3 – which uses deep learning to produce human-like text – its image-creation platform DALL-E – and most recently, ChatGPT. Trained on massive large language models, the highly sophisticated chatbot can mimic human conversation and speak on a wide range of topics.
You can watch a video of the interview here: https://youtu.be/WHoWGNQRXb0
You can read a transcript of this interview here: https://greylock.com/greymatter/sam-altman-ai-for-the-next-era/

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39 min
February 14, 2023 Stripe's Patrick Collison | Micro Pessimism, Macro Optimism
Navigating uncertain economic conditions is part and parcel of running a business. Yet, throughout challenging times, it’s critical that startups stay committed to continually pushing the possibilities of what technology can deliver, says Stripe CEO Patrick Collison. That means leading with the guiding principle “micro pessimism and macro optimism.” Often, Collison says, this means having a relentless ability to be critical about the state of technology (including one’s own products) while still believing in its possibilities.That viewpoint acknowledges the structural tension companies face when trying to innovate in the context of economic reality, and can be the difference between persisting through challenging times or becoming a casualty of yet another tech boom and bust cycle. Collison joined Greylock general partner Reid Hoffman on our Iconversations speaker series to discuss Stripe’s early days and its evolution into the payment and financial services platform giant it is today, and his advice to startups for navigating the predictable unpredictability of business.
You can watch the video of the interview here: https://youtu.be/rzic-FivMfc
You can read the transcript here: https://greylock.com/greymatter/micro-pessimism-macro-optimism/

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29 min

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How do tech startups go from idea…to iconic? Greymatter’s weekly podcast features interviews with VCs, founders, and tech visionaries on everything from AI, marketplaces, and cybersecurity as well as…