Companies rushed to adopt AI, but now many are rolling those decisions back. Why? Customers are loudly opposed to using AI and the tools aren't turning profits. How long will it take for artificial intelligence to find its footing? Let's discuss.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent says that AI is about to take off and the Fed should be paying more attention to it (and should lower rates accordingly). And earlier in the week a top Trump advisor says that the U.S. government plans on taking more stakes in companies.

Featured Guests: Matt Watson, founder and CEO, Origin | Ben Narasin, founder and general partner, Tenacity VC

North Korea has built a vast underground IT labor force that has secretly infiltrated U.S. and global companies through fraudulent job applications. Experts say nearly every Fortune 500 company has unknowingly hired a North Korean IT worker, despite efforts to prevent it. These operatives use stolen identities, fake documents, and accomplices in China and the U.S. to secure remote jobs, and the problem is only getting worse.

We also discuss the growing concerns around America's water crisis.

Featured Guests: Jeff Becker, general partner, Antler | Tom Ferguson, founder and managing partner, Burnt Island Ventures

Mercury just released a massive report surveying 1,500 early-stage founders on how startups are raising, spending, and hiring this year.We break down the most surprising insights:- 87% of founders say they’re more confident about the future than last year- Startups using AI are 3x more likely to be scaling their teams- Most companies are still raising under $5M — but spending is climbing fast- Contractors and freelancers are now core to startup strategy- The R&D tax change hit founders hard — but relief is finally comingWhether you’re a founder, investor, or just startup-curious, this is a snapshot of how the rules of startup economics are changing in real time.📊 Full Mercury report here: https://mercury.com/blog/startup-economics-report-2025

A tragic Reuters investigation reveals how one of Meta's AI chatbots played a huge role in the death of a vulnerable 76 year old user.

Meta’s AI “personas” were designed to feel like real companions, but they do a lot more flirting and pretending to be real humans (with real apartments/addresses) than they ever should.

Read the full Reuters investigation here: https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/meta-ai-chatbot-death/

The academic world believed his huge lie. The story of Aidan Toner-Rodgers, a first year phd student in economics at MIT.

AI startup Perplexity has made an unsolicited $34.5 billion bid to acquire Google’s Chrome browser, aiming to challenge Google’s dominance in web search. The offer comes as U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta considers whether to force Google to sell Chrome as part of an antitrust remedy, following a ruling that the company illegally monopolized the search market.

founder and general partner, Tenacity VC

Agentic shopping (where AI agents handle the entire buying process for you) is one of the most-hyped ideas in tech right now. But according to Pinterest CEO Bill Ready, it’s not arriving anytime soon. In this episode, we break down what agentic shopping is, why big tech companies are chasing it, and why the industry might be years away from making it a reality.

Featured Guest: Medha Agrawal, general partner, defy vc

OpenAI just launched GPT-5, its smartest, fastest, and most useful model yet, available immediately to all ChatGPT users.

Under pressure from Trump’s tariff threats, Apple just announced it is pouring another $100 billion into U.S. manufacturing to protect iPhones, and its bottom line. And the company announces its new “American Manufacturing Program” to reshore Apple’s supply chain and boost U.S. production of critical components.

Featured Guest: Rob Biederman, managing partner, Asymmetric Capital Partners