This episode of Equity had so many themes: VC karaoke, the SpaceX economy, no moats for AI, OpenAI versus open source. You know it’s going to be good when the conversation between host Kirsten Korosec and fellow TCers Devin Coldewey and Margaux MacColl starts with the evergreen question: Is it ever OK to use a shirtless photo of yourself for your workplace Slack profile? Answer: yeah, nope.
AI was a topic yet again at Equity. But it wasn’t just the same ol’ same ol’. Sure, there was a bit of riffing on the absolutely nutty valuations coming out of the AI sector. But we also weighed in on YC Demo Day — including mentions of a few non-AI and AI startups that got our attention.
We made some space for space (see what I did there) on Equity as well, specifically to talk about a curious startup called Reflect Orbital, which is developing satellites to deploy large mirrors to precisely reflect sunlight onto specific points on the ground. The startup envisions a future where the sun can be turned on and off like a flashlight. Devin was skeptical and much our of conversation centered on one Shaun Maguire, a well-known VC who backed Reflect and who led Sequoia’s 2019 investment in SpaceX.
Speaking of VCs and trends in Silicon Valley, Margaux weighed in on two hot topics: defense tech and the continued popularity of dual-use startups and the ongoing interest (obsession?) in longevity tech among some investors. On the longevity front, the gang chatted about Synex, a startup building a portable MRI capable of testing glucose and other important molecules without the need to extract blood.
Meanwhile, over in the defense tech sector, we talked about how startups like Pyka have gained backers and potential government customers by expanding how their tech is applied. Pyka is an electric aviation startup that started with a focus on crop-dusting and cargo plane lines, but has found interest from the defense sector.
Equity is TechCrunch’s flagship podcast, produced by Theresa Loconsolo, and posts every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.
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