In this episode, we sat down with Tomasz Tunguz (https://twitter.com/ttunguz), the founder of Theory Ventures and a leading voice in the tech investment space.

We discussed the transformative potential of Ethereum as a database company, the importance of data security in a decentralized world, and the evolving landscape of AI technologies from foundational models to AI-native applications.

📰 Article "What If LLMs Change the Business Model of the Internet?": https://tomtunguz.com/what-if-llms-change-the-business-model-of-the-internet/

✍️ Tomasz' blog: https://tomtunguz.com

Theory Ventures

Website - https://theory.ventures/

Twitter - https://twitter.com/Theoryvc

Tomasz Tunguz

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/tomasztunguz

Twitter - https://twitter.com/ttunguz

Blog - https://tomtunguz.com/

FIRSTMARK

Website - https://firstmark.com

Twitter - https://twitter.com/FirstMarkCap

Matt Turck (Managing Director)

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/turck/

Twitter - https://twitter.com/mattturck

LISTEN ON:

YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@DataDrivenNYC/videos

Apple - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-mad-podcast-with-matt-turck/id1686238724

(00:00 ) Intro
(02:46 ) Tomasz has continued to invest in blockchain through the crypto winter. Why?
(06:59 ) Security and privacy as the main blockchain's use case.
(09:18 ) Blockchain and AI: how do they work together?
(11:02 ) Why does Theory Ventures not invest in AI hardware?
(12:28 ) Why do big companies invest in cloud infrastructure?
(15:35 ) An investor view on the foundation models.
(18:36 ) Is Gen AI going to replace traditional AI?
(20:57 ) Does the Theory Ventures invest in AI tooling companies?
(22:53 ) Is investing in Cloud companies better than investing in AI-powered applications?
(26:40 ) Copilot AI vs full-execution AI.
(28:38 ) A case for specialized LLMs.
(29:54 ) Gross margins in Gen AI: is it profitable?
(32:34 ) Modern Data Stack: is it still a thing to invest in?
(37:02 ) Microsoft Fabric and its impact on the market.
(38:50 ) Tomasz's thought on Motherduck and DuckDB.
(40:37 ) Where do BI tools fit in the Modern Data Stack?
(44:32 ) Why has the democratization of BI never happened?
(45:52 ) How do acquisitions happen? Can you engineer them?
(49:02 ) Key ingredients to build data infrastructure business.
(50:40 ) Tomasz is a founder now! How does it feel?
(53:15 ) Talking numbers: Theory Ventures' financial model.