Anish Acharya

speaker

8,262 appearances 20 recordings 3 series first heard Mar 2025 last heard 12 Sep

Anish Acharya’s voice in public audio — every appearance, attributed to the second.

Trend

recordings per month · last 12 months

Recordings per month over the last 12 months — 15 in all, peaking in Jun 2026 with 4.

Appearances

newest first · ▶ plays the moment

The a16z Show · Why Companies Are Becoming a Series of Loops | Anish Acharya on Lenny’s Podcast · 12 Sep 2026 podcast

We built this like technology that extends our intellect, but nothing to extend our soul.

And I think that we have a little bit of a spiritual hunger, especially as a lot of these cultural institutions have gone away that fulfilled that, especially in the rest of America, you know, where you don't have as many hot yoga classes and Pilates and fasting and Friendsgiving.

So I think that the opportunity for this technology is like, hey, the basics of consumer need.

How do we feel more connected, more loved?

How do we make progress?

How do we have fun?

Like the things that we all aspire to, the basics, how do we apply the technology to those areas?

That's what I want to see more of.

And again, I don't think it's a model or a capability challenge.

It's just a product design challenge.

Yeah.

And also, you know, look, there's a, we have to dial this in, but I think there's a way that AI can sort of challenge you, can push you, can be disagreeable.

This is also why I think startups are advantaged over incumbents.

You know, the idea, there's a thousand Google committees who would roll in their graves at the idea that they're going to release a model that's disagreeable or God forbid, it should be like sexually suggestive or, but guess what?

Those are all parts of human existence.

So I think exploring the kind of uncomfortable parts of our social existence are things that startups are uniquely set up to do.

I think that's right.

And, you know, I think the thing that's held back consumers so far a little bit and it may be held back is just strong because if you if we kind of put this into iPhone terms, we're in iPhone 2010, right?

What is iPhone 2010?

I think it's pre-Airbnb, pre-WhatsApp, pre-Uber, pre-all the important kind of consumer companies.

Showing 321–340 of 8,262 · page 17 of 414