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Jason Lemkin

๐Ÿ‘ค Speaker
3062 total appearances

Appearances Over Time

Podcast Appearances

The Twenty Minute VC (20VC): Venture Capital | Startup Funding | The Pitch
20VC: Sam Altman vs Elon Musk: The $100BN Battle | The Implosion of Thinking Machines | Can VC Survive Public Market Pricing Today? | ClickHouse and Replit's New Rounds: Analysed

No good deed goes unpunished.

The Twenty Minute VC (20VC): Venture Capital | Startup Funding | The Pitch
20VC: Sam Altman vs Elon Musk: The $100BN Battle | The Implosion of Thinking Machines | Can VC Survive Public Market Pricing Today? | ClickHouse and Replit's New Rounds: Analysed

So the whole thing is now a mess.

The Twenty Minute VC (20VC): Venture Capital | Startup Funding | The Pitch
20VC: Sam Altman vs Elon Musk: The $100BN Battle | The Implosion of Thinking Machines | Can VC Survive Public Market Pricing Today? | ClickHouse and Replit's New Rounds: Analysed

Because just to give the zoom-out comments here, it was a not-for-profit.

The Twenty Minute VC (20VC): Venture Capital | Startup Funding | The Pitch
20VC: Sam Altman vs Elon Musk: The $100BN Battle | The Implosion of Thinking Machines | Can VC Survive Public Market Pricing Today? | ClickHouse and Replit's New Rounds: Analysed

At some point, it became obvious to the management team around 2017 that the costs to build what OpenAI was to become was such that you couldn't keep going as a nonprofit.

The Twenty Minute VC (20VC): Venture Capital | Startup Funding | The Pitch
20VC: Sam Altman vs Elon Musk: The $100BN Battle | The Implosion of Thinking Machines | Can VC Survive Public Market Pricing Today? | ClickHouse and Replit's New Rounds: Analysed

You have to become a for-profit entity.

The Twenty Minute VC (20VC): Venture Capital | Startup Funding | The Pitch
20VC: Sam Altman vs Elon Musk: The $100BN Battle | The Implosion of Thinking Machines | Can VC Survive Public Market Pricing Today? | ClickHouse and Replit's New Rounds: Analysed

During the period when that started to happen, Elon had his demands on how he wanted that to happen.

The Twenty Minute VC (20VC): Venture Capital | Startup Funding | The Pitch
20VC: Sam Altman vs Elon Musk: The $100BN Battle | The Implosion of Thinking Machines | Can VC Survive Public Market Pricing Today? | ClickHouse and Replit's New Rounds: Analysed

Sam and Greg Brockman had their perspective on how they wanted it to happen.

The Twenty Minute VC (20VC): Venture Capital | Startup Funding | The Pitch
20VC: Sam Altman vs Elon Musk: The $100BN Battle | The Implosion of Thinking Machines | Can VC Survive Public Market Pricing Today? | ClickHouse and Replit's New Rounds: Analysed

They ended up, as it were, breaking up.

The Twenty Minute VC (20VC): Venture Capital | Startup Funding | The Pitch
20VC: Sam Altman vs Elon Musk: The $100BN Battle | The Implosion of Thinking Machines | Can VC Survive Public Market Pricing Today? | ClickHouse and Replit's New Rounds: Analysed

Elon resigned from the organization.

The Twenty Minute VC (20VC): Venture Capital | Startup Funding | The Pitch
20VC: Sam Altman vs Elon Musk: The $100BN Battle | The Implosion of Thinking Machines | Can VC Survive Public Market Pricing Today? | ClickHouse and Replit's New Rounds: Analysed

Fast forward past the drama of 22.

The Twenty Minute VC (20VC): Venture Capital | Startup Funding | The Pitch
20VC: Sam Altman vs Elon Musk: The $100BN Battle | The Implosion of Thinking Machines | Can VC Survive Public Market Pricing Today? | ClickHouse and Replit's New Rounds: Analysed

In late 25, the conversion to a for-profit took place finally, and it was approved by California and Delaware.

The Twenty Minute VC (20VC): Venture Capital | Startup Funding | The Pitch
20VC: Sam Altman vs Elon Musk: The $100BN Battle | The Implosion of Thinking Machines | Can VC Survive Public Market Pricing Today? | ClickHouse and Replit's New Rounds: Analysed

And now, OpenAI is a for-profit corporation with a largest individual shareholder is the foundation.

The Twenty Minute VC (20VC): Venture Capital | Startup Funding | The Pitch
20VC: Sam Altman vs Elon Musk: The $100BN Battle | The Implosion of Thinking Machines | Can VC Survive Public Market Pricing Today? | ClickHouse and Replit's New Rounds: Analysed

And the argument Sam and Greg would make is, hey, you invested money in a charity, and that charity now owns 30% plus of one of the largest companies on the planet.

The Twenty Minute VC (20VC): Venture Capital | Startup Funding | The Pitch
20VC: Sam Altman vs Elon Musk: The $100BN Battle | The Implosion of Thinking Machines | Can VC Survive Public Market Pricing Today? | ClickHouse and Replit's New Rounds: Analysed

So you kind of got what you paid for.

The Twenty Minute VC (20VC): Venture Capital | Startup Funding | The Pitch
20VC: Sam Altman vs Elon Musk: The $100BN Battle | The Implosion of Thinking Machines | Can VC Survive Public Market Pricing Today? | ClickHouse and Replit's New Rounds: Analysed

That's the argument they're making.

The Twenty Minute VC (20VC): Venture Capital | Startup Funding | The Pitch
20VC: Sam Altman vs Elon Musk: The $100BN Battle | The Implosion of Thinking Machines | Can VC Survive Public Market Pricing Today? | ClickHouse and Replit's New Rounds: Analysed

And therefore, you're entitled to nothing.

The Twenty Minute VC (20VC): Venture Capital | Startup Funding | The Pitch
20VC: Sam Altman vs Elon Musk: The $100BN Battle | The Implosion of Thinking Machines | Can VC Survive Public Market Pricing Today? | ClickHouse and Replit's New Rounds: Analysed

You made a $30 million donation.

The Twenty Minute VC (20VC): Venture Capital | Startup Funding | The Pitch
20VC: Sam Altman vs Elon Musk: The $100BN Battle | The Implosion of Thinking Machines | Can VC Survive Public Market Pricing Today? | ClickHouse and Replit's New Rounds: Analysed

You created a 300, well, probably 150 billion foundation.

The Twenty Minute VC (20VC): Venture Capital | Startup Funding | The Pitch
20VC: Sam Altman vs Elon Musk: The $100BN Battle | The Implosion of Thinking Machines | Can VC Survive Public Market Pricing Today? | ClickHouse and Replit's New Rounds: Analysed

Congratulations.

The Twenty Minute VC (20VC): Venture Capital | Startup Funding | The Pitch
20VC: Sam Altman vs Elon Musk: The $100BN Battle | The Implosion of Thinking Machines | Can VC Survive Public Market Pricing Today? | ClickHouse and Replit's New Rounds: Analysed

You've helped humanity.