The Startup Ideas Podcast
Humanoid Military Robots and other crazy billion dollar ideas
Mon, 11 Nov 2024
Join us for an engaging conversation with John Coogan, Entrepreneur in Residence at Founders Fund, as we explore a wide range of moonshot ideas from Cybersecurity to moon Colonization to humanoid military robotsEpisode Timestamps: 00:00 Intro01:57 Startup Idea 1: Cybersecurity for AI companies11:37 Startup Idea 2: Moon-focused space startup21:33 Startup Idea 3: Kid-friendly smartphone alternative 36:02 Startup Idea 4: Humanoid military robots 1) Cybersecurity for AI companies • AI models = new high-value digital assets• Estimated $500M to train GPT-4• Potential for theft/espionage• Opportunity: Build Fort Knox-level security for AI weights• Think Chainalysis, but for AI2) Moon-focused space startup • SpaceX focused on Mars, opportunity on the Moon• Easier access, always visible from Earth• Ideas: Moon tourism, mining, asset placement• Leverage SpaceX's falling launch costs• Be the "Varda" or "Planet Labs" of the Moon3) Kid-friendly smartphone alternative • Parents want device control, kids need connectivity• Opportunity: Build ruggedized, fun, limited-feature phone• No addictive apps, basic communication + learning tools• Counter-position against Apple's sleek designs• Target millennial parents via Instagram ads\4) Humanoid military robots • Combine trends: AI, robotics, defense tech• Controversial but attention-grabbing• Potential uses: Tele-operated missions, security• Ethical concerns, but tech seems inevitable• Opportunity to lead in emerging fieldWant more free ideas? I collect the best ideas from the pod and give them to you for free in a database. Most of them cost $0 to start (my fav)Get access: https://www.gregisenberg.com/30startupideasWork with me and my team: LCA — world’s best product design firm to build apps, websites and brands people love. https://latecheckout.agency/BoringAds — ads agency that will build you profitable ad campaigns http://boringads.com/BoringMarketing — SEO agency and tools to get your organic customers http://boringmarketing.com/Startup Empire - a membership for builders who want to build cash-flowing businesses https://www.startupempire.co/Stop Building Websites That Look Good But Don’t Sell: https://www.designscientist.com/design-store?b=https://www.designscientist.com/FIND ME ON SOCIALX/Twitter: https://twitter.com/gregisenbergInstagram: https://instagram.com/gregisenberg/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gisenberg/FIND JOHN ON SOCIALJohn’s Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/2L6WMqY3GUPCGBD0dX6p00?si=7TdH3TuJQWmsTt53e9s7Rg&nd=1&dlsi=ab2bcd252c4847ccX/Twitter: https://x.com/johncooganLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jacoogan/
Full Episode
this episode was crazy it was with john coogan and he had some of the biggest ideas i've heard all year these moonshot companies like it's either going to be like a billion dollar business or you're going to have literally lit a billion dollars of other people with money on fire it just seems like the bar to colonizing the moon is like orders of magnitude lower than than Mars.
And so the question is like, who's going to build this? Like, I think that there will be a startup that will take one of these humanoid robots, give it an AR-15, like a machine gun or a rifle. And I said, oh, and then they're going to raise like a $500 million seed round
This isn't your normal Startup Ideas podcast episode. This isn't going to be about how you can create a startup that makes a million dollars next year. It's all about big ideas. I think it's going to expand your mind. I think you're going to enjoy it. You will enjoy it. Enjoy the episode. John Coogan on the pod. Mr. Big Ideas, that's what I'm going to call you.
Not that big of ideas, but there's a fine line between big idea and just hot take shit post. And I think today we're going to hit some of them that are complete meme companies. Some of them that maybe could be good. It's going to be on the listener and the viewer to decide which of these ideas are actually good and which are purely viral fodder for the media.
All right. So where do we start?
Let's start with cybersecurity for artificial intelligence companies. So if you have been following AI, there's been this interesting development. Obviously, a lot of people right now are thinking about how can I use AI to build a new app or a new company. And the obvious thing would be putting AI in your cybersecurity layer. So there's an incident report that goes out.
Hey, we got this user alert that someone is trying to log in like 10,000 times with different passwords. We should probably block them. Now, obviously, you could have an AI intermediate that interaction such that that's handled automatically instead of pinging your poor software developer at 2 a.m. He has to get up, check his pager, and say, oh, yeah, we should block that person.
We're getting DDoSed by Russia. Let's turn them off. Let's block that IP address. Obviously, a lot of people have thought about implementing artificial intelligence in part of the cybersecurity stack in order to beef up the existing cybersecurity solutions for all sorts of companies. Everything from Bank of America to Boeing to United Airlines, they all need cybersecurity.
every cyber security company knows ai can make their job easier so they're implementing this what i'm talking about is doing the flip side building a cyber security firm that's specifically designed to secure the now highest value digital assets in the world maybe next to crypto and bitcoin like if there's a whole bunch of bitcoin that's really valuable but other than that the next most valuable digital asset has to be the weights to these large language models and so
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