More or Less

#118 Elon vs Altman: The $10B Capital War Reshaping Tech

No Morins this week—just Jess and Sam, trading Gossip Girl “dear listener” asides for a tour of tech’s new power map. From Meta’s in-store glasses push to Apple’s “Find My” doubling as Gen Z’s stealth social network, the real story is how distribution and lock-in shape the future. Sam frames “mercantilism 2.0,” where global trade routes of capital now run through Silicon Valley, Tel Aviv, and Riyadh, with figures like Elon Musk and Sam Altman acting as brokers of $10B+ flows.In true Sam fashion, the conversation highlights why LLMs aren’t true moats, pointing instead to the infrastructure layer (chips, power, data centers) and the UX layer (distribution, product polish). Nvidia’s securitized GPU deals illustrate how structured finance and alliances are reshaping competition.The takeaway: early-stage VC may finally be moving past hype, becoming sober—and therefore interesting—again.Chapters:02:02 – Meta Ray-Bans: friction as onboarding strategy05:31 – Mercantilism 2.0: Tech’s new trade routes07:56 – Elon’s real genius: moving $10B+ into frontier tech09:27 – Sam Altman as mega-capital trade-route broker12:40 – Starlink V3 and the network-layer power shift16:08 – Could Elon own planetary communications?18:35 – Find My = stealth social network21:04 – Strategy assets over DCF: power, data centers, chips23:41 – LLMs aren’t the moat; moats shift lower/higher27:44 – AI’s expense revives structured finance30:56 – Nvidia as the East India Company of compute33:50 – Will a handful of players control all the assets?39:57 – Early-stage VC is sober (and exciting) again43:05 – TikTok’s heat moved to AI: the attention shiftWe’re also on ↓X: https://twitter.com/moreorlesspodInstagram: https://instagram.com/moreorlessSpotify: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/moreorlesspodConnect with us here:1) Sam Lessin: https://x.com/lessin2) Dave Morin: https://x.com/davemorin3) Jessica Lessin: https://x.com/Jessicalessin4) Brit Morin: https://x.com/brit

#117 TikTok’s New Owner and Hiring a US CEO?

The More or Less team go deep on the rumored TikTok deal: licensing the algorithm vs. owning influence, who actually controls the For You page, and why data localization misses the point. We debate A16Z’s evolving role, Sequoia’s must-have-access imperative, and what a “TikTok US CEO” would really do.Chapters:00:48 - Intro + Ty Haney’s crypto-invisible loyalty rails 02:38 - “Do the weather” for Silicon Valley05:04 - Alcatraz as brand strategy (and why)11:22 - TikTok deal setup: ownership shuffle vs. real control20:05 - What does a TikTok US CEO actually do? “Shell upon shell”22:40 - “I want a human to pick my feed” — the curation comeback24:21 - Slow’s Etiquette School: leveling the playing field37:31 - Meta’s new glasses: HUD, wristband typing, live captions44:33 - LLMs as the new youth battleground; customizing AI personalities48:45 - Mid-cap IPOs, rate cuts, and why “number didn’t go up”53:14 - The case for exclusive, hyper-local print (and price it high)We’re also on ↓X: https://twitter.com/moreorlesspodInstagram: https://instagram.com/moreorlessYouTube: https://youtu.be/P3Gzl2ZDXWwConnect with us here:1) Sam Lessin: https://x.com/lessin2) Dave Morin: https://x.com/davemorin3) Jessica Lessin: https://x.com/Jessicalessin4) Brit Morin: https://x.com/brit

#116 iPhone Air or Pro? Apple Ignores AI and Wins?

Apple ships hardware while everyone else ships AI press releases. The MOL quad debates whether Apple’s “ignore the hype” strategy wins, why YC is full of “made-to-chart” AI startups, what unique conviction really means for investors, and how meme warfare is becoming the new GTM.Chapters: 01:02 – “Ozempic iPhone” and why “thin” might be back10:06 – Market reaction: “Not enough AI,” money flows to Oracle16:49 – YC protest: is relevance measured by outrage?25:47 – Creator-led startups as an investing edge26:49 – Khosla: bargain hunting is a poor AI bet37:20 – Why money feels unlimited again (FOMO returns)40:29 – Quiet shakeout: sub-$100M seed funds at risk42:05 – Crypto policy clarity as 2025 macro driver50:11 – Meme warfare: the next GTM playbookWe’re also on ↓X: https://twitter.com/moreorlesspodInstagram: https://instagram.com/moreorlessYouTube: https://youtu.be/xzlAjHPZtW4Connect with us here:1) Sam Lessin: https://x.com/lessin2) Dave Morin: https://x.com/davemorin3) Jessica Lessin: https://x.com/Jessicalessin4) Brit Morin: https://x.com/brit

#115 Anthropic at $170B: Should Unicorns Be Forced to IPO?

Another busy week in tech and your favorite quad are back! We go over: Google’s antitrust “win,” AI M&A mania, Anthropic’s stay-private debate, why lawyers out-earn bankers now, and the barbell reality of internet businesses. We also unpack creator vs algorithm dynamics, the rise of Ozempic, and Sam’s wild “AI petty-lawsuit bot” idea.Chapters:02:07 – OpenAI’s $300k copywriting hire → AI not there yet09:03 – AI M&A deals are small relative to hype10:55 – Lawyers now out-earning bankers12:40 – Google’s antitrust “loss” turned into a win17:31 – Government says “AI will handle capitalism”22:02 – Debate: force unicorns public at $100B+40:15 – Creators must transcend algorithms, not rely on feeds45:07 – Only ~20M Americans really buy things — own that niche56:07 – AI petty-lawsuit bots as the next “big market”57:22 – AI is just compute wars, zero net valueWe’re also on ↓X: https://twitter.com/moreorlesspodInstagram: https://instagram.com/moreorlessYouTube: https://youtu.be/W1HVKJZg7qoConnect with us here:1) Sam Lessin: https://x.com/lessin2) Dave Morin: https://x.com/davemorin3) Jessica Lessin: https://x.com/Jessicalessin4) Brit Morin: https://x.com/brit

#114 Seed Rounds at $2B? The Dangers of AI Hype in VC With Tony Conrad

In this episode of More or Less, Brit Morin and Dave Morin sit down with legendary VC Tony Conrad (True Ventures) for a candid conversation on the state of venture capital, the real impact of AI, the death of social media, and why non-attribution and EQ matter more than ever.Chapters:01:30 – The Power (and Rarity) of Non-Attribution in Venture 04:00 – Building Culture After the Dot-Com Crash 06:00 – Why We Don’t Do This for the Money 08:30 – EQ vs IQ: The Human Side of Venture Capital 11:00 – The Wildfire Story: When VCs Show Up as Humans 16:50 – The Best GPs & Firms: Inspiration from Legacy and Newcomers 22:30 – Space Tech Is Real Venture Capital (Not Just AI) 28:10 – Venture Is a Contact Sport: Lessons from Ron Conway 30:40 – AI Hype: Is There Any Money Left for Startups? 40:00 – Manipulation, Social Media, and the Rise of AEO 49:30 – Building Brands in the Age of AI (and Why We Paused Consumer) 55:00 – The Dangers of AI Hype and Overfunding 57:00 – Why Contrarian Investing Can Wait—Focus on AI Now 1:04:00 – Pop Culture Corner: Taylor Swift, Branding, and First Concerts We’re also on ↓X: https://twitter.com/moreorlesspodInstagram: https://instagram.com/moreorlessSpotify: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/moreorlesspodConnect with us here:1) Sam Lessin: https://x.com/lessin2) Dave Morin: https://x.com/davemorin3) Jessica Lessin: https://x.com/Jessicalessin4) Brit Morin: https://x.com/brit