Quick Essays

Chamath Palihapitiya
Dec 08, 2023
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Quick Essay: Large Language Models, How to Train Them, and xAI’s Grok

Chamath Palihapitiya
·
Jan 31
Quick Essay: Large Language Models, How to Train Them, and xAI’s Grok

Read our AI Deep Dive When OpenAI released ChatGPT in November 2022, it took the world by storm, reaching over a million users in only 5 days. This kind of viral attention was previously unheard of in AI, driven by how closely the underlying language model seemed to replicate human intelligence.

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Quick Essay: A Short History of OpenAI

Chamath Palihapitiya
·
November 20, 2023
Quick Essay: A Short History of OpenAI

On Friday, OpenAI ousted its co-founder Sam Altman as CEO. While OpenAI cites a lack of consistent candor in Altman’s dealings with the board as the key reason for his removal, there is widespread speculation about other motives behind his termination. These range from disputes concerning the profit vs nonprofit motives of the company to the discovery o…

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Quick Essay: The Federal Reserve and Critical Moments in U.S. Monetary Policy

Chamath Palihapitiya
·
November 15, 2023
Quick Essay: The Federal Reserve and Critical Moments in U.S. Monetary Policy

In 2021, the U.S. missed a once-in-a-generation opportunity to refinance its national debt at near zero-rates. With soaring interest rates and a looming debt storm approaching, the actions of the Treasury and Federal Reserve have never been more important. We decided to look back at the history of monetary policy from the establishment of the Federal Re…

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The Case for Big Action to Regulate Artificial Intelligence

Chamath Palihapitiya
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May 9, 2023
The Case for Big Action to Regulate Artificial Intelligence

This essay originally appeared on The Information. In technology circles, people balk at the mere mention of government regulation. The naysayers argue it interferes with innovation and is a bad byproduct of big government. But history tells a different story. Transparent, accountable and expert oversight—even when implemented late or ineffectively at fir…

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2022 Annual Letter

Chamath Palihapitiya
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April 4, 2023
2022 Annual Letter

Social Capital Performance Summary To the supporters and friends of Social Capital: This is the fifth of our annual letters in which we discuss our observations and reflections of the year passed, how they’ve shaped our investment views, and other ideas on technology, markets, and our mission to build the future.

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Advice to Startup Founders and Employees: Strength Doesn’t Always Come in Numbers

Chamath Palihapitiya
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March 24, 2023
Advice to Startup Founders and Employees: Strength Doesn’t Always Come in Numbers

The narrative fallacy in Silicon Valley, and venture capital broadly, is that venture investing is an artisanal business, made up of good “pickers” that have a nose for special founders, and at times, are known for putting intangibles above prudent risk management.

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Higher Rates Will Lead to the Next Generation of Great Tech Startups

Chamath Palihapitiya
·
January 26, 2023
Higher Rates Will Lead to the Next Generation of Great Tech Startups

More than 13 years of zero-interest-rate policy in the U.S. has now come to an end. With sticky inflation, climbing interest rates, a focus on near-term cash flow, and potentially a looming recession on the horizon, the outlook for many technology companies appears bleak. In response, the risk appetites of U.S. VC funds have shrunk dramatically, with ca…

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