Sourcery

Sourcery with Molly O'Shea

Interviews with the top Investors, CEOs, & Founders

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Yesterday · 33 min
Inside Saronic’s $9.25B Autonomous Boat Factory | CEO Dino Mavrookas
Saronic Co-Founder & CEO Dino Mavrookas takes us on a tour of the company’s 420,000 sqft autonomous boat factory in Austin, Texas. This is Part I of a 3-Part Saronic dive. Sit-downs with all 4 co-founders to follow. Founded in 2022, Saronic has raised $2.6B at a last valuation of $9.25B. We walk the Corsair production line, which has capacity for 2,000 autonomous boats per year, and climb aboard Mirage, its new 52-foot vessel with 2,500+ nautical miles of range and 3,500 lbs of payload capacity. Dino breaks down Saronic’s vertically integrated hardware + software strategy, its 180-foot Marauder autonomous ship, and Port Alpha, the massive new shipyard it’s building in Brownsville, Texas. Plus: why China outbuilds the U.S. 230:1, lessons from SpaceX manufacturing, the future of autonomous warfare, and how Saronic went from testing its technology on an $800 Amazon raft to building autonomous vessels at scale. Dino Mavrookas: https://x.com/mavrookasd?s=11 Molly O’Shea: https://x.com/MollySOShea Sourcery: ⁠https://x.com/sourceryy 𝐄𝐏𝐈𝐒𝐎𝐃𝐄 𝐋𝐈𝐍𝐊 YouTube: https://youtu.be/Z-hJOibGUo0 𝐒𝐏𝐎𝐍𝐒𝐎𝐑𝐒 • Brex—The modern finance platform, combining the world’s smartest corporate card with integrated expense management, banking, bill pay, & travel. https://brex.com/sourcery • Applied Aerospace—As global competition intensifies, strategic leadership demands space and defense technologies that deliver enduring national capabilities. At Applied Aerospace & Defense, we unleash the power of advanced manufacturing with unmatched scale and agility. Visit: applied-ad.com/ • Zone—develops next-generation data center campuses, partnering with AI companies, site developers and technology leaders to bring compute online faster and at scale. Visit: zonefrontier.com • Turing—Turing delivers top-tier talent, data, and tools to help AI labs improve model performance—and enables enterprises to turn those models into powerful, production-ready systems. https://turing.com/sourcery • VCX—VCX is the public ticker for private tech, allowing investors of all sizes to invest in venture capital. View The Portfolio at http://GetVCX.com • Deel—Deel is the global people platform that helps startups hire, manage, pay, and equip anyone, anywhere. Trusted by more than 35,000 fast-growing companies, Deel is the people platform that just works, so teams can scale without the chaos. Visit: https://www.deel.com/sourcery • Public–Investing platform Public just launched Generated Assets, which lets you turn any idea into an investable index with AI. With Generated Assets, you can build, backtest, refine, and invest in any thesis with AI. Gone are the days of one-size-fits-all ETFs. https://public.com/sourcery Follow Sourcery for the latest updates! https://www.sourcery.vc Disclosure Paid Endorsement. Brokerage services by Open to the Public Investing Inc, member FINRA & SIPC. Advisory services by Public Advisors LLC, SEC-registered adviser. Crypto trading provided by Zero Hash LLC, licensed by the NYSDFS. Generated Assets is an interactive analysis tool by Public Advisors. Output is for informational purposes only and is not an investment recommendation or advice. See disclosures at public.com/disclosures/ga. Matched funds must remain in your account for at least 5 years. Match rate and other terms are subject to change at any time. 𝐓𝐈𝐌𝐄𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐌𝐏𝐒 (00:00) Dino Mavrookas, Co-Founder & CEO at Saronic Technologies (00:55) Saronic's $2.6B raise (03:14) 7 Buildings, One mission (06:43) Watching Corsairs get built (09:04) How Saronic finds and trains talent (10:48) Why Saronic's boats are different (14:55) From factory floor to customer (15:48) Using autonomy in real missions (17:39) Building ships with zero room for failure (19:06) The Biggest bottleneck in autonomy testing (19:57) Saronic's newest boat (22:57) The $800 raft that started it all (26:08) From boats to building actual ships (31:48) The culture behind long hours
Thursday · 1 hr 8 min
BlackRock's Tony Kim on AI's Next Winners?
Tony Kim is Managing Director and Head of the Global Technology Team within Fundamental Equities at BlackRock. Recorded at the RAISE Summit in Paris, where Tony spoke on 4 panels, next-gen accelerators with d-Matrix, quantum computing with PsiQuantum, optics in data center design with Lumentum, and XPU and AI chip co-design with Broadcom. Tony breaks down the shift from a software-centric world to a compute-centric one, and why roughly $1 trillion of CapEx this year, and $10 trillion over the next 5 years, is being spent to move data centimeters and millimeters. He maps the market cap transformation, roughly $10 trillion in software, services, and internet, $20 trillion in Mag 7, and $30 trillion in non-Mag 7 chips and hardware. We cover the RAMpocalypse and why memory intensity is skyrocketing as AI models start to mirror the human brain, the 3 to 4 year duration mismatch between fab buildouts and today's demand, and the move from copper to light inside the data center. Tony also lays out his capital allocation framework, 90% in the 3-year AI vortex and the rest on frontier bets like quantum, orbital data centers, SMRs, and 800-volt power architectures, all converging on 2030. Plus, the coming wave of 30 to 40 Chinese robotics IPOs, mixing Chinese robot bodies with Western brains, his contrarian case for social robots addressing loneliness and aging populations, token flow as the new enterprise framework, and the mentors who shaped his career. We cover: › Why AI is forcing a complete rebuild of data centers › The shift from software to compute › Why memory becomes the next critical bottleneck › The future of AI chip co-design › How investors should think about AI infrastructure › Quantum, orbital data centers and the road to 2030 › Why robotics could become AI's next trillion-dollar market › China's robotics advantage › The enterprise AI stack and "token flow" › How BlackRock evaluates long-term technology investments Tony Kim: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tony-kim-3150053/ Molly O’Shea: https://x.com/MollySOShea Sourcery: ⁠https://x.com/sourceryy 𝐄𝐏𝐈𝐒𝐎𝐃𝐄 𝐋𝐈𝐍𝐊 YouTube : https://youtu.be/zXB-LI7skL8 𝐒𝐏𝐎𝐍𝐒𝐎𝐑𝐒 • Brex—The modern finance platform, combining the world’s smartest corporate card with integrated expense management, banking, bill pay, & travel. https://brex.com/sourcery • MongoDB–Millions of developers and more than 65,200+ customers across industries, including ~75% of the Fortune 100, rely on MongoDB for their most important applications. With integrated capabilities for operational data, search, real-time analytics, & AI-powered data retrieval, MongoDB helps organizations everywhere move faster, innovate more efficiently, & simplify complex architectures. https://mongodb.com/ai • AssemblyAI–Millions of developers use AssemblyAI to power their voice ai applications and features. One API gives you access to best-in-class speech-to-text, voice agent, and speech understanding models for both pre-recorded and real-time audio. Granola, ClickUp & HeyGen are scaling with AssemblyAI - get $50 of free credits today at http://AssemblyAI.com/sourcery 𝐓𝐈𝐌𝐄𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐌𝐏𝐒 (00:00) Tony Kim, Head of BlackRock Fundamental Equities Global Technology (01:10) Secret Location, Croissants, and the RAISE Summit (03:52) Why Compute now rules everything (05:17) Why old data centers can't survive AI (07:43) Why data centers are ditching Copper for Light (10:44) The shortage nobody saw coming: RAM (15:20) Only three companies control memory (16:03) Tony's Playbook for Investing in the AI Era (18:16) The 20-year lie: "Compute is just a Commodity" (22:38) How Hardware quietly became bigger than Software (27:49) The Investing Rule: Will you still be cool in 5 years? (38:16) Chips were never a Commodity (43:30) Inside the architecture of a Robot's mind (45:03) Why China Is winning the Robotics race (53:07) "Token Flow": Tony's Framework for the Future Enterprise (1:03:51) The mentors who shaped Tony Kim's worldview
August 31 · 46 min
Inside Bridgit Mendler’s New 185,000 sqft Northwood Space Factory
Bridgit Mendler, Co-founder & CEO of Northwood Space, gives Sourcery a first look inside the company’s new 185,000 sqft headquarters and factory in Torrance, California. Northwood has raised over $136M since 2022, including a $100M Series B in January 2026 led by Washington Harbour Partners and co-led by Andreessen Horowitz, with Founders Fund, 137 Ventures, Alpine Space Ventures, Balerion and Fulcrum participating. The company also signed a $49.8M contract with the US Space Force to support the Satellite Control Network. The new facility will more than 5x Northwood’s manufacturing footprint, support production of hundreds of antennas per year, and add 400 jobs over the next three years as the company works to solve one of the biggest bottlenecks in the space economy: getting data between satellites and Earth. We tour the future manufacturing floor, antenna production lines, machining and PCB assembly areas, anechoic testing chambers, and a former movie theater that Northwood plans to turn into mission operations. The new facility will include dedicated production for Northwood’s Portal phased-array and Prism parabolic systems, while bringing more critical manufacturing and testing in-house. Bridgit also breaks down why ground infrastructure has fallen behind the explosion in satellites, Northwood’s Space Force contract, the economics of satellite connectivity, building a global ground network, supply-chain strategy, national security, and her approach to leadership and scaling Northwood. “If you can improve the networking for the space economy, that is how you translate bits into dollars.” Bridgit Mendler: https://x.com/bridgitmendler Molly O’Shea: https://x.com/MollySOShea Sourcery: ⁠https://x.com/sourceryy 𝐄𝐏𝐈𝐒𝐎𝐃𝐄 𝐋𝐈𝐍𝐊 YouTube: https://youtu.be/8SGgaMiGv6g 𝐒𝐏𝐎𝐍𝐒𝐎𝐑𝐒 • Brex—The modern finance platform, combining the world’s smartest corporate card with integrated expense management, banking, bill pay, & travel. https://brex.com/sourcery • Applied Aerospace—As global competition intensifies, strategic leadership demands space and defense technologies that deliver enduring national capabilities. At Applied Aerospace & Defense, we unleash the power of advanced manufacturing with unmatched scale and agility. Visit: https://applied-ad.com • Turing—Turing delivers top-tier talent, data, and tools to help AI labs improve model performance—and enables enterprises to turn those models into powerful, production-ready systems. https://turing.com/sourcery • VCX—VCX is the public ticker for private tech, allowing investors of all sizes to invest in venture capital. View The Portfolio at http://GetVCX.com • Deel—Deel is the global people platform that helps startups hire, manage, pay, and equip anyone, anywhere. Trusted by more than 35,000 fast-growing companies, Deel is the people platform that just works, so teams can scale without the chaos. Visit: https://www.deel.com/sourcery • Public–Investing platform Public just launched Generated Assets, which lets you turn any idea into an investable index with AI. With Generated Assets, you can build, backtest, refine, and invest in any thesis with AI. Gone are the days of one-size-fits-all ETFs. https://public.com/sourcery Follow Sourcery for the latest updates! https://www.sourcery.vc Disclosure Paid Endorsement. Brokerage services by Open to the Public Investing Inc, member FINRA & SIPC. Advisory services by Public Advisors LLC, SEC-registered adviser. Crypto trading provided by Zero Hash LLC, licensed by the NYSDFS. Generated Assets is an interactive analysis tool by Public Advisors. Output is for informational purposes only and is not an investment recommendation or advice. See disclosures at public.com/disclosures/ga. Matched funds must remain in your account for at least 5 years. Match rate and other terms are subject to change at any time.
August 28 · 28 min
Inside Rocket Lab: How Sir Peter Beck Is Building Neutron’s Engines | Tour 02
Tour 02: We’re back inside Rocket Lab with Founder & CEO Sir Peter Beck, this time for a behind-the-scenes tour of the company’s Engine Development Center and the technology powering Electron and its next-generation Neutron rocket. Peter walks us through Rocket Lab’s additive manufacturing operation, where the vast majority of its engines by mass are 3D printed, and breaks down the engineering behind Rutherford and the much larger Archimedes engine being built for Neutron. We see Archimedes thrust chambers, turbopumps, 12-laser metal 3D printers, the Rutherford engines powering Electron, and an Archimedes production line capable of producing an engine every eight days. Peter explains why Rocket Lab chose methane for Neutron, how designing for reusability changes almost every engineering decision, why an Archimedes engine must survive 40 starts and one hour of qualification burn time, and Rocket Lab’s goal of building a rocket that can come off the barge, go straight back onto the pad, and launch again. We also get into how Rocket Lab acquired more than $100 million of Virgin Orbit assets for $16 million, why Peter thinks some “zombie” space companies refuse to die, the difficulty investors have diligencing rocket companies, and why Rocket Lab believes vertical integration has been critical to its success. And Peter leaves us with his view on where the space industry goes from here: “I think the biggest thing to be done in space hasn't even been thought about, let alone talked about.” This is Tour 02, the second and final part of our Rocket Lab factory tour. Catch up on the full series: Part I: Our full sit-down interview with Sir Peter Beck Part II / Tour 01: Inside Rocket Lab HQ, Mission Control & Satellite Manufacturing Part III / Tour 02: Inside Rocket Lab’s Engine Development Center, Rutherford & Archimedes 𝐄𝐏𝐈𝐒𝐎𝐃𝐄 𝐋𝐈𝐍𝐊 YouTube: https://youtu.be/g83mTdM5tQA 𝐒𝐏𝐎𝐍𝐒𝐎𝐑𝐒 • Brex—The modern finance platform, combining the world’s smartest corporate card with integrated expense management, banking, bill pay, & travel. https://brex.com/sourcery • Applied Aerospace—As global competition intensifies, strategic leadership demands space and defense technologies that deliver enduring national capabilities. At Applied Aerospace & Defense, we unleash the power of advanced manufacturing with unmatched scale and agility. Visit: https://applied-ad.com • Turing—Turing delivers top-tier talent, data, and tools to help AI labs improve model performance—and enables enterprises to turn those models into powerful, production-ready systems. https://turing.com/sourcery • VCX—VCX is the public ticker for private tech, allowing investors of all sizes to invest in venture capital. View The Portfolio at http://GetVCX.com • Deel—Deel is the global people platform that helps startups hire, manage, pay, and equip anyone, anywhere. Trusted by more than 35,000 fast-growing companies, Deel is the people platform that just works, so teams can scale without the chaos. Visit: https://www.deel.com/sourcery • Public–Investing platform Public just launched Generated Assets, which lets you turn any idea into an investable index with AI. With Generated Assets, you can build, backtest, refine, and invest in any thesis with AI. Gone are the days of one-size-fits-all ETFs. https://public.com/sourcery Follow Sourcery for the latest updates! https://www.sourcery.vc Disclosure Paid Endorsement. Brokerage services by Open to the Public Investing Inc, member FINRA & SIPC. Advisory services by Public Advisors LLC, SEC-registered adviser. Crypto trading provided by Zero Hash LLC, licensed by the NYSDFS. Generated Assets is an interactive analysis tool by Public Advisors. Output is for informational purposes only and is not an investment recommendation or advice. See disclosures at public.com/disclosures/ga. Matched funds must remain in your account for at least 5 years. Match rate and other terms are subject to change at any time.
August 26 · 24 min
Rocket Lab HQ Tour with Sir Peter Beck | Factory Tour: Part I
Factory Tour 1 of 2: We went inside Rocket Lab with Founder & CEO Sir Peter Beck for a behind-the-scenes look at how one of the world’s leading space companies actually builds. In the first part of our Rocket Lab factory tour, Peter takes us through the company’s Long Beach headquarters, mission control, satellite manufacturing, spacecraft testing, electric propulsion, and NASA’s LOxSAT program. Along the way, we trace Rocket Lab’s evolution from a tiny New Zealand startup with less than $100,000 NZD in capitalization to a global, publicly traded space company spanning launch, satellites, spacecraft components, propulsion, defense, and interplanetary missions. Peter breaks down Rocket Lab’s capital-efficient culture, why he took the company public, its acquisition strategy, the hidden moat in spacecraft components, and his goal of building a multi-generational space company that continues long after he’s gone. We also get into Rocket Lab’s earliest rockets, Khosla and Bessemer’s first investments, NASA’s CAPSTONE mission to the Moon, the search for life on Venus, and what Peter believes most new space companies underestimate. This is Factory Tour 1 of 2. In Tour 2, we head inside Rocket Lab’s propulsion & engine facilities. Peter Beck: https://x.com/Peter_J_Beck Molly O’Shea: https://x.com/MollySOShea Sourcery: ⁠https://x.com/sourceryy 𝐄𝐏𝐈𝐒𝐎𝐃𝐄 𝐋𝐈𝐍𝐊 YouTube: https://youtu.be/RTcF6jqrTYs 𝐒𝐏𝐎𝐍𝐒𝐎𝐑𝐒 • Brex—The modern finance platform, combining the world’s smartest corporate card with integrated expense management, banking, bill pay, & travel. https://brex.com/sourcery • Applied Aerospace—As global competition intensifies, strategic leadership demands space and defense technologies that deliver enduring national capabilities. At Applied Aerospace & Defense, we unleash the power of advanced manufacturing with unmatched scale and agility. Visit: applied-ad.com/ • Turing—Turing delivers top-tier talent, data, and tools to help AI labs improve model performance—and enables enterprises to turn those models into powerful, production-ready systems. https://turing.com/sourcery • VCX—VCX is the public ticker for private tech, allowing investors of all sizes to invest in venture capital. View The Portfolio at http://GetVCX.com • Deel—Deel is the global people platform that helps startups hire, manage, pay, and equip anyone, anywhere. Trusted by more than 35,000 fast-growing companies, Deel is the people platform that just works, so teams can scale without the chaos. Visit: https://www.deel.com/sourcery • Public–Investing platform Public just launched Generated Assets, which lets you turn any idea into an investable index with AI. With Generated Assets, you can build, backtest, refine, and invest in any thesis with AI. Gone are the days of one-size-fits-all ETFs. https://public.com/sourcery Follow Sourcery for the latest updates! https://www.sourcery.vc Disclosure Paid Endorsement. Brokerage services by Open to the Public Investing Inc, member FINRA & SIPC. Advisory services by Public Advisors LLC, SEC-registered adviser. Crypto trading provided by Zero Hash LLC, licensed by the NYSDFS. Generated Assets is an interactive analysis tool by Public Advisors. Output is for informational purposes only and is not an investment recommendation or advice. See disclosures at public.com/disclosures/ga. Matched funds must remain in your account for at least 5 years. Match rate and other terms are subject to change at any time. 𝐓𝐈𝐌𝐄𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐌𝐏𝐒 (00:00) Touring inside Rocket Lab's HQ (01:44) The origin story (07:14) Too much Capital can kill a startup (09:03) Why Rocket Lab decided to go public (10:45) From Rockets to an entire Space Ecosystem (15:11) Where Escapade and CAPSTONE were flown (18:08) Inside the Electric Propulsion Lab (19:58) Inside the Thermal and Shock Testing Facility (21:45) Inside the NASA LOxSAT project (24:00) Up Next: Inside the Engine Lab
August 24 · 38 min
Inside Rocket Lab w/ CEO Sir Peter Beck: Record Earnings, Neutron, Flatelittes
Sir Peter Beck founded Rocket Lab 20 years ago. Today, the company is scaling far beyond launching rockets. Rocket Lab (NASDAQ: RKLB) just posted a record Q2 2026: • $234M revenue, +62% YoY • $2.36B record backlog, +137% YoY • $437M+ in new launch contracts • $581M+ in new Space Systems contracts • 90+ launches in backlog • Q3 revenue guidance of 250M–265M We sat down with Founder & CEO Sir Peter Beck after touring Rocket Lab’s Long Beach facility to break down what comes next. Peter explains Rocket Lab’s transformation from a launch company into an end-to-end space company spanning rockets, satellites, components, defense, and communications. We get into Neutron and why Peter believes investors should be asking about the 10th launch, not just the first, the strategy behind the Iridium acquisition, Rocket Lab’s growing national security business, Flatellite, its acquisition playbook, and why going public gave the company the firepower to pursue opportunities it never could have as a private company. We also discuss Neutron’s delays, Archimedes, reusability, Rocket Lab’s vertically integrated manufacturing strategy, building an entire space industry from scratch in New Zealand, and Peter’s long-term ambition to build a multi-generational company. Plus: aliens, getting knighted, why Archimedes engines are painted black, and Peter’s surprisingly simple philosophy on business. Peter Beck: https://x.com/Peter_J_Beck Molly O’Shea: https://x.com/MollySOShea Sourcery: ⁠https://x.com/sourceryy 𝐄𝐏𝐈𝐒𝐎𝐃𝐄 𝐋𝐈𝐍𝐊 YouTube: ⁠⁠https://youtu.be/mpOy_UarJKg⁠⁠ 𝐒𝐏𝐎𝐍𝐒𝐎𝐑𝐒 • Brex—The modern finance platform, combining the world’s smartest corporate card with integrated expense management, banking, bill pay, & travel. https://brex.com/sourcery • Turing—Turing delivers top-tier talent, data, and tools to help AI labs improve model performance—and enables enterprises to turn those models into powerful, production-ready systems. https://turing.com/sourcery • VCX—VCX is the public ticker for private tech, allowing investors of all sizes to invest in venture capital. View The Portfolio at http://GetVCX.com • Deel—Deel is the global people platform that helps startups hire, manage, pay, and equip anyone, anywhere. Trusted by more than 35,000 fast-growing companies, Deel is the people platform that just works, so teams can scale without the chaos. Visit: https://www.deel.com/sourcery • Public–Investing platform Public just launched Generated Assets, which lets you turn any idea into an investable index with AI. With Generated Assets, you can build, backtest, refine, and invest in any thesis with AI. Gone are the days of one-size-fits-all ETFs. https://public.com/sourcery Follow Sourcery for the latest updates! https://www.sourcery.vc Disclosure Paid Endorsement. Brokerage services by Open to the Public Investing Inc, member FINRA & SIPC. Advisory services by Public Advisors LLC, SEC-registered adviser. Crypto trading provided by Zero Hash LLC, licensed by the NYSDFS. Generated Assets is an interactive analysis tool by Public Advisors. Output is for informational purposes only and is not an investment recommendation or advice. See disclosures at public.com/disclosures/ga. Matched funds must remain in your account for at least 5 years. Match rate and other terms are subject to change at any time. 𝐓𝐈𝐌𝐄𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐌𝐏𝐒 (00:00) Sir Peter Beck, Founder & CEO at Rocket Lab (00:59) Rocket Lab's biggest quarter (02:53) The competitive edge in Space (04:10) Rocket Lab's Acquisition Strategy (05:04) Reason behind the Iridium Deal (06:13) Competing with Blue Origin & SpaceX (11:19) Building a Launch Monopoly in New Zealand (12:33) Is this why Peter got Knighted? (16:42) Beating SpaceX to the Public Markets (20:05) Why Neutron is still facing delays (27:38) Rocket Lab's latest contract wins (29:04) How defense became a prime mover for Rocket Lab (30:39) Ghost: Rocket Lab's portable launch pad (31:30) Has he seen Aliens?
August 20 · 59 min
Ben Lamm CEO of $12B Colossal Biosciences & $3.8B Astromech
Ben Lamm is the Co-founder and CEO of Colossal Biosciences + their AI spinout, Astromech. Colossal is the $12 billion de-extinction company using genome engineering, AI and reproductive technologies to bring extinct species back to life, while Astromech is its AI biology spinout, now valued at $3.8 billion. We went inside Colossal’s lab to see its Gen 2 woolly mice and sat down with Ben to discuss the technology behind the dire wolf, the race to bring back the woolly mammoth, and the much bigger business being built underneath de-extinction. Colossal has raised $635 million, including a recent $400 million round that was originally targeted at $200 million. Ben explains why he still believes Colossal is “one of the most undervalued companies in the world,” and how technologies developed inside the company are creating entirely new businesses. Astromech, the AI biology spinout Co-founded by Lamm and George Church, just raised $20 million at a $3.8 billion valuation, bringing total funding to $60 million. Astromech is using evolutionary and multispecies genomic data to build AI models designed to predict biological change, with potential applications across cancer, disease and drug discovery. We cover Colossal’s rise, woolly mice, dire wolves, mammoths, artificial wombs, genome editing, AI and biology, Astromech, and what happens when humans learn to program life. Ben Lamm: https://x.com/BenLamm Molly O’Shea: https://x.com/MollySOShea Sourcery: ⁠https://x.com/sourceryy 𝐄𝐏𝐈𝐒𝐎𝐃𝐄 𝐋𝐈𝐍𝐊 YouTube: https://youtu.be/zCQuSExl0gI 𝐒𝐏𝐎𝐍𝐒𝐎𝐑𝐒 • Brex—The modern finance platform, combining the world’s smartest corporate card with integrated expense management, banking, bill pay, & travel. https://brex.com/sourcery • Turing—Turing delivers top-tier talent, data, and tools to help AI labs improve model performance—and enables enterprises to turn those models into powerful, production-ready systems. https://turing.com/sourcery • VCX—VCX is the public ticker for private tech, allowing investors of all sizes to invest in venture capital. View The Portfolio at http://GetVCX.com • Deel—Deel is the global people platform that helps startups hire, manage, pay, and equip anyone, anywhere. Trusted by more than 35,000 fast-growing companies, Deel is the people platform that just works, so teams can scale without the chaos. Visit: https://www.deel.com/sourcery • Public–Investing platform Public just launched Generated Assets, which lets you turn any idea into an investable index with AI. With Generated Assets, you can build, backtest, refine, and invest in any thesis with AI. Gone are the days of one-size-fits-all ETFs. https://public.com/sourcery Follow Sourcery for the latest updates! https://www.sourcery.vc Disclosure Paid Endorsement. Brokerage services by Open to the Public Investing Inc, member FINRA & SIPC. Advisory services by Public Advisors LLC, SEC-registered adviser. Crypto trading provided by Zero Hash LLC, licensed by the NYSDFS. Generated Assets is an interactive analysis tool by Public Advisors. Output is for informational purposes only and is not an investment recommendation or advice. See disclosures at public.com/disclosures/ga. Matched funds must remain in your account for at least 5 years. Match rate and other terms are subject to change at any time. 𝐓𝐈𝐌𝐄𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐌𝐏𝐒 (00:00) Ben Lamm, Co-Founder & CEO at Colossal Biosciences (01:07) Inside Colossal's De-Extinction Lab (06:02) The AI idea that could save the planet (08:28) Revealing Colossal's woolly mice (10:49) Wild requests they get every day (13:35) Colossal's business model (15:07) How Colossal raised $635 million (20:17) How AI is converging with Biotech (22:44) How ancient DNA actually gets to the lab (26:24) The real stats behind Mass Extinction (32:07) Will their animals ever live in the wild? (41:44) Choosing their earliest backers (52:51) Why they refuse to work on Humans (58:07) Are they secretly working on Aliens?
August 17 · 59 min
Nikesh Arora, CEO Palo Alto Networks ($PANW)
Nikesh Arora is the Chairman and CEO of Palo Alto Networks, the cybersecurity giant that has grown from roughly $18 billion in market cap when he joined to around $300 billion today. We sat down at Palo Alto Networks to discuss why Nikesh believes the AI cybersecurity boom is only beginning, how companies will defend themselves against increasingly powerful AI attacks and rogue agents, and why the time between discovering a vulnerability and exploiting it is collapsing. Nikesh also explains why he signed Jensen Huang’s recent open-source AI letter, what the rise of autonomous agents means for enterprise security, and why he believes the entire software industry will be rewritten over the next decade. We also go inside the operating playbook behind Palo Alto Networks’ rise, including 40+ acquisitions in eight years, the $28 billion CyberArk deal, Nikesh’s “paranoia” about disruption, hiring AI-native talent through hackathons, and the lessons he took from Larry Page at Google and Masayoshi Son at SoftBank. Nikesh Arora: https://x.com/nikesharora Molly O’Shea: https://x.com/MollySOShea Sourcery: ⁠https://x.com/sourceryy 𝐄𝐏𝐈𝐒𝐎𝐃𝐄 𝐋𝐈𝐍𝐊 YouTube: ⁠https://youtu.be/_v_ryYwmfM0⁠ 𝐒𝐏𝐎𝐍𝐒𝐎𝐑𝐒 • Brex—The modern finance platform, combining the world’s smartest corporate card with integrated expense management, banking, bill pay, & travel. https://brex.com/sourcery • Turing—Turing delivers top-tier talent, data, and tools to help AI labs improve model performance—and enables enterprises to turn those models into powerful, production-ready systems. https://turing.com/sourcery • VCX—VCX is the public ticker for private tech, allowing investors of all sizes to invest in venture capital. View The Portfolio at http://GetVCX.com • Deel—Deel is the global people platform that helps startups hire, manage, pay, and equip anyone, anywhere. Trusted by more than 35,000 fast-growing companies, Deel is the people platform that just works, so teams can scale without the chaos. Visit: https://www.deel.com/sourcery • Public–Investing platform Public just launched Generated Assets, which lets you turn any idea into an investable index with AI. With Generated Assets, you can build, backtest, refine, and invest in any thesis with AI. Gone are the days of one-size-fits-all ETFs. https://public.com/sourcery Follow Sourcery for the latest updates! https://www.sourcery.vc Disclosure Paid Endorsement. Brokerage services by Open to the Public Investing Inc, member FINRA & SIPC. Advisory services by Public Advisors LLC, SEC-registered adviser. Crypto trading provided by Zero Hash LLC, licensed by the NYSDFS. Generated Assets is an interactive analysis tool by Public Advisors. Output is for informational purposes only and is not an investment recommendation or advice. See disclosures at public.com/disclosures/ga. Matched funds must remain in your account for at least 5 years. Match rate and other terms are subject to change at any time. 𝐓𝐈𝐌𝐄𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐌𝐏𝐒 (00:00) Nikesh Arora, Chairman & CEO at Palo Alto Networks (00:51) The AI attack era has already started (03:30) What happens when agents go rogue (04:39) Why AI Labs are slowing down (06:31) The Mythos Fallout (17:25) Cybersecurity's secret weapon (19:43) Buying a company is the easy part (20:48) Where most acquisitions go wrong (24:58) Predicting the SaaS Crash? (28:03) The question nobody in Tech is asking (30:54) There's never enough Compute (33:12) Palo Alto's bar for AI fluency (35:37) The controversial hire (37:12) Using LinkedIn to spot opportunities (39:19) What a CEO's day actually looks like (43:47) The leadership traits that matter (47:02) Google vs. SoftBank: What was different? (51:02) Why planning horizons are shrinking (52:55) Lessons From Elon & Masa (56:44) What's next for Nikesh?
August 14 · 1 hr 26 min
How AppLovin Built a $100B Ad Machine
Adam Foroughi, Co-Founder & CEO of AppLovin, and Giovanni Ge, CTO of AppLovin, join Sourcery from AppLovin’s Palo Alto headquarters for a deep dive into the technology and strategy behind its advertising business. Gio joined AppLovin in late 2022, when the company was worth roughly $5.5 billion, and helped architect Axon 2, the recommendation engine that became central to AppLovin’s transformation. The new architecture improved predictions and advertiser returns, helping drive the company’s expansion beyond mobile gaming into e-commerce ads and its recovery from a 92% post-IPO decline to a $100B+ company. Adam and Gio break down how Axon works, how AppLovin scales with a remarkably lean engineering team, how AI is changing the way they build, why knowing what not to build matters, and what it would take for AppLovin to eventually become a trillion-dollar company. We also cover AppLovin’s expansion into e-commerce, the future of advertising across LLMs and connected TV, engineering culture, and how they think about building for the next five to ten years. Adam Foroughi: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adamforoughi/ Giovanni Ge: https://www.linkedin.com/in/xiaochuan-giovanni-ge/ Molly O’Shea: https://x.com/MollySOShea Sourcery: ⁠https://x.com/sourceryy 𝐄𝐏𝐈𝐒𝐎𝐃𝐄 𝐋𝐈𝐍𝐊 YouTube: https://youtu.be/IZHwulZQixQ 𝐒𝐏𝐎𝐍𝐒𝐎𝐑𝐒 • Brex—The modern finance platform, combining the world’s smartest corporate card with integrated expense management, banking, bill pay, & travel. https://brex.com/sourcery • Turing—Turing delivers top-tier talent, data, and tools to help AI labs improve model performance—and enables enterprises to turn those models into powerful, production-ready systems. https://turing.com/sourcery • VCX—VCX is the public ticker for private tech, allowing investors of all sizes to invest in venture capital. View The Portfolio at http://GetVCX.com • Deel—Deel is the global people platform that helps startups hire, manage, pay, and equip anyone, anywhere. Trusted by more than 35,000 fast-growing companies, Deel is the people platform that just works, so teams can scale without the chaos. Visit: https://www.deel.com/sourcery • Public–Investing platform Public just launched Generated Assets, which lets you turn any idea into an investable index with AI. With Generated Assets, you can build, backtest, refine, and invest in any thesis with AI. Gone are the days of one-size-fits-all ETFs. https://public.com/sourcery Follow Sourcery for the latest updates! https://www.sourcery.vc Disclosure Paid Endorsement. Brokerage services by Open to the Public Investing Inc, member FINRA & SIPC. Advisory services by Public Advisors LLC, SEC-registered adviser. Crypto trading provided by Zero Hash LLC, licensed by the NYSDFS. Generated Assets is an interactive analysis tool by Public Advisors. Output is for informational purposes only and is not an investment recommendation or advice. See disclosures at public.com/disclosures/ga. Matched funds must remain in your account for at least 5 years. Match rate and other terms are subject to change at any time. 𝐓𝐈𝐌𝐄𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐌𝐏𝐒 (00:00) Adam Foroughi, Co-Founder & CEO and Giovanni Ge, CTO at AppLovin (00:52) Gio's first impression of AppLovin (03:38) Joining AppLovin after a 30% stock drop (09:59) How Axon 2 actually got built (20:23) Why AppLovin never needed a sales team (21:59) From gaming ads to e-commerce (24:47) From a napkin drawing to a real product (30:54) The onboarding mistake most companies make (34:37) What "AI-Native" actually means (36:37) Should new engineers still learn to code? (41:41) UGC vs. traditional ads: what's winning? (47:56) Adapting to AI without rebuilding from scratch (54:50) Gio's daily tech stack (1:02:17) AppLovin's path to a trillion-dollar valuation (1:06:19) Recovering from a 90% stock drop (1:09:47) What's next for AppLovin? (1:13:44) What happens when AI takes over? (1:15:48) Adam and Gio's hottest takes (1:19:50) How to actually stay locked in
August 12 · 20 min
Inside Neros’ Factory Built to Make 1 Million Drones a Year
Sourcery goes inside Neros Technologies’ new 250,000-square-foot Millennium One facility with Co-Founder & CEO Soren Monroe-Anderson. Neros designed the factory with enough space to eventually produce one million drones per year. Today, the company says it is already manufacturing more than 250 drones per day, with engineering, testing, supply chain and production operating under one roof. Soren takes us through Neros’ engineering labs, flight-test operation, drone and ground-station assembly lines, manufacturing software and 100% end-of-line flight testing. We also get a look at the latest Bandit interceptor prototype, which can reach roughly 300 km/h, with Neros targeting closer to 400 km/h for intercepting faster jet-powered Shahed variants. We also visit the new-product introduction line where Neros is preparing Archer AI for mass production, and the massive open portion of the factory reserved for bringing more component manufacturing in-house. Soren explains why mass-producing drones requires designing the product around manufacturing, why 3D printing does not solve the underlying supply-chain problem, and how Neros plans to vertically integrate its way toward million-unit scale. Soren Monroe-Anderson: https://x.com/soren_ma Molly O’Shea: https://x.com/MollySOShea Sourcery: ⁠https://x.com/sourceryy 𝐄𝐏𝐈𝐒𝐎𝐃𝐄 𝐋𝐈𝐍𝐊 YouTube: https://youtu.be/1qysc9sNACg 𝐒𝐏𝐎𝐍𝐒𝐎𝐑𝐒 • Brex—The modern finance platform, combining the world’s smartest corporate card with integrated expense management, banking, bill pay, & travel. https://brex.com/sourcery • Turing—Turing delivers top-tier talent, data, and tools to help AI labs improve model performance—and enables enterprises to turn those models into powerful, production-ready systems. https://turing.com/sourcery • VCX—VCX is the public ticker for private tech, allowing investors of all sizes to invest in venture capital. View The Portfolio at http://GetVCX.com • Deel—Deel is the global people platform that helps startups hire, manage, pay, and equip anyone, anywhere. Trusted by more than 35,000 fast-growing companies, Deel is the people platform that just works, so teams can scale without the chaos. Visit: https://www.deel.com/sourcery • Public–Investing platform Public just launched Generated Assets, which lets you turn any idea into an investable index with AI. With Generated Assets, you can build, backtest, refine, and invest in any thesis with AI. Gone are the days of one-size-fits-all ETFs. https://public.com/sourcery Follow Sourcery for the latest updates! https://www.sourcery.vc Disclosure Paid Endorsement. Brokerage services by Open to the Public Investing Inc, member FINRA & SIPC. Advisory services by Public Advisors LLC, SEC-registered adviser. Crypto trading provided by Zero Hash LLC, licensed by the NYSDFS. Generated Assets is an interactive analysis tool by Public Advisors. Output is for informational purposes only and is not an investment recommendation or advice. See disclosures at public.com/disclosures/ga. Matched funds must remain in your account for at least 5 years. Match rate and other terms are subject to change at any time. 𝐓𝐈𝐌𝐄𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐌𝐏𝐒 (00:00) Inside Neros' 250,000 sq. ft. Millennium One Factory (01:21) How Neros pushes its drones to the limit (02:35) Why 3D printing can't solve the drone supply chain problem (03:40) How their drones are built different (06:20) The new 300 km/h Bandit interceptor (09:09) Inside the drone assembly line: producing 250+ drones a day (11:17) South Bay's biggest American flag (11:42) How Neros stress-tests its drones (15:26) Inside the new product introduction line (17:01) What roles is Neros hiring for (19:00) Soren's hot take on defense tech
August 11 · 43 min
Neros Raises $250M Series C at $2.5B to Build 1 Million Drones a Year
Soren Monroe-Anderson, Co-Founder & CEO of Neros Technologies, joins Sourcery from the company’s new 250,000-square-foot factory in Torrance following its $250 million Series C at a $2.5 billion post-money valuation. The round, led by Sequoia and American Strategic Technology Fund, comes as Neros expands from its core Archer FPV platform into multiple product lines, including Archer AI and Bandit, its counter-UAS interceptor. Neros is also fresh off a $500 million Army IDIQ and is building toward the capacity to manufacture one million drones annually. Soren explains why modern warfare is increasingly being shaped by low-cost drones, why America fell so far behind China in drone and electronics manufacturing, and what it actually takes to “de-China-fy” a defense supply chain. Neros has pushed critical components including boards, chips, motors and magnets outside China, but Soren argues complete independence is far harder when Chinese suppliers still dominate some raw materials and precursor chemicals. We also discuss Neros’ transition from a single-product company to a multi-product defense manufacturer, the rise of interceptor drones, autonomous capabilities that can operate through communications loss, sovereign manufacturing for U.S. allies, and why Soren wants Neros to become the “Toyota of defense manufacturing.” Soren Monroe-Anderson: https://x.com/soren_ma Molly O’Shea: https://x.com/MollySOShea Sourcery: ⁠https://x.com/sourceryy 𝐄𝐏𝐈𝐒𝐎𝐃𝐄 𝐋𝐈𝐍𝐊 YouTube: ⁠https://youtu.be/a8sFzL-E948 𝐒𝐏𝐎𝐍𝐒𝐎𝐑𝐒 • Brex—The modern finance platform, combining the world’s smartest corporate card with integrated expense management, banking, bill pay, & travel. https://brex.com/sourcery • Turing—Turing delivers top-tier talent, data, and tools to help AI labs improve model performance—and enables enterprises to turn those models into powerful, production-ready systems. https://turing.com/sourcery • VCX—VCX is the public ticker for private tech, allowing investors of all sizes to invest in venture capital. View The Portfolio at http://GetVCX.com • Deel—Deel is the global people platform that helps startups hire, manage, pay, and equip anyone, anywhere. Trusted by more than 35,000 fast-growing companies, Deel is the people platform that just works, so teams can scale without the chaos. Visit: https://www.deel.com/sourcery • Public–Investing platform Public just launched Generated Assets, which lets you turn any idea into an investable index with AI. With Generated Assets, you can build, backtest, refine, and invest in any thesis with AI. Gone are the days of one-size-fits-all ETFs. https://public.com/sourcery Follow Sourcery for the latest updates! https://www.sourcery.vc Disclosure Paid Endorsement. Brokerage services by Open to the Public Investing Inc, member FINRA & SIPC. Advisory services by Public Advisors LLC, SEC-registered adviser. Crypto trading provided by Zero Hash LLC, licensed by the NYSDFS. Generated Assets is an interactive analysis tool by Public Advisors. Output is for informational purposes only and is not an investment recommendation or advice. See disclosures at public.com/disclosures/ga. Matched funds must remain in your account for at least 5 years. Match rate and other terms are subject to change at any time. 𝐓𝐈𝐌𝐄𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐌𝐏𝐒 (00:00) Soren Monroe-Anderson, Co-Founder & CEO at Neros Technologies (01:02) Neros just raised $250M at a $2.5B valuation (04:25) Inside the Army's $500M drone contract (08:05) The Interceptor drones taking over the battlefield (12:55) Is it even possible to build a drone without China? (19:55) The biggest BS claims in defense tech right now (22:58) Neros’s growth to over 250 employees (25:29) The Talent bottleneck slowing down American manufacturing (29:43) The biggest myth about re-industrializing America (35:52) What actually happens on a modern battlefield? (37:41) How Starlink is changing drone warfare (40:41) Soren’s learnings from Kelly Johnson
August 3 · 25 min
Base Power Hits $13B Valuation on $1B Series D
Justin Lopas, Co-Founder and COO of Base Power, joins Sourcery at Factory 1 in Austin for the launch of Base Core and the company's $1 billion Series D. The round values Base at $13 billion post-money and is led by Ribbit, Addition, Valor Equity Partners, and JPMorganChase's Strategic Investment Group. Existing investors Thrive Capital, a16z, Lightspeed, Trust Ventures, and CapitalG re-invested, bringing total capital raised past $2.5 billion. Base Core is the largest standalone home battery on the market at 40 / 80 kWh. Justin walked me through the factory floor, the install demo, and why Base builds the hardware itself. "It is so critical to bring manufacturing back to the US, especially for critical infrastructure." We cover: › The $1B Series D at a $13B post-money valuation › Base Core, 40 kWh of storage and 20 kW on the inverter › Whole home backup versus circuit-level backup › Retail choice markets versus utility partnership markets › Installing batteries around data centers to offset interconnection load › 4,000 units per week by the end of the year › Over 100 installs a day › 100% US and Mexico supply chain › Factory 1 built in under 6 months Justin Lopas: https://x.com/JLopas Molly O’Shea: https://x.com/MollySOShea Sourcery: ⁠https://x.com/sourceryy 𝐄𝐏𝐈𝐒𝐎𝐃𝐄 𝐋𝐈𝐍𝐊 YouTube: ⁠https://youtu.be/zfFGgfI2Xog 𝐒𝐏𝐎𝐍𝐒𝐎𝐑𝐒 • Brex—The modern finance platform, combining the world’s smartest corporate card with integrated expense management, banking, bill pay, & travel. https://brex.com/sourcery • Turing—Turing delivers top-tier talent, data, and tools to help AI labs improve model performance—and enables enterprises to turn those models into powerful, production-ready systems. https://turing.com/sourcery • VCX—VCX is the public ticker for private tech, allowing investors of all sizes to invest in venture capital. View The Portfolio at http://GetVCX.com • Deel—Deel is the global people platform that helps startups hire, manage, pay, and equip anyone, anywhere. Trusted by more than 35,000 fast-growing companies, Deel is the people platform that just works, so teams can scale without the chaos. Visit: https://www.deel.com/sourcery • Public–Investing platform Public just launched Generated Assets, which lets you turn any idea into an investable index with AI. With Generated Assets, you can build, backtest, refine, and invest in any thesis with AI. Gone are the days of one-size-fits-all ETFs. https://public.com/sourcery Follow Sourcery for the latest updates! https://www.sourcery.vc Disclosure Paid Endorsement. Brokerage services by Open to the Public Investing Inc, member FINRA & SIPC. Advisory services by Public Advisors LLC, SEC-registered adviser. Crypto trading provided by Zero Hash LLC, licensed by the NYSDFS. Generated Assets is an interactive analysis tool by Public Advisors. Output is for informational purposes only and is not an investment recommendation or advice. See disclosures at public.com/disclosures/ga. Matched funds must remain in your account for at least 5 years. Match rate and other terms are subject to change at any time. 𝐓𝐈𝐌𝐄𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐌𝐏𝐒 (00:00) Justin Lopas, Co-Founder & COO at Base Power Company (01:06) Base Power raises a $1B Series D (02:26) Meet Base Core (05:42) Demo: Whole-home backup in action (07:06) How Base Power's business model works (08:55) Inside Base Power's Factory (11:28) Why Base Core is 3x larger than other home batteries (12:05) Inside the manufacturing line (13:23) Can humanoid robots build batteries? (14:13) Why Base Power manufactures its own batteries (15:47) Inside the robotic assembly line (18:09) How lithium-ion batteries work (21:40) Scaling production to 4,000 units a week (22:33) Installing 100+ systems a day (23:03) COO or Electrician? (23:53) From oil rigs to Base Power
July 31 · 46 min
AssemblyAI CEO Dylan Fox on 120 Million Voice Conversations a Week
Dylan Fox is the founder and CEO of AssemblyAI, the voice AI infrastructure platform behind AI notetakers, medical scribes, drive through ordering, contact centers and humanoid robots. AssemblyAI went through Y Combinator's first AI batch in 2017 and now serves over 1 million developers with roughly 100 million API calls a day. We get into the volume numbers, why weekly conversations are up over 800% in three years, the three macro trends pulling voice into everything, why coding agents turned small businesses into API customers, how data mixture drives 75% of model quality, the humanoid robot speaker problem, on device models, and the disclosure question the entire voice agent industry is avoiding. "It's very easy to optimize for a public open source benchmark. It's very hard to optimize across all these real world applications." We cover › 120 million weekly conversations and 4x YouTube's daily voice volume › Coding agents expanding the TAM by 100x › Context aware voice models and the McDonald's ordering problem › Why humanoid robots can't disambiguate speakers › Whether voice agents should disclose they are AI Dylan Fox: https://x.com/YouveGotFox Molly O’Shea: https://x.com/MollySOShea Sourcery: ⁠https://x.com/sourceryy 𝐄𝐏𝐈𝐒𝐎𝐃𝐄 𝐋𝐈𝐍𝐊 YouTube: https://youtu.be/xAF7HkX2DXI 𝐒𝐏𝐎𝐍𝐒𝐎𝐑𝐒 • Brex—The modern finance platform, combining the world’s smartest corporate card with integrated expense management, banking, bill pay, & travel. https://brex.com/sourcery • MongoDB–Millions of developers and more than 65,200+ customers across industries, including ~75% of the Fortune 100, rely on MongoDB for their most important applications. With integrated capabilities for operational data, search, real-time analytics, & AI-powered data retrieval, MongoDB helps organizations everywhere move faster, innovate more efficiently, & simplify complex architectures. https://mongodb.com/ai • AssemblyAI–Millions of developers use AssemblyAI to power their voice ai applications and features. One API gives you access to best-in-class speech-to-text, voice agent, and speech understanding models for both pre-recorded and real-time audio. Granola, ClickUp & HeyGen are scaling with AssemblyAI - get $50 of free credits today at http://AssemblyAI.com/sourcery 𝐓𝐈𝐌𝐄𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐌𝐏𝐒 (00:00) Dylan Fox, Founder & CEO at Assembly AI (01:06) AssemblyAI's voice traffic just beat YouTube by 4x (03:33) $100K in GPU credits that started it all (06:39) Why Voice AI is inflecting right now (10:11) AssemblyAI's infrastructure-first strategy (12:41) Handling 120 million weekly calls (14:49) How AI agents are rewriting Internal Ops at AssemblyAI (17:05) The Sovereign AI problem nobody's solved for voice (18:26) Is the Keyboard and Mouse finally dying? (22:33) The problem Humanoid Robotics hasn't solved yet (25:14) The real problem behind translating languages (29:27) Can AI actually talk to animals? (31:24) The real reason Open-Source benchmarks lie to you (34:20) Building websites in chat rooms as a kid (36:48) On-Device AI models are about to change everything (43:03) The people who shaped Dylan's career
July 29 · 23 min
The Stock That Went Up 1000% | Lumentum CEO
Everyone talks about Nvidia GPUs. Few people talk about the lasers connecting them. Michael Hurlston is the CEO of Lumentum (NASDAQ: LITE), one of the world's leading suppliers of optical networking and laser technologies powering AI data centers. Before joining Lumentum in 2025, he served as CEO of Synaptics and previously led Finisar, making him one of the few executives to lead three public technology companies. In this conversation from the RAISE Summit in Paris, Michael explains why AI is forcing a once-in-a-generation shift from copper wiring to fiber optics, why hyperscalers are demanding millions of optical components, and why manufacturing these systems has become one of the biggest bottlenecks in AI infrastructure. He also discusses optical networking inside GPU clusters, the future of "optical scale-up," and how the same laser technology could eventually power internet connectivity in space. "What you get with fiber optics is the ability to move data faster over longer distances with less heat & less power than you get with electricity." We cover: › Why AI data centers are replacing copper with fiber optics › The manufacturing bottlenecks facing optical infrastructure › Why hyperscalers need millions of optical components › The coming transition to "optical scale-up" › Space lasers and the future of internet connectivity › AI infrastructure, geopolitics, and U.S. manufacturing › Michael's journey leading Finisar, Synaptics, and now Lumentum Michael Hurlston: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-hurlston-1b2274/ Molly O’Shea: https://x.com/MollySOShea Sourcery: ⁠https://x.com/sourceryy 𝐄𝐏𝐈𝐒𝐎𝐃𝐄 𝐋𝐈𝐍𝐊𝐒 YouTube: https://youtu.be/TCoJtpFd4yM 𝐒𝐏𝐎𝐍𝐒𝐎𝐑𝐒 • Brex—The modern finance platform, combining the world’s smartest corporate card with integrated expense management, banking, bill pay, & travel. https://brex.com/sourcery • MongoDB–Millions of developers and more than 65,200+ customers across industries, including ~75% of the Fortune 100, rely on MongoDB for their most important applications. With integrated capabilities for operational data, search, real-time analytics, & AI-powered data retrieval, MongoDB helps organizations everywhere move faster, innovate more efficiently, & simplify complex architectures. https://mongodb.com/ai • AssemblyAI–Millions of developers use AssemblyAI to power their voice ai applications and features. One API gives you access to best-in-class speech-to-text, voice agent, and speech understanding models for both pre-recorded and real-time audio. Granola, ClickUp & HeyGen are scaling with AssemblyAI - get $50 of free credits today at http://AssemblyAI.com/sourcery 𝐓𝐈𝐌𝐄𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐌𝐏𝐒 (00:00) Michael Hurlston, CEO at Lumentum Holdings (00:58) Backstage with Tony Kim at RAISE Summit (01:53) What optical connectivity actually means (03:31) The $10 trillion irony of the data center build-out (05:37) Scaling up inside a data center (08:38) Tripling revenue in 5 quarters (10:13) From Finisar to Synaptics to Lumentum (11:51) Why Lumentum went all-in on data centers (13:10) Why space is the next big market for optical lasers (14:06) Debunking laser myths (16:40) Why copper is about to disappear from the server rack (19:00) The geopolitics of the optical supply chain (20:16) The advice that shaped Michael's path
July 27 · 43 min
Inside the Fastest-Growing Category in AI: Scott Wu, CEO of $26B Cognition
Scott Wu, CEO & Co-Founder of Cognition, joins Sourcery in Paris amid the RAISE AI Summit. Cognition is the applied AI lab behind Devin, the autonomous AI software engineer, and Devin Desktop, formerly Windsurf. The company has raised more than $2.5 billion, including a $1 billion round in May 2026 at a $26 billion valuation, while growing annualized revenue from roughly $37 million to $492 million in a year. Devin now writes roughly 95% of Cognition's own code, total code shipped has grown 7x in six months, and customer usage has increased 11x to 12x. We cover Cognition's acquisition of Windsurf, negotiated over a single weekend after Google's $2.4 billion talent deal, why Scott is keeping Cognition independent, why enterprises won't buy coding agents directly from the model labs, AI's impact on software engineering, the six-month singularity debate, and the origin story of Devin, from fixing a MongoDB error in 2023 to deployments at Goldman Sachs, Mercedes-Benz, Citi, Dell, Santander, NASA, the U.S. Navy, and the U.S. Army. Recorded July 7, 2026, ahead of Cognition shipping SWE-1.7 on July 8 and acquiring The Interaction Company (maker of Poke) on July 23. Scott Wu: https://x.com/ScottWu46 Molly O’Shea: https://x.com/MollySOShea Sourcery: ⁠https://x.com/sourceryy 𝐄𝐏𝐈𝐒𝐎𝐃𝐄 𝐋𝐈𝐍𝐊 YouTube: https://youtu.be/y1XxtvYll4s 𝐒𝐏𝐎𝐍𝐒𝐎𝐑𝐒 • Brex—The modern finance platform, combining the world’s smartest corporate card with integrated expense management, banking, bill pay, & travel. https://brex.com/sourcery • MongoDB–Millions of developers and more than 65,200+ customers across industries, including ~75% of the Fortune 100, rely on MongoDB for their most important applications. With integrated capabilities for operational data, search, real-time analytics, & AI-powered data retrieval, MongoDB helps organizations everywhere move faster, innovate more efficiently, & simplify complex architectures. https://mongodb.com/ai • AssemblyAI–Millions of developers use AssemblyAI to power their voice ai applications and features. One API gives you access to best-in-class speech-to-text, voice agent, and speech understanding models for both pre-recorded and real-time audio. Granola, ClickUp & HeyGen are scaling with AssemblyAI - get $50 of free credits today at http://AssemblyAI.com/sourcery 𝐓𝐈𝐌𝐄𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐌𝐏𝐒 (00:00) Scott Wu, Co-Founder & CEO at Cognition (01:00) The Identity crisis of building Devin (01:42) How Cognition 7X-ed its output in 6 months (02:55) The Metric every AI company gets wrong (04:18) Cognition's 12x growth curve (07:46) The Windsurf acquisition (13:26) Scaling overnight: Cognition's hardest week (15:11) The strategy behind the integration of Cognition products (17:23) Cognition's merger playbook (20:01) Why the DMV is Cognition's next big target (22:59) Why Cognition bet against AI centralization (25:09) Why enterprises refuse to bet on a single AI lab (28:32) Scott's honest take on Superintelligence (32:36) Is Silicon Valley losing its mind over the AI gold rush? (33:26) Devin's origin story (37:17) The question Scott thinks nobody's asking yet (39:59) The poker match that almost closed a deal (41:24) Scott's vision for the next year
July 24 · 1 hr 8 min
BlackRock's Tony Kim on AI's Next Winners? Chips, Memory, Robotics & Quantum
Tony Kim is Managing Director and Head of the Global Technology Team within Fundamental Equities at BlackRock. Recorded at the RAISE Summit in Paris, where Tony spoke on 4 panels, next-gen accelerators with d-Matrix, quantum computing with PsiQuantum, optics in data center design with Lumentum, and XPU and AI chip co-design with Broadcom. Tony breaks down the shift from a software-centric world to a compute-centric one, and why roughly $1 trillion of CapEx this year, and $10 trillion over the next 5 years, is being spent to move data centimeters and millimeters. He maps the market cap transformation, roughly $10 trillion in software, services, and internet, $20 trillion in Mag 7, and $30 trillion in non-Mag 7 chips and hardware. We cover the RAMpocalypse and why memory intensity is skyrocketing as AI models start to mirror the human brain, the 3 to 4 year duration mismatch between fab buildouts and today's demand, and the move from copper to light inside the data center. Tony also lays out his capital allocation framework, 90% in the 3-year AI vortex and the rest on frontier bets like quantum, orbital data centers, SMRs, and 800-volt power architectures, all converging on 2030. Plus, the coming wave of 30 to 40 Chinese robotics IPOs, mixing Chinese robot bodies with Western brains, his contrarian case for social robots addressing loneliness and aging populations, token flow as the new enterprise framework, and the mentors who shaped his career. We cover: › Why AI is forcing a complete rebuild of data centers › The shift from software to compute › Why memory becomes the next critical bottleneck › The future of AI chip co-design › How investors should think about AI infrastructure › Quantum, orbital data centers and the road to 2030 › Why robotics could become AI's next trillion-dollar market › China's robotics advantage › The enterprise AI stack and "token flow" › How BlackRock evaluates long-term technology investments Tony Kim: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tony-kim-3150053/ Molly O’Shea: https://x.com/MollySOShea Sourcery: ⁠https://x.com/sourceryy 𝐄𝐏𝐈𝐒𝐎𝐃𝐄 𝐋𝐈𝐍𝐊 YouTube: https://youtu.be/zXB-LI7skL8 𝐒𝐏𝐎𝐍𝐒𝐎𝐑𝐒 • Brex—The modern finance platform, combining the world’s smartest corporate card with integrated expense management, banking, bill pay, & travel. https://brex.com/sourcery • MongoDB–Millions of developers and more than 65,200+ customers across industries, including ~75% of the Fortune 100, rely on MongoDB for their most important applications. With integrated capabilities for operational data, search, real-time analytics, & AI-powered data retrieval, MongoDB helps organizations everywhere move faster, innovate more efficiently, & simplify complex architectures. https://mongodb.com/ai • AssemblyAI–Millions of developers use AssemblyAI to power their voice ai applications and features. One API gives you access to best-in-class speech-to-text, voice agent, and speech understanding models for both pre-recorded and real-time audio. Granola, ClickUp & HeyGen are scaling with AssemblyAI - get $50 of free credits today at http://AssemblyAI.com/sourcery 𝐓𝐈𝐌𝐄𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐌𝐏𝐒 (00:00) Tony Kim, Head of BlackRock Fundamental Equities Global Technology (01:10) Secret Location, Croissants, and the RAISE Summit (03:52) Why Compute now rules everything (05:17) Why old data centers can't survive AI (07:43) Why data centers are ditching Copper for Light (10:44) The shortage nobody saw coming: RAM (15:20) Only three companies control memory (16:03) Tony's Playbook for Investing in the AI Era (18:16) The 20-year lie: "Compute is just a Commodity" (22:38) How Hardware quietly became bigger than Software (27:49) The Investing Rule: Will you still be cool in 5 years? (32:41) 2030: the year every frontier technology bet converges (38:16) Chips were never a Commodity (41:30) Rack design, materials science, and the physical-world renaissance (43:30) Inside the architecture of a Robot's mind
July 22 · 1 hr 4 min
David Friedberg on the Economic Crisis Nobody Wants to Fix
David Friedberg takes America's 250th anniversary as a starting point to ask where does the country actually stand? And how do the bottom 50% get left behind? He argues the wealth gap is widely misunderstood, pointing to roughly $183 trillion in total US household net worth, compared to about $8 trillion held by billionaires and $4 trillion by the bottom half of Americans. His view is that the rich didn't take everything. Instead, the bottom 50% never got to own the productive assets that created the last 50 years of wealth, and.. as Friedberg puts it: "The truth is that the bottom 50% were left behind because of bad tax policy." From there, Friedberg breaks down the policy decisions he believes created today's affordability crisis, including a tax code that taxes capital below labor, a Social Security system invested in Treasury bonds instead of equities since 1982, the shift away from pensions after ERISA, and government policies that drove housing, healthcare, and education costs higher. He argues those failures have created the conditions driving the rise of socialism in America. "Americans should feel good about America. We just have to fix the policies." David Friedberg: https://x.com/friedberg Molly O’Shea: https://x.com/MollySOShea Sourcery: ⁠https://x.com/sourceryy 𝐄𝐏𝐈𝐒𝐎𝐃𝐄 𝐋𝐈𝐍𝐊 YouTube: https://youtu.be/LGkRR4ZNsEA 𝐒𝐏𝐎𝐍𝐒𝐎𝐑𝐒 • Brex—The modern finance platform, combining the world’s smartest corporate card with integrated expense management, banking, bill pay, & travel. https://brex.com/sourcery • Turing—Turing delivers top-tier talent, data, and tools to help AI labs improve model performance—and enables enterprises to turn those models into powerful, production-ready systems. https://turing.com/sourcery • VCX—VCX is the public ticker for private tech, allowing investors of all sizes to invest in venture capital. View The Portfolio at http://GetVCX.com • Deel—Deel is the global people platform that helps startups hire, manage, pay, and equip anyone, anywhere. Trusted by more than 35,000 fast-growing companies, Deel is the people platform that just works, so teams can scale without the chaos. Visit: https://www.deel.com/sourcery • Public–Investing platform Public just launched Generated Assets, which lets you turn any idea into an investable index with AI. With Generated Assets, you can build, backtest, refine, and invest in any thesis with AI. Gone are the days of one-size-fits-all ETFs. https://public.com/sourcery Follow Sourcery for the latest updates! https://www.sourcery.vc Disclosure Paid Endorsement. Brokerage services by Open to the Public Investing Inc, member FINRA & SIPC. Advisory services by Public Advisors LLC, SEC-registered adviser. Crypto trading provided by Zero Hash LLC, licensed by the NYSDFS. Generated Assets is an interactive analysis tool by Public Advisors. Output is for informational purposes only and is not an investment recommendation or advice. See disclosures at public.com/disclosures/ga. Matched funds must remain in your account for at least 5 years. Match rate and other terms are subject to change at any time. 𝐓𝐈𝐌𝐄𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐌𝐏𝐒 (00:00) David Friedberg, CEO at Ohalo Genetics & Co-Host at All-In (01:11) Is California functionally bankrupt? (02:28) The real reason Americans can't afford anything anymore (12:13) Why a wealth tax is really government theft (21:22) Why blaming billionaires is a political strategy, not a solution (25:33) How Socialism grows like a virus (30:40) Inside Trump Accounts: a 401(k) for every American (34:22) Why rational arguments can't compete with viral outrage (40:56) Jeff Bezos's radical fix for the wealth gap (45:47) 5 years till Social Security is bankrupt (46:35) Is AI actually coming for your job? (50:29) The K-shaped economy (55:39) Five things America needs to fix to survive (59:21) David's research process (1:02:54) "It's about making Americans feel good again"
July 20 · 43 min
Data is Back: MongoDB, Databricks, Snowflake
CJ Desai, CEO of MongoDB, joins Sourcery at the RAISE Summit in Paris. We cover why data is the downstream winner of the AI cycle, how hyperscaler capacity limits are pushing workloads back on-prem, the return of data sovereignty, & what a bank's real agentic architecture actually looks like. "Data is the unsung hero and data is back. You cannot create an AI application without a great data layer, and your AI application is as good as your data." "You see these hyperscalers, some of them are running out of capacity. And the hyperscaler said, 'Sorry, we don't have a capacity.' And they are one of the top 50 customers for that hyperscaler." CJ took over MongoDB (NASDAQ: MDB) in November 2025 after Dev Ittycheria's 11-year run, with a mandate to reposition the company as the default modern database for AI applications. MongoDB carries a market cap of roughly ~$25 billion. CJ runs on a cadence of speaking to 10 to 12 customers a week, and in this conversation he brings that view straight from frontier labs, AI-native startups, and Global 2000 enterprises. Plus prediction markets under World Cup load, the open vs closed source model debate, data centers in space, and the mentors who shaped him. We cover: › The 3 classes of AI customers MongoDB serves › Why hyperscalers are telling top-50 accounts "no capacity" › On-prem, sovereign AI, and the data-center comeback › ElevenLabs running 50M+ agents on MongoDB › MongoDB (OLTP) vs Snowflake and Databricks (OLAP) › Why there is no standardization in enterprise AI models › Auto-scaling and the death of the expensive DBA CJ Desai: https://x.com/cj_mongodb Molly O’Shea: https://x.com/MollySOShea Sourcery: ⁠https://x.com/sourceryy 𝐄𝐏𝐈𝐒𝐎𝐃𝐄 𝐋𝐈𝐍𝐊 YouTube: ⁠https://youtu.be/Ts-f5ZBwDFw 𝐒𝐏𝐎𝐍𝐒𝐎𝐑𝐒 • Brex—The modern finance platform, combining the world’s smartest corporate card with integrated expense management, banking, bill pay, & travel. https://brex.com/sourcery • MongoDB–Millions of developers and more than 65,200+ customers across industries, including ~75% of the Fortune 100, rely on MongoDB for their most important applications. With integrated capabilities for operational data, search, real-time analytics, & AI-powered data retrieval, MongoDB helps organizations everywhere move faster, innovate more efficiently, & simplify complex architectures. https://mongodb.com/ai • AssemblyAI–Millions of developers use AssemblyAI to power their voice ai applications and features. One API gives you access to best-in-class speech-to-text, voice agent, and speech understanding models for both pre-recorded and real-time audio. Granola, ClickUp & HeyGen are scaling with AssemblyAI - get $50 of free credits today at http://AssemblyAI.com/sourcery 𝐓𝐈𝐌𝐄𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐌𝐏𝐒 (00:00) CJ Desai, CEO at MongoDB (01:12) Top CEOs at the Raise AI Summit (03:24) The 3 types of companies powering the AI boom (07:25) Why on-prem is making a shocking comeback (09:01) Hyperscalers are quietly running out of capacity (11:06) What actually separates MongoDB from Snowflake and Databricks (13:18) Why Frontier Labs treat MongoDB as their memory layer (15:23) The truth about data labeling companies (16:22) From Oracle intern to first-time CEO (19:19) Becoming CEO during the AI chaos (23:53) The World Cup crisis that tested MongoDB's scale (28:19) The real complexity behind simple AI agents (31:22) Open source vs. closed models: what customers actually pick (34:36) CJ's honest take on data centers in space (36:50) The mentors who shaped a first-time CEO (40:32) MongoDB's next big bets (41:36) Data is back?
July 19 · 56 min
Dylan Patel, SemiAnalysis, Nebius, Glean, Legora.. 12 Hot Takes From The Biggest Names in AI
Day 2 of RAISE Summit in Paris, the biggest AI summit in Europe. 12 founders, operators, and investors give us their hottest takes on the debates splitting the room right now: is token maxing genius or a waste, is open source dying or about to take over, and are we in a bubble.The disagreements were the best part. Dylan Patel (SemiAnalysis) loves token maxing and says open source is dying quickly, while others call token maxing the wrong approach entirely. Qasar Younis (Applied Intuition) on the opulence phase of the cycle and the pullback he sees coming. Apoorv Agrawal (Altimeter) on the four seasons of AI and planning for the climate, not the weather. Plus enterprise ROI, physical AI, petabyte-scale search, and why data is back."Open is dying quickly." - Dylan Patel, SemiAnalysis. "There are four seasons in AI. They're called OpenAI, Anthropic, SpaceX, and Google." - Apoorv Agrawal, Altimeter.Guest lineup:Dylan Patel, CEO, SemiAnalysisQasar Younis, CEO, Applied IntuitionApoorv Agrawal, Partner, Altimeter CapitalArvind Jain, CEO, GleanAriel Cohen, CEO, NavanCJ Desai, CEO, MongoDBGil Feig, CTO, MergeNikhil Benesch, CTO, TurboPufferBarak Kaufman, Chief Strategy Officer, WonderfulMax Junestrand, CEO, LegoraMarc Boroditsky, CRO, NebiusLaura Diorio, Social Media, NYSEThis episode is brought to you by Brex, MongoDB, and Assembly AI.Molly on X: https://x.com/MollySOShea𝐒𝐏𝐎𝐍𝐒𝐎𝐑𝐒• Brex—The modern finance platform, combining the world’s smartest corporate card with integrated expense management, banking, bill pay, & travel. https://brex.com/sourcery • MongoDB–Millions of developers and more than 65,200+ customers across industries, including ~75% of the Fortune 100, rely on MongoDB for their most important applications. With integrated capabilities for operational data, search, real-time analytics, & AI-powered data retrieval, MongoDB helps organizations everywhere move faster, innovate more efficiently, & simplify complex architectures. https://mongodb.com/ai• AssemblyAI–Millions of developers use AssemblyAI to power their voice ai applications and features. One API gives you access to best-in-class speech-to-text, voice agent, and speech understanding models for both pre-recorded and real-time audio. Granola, ClickUp & HeyGen are scaling with AssemblyAI - get $50 of free credits today at http://AssemblyAI.com/sourcery𝐓𝐈𝐌𝐄𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐌𝐏𝐒00:00 RAISE Summit Day 200:12 Qasar Younis (Applied Intuition)03:46 AI Trends at RAISE05:29 Applied Intuition Updates09:46 Bubble Risks and Books15:37 Self-Driving Future17:29 Dylan Patel (SemiAnalysis)22:05 Tokenmaxxing Debate24:31 Marc Boroditsky (Nebius)28:37 Arvind Jain (Glean)32:02 Laura Diorio (NYSE)35:03 Apoorv Agrawal (Altimeter): Four Seasons of AI38:23 Nikhil Benesch (TurboPuffer)42:18 CJ Desai (MongoDB): Agent Data Layer43:00 Barak Kaufman (Wonderful)45:34 Max Junestrand (Legora)49:35 Gil Feig (Merge)51:58 Ariel Cohen (Navan): Bullish on Humans54:54 CJ Desai (MongoDB): Data Is Back#podcast #investing #technology #venturecapital #entrepreneur #startup #siliconvalley
July 19 · 41 min
AMD, Starcloud, Coatue..10 Hot Takes From The Biggest Names in AI
Day 1 of RAISE Summit in Paris, the most high-profile AI summit in Europe. We pulled 10 of the sharpest founders, operators, and investors aside for their hottest takes on the debates defining AI right now.Open source vs closed models dominated the room, alongside agents rewriting how work gets done, the death of the keyboard and mouse, the economics of inference, and physical AI moving from data centers into cars, devices, and even orbit. Real numbers, real disagreements, and a few pieces of breaking news, straight from the people building it."The keyboard and mouse are slowly dying." - Max Cook, Coatue. "In the next 12 months, 90% of tokens will be going to open models." - Matan Grinberg, Factory."Most of AI is just glorified data science." - Pim de Witte, General Intuition"The SpaceX IPO is going to be viewed historically as the most undervalued IPO of all time." - Philip Johnston, Starcloud"People don't even understand how transformational agentic AI is." - Mark Papermaster, AMDGuest lineup:Max Cook, Sector Head, CoatueMatan Grinberg, CEO, FactoryRodrigo Liang, CEO, SambaNovaPhilip Johnston, CEO, StarcloudMark Papermaster, CTO, AMDPim de Witte, CEO, General IntuitionRamin Hasani, CEO, Liquid AIRobin Rombach, CEO, Black Forest LabsChris Madden, CEO, Good Future MediaHenri Delahaye, CEO, RAISE SummitThis episode is brought to you by Brex, MongoDB, and Assembly AI.Molly on X: https://x.com/MollySOShea𝐒𝐏𝐎𝐍𝐒𝐎𝐑𝐒• Brex—The modern finance platform, combining the world’s smartest corporate card with integrated expense management, banking, bill pay, & travel. https://brex.com/sourcery • MongoDB–Millions of developers and more than 65,200+ customers across industries, including ~75% of the Fortune 100, rely on MongoDB for their most important applications. With integrated capabilities for operational data, search, real-time analytics, & AI-powered data retrieval, MongoDB helps organizations everywhere move faster, innovate more efficiently, & simplify complex architectures. https://mongodb.com/ai• AssemblyAI–Millions of developers use AssemblyAI to power their voice ai applications and features. One API gives you access to best-in-class speech-to-text, voice agent, and speech understanding models for both pre-recorded and real-time audio. Granola, ClickUp & HeyGen are scaling with AssemblyAI - get $50 of free credits today at http://AssemblyAI.com/sourcery 𝐓𝐈𝐌𝐄𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐌𝐏𝐒00:00 RAISE in Paris00:16 Max Cook (Coatue)01:01 Keyboard and Mouse Dying03:42 Future Interaction Models06:32 Open Source vs Closed12:20 Henri Delahaye Hosts the Night13:21 Pim de Witte (General Intuition)14:46 Mark Papermaster (AMD) on Agentic Workflows16:38 Robin Rombach (Black Forest Labs)20:31 Matan Grinberg (Factory): Droids in Europe21:03 Open Models Token Shift23:17 Philip Johnston (StarCloud): Space Bets24:01 SpaceX IPO Bull Case25:13 Chips for Space Compute26:58 Chris Madden (Good Future Media): Clipping28:23 Viral Clip Hook Secrets32:03 Ramin Hasani (Liquid AI): Physical Models34:50 Three-Axis Foundation Models38:43 Rodrigo Liang (SambaNova): $1B Raise#podcast #investing #technology #venturecapital #entrepreneur #startup #siliconvalley #ai #elonmusk #spacex

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