No Priors: Artificial Intelligence | Technology | Startups

Conviction

At this moment of inflection in technology, co-hosts Elad Gil and Sarah Guo talk to the world's leading AI engineers, researchers and founders about the biggest questions: How far away is AGI? What markets are at risk for disruption? How will commerce, culture, and society change? What’s happening in state-of-the-art in research? “No Priors” is your guide to the AI revolution. Email feedback to show@no-priors.com. Sarah Guo is a startup investor and the founder of Conviction, an investment firm purpose-built to serve intelligent software, or "Software 3.0" companies. She spent nearly a decade incubating and investing at venture firm Greylock Partners. Elad Gil is a serial entrepreneur and a startup investor. He was co-founder of Color Health, Mixer Labs (which was acquired by Twitter). He has invested in over 40 companies now worth $1B or more each, and is also author of the High Growth Handbook.

  1. 2 DAYS AGO

    Reinventing K-12 Education Using AI with Alpha School Principal Joe Liemandt

    What if kids could master their academics in just two hours a day and spend the rest of their time developing real-world skills they’re passionate about? Joe Liemandt, founder of the software company Trilogy, is doing just that. Sarah Guo and Elad Gil are joined by Joe Liemandt, principal of Alpha School, to discuss his AI-driven vision of reinventing K-12 education. Joe talks about the strategies that Alpha School employs: reducing the traditional six-hour school day to two, replacing teachers with “Guides,” using financial incentives as motivation, and dedicating the remainder of the school day to project-based workshops that reflect the students’ passions. Together, they also examine Joe’s plan to scale Alpha School, the youth mental health crisis, and why edtech so far has failed. Sign up for new podcasts every week. Email feedback to show@no-priors.com Follow us on Twitter: @NoPriorsPod | @Saranormous | @EladGil | @AlphaSchoolATX Chapters: 00:00 – Joe Liemandt Introduction 00:27 – From Trilogy to Alpha School 02:45 – How Joe Changed His Mind About Alpha School 04:16 – Reenvisioning the School Day 09:06 – An Example Day at Alpha School 20:13 – Educating Based on Motivations 22:56 – Incentives-Based Learning 24:40 – Standards for Guides 26:39 – Extrinsic vs. Intrinsic Motivators 35:12 – Tackling Learning Differences  39:13 – Alpha School Pricing Structure 43:08 – Education Tech at Alpha School 44:54 – Rebuilding Education in the AI Age 48:43 – Reforming Education Policy 56:25 – Ed Tech as a Product 58:58 – Fixing Gaps in Education 59:45 – Why Education is Joe’s Mission 01:01:49 – Conclusion

    1h 2m

  2. 18 SEPT

    AI Agents Talking to AI Agents: Reinventing Commerce with Decagon CEO Jesse Zhang

    The traditional call center may soon be a thing of the past. Jessie Zhang is building AI agents designed to replace monotonous human labor and transform how consumers interact with brands. Elad Gil sits down with Jesse Zhang, co-founder and CEO of Decagon, an AI agent company at the forefront of AI customer service. Jesse talks about how Decagon secured large enterprise clients and the impact of its AI agents, his journey as a second-time founder, and Decagon’s company culture. Plus, they discuss what the future of agentic customer service may look like. Sign up for new podcasts every week. Email feedback to show@no-priors.com Follow us on Twitter: @NoPriorsPod | @Saranormous | @EladGil | @thejessezhang | @DecagonAI  Chapters: 00:00 – Jesse Zhang Introduction 00:30 – Decagon’s Services 01:11 – Decagon’s Customers and Growth 02:41 – Productivity Gains with Decagon 03:33 – How Decagon Integrates in Customer Workflows 04:25 – Jesse’s Second Time Founder Story 05:41 – Jesse’s Hiring Philosophy 09:13 – Counter-intuitive Advice for Founders 11:19 – How Decagon Thinks About Talent 14:12 – Areas for Longer Term Planning 15:37 – Decagon’s Path to Customer Service 16:57 – Thoughts on Pushing Into the Application Layer 19:40 – What Decagon Does Uniquely  22:05 – Pricing Services in the AI Age 24:46 – How Decagon Sees Customer Service 25:53 – Defining Long-Term Success for Decagon 27:41 – Jesse’s Views on an Agentic Future 31:22 – Conclusion

    31 min

  3. 15 SEPT

    Jared Kushner: BrainCo, Affinity Partners, and the Geopolitics of AI

    From negotiating with world leaders to partnering with top entrepreneurs, businessman and investor Jared Kushner has traveled the unique path of bringing private sector knowledge to government work and back again. Jared Kushner joins Sarah Guo and Elad Gil to cover a wide range of topics, from his founding of investment firm Affinity Partners, to his time in government, to his new AI venture BrainCo. Jared discusses Affinity Partners’ mission and strategy, how he has leveraged his government experience in business and investing, and the geopolitics of technological advancements like AI. Plus, he makes a case for why private sector talent should do “tours of duty” in government. Sign up for new podcasts every week. Email feedback to show@no-priors.com Follow us on Twitter: @NoPriorsPod | @Saranormous | @EladGil | @jaredkushner Chapters: 00:00 – Jared Kushner Introduction 00:30 – Starting Affinity Partners Post-Government 01:59 – Value of Global Perspective 03:34 – Ventures with Affinity 05:14 – Evaluating Investments Via Macro Trends 09:09 – Undervalued Countries 12:32 – Origins of BrainCo 16:50 – BrainCo Use Cases 23:49 – BrainCo’s Biggest Challenge 24:47 – Determining Customer Fit 26:39 – AI and Policy 30:03 – Middle East and AI 31:59 – Jared’s Experience in Middle East Diplomacy 40:16 – Brokering Peace Post-October 7th 43:52 – Making Deals with Middle Eastern Partners 47:14 – Jared and Ivanka’s Partnership 49:18 – Benefits of Joining Public Sector from the Private Sector 52:07 – Jared’s Pitch for Serving in Government 56:25 – Jared’s Leadership Style 58:24 – Conclusion

    58 min

  4. 5 SEPT

    A New Operating System for Physicians with OpenEvidence Founder Daniel Nadler

    How does a new technology get adopted by 40% of American doctors in just 18 months? In an era where the golden age of biotechnology has also created a dark age of physician burnout, OpenEvidence found the answer by fundamentally changing how doctors access critical information. OpenEvidence founder Daniel Nadler sits down with Sarah Guo and Elad Gil to discuss how his company solved the semantic search problem in medicine. He talks about the strategy of treating doctors as consumers, striking the balance of keeping patients in the loop in medical conversations, and how technology will reshape both medicine and medical education. Plus, Daniel gives his thoughts on the roots of motivation, as well as his philosophy for recruitment.  Sign up for new podcasts every week. Email feedback to show@no-priors.com Follow us on Twitter: @NoPriorsPod | @Saranormous | @EladGil | @EvidenceOpen  Chapters: 00:00 – Daniel Nadler Introduction 00:08 – OpenEvidence’s Success  01:54 – How OpenEvidence Works 06:35 – Dealing with Ambiguity 11:37 – Treating Knowledge Workers as Consumers 15:53 – Balancing Keeping Patients in the Loop 19:28 – How Technology May Shape the Future of Medicine 22:12 – How Technology Will Change Medical Education 30:40 – Examining Consumer Adoption of Preventative Health Measures 36:02 – Lessons for Other Fields 37:27 – Rationalism vs. Will 41:13 – Daniel’s Thoughts on Motivation 42:44 – Daniel’s Recruiting Philosophy 44:48 – Conclusion

    45 min

  5. 28 AUG

    Reshaping America’s Economy for the Superintelligence Century with Jacob Helberg

    AI doomers say that the technology will be the ultimate job-killer. But Jacob Helberg wants people to see AI as a tech that will boost, not replace, human workers and give them superpowers. Under Secretary of State for Economic Growth, Energy, and the Environment Jacob Helberg joins Sarah Guo and Elad Gil to talk about AI’s role in reshoring manufacturing in America, supply chain security, and transforming the US energy grid. He also discusses the CapEx revolution, why he sees opportunity for tech and energy partnerships in the Middle East, and the path to more nuclear energy for the US. Plus, the three explore what the “superintelligence century” could look like. Sign up for new podcasts every week. Email feedback to show@no-priors.com Follow us on Twitter: @NoPriorsPod | @Saranormous | @EladGil | @jacobhelberg  Chapters: 00:00 – Jacob Helberg Introduction 00:50 – Jacob’s Agenda for Capitol Hill 01:53 – Reshoring the American Supply Chain 04:38 – Areas of CapEx Growth 06:56 – Importance of Supply Chain Security 08:52 – Reshoring Rare Earth Minerals 11:12 – How AI Can Help America Reindustrialize  15:37 – AI and Productivity Gains 17:38 – The Superintelligence Century 22:56 – Creating an Open Source AI Ecosystem 24:41 – The Middle East and AI 26:24 – Growing Energy Resources in the US 28:28 – The Path to More Nuclear Energy in the US 35:50 – Essential Domains for Strategy and Security 38:20 – The Tech Industry and the Administration 40:29 – Conclusion

    41 min

  6. 21 AUG

    How Agentic AI is Transforming The Startup Landscape with Andrew Ng

    Andrew Ng has always been at the bleeding edge of fast-evolving AI technologies, founding companies and projects like Google Brain, AI Fund, and DeepLearning.AI. So he knows better than anyone that founders who operate the same way in 2025 as they did in 2022 are doing it wrong. Sarah Guo and Elad Gil sit down with Andrew Ng, the godfather of the AI revolution, to discuss the rise of agentic AI, and how the technology has changed everything from what makes a successful founder to the value of small teams. They talk about where future capability growth may come from, the potential for models to bootstrap themselves, and why Andrew doesn’t like the term “vibe coding.” Also, Andrew makes the case for why everybody in an organization—not just the engineers—should learn to code.  Sign up for new podcasts every week. Email feedback to show@no-priors.com Follow us on Twitter: @NoPriorsPod | @Saranormous | @EladGil | @AndrewYNg Chapters: 00:00 – Andrew Ng Introduction 00:32 – The Next Frontier for Capability Growth 01:29 – Andrew’s Definition of Agentic AI 02:44 – Obstacles to Building True Agents 06:09 – The Bleeding Edge of Agentic AI 08:12 – Will Models Bootstrap Themselves? 09:05 – Vibe Coding vs. AI Assisted Coding 09:56 – Is Vibe Coding Changing the Nature of Startups? 11:35 – Speeding Up Project Management 12:55 – The Evolution of the Successful Founder Profile 19:23 – Finding Great Product People 21:14 – Building for One User Profile vs. Many 22:47 – Requisites for Leaders and Teams in the AI Age 28:21 – The Value of Keeping Teams Small 32:13 – The Next Industry Transformations 34:04 – Future of Automation in Investing Firms and Incubators 37:39 – Technical People as First Time Founders 41:08– Broad Impact of AI Over the Next 5 Years 41:49 – Conclusion

    42 min

  7. 14 AUG

    Chips, Neoclouds, and the Quest for AI Dominance with SemiAnalysis Founder and CEO Dylan Patel

    What would it take to challenge Nvidia? SemiAnalysis Founder and CEO Dylan Patel joins Sarah Guo to answer this and other topical questions around the current state of AI infrastructure. Together, they explore why Dylan loves Android products, predictions around OpenAI’s open source model, and what the landscape of neoclouds looks like. They also discuss Dylan’s thoughts on bottlenecks for expanding AI infrastructure and exporting American AI technologies. Plus, we find out what question Dylan would ask Mark Zuckerberg.  Sign up for new podcasts every week. Email feedback to show@no-priors.com Follow us on Twitter: @NoPriorsPod | @Saranormous | @EladGil | @dylan522p | @SemiAnalysis_ Chapters: 00:00 – Dylan Patel Introduction 00:31 – Dylan’s Love for Android Products 02:10 – Predictions About OpenAI’s Open Source Model 06:50 – Implications of an American Open Source Model for the Application Ecosystem 10:48 – Evolution of Neoclouds 17:26 – What It Would Take to Challenge Nvidia 27:43 – What Would an Nvidia Challenger Look Like? 28:18 – Understanding Operational and Power Constraints for Data Centers 34:48 – Dylan’s View on the American Stack 43:01 – What Dylan Would Ask Mark Zuckerberg 44:22 – Poker and AI Entrepreneurship 46:51 – Conclusion

    47 min

  8. 7 AUG

    The Shifting Value of Content in the AI Age with Cloudflare CEO Matthew Prince

    Cloudflare has spent nearly fifteen years making the Internet faster, more reliable, and more secure. So now that AI systems are changing the way we interact with the Internet, Cloudflare wants to help level the playing field for content creators. Sarah Guo and Elad Gil sit down with Matthew Prince, co-founder and CEO of Cloudflare to discuss the evolution of the internet from search to AI, including Cloudflare’s role in facilitating that shift. Matthew talks about how AI assistants are changing the shape of the Internet, the problems Google created by making traffic the arbiter of content value, and how he sees Cloudflare’s part in facilitating the new content marketplace for the mutual benefit of creators and AI companies. Plus, a look towards how agentic infrastructure may unfold in the near future. Sign up for new podcasts every week. Email feedback to show@no-priors.com Follow us on Twitter: @NoPriorsPod | @Saranormous | @EladGil | @eastdakota | @Cloudflare Chapters: 00:00 – Matthew Prince Introduction 00:37 – Cloudflare’s Role in Securing the Internet 02:08 – The Road to Cloudflare’s Dominance 03:20 – The Internet’s Shift from Search to AI 06:34 – Role of Agents and Content on the New Web 09:44 – Reshaping the Content Market Online 13:05 – De-emphasizing Traffic as a Proxy for Value 18:04 – Will We Run Out of Quality Human-Generated Content? 20:01 – Scaling the Value of Content in the AI Age 22:32 – Cloudflare’s Approach to Inference 24:55 – How Cloudflare Responds to Market Demand 26:04 – Open vs. Closed Models 27:21 – Path to the New Marketplace for Content 30:58 – Advice for Content Creators 32:47 – Exploring the Timeline for Running Models Locally 40:07 – The Future of Agentic Infrastructure 44:52 – Conclusion

    45 min
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Trailer

About

At this moment of inflection in technology, co-hosts Elad Gil and Sarah Guo talk to the world's leading AI engineers, researchers and founders about the biggest questions: How far away is AGI? What markets are at risk for disruption? How will commerce, culture, and society change? What’s happening in state-of-the-art in research? “No Priors” is your guide to the AI revolution. Email feedback to show@no-priors.com. Sarah Guo is a startup investor and the founder of Conviction, an investment firm purpose-built to serve intelligent software, or "Software 3.0" companies. She spent nearly a decade incubating and investing at venture firm Greylock Partners. Elad Gil is a serial entrepreneur and a startup investor. He was co-founder of Color Health, Mixer Labs (which was acquired by Twitter). He has invested in over 40 companies now worth $1B or more each, and is also author of the High Growth Handbook.

Information

  • Creator
    Conviction
  • Years Active
    2023 - 2025
  • Episodes
    134
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Copyright 2023 Conviction. All Rights Reserved.

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