Uncapped #51 | Joe Lonsdale from 8VC
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About this episode
Joe Lonsdale is the Founder and Managing Partner at 8VC, an early-stage venture capital firm managing over $6 billion in capital. In 2003, he founded Palantir (NASDAQ:PLTR), a global software company known for its work supporting US and its allies’ defense and intelligence. Since then, he has founded over a dozen prominent companies, including Addepar, a wealth management platform helping investors manage over $7 trillion, and OpenGov, the leading cloud software provider for local governments which recently sold for $1.8 billion.
Joe was an early investor in Anduril, Oculus (acq. FB), Guardant Health (NASDAQ:GH), Oscar (NYSE:OSCR), Illumio, Wish (NASDAQ:WISH), JoyTunes, Blend (NYSE:BLND), Flexport, Joby Aviation (NYSE:JOBY), Orca Bio, Qualia, Synthego, RelateIQ (acq. CRM), Yugabyte, among many others.
We discussed what it takes to keep building after success, why AI is accelerating entire industries, and how it could reshape productivity, healthcare, defense, and the economy. Joe also shared his views on investing in hard problems, rebuilding trust in technology, and where America needs to adapt to win in the AI era.
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Timestamps:
(0:00) Intro
(0:32) Why Joe keeps building
(3:53) AI being contrarian and right
(5:39) What Palantir got right
(6:53) Pulling forward innovation
(9:32) AI vs social media
(12:23) Making AI work for America
(18:03) Department of War debate
(21:16) Betting on defense
(26:51) Robotics, bio, and energy
(32:16) Investing in the AI era
(35:38) Peptides opportunity
(38:35) Texas vs California
(40:12) Political correctness
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Links:
https://x.com/JTLonsdale
https://x.com/jaltma
https://8vc.com/
https://uncappedpod.com/
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