The Twenty Minute VCAre Burn Multiples BS in an AI World? & Sam Altman Needs $1TRN of Energy
Episode Details
EPISODE INFO
- Released
- October 2, 2025
- Duration
- 1h 24m
- Channel
- The Twenty Minute VC
- Watch on YouTube
- ▶ Open ↗
EPISODE DESCRIPTION
Jason Lemkin is one of the leading SaaS investors of the last decade with a portfolio including the likes of Algolia, Talkdesk, Owner, RevenueCat, Saleloft and more. Rory O’Driscoll is a General Partner @ Scale where he has led investments in category leaders such as Bill.com (BILL), Box (BOX), DocuSign (DOCU), and WalkMe (WKME), among others. ----------------------------------------------- In Today’s Episode We Discuss: 00:00 Intro 00:47 Understanding Burn Multiples and Capital Efficiency in an AI World 12:57 What Metrics Founders Need to Focus on in a World of AI 20:59 The Role of Kingmakers in Venture Capital: Harvey, Abridge, Profound 33:50 Klarna, Figma, Stubhub, all Down: Are Public Markets Turning? 42:35 How Can We Fund the $1TRN Sam Altman Needs for Energy 01:00:44 FiveTran and DBT: Is the Wave of Consolidation About to Begin? 01:09:04 Does Private Equity Need to Change in a World of AI 01:16:52 Political Expression and Corporate Responsibility ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Subscribe on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3j2KMcZ... Subscribe on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast... Follow Harry Stebbings on X: / harrystebbings Follow Jason Lemkin on X: / jasonlk Follow Rory O’Driscoll on X: / rodriscoll Follow 20VC on Instagram: / 20vchq Follow 20VC on TikTok: / 20vc_tok Visit our Website: https://www.20vc.com Subscribe to our Newsletter: https://www.thetwentyminutevc.com/con... ----------------------------------------------- #20vc #harrystebbings #roryodriscoll #jasonlemkin #openai #klarna #figma #ai #burnmultiples
SPEAKERS
Rory O’Driscoll
guestVenture capitalist and partner at Scale Venture Partners focused on SaaS and growth investing.
Jason Lemkin
guestFounder and CEO of SaaStr and a longtime B2B SaaS operator and investor.
Harry Stebbings
hostFounder of 20VC and host of the 20VC podcast.
EPISODE SUMMARY
In this episode of The Twenty Minute VC, featuring Rory O’Driscoll and Jason Lemkin, Are Burn Multiples BS in an AI World? & Sam Altman Needs $1TRN of Energy explores aI growth warps metrics, funding dynamics, and trillion-dollar energy ambitions AI-native companies can look more capital-efficient by burn multiple despite worse cash flow margins because extreme growth swamps burn in the ratio.
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