The Twenty Minute VCElon Musk vs Sam Altman | The Implosion of Thinking Machines | Can VC Survive Public Pricing?
Episode Details
EPISODE INFO
- Released
- January 22, 2026
- Duration
- 1h 23m
- 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. ----------------------------------------------- Timestamps: 00:00 Intro 00:48 Can VC Survive With Public Market Prices Today 14:01 The Implosion of Thinking Machines 24:32 Elon Musk vs. OpenAI: The Legal Battle 43:25 Can OpenAI Win Ads? 01:01:42 ClickHouse's $15BN Deal: Analysed 01:11:58 Replit's $9BN Deal: Analysed ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Subscribe on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3j2KMcZ... Subscribe on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast... Follow Harry Stebbings on X: https://x.com/harrystebbings Follow Jason Lemkin on X: https://x.com/jasonlk Follow Rory O’Driscoll on X: https://x.com/rodriscoll Follow 20VC on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/20vchq Follow 20VC on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@20vc_tok Visit our Website: https://www.20vc.com Subscribe to our Newsletter: https://www.thetwentyminutevc.com/con... ----------------------------------------------- #20vc #harrystebbings #roryodriscoll #jasonlemkin #elonmusk #openai #samaltman #clickhouse #replit #thinkingmachines
SPEAKERS
Jason Lemkin
guestFounder of SaaStr and a venture investor focused on SaaS companies.
Rory O’Driscoll
guestVenture capitalist and board member (known for investing in and advising high-growth software companies).
Harry Stebbings
hostFounder and host of 20VC (The Twenty Minute VC).
EPISODE SUMMARY
In this episode of The Twenty Minute VC, featuring Jason Lemkin and Rory O’Driscoll, Elon Musk vs Sam Altman | The Implosion of Thinking Machines | Can VC Survive Public Pricing? explores venture returns, AI talent churn, OpenAI lawsuit, and monetization shifts today Public market multiples are bifurcating: ex-growth software is punished while perceived high-growth/AI winners still command extreme revenue multiples, reinforcing venture’s dependence on “hot” categories.
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