The Twenty Minute VCOpenAI Restructuring: Who Wins and Who Loses & Mercor Raises $350M at a $10BN Valuation
Episode Details
EPISODE INFO
- Released
- October 30, 2025
- Duration
- 1h 26m
- 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 01:16 OpenAI's Restructuring: Winners and Losers 16:12 Andreessen Horowitz's Raise $10BN in New Funds 26:22 Mercor Raises $350M at a $10BN Valuation 44:51 Spray and Pray: Does it Work: Data Breakdown 49:52 The Role of Option Checks Venture Capital 01:08:03 Amazon's Struggles: How Do They Return to Greatness in AI 01:11:54 Why IRR is a BS Metric and What Matters More ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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 #openai #ai #vc #a16z #mercor
SPEAKERS
Jason Lemkin
guestFounder of SaaStr and venture investor focused on B2B software.
Rory O’Driscoll
guestVenture capitalist (Scale Venture Partners) focused on software and growth-stage investing.
Harry Stebbings
hostFounder and host of 20VC and venture capital investor.
EPISODE SUMMARY
In this episode of The Twenty Minute VC, featuring Jason Lemkin and Rory O’Driscoll, OpenAI Restructuring: Who Wins and Who Loses & Mercor Raises $350M at a $10BN Valuation explores openAI’s new structure, mega-fund dynamics, and AI-era venture bets OpenAI’s revised structure (including Microsoft’s economics and a nonprofit-controlled charitable foundation) removes prior constraints and makes an IPO and massive capital raises more feasible.
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