E26: State of Venture Capital, plus fan questions on longevity, decentralization & quantum computing
Jason Calacanis (host), David Sacks (host), Chamath Palihapitiya (host), Narrator, David Friedberg (host), Jason Calacanis (host), Chamath Palihapitiya (host)
In this episode of All-In Podcast, featuring Jason Calacanis and David Sacks, E26: State of Venture Capital, plus fan questions on longevity, decentralization & quantum computing explores venture Capital’s New Playbook: Longevity, Bitcoin, Quantum, and SPACs The episode blends fan Q&A with a deep dive into how venture capital is being reshaped by new technologies, new financing tools, and shifting power dynamics. The hosts discuss practical longevity strategies, the political and economic implications of Bitcoin and decentralized finance, and the realistic timeline and impact of quantum computing. They then analyze how venture capital has evolved: larger rounds, crossover investors, SPACs, non-dilutive revenue financing, and increased—though still insufficient—founder and investor diversity. The conversation ends by emphasizing how much easier it is today to start and finance a company, and urging aspiring founders to build real skills and reject a victim mindset.
Venture Capital’s New Playbook: Longevity, Bitcoin, Quantum, and SPACs
The episode blends fan Q&A with a deep dive into how venture capital is being reshaped by new technologies, new financing tools, and shifting power dynamics. The hosts discuss practical longevity strategies, the political and economic implications of Bitcoin and decentralized finance, and the realistic timeline and impact of quantum computing. They then analyze how venture capital has evolved: larger rounds, crossover investors, SPACs, non-dilutive revenue financing, and increased—though still insufficient—founder and investor diversity. The conversation ends by emphasizing how much easier it is today to start and finance a company, and urging aspiring founders to build real skills and reject a victim mindset.
Key Takeaways
Longevity is increasingly actionable through both lifestyle and new diagnostics.
Fasting, exercise, metformin, NAD+ precursors, and comprehensive scans (e. ...
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Bitcoin embodies a potential ‘separation of money and state’—but governments will fight back.
As Bitcoin shifts from retail to institutional adoption, it is framed as an antidote to inflation and political money-printing, yet regulators in countries like India and China may restrict or ban it, especially where capital controls are central to state power.
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DeFi could massively financialize real-world assets while tightening tax visibility.
Tokenizing homes, cars, art, and even careers could enable borrowing, trading, and fractional ownership at scale; because many of these assets exist physically, they can still be taxed, and blockchain records may reduce today’s ‘leakage’ in gray markets even if some purely digital assets remain anonymous.
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Quantum computing is powerful but far from cracking modern cryptography.
Current machines have noisy qubits and are well under one logical qubit; estimates suggest a <5% chance of having enough logical qubits to break RSA‑2048 before 2040, while nearer-term value will come from simulating quantum systems for materials, chemistry, and pharma rather than breaking Bitcoin.
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Venture capital has shifted to larger, later-stage bets fueled by crossover and SPAC capital.
Average round sizes are up 3x (5x in late stage), growth valuations have exploded (e. ...
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Founders can increasingly avoid dilution in the middle rounds using revenue-based financing.
Platforms like Pipe (for recurring revenue) and Clearbanc (for e‑commerce) let companies trade future revenue for upfront capital via marketplaces, making it logical to dilute at seed/Series A for expertise, then grow via non-dilutive financing until a public listing.
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Access to startup investing is broadening via syndicates and equity crowdfunding.
AngelList syndicates, higher Reg CF limits (now $5M per year), Republic’s consumer-facing raises, and experiments like selling a slice of a VC firm’s future economics (Backstage Capital) are democratizing access, potentially letting ordinary people invest small amounts in startups instead of just gambling or buying lottery tickets.
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Notable Quotes
“Arguably, someone is alive on planet Earth today that could live past the age of 200.”
— David Friedberg
“Crypto is introducing the idea that the government cannot control the money supply—that’s the separation of money and state.”
— David Sacks
“Quantum computing is like fusion… a way to burn an enormous amount of money over 20 or 30 years.”
— Chamath Palihapitiya
“Any company that’s trying to raise hundreds of millions of dollars pre–Series A is presumptively fraud. There’s still too much R&D involved.”
— David Sacks
“If you are not building the product in some way or selling the product in some way, then what are you doing at this startup?”
— Jason Calacanis
Questions Answered in This Episode
If DeFi truly financializes every asset, how should regulators redesign taxation and consumer protection without killing innovation?
The episode blends fan Q&A with a deep dive into how venture capital is being reshaped by new technologies, new financing tools, and shifting power dynamics. ...
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What ethical and social questions arise if meaningful lifespan extension is only accessible to the wealthy for the next few decades?
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At what point should deep-tech projects like fusion or quantum shift from government and university labs into venture-backed commercialization?
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How can underrepresented founders best exploit the new financing stack—syndicates, crowdfunding, revenue-based financing—to bypass biased gatekeepers?
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Does the growing ability to raise large, non-dilutive or lightly-dilutive rounds risk encouraging undisciplined spending and weaker product-market fit?
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Transcript Preview
... Sax, is there something you object to here? The poker one and net worth?
No. I mean, it's fine. I don't give a shit about longevity or quantum computing, but-
Here's the good news, David. I- it's not all about you. There's four people on the show.
(laughs)
(laughs)
So, so you could have two people who like the topic, and then you could just ask them a probing question.
That's fine. That's fine. Just, just tell me when it's over. I'll do you, you know.
This fucking guy, you know he's ready for off-
I'll do you, you know.
I'm going all in.
Let your winners ride.
Rain Man, David Sax.
I'm going all in.
And I said- We opened and sourced it to the fans, and they've just gone crazy with it.
Love you, Wes.
Queen of Quinoa.
I'm going all in.
Hey, everybody. Hey, everybody. Welcome to the All In podcast. I'm Jason Calacanis. And with us today, again, the Queen of Quinoa, David Friedberg. Sans his dog in the background. Sorry for those of you who love his dog. And-
He's on a walk. He'll be back in, like, 10 minutes.
He'll be back and he'll be in the seat. Uh, and the Rain Man himself, David Sax.
(laughs)
Ultra-focused on SaaS and marketplace startups.
(laughs)
And involved in some illegal trafficking of red pills, straight up, from Honduras to Cuba, and then through Miami, making... The red pills making their way to California. And finally, daddy's back, the SPAC master himself, Bestie C, the dictator is back.
Replenished. Bank account replenished. (laughs)
(laughs) You've been re-billionized.
Fir- firing on all cylinders.
Ugh. It's so, so... You know, live by the SPAC, die by the SPAC. That's what they always say in this business. But you know what? We have been absolutely inundated with, I kid you not, hundreds of questions from you, our loyal audience. And when this thing is over, we are going on world tour. We'll see you in Vegas. We'll see you, uh, in, uh, at the Royal Albert Hall in, uh, London and Miami. All cities are on the agenda. Let's take our first question from you, the audience. To what extent are you guys interested in-
Wait, wait. How's, how's everyone doing?
Great.
Uh, I thought we were getting to the questions. But how's e-... I mean, (laughs) look at this guy. He-
(laughs) If you're-
... he got his ass kicked and he's back.
I'm doing really, really great. What about the rest of you guys?
You guys play poker this week? Oh, yup, yup.
We played poker. It was a bloodbath. Well, although, you know, it's so funny 'cause, like, we played, I played, uh, a very big game the week before. And then we step into our game, which is, like, I think still quite big, but I could not rub two cards together to make a hand. And I, uh, I went off like a rocket ship.
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