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Palantir CTO on The SaaS Apocalypse & Preventing The Next World War | a16z
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In this conversation, Shyam Sankar, chief technology officer at Palantir Technologies, discusses his new book Mobilize, his commission in the U.S. Army, and why he believes the most important thing America can do right now is inspire its latent heretics to step forward. He also breaks down how he thinks about the SaaS market under AI pressure, what the "alpha versus beta software" distinction means for which companies survive, and why he started a film production company. Timestamps: 00:00 — Introduction 07:53 — Rebuilding the Industrial Base 18:01 — Joining the Army to Modernize 24:20 — The SaaS Apocalypse Debate 29:42 — Agency Over Automation 38:24 — Beating China Without Self Sabotage 40:42 — Film as Cultural Willpower 49:57 — Projects and Rickover Story Read the full transcript here: https://www.a16z.news/s/podcast Resources: Follow Shyam Sankar on X: https://x.com/ssankar Follow Katherine Boyle on X: https://x.com/KTmBoyle Follow Erik Torenberg on X: https://x.com/eriktorenberg Stay Updated: If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to like, subscribe, and share with your friends! Find a16z on X: https://twitter.com/a16z Find a16z on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/a16z Listen to the a16z Show on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5bC65RDvs3oxnLyqqvkUYX Listen to the a16z Show on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/a16z-podcast/id842818711 Follow our host: https://x.com/eriktorenberg Please note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. a16z and its affiliates may maintain investments in the companies discussed. For more details please see http://a16z.com/disclosures.
Segments Timeline
Introduction
"World events remind us that there is actually evil out there. Just horrendous barbarism is still possible. When a country goes to war, it's not enough to just have the department of war fight these wa..."
Rebuilding the Industrial Base
"only 6% of spending on major weapon systems went to defense specialists i.e. companies that were exclusively in the business of defense. That's not that long ago. That's when the Berlin Wall still sto..."
Joining the Army to Modernize
"army. Um, and it's a program from General George and Secretary Driscoll. Maybe tell us a little bit about the origin of that and then what you're doing specifically inside uh inside the army now um to..."
The SaaS Apocalypse Debate
">> Let's get into the the SAS apocalypse. Uh you know there there's a line of thinking that says hey um now that the switching costs or now that AI is here the switching costs are very low you know th..."
Agency Over Automation
"the the first bit is what always irks me about how we talk about AI is as if somehow we have no human agency. AI is going to do X. No, that's not right. Humans are going to use AI to do X. There's a c..."
Beating China Without Self Sabotage
"speaking of China h how do we win the AI race particularly as it moves towards more physical AI and and robotics etc. What are the things to make sure we get right or the things we need to we need to ..."
Film as Cultural Willpower
"you have now been investing in film uh which is totally different than what you do at Palanteer. So I would love to understand you know why did you start a a film production company? Um and how do you..."
Projects and Rickover Story
"projects I I think I can share. So, Oppenheimer was hugely successful and complicated, right? where it's like it's threedimensional to the point of entertainment. It's not Pravda. Uh I think there's a..."