Joe Lonsdale

@JTLonsdale • 289,276 subscribers

I'm an entrepreneur, investor, & philanthropist. I founded @PalantirTech @Addepar @UAustinOrg @8VC & other mission-driven orgs. Bold policy @InstituteCicero

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Joe Lonsdale

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Exciting milestone MeritFirst! First group of partner companies is connecting to talent, with 660+ candidates starting their journey with us. And the bar is high - only 32 test takers earned an "A" so far. No grade inflation here. Top performers will hear from us this week.

Videos

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For decades, we let progressives ruin great cities like Austin. We have a choice: do we blame voters and throw up our hands? Or do we use the TX Constitution to take more power from corrupt large cities, protect our kids, and clean up the mess? I'm going to choose the latter.

For American Optimist episode 100, we have a conversation with one of Silicon Valley's top builders &amp; investors: Elad Gil Learn how he's backed dozens of unicorns, where he thinks the next great companies will emerge, his "3 types of founders", and why he says AI is underhyped!

"The rich are getting richer, the poor, poorer, and the wealthy don't pay their fair share." We hear this ad nauseam from Kamala, Bernie, et al. But their data is a mirage! It doesn't include govt benefits or taxes. AO episode 99 with economist &amp; former TX Sen. Phil Gramm!

Lots of requests for this one: Ep 64 w/ my friend Dr. Alex Karp, co-founder &amp; CEO Palantir, is live! We cover the gamut — $PLTR origin stories, personal background, reforming DoD, AI &amp; warfare, and how #Palantir has changed the course of history.

Venezuela, once the richest Latin American country, is now poorer than Haiti. Communists have wreaked havoc in our backyard &amp; let our enemies run wild: Iran, Russia, cartels, et al. But Trump is stepping up! Will Maduro fall? What's next? Honored to interview María Corina Machado

The future of warfare is being built in Texas. To deter the CCP &amp; preserve peace, our navy needs autonomous vessels produced economically, at scale. We founded Saronic out of @8VC Build to meet that need. They just raised a $175M Series B; the newest defense unicorn!

My friend Tim Urban Tim Urban is one of the most influential writers &amp; public intellectuals today. From AI to Mars and the Fermi Paradox, his writings &amp; clever illustrations influence how many of our top innovators think about the future. Excited to have him on AO this week!

"There's a bunch of things red states are doing better than blue states." Not my words; they're Reid Hoffman's! We disagree on politics, but agree on AI optimism — and some pro-liberty policies too. New AO chat w/ Reid, and wait till you hear our exchange on DEI vs merit...

NY: 20M people, $233B budget, 11% top income tax FL: 22M people, $115B budget, 0% state income tax Governance matters. I recently interviewed Governor Kevin Stitt for Cicero Institute's Courage Awards. OK is booming under his leadership: top 10 in growth with a billion-dollar surplus.

.Zachary Bookman and I worked on government efficiency for over a decade in 1000s of cities and state agencies; it's finally cool now! Great to sit down with my longtime friend and OpenGov co-founder &amp; CEO. We cover OpenGov's make-or-break moments, advice for DOGE, and more.

My friend sam lessin 🏴‍☠️ was an early leader at Facebook, and is a star seed investor, e.g. in Solana (2,000X return!) Fun to hear his unconventional takes on AI, future of VC, and why Harvard (his alma mater) can be saved! And we share what @8VC &amp; @Slow are building at MeritFirst

“We wanted flying cars, instead we got 140 characters.” JoeBen Bevirt took Peter Thiel's words personally. And thanks to JoeBen &amp; Joby Aviation, we're about to get flying cars! [Albeit, speaking of 140 characters, X is also not bad]. AO Episode 114 out now.

In recent years, India tech has evolved from an IT services nation to a product nation, with its own software giants &amp; startup scene. This week on AO, we discuss a new era of possibilities w/ a key leader building in India &amp; US: Srikrishnan Ganesan, Co-Founder &amp; CEO of Rocketlane

Deregulate lawyers! Who's with us? Everywhere we look, artificial barriers are created to "protect" the public. But as economist Dr. Cliff Winston of The Brookings Institution explains, there's no proof these crony regulatory barriers are helping society. New AO episode out now.

In 1979, Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi was in fighter pilot school in TX when a radical theocracy seized power &amp; took a pro-Western Iran back to the Middle Ages. Since then, he's been a dissident hero to millions, fighting for a secular, democratic Iran. Honored to share his story

The Pendleton Act of 1883 brought merit into government: US leaders had to pass hard tests. We won world wars and went to the moon. But leftists destroyed it in the 1970s. Now, for the first time in decades, Scott Kupor is bringing merit back. This is critical work for our nation.

Nothing worthwhile is easy. Boyan Slat describes the failure that almost doomed the project, and the media's glee at his near-demise. But then you see his grit &amp; resilience on display. They've cleaned up an average of 750kg of trash each hour in 2023, and are accelerating!

America's cities are broken. Sadly, even most red-state governors stand by as city officials fail badly. Not Governor Kevin Stitt He stepped up to save Tulsa &amp; prove we don’t have to tolerate incompetence or lawlessness. Important AO episode; hope you'll share with other state leaders.

For American Optimist episode 100, we have a conversation with one of Silicon Valley's top builders & investors: Elad Gil Learn how he's backed dozens of unicorns, where he thinks the next great companies will emerge, his "3 types of founders", and why he says AI is underhyped!

"The rich are getting richer, the poor, poorer, and the wealthy don't pay their fair share." We hear this ad nauseam from Kamala, Bernie, et al. But their data is a mirage! It doesn't include govt benefits or taxes. AO episode 99 with economist & former TX Sen. Phil Gramm!

Lots of requests for this one: Ep 64 w/ my friend Dr. Alex Karp, co-founder & CEO Palantir, is live! We cover the gamut — $PLTR origin stories, personal background, reforming DoD, AI & warfare, and how #Palantir has changed the course of history.

Venezuela, once the richest Latin American country, is now poorer than Haiti. Communists have wreaked havoc in our backyard & let our enemies run wild: Iran, Russia, cartels, et al. But Trump is stepping up! Will Maduro fall? What's next? Honored to interview María Corina Machado

The future of warfare is being built in Texas. To deter the CCP & preserve peace, our navy needs autonomous vessels produced economically, at scale. We founded Saronic out of @8VC Build to meet that need. They just raised a $175M Series B; the newest defense unicorn!

My friend Tim Urban Tim Urban is one of the most influential writers & public intellectuals today. From AI to Mars and the Fermi Paradox, his writings & clever illustrations influence how many of our top innovators think about the future. Excited to have him on AO this week!

.Zachary Bookman and I worked on government efficiency for over a decade in 1000s of cities and state agencies; it's finally cool now! Great to sit down with my longtime friend and OpenGov co-founder & CEO. We cover OpenGov's make-or-break moments, advice for DOGE, and more.

My friend sam lessin 🏴‍☠️ was an early leader at Facebook, and is a star seed investor, e.g. in Solana (2,000X return!) Fun to hear his unconventional takes on AI, future of VC, and why Harvard (his alma mater) can be saved! And we share what @8VC & @Slow are building at MeritFirst

“We wanted flying cars, instead we got 140 characters.” JoeBen Bevirt took Peter Thiel's words personally. And thanks to JoeBen & Joby Aviation, we're about to get flying cars! [Albeit, speaking of 140 characters, X is also not bad]. AO Episode 114 out now.

In recent years, India tech has evolved from an IT services nation to a product nation, with its own software giants & startup scene. This week on AO, we discuss a new era of possibilities w/ a key leader building in India & US: Srikrishnan Ganesan, Co-Founder & CEO of Rocketlane

In 1979, Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi was in fighter pilot school in TX when a radical theocracy seized power & took a pro-Western Iran back to the Middle Ages. Since then, he's been a dissident hero to millions, fighting for a secular, democratic Iran. Honored to share his story

Nothing worthwhile is easy. Boyan Slat describes the failure that almost doomed the project, and the media's glee at his near-demise. But then you see his grit & resilience on display. They've cleaned up an average of 750kg of trash each hour in 2023, and are accelerating!

America's cities are broken. Sadly, even most red-state governors stand by as city officials fail badly. Not Governor Kevin Stitt He stepped up to save Tulsa & prove we don’t have to tolerate incompetence or lawlessness. Important AO episode; hope you'll share with other state leaders.