State of Crypto 2024: Builder Energy, U.S. Election, Stablecoins, AI, More

Sales is evolving. AI-native systems are replacing traditional CRM tools, capturing unstructured insights from emails, Slack, surveys, and more in real time. These systems automate early-stage tasks like prospecting and qualification, enabling sales teams to focus on high-value work—while AI provides live coaching and drives decisions across sales, marketing, and product teams. In this episode, a16z partners Joe Schmidt and Marc Andrusko explore the evolution of sales tools and strategies, sharing their insights on what’s driving this shift. Is this the “Death of a Salesforce”? Perhaps that’s an overstatement. But one thing is clear: the future belongs to those who leverage data and AI to drive decisions—not just activities.

What if the biggest challenge of our time isn’t living longer, but living better? In this episode, we’re tackling one of humanity’s greatest accomplishments—and perhaps its most overlooked challenge: longevity. As more people live past 100, our systems—healthcare, finance, career planning, and even our cultural perceptions of aging—need a fundamental overhaul. We’re joined by Dr. Andrew Scott, author of The Longevity Imperative, and Vijay Pande a16z’s Bio & Health general partner, to explore how a shift from “sick care” to “health care” could transform our lives. Together, we discuss the implications of longer lifespans, from the individual choices that can improve our healthspans to the economic and societal shifts required to sustain a healthier, more productive aging society. Join us as we reimagine the future of aging, where living to 100 can be more than survival—it can be a life well-lived.

America is a country of immense wealth, but our manufacturing infrastructure is struggling to keep pace. In this episode, we discuss the overlooked crisis of American manufacturing and what it means for our national resilience. a16z’s Oliver Hsu hosts a conversation with founders Jordan Black (Senra Systems), Chris Power (Hadrian), and Bryon Hargis (Castelion) on why we need to revive our industrial base — and fast. From outdated regulations to the adoption of automation, they break down the “death by a thousand paper cuts” that has left our production capabilities lagging behind. Yet, it’s not all grim: these founders share how their companies are taking bold, vertically integrated approaches to reinvent the sector and reclaim America's industrial edge.

2024 has been a milestone year for autonomous tech. Waymo’s fully autonomous driver has surpassed 20 million miles, while FAA approvals now allow commercial drones to fly without visual observers, advancing air autonomy in unprecedented ways. In this special live recording from SF Tech Week, a16z partner Erin Price-Wright moderates a panel of experts from three key domains—air, land, and sea—to explore the latest real-world deployments of autonomous systems, the impact of new chips on cost and efficiency, building full-stack solutions, managing risk, and the evolving role of regulation in driving these technologies forward. Joining the conversation is Macario Namie, CMO of Skydio, discussing the transition from consumer drones to enterprise and government use; Vijay Patnaik, Head of Product at Applied Intuition, who shares insights on developer tools and software for autonomous vehicles; and Peter Bowman-Davis, engineering fellow at a16z, diving into maritime autonomy based on his work at Saronic.

What does Rich Sutton’s "Bitter Lesson" reveal about the decisions Tesla is making in its pursuit of autonomy? In this episode, we dive into Tesla’s recent "We, Robot" event, where they unveiled bold plans for the unsupervised full-self-driving Cybercab, Robovan, and Optimus—their humanoid robot, which Elon Musk predicts could become “the biggest product ever.” Joined by a16z partners Anjney Midha and Erin Price-Wright, we explore how these announcements reflect the evolving intersection of hardware and software. We’ll unpack the layers of the autonomy stack, the sources of data powering it, and the challenges involved in making these technologies a reality. Anjney, with his experience in computer vision and multiplayer tech at Ubiquity6, and Erin, an AI expert focused on the physical world, share their unique perspectives on how these advancements could extend far beyond the consumer market.