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20VC: Reid Hoffman on The Trump Administration | Elon Musk and DOGE | The US Defence Budget, NATO and The War in Ukraine | China, Tariffs and TikTok | The Future of Chips, Nuclear Energy, Quantum Computing and Climate
Episode notes
Reid Hoffman is one of the most impactful people in technology and startups. As a Founder he founded Paypal and Linkedin before moving to the investing side where he has led deals in Facebook, Airbnb and more.
In Today’s Episode with Reid Hoffman We Discuss:
1. China and Tariffs:
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Should the US ban Tiktok and other Chinese companies, given China banning US companies presence in their country?
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How does Reid evaluate the rise of the Chinese car industry? What are his concerns?
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How does Reid hope Trump uses tariffs to advantage the US position?
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What is Reid concerned about what Trump could do with tariffs? What would be bad?
2. Elon Musk and DOGE:
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What impact will Elon Musk have on the future of AI in America?
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Why does Reid believe that it is impossible for DOGE to achieve it’s targets?
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What should Elon must be given credit for? What does he not deserve credit for?
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What are Elon’s greatest strengths? What are his greatest weaknesses?
3. The US Defence Budget and Ukraine:
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Why does Reid believe that the US should reduce their defence budget?
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Does Reid believe the US should continue to finance the war in Ukraine?
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Should the US continue to subsidise NATO’s lack of defence spending?
4. NVIDIA and The Future of Chips:
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Will NVIDIA be able to sustain their monopoly?
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What is the biggest threat to their position?
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Should both the US and Europe have their own chip sovereignty?
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How does Reid evaluate potential conflict between China and Taiwan impacting chip supply?
5. Nuclear, Quantum and Climate:
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Why does Reid believe nuclear fusion can solve climate change?
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Does Reid believe that with the rise of global conflict and AI, the importance of climate change is reduced in the attention of the world?
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Why does Reid believe that AI does more to help than harm climate change?
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Why is Reid so excited for a future with quantum computing?
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What are the biggest dangers of quantum that we need to be mindful of?