Grok, Genie 3, GPT-5 & the Rise of Vibe Coding

Genie 3 can generate fully interactive, persistent worlds from just text, in real time. In this episode, Google DeepMind’s Jack Parker-Holder (Research Scientist) and Shlomi Fruchter (Research Director) join Anjney Midha, Marco Mascorro, and Justine Moore of a16z, with host Erik Torenberg, to discuss how they built it, the breakthrough “special memory” feature, and the future of AI-powered gaming, robotics, and world models. They share: -How Genie 3 generates interactive environments in real time -Why its “special memory” feature is such a breakthrough -The evolution of generative models and emergent behaviors -Instruction following, text adherence, and model comparisons -Potential applications in gaming, robotics, simulation, and more -What’s next: Genie 4, Genie 5, and the future of world models This conversation offers a first-hand look at one of the most advanced world models ever created.

a16z General Partners Martin Casado and Anjney Midha join Erik Torenberg to unpack one of the most dramatic shifts in tech policy in recent memory: the move from “pause AI” to “win the AI race.” They trace the evolution of U.S. AI policy—from executive orders that chilled innovation, to the recent AI Action Plan that puts scientific progress and open source at the center. The discussion covers how technologists were caught off guard, why open source was wrongly equated to nuclear risk, and what changed the narrative—including China's rapid progress. The conversation also explores: - How and why the AI discourse got captured by doomerism - What “marginal risk” really means—and why it matters - Why open source AI is not just ideology, but business strategy - How government, academia, and industry are realigning after a fractured few years - The effect of bad legislation—and what comes next Whether you're a founder, policymaker, or just trying to make sense of AI's regulatory future, this episode breaks it all down.

We’re sharing an episode from ChinaTalk that dives into one of the biggest recent reversals in U.S. tech policy. The U.S. banned Nvidia’s H20 AI chips to China in April. Now, just months later, they’re being sold—with a 15% export fee. What happened? Why the reversal? And what does it mean for the future of AI competition between the U.S. and China? Chris Miller—author of Chip War—and Lennart Heim from RAND join ChinaTalk host Jordan Schneider to unpack the policy flip-flop, why China is publicly downplaying interest in the H20, and why high-bandwidth memory and semiconductor manufacturing tools may be even more important than the Nvidia chips themselves.

Fresh off the announcement of his move from Shopify to a16z, Alex Danco joins TBPN to talk about the “trade deal” that brought him here and his mission to make the firm’s written content truly world class. He discusses why he believes writing still matters in the age of AI, how great prose can act as “power transfer technology” for founders, and why he’s betting on the overlooked art of speechwriting. Alex also reflects on his years as a founder, investor, and longtime blogger, and shares the formats he’s most excited to explore, from deal memos to launch speeches.

There’s been a wave of M&A deals lately - Meta and Scale, Windsurf and Google - and a lot of it points to something bigger: how regulation, capital, and innovation are colliding in 2025. In this episode Erik Torenberg brings together Steven Sinofsky, former Microsoft Executive and Balaji Srinivasan, founder of the Network School, and author of the Network State to break it all down. From acquihires to “acquifires,” from FTC crackdowns to the deeper battle between the state and the network, this is a sharp conversation on the future of tech and power.