Best Eric Newcomer | Newcomer.co Podcasts (2025)

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Andreessen Horowitz’s Media Empire, Trump vs. Kimmel, Klarna’s $15B IPO Lessons 43:41

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2h ago43:41

43:41

This week on the Newcomer Podcast, we dive into three stories that reveal how tech, politics, and media are colliding in unexpected ways. First, we look at Andreessen Horowitz’s expanding media ambitions, exploring why A16z wants to shape the narrative around everything from defense tech to TikTok. Then, we turn to Trump’s feud with Jimmy Kimmel, w…

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AI, Longevity, and the Health Revolution with Nayeema Raza 36:27

7d ago36:27

36:27

Check out Nayeema Raza's podcast Smart Girl Dumb Questions: https://linktr.ee/smartgirldumbquestions We’re at a turning point in public health. From billionaires chasing immortality to the growing influence of AI in medicine, the future of healthcare is being rewritten in real time. In this week’s episode of the Newcomer Podcast, journalist and fil…

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From Deus Ex Medicina: Vinod Khosla, Bob Kocher & Annie Lamont 43:29

12d ago43:29

43:29

On this episode of the Newcomer podcast, host Eric Newcomer is joined by co-host Nayeema Raza for conversations with some of the most influential voices in healthcare and venture capital. Bob Kocher, Partner at Venrock, and Annie Lamont, Founder and Managing Partner of Oak HC/FT, share their perspectives on business models in healthcare, the rise o…

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The Stakes at Deus Ex Medicina 28:55

19d ago28:55

28:55

Journalist Nayeema Raza—host of Smart Girl Dumb Questions—joins Eric Newcomer to preview Deus Ex Medicina, their AI–health–longevity summit happening Tuesday, Sept 9 (San Francisco). They discuss the big themes going into the conference: how longevity went mainstream, why precision medicine and novel bio are finally feeling real, and who wins the r…

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Will Hurd on Silicon Valley's Defense-Tech Gold Rush 55:17

26d ago55:17

55:17

Former CIA officer and three-term Congressman Will Hurd joins Eric Newcomer, Tom Dotan, and Madeline Renbarger to break down Washington's defense tech boom and tackle the burning question: Is this all just hype? Hurd explains how Ukraine has changed the face of warfare and opened the door for new companies to break into the fold. However, it's one …

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The Casino enters the arena + Guillermo Rauch of Vercel on AI factory builders 50:59

1M ago50:59

50:59

Is the AI bubble popping—or just catching its breath? Eric Newcomer and Tom Dotan spar over Nvidia jitters, Sam Altman’s “bubble” dinner, the MIT “95% fail” headline, app-vs-model margins (Cursor, Claude Code), and Chamath’s SPAC-as-casino shtick. Then Eric sits down with Vercel founder/CEO Guillermo Rauch for a fast, idea-dense jam: assistants → a…

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Ed Zitron Hater’s Guide to Generative AI 55:40

1M ago55:40

55:40

For this episode, we brought on Ed Zitron to make the bear case against large language models and walk us through his “Hater’s Guide To The AI Bubble.” In this fiery debate with Eric Newcomer, Tom Dotan, and Madeline Renbarger, we dig into whether generative AI is the next platform shift or a $500B mirage. From the viral TaskRabbit CAPTCHA myth to …

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AI is saving the economy. For now. 37:08

2M ago37:08

37:08

GPT-5 has landed! Is it the leap forward OpenAI promised or just an incremental upgrade? Eric Newcomer and Tom Dotan discuss this, how AI capex might be propping up the entire economy, and what Apple’s golden gifts to Trump say about Big Tech’s political bets.

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Index Ventures' Danny Rimer Talks Figma's IPO and VC Bets 46:55

2M ago46:55

46:55

This week on the Newcomer Podcast, we're joined by a very special guest: Danny Rimer, seasoned investor and longtime partner at Index Ventures, for a timely conversation around Figma’s highly anticipated IPO. Danny takes us behind the scenes of Index’s early bet on Figma and its visionary CEO Dylan Field, sharing how the deal came together and what…

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Trump's plan to win the AI race 40:42

2M ago40:42

40:42

Tech leaders unveiled the American AI Action Plan on Wednesday and President Trump signed 3 executive orders with big handouts to AI companies. Madeline returns fresh off of a trip to Washington DC and gives Tom and Eric the lowdown on tech's victory lap at the nation's capital. Plus, even the altruists at Anthropic feel the need to raise Middle Ea…

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The Moments That Matter from Cerebral Valley London 50:13

2M ago50:13

50:13

Fresh back from London! In this episode, Eric Newcomer reunites with co-hosts James Wilsterman and Max Child of Volley to dive into the best moments from the Cerebral Valley AI Summit. From buzzy startup founders to incumbent innovators, the London event showcased a rapidly evolving AI landscape. But what stood out most? Eric, James, and Max break …

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Shaun Maguire's Growth Hack 42:27

2M ago42:27

42:27

The Newcomer Podcast returns just in time to have Eric, Tom, and Madeline weigh in on Meta's audacious AI hiring spree. The tech giant has enticed researchers from OpenAI, Google DeepMind, and Anthropic with huge paydays in the hopes it can bring its Llama models up to par with the competition. Next up, Ramp's report that companies have stopped pur…

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Inside Cerebral Valley: Autonomous Vehicles & AI Investment 47:38

3M ago47:38

47:38

Today on the pod, we're bringing you two of the liveliest panels from the 2025 Cerebral Valley AI Summit, held this week in London. Both panels — “The Autonomous Vehicle Rollout” and “Investing in 2030” — explore one of the major themes from the event: where AI is poised to show up next in our everyday lives, beyond the chatbot. Think voice, device…

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Inside the Cerebral Valley AI Summit: What to Expect Next Week 53:11

3M ago53:11

53:11

We’re officially one week out from the Cerebral Valley AI Summit! On today’s episode, co-hosts James Wilsterman and Max Child of Volley join host Eric Newcomer to preview what’s ahead — from standout speakers to can’t-miss panels and the big ideas that will shape the conversations next week. To kick things off, Eric poses a timely question: What th…

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War on Reality: AI Voice and Video 38:34

3M ago38:34

38:34

In this second installment of the Cerebral Valley podcast series, co-hosts James Wilsterman and Max Child of Volley join Eric Newcomer for a thought-provoking conversation about the future of AI-generated voice and video — and what it means for our sense of reality. From TikTok trends to the future of Hollywood and podcasting, the trio explores whe…

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Cerebral Valley: AI Agents Are Already Here 47:21

4M ago47:21

47:21

The Cerebral Valley AI Summit is right around the corner! To help you navigate the fast-evolving AI landscape ahead of the event, Newcomer Podcast is launching a special four-part series — co-hosted by James Wilsterman and Max Child of Volley. Get insider insights, expert analysis, and fresh perspectives on the trends shaping the future of artifici…

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VC Haves and Have Nots (with Kate Clark) 42:38

4M ago42:38

42:38

We're welcoming Bloomberg's Kate Clark to the show this week and diving into her reporting on the rough fundraising environment for any VC that isn't an a16z or GC-style megafund. The only emerging funds that can raise, it seems, are ones that are started by investors who leave these brands. If it weren't for the AI funding bonanza, the situation w…

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The Great Financial Services Debate 48:30

4M ago48:30

48:30

In this special episode, we feature two interviews recorded live during Newcomer’s Breaking the Bank Summit, a financial technology summit held this week in San Francisco. We’re including two of the most dynamic discussions here, beginning with Gabriel Stengel of Rogo and Jeff Seibert of Digits, followed by an interview with Josh Reeves, CEO of Gus…

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A Very Stable “Coin” GENIUS 23:44

4M ago23:44

23:44

Eric relays his dispatch from Dimension Capital’s biotech summit in Park City, where the crowd was much more academic than the conferences we usually attend. Biotech stocks aren’t doing great, meanwhile university funding cuts could spell trouble for drug research. Still, people were rosy about AI tools. We also took a temperature check on the stat…

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Marc Benioff on AI Eating SaaS, San Francisco’s New Mayor & CEO Trump Pandering 56:48

5M ago56:48

56:48

How does the AI gold rush look from the helm of a $40-billion software giant? Salesforce co-founder, chair, and CEO Marc Benioff joins Eric Newcomer and Tom Dotan for a tour of the next tech boom cycle. The conversation opens with Benioff’s sweeping vision of “Agent Force 2.0,” where large language models paired with reasoning engines mint whole ne…

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Josh Wolfe on America’s Next War and Why It Isn’t Taiwan 49:55

5M ago49:55

49:55

This week, we kick off by discussing Ben Smith’s bombshell post ”The group chats that changed America,” that exposed the private chats that nudged Silicon Valley’s money crowd into Trump’s orbit. Then we hop to DC’s Hill-and-Valley Forum, where the mantra was industrial renaissance or bust. The race with China, AI’s essential energy demands, and th…

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The TRUTH about VC Media 24:28

5M ago24:28

24:28

We’re back to opining on the state of tech media! A16z has aqui-hired Erik Torenberg and his newsletter Turpentine, while the Technology Brothers with ties to Founders Fund have created a podcasting empire. Eric and Tom reminisce about the original wave of “going direct,” why it failed, and what’s different this time around. Later on, Madeline shar…

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AGI, Seriously + Foundation Model Polyamory (With Kyle Harrison) 55:05

5M ago55:05

55:05

This week, Tom breaks down his scoops on how the big foundation model providers are doing.and much to the chagrin of our resident skeptic, they’re earning lots of real revenue! OpenAI is on track to crack over $12 billion in revenue this year, and Anthropic projects it will double its ARR to $4 billion by the end of the year. But have we hit the AG…

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Walter Bloomberg at the Wheel for the Whole Stock Market 1:06:56

6M ago1:06:56

1:06:56

We're welcoming special guest Tom Dotan of Dead Cat fame to the show this week — just in time for the tariff market meltdown. To Silicon Valley's Trump supporters, we hate to say we told you so, but it's hard to imagine how these tariffs on our biggest trading partners will benefit tech and artificial intelligence development in the US. In the seco…

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OpenAI: A $300 Billion Non-Profit? 57:02

6M ago57:02

57:02

OpenAI has done it again. The AI giant closed $40 billion in fresh funding (kind of) led by Softbank, We debate the bull and bear case for OpenAI's $300 billion valuation. Eric sticks to his guns from his previous bear case, but Madeline is more optimistic about OpenAI's consumer revenue. We also go over the latest in the Deel/Rippling corporate es…

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Vibecode Showdown 19:35

6M ago19:35

19:35

This week, Eric shared the details of his vibe coding frenzy from the past few weeks, testing out Vercel and the buzziest coding assistant of moment, Lovable. We unpack the benefits and remaining headaches of these tools from a non-coder perspective. We then turn to the Studio Ghibli memes of the week from OpenAI's new 4o image model integration an…

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The Biggest Deal of the Year! 44:24

6M ago44:24

44:24

We're opening in a celebratory mood this week with Wiz's big exit to Google, which if it holds will offer some much needed liquidity to venture firms and their LPs. It's a big win for several of Silicon Valley's heavy hitters, including Sequoia's Doug Leone, Index Ventures' Shardul Shah, and Greenoaks' Neil Mehta. IPOs are looking a little bit more…

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Everything's Computer 21:33

7M ago21:33

21:33

We’re recording this episode on the ground from two different tech conferences, the flashy new HumanX summit in Las Vegas and the now-veteran status South By Southwest in Austin. We cover how the attendees diverge, with more consumer-tech making a showing at SXSW and the new guard of AI business leaders heading over to HumanX (with a few exceptions…

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Best Crypto to AI Pivot Ever 21:55

7M ago21:55

21:55

In this episode of the Newcomer Podcast, Eric and Madeline dissect why VCs are mad about Trump’s plans for a strategic crypto reserve. Even the biggest boosters and loudest voices for deregulation around crypto have been caught off guard by the president’s push to add other altcoins to the promised Strategic Bitcoin Reserve, calling the move a blat…

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$200 Billion for Data Centers... In This Economy? 17:34

7M ago17:34

17:34

Eric and Madeline break down the week that was in AI news in this episode of The Newcomer Podcast, from the unnecessary panic caused by reports of Microsoft cancelling leases for data centers to Nvidia’s quarterly earnings report. Despite tech companies moving full steam ahead on AI, including OpenAI’s launch of GPT 4.5 and Softbank’s $200 billion …

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Humane’s HP Exit & the Foundation Model Slugfest 24:26

7M ago24:26

24:26

In this episode of the Newcomer Podcast, Eric and Madeline give a sendoff to the Humane and its AI Pin. The company was acquired by HP for its AI talent, in a darkly poetic ending for former Apple engineers who left to build a smart hardware startup. They debate the merits of voice AI technology as an interface and if it’s really time to move away …

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Elon Musk’s Boisterous OpenAI Bid 19:12

7M ago19:12

19:12

Eric and Madeline unpack the biggest “deal that wasn’t” story of Elon Musk’s unsolicited offer to purchase OpenAI for $97.4 billion. WIth Sam Altman flat-out rejecting the offer on X, this feels less like an offer and more of a statement about Musk’s frustration with OpenAI’s continued conversion to a for-profit company that competes with him. Pres…

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DOGE's Twitter Firestorm 25:24

8M ago25:24

25:24

In this episode of the Newcomer podcast, Eric Newcomer and Madeline Renbarger dig into all of the chaos in Washington led by Elon Musk and his team of young staffers. They push back on the attacks from the right at the press that revealing information about public employees is anything close to "doxxing," and unpack a16z's virtue signaling by hirin…

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The DeepSeek Fire Drill 24:42

8M ago24:42

24:42

In this episode, Eric Newcomer and Madeline Renbarger break down DeepSeek’s impact on western AI companies. Is it really the “AI Sputnik Moment” that investors have called it, or just a CCP bluff? They also delve into new AngelList data on venture returns — unsurprisingly, they’re not looking good post-2021. They also discuss voice AI startup Eleve…

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Grit vs Grift 25:59

8M ago25:59

25:59

"In this episode of The Newcomer Podcast, Eric Newcomer and Madeline Renbarger unpack how tech elites are reacting to the early days of the Trump presidency. They discuss Sam Altman and Masayoshi Son’s new venture to build AI data centers dubbed “Project Stargate” and make the case for business leaders to abide by important ethical norms. They also…

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Beware the "Tech Industrial Complex" 22:00

8M ago22:00

22:00

In this jam-packed episode, Eric and Madeline break down Biden’s surprise crackdown on the “Tech Industrial Complex,” explore Trump’s tight ties with Silicon Valley oligarchs, and unpack the behind-the-scenes drama of a Canadian startup that ousted its visionary founder. They also spotlight a mega funding deal in AI-powered coding tools, rounding o…

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Waymo’s Next Challenge: Humanity 15:16

9M ago15:16

15:16

Waymo’s milestone — surpassing Lyft’s ride numbers in San Francisco — takes center stage in our first podcast of the new year. Still, it’s not obvious that this translates into guaranteed scale across the country. We consider the operational headaches that come with scaling driverless fleets. One way forward for Waymo could be further collaboration…

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Is the Tech IPO Window Open? 23:01

9M ago23:01

23:01

The ServiceTitan IPO has been an unexpected bright spot as 2024 comes to a close. On this year’s final episode of the Newcomer Podcast, we discuss what other startups might follow in ServiceTitan’s footsteps next year. Eric defends the controversial ratchet provision in its last funding round. And we dig into Alphabet’s big week. We focus on startu…

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Shake-ups at Silicon Valley's Biggest VC Firms 20:44

10M ago20:44

20:44

After a brief hiatus, the Newcomer podcast is back! Madeline Renbarger has rejoined me as my co-host to help break down all of the news across venture capital and startups. This week, we’re kicking off with a massive $693 million chip deal and Google’s huge quantum computing breakthroughs, in news that feels like flashes of Silicon Valley returning…

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Has AI Hit a Wall? A Debate from the Cerebral Valley AI Summit 42:56

10M ago42:56

42:56

I’ve been spending some of the afternoon chatting with OpenAI’s now fully released o1. So far, I don’t know that it feels like the super intelligent ChatGPT 5 that we’ve all fantasized about — but it’s smart and sophisticated. The new model helped me to game out potential stories and talk through problems. And of course it wrote me a poem and told …

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Listen to Anthropic's Dario Amodei from Cerebral Valley + Videos from on Stage 27:46

10M ago27:46

27:46

If you get some downtime over the Thanksgiving holiday, catch up on everything that happened at the Cerebral Valley AI Summit last week. We’ve got videos of all of the talks on stage on our YouTube channel and are sharing my conversation with Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei over our podcast feeds. Scale AI CEO Alexandr Wang Andreessen Horowitz partner M…

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Fear-Mongering & Forecasting: Assessing AI's Predictions About AI 49:07

10M ago49:07

49:07

Cerebral Valley is tomorrow! I’ve been listening to old interviews, brainstorming with Claude and ChatGPT, and talking to investors to prep for my conversations with Dario Amodei, Martin Casado, and Alexandr Wang. We’ll be sharing those conversations here in the newsletter. Expect video highlights on our social media feeds, a detailed rundown of th…

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The AI Startup Fantasy Draft 48:44

11M ago48:44

48:44

This is probably my favorite episode of the year. We just updated our picks for our artificial intelligence startup fantasy draft. That means dropping startups whose star is fading and making new pickups. Last year, Max Child, James Wilsterman, and I drafted the most promising generative AI startups that had raised $100 million or more. In this lat…

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Trump & AI Policy + Overrated/Underrated on the Cerebral Valley Podcast 55:16

11M ago55:16

55:16

We’re back with a couple episodes of the Cerebral Valley Podcast leading up to our summit on November 20. I’m joined by my Cerebral Valley AI Summit co-hosts Max Child and James Wilsterman. On this episode, we started by talking about the thing on everyone’s minds — the election of Donald Trump and what it means for artificial intelligence. Then, a…

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Silicon Valley Can't Look Away from the Election 21:30

11M ago21:30

21:30

We’re in the home stretch. Silicon Valley’s political nightmare could hopefully soon be over. In the latest episode of the Newcomer podcast, we dig into all of the tech industry’s burning political takes. There was Josh Wolfe’s endorsement waffling. Jeff Bezos’ editorial intervention. And the general sense that everyone is losing their minds leadin…

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Newcomer Turns Four 23:26

11M ago23:26

23:26

Newcomer turns four this week. On the podcast, Madeline talked with me about how it all began. When I made the decision to start Newcomer, the venture capital industry was in the beginnings of a record-breaking bull run. A lot has changed since then, for both venture and the media industry, but I’m excited about our growth at Newcomer and wanted to…

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Listen: Bullish on AI, Bullish on Self-Driving, But Apprehensive About OpenAI & Tesla (with Jon McNeill) 24:28

12M ago24:28

24:28

Description In this episode, Eric Newcomer is joined by guest host Jon McNeill, a seasoned executive with experience at Lyft and Tesla who is now leading DVx Ventures. They discuss the bear case for OpenAI. The OpenAI discussion then leads into a closer look at the contrast between founder and manager modes before concluding with a discussion on Te…

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The Ongoing Startup Downturn & More PR People Than Reporters to Answer Their Emails 17:50

12M ago17:50

17:50

Description: In this episode of the Newcomer Podcast, Eric Newcomer and Madeline Renbarger discuss two major funding rounds, the ongoing downturn in VC funding, and the growing imbalance between public relations professionals and reporters. Eric and Madeline highlight Poolside’s $500M round and Impulse Space’s $150M raise, while pointing out that e…

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Listen: OpenAI's 'Great Man,' AI Regulation & Drugs 24:43

12M ago24:43

24:43

In this episode of the Newcomer Podcast, hosts Eric Newcomer and Madeline Renbarger delve into the world of venture capital deals, starting with Ujet’s $76M Series D for its AI-powered call center software. Next up is the drama surrounding PearAI, whose growth-hacker tweet set the tech world buzzing. From there, they navigate through OpenAI’s own “…

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AI + Robots, YC Preview & Why the Cool Kids Keep Picking on Tech 23:40

1y ago23:40

23:40

Episode 1: AI + Robots, YC Preview, and Why the Cool Kids Keep Picking on Tech In this week’s episode of the Newcomer Podcast, hosts Eric Newcomer and Madeline Renbarger discuss three top venture capital deals, including World Labs and delivery startup Flink. They also wade into Y Combinator’s upcoming Demo Day, highlighting trends in defense tech …