The Reasoning Show Every company is a Hardware company
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Sep 24, 2023 The podcast explores the historical context of internet infrastructure development and its potential as a marketplace. It discusses the concerns of VCs regarding the high costs of cloud providers and the threat to their business model. The chapter also highlights the initial wave of the internet boom, the challenges faced by businesses, and the emergence of new business models.
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AI Is The Next Consumer Platform
- AI feels like the next consumer-ready platform similar to the web because simple interfaces (ChatGPT, image tools) put complex capabilities at anyone's fingertips.
- Brian compares the browser-era shift to today's chat/image UIs as the first building block that enables mass use and experimentation.
Internet Growth Drove Massive Physical Infrastructure
- Large infrastructure builds followed the web's rise because bandwidth limits forced massive fiber and network investment in the late 1990s.
- Brian recounts how telcos, cable companies, and railroads laid fiber using existing rights-of-way during that boom.
The Old VC Hardware Tax Story
- VCs used to require a big upfront 'hardware tax' where early funding went to Sun, Cisco, EMC for servers, networking, and storage.
- Brian recalls VCs saying the first $50M of investments effectively went to hardware vendors before software could be built.