Sequoia Capital Partner Shaun Maguire returns to Sourcery for a conversation with Molly O’Shea on math superintelligence, physics, and the limits of human understanding.
Specifically, Shaun explains his and Andrew Reed’s investment in Harmonic, the new AI company founded by Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev, and why math + reinforcement learning may unlock the next major breakthrough in artificial intelligence. Breaking down Harmonic’s differentiated strategy using Lean, formalized proofs, and reinforcement learning to train AI systems that reason rigorously about math, outperforming far larger labs with a fraction of the spend.
We also get into Shaun’s physics worldview from loopholes in the laws of nature, to time travel, vacuum energy, UAPs, Bayesian probability, information warfare and why he believes we understand far less about reality than we think.
The conversation expands into UAPs (UFOs), Palmer Luckey, probability, scientific humility, and how frontier intelligence, human or artificial, might reshape what’s possible in math, physics, and reality itself.
In an exclusive cut for X, Shaun discusses free speech, narrative power, and why platforms like X matter in an era of global information conflict (Sequoia invested $800M in the take-private) – making the case that much of today’s political and media chaos is the downstream effect of Cold War–era KGB psychological warfare tactics that never actually stopped — they just changed hands.
Shaun Maguire: https://x.com/shaunmmaguire
Molly O’Shea: https://x.com/MollySOShea
Sourcery: https://x.com/sourceryy
𝐄𝐏𝐈𝐒𝐎𝐃𝐄 𝐋𝐈𝐍𝐊𝐒
https://youtu.be/7-kTsCkKfUw
𝐒𝐏𝐎𝐍𝐒𝐎𝐑𝐒
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