Chamath Palihapitiya, investor and CEO of Social Capital, joins Azeem Azhar to explore the dysfunctional relationship between capital and companies, why SPACs (special purpose acquisition companies) are such a necessary innovation, and why he’s pivoted his own firm to focus on hard, important issues like climate change and health.
They also discuss:
- How SPACs can open up the investing ecosystem for everyday retail investors.
- What tech regulators should learn from GDPR and how well-intentioned regulation can go wrong.
- How aggressive taxation of Big Tech could redirect capital to startups.
Further resources:
- “The Unusual Ambitions of Chamath Palihapitiya” (Institutional Investor, 2020)
- “Chamath Palihapitiya’s next big hustle” (Techcrunch, 2020)
- “The Man With Six SPACs” (Newcomer, 2020)
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Note: Portions of the conversation that had been removed in an earlier version of this episode have been reinstated for greater clarity.
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