11x in Trouble and China's AI Acceleration | E2103
aired [03.26.2025]
Host: Jason Calacanis
Guests:
Lon Harris
Alex Wilhelm
Key Insights
Corporate investments in volatile assets like Bitcoin carry significant risks but can yield high rewards if successful.
China’s rapid AI advancements are intensifying global competition and driving down pricing.
Targeting a unified customer persona can accelerate a startup’s growth dramatically.
1. GameStop’s Bitcoin Bet: Bold Move or Risky Gamble?
GameStop announced a unanimous board decision to add Bitcoin as a treasury reserve asset, following MicroStrategy’s lead under Michael Saylor: “GameStop today announced that its board has unanimously approved an update to its investment policy to add Bitcoin as a treasury reserve asset”.
Saylor’s MicroStrategy strategy—holding 500,000 Bitcoins—has sparked debate, with Calacanis noting: “If Bitcoin goes down to $30,000 a coin again and he gets liquidated or some craziness happens, people are going to go, ‘Well, we all saw that coming, didn’t we?’”.
GameStop’s $4.8 billion cash reserve could theoretically buy significant Bitcoin, but the move raises questions about risk versus reward for a company with a fading retail model.
Saylor’s personal stake—17,732 Bitcoins bought at $9,882 each—adds a conflict of interest, disclosed in 2020: “I informed MicroStrategy of these holdings before the company decided to buy Bitcoin for itself”.
The discussion highlights how bold financial pivots can either revitalize or ruin a company.
2. China’s AI Surge: Innovation and Market Impact
Chinese tech giants like Alibaba and Baidu are accelerating AI development, with Alibaba releasing QWQ32B, a 32-billion-parameter reasoning model: “Alibaba dropped QWQ32B. This was a new 32 billion parameter reasoning model”.
Baidu followed with Ernie X1 and 4.5, while DeepSeek’s rapid updates—from V2 in May to R1 in January—showcase breakneck pace: “The AI market in China is cooking”.
Xiaomi’s expansion into affordable electric vehicles like the SU7 Ultra ($73,000 USD) exemplifies China’s broader tech ambition, rivaling Western luxury brands at lower costs.
These advancements could flood markets with open-source AI, pressuring global pricing: developers might opt for free Chinese models over paid Western ones, potentially saving millions in licensing fees.
Security concerns limit U.S. adoption, but the competitive threat remains significant.
3. Sales Success: The Power of a Unified Persona
Israeli VC Gili Raanan, an early Wiz investor, shared a key sales insight on Invest Like the Best: “When you sell a product, you’re going to face four personas. The person that has the pain point, that has the problem. The person who has the budget. The person that has the authority. The person that would actually use the product”
Wiz’s meteoric rise—$100 million ARR in 18 months—stemmed from targeting a single persona embodying all four roles: “If those four personas map into a single person in real life, that’s a mega hit”.
Unlike tools like HubSpot, which require consensus across multiple roles, Wiz’s security solution appealed directly to a developer with budget, authority, and usage needs.
This unified approach explains Wiz’s rapid scaling to a projected $1 billion ARR, offering a blueprint for startups aiming for explosive growth.