---------- Forwarded message --------- From: The Cryptonite Weekly Rap <cryptoniteventures@substack.com> Date: Thu, Feb 20, 2025, 7:11 PM Subject: The top AI private companies for 2025—Elon gets hostile with Sam, Masa holds the cards, Hello DOGE, goodbye middle… To: <g@xny.io> Skip past the editorial to see the list of the top 145 private AI companies and their current valuations. ͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏ ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏ ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏ ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏ ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏ ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏ ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­͏   ­ Forwarded this email? Subscribe here <https://substack.com/redirect/2/eyJlIjoiaHR0cHM6Ly9jcnlwdG9uaXRldmVudHVyZXMuc3Vic3RhY2suY29tL3N1YnNjcmliZT91dG1fc291cmNlPWVtYWlsJnV0bV9jYW1wYWlnbj1lbWFpbC1zdWJzY3JpYmUmcj0xcDV2MHombmV4dD1odHRwcyUzQSUyRiUyRmNyeXB0b25pdGV2ZW50dXJlcy5zdWJzdGFjay5jb20lMkZwJTJGY3J5cHRvbml0ZS1yYXAtdGVtcGxhdGUiLCJwIjoxNTMxMjY5MjIsInMiOjE2NjU0ODEsImYiOnRydWUsInUiOjEwMjczMDA2NywiaWF0IjoxNzQwMDk2NjQzLCJleHAiOjE3NDI2ODg2NDMsImlzcyI6InB1Yi0wIiwic3ViIjoibGluay1yZWRpcmVjdCJ9.xurj5Z3u_GxqWSOef0KecVYd-9ge3P7jkKQFMKDqV10?> for more <https://substack.com/redirect/2/eyJlIjoiaHR0cHM6Ly9jcnlwdG9uaXRldmVudHVyZXMuc3Vic3RhY2suY29tL3AvY3J5cHRvbml0ZS1yYXAtdGVtcGxhdGU_dXRtX2NhbXBhaWduPWVtYWlsLWhhbGYtcG9zdCZyPTFwNXYweiZ0b2tlbj1leUoxYzJWeVgybGtJam94TURJM016QXdOamNzSW5CdmMzUmZhV1FpT2pFMU16RXlOamt5TWl3aWFXRjBJam94TnpRd01EazJOalF6TENKbGVIQWlPakUzTkRJMk9EZzJORE1zSW1semN5STZJbkIxWWkweE5qWTFORGd4SWl3aWMzVmlJam9pY0c5emRDMXlaV0ZqZEdsdmJpSjkuR1RtYW1OSXBkUFFFalJvT1d6bWwxcDJFNEk4VEdEYUVmREJVS01ldVZKVSIsInAiOjE1MzEyNjkyMiwicyI6MTY2NTQ4MSwiZiI6dHJ1ZSwidSI6MTAyNzMwMDY3LCJpYXQiOjE3NDAwOTY2NDMsImV4cCI6MTc0MjY4ODY0MywiaXNzIjoicHViLTAiLCJzdWIiOiJsaW5rLXJlZGlyZWN0In0.zu2A7KlVtfTg3sYhoi8WK4qWzXoIQfe61Q636H-8eiQ?> The top AI private companies for 2025—Elon gets hostile with Sam, Masa holds the cards, Hello DOGE, goodbye middle managers, and more groovy stuff... <https://substack.com/app-link/post?publication_id=1665481&post_id=153126922&utm_source=post-email-title&utm_campaign=email-post-title&isFreemail=true&r=1p5v0z&token=eyJ1c2VyX2lkIjoxMDI3MzAwNjcsInBvc3RfaWQiOjE1MzEyNjkyMiwiaWF0IjoxNzQwMDk2NjQzLCJleHAiOjE3NDI2ODg2NDMsImlzcyI6InB1Yi0xNjY1NDgxIiwic3ViIjoicG9zdC1yZWFjdGlvbiJ9.GTmamNIpdPQEjRoOWzml1p2E4I8TGDaEfDBUKMeuVJU> Anthony Perkins <https://substack.com/@anthonybperkins> Feb 21 ∙ Preview <https://substack.com/@anthonybperkins> <https://substack.com/app-link/post?publication_id=1665481&post_id=153126922&utm_source=substack&isFreemail=true&submitLike=true&token=eyJ1c2VyX2lkIjoxMDI3MzAwNjcsInBvc3RfaWQiOjE1MzEyNjkyMiwicmVhY3Rpb24iOiLinaQiLCJpYXQiOjE3NDAwOTY2NDMsImV4cCI6MTc0MjY4ODY0MywiaXNzIjoicHViLTE2NjU0ODEiLCJzdWIiOiJyZWFjdGlvbiJ9.MC0x4aiTUkxm9hXWsSgx4Qo9EFWY5PUYR606MpbFrWE&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=email-reaction&r=1p5v0z> <https://substack.com/app-link/post?publication_id=1665481&post_id=153126922&utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email&isFreemail=true&comments=true&token=eyJ1c2VyX2lkIjoxMDI3MzAwNjcsInBvc3RfaWQiOjE1MzEyNjkyMiwiaWF0IjoxNzQwMDk2NjQzLCJleHAiOjE3NDI2ODg2NDMsImlzcyI6InB1Yi0xNjY1NDgxIiwic3ViIjoicG9zdC1yZWFjdGlvbiJ9.GTmamNIpdPQEjRoOWzml1p2E4I8TGDaEfDBUKMeuVJU&r=1p5v0z&utm_campaign=email-half-magic-comments&action=post-comment&utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email> <https://substack.com/app-link/post?publication_id=1665481&post_id=153126922&utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email&utm_content=share&utm_campaign=email-share&action=share&triggerShare=true&isFreemail=true&r=1p5v0z&token=eyJ1c2VyX2lkIjoxMDI3MzAwNjcsInBvc3RfaWQiOjE1MzEyNjkyMiwiaWF0IjoxNzQwMDk2NjQzLCJleHAiOjE3NDI2ODg2NDMsImlzcyI6InB1Yi0xNjY1NDgxIiwic3ViIjoicG9zdC1yZWFjdGlvbiJ9.GTmamNIpdPQEjRoOWzml1p2E4I8TGDaEfDBUKMeuVJU> <https://substack.com/redirect/2/eyJlIjoiaHR0cHM6Ly9vcGVuLnN1YnN0YWNrLmNvbS9wdWIvY3J5cHRvbml0ZXZlbnR1cmVzL3AvY3J5cHRvbml0ZS1yYXAtdGVtcGxhdGU_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.CgsbOKfL8KIBQfO7UeDbOGJh5Lu3wnkL0YpylTNKspk?&utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email> READ IN APP <https://open.substack.com/pub/cryptoniteventures/p/cryptonite-rap-template?utm_source=email&redirect=app-store&utm_campaign=email-read-in-app> <https://substack.com/redirect/b6f0188a-0e92-4751-af3b-b7cd1d3b3112?j=eyJ1IjoiMXA1djB6In0.5Szn4CYVluYxbDPnqVhSiylyhBLFmwyRmnG-VvbUuSI> *To prop up the AI Bubble or not? That is the question*. It’s Masa’s money. 💵 💵💵 *Skip past the editorial to see the list of the top 145 private AI companies and their current valuations. We are looking forward to your recommendations.* Will SoftBank’s Masayoshi Son invest in the AI Bubble (or not)? Our speculation over our last two *Raps* that the private AI company marketplace would inevitably take the DeepSeek trickle-down valuation hit is about to meet a dramatic test. At center stage is, by far, the most highly valued private AI company, OpenAI <https://substack.com/redirect/bb39e4da-dcaf-4485-9252-80f3c1f5d474?j=eyJ1IjoiMXA1djB6In0.5Szn4CYVluYxbDPnqVhSiylyhBLFmwyRmnG-VvbUuSI>, which was last valued at $157 million during its $6.6 billion raise last October. As we and others have widely reported, Sam Alman is in talks with SoftBank founder Masayoshi Son to raise an additional $25+ billion for OpenAI at an also reported valuation of $300+ billion <https://substack.com/redirect/1b35242d-c22b-4cfa-8d95-ab117c00f036?j=eyJ1IjoiMXA1djB6In0.5Szn4CYVluYxbDPnqVhSiylyhBLFmwyRmnG-VvbUuSI>. The test for our thesis is whether Masa becomes known as the last guy to put money in the AI Bubble or the first major player to bring the valuations back to reality. ------------------------------ [image: If DeepSeek wiped out $1 trillion of public tech company value—Just watch what happens to private AI company valuations…] <https://substack.com/redirect/70eb84d7-0469-4753-b964-07616663f14a?j=eyJ1IjoiMXA1djB6In0.5Szn4CYVluYxbDPnqVhSiylyhBLFmwyRmnG-VvbUuSI> If DeepSeek wiped out $1 trillion of public tech company value—Just watch what happens to private AI company valuations… <https://substack.com/redirect/70eb84d7-0469-4753-b964-07616663f14a?j=eyJ1IjoiMXA1djB6In0.5Szn4CYVluYxbDPnqVhSiylyhBLFmwyRmnG-VvbUuSI> Anthony Perkins <https://substack.com/profile/1338763-anthony-perkins> and The Cryptonite Weekly Rap <https://substack.com/profile/146561965-the-cryptonite-weekly-rap> · Feb 1 Read full story <https://substack.com/redirect/70eb84d7-0469-4753-b964-07616663f14a?j=eyJ1IjoiMXA1djB6In0.5Szn4CYVluYxbDPnqVhSiylyhBLFmwyRmnG-VvbUuSI> ------------------------------ If we were Masa, we would throw our money in with Elon and his AI company, xAI, which is pursuing a hostile takeover of OpenAI at the moment for a discounted $97.4 billion valuation. (Which we think is still too high but better than $300B😳) If Masa is ready to go, he would be joining Elon and an illustrious group of investors, including Palantir co-founder Joe Lonsdale, Hollywood’s top power broker, Ari Emanuel, <https://substack.com/redirect/5de0eade-6844-4a4f-91d4-8f33f61f279e?j=eyJ1IjoiMXA1djB6In0.5Szn4CYVluYxbDPnqVhSiylyhBLFmwyRmnG-VvbUuSI> CEO of Endeavor (Princess Meghan Merkle’s agent), as well as Valor Equity Partners, Baron Capital, Atreides Management, and Vy Capital. <https://substack.com/redirect/d3304086-e7bd-40b2-872f-772fcebbf1ab?j=eyJ1IjoiMXA1djB6In0.5Szn4CYVluYxbDPnqVhSiylyhBLFmwyRmnG-VvbUuSI> *Elon bought the old Twitter in 2022 for $44 billion and responded to Sam’s X post by calling him a ‘swindler.’* All this complicates Sam's fundraising plans and efforts to convert OpenAI to a for-profit company <https://substack.com/redirect/132d906c-0c34-412d-b513-333164aacbae?j=eyJ1IjoiMXA1djB6In0.5Szn4CYVluYxbDPnqVhSiylyhBLFmwyRmnG-VvbUuSI>, which Elon (joined by Zuck and Meta <https://substack.com/redirect/8041cb7b-fa80-46cf-8b1b-114a1103e461?j=eyJ1IjoiMXA1djB6In0.5Szn4CYVluYxbDPnqVhSiylyhBLFmwyRmnG-VvbUuSI>) is already fighting over in court. Since the hostile takeover announcement, Elon has said he would withdraw his bid if OpenAI's board stops its conversion to a for-profit company and preserves its charity's mission. But we all know that Elon knows Sam will never go for that. *‘[Sam Altman and OpenAI] are involved in repeated self-dealing, putting profits over safety, transferring its technology and keeping it closed source, concentrating AI’s power in the hands of Microsoft <https://substack.com/redirect/68a5d5fd-3c17-43d6-8bee-081cc93e1917?j=eyJ1IjoiMXA1djB6In0.5Szn4CYVluYxbDPnqVhSiylyhBLFmwyRmnG-VvbUuSI>. It’s time for OpenAI to return to the open-source, safety-focused force for good it once was. We will make sure that happens.’* *—Elon Musk in a court filing last week.* The TechBro shuffle makes for good theatre, but it all comes back to valuation. OpenAI is not going to agree to any offer unless forced by someone like Masa, and that is why he is holding one of the biggest cards at this moment. If Elon's group were to acquire OpenAI, the company would be merged into xAI, which was valued at $50 billion in a $12 billion funding in November <https://substack.com/redirect/e9e8af50-d77b-46d1-8ad1-2a08d9b70a3d?j=eyJ1IjoiMXA1djB6In0.5Szn4CYVluYxbDPnqVhSiylyhBLFmwyRmnG-VvbUuSI>. Does Masa, or any other big investor, want to give OpenAI, with all its troubles, $25+ billion at a $300 billion valuation or an Elon-led OpenAI+xAI combo at less than half the price?🤔 We know where we would throw our chips if we were Masa. <https://substack.com/redirect/59faa57e-e9de-4c09-8f1f-e3919cf5749f?j=eyJ1IjoiMXA1djB6In0.5Szn4CYVluYxbDPnqVhSiylyhBLFmwyRmnG-VvbUuSI> *A battle of the AI titans. Sam and Elon co-founded OpenAI in 2015 as a charity. Photo generated by xAI.* *OpenAI vs. xAI* xAI reached the $50 billion valuation milestone over 8 years faster than OpenAI. xAI also recently released its mobile chatbot app called Grok <https://substack.com/redirect/a2a2ac84-2dc4-4061-a33b-f84650f5ac59?j=eyJ1IjoiMXA1djB6In0.5Szn4CYVluYxbDPnqVhSiylyhBLFmwyRmnG-VvbUuSI>, which directly challenges OpenAI's ChatGPT. Grok was developed within a year of the company's founding in 2023. By most all measures, xAI is the leaner-meaner, faster-to-market of the two competitors, with the exclusive advantage of accessing X content. Not to mention Elon has THE front row seat to the reinvention of government, where AI will play a central role in its transformation.💰💰💰 ------------------------------ [image: Overvalued AI companies part 2, SoftBank to double OpenAI's value?😳, The Trump Doctrine abroad and more mischief...] <https://substack.com/redirect/6dc0827f-76d6-44c2-b596-69606381cbe6?j=eyJ1IjoiMXA1djB6In0.5Szn4CYVluYxbDPnqVhSiylyhBLFmwyRmnG-VvbUuSI> Overvalued AI companies part 2, SoftBank to double OpenAI's value?😳, The Trump Doctrine abroad and more mischief... <https://substack.com/redirect/6dc0827f-76d6-44c2-b596-69606381cbe6?j=eyJ1IjoiMXA1djB6In0.5Szn4CYVluYxbDPnqVhSiylyhBLFmwyRmnG-VvbUuSI> Anthony Perkins <https://substack.com/profile/1338763-anthony-perkins> and The Cryptonite Weekly Rap <https://substack.com/profile/146561965-the-cryptonite-weekly-rap> · Feb 3 Read full story <https://substack.com/redirect/6dc0827f-76d6-44c2-b596-69606381cbe6?j=eyJ1IjoiMXA1djB6In0.5Szn4CYVluYxbDPnqVhSiylyhBLFmwyRmnG-VvbUuSI> ------------------------------ <https://substack.com/redirect/cdc8e67c-f238-44f7-a309-757c66f177e6?j=eyJ1IjoiMXA1djB6In0.5Szn4CYVluYxbDPnqVhSiylyhBLFmwyRmnG-VvbUuSI> *‘Show me the AI revenues!’ challenges Sequoia’s David Cahn <https://substack.com/redirect/08ecd6c0-4a2d-40c4-af76-321071a2eceb?j=eyJ1IjoiMXA1djB6In0.5Szn4CYVluYxbDPnqVhSiylyhBLFmwyRmnG-VvbUuSI>.* AI’s $600B Revenue Question We did a back-of-the-envelope AI valuation-to-revenue calculation last week to support our ‘Overvalued AI companies’ post, only to find that—not surprisingly—the venerable Sequoia Capital was nine months ahead of us. Last June, Sequoia Partner David Cahn <https://substack.com/redirect/08ecd6c0-4a2d-40c4-af76-321071a2eceb?j=eyJ1IjoiMXA1djB6In0.5Szn4CYVluYxbDPnqVhSiylyhBLFmwyRmnG-VvbUuSI> wrote a post in which he calculated that AI companies need to generate approximately $600 billion in annual revenues to justify the massive investments being made in AI infrastructure. David Cahn’s simple math <https://substack.com/redirect/3bd5c4f4-e811-465e-813d-45c851412001?j=eyJ1IjoiMXA1djB6In0.5Szn4CYVluYxbDPnqVhSiylyhBLFmwyRmnG-VvbUuSI> *Mr. Cahn says to calculate this metric, take Nvidia’s run-rate revenue forecast and multiply it by 2x to reflect the total cost of AI data centers (GPUs are half of the total cost of ownership—the other half includes energy, buildings, backup generators, etc.). Then you multiply by 2x again to reflect a 50% gross margin for the end-user of the GPU (e.g., the startup or business buying AI compute from Azure or AWS or GCP, who needs to make money as well).* Mr. Cahn’s bottom line was that even if optimistic projections for major tech companies' AI revenues are achieved, that will still leave a $500 billion sales shortfall.😳 This post was a follow-up to his post-*AI’s $200B Question <https://substack.com/redirect/fe31a9f4-ce30-4c4b-9684-6df19702ef2c?j=eyJ1IjoiMXA1djB6In0.5Szn4CYVluYxbDPnqVhSiylyhBLFmwyRmnG-VvbUuSI>*- from less than a year earlier. Read Mr. Cahn’s full post here. <https://substack.com/redirect/8309aee0-1d29-4cd8-b3e6-7f2b63b07323?j=eyJ1IjoiMXA1djB6In0.5Szn4CYVluYxbDPnqVhSiylyhBLFmwyRmnG-VvbUuSI> Sequoia is an investor in Elon’s xAI <https://substack.com/redirect/17671f95-798f-48d9-8ec1-4187eb0651c3?j=eyJ1IjoiMXA1djB6In0.5Szn4CYVluYxbDPnqVhSiylyhBLFmwyRmnG-VvbUuSI>, including in the $6 billion Series C funding round in December 2024. The VC powerhouse is reportedly in talks to join a potential new $10 billion funding round that could value xAI at $75 billion—we shall see if the $75B valuation holds up in the coming shakedown. $200 trillion and counting We are long-term bullish on the Web3 era and mathematically see it as a 10x Web2 opportunity (that was a $20 trillion boom). Our starting proof point is the 145 first-generation private AI companies introduced below. Yes, some of these companies are gearing up for winner-take-90% of the market, head-on collisions (e.g., OpenAI vs. xAI), with the accompanying startup wreckage that will scatter the Streets of Silicon Valley. However, our AI company list also represents 24 target AI markets, touching almost every major industry—an impressive first sketch of the new, more efficient, self-empowered, and decentralized world we will live in. We would further note that all great innovations are built upon financial manias, where the average investment dollar loses money in the first round. The golden lining is that the overfunding of Silicon Valley companies accelerates the development of innovation opportunities and keeps the US in front of its global competition. While the average investment in the roaring 1990s came out underwater, for example, the Internet Bubble put 245 million people on the Internet, which made the $20 trillion in new wealth created during Web2 possible <https://substack.com/redirect/50392e17-4e0c-47d9-82d5-ee3f3bd0015e?j=eyJ1IjoiMXA1djB6In0.5Szn4CYVluYxbDPnqVhSiylyhBLFmwyRmnG-VvbUuSI>. Our bet is that over-investing in AI infrastructure will play out in the same highly lucrative way. There are a lot of good things going on. Let’s get back to reality, lower private company valuations, tighten our belts, and strap in for our most disruptive ride yet. ------------------------------ <https://substack.com/redirect/969afffe-3be2-46cd-b549-13cfd812590e?j=eyJ1IjoiMXA1djB6In0.5Szn4CYVluYxbDPnqVhSiylyhBLFmwyRmnG-VvbUuSI> *Not a good look boyz.🙄* Lions and tigers and Elon, oh my! We did include a ‘TechBro backlash’ as one of our top dozen predictions for ‘25. Still, we never calculated that TDS would morph into full-blown EDS.😳 Perhaps we should not be surprised as Elon plays a leading role as a dark or at least ‘directed’ character in the hallucinations of conspiracy theorists from all sides of the spectrum. The Cowardly Lion <https://substack.com/redirect/0a7cfc27-95af-4fc5-8d26-5ebeb4fec840?j=eyJ1IjoiMXA1djB6In0.5Szn4CYVluYxbDPnqVhSiylyhBLFmwyRmnG-VvbUuSI> from the land of DOGE still has them (and Corproate Media) shivering—at least for now. “The New York Times had a front page story about the horrible ‘Constitutional crisis’ going on. I have been studying the US Constitution for close to 70 years now, and I can tell you there is no Constitutional crisis. The US has a system of checks and balances that has endured for over 230 years. The Democrats and media are crying wolf. People are saying its time to hit the streets—that it is time to declare War! No. No. No. The system is working. We have three independent branches of government, and the bureaucracy is not one of them. Trump is saying its time to look hard at these agencies and the trillions they spend in ways that are not necessarily in the interest of US citizens. That is a good thing. If he pushes the boundaries, the courts will step in, as they did with Biden many times <https://substack.com/redirect/33720f12-b950-43da-b487-a40779ea1e80?j=eyJ1IjoiMXA1djB6In0.5Szn4CYVluYxbDPnqVhSiylyhBLFmwyRmnG-VvbUuSI>.” —Alan Dershowitz <https://substack.com/redirect/f9c609fb-2521-47ef-9d00-ee70ca98ff81?j=eyJ1IjoiMXA1djB6In0.5Szn4CYVluYxbDPnqVhSiylyhBLFmwyRmnG-VvbUuSI>, Life-long Democrat and former Harvard Law School professor renowned for his expertise in U.S. constitutional law. Back to reality, Elon imagined and is now running the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), a temporary advisory body within the Executive Office of the President is. DOGE focused on reducing federal spending and streamlining government operations, with a set expiration date of July 4, 2026. This is a research and advisory role to the Boogeyman or whomever he designates only, with no authority to order spending cuts, close agencies and programs, fire employees, etc. Any access to government information systems is to read-only, with no ability to tamper. DOGE <https://substack.com/redirect/e844cdb7-21f8-4df4-a8ad-1c888e83afc3?j=eyJ1IjoiMXA1djB6In0.5Szn4CYVluYxbDPnqVhSiylyhBLFmwyRmnG-VvbUuSI> consists of 20 folks based in DC who report to Steve Davis, a longtime Musk confidant, and CEO of The Boring Company. Most DOGE associates have worked for Elon's companies like SpaceX and Tesla, and they are embedded at federal agencies to review critical systems, looking for potential waste and fraud. DOGE employees have merely READ-ONLY access to any government database that has been approved for analysis. DOGE claims to have saved taxpayers $37.69 billion <https://substack.com/redirect/e844cdb7-21f8-4df4-a8ad-1c888e83afc3?j=eyJ1IjoiMXA1djB6In0.5Szn4CYVluYxbDPnqVhSiylyhBLFmwyRmnG-VvbUuSI> since starting its work. Celebrity Worship Syndrome (CWS) *CWS is an obsessive-addictive disorder where individuals become excessively preoccupied with a public figure, often engaging in compulsive behaviors like constantly seeking information about them and fixating on negative details to degrade them in conversations. * <https://substack.com/redirect/657ee98f-0d8a-4470-9799-b0ba8428e55a?j=eyJ1IjoiMXA1djB6In0.5Szn4CYVluYxbDPnqVhSiylyhBLFmwyRmnG-VvbUuSI> *King of Beasts <https://substack.com/redirect/0a7cfc27-95af-4fc5-8d26-5ebeb4fec840?j=eyJ1IjoiMXA1djB6In0.5Szn4CYVluYxbDPnqVhSiylyhBLFmwyRmnG-VvbUuSI>.🦁 Artwork by xAI.* *This behavior can interfere with daily life and relationships. CWS is considered a form of parasocial relationship. Extreme cases, categorized as “Borderline-Pathological,” may involve obsessive monitoring, antisocial tendencies, and impulsivity.* Our strong view is that our federal government is now on the road to cutting over 75 percent of its overhead under a new, AI-powered, blockchain-based structure that is much more transparent, decentralized, efficient and requires fewer rules and regulations. This system will also be much better at protecting citizens’ privacy and managing their rights and access to government services. The net result will be much happier citizens, much lower taxes, near-zero inflation, and budget surpluses! 😎🤙🏼 <https://substack.com/redirect/54e4b761-e876-40c5-aa69-03500b12e451?j=eyJ1IjoiMXA1djB6In0.5Szn4CYVluYxbDPnqVhSiylyhBLFmwyRmnG-VvbUuSI> *You mean Elon is the real dictator behind the dictator?🤔 This $115,000 ad campaign produced by the usual suspects was nixed by the <https://substack.com/redirect/e61309c6-17b5-4dcf-89f0-eca91a099186?j=eyJ1IjoiMXA1djB6In0.5Szn4CYVluYxbDPnqVhSiylyhBLFmwyRmnG-VvbUuSI>**Washington Post <https://substack.com/redirect/e61309c6-17b5-4dcf-89f0-eca91a099186?j=eyJ1IjoiMXA1djB6In0.5Szn4CYVluYxbDPnqVhSiylyhBLFmwyRmnG-VvbUuSI>* *.😳* Silicon Valley U @ DC *Updating the from a 1980s bureaucracy to a more modern, flatter, innovation-savvy operation will happen. But it also means the elimination of hundreds of thousands of government employees jobs.—Seveventy-seven thousand federal workers (3%) have already opted for the ‘deferred resignation’ offer <https://substack.com/redirect/7f7cc1d7-c681-4c0b-945b-fcf490970f2b?j=eyJ1IjoiMXA1djB6In0.5Szn4CYVluYxbDPnqVhSiylyhBLFmwyRmnG-VvbUuSI>. The Cowardly Lion, et al can be blamed for not showing some empathy—as these are real people with real families— and we should invest in them during their transition to the private market. * <https://substack.com/redirect/a8998898-3d7e-4581-97d5-29af97b8d78c?j=eyJ1IjoiMXA1djB6In0.5Szn4CYVluYxbDPnqVhSiylyhBLFmwyRmnG-VvbUuSI> ‘If I only knew how AI coud make me more productive at what I love!’💡 *We propose creating a ‘pop-up’ university—Silicon Valley U @ DC—that draws upon ‘guest lecturers’ from Silicon Valley’s top companies, to expose public employees to the emerging worild of AI, blockchain, crypto, robotics, autonomous vehicles and drones, virtual reality, greentech and other cutting edge innovations and how they are being applied across industries. This training program would be a great investment, it is the right and fair thing to do, and comes with a huge secondary benefit of keeping our government closer to the innovation edge. Importantly it can also soften fears, and inspire more optimism around positive change.* “We can't sustain a system that bleeds billions of taxpayer dollars on programs that have outlived their usefulness or exist solely because of the power of politicians, lobbyists or interest groups. We are going to go through our federal budget as I promised during the campaign, page by page, line by line eliminating those programs we don't need and insisting that those that we do need operate in a sensible, cost effective way.” —President Barak Obama on February 24, 2009, during his Address to Joint Session of Congress. President Obama went on to sign off on $5 trillion worth of new legislative costs and drove the federal debt up an additional $4.6 trillion. Every President started their administration with the intention of downsizing the scope and power of government. Obama wanted to do it, and the Boogeyman, with the help of the Cowardly Lion, will make it happen. It’s not a power grab because, by definition, its purpose is to decentralize power from away the executive branch and the US federal government in general and back to the people. It also means more privacy and empowerment of the individual. Who in the modern world is against this? The downsizing of the US government will happen because the Bogeyman has the power to do it, and there is no putting the Cowardly Lion back in his cage. It will also happen because cutting government waste and fraud is what US citizens <https://substack.com/redirect/224f9ef2-0a41-4346-b5b5-2b08e73cd7c4?j=eyJ1IjoiMXA1djB6In0.5Szn4CYVluYxbDPnqVhSiylyhBLFmwyRmnG-VvbUuSI>, and in a free market society, customers generally get what they want. The TechBro’s should lead the charge on investing into the re-training of existing and furloughed government employees to help them become more Web3-savvy. These efforts will also help ease the TechBro backlash—if that. is even possible. We know the DOGE Squad looks young and goofy, but they are very committed and very smart. We need to take a deep breath, let the children play, and trust there will be adults (the courts) in the room to make sure they don’t misbehave. <https://substack.com/redirect/3d577975-da9a-425f-aa76-9a641f89adf7?j=eyJ1IjoiMXA1djB6In0.5Szn4CYVluYxbDPnqVhSiylyhBLFmwyRmnG-VvbUuSI> *As the TechBro backlash escalates, Zuck’s living his best life!* As it is in the land of DOGE, it is in the land of BigTech As we also predicted for 2025, the slashing, burning, and retrofitting proposed by the DOGE team is now being emulated in Big Tech. Zuck recently announced cutting 3,600 (5% of its workforce) of Meta's 'lowest performers.' Amazon has also been job-cutting, in part due to the introduction various robots in its warehouses, including Robin and Cardinal (robotic arms), Sparrow (item-picking robot), Proteus (autonomous mobile robot), and Digit (humanoid robot) <https://substack.com/redirect/62f19142-ff36-4850-97b5-2848c5e61771?j=eyJ1IjoiMXA1djB6In0.5Szn4CYVluYxbDPnqVhSiylyhBLFmwyRmnG-VvbUuSI>. Amazon has reduced its workforce by over 100,000 employees from its 2021 peak, coinciding with the rapid expansion of its robotic fleet. <https://substack.com/redirect/0b3e8f20-9c15-4b01-9d61-401afd84ce38?j=eyJ1IjoiMXA1djB6In0.5Szn4CYVluYxbDPnqVhSiylyhBLFmwyRmnG-VvbUuSI> *The Digit humanoid robot <https://substack.com/redirect/9eeb2e4b-f240-454f-9527-0b346aecf7ba?j=eyJ1IjoiMXA1djB6In0.5Szn4CYVluYxbDPnqVhSiylyhBLFmwyRmnG-VvbUuSI> is at your service.* As Google shifts its focus to AI development, it has offered voluntary buyouts to over 25,000 employees in its platforms and devices division. Salesforce also cut over 1,000 jobs (1.5% of its workforce) as part of a broader restructuring effort to shift the company's focus towards AI development <https://substack.com/redirect/71078937-3a78-44ff-8ff3-a2b784cd7acb?j=eyJ1IjoiMXA1djB6In0.5Szn4CYVluYxbDPnqVhSiylyhBLFmwyRmnG-VvbUuSI> . There are two major themes in BigTech's downsizing. First, the 'managerial class structure' is being replaced by flatter organizations driven by a new, AI-empowered worker class tied to specific output and results. Second, there is a shift to investing in AI development, as every tech company must become an AI company in its own right to survive and thrive in Web3. ------------------------------ [image: Cryptonite's predictions for 2025—Short Google, Nvidia, & OpenAI?, the Elon/Zuck alliance, Robotaxis takeover, IPOs up...] <https://substack.com/redirect/0017fa88-3426-4671-b5d7-29a47b517014?j=eyJ1IjoiMXA1djB6In0.5Szn4CYVluYxbDPnqVhSiylyhBLFmwyRmnG-VvbUuSI> Cryptonite's predictions for 2025—Short Google, Nvidia, & OpenAI?, the Elon/Zuck alliance, Robotaxis takeover, IPOs up... <https://substack.com/redirect/0017fa88-3426-4671-b5d7-29a47b517014?j=eyJ1IjoiMXA1djB6In0.5Szn4CYVluYxbDPnqVhSiylyhBLFmwyRmnG-VvbUuSI>