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Uncapped #27 | Vince Hankes from Thrive Capital

Overview

Shownote

Highlights

Transcript

Chapters

Pins

Uncapped #27 | Vince Hankes from Thrive Capital

Uncapped with Jack Altman

2025/10/08
Uncapped with Jack Altman

Uncapped with Jack Altman

2025/10/08
OverviewShownoteHighlightsTranscriptChaptersPins

Shownote

Vince Hankes is a Partner at Thrive Capital where he’s worked on investments in OpenAI, SpaceX, Databricks, and Stripe among others. Vince invests across all stages and currently sits on the board of Airtable, Benchling, Console, Isomorphic, Lattice and Ro...

Highlights

In this episode, Vince Hankes of Thrive Capital shares insights into the firm's unique investment philosophy and its evolution into one of the most influential players in venture capital. From early bets on now-iconic tech companies to deploying billion-dollar checks with unwavering conviction, the conversation dives into the mindset behind high-impact investing in transformative technologies.
06:35
Invested nearly $2 billion in Stripe in early 2023 despite post-COVID skepticism
09:39
Winners are getting bigger: the number of $100 billion tech companies is growing faster than $10 billion ones.
23:39
Writing billion-dollar checks allows access to exclusive late-stage deals with less competition
28:21
Doubled shares in Carvana at a low price despite psychological and LP pressure
32:53
Being the accounting firm is the best way to play accounting in AI.
36:13
Isomorphic aims to cure all diseases by simulating wet-lab experiments computationally.
44:45
OpenAI has built significant IP in efficient inference and model infrastructure.
45:19
Lawyers and doctors are unexpected early adopters of AI due to workflow compatibility and FOMO.
50:00
Robotics could be at the same stage as self-driving cars in 2015
53:52
Few opportunities offer a better risk-adjusted return than OpenAI, though risk is unavoidable.
55:59
Attracting talented and ambitious young people is crucial for Thrive's next phase

Chapters

Intro
00:00
The evolution of Thrive
00:50
Instagram, Github, and Stripe
04:22
Qualitative, then quantitative
07:57
Writing massive checks
09:39
Winning strategies in venture
16:48
Buying Carvana at the bottom
25:58
Managing conflicts
32:50
AI’s impact on the market
36:13
East meets West Coast investors
42:25
Vertical specific workspaces
45:19
Scale and timing of robotics
49:53
OpenAI vs everything else
51:31
What matters most for Thrive
55:59

Transcript

Vince Hankes: There's a different way of thinking about concentration, which is when you write a billion dollars into a company, you have to have conviction. You can't be like, on the fence about is this going to work or not. You have to have almost dogmat...