Chris Willenken

co-founder @bhbreakthroughs, where we invest in AI-native healthcare hardware; ex Jane Street; a 2023 world champion at the card game Bridge

[Chris Willenken @CWillenken]

@Gothamist Tax subsidies to entities that would otherwise domicile elsewhere are not “subsidies” because the government won’t get the tax revenue in any case.

Apparently @Gothamist believes that NY should incinerate thousands of jobs by driving employers to other states?

[Chris Willenken @CWillenken]

@jon_stokes It seems like the biggest problem is worthless college educations. There are many adults who spent tons of money on educations that taught no marketable skills.

I feel like if college taught exclusively relevant subjects, capitalism would work pretty well for most people.

[Chris Willenken @CWillenken]

@Trace_Cohen The market makes dumb decisions on the high and low sides all the time. Many potential generational companies raise on SAFEs of $10M or below.

[Chris Willenken @CWillenken]

@paulg Alternatively, today’s foundation models are replaced by lower cost architectures.

[Chris Willenken @CWillenken]

@pitdesi @DeItaone Showing my age, but more like 2000-era Henry Blodget IMO

[Chris Willenken @CWillenken]

@zachweinberg @nytimes speaking of not understanding how anything works:

[Chris Willenken @CWillenken]

Most people picture AI agents as external tools from specialized startups.

But in healthcare, smart teams are building custom agents to supercharge their own internal workflows.

What startups are you seeing develop their own internal agentic processes?

[Blackwood Healthcare Breakthroughs @BHBreakthroughs]

While investors pour $$$ into groundbreaking AI agents for coders & lawyers (@cognition @harvey) and customer support (@SierraPlatform @DecagonAI), agents are quietly powering critical workflows at innovative healthcare startups.
🧵
Here are some real-life use cases:

[Chris Willenken @CWillenken]

After two years and nine investments, @BHBreakthroughs finally has its own X account!
Follow for insights into tomorrow’s healthcare innovations. 🚀

[Blackwood Healthcare Breakthroughs @BHBreakthroughs]

Traditional healthcare investing buckets are losing relevance fast.

We invest in early-stage startups that are 𝗔𝗜-𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 or generate 𝘂𝗻𝗶𝗾𝘂𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗮 that can power the next generation of foundation models.

Our portfolio includes devices, diagnostics, manufacturing, and software applications with the potential to transform healthcare.

Building something that fits? DM us.

[Chris Willenken @CWillenken]

@nihalmehta @TechNYC @EniacVC @juliepsamuels Thanks so much for the informative seminar last night. It's great to see NY tech speaking with one voice.

[Chris Willenken @CWillenken]

A sobering reminder for AI investors that workforce displacements could generate societal unrest.

[Will Manidis @WillManidis]

I have been trying to publish part two of this essay for a few weeks

after many conversations with USG, providers, labs, I've come to the conclusion there is no safe way to do public disclosure here. The threat is too immediate.

If this is relevant to your job, dm me.

[Chris Willenken @CWillenken]

@realEstateTrent I used to have the same issue as a young kid. What worked:

- Eyes always on the road ahead
- Open windows or cold temp
- Dramamine

[Chris Willenken @CWillenken]

@pitdesi Probably, super-elite law firms will start hiring like super-elite trading shops. There will be far fewer junior hires, but the ones that make the cut will instantly become “managers” of AI tools.

These tough-to-get jobs will probably pay ~2X of current starting salaries.

[Chris Willenken @CWillenken]

Every builder should listen to this answer from Giannis. One of the most motivational clips I have ever heard.

[Garry Tan @garrytan]

Everytime I get mad at people in the cheap seats criticizing founders in the arena, I remind myself of what Giannis said. Arguably my favorite response to a reporter ever.

[Chris Willenken @CWillenken]

@wil_da_beast630 Even accepting your argument about the absence of real rules, we should have captured these two guys so that our future opponents capture our incapacitated troops instead of simply killing them.

[Chris Willenken @CWillenken]

Evaluation-free education is but one example of a larger trend. In many areas of society, institutions with substantial goodwill are captured and eventually bled dry. Examples outside academia:

Ideological takeover of previously issue-focused NGOs

Enshittification of previously marquee brands by PE

[Chris Willenken @CWillenken]

@george__mack Perfectly put. Also, it's much easier to work hard at what makes you feel most alive, so this strategy actually increases your chances of success.

[Chris Willenken @CWillenken]

“About a month ago, BlackRock deemed the private debt it had extended to Renovo Home Partners… to be worth 100 cents on the dollar. As of last week, the firm had a new assessment: zero.”

A great example for @CliffordAsness's "volatility laundering" thesis.

[JUNK BOND ANALYST @junkbondanalyst]

*BLACKROCK EYES 100% LOSS ON PRIVATE LOAN AMID DEBATE OVER MARKS

We’re in the golden age of private credit, blah blah, isolated incident, you know the drill

[Chris Willenken @CWillenken]

@Austen How fitting that a great chronicler of history continues to live in the distant past himself.

[Chris Willenken @CWillenken]

@beffjezos This solution won't work because

1) The best foundation model might be yet to come

2) Foundation models compete at the application layer with customized LLMs trained solely on relevant data. These "artificial specific intelligences" will often win, unless the deck is stacked.