Chris O'Brien

Journalist in Paris publishing The French Tech Journal newsletter 🇺🇲🇫🇷. Launching: The France AI Radar:

[Chris O'Brien @obrien]

I guess nothing says European innovation like this monstrosity in front of the White House?

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@MikeIsaac Why bother? I hear all the billionaires are moving to Miami?

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Mec-a-palooza...

[Y Combinator @ycombinator]

Startup School is coming to Paris 🇫🇷 on June 29!

Hear from founders like @lxbrun of @amilabs, @oliveur of @datadoghq, @kiwicopple of @supabase, @james406 of @posthog, and more.

Join the best builders and hackers from across France and Europe for a day of talks and sessions with YC partners.

[Chris O'Brien @obrien]

@TheHoopHerald Call traveling?

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I always enjoy a good Frenchsplaining of the tech economy...

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In the end, the true value of any stock is just what you can get the next sucker to pay for it. Just like a pet rock. Elmo knows this better than anyone. This is his true genius. People debating valuations and ELMO is like Refrigerated Drive-In Robotic Theaters on Asteroids!

[Dan Primack @danprimack]

No one can reasonably argue that SpaceX deserves a $1.75 trillion valuation on its current biz.

The big question is whether or not that figure stretches the outer bounds of "In Elon We Trust."

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@Jason

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@AzizBuilds Of course, the paradox: How many governments also have their own MCP?
https://t.co/yL4klXr0H1

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@vojtech Don't tell me you're going to spend time with your "family". WTF are going to do now? (Seriously. WHAT?)

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This dude. Just one of the best people in the European ecosystem.

fuck you for leaving. selfish asshole.

Though, I say that with loving kindness.

[vojtech @vojtech]

After more than 12 wonderful years, this will be my last month @IndexVentures.

When I joined in 2013, Index was just beginning its journey to build the first truly transatlantic VC firm. We'd just opened our SF office, an ambitious goal for a European upstart taking on the titans of Sand Hill Road. Our brand colour was blue. Single-digit billions were impressive exit valuations, not early funding rounds. The European ecosystem was finding its feet. Back then, I was just getting to know the founders of our new seed investments: Revolut, Deliveroo, Figma and Robinhood.

In the decade-plus that followed, I was lucky enough to work with more than 200 founders and their teams, bring entrepreneurs together at countless events in Europe and the US, organise 13 Index AGMs, launch 13 funds, and build Index Press. I also led two policy campaigns for Index: Not Optional and @euinc_petition — the first time a VC in Europe directly campaigned for, and won, legislative change in support of startups.

Behind each of these was a mammoth team effort: the work of my colleagues, the support of many external champions, the trust of the Index partners, and collaboration that goes well beyond the walls of Index.

As I say goodbye to the firm Bloomberg recently called “Silicon Valley’s Quiet Kingmaker”, my main feeling is one of gratitude: to the Index crew I learned so much from, the startups I was lucky enough to work with, the journalists who listened to my seventeen-thousandth pitch, the politicians who did something that earned them exactly zero votes, and the founders who dived with me — often for the first time – into the world of brand and comms.

I'll admit, I'm addicted. This world has my heart. Working with people mad enough to shape the future never gets boring.

Thank you ❤️

[Chris O'Brien @obrien]

@vojtech @IndexVentures Fake news.

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@ChrisCillizza https://t.co/nwW7MEzsX2

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@SecKennedy @joerogan

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@preetkailon SpaceX is just Anthropic’s webhost.

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Not an exclusive club tbh

[cinesthetic. @TheCinesthetic]

Robert Pattinson reveals he doesn't understand TENET:

“I remember saying to John on pretty much the last week of the shoot, I'm like, ‘I think I’m dead. I think I’ve always been dead.’ & John David’s like, ‘You’re not dead. What are u talking about?’ ”

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@petersgoodman @nickbilton Hang on there, buddy. I've been in downtown LA at night and let me tell you...

[Chris O'Brien @obrien]

The @SpaceX IPO is a turd. But seems harsh to rate @OpenAI below Elmo's circus.

"OpenAI scores a 4.8 out of 10 on the AIBQ framework, the lowest in its valuation cohort."
"The company's revenue is real, but the economics are broken."

Yowch, @PitchBook
https://t.co/zlXDKKtPH7

[Chris O'Brien @obrien]

Amid the AI frenzy, Silicon Valley's worst investment may have been all the money it pumped into convincing poor Matt Mahan to run for governor at the last minute. He seems like a decent guy, but oof...Barack D. Obama Shaw got +10K votes just by changing his name.

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@FantasyGalaxies Mitochlorians. Trade Federation. Jar Jar. Also: Were we supposed to not know that Palpatine was Sidious?

And Christ, little Anakin was just an insufferable little whiner...

And the droid army had to be the least fearsome fighting force in history.

Maul: Absolute waste.