Podbit · The a16z Show
NVIDIA started as a semiconductor company, became a software company through CUDA, then a systems company through rack-level solutions, and is now architecting at the data center level. Baker says Jensen Huang is one of the two best CEOs he has ever encountered — and he's playing a very strong hand.
Where this was said
At 23:00 · chapter starts 22:35
Baker delivers his most detailed technical analysis in the chip segment, mapping a competitive landscape that most investors misread. NVIDIA's real enemy isn't AMD — it's Google's TPU, the only credible alternative for AI training and possibly the best inference alternative today. Broadcom is playing a fascinating enabling role, offering hyperscalers like Meta an Ethernet-based fabric that theoretically competes with NVIDIA's NVLink stack, alongside custom ASIC development services [1] — Gavin Baker "NVIDIA's real competitor isn't AMD — it's Google's TPU. Broadcom is playing a clever game, offering hyperscalers custom Ethernet-based fabr…" 23:00 . The catch: custom silicon is brutally hard. Google took three generations to get the TPU right. Baker predicts that within three years, most high-profile custom ASIC programs will be canceled, especially if Google begins selling TPUs externally — a development widely rumored on social media. He notes that Amazon's Annapurna silicon team is the most talented at any hyperscaler, and Trainium 3 will be significantly better than Trainium 2, but Google ultimately controls the TPU and can pull it away from Broadcom at any time. AMD will always exist as the market's necessary second source.
GPT-5 is a smaller, more economical model — not a frontier capability push. Using it to claim scaling laws are dead is completely wrong. Baker's message: don't conflate efficiency optimization with a capability ceiling.
NVIDIA's real competitor isn't AMD — it's Google's TPU. Broadcom is playing a clever game, offering hyperscalers custom Ethernet-based fabrics and ASIC alternatives to NVIDIA's NVLink stack. But Baker predicts most custom ASIC programs will be canceled within 3 years, especially if Google starts selling TPUs externally.
Gavin Baker predicts that within the next 3 years, a number of high-profile custom AI chip (ASIC) programs will be canceled, especially if Google begins selling TPUs externally.
Google required three chip generations to make the TPU viable — a cautionary benchmark for other companies attempting custom silicon.
With AI coding tools like Cursor, Bhanu replicates an existing free tool for a new keyword in under 5 minutes. What used to be a multi-day build is now a lunch-break task.
Ahrefs, SiteGPT, Cal.com, PostHog, Datafast, Sibyl AI, Bento, Feather, Featurepace, Mintlify, Cloud Code, ChartMogul — Bhanu runs his entire business solo with these 12 tools.
PropGPT runs on React Native with TypeScript and Python for ML, Neon for the database, RevenueCat and Superwall for monetization. LLM costs are $20/month, data APIs $100/month, and after $10K in monthly marketing spend, margins sit at roughly 50%.
Game apps keep users engaged long enough for ads to pay off. Tool apps don't — so if you're building a utility, ads are almost always the wrong call and subscriptions are your only real lever.
Inside SEO Bot, a single button labelled 'Boost My Domain Rating' routes users directly to Listing Bot. That one interaction converts a user of one tool into a user of two — without any marketing cost.
Directory listings are a powerful but underrated growth channel — but only if your product is genuinely interesting enough to earn the click. AI products have a natural advantage here because they're easy to package in a compelling, clickable way.
The fastest path to Twitter growth isn't volume — it's forming sharp opinions about how the platform works and sharing them immediately. People cluster around those who understand the rules and say so out loud.
Sam had no coding knowledge, so he used ChatGPT voice mode to generate his entire codebase and copy-pasted it into Notepad. A friend later introduced him to Cursor, and he never looked back.
Copy days of Discord chat history, paste it into ChatGPT, and ask it to list recurring pain points. The ones that come up most often are your best product bets.
We use essential and analytics cookies to run Vuci. To understand how the site is used: Privacy Policy.
Install Vuci on your phone
Add it to your home screen for a faster, app-like experience.
Install Vuci on your phone
Tap the Share button, then “Add to Home Screen”.
A new version is available
Reload to get the latest Vuci.