Snapshot · The a16z Show
Baker analogizes ChatGPT to Netscape Navigator — at that equivalent moment in the internet era, Google had not yet been founded, underscoring how early AI still is.
Where this was said
At 10:37 · chapter starts 10:30
David George presses Baker on which AI model companies will win, and Baker's response is a master class in epistemic humility. If ChatGPT is the Netscape Navigator of AI, then at this equivalent moment in the internet boom, Google had not been founded, Zuckerberg was in middle school, and Travis Kalanick was in kindergarten [1] — Gavin Baker "At the equivalent moment in the internet era, Google hadn't been founded, Zuckerberg was in middle school, and Kalanick was in kindergarten…" 10:37 . Making high-conviction application-layer bets this early is premature. Baker then introduces a subtle but important distinction: AI might prove to be a sustaining innovation for today's biggest tech companies rather than a disruptive one for new entrants, because the three raw ingredients — unique data, capital for compute, and distribution — are all already concentrated in the Magnificent Seven. The failure mode, he warns, isn't disruption from below; it's IBM-style irrelevance from poor execution. ChatGPT was, as Baker puts it, 'Pearl Harbor for Google' — and we're only now starting to see their response.
At the equivalent moment in the internet era, Google hadn't been founded, Zuckerberg was in middle school, and Kalanick was in kindergarten. Baker's point: the biggest AI companies of the next decade probably don't exist yet, so high-conviction application-layer bets are premature.
AI could be a sustaining innovation rather than a disruptive one for the biggest tech companies, because they already have the three raw ingredients: unique data, capital for compute, and distribution. The failure scenario isn't disruption — it's IBM-style irrelevance from poor execution.
Bhanu and his team built approximately 50 free tools to attract search traffic, each linked back to SiteGPT.
With AI coding tools like Cursor, Bhanu can now create a new free marketing tool in less than 5 minutes by referencing existing tools.
Bhanu filters Ahrefs keyword results to show only those with a keyword difficulty below 10, making them realistic ranking targets for any decent website.
Bhanu sets a minimum search volume of 1,000 monthly searches when selecting keywords to target with free tools.
PropGPT averaged 20 downloads per day right after launching on the App Store through influencer marketing.
Eyal and Yali shut down all marketing and spent 4 months completely rebuilding PropGPT from scratch.
PropGPT has accumulated over 40,000 total downloads since launch.
PropGPT's large language model (AI) operating costs are just $20 per month, and the cost is continually falling.
Ad-based monetization works well for game apps where users spend extended time in-session, as seen with Grid and Wordle.
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.