Insiders React: Uber's New Response to Waymo + ChatGPT’s New Super Agent & OpenAI’s Chaotic Company Culture

Insiders React: Uber's New Response to Waymo + ChatGPT’s New Super Agent & OpenAI’s Chaotic Company Culture

Is Uber’s gamble on RoboTaxis a brilliant move, or the end of its asset-light magic? And what’s really going on inside OpenAI as it races to dominate AI?


Many founders assume hypergrowth companies are perfectly coordinated machines, but the reality is far messier. From billion-dollar GPU costs to chaotic product launches, there’s a lot for entrepreneurs to learn from how these giants operate.


Chris Saad and Yaniv Bernstein break down Uber’s 20,000-car RoboTaxi deal with Lucid and Nuro, and delve into what it means for the future of ride-hailing. They also discuss OpenAI’s new ChatGPT Agent, the company’s internal culture, and why GPU costs might be the most important factor shaping the AI race.


In this episode:

  • Understand why Uber is moving away from its asset-light model to own RoboTaxis
  • Discover how Uber plans to compete with Waymo, Tesla, and other autonomous vehicle players
  • Learn the economics of hybrid fleets—and why surge pricing is still critical
  • Unpack OpenAI’s confusing product lineup and what it reveals about their culture
  • Evaluate why GPU costs dominate OpenAI’s strategic decisions
  • Explore the risks of AI agents acting autonomously—and why reliability is still a huge issue
  • Take away lessons founders can apply when scaling teams and managing chaotic hypergrowth


The Pact

Honor the Startup Podcast Pact! If you have listened to TSP and gotten value from it, please:

  • Follow, rate, and review us in your listening app
  • Subscribe to the TSP Mailing List to gain access to exclusive newsletter-only content and early access to information on upcoming episodes: https://thestartuppodcast.beehiiv.com/subscribe
  • Secure your official TSP merchandise at https://shop.tsp.show/
  • Follow us here on YouTube for full-video episodes: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNjm1MTdjysRRV07fSf0yGg
  • Give us a public shout-out on LinkedIn or anywhere you have a social media following


Key links

Get your question in for our next Q&A episode: https://forms.gle/NZzgNWVLiFmwvFA2A

The Startup Podcast website: https://www.tsp.show/episodes/


Learn more about Chris and Yaniv

Work 1:1 with Chris: http://chrissaad.com/advisory/

Follow Chris on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chrissaad/

Follow Yaniv on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ybernstein/


Producer: Justin McArthur https://www.linkedin.com/in/justin-mcarthur

Intro Voice: Jeremiah Owyang https://web-strategist.com/

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Edu: Engaging Young Employees - Do You Know How To Attract Bright Young Minds? w/ Dan Brockwell from Earlywork

Edu: Engaging Young Employees - Do You Know How To Attract Bright Young Minds? w/ Dan Brockwell from Earlywork

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Edu: Finding and Hiring Talent - Always Be Closing

Edu: Finding and Hiring Talent - Always Be Closing

Look at any great tech company, and there is an exceptionally talented team behind it. Great talent is always in short supply, so how do you make sure that you are able to secure incredible people for your startup? In this episode, Chris and Yaniv discuss: Hiring as marketing & sales Sourcing Employer branding What makes a good startup employee How to run a tight process Making a thoughtful decision Closing well Chris' "Tips for hiring like Uber" post: https://www.chrissaad.com/startupsnippets/2021/12/oxin1bo5ow0s53tz7vcsh7c3g8z5k3

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Edu: Finding a Co-founder - Avoid Choosing the Wrong Partner

Edu: Finding a Co-founder - Avoid Choosing the Wrong Partner

The co-founder relationship is far and away the most important one in any startup. If you get the partnership right, you become an unstoppable team. If you get it wrong, the relationship will blow up -- most likely taking the startup with it. So how do you know what to look for in a co-founder? And how do you find Mr/Mrs/Mx Right? In this episode, Chris and Yaniv dive into: Getting unstuck at the beginning of the startup journey Do you need a co-founder? (spoiler alert: yes) The key skillsets in a founding team Co-founder relationship as a marriage, founder dating What makes someone a co-founder Finding vs. earning a co-founder

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Edu: Technology vs. Product - The Power of Saying No

Edu: Technology vs. Product - The Power of Saying No

You’re a “tech” company, so you’re building technology, right? Wrong. Technology is merely the medium through which you are bringing a product to the world. In this episode, Chris and Yaniv talk about what it means to build a product, what that means for your relationship with customers, and the profound importance of learning how to say “no” to your customers.

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Edu: Picking the Right Business Model - Don't Prop up the Industry you Should be Disrupting

Edu: Picking the Right Business Model - Don't Prop up the Industry you Should be Disrupting

Have you followed your heart when choosing the business model for your startup? Or are you making the choice out of fear? Yaniv and Chris examine when to go B2B and when to go B2C, and how too many startups are selling to the very industry they should actually be disrupting. Episode overview: [1:44] Chris explains how the Netflix and Uber b2c business models made them so truly disruptive [7.22] Why pursue a full-stack disruption over a traditional B2B model? [11:16] Case study examples: Uber and Instagram’s success with customers [13:51] The consequences of moving from B2B to B2C [16:21] Aggregation theory and power of aggregating demand [29:01] The mirage of playing it safe in life and in business [29:53] How to bring investors on board with your b2c, full-stack disruption business model References: Stratechery blog - https://stratechery.com/

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Edu: Investing & Fundraising - The Truth About VC w/ Nick Crocker from Blackbird Ventures

Edu: Investing & Fundraising - The Truth About VC w/ Nick Crocker from Blackbird Ventures

Chris and Yaniv have a discussion with Nick Crocker, General partner at Blackbird Ventures.  Together they discuss  The truth about "VC Value add" and how the wrong investor can be value destructive How founders and VCs partner over a multi-stage iterative game of growth Reference checking potential investors How founders imagine and build new products The importance of hiring operations and finance people The precious nature of a founder's attention and health And more!

21 Apr 202256min

Edu: Fundraising Basics Part 3 - Crafting your pitch

Edu: Fundraising Basics Part 3 - Crafting your pitch

Building compelling and clear fundraising narratives and pitch decks can be life and death for your startup.  In this episode, Yaniv and Chris discuss what a standard pitch deck narrative looks like and go deep on each slide and explain best practices and common mistakes when telling your story. They also talk about other important uses of the pitch deck that you might not have considered yet!

14 Apr 202253min

Edu: Fundraising Basics Part 2 - Avoid Selling Yourself Short

Edu: Fundraising Basics Part 2 - Avoid Selling Yourself Short

Knowing how to run a good fundraising process (and what to ask for) can make the difference between a glorious partnership that takes you to your next big milestone and serious resource constraint and a fractious relationship with investors. Getting this right is one of the highest leverage things and founder can do. In this episode, Chris and Yaniv discuss: Signaling: how to make yourself look credible How to run a fundraising process How to craft your ask (how much, for what valuation) How to pick your investors Article link: VCs Should Play Bridge

6 Apr 202252min

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