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Contrary Research retweeted
Contrary Venture Partner applications are now open!
If you're a builder on campus, interested in investing in exceptional startups, and want to be part of one of the most selective communities in tech, apply now.
Contrary invests and works directly alongside exceptional founders to build enduring companies, from seed to scale. With this approach, we’ve been fortunate to back iconic companies like Ramp, Anduril, Zepto, and many others.
Our Venture Partners are great builders and future founders who become the go-to resource for others on campus. As a VP, you’ll learn first-hand what it takes to build and invest in exceptional companies, from taking part in investment decisions to sitting in on fireside chats with seasoned founders and investors.
Best of all, you’ll be joining and learning from the best community in tech. Most VPs go on to become venture-backed founders, early engineers/operators, or investors, and enjoy the support of Contrary’s network for life.
Read more here: contrary.com/blog/venture-pa…
Apply here by Sept 13th: contrarycap.typeform.com/Con…
Contrary Research retweeted
There is no such thing as dying of old age.
Age is a measure of how much the average "human system" can take. But all the things that cause our bodies to break down are solvable. It's just a matter of time.
And immortality may have just entered clinical trials.
Contrary Research retweeted
Sierra is an insane business because, despite countless companies trying to automate customer service, it remains an endlessly painful process.
Going up against all of that baggage they're still managing to actually solve problems for some of the most customer-centric brands.
[NEW REPORT]: We've released an updated report outlining Sierra's business and how the company:
• Reached $100M+ ARR in just under three years
• Is powering hundreds of millions of interactions
• Are building for a future with ChatGPT as a dominant consumer channel
Plus...
• How Sierra competes against incumbent giants like Salesforce's Agentforce, Genesys, and NICE; and why their distribution advantages may matter less than expected
• The AI-native rivalry with Decagon, Ada, and PolyAI, and where each company is making different bets on orchestration, voice, and pricing
• Why outcome-based pricing is more than a gimmick and how it structurally locks in expansion revenue in ways seat-based incumbents can't match
• The "build once, run everywhere" architecture that lets a single agent operate consistently across phone, chat, SMS, email, and even ChatGPT
• Inside the product stack: Agent SDK, Agent Studio, Ghostwriter, Insights 2.0, the Agent Data Platform, and Live Assist; and how they fit together as an operating system rather than a chatbot
• The shift from cost center to revenue protection: How Sierra is moving beyond ticket deflection into churn saves, win-backs, and identity-gated upgrades where the value per resolution rises sharply
• Market sizing across three converging pools: Conversational AI, contact-center software, and the $120B+ in U.S. customer service wages alone
• The Bret Taylor founding story including the lunch with Clay Bavor where they decided to start a company with no product idea, only a conviction
• Key risks that could derail the thesis, including how a single high-profile agent failure could reshape enterprise willingness to automate sensitive workflows
• The international expansion playbook: SoftBank investment, the Opera Tech acquisition in Tokyo, and offices opening across Asia and Europe in under six months
• What Sierra's valuation actually assumes about labor automation economics, and how it compares to compressing CCaaS multiples at Five9 and NICE
Contrary Research retweeted
BREAKING: Inside The Anduril Thesis
Full Interview on the 300 Page Book Covering 100 Years of Military History That Explain Everything About Anduril
We Cover:
- How the US built 40% of global manufacturing post-WWII
- Cold War era when DoD funded 36% of global R&D
- Founder + military maverick pattern (Schriver/Eisenhower, Rickover, Kelly Johnson)
- Skunk Works, Bell Labs, & the golden age of defense
- Anduril's counter-positioned playbook
- Fixed-cost contracts & self-funded R&D
- Why industrial capacity is the next great unlock
- The mission behind the Flame of the West
by Kyle Harrison (@kwharrison13), Sachin Maini (@sachinmaini) of @contrary & @contrary_res
Timestamps
(00:00) Kyle Harrison, GP at Contrary & Co-Author of The Anduril Thesis
(01:22) The Anduril Thesis: A 300 Page Deep Dive
(04:52) How America lost its military edge
(07:33) The book that predicted the mess
(10:36) How bureaucracy broke the US military
(15:39) The ridiculous economics of modern war
(19:25) How Ukraine changed everything
(23:34) The Anduril thesis explained
(30:18) The pitch that changed defense forever
(36:52) Breaking down Anduril's tech stack
(45:26) The $10 trillion undersea threat
(57:43) Why founders need military mavericks
(01:03:53) Inside the new Department of War
(01:10:42) Anduril's unfair talent advantage
(01:21:20) When defense tech was toxic
(01:27:57) Why we must prepare for war
(01:39:27) The venture capital trap
Contrary Research retweeted
Today, we’re launching The Anduril Thesis, a 300-page book 2 years in the making.
Of 500+ companies we’ve covered, Anduril could be the most important of all.
Because if it mission is successful, it could single-handedly deter a catastrophic global conflict.
Here's the story:
Contrary Research retweeted
Apple has reportedly agreed to pay Samsung a 100% premium for its LPDDR5X RAM amid ongoing supply shortages. 🔗 wccf.tech/1jsgf
Contrary Research retweeted
Some selected battery-related slides from Contrary's Tech trend report: 🧵
Contrary Research retweeted
This is why it's worth investing in how your company "shows up" in major LLM platforms now👇
ChatGPT's weekly retention is fast approaching that of Google search
In five years, we will have seen a massive shift in how people find products
(h/t @kwharrison13)
Contrary Research retweeted
Contrary Research Tech Trends Report, a 352 pages report covering all major AI trends & sectors was just released by @Contrary_Res
Here are some interesting key findings
- Healthcare is now the biggest category for AI spending
- U.S. healthcare spending is up ~400% since 1970, yet life expectancy still falls behind other developed countries
- Most ChatGPT usage is for practical help, writing, and seeking information (8.5% ask "How to advice")
- Top 100 AI startups reach $5M ARR in ~24 months vs 37 months for top 100 SaaS companies
- Clifford Chance, one of the largest global law firm cut 10% of its London staff after adopting AI
- Autonomous taxis are already cheaper than human drivers (<$0.50/mile vs ~$2.00/mile for ride-sharing)
- Drone deliveries are projected to grow 10x from 2024 to 2029, surpassing 50M annually
- Trust in media is below 65% across most sources (most trusted channel is The Weather Channel)
- 75% of Gen Z think AI partners could fully replace human companionship
- 25% of adults (age 18–39) believe AI could replace real-life romantic relationships
Thanks @kwharrison13 for sharing
Contrary Research retweeted
As a red-blooded American, this infuriates me.
China is destroying us.
Contrary Research retweeted
we got a whole section! let's goooooo
Contrary Research retweeted
Holy moly Kyle did his homework
Contrary Research retweeted
Excellent read from Kyle and the @Contrary_Res team. Worth a read.
Contrary Research retweeted
Comprehensive 350+ slide report on the state of technology
-Foundation models
-Data centers and land
-Autonomous transport
-Biotech
-Screen time ! (this one sounds interesting and relevant for followers of $GOOG $AMZN $META)
Contrary Research retweeted
The volume of exceptionally high quality research that comes out of Contrary is just so damn impressive. Thanks to Kyle and the team for making us all smarter!
Contrary Research retweeted
The annual Contrary Research Tech Trends Report is here.
350+ slides on everything from computational intelligence to lunar bases to breakthroughs in biologics to AVs revolutionizing land use to the loneliness epidemic and so much more.
Full report in reply.
Contrary Research retweeted
What a crazy stat.
"There are, I think, 5 billionaires that came out of Palantir, because they own Palantir stock, and the revenue was $4 billion... So the billionaires-to-revenue ratio was greater than one" - Michael Burry, speaking publicly for the first time since 2012
open.spotify.com/episode/09j…
Contrary Research retweeted
*steps away from dinner to listen*
"There are, I think, 5 billionaires that came out of Palantir, because they own Palantir stock, and the revenue was $4 billion... So the billionaires-to-revenue ratio was greater than one" - Michael Burry, speaking publicly for the first time since 2012
open.spotify.com/episode/09j…
Contrary Research retweeted
America desperately needs its own TSMC.
Can startups save us? We don't think so.
In our latest video, we talked to @kwharrison13 about America's only hope: Intel.