Insiders React: Uber's New Response to W...

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/