The a16z Show

Can relentless optimization create as much value as breakthrough invention? Bending Spoons CEO Luca Ferrari argues that radical innovation can produce extraordinary outcomes, but systematic improvement can be more dependable, especially when paired with a model designed to compound over decades.
Speaking with a16z General Partner Anish Acharya at Wave by Vento, Luca explains how Bending Spoons acquires technology companies, integrates them onto a shared platform, improves their economics, and reinvests the resulting cash into new acquisitions. They discuss the tradeoffs between growth and profitability, how to use debt without putting the company at risk, and why long-term thinking can create an advantage.
They also debate whether AI really threatens SaaS, why moats like brand, proprietary data, network effects, and switching costs still matter, and how Bending Spoons is already using AI across coding, customer support, and data analysis.

Resources:
Recorded at Wave by Vento.
Luca Ferrari on LinkedIn: https://it.linkedin.com/in/luca-ferrari-12418318
Follow Anish Acharya on X: https://x.com/illscience
Learn more about Bending Spoons: https://bendingspoons.com/
Wave by Vento: https://wavebyvento.com/

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Please note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. a16z and its affiliates may maintain investments in the companies discussed. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures.

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What if finding your next job, co-founder, or collaborator depended less on a resume and more on who is willing to vouch for you? Cosign is building a professional network around those signals, with the longer-term goal of giving AI agents access to the relationship and reputation data that traditional networks keep locked away.
a16z New Media’s David Booth and Dhruv Gupta join MTS to introduce the Cosign Awards, which recognize standout operators, companies, and products based on nominations from the people who know their work. They also unpack the bigger idea behind Cosign: mapping the people and relationships that rarely show up in public data, then making that graph accessible to both humans and agents.
Looking ahead, they imagine professional networking where your personal agent can talk directly to a company’s agent, determine whether there’s a potential fit, and only bring the opportunity to you when there’s a genuine “coincidence of intent.”

Resources:
Follow David Booth on X: https://x.com/david__booth
Follow Dhruv Gupta on X: https://x.com/droovg
Cosign: https://cosign.co
Cosign Awards: https://cosign.co/awards

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Please note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. a16z and its affiliates may maintain investments in the companies discussed. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures.

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What happens when AI makes legal work cheap enough to take cases lawyers couldn't afford to touch before? Eve CEO Jay Madheswaran argues that AI won't just cut costs for law firms. It could expand access to legal representation by making an entirely new class of cases economically viable.
Jay joins a16z General Partner Alex Rampell to explain how Eve is automating plaintiff law from the first client call through settlement, and why some firms are already using it to increase the number of clients each attorney can manage from roughly 100 to 500.
They also discuss how AI could shift lawyers toward higher-value advocacy, why agents may eventually negotiate with other agents, and what happens to the legal system when bringing a case becomes dramatically cheaper.

Resources:
Follow Jay Madheswaran on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jayanth1/
Follow Alex Rampell on X: https://x.com/arampell

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Please note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. a16z and its affiliates may maintain investments in the companies discussed. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures.

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America’s defense, energy, manufacturing, and robotics booms are increasingly becoming one story: the rebuilding of the country’s industrial base. This year’s AD50 highlights the companies building across that stack, from critical materials and factories to the systems they ultimately power.
a16z’s Erin Price-Wright and Connor Love join Elena Burger to unpack what has changed. They discuss how defense demand can help finance manufacturing capacity that ultimately serves much larger commercial markets, why AI is changing the economics of American factories, and how a new generation of founders is applying lessons from SpaceX, Tesla, Anduril, and Palantir to mining, energy, manufacturing, and defense.
They also make the case that these companies are no longer simply important to America. With private capital increasingly willing to fund physical infrastructure and production before government demand is guaranteed, they can become some of the most valuable companies in the world.

Resources:
Explore the AD50 : https://www.a16z.news/p/ad-50-2026-production-is-deterrence
Follow Erin Price-Wright: https://x.com/espricewright
Follow Connor Love on X: https://x.com/ConnorLoveCA
Follow Elena Burger on X: https://x.com/VirtualElena

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Please note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. a16z and its affiliates may maintain investments in the companies discussed. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures.

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Mark Cuban thinks AI could transform healthcare, but it won’t fix opaque prices and broken incentives on its own. His starting point for employers: run every benefits contract through AI and ask where you’re getting ripped off.
Mark joins a16z General Partner Julie Yoo and Erik Torenberg to discuss what he’s learned building Cost Plus Drugs, why trust is its core product, and how greater transparency could put pressure on healthcare costs.
They also explore where AI can help, what personalized medicine could look like, how the role of doctors may change, and why Mark believes founders should use AI to learn, not as an excuse to stop thinking.

Resources:
Follow Mark Cuban on X: https://x.com/mcuban
Follow Julie Yoo: https://x.com/julesyoo
Mark Cuban Cost Plus Drug Company: https://costplusdrugs.com/
Cost Plus Wellness: https://costpluswellness.com/

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Please note that the content here is for informational purposes only; should NOT be taken as legal, business, tax, or investment advice or be used to evaluate any investment or security; and is not directed at any investors or potential investors in any a16z fund. a16z and its affiliates may maintain investments in the companies discussed. For more details please see a16z.com/disclosures.

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