Stebbings: VCs use elite founder credentials as a crutch amid AI uncertainty
Harry Stebbings · OpenAI vs Anthropic vs Open-Source | Token Maxing, AI Hangovers & The Coming ROI Reckoning · 20VC with Harry Stebbings · Jun 13, 2026 · at 29:09
Harry Stebbings is the founder and host of 20VC. He reflects on how venture capitalists evaluate founders in an unpredictable market where foundational AI companies constantly threaten application-layer startups.
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“Fundamentally, there is intense uncertainty around what Anthropic and OpenAI will do and who they will kill at the application layer. And so in a world where we desperately seek certainty, we look for validators, and the validators of someone being a math Olympiad or you name it, whatever that is, that validation, In the wake of not having other certainty, that serves as a good crutch.”
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