Prediction Open AI assessment confidence: 95% certainty 3/5 debate potential 3/5

Kinshasa will probably be the world's largest city in 5–10 years

William Hockey · How to bet on yourself (without venture capital) · Invest Like The Best · Mar 17, 2026 · at 6:22

William Hockey, co-founder of Plaid and Column, discusses traveling to emerging markets to understand global scale and escape Silicon Valley's echo chamber.

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“Kinshasa, which is the capital democratic Republic of Congo, It's gonna be the largest city in the world then in probably five to 10 years.”

quote is from the automated transcript, cleaned for reading: filler sounds and stutters are removed, nothing is rephrased. names can be misheard (the analysis reads context, assessments check outside sources). how →

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