Moat

also referred to as: moats

4 statements across 2 episodes · 4 bullish · 0 bearish · 2 people on the record · first statement Jan 11, 2026 by Kiriti Badam · across every show →

Everything said about Moat, oldest first

Jan 11, 2026 bullish

Insight

Badam: Organizational knowledge from trial-and-error evals is the decisive AI moat

“And that kind of knowledge that you've built across the organization or across like your own experience, lived experiences. I feel that the, that pain is what translates into the mode of the company, right? This could be like a product of evals or like somethi…”

Kiriti Badam Jan 11, 2026 ▶ 1:13:41 Why most AI products fail: Lessons from 50+ AI deployments at OpenAI, Google & Amazon

Jan 11, 2026 positive

Insight

Badam: Enduring iterative implementation pain is the new moat for AI builders

“And as you are going through this, like pain of like developing multiple approaches and then solving the problem, I feel that is like going to be the real boat as an individual. Like I like to call it like pain is the new moat, but I feel that is exactly super…”

Kiriti Badam Jan 11, 2026 ▶ 1:12:36 Why most AI products fail: Lessons from 50+ AI deployments at OpenAI, Google & Amazon

Sep 6, 2026 bullish

Disclosure

a16z will invest in moatless products if consumer momentum is high

“I think that we would happily take a bet on a product that doesn't have a quote unquote moat or durability story. If it has, you know, a lot of momentum, a lot of craft, a lot of, you know, sort of growing engagement.”

Anish Acharya Sep 6, 2026 ▶ 57:20 Why companies are becoming a series of loops | Anish Acharya (a16z)

Sep 6, 2026 positive

Insight

Startup moats are discovered through shipping rather than designed upfront

“Moats are most often discovered, not designed.”

Anish Acharya Sep 6, 2026 ▶ 54:57 Why companies are becoming a series of loops | Anish Acharya (a16z)

Moat

Everything said about Moat, oldest first

Turn any episode into a week of clips.