Mar 24, 2025 · 17m · tbpn
Investing in the Future and the Importance of Science Fiction
gold bands on the timeline = statements, start to end. Hover to read, click to jump. CC turns on captions
Long Journey Ventures founders Lee Jacobs and Cyan Banister announce their $181.18 million fund while detailing their contrarian strategy of backing 'magically weird' early-stage startups. They explore how science fiction literature, deep-tech infrastructure, and techno-optimist narratives serve as essential blueprints for funding transformative future technologies.
How this conversation actually went
Every chapter scored 0–10 on four independent dynamics. Hover any point for the reasoning behind the score. The hosts hold 26.6% of the talking time here. How this is scored →
speaking balance: gold is the hosts, purple is the guest (3 minute bins)
Cyan forcefully expresses her frustration with media and film creators opting for easy, cheap dystopian wastelands rather than building optimistic narratives.
Hardest push from the hosts ▶ 11:03 John suggesting tech has already built most sci-fi ideasJohn challenges the premise of expanding sci-fi by arguing founders have already invented almost every sci-fi concept from his childhood aside from flying cars.
Biggest teaching moment ▶ 9:26 Cyan explaining industrial diamond compute wafersCyan details how mainstream VCs dismissed Diamond Foundry as a jewelry play, while she recognized industrial diamond wafers as vital compute infrastructure predicted in sci-fi.
The host holds their own ▶ 9:04 John linking sci-fi literature directly to tech foundersJohn showcases his deep industry knowledge by citing Palmer Luckey reading Snow Crash and Delian Asparouhov's affinity for Seveneves before asking about Diamond Foundry.
the scores for every segment, with the reasoning behind each
| Chapter | Topic | The hosts as informed peer | Guest teaching | Guest disagreement | The hosts pushing back | Why |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Announcing Long Journey's New Fund and Origins | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | The hosts and guests engage in friendly banter about Long Journey's newly announced $181.18M fund, the origins of the firm at AngelList, and tech numerology. The tone is entirely celebratory and collaborative. | |
| Chasing the Magically Weird and Non-Consensus Alpha | 3 | 4 | 2 | 1 | Jordi asks about Long Journey's early-stage valuation discipline and whether rapid internet consensus makes contrarian investing harder. Cyan explains why they actively avoid crowded arenas like YC demo days to focus on frontier picks-and-shovels before buzzwords emerge. | |
| Science Fiction as an Investment Thesis: 'The Diamond Age' | 5 | 5 | 1 | 0 | John Coogan demonstrates solid sci-fi and tech literacy by citing Neal Stephenson's influence on Palmer Luckey and Delian Asparouhov. Cyan unpacks how 'The Diamond Age' directly drove her early investment in lab-grown diamond wafers for compute and manufacturing. | |
| The Case for Techno-Optimism and Utopian Narratives | 3 | 4 | 2 | 1 | John playfully challenges whether tech has run out of sci-fi concepts to build. Cyan passionately critiques Hollywood and social media for defaulting to cheap dystopian tropes instead of inspiring utopian possibilities. | |
| Network States, Pop-up Cities, and Geographic Focus | 3 | 4 | 0 | 0 | Jordi asks how Long Journey navigates global nationalism versus emerging network states. Lee and Cyan explain why American cultural acceptance of failure and legal predictability keep the vast majority of their deployment domestic. |