Prediction certainty 3/5 debate potential 3/5

Kothari: AI energy demand will force increased fossil fuel extraction this decade

Nikunj Kothari · Inside Silicon Valley’s VC Playbook | WTF is Venture Capital? - 2025 Edition | Ep. 24 · Nikhil Kamath · Aug 29, 2025 · at 2:11:22

FPV Ventures partner Nikunj Kothari discusses the timeline of climate technology and global energy demand with Nikhil Kamath and fellow VCs.

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“I actually think the world gets worse in the near term because energy will become the fundamental limiter, which means we will frack more. We'll pull more from the ocean because nuclear fission and fusion will still take time to build. You can't build solar panels fast enough. That's why I was like a seven. I'm like, do I believe climate tech will solve? Yes, but it'll take a longer time period, but the world will get much worse in the next 10 years from a climate change perspective.”

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