# @20vc on YouTube

- **Type:** Video
- **Original URL:** https://youtube.com/watch?v=PCAiqKCfRSk
- **Gondola URL:** https://gondola.cc/posts/68155041-20vc-youtube
- **Thumbnail:** https://img.gondola.cc/tr:w-,h-,fo-auto/postThumbnails/18f97c144a.jpg
- **Posted:** 2026-07-20T13:58:26.000+00:00
- **Account Owner:** 20VC with Harry Stebbings (@20vc) — https://gondola.cc/20vc

## Caption

Lin Qiao is the Co-Founder and CEO of Fireworks AI, the leading specialized intelligence and AI inference platform that last week raised $1.5BN at a whopping $17BN valuation. With just 200 people, the company has hit $1BN in ARR and expects to hit $2BN before the end of the year. Prior to Fireworks, Lin spent several years at Meta including on the founding team of PyTorch.

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Timestamps:

0:00 Intro
02:00 - Why Starting a Company at 48 Was an Advantage
03:47 - The AI Layer Everyone Is Overlooking
09:49 - Is AGI Really the End Goal?
11:40 - Open Source vs Frontier Models: Who Wins?
14:30 - Are AI Giants Massively Overvalued?
17:48 - Why Open Models Could Beat Closed AI
19:23 - Should We Trust Chinese AI Models?
22:18 - Do AI Startups Need to Build Their Own Models?
26:49 - Will AI Model Breakthroughs Ever Slow Down?
29:03 - Why One Company Should Never Control Intelligence
32:47 - The Secret Behind Cursor's Explosive Growth
37:33 - Is AI Coding Already Yesterday's Biggest Trend?
41:36 - The AI Infrastructure Race Is Just Getting Started
46:32 - How Cheap Will AI Become?
54:07 - Hypergrowth vs Profit: Why Margins Can Wait
59:30 - Can the West Keep Up With China's Infrastructure Speed?
01:01:04 - Why AI Hardware Depreciates Faster Than Ever
01:04:45 - Why AI Will Create More Jobs, Not Fewer
01:08:35 - The Biggest Mistakes AI Founders Are Making
01:16:55 - Why Great Leaders Stay Close to the Work
01:18:44: Quick-Fire Round

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Subscribe on Spotify:
https://open.spotify.com/show/3j2KMcZTtgTNBKwtZBMHvl?si=85bc9196860e4466

Subscribe on Apple Podcasts:
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-twenty-minute-vc-20vc-venture-capital-startup/id958230465

Follow Harry Stebbings on X:
https://twitter.com/HarryStebbings

Follow Lin Qiao on X:
https://twitter.com/lqiao

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https://www.tiktok.com/@20vc_tok

Visit our Website:
https://www.20vc.com

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https://www.thetwentyminutevc.com/contact

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#20vc #harrystebbings #ceo #ai #linqiao #fireworksai #ceo #ai #founder

## Stats

- **Views:** 16,736
- **Likes:** 267
- **Shares:** 0
- **Comments:** 21

## Credits

| Name | Username | Profile | Role |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 20VC with Harry Stebbings | @20vc | https://gondola.cc/20vc | Podcast |

## Tags

linqiao, harrystebbings, fireworksai, ceo, ai, founder, 20vc

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