Were we wildly wrong, or surprisingly on the money?

As 2025 wraps, Chris and Yaniv revisit the bold predictions they made at the start of the year. They reflect on their calls about AI, robotics, VC markets, crypto, and geopolitics. While some were accurate, some were also hilariously off. Together, they unpack what 2025 really looked like for startups, venture capital, and the global tech landscape.

In this episode, you will:
* Learn why both hosts believe their AGI predictions were misses, and what “AGI” even means anymore.
* Understand how Google re-emerged as a serious AI contender, from Gemini to Cloud to Chrome.
* Discover how VC funding split into a two-speed market, with AI startups booming while everyone else grinds.
* See why Bitcoin’s stability above $100K signals its cemented role as a store of value.
* Reflect on how tech dominance, global competition, and Trump-era chaos shaped the broader economy.

Timestamps
00:00 Coming Up
00:22 On Today's Show
01:33 AGI and AI Progress
06:28 Antitrust Cases and Tech Dominance Under Trump
08:27 Google's AI Leadership and Browser Integration
12:37 The Year of Household Robots?
18:00 US Tech Dominance and the Global AI Race
20:42 Healthy Competition Between US and China
22:43 AI's Impact on Startup Growth
25:00 Trump's Power: Checks and Balances
29:57 US Stock Market Predictions and Corrections
32:15 Bitcoin's Role in the Financial Ecosystem
39:12 Closing Thoughts

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Key links
Get your question in for our next Q&A episode: https://forms.gle/NZzgNWVLiFmwvFA2A
The Startup Podcast website: https://www.tsp.show/episodes/

Learn more about Chris and Yaniv
Work 1:1 with Chris: http://chrissaad.com/advisory/
Follow Chris on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chrissaad/
Follow Yaniv on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ybernstein/

Producer: Justin McArthur https://www.linkedin.com/in/justin-mcarthur
Intro Voice: Jeremiah Owyang https://web-strategist.com/

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