Sourcery

Most announced data centers will never get built. The ones that do are running on gas generators. And the US grid has no answer for what's coming.
Hannan Happi, CEO & Co-Founder of Exowatt, joins Sourcery for a rare facility tour of their 40,000 sq ft Miami HQ — walking us through the tech, the team, and why the AI power crisis is far worse than the headlines suggest.
Exowatt has raised $140M from a16z, Felicis, Sam Altman, Leonardo DiCaprio, Starwood Capital, Thrive Capital, and more, all betting on a deceptively simple idea: concentrate sunlight with Fresnel lenses, store the heat in rocks at 1,000°C, and dispatch electricity on demand. 24 hours a day, no grid required.
Their P3 system is built from sand, dirt, and steel. Like a large magnified glass and a rock. No lithium. No cobalt. No China. Target cost: 1 cent per kilowatt hour.

Timestamps
(00:00) What is Exowatt? The solar backbone for AI data centers
(01:30) Why the US grid simply cannot handle what's coming
(02:00) Tour begins: Welcome to Lighthouse Miami — 40,000 sq ft facility
(02:45) The P3 explained: three elements, one shipping container
(04:00) The founding story: Atomic venture studio and the modular hypothesis
(05:30) Why solar thermal hasn't followed solar PV's 99.6% cost decline — until now
(07:00) North star: 1 cent per kilowatt hour and where they are today
(11:00) Inside the world's largest solar simulator — the sun, indoors
(13:00) The Fresnel lens up close: a giant magnifying glass for the sun
(15:00) "It's rock science" — the 5-year-old explanation of how it works
(17:30) Domestic raw materials (sand, dirt, steel) as the real competitive moat
(24:30) The phantom data center problem: most announcements won't get built
(26:00) From 100 MW to 10 GW: how data center scale exploded in 3 years
(30:00) Funding breakdown: $140M, a16z, Felicis, Sam Altman, Leonardo DiCaprio
(37:00) Lessons from Tesla: remove parts, iterate fast, build better

𝐒𝐏𝐎𝐍𝐒𝐎𝐑𝐒
• Brex—The modern finance platform, combining the world’s smartest corporate card with integrated expense management, banking, bill pay, & travel. https://brex.com/sourcery
• Turing—Turing delivers top-tier talent, data, and tools to help AI labs improve model performance—and enables enterprises to turn those models into powerful, production-ready systems. https://turing.com/sourcery• VCX—VCX is the public ticker for private tech, allowing investors of all sizes to invest in venture capital. View The Portfolio at http://GetVCX.com

• Deel—Deel is the global people platform that helps startups hire, manage, pay, and equip anyone, anywhere. Trusted by more than 35,000 fast-growing companies, Deel is the people platform that just works, so teams can scale without the chaos. Visit: https://www.deel.com/sourcery
• Public–Investing platform Public just launched Generated Assets, which lets you turn any idea into an investable index with AI. With Generated Assets, you can build, backtest, refine, and invest in any thesis with AI. Gone are the days of one-size-fits-all ETFs. https://public.com/sourcery

• Merge—The leading provider of customer-facing integrations and agentic tools for frontier LLMs, Fortune 500 organizations, and B2B SaaS companies. Visit: https://merge.dev
Follow Sourcery for the latest updates!
https://www.sourcery.vc/
Disclosure
Paid Endorsement. Brokerage services by Open to the Public Investing Inc, member FINRA & SIPC. Advisory services by Public Advisors LLC, SEC-registered adviser. Crypto trading provided by Zero Hash LLC, licensed by the NYSDFS. Generated Assets is an interactive analysis tool by Public Advisors. Output is for informational purposes only and is not an investment recommendation or advice. See disclosures at public.com/disclosures/ga. Matched funds must remain in your account for at least 5 years. Match rate and other terms are subject to change at any time.

Max Levchin, Co-Founder of PayPal and CEO of Affirm, joins Sourcery for a wide-ranging conversation on building companies, surviving failure, and navigating one of the most important economic shifts in decades.
We start inside Affirm HQ (with a masterclass in espresso) before getting into the story behind onboarding 800,000 Shopify merchants in a week, the lessons from PayPal that still apply today, and why the team is the single biggest determinant of success. Max also breaks down how AI is collapsing the cost and speed of building software — fundamentally reshaping company formation, competition, and the balance between labor and capital.
As intelligence becomes more accessible, he explains why weaker, more “scammy” companies will struggle to survive in a world where both consumers and builders are more informed — raising the overall bar for quality, execution, and truth. In parallel, the widespread availability of AI tools may effectively increase baseline capability across the population, shifting what it means to be skilled, technical, and competitive.
From reading research papers daily to staying ahead of rapid innovation cycles, he explains why this moment in AI may be even more consequential than the internet or mobile — and what it takes to build and lead in it.
This was recorded March 30, 2026.
Topics include:
Building Affirm & scaling under pressure

PayPal lessons & talent density

Why ~85% of startups fail

AI and the collapse of build costs

Why low-quality / scammy companies will get exposed faster

AI raising the baseline capability of builders

Fintech, credit, and changing consumer behavior

Max Levchin: ⁠https://x.com/mlevchin⁠
Molly O’Shea: ⁠https://x.com/MollySOShea⁠ 
Sourcery: ⁠⁠https://x.com/sourceryy⁠ 

𝐄𝐏𝐈𝐒𝐎𝐃𝐄 𝐋𝐈𝐍𝐊
YouTube : ⁠https://youtu.be/yC_dWibdvHY⁠

𝐒𝐏𝐎𝐍𝐒𝐎𝐑𝐒
• ⁠Brex⁠—The modern finance platform, combining the world’s smartest corporate card with integrated expense management, banking, bill pay, & travel. ⁠https://brex.com/sourcery⁠
• ⁠Turing⁠—Turing delivers top-tier talent, data, and tools to help AI labs improve model performance—and enables enterprises to turn those models into powerful, production-ready systems. ⁠https://turing.com/sourcery⁠•⁠ VCX⁠—VCX is the public ticker for private tech, allowing investors of all sizes to invest in venture capital. View The Portfolio at⁠ http://GetVCX.com⁠
• ⁠Deel⁠—Deel is the global people platform that helps startups hire, manage, pay, and equip anyone, anywhere. Trusted by more than 35,000 fast-growing companies, Deel is the people platform that just works, so teams can scale without the chaos. Visit: ⁠https://www.deel.com/sourcery⁠
• ⁠Public⁠–Investing platform Public just launched ⁠Generated Assets⁠, which lets you turn any idea into an investable index with AI. With Generated Assets, you can build, backtest, refine, and invest in any thesis with AI. Gone are the days of one-size-fits-all ETFs. https://⁠public.com/sourcery⁠
• ⁠Merge⁠—The leading provider of customer-facing integrations and agentic tools for frontier LLMs, Fortune 500 organizations, and B2B SaaS companies. Visit:⁠ https://merge.dev⁠

Follow Sourcery for the latest updates!
⁠https://www.sourcery.vc/⁠

Disclosure
Paid Endorsement. Brokerage services by Open to the Public Investing Inc, member FINRA & SIPC. Advisory services by Public Advisors LLC, SEC-registered adviser. Crypto trading provided by Zero Hash LLC, licensed by the NYSDFS. Generated Assets is an interactive analysis tool by Public Advisors. Output is for informational purposes only and is not an investment recommendation or advice. See disclosures at ⁠public.com/disclosures/ga⁠. Matched funds must remain in your account for at least 5 years. Match rate and other terms are subject to change at any time.

Max Levchin, Co-Founder of PayPal and CEO of Affirm, joins Sourcery for a wide-ranging conversation on building companies, surviving failure, and navigating one of the most important economic shifts in decades.
We start inside Affirm HQ (with a masterclass in espresso) before getting into the story behind onboarding 800,000 Shopify merchants in a week, the lessons from PayPal that still apply today, and why the team is the single biggest determinant of success. Max also breaks down how AI is collapsing the cost and speed of building software — fundamentally reshaping company formation, competition, and the balance between labor and capital.
As intelligence becomes more accessible, he explains why weaker, more “scammy” companies will struggle to survive in a world where both consumers and builders are more informed — raising the overall bar for quality, execution, and truth. In parallel, the widespread availability of AI tools may effectively increase baseline capability across the population, shifting what it means to be skilled, technical, and competitive.
From reading research papers daily to staying ahead of rapid innovation cycles, he explains why this moment in AI may be even more consequential than the internet or mobile — and what it takes to build and lead in it.
This was recorded March 30, 2026.
Topics include:
Building Affirm & scaling under pressure

PayPal lessons & talent density

Why ~85% of startups fail

AI and the collapse of build costs

Why low-quality / scammy companies will get exposed faster

AI raising the baseline capability of builders

Fintech, credit, and changing consumer behavior

Max Levchin: https://x.com/mlevchin
Molly O’Shea: https://x.com/MollySOShea 
Sourcery: ⁠https://x.com/sourceryy 

𝐄𝐏𝐈𝐒𝐎𝐃𝐄 𝐋𝐈𝐍𝐊
YouTube : https://youtu.be/yC_dWibdvHY

𝐒𝐏𝐎𝐍𝐒𝐎𝐑𝐒
• Brex—The modern finance platform, combining the world’s smartest corporate card with integrated expense management, banking, bill pay, & travel. https://brex.com/sourcery
• Turing—Turing delivers top-tier talent, data, and tools to help AI labs improve model performance—and enables enterprises to turn those models into powerful, production-ready systems. https://turing.com/sourcery• VCX—VCX is the public ticker for private tech, allowing investors of all sizes to invest in venture capital. View The Portfolio at http://GetVCX.com
• Deel—Deel is the global people platform that helps startups hire, manage, pay, and equip anyone, anywhere. Trusted by more than 35,000 fast-growing companies, Deel is the people platform that just works, so teams can scale without the chaos. Visit: https://www.deel.com/sourcery
• Public–Investing platform Public just launched Generated Assets, which lets you turn any idea into an investable index with AI. With Generated Assets, you can build, backtest, refine, and invest in any thesis with AI. Gone are the days of one-size-fits-all ETFs. https://public.com/sourcery
• Merge—The leading provider of customer-facing integrations and agentic tools for frontier LLMs, Fortune 500 organizations, and B2B SaaS companies. Visit: https://merge.dev

Follow Sourcery for the latest updates!
https://www.sourcery.vc/

Disclosure
Paid Endorsement. Brokerage services by Open to the Public Investing Inc, member FINRA & SIPC. Advisory services by Public Advisors LLC, SEC-registered adviser. Crypto trading provided by Zero Hash LLC, licensed by the NYSDFS. Generated Assets is an interactive analysis tool by Public Advisors. Output is for informational purposes only and is not an investment recommendation or advice. See disclosures at public.com/disclosures/ga. Matched funds must remain in your account for at least 5 years. Match rate and other terms are subject to change at any time.

We got rare access inside Applied Intuition’s commercial garage with Co-Founders CEO Qasar Younis and CTO Peter Ludwig, where they’re building AI systems that power cars, trucks, mining equipment, defense systems, and more.
In a never-before-seen tour to the public, Applied Intuition showcases where/how real machines across industries are being rebuilt with AI.
Valued at $15B, Applied Intuition is one of the most important companies in physical AI, powering 18 of the top 20 global automakers and deploying autonomy across automotive, trucking, construction, agriculture, and defense.
Inside this garage, you’ll see:
Self-driving cars, trucks, & heavy machinery

Autonomous mining & construction operations

Defense systems & remote-controlled fleets

A unified operating system running across every machine

Qasar and Peter break down how one platform can run everything from a car to a boat to a mining site, and why the future of AI is no longer just software, but systems that move the real world.
This is what “atoms” looks like.

Qasar Younis: https://x.com/qasar
Peter Ludwig: https://www.linkedin.com/in/peterwludwig
Molly O’Shea: https://x.com/MollySOShea 
Sourcery: ⁠https://x.com/sourceryy 

𝐄𝐏𝐈𝐒𝐎𝐃𝐄 𝐋𝐈𝐍𝐊
YouTube : https://youtu.be/XhuG-xhw94A

𝐒𝐏𝐎𝐍𝐒𝐎𝐑𝐒
• Brex—The modern finance platform, combining the world’s smartest corporate card with integrated expense management, banking, bill pay, & travel. https://brex.com/sourcery
• Turing—Turing delivers top-tier talent, data, and tools to help AI labs improve model performance—and enables enterprises to turn those models into powerful, production-ready systems. https://turing.com/sourcery• VCX—VCX is the public ticker for private tech, allowing investors of all sizes to invest in venture capital. View The Portfolio at http://GetVCX.com
• Deel—Deel is the global people platform that helps startups hire, manage, pay, and equip anyone, anywhere. Trusted by more than 35,000 fast-growing companies, Deel is the people platform that just works, so teams can scale without the chaos. Visit: https://www.deel.com/sourcery
• Public–Investing platform Public just launched Generated Assets, which lets you turn any idea into an investable index with AI. With Generated Assets, you can build, backtest, refine, and invest in any thesis with AI. Gone are the days of one-size-fits-all ETFs. https://public.com/sourcery
• Merge—The leading provider of customer-facing integrations and agentic tools for frontier LLMs, Fortune 500 organizations, and B2B SaaS companies. Visit https://merge.dev 
Follow Sourcery for the latest updates!
https://www.sourcery.vc/

Disclosure

Paid Endorsement. Brokerage services by Open to the Public Investing Inc, member FINRA & SIPC. Advisory services by Public Advisors LLC, SEC-registered adviser. Crypto trading provided by Zero Hash LLC, licensed by the NYSDFS. Generated Assets is an interactive analysis tool by Public Advisors. Output is for informational purposes only and is not an investment recommendation or advice. See disclosures at public.com/disclosures/ga. Matched funds must remain in your account for at least 5 years. Match rate and other terms are subject to change at any time.

𝐓𝐈𝐌𝐄𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐌𝐏𝐒
(00:00) Inside Applied Intuition physical AI garage
(03:00) Cars are a wiring mess
(04:31) Why modern architecture matters
(06:30) From simulators to autonomy
(07:50) Real-time autonomous operations
(08:34) AI solving labor shortages
(10:09) The mobile AI command center
(12:50) How defense became a core focus
(16:20) Becoming more public
(17:10) Connecting mines, ports, and roads
(19:07) Driverless trucks in Japan
(20:09) Why they don’t operate in China
(21:40) Which country is adopting fastest?
(23:00) Scaling a 1400-person AI company
(25:43) New vs old AI players
(27:49) "Bits are out, Atoms are in"
(29:40) Physical AI is just getting started
(32:06) The "Japan corner"

Qasar Younis (CEO) & Peter Ludwig (CTO) of Applied Intuition join Sourcery to break down how they’ve quietly built one of the most important AI companies in the world reaching a $15 billion valuation.
Founded in 2017, Applied Intuition is building the infrastructure layer for vehicle intelligence and physical AI, powering systems across automotive, defense, trucking, construction, mining, and agriculture. Today, 18 of the top 20 global automakers and major U.S. Department of Defense programs rely on their software.
The company has raised $1B+ in total funding, including a $600M Series F at a $15B valuation, co-led by BlackRock and Kleiner Perkins, with participation from global investors such as Franklin Templeton, Qatar Investment Authority, Abu Dhabi Investment Council, Premji Invest, Stripes, Greycroft, BAM Elevate, and 137 Ventures.
Existing investors include Fidelity Management & Research Company, General Catalyst, Lux Capital, BOND, Elad Gil, Addition, and Tribe Capital, alongside early backing from Marc Andreessen.
What makes the company especially unique: despite raising over $1B, Applied Intuition has largely not relied on that capital to fund operations, instead building a profitable, capital-efficient business with long-term customer contracts and deep integration across industries
In this conversation, we cover:
Why physical AI is fundamentally different from software AI

How breakthroughs like transformers unlocked real-world autonomy

The company’s horizontal-first strategy across industries

Why they stayed quiet for years—and why that changed

How they deploy autonomy in defense and industrial environments

What hiring looks like in the AI era

Applied Intuition isn’t building another AI app—it’s building the infrastructure for AI in the real world.

Qasar Younis: https://x.com/qasar
Peter Ludwig: https://www.linkedin.com/in/peterwludwig
Molly O’Shea: https://x.com/MollySOShea 
Sourcery: ⁠https://x.com/sourceryy 

𝐄𝐏𝐈𝐒𝐎𝐃𝐄 𝐋𝐈𝐍𝐊
YouTube: https://youtu.be/TyLDPNTbkEA

𝐒𝐏𝐎𝐍𝐒𝐎𝐑𝐒
• Brex—The modern finance platform, combining the world’s smartest corporate card with integrated expense management, banking, bill pay, & travel. https://brex.com/sourcery
• Turing—Turing delivers top-tier talent, data, and tools to help AI labs improve model performance—and enables enterprises to turn those models into powerful, production-ready systems. https://turing.com/sourcery• VCX—VCX is the public ticker for private tech, allowing investors of all sizes to invest in venture capital. View The Portfolio at http://GetVCX.com
• Deel—Deel is the global people platform that helps startups hire, manage, pay, and equip anyone, anywhere. Trusted by more than 35,000 fast-growing companies, Deel is the people platform that just works, so teams can scale without the chaos. Visit: https://www.deel.com/sourcery
• Public–Investing platform Public just launched Generated Assets, which lets you turn any idea into an investable index with AI. With Generated Assets, you can build, backtest, refine, and invest in any thesis with AI. Gone are the days of one-size-fits-all ETFs. https://public.com/sourcery
• Merge—The leading provider of customer-facing integrations and agentic tools for frontier LLMs, Fortune 500 organizations, and B2B SaaS companies. Visit https://merge.dev 
Follow Sourcery for the latest updates!
https://www.sourcery.vc/

Disclosure
Paid Endorsement. Brokerage services by Open to the Public Investing Inc, member FINRA & SIPC. Advisory services by Public Advisors LLC, SEC-registered adviser. Crypto trading provided by Zero Hash LLC, licensed by the NYSDFS. Generated Assets is an interactive analysis tool by Public Advisors. Output is for informational purposes only and is not an investment recommendation or advice. See disclosures at public.com/disclosures/ga. Matched funds must remain in your account for at least 5 years. Match rate and other terms are subject to change at any time.