Best post on the topic of building an iconic company in the age of AIz
Jaya Gupta@JayaGup10
http://x.com/i/article/2052868796495564800
6:10 AM · Jun 28, 2026 · 173.2K Views
Khosla Ventures' Keith Rabois endorses Jaya Gupta's guide to building iconic companies in the AI era
Story Overview
Keith Rabois at Khosla Ventures and Josh Elman are amplifying Jaya Gupta's recent piece arguing that, once AI tools and interfaces become easy to copy, the real moat shifts to how a company organizes talent, decision rights, and status so that its structure itself cannot be replicated.
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Industry Shift
Structure beats speed when everything else copies
Gupta points to OpenAI's hybrid scientist-policy roles and Palantir's elevation of forward deployment as examples of deliberate org design that turns internal power and mission alignment into durable advantages founders can actually control.
FYI
Endorsement signals what VCs want founders reading
Rabois called the guide the strongest current advice on leadership and positioning while Elman labeled it timeless, suggesting both see organizational questions as the next practical filter for which AI teams will stand out.
Sentiment
Many users endorsed the timeless VC principles for building iconic AI companies as worthwhile and applicable to past successes like Uber and PayPal, while some dismissed them as unoriginal or overly skeptical of new opportunities.
Pos
78.9%
Neg
21.1%
18 comments with sentiment.
Cluster Engagement
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VIEWS12.4KBOOKMARKS25LIKES41RETWEETS1REPLIES6
Josh Elman@joshelman
The advice here is timeless. And a great reminder that in this exciting moment where everything seems different, core principles still hold true
Keith Rabois@rabois
Best post on the topic of building an iconic company in the age of AIz
3hViews 12.4KLikes 41Bookmarks 25
Josh Elman@joshelman
@rabois Timeless advice
Keith Rabois@rabois
Best post on the topic of building an iconic company in the age of AIz
3hViews 1.8KLikes 7Bookmarks 0
Keith Rabois@rabois
@joshelman Google 1998-2004 at least too.
Josh Elman@joshelman
The advice here is timeless. And a great reminder that in this exciting moment where everything seems different, core principles still hold true
48mViews 939Likes 3Bookmarks 0
Josh Elman@joshelman
@rabois Facebook 2008-12 did a nice job of this. Uber 2013-16
Keith Rabois@rabois
@joshelman Google 1998-2004 at least too.
46mViews 273Likes 3Bookmarks 0
Gary Marcus@GaryMarcus
@Rick42798550 @rabois True story: After Elon moved to Austin, Lex Fridman blocked me on X for saying Austin would not become the AI capital of the world. (Spoiler alert: It didn’t.)
2hViews 141Likes 5
Keith Rabois@rabois
@joshelman yes this applies well to PayPal, Apple Square.
Josh Elman@joshelman
The advice here is timeless. And a great reminder that in this exciting moment where everything seems different, core principles still hold true
50mViews 1.4KLikes 2Bookmarks 0
Rick@Rick42798550
@GaryMarcus @rabois To be fair Keith thought Miami would overtake Silicon Valley so go easy on the guy 🤣
2hViews 77
Gary Marcus@GaryMarcus
@rabois you made fun of me once but i warned for three years that there would be no moat, big price wars, and small or negative margins and that’s exactly where we landed.
2hViews 109Likes 3
Keith Rabois@rabois
@joshelman agree w Uber.
Josh Elman@joshelman
@rabois Facebook 2008-12 did a nice job of this. Uber 2013-16
46mViews 178Likes 1Bookmarks 0
Martin Varsavsky@martinvars
@rabois The moat isn't the model. It's who can actually deploy power, chips, and data centers at scale without the regulatory death spiral Europe specializes in.
1hViews 202
Keith Rabois@rabois
@joshelman yes it is the post i wish i had written.
3hViews 44Likes 1
Keith Rabois@rabois
@GaryMarcus don’t think that is accurate yet. there are definitely moats still. price wars, not at the frontier (yet). companies i work w all have solid margins.
1hViews 117
tyler hogge@thogge
@rabois Yup
1hViews 117
Vinod Dar@Vkdjupiter
A grand vision of attaining the impossible and changing the arc of civilization channeled through a charismatic founder with a superhuman ability to endure adversity and conquer obstacles has always been the formula for epic success in every domain( cultural, political and economic)of human activity has been the enduring model of achievement. It always attracts the young who believe they are a special people living in special time.
2hViews 88
NCD@Jokerbernrin
@rabois A worthwhile read
3hViews 21Likes 1
Chandler Ward@chandlerjward
@rabois People, people, people
1hViews 16Likes 1
Ferbin@Ferbin08
@rabois moats exist. they're just getting breached faster. new tech accelerates everything, margins included.
23mViews 37
OPEN ARMY Japan Branch 🇯🇵🤝🇺🇸@open_army_japan
@mudirshin @rabois 🤝
1hViews 10Likes 1
OPEN ARMY Japan Branch 🇯🇵🤝🇺🇸@open_army_japan
@rabois After reading that piece, the only person who came to mind was Kaz, and the truth is that you were the one who led him there.
2hViews 31
Mario Scipio@scipiosai
@GaryMarcus @Rick42798550 @rabois That's impossible. Lex doesn't block anyone.
1hViews 15
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