David Kaye’s Essays

Why Disney’s OpenAI Deal Is Actually Smart

The mouse figured out something most of Hollywood hasn’t: you can’t win the war for attention, but you can win the battle for engagement.

Dec 12 • David Kaye

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Three Paths Through The Dread Matrix

An investor’s guide to building AI products that actually matter.

Dec 4 • David Kaye

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Half My Day Is Robots Now

A field guide to how you’ll feel about AI, based on what you do for a living.

Dec 2 • David Kaye

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October 2025

Is this hard because it's new or because it's wrong?

There are two kinds of hard in startups, and most founders can’t tell the difference until it’s too late.

Oct 29 • David Kaye

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September 2025

Why Your $50M Game Studio Can't Compete With a $4M Japanese Team

Notes from the show floor on shifting power dynamics, AI adoption, and why your $50M game budget might be obsolete.

Sep 29 • David Kaye

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Why the best products tell most people to f*** off

The counterintuitive math of building for your haters.

Sep 8 • David Kaye

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Beyond the slop cannon

An atmospheric physicist posts a careful thread about uncertainty bands in Arctic ice models.

Sep 3 • David Kaye

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July 2025

What Superhuman's exit tells us about venture math and the power of distribution

First things first - I'm a huge fan of Superhuman and I don’t think this exit was a bad outcome.

Jul 1 • David Kaye

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June 2025

AI breaks everything except trust

Why trust is the new oil.

Jun 26 • David Kaye

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April 2025

The venture deadpool in games

The most recent GameCraft episode with Mitch Lasky and Blake Robbins should be required listening for anyone in games.

Apr 30 • David Kaye

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3 ways being a founder made me a worse VC

Thoughts from a man outside the arena.

Apr 15 • David Kaye

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AI's new primitives

How the next breakout consumer technology companies might emerge.

Apr 8 • David Kaye

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