All-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg · Wednesday, September 30, 2026
The Chainsmokers explain their transition into investing, initially finding themselves 'catnip' for consumer brands due to their success. This led to an interest in venture capital, driven by relationships with founders and the desire to add value beyond passive investment. They now focus on cybersecurity, AI, infra, and health tech, aiming to be collaborative partners rather than just passive investors.
“We were lucky to be a successful artist. We had this distribution and marketing platform via the Chainsmokers, and thus we were sort of like catnip for consumer brands.”
“And I think what really struck us and resonated was like the relationship with founders and the ability to like add value back into the businesses. And I think that's what caught us off guard.”
“Instead of kind of treating it like this like passive revenue opportunity, we wanted to be hands-on and like sort of take matters into our own hands.”
“We specialize in or focus at least across cyber AI, infra, deep tech and health tech. And we invest in series A stage companies. We don't take lead positions. We like being the sixth man of the year on these teams.”