Chamath Picks Arizona

Wednesday the 28th, 2025 - News Roundup

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Venture capitalist Chamath Palihapitiya announced plans to develop a massive $25 billion AI-focused data center in Arizona, marking his first major foray into real estate. The facility will be built in phases and is expected to require up to 1 gigawatt of power, placing it among the largest AI infrastructure developments in the U.S.

The data center will span 2,000 acres near two notable landmarks: Bill Gates’ long-planned smart city and a nuclear power facility—both signaling Arizona’s emerging status as a hub for futuristic development.

“I’ve never done a real estate deal,” Palihapitiya admitted on X, formerly Twitter. “So working with a great RE investor, Anita Lallian, with a vision for the project was key. Anita is a star.”

Anita Verma-Lallian, a well-known Phoenix-based real estate developer, will partner on the project and lead site development and local strategy. The partnership reflects a growing intersection between Silicon Valley investors and high-scale real estate development to meet the needs of energy-intensive AI models.

Palihapitiya pointed to the critical role of location and energy availability in selecting the site—specifically proximity to a nuclear reactor, which will be vital given that natural gas turbines cannot be brought online until at least 2032.

“This isn’t just a data center play. It’s a bet on energy, infrastructure, and policy,” Palihapitiya noted in a related video, citing that 81% of all incremental energy generation in the U.S. is currently subsidized by tax credits. He argued that navigating these incentives is now essential to keeping the country at the technological frontier.

This announcement follows broader trends of data center growth across the U.S., with Arizona becoming a magnet for next-gen infrastructure due to its vast land availability, regulatory posture, and proximity to power sources.

As AI workloads grow and demand for power surges, Palihapitiya’s investment signals a new phase of tech investing—one grounded in physical infrastructure, energy access, and long-term geopolitical positioning.

Topics Of Interest(TOIs)

• Solo founding is redefining the startup landscape, proving you don’t need a co-founder to succeed. Julian Weisser shared a compelling case for solo founders, highlighting their ability to retain full control, make swift decisions, and avoid partnership conflicts. Icons like Jeff Bezos, who built Amazon solo, exemplify this path. Data shows solo-founder startups often raise over $10M and achieve successful exits, debunking myths of being less investable. With initiatives like the Solo Founders Program, solo entrepreneurs are gaining support, showing that going solo can lead to extraordinary success—paving the way for a new era of innovation.

• David Protein’s $75M Series A signals a continuous shift in the CPG funding landscape. With founders like RXBAR’s Peter Rahal and a science-backed approach—boasting 28g protein per 150-calorie bar—David has attracted heavyweights like Greenoaks and Valor Equity in under a year. This follows a $10M seed round, underscoring investor appetite for protein-focused, trend-agnostic brands. As the protein bar market grows, David’s rapid rise and supplier acquisition could inspire a wave of CPG startups prioritizing measurable nutrition, potentially redirecting funding toward functional, data-driven products over fleeting diet fads.

• TIME magazine featured The Orb on its cover—a biometric device by World (formerly Worldcoin), co-founded by Sam Altman. Designed to scan irises and verify human identity, the device aims to distinguish people from AI. Now rolling out in six U.S. cities, the project has sparked both interest and controversy. Critics have raised concerns about privacy, biometric data use, and past allegations of exploitative practices during global expansion. While the company promotes a secure, decentralized identity system, skepticism remains as World continues its push to make The Orb a cornerstone of digital identity worldwide.

• Sudarshan of SF1 critiques Roy’s compensation strategy at Cluely, highlighting that the high base salary for founding engineers ($400k-1m) causes excessive equity dilution. At a hypothetical $30m valuation, every $400k in salary equals 1.3% equity—exceeding the 0.5-1% offered. He recommends lowering the base salary while maintaining or reducing equity grants, as Cluely’s cash-heavy approach is at the top end for early-stage startups. This risks over-diluting founders and early investors in future rounds. (I thought this was interesting inside baseball)

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