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The consumer AI products OpenAI “won’t want to kill” | Equity Podcast

Vanessa Larco⁠, partner at ⁠Premise⁠ and former partner at NEA, thinks 2026 will finally be the year of consumer AI.  Larco, who’s been investing in consumer and prosumer for years, thinks we’re about to see a shift in how consumers spend time online, with AI powering “concierge-like” services. The question is, will legacy consumer products like WebMD and TripAdvisor continue to exist as standalone apps, or…

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Vanessa Larco⁠, partner at ⁠Premise⁠ and former partner at NEA, thinks 2026 will finally be the year of consumer AI. 
Larco, who’s been investing in consumer and prosumer for years, thinks we’re about to see a shift in how consumers spend time online, with AI powering “concierge-like” services. The question is, will legacy consumer products like WebMD and TripAdvisor continue to exist as standalone apps, or will they just get absorbed into ChatGPT or Meta AI? And where can startups carve out an AI-powered niche for themselves? 
Today on TechCrunch’s ⁠Equity⁠ podcast, Rebecca Bellan sat down with Larco to talk about why consumer is back, what OpenAI won’t kill, and where the real opportunities are hiding. 

Chapters:
00:00 – Introduction  
00:53 – Why founders are excited about consumer again  
04:40 – The moat against OpenAI: Managing real humans  
09:22 – Apps as disposable as Word docs  
12:48 – Social media in the AI era 
18:48 – Meta Ray-Bans and why wearables are actually good  
23:35 – Stablecoins and consumer fintech opportunities  
26:54 – M&A predictions for 2026 

Subscribe to Equity on ⁠YouTube⁠,⁠ Apple Podcasts⁠,⁠ Overcast⁠,⁠ Spotify⁠ and all the casts. You also can follow Equity on⁠ X⁠ and⁠ Threads⁠, at @EquityPod.

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5 Comments

5 Comments

  1. @KLBL-dp8mc

    January 7, 2026 at 1:08 pm

    OpenAI will be bankrupt by EOY. Burning obscene amounts of cash with no ideas how they’re going to create enough revenue to even pay the interest on the spending commitments they’ve made.

  2. @أحمدعلي-ط5ه3ش

    January 7, 2026 at 2:45 pm

    ❤❤❤

  3. @SoyYoErick

    January 8, 2026 at 2:09 am

    It does seem like the B2C market is wide open for Agentic disruption but more so from a workflow perspective. What do you do on the daily, “which apps do you reference before choosing a place to eat and then navigate with directions”? It feels like we may see the 2.0 version form of smart assistants coming around.

  4. @shivakhatri3271

    January 8, 2026 at 12:43 pm

    When did Sam Altman start Podcast?

  5. @TUNC2-k1e

    January 16, 2026 at 11:24 am

    Hmmm 🤔

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Science & Technology

Build Mode: Inside the Fundraise

Startup fundraising is harder than ever, and Season 3 of Build Mode is here to help. Whether you’re raising a seed round, preparing for Series A, pitching venture capital firms, negotiating a term sheet, or exploring alternatives to VC funding, this season is packed with practical advice from founders and investors who have successfully navigated…

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Startup fundraising is harder than ever, and Season 3 of Build Mode is here to help. Whether you’re raising a seed round, preparing for Series A, pitching venture capital firms, negotiating a term sheet, or exploring alternatives to VC funding, this season is packed with practical advice from founders and investors who have successfully navigated the fundraising journey.

Hosted by TechCrunch Startup Battlefield Editor Isabelle Johannessen, Build Mode is the TechCrunch podcast where founders, investors, and startup operators share honest conversations about what it really takes to build and finance a company. This season features Charles Hudson (Precursor Ventures), Andrew Dai (Elorian), Ashley Tyrner-Dolce (FarmboxRx), Kristina Subbotina (Lexsy AI), Sydney Sykes (NVIDIA), Xavier Chi (Mbodi), Jack Groetzinger (SeatGeek), Sasha Orloff (Puzzle), Everette Taylor (Kickstarter), Manan Mehta (Unshackled Ventures), Julia Hartz (Eventbrite), and more. Together, they cover topics including avoiding down rounds, raising capital in today’s venture market, working with corporate venture capital, crowdfunding, startup financial readiness, fundraising as an immigrant founder, IPO lessons, and how to deliver a winning startup pitch.

If you’re an entrepreneur, startup founder, investor, or operator looking for actionable fundraising advice, this season is your playbook. New episodes begin July 9 and release every week on YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and wherever you listen to podcasts. Subscribe now and learn how to raise capital, grow your startup, and build with confidence.

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Science & Technology

Your Vaccine Questions Deserve Real Answers | Kizzmekia Corbett | TED

What good is a vaccine people don’t trust? Immunologist and TED Fellow Kizzmekia Corbett co-developed the first COVID-19 vaccine to enter clinical trials — but she says making the vaccine was never the hardest part. The real obstacle is the gap between scientists and the people who have honest questions about the shots they’re being…

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What good is a vaccine people don’t trust? Immunologist and TED Fellow Kizzmekia Corbett co-developed the first COVID-19 vaccine to enter clinical trials — but she says making the vaccine was never the hardest part. The real obstacle is the gap between scientists and the people who have honest questions about the shots they’re being asked to take. She shares a refreshing approach for taking on vaccine inquisitiveness and ensuring that humanity is ready for the next pandemic. (Recorded at TED2026 on April 15, 2026)

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CNET

Honor Magic V6 Unboxing (No Music ASMR)

The Honor Magic V6 wowed us in Barcelona at MWC. While it’s not officially available here in the US, we were still lucky enough to get our hands on one. Let’s quietly unbox it with CNET’s own Vanessa Hand Orellana. #honorphotography #asmrrelax #honormagicv6 #qualcomm #unboxing

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The Honor Magic V6 wowed us in Barcelona at MWC. While it’s not officially available here in the US, we were still lucky enough to get our hands on one. Let’s quietly unbox it with CNET’s own Vanessa Hand Orellana. #honorphotography #asmrrelax #honormagicv6 #qualcomm #unboxing

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