Jared Kushner: BrainCo, Affinity Partners, and the Geopolitics of AI
Timestamps are as accurate as they can be but may be slightly off. We encourage you to listen to the full context.
Podcast Summary
In this engaging episode of No Priors, hosts Sarah Gua and Elad Gil sit down with Jared Kushner at the Miami headquarters of his investment firm, Affinity Partners. Kushner discusses how his unique experience in government has shaped his approach to global investing, focusing on being "complex problem solvers" who help companies navigate international expansion and regulatory challenges. (01:00) The conversation explores Affinity's global investment strategy, spanning from technology companies in the US to infrastructure projects in Albania and Latin America, demonstrating how cross-border perspectives can unlock hidden value. (06:27) A significant portion of the discussion centers on Brainco, the AI implementation company Kushner co-founded with Elad Gil, Eric Wu, and Luis, which helps major institutions deploy AI solutions across various sectors. The episode also delves into Kushner's diplomatic achievements, particularly the Abraham Accords, and how his government experience now informs his investment decisions and global network.
- Main Theme: How global perspective and government experience create unique investment opportunities and cross-border business solutions in an increasingly connected world.
Speakers
Jared Kushner
Jared Kushner is the founder of Affinity Partners, a global investment firm focused on complex problem-solving and cross-border investments. He previously served as Senior Advisor to President Trump, where he spearheaded Middle East diplomacy and was instrumental in negotiating the Abraham Accords between Israel and multiple Arab nations. Before his government service, Kushner ran his family's real estate business and played a key role in Trump's 2016 presidential campaign.
Sarah Gua
Sarah Gua is co-host of the No Priors podcast and focuses on technology and investing topics. She brings extensive experience in analyzing business partnerships and entrepreneurial ventures.
Elad Gil
Elad Gil is a prominent Silicon Valley investor and entrepreneur, known for his early investments in AI companies and his role in identifying emerging technology trends. He co-founded Brainco with Kushner and has a track record of successful investments in the technology sector.
Key Takeaways
Global Perspective Creates Competitive Advantage
Kushner emphasizes that most successful people become exceptional by being "obsessive" about their specific field or geography, but this focus can blind them to global opportunities. (02:15) By maintaining a truly global perspective, investors can identify patterns and solutions from different markets that can be applied elsewhere. For example, seeing how companies in India or the Middle East approach similar businesses differently can help accelerate growth in other regions. This cross-pollination of ideas and strategies becomes a significant competitive advantage, similar to how Yuri Milner's experience with Russian social networks helped him recognize Facebook's monetization potential early on.
Government-Private Sector Partnership Framework
Kushner's framework for successful public-private partnerships requires four critical elements: the right policy environment, technical expertise, project management capability, capital, and local navigation skills. (06:00) Missing even one of these elements "is a recipe for disaster," but when all four come together, "there's amazing potential for what can be achieved." This framework helped Kushner identify investment opportunities in Albania, where strong government leadership under Prime Minister Edi Rama created the right conditions for private sector investment, despite the country's poor reputation among other investors.
Countries Are Massively Inefficient Markets
While public company markets are relatively efficient with thousands of companies trading daily, there are only "roughly 200 plus countries, and they're all very inefficient." (08:12) This creates enormous opportunities for investors who can understand macro trends and governance structures. Kushner likens successful investing to surfing: "If you're a mediocre surfer and you surf terrible waves, it's gonna be bad. If you surf a great wave, you'll look okay." The key is identifying countries with the right "tailwinds" and leadership committed to private sector growth.
AI Implementation Requires Platform Thinking
Rather than building point solutions, successful AI implementation requires a platform approach that can evolve with rapidly changing underlying models. (15:27) Kushner observed that many AI solutions quickly become obsolete because "if you don't have a dynamic product and you're not constantly up to date on what's possible," you'll fall behind. Brainco addresses this by building common infrastructure that supports multiple applications across different verticals, allowing them to update capabilities as base models improve while serving the world's largest institutions.
First Principles Diplomacy Breaks Conventional Wisdom
Kushner's success with the Abraham Accords came from rejecting conventional diplomatic wisdom and applying first principles thinking. The traditional approach insisted "you cannot get the Arabs together with Israel until you solve the Palestinian issue," but Kushner viewed this as "a riddle designed not to be solved." (37:00) Instead of looking backwards at historical grievances, he focused on forward-looking joint interests like security concerns about Iran and mutual benefits in technology and AI cooperation. This approach led to multiple historic peace agreements in rapid succession.
Statistics & Facts
- Phoenix Holdings, the Israeli financial institution Affinity invested in, generated almost a 9x return in just over a year, with stock price rising from $37 to almost $120 per share. (45:31) This demonstrates the potential returns available in geopolitically sensitive but fundamentally strong markets.
- The US has about 1,300 gigawatts of energy capacity currently, but there are about 2,000 gigawatts waiting for permits from FERC, showing massive private sector interest constrained by regulatory bottlenecks. (28:35)
- Brainco achieved over 90% accuracy on 35 out of 40+ steps in a construction permitting process, reducing permit approval time from 3-4 months to 3 minutes while helping eliminate over 10 unnecessary steps in the government's process. (20:00)
