Silicon Valley VCs debate why OpenAI and Anthropic haven't killed startups
At a panel at Assembling 2026, moderator Tian Yu of Micron Technology's venture arm asked Jenny Xiao (Leonis Capital), Alan Du (Microsoft's M12) and Brian Zhan (Striker Venture Partners) why OpenAI and Anthropic have not wiped out startups. Alan Du argued many startups are exploiting a temporary arbitrage window he calls 'enterprise latency'; Jenny Xiao said China's open-source models are 'the biggest gift' to the US startup ecosystem and that neither technical moats nor claimed data moats hold up. Brian Zhan said OpenAI is raising at a $1.4 trillion valuation with SoftBank leading via a loan at close to 14% interest, predicted Anthropic will IPO at a $3 trillion valuation, and said AMD has acquired World Labs for about $8.2 billion — all claims made on stage and not independently verified. Xiao also cited a survey of 119 'neo labs' founded between 2024 and 2026 that raised a combined $94 billion.
It captures how frontline Silicon Valley investors currently see value shifting between frontier labs, neo labs and application startups, though several financing and M&A figures are unverified panelist remarks.
在Assembling 2026上，我们邀请了几位硅谷一线投资人，并且给他们出了一个他们天天质问创业者的题目：
为何OpenAI和Anthropic还没杀死创业公司。
这场对话信息量丰富，观点犀利，也让人看到今天从硅谷最一线的投资人视角来看，AI行业的机会和巨大风险在哪里。
这场对话由Tian Yu（T.Y.），Micron Technology（美光科技）风险投资人主持，嘉宾包括Jenny Xiao，Leonis Capital 合伙人，前 OpenAI 研究员及早期员工；Alan Du，微软风险投资基金 M12 合伙人，和Brian Zhan，Striker Venture Partners 合伙人。
以下为对话实录：
#OpenAI#Anthropic#Leonis Capital#Microsoft M12#Striker Venture Partners#World Labs#AMD#SoftBank#Grok Bot#Viktor AI#Skild#Periodic Labs