Sep 28, 2026 · 21 min
AI builders turn prize money into new social infrastructure
We Gave Away $2,000,000 To 5 AI Builders | MOONSHOTS Live
The episode tests whether AI can expand opportunity through practical tools for education, entrepreneurship, work, and personal data.
- 1AI could make entrepreneurship more accessible by helping people build companies without traditional wealth or networks.
- 2The panel argues social media should prioritize curated communities and useful AI agents over endless, toxic feeds.
- 3The Build with Gemini XPRIZE directs $2 million in non-dilutive funding toward five applications addressing work, tutoring, and business needs.
Don't miss
The Build with Gemini XPRIZE announces five winners and distributes $2 million in non-dilutive prize funding.
The brief
Peter Diamandis opens by framing the Build with Gemini XPRIZE around a new social contract, one built on purpose rather than traditional education and employment.
Cathie Wood, Logan Kilpatrick, Palmer Luckey, Mark Pincus, and other panelists imagine what they would build from zero, without wealth, networks, or status.
Mark Pincus argues that social media should be rebuilt around AI agents and curated communities, replacing toxic feeds and low-signal engagement with more useful online experiences.
The finalists turn those ideas into concrete applications, including AI tutoring, startup formation, a TaskRabbit-style marketplace for Nigeria’s informal artisans, and VAT-credit recovery for Mexican businesses.
The event culminates in awards for five builders, distributing $2 million in non-dilutive funding and making the social-contract argument tangible.
What was said on this episode
19 statements · 15 positive · 4 negative
The XPRIZE challenged teams to build profitable companies addressing problems affecting 100,000 people within 90 days.
“we're gonna challenge teams to find a problem that impacts 100,000 people. It should be something that's meaningful. And then we're gonna give you 90 days from a clean sheet of paper to go build a revenue-generating, profitable company.”
Listen at 1:14
Bitcoin will become the most important crypto asset as agentic AI enables machine-to-machine purchases.
“Bitcoin, we believe, is going to be the most important crypto asset, especially as we move to agentic AI, where machines will be buying from other machines.”
Listen at 2:33
Oxytocin doping could reduce divorce when used in marriage counseling.
“I would try to end the tragedy of divorce with oxytocin doping for marriage counseling.”
Listen at 6:04
Oxytocin is safe when properly understood and used for bonding.
“Safe if it's understood. We use it on mothers and infants to have them bond.”
Listen at 6:36
Oxytocin does not create chemical dependency and may reduce chemical dependence.
“Unlike most drugs, it doesn't form a chemical dependency. It actually unburdens you from a chemical dependence.”
Listen at 7:49
AI will make humans super intelligent.
“I do believe that AI is going to make us super intelligent.”
Listen at 8:42
AI will produce an entrepreneurial explosion.
“I think we're going to have an entrepreneurial explosion.”
Listen at 9:01
Unemployed young people should start AI companies without employees while continuing interviews.
“you should start start your own company with AI and no employees and keep interviewing.”
Listen at 9:33
Ninety percent of startups fail and ten percent succeed.
“90% of all startups fail, but 10% succeed.”
Listen at 10:06
AI will reduce drug-discovery failures and lower development costs to $600–700 million.
“the AI is going to reduce the number of failures. And is going to cut the cost to launch, develop, discover, develop a new drug from $2.4 billion, including failures, to $600 to $700 million.”
Listen at 10:28
AI will reduce new-drug development time from 13 years to eight years or fewer.
“And the time is going to drop from 13 years to 8 years or fewer”
Listen at 10:45
Healthcare is AI's most profound application.
“healthcare is the most profound application”
Listen at 10:55
AI labs have de-risked and understand the process for continued AI progress.
“we've de-risked the recipe to keep making progress on AI. Um, we, we know how to do it. I think all the labs know how to do this.”
Listen at 11:23
Data is currently the main bottleneck to further AI progress.
“The last bit to— that's really now the bottleneck to keep making progress is data.”
Listen at 11:38
The best AI data companies are currently worth about $10 billion and will soon be more valuable.
“even the best companies in this market are like $10 billion companies and will probably be much, much more valuable very, very soon.”
Listen at 11:51
Online social platforms should use AI and agents to reduce time spent in toxic, low-signal feeds.
“I would look to reimagine and reinvent our online social experience. And leverage AI and agents and gamify how little time you can spend there? Because I feel, you know, it's so toxic and it's such bad calories. It's so high in noise to signal.”
Listen at 12:36
Social apps should minimize unintentional endless and doom scrolling.
“I like the idea of keeping people out of, out of the app as much as possible on kind of the unintentional, just like, you know, endless scrolling, doom scrolling side of things.”
Listen at 13:49
Social platforms should shift users from low-quality content toward high-value communities.
“the more that we could shift from the crappy stuff to the high-calorie stuff, uh, the better.”
Listen at 14:18
Non-dilutive seed capital is preferable to other seed financing.
“Non-dilutive seed capital, the best kind.”
Listen at 20:07
Statements are attributed to the speaker as said on the episode and reflect their view at the time, not PodLume's. They are not advice.
Cathie Wood
Palmer Freeman Luckey
Mark Pincus
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