No Priors Podcast Episode Summary

Podcast: No Priors: Artificial Intelligence | Technology | Startups
Episode: Jared Kushner: BrainCo, Affinity Partners, and the Geopolitics of AI
Hosts: Sarah Guo, Elad Gil
Guest: Jared Kushner
Release Date: September 15, 2025

Episode Overview

In this episode, Sarah Guo and Elad Gil sit down with Jared Kushner at the Miami headquarters of Affinity Partners. The conversation spans Kushner's transition from public service to global investing, the founding and vision behind his new AI implementation company BrainCo, and the sweeping impact of AI across industries and governments. The discussion moves fluidly from macroeconomic trends, cross-border investment strategies, and the challenges of enterprise AI adoption, to Kushner's hands-on experiences in Middle Eastern diplomacy and the role of the private sector in shaping geopolitical outcomes.

Main Discussion Points and Insights

1. Affinity Partners: A New Approach to Global Investing

[00:41, 01:59]

• Post-Government Philosophy: Kushner set out not to build just another private equity firm, but rather one focused on "complex problem solving," leveraging his government skills and global network.

  "The aspiration with Affinity is to be the most value add and outcome determinative partner to the best entrepreneurs and the best companies in the world."
  — Jared Kushner [00:41]

• Global Perspective: Many successful companies lack a truly global viewpoint, often limiting their scope by geography or industry. Affinity aims to connect innovators and practices across regions.

  “By having a real global perspective... you can help people who are very good at something accelerate or modify their business in order to do something hopefully better than they would have done without your perspective.”
  — Jared Kushner [02:08]

• Examples of Investments: Technology (especially AI and data), insurance (four investments), and food retail (Burger King, Starbucks, Subway in Brazil with Mubadala).

2. Underappreciated Global Markets & Macro Trends

[05:27, 08:01, 09:09]

• Political and Economic Underwriting: Kushner stresses evaluating governance and macro trends when investing in countries. Some nations are dramatically "underpriced" as investment targets due to misperceptions and inefficiencies.

  "There's roughly 200 plus countries and they're all very inefficient. And so there's always opportunities to optimize and that's why they need the private sector.”
  — Jared Kushner [08:01]

• Regions of Opportunity:

  • Singapore: "blue chip," a model for policy and stability.
  • Middle East (Saudi, UAE, Qatar): Ambitious, pro-progress leadership; massive toolkits to accelerate innovation.
  • Latin America, especially Mexico: Benefitting from shifting supply chains post-COVID and U.S. economic tailwinds.

3. BrainCo: Building the Bridge Between AI and Industry

[12:31, 12:48, 16:05, 17:32]

• Why BrainCo?: Kushner, alongside Elad Gil, Eric Wu, and Luis, founded BrainCo to fill a gap—most large organizations had neither the tools nor the talent to implement AI in a transformative way, despite market demand.

  “We were looking for real, tangible solutions for our portfolio and for our partners.”
  — Jared Kushner [12:48]

• Platform + Customization Model: BrainCo combines a core AI platform for customers with custom applications that can be repurposed across industries.

  "The idea is to basically do both the platform side and then a subset of apps that are resold over and over to the world's biggest institutions."
  — Elad Gil [16:05]

• Use Cases:

  • Healthcare: Improving patient experience and operational efficiency.
  • Hospitality: Optimizing reservation systems.
  • Insurance: Streamlining claims management.
  • Government: Automating and dramatically accelerating construction permitting, cutting processes from months to minutes with over 90% accuracy across 35 steps.

  “…usually you have to pay big consultants, then it takes three, four months to get your approval; with AI, it could take three minutes.”
  — Jared Kushner [17:32]

• Go-to-Market & Early Adoption:

  • Targeted world’s largest institutions directly, skipping the typical SMB-to-enterprise ramp.
  • Proven technical value through risk-based, results-first engagements.

  “…these were kind of tough deals ... normally with a startup you start with SMB... and this was, 'let's just jump seven years ahead and go to the world's biggest enterprises.'”
  — Elad Gil [21:39]

4. Challenges and Conditions for AI Transformation

[23:49, 24:47, 25:42]

• Key Early Customer Qualities:

  • Complex, efficiency-amenable problems.
  • Suitable data availability.
  • Change-ready company culture and command structure.

  “Change is like heaven. Everyone wants to go there, but no one wants to die.”
  — Jared Kushner [24:51]

• People & Process as Bottlenecks: Organizational resistance, not technology, is typically the greatest barrier to AI adoption.

5. AI, Energy Policy, and Geopolitics

[26:39, 28:21, 30:02]

• AI’s Dependency on Energy: Must bolster U.S. energy infrastructure (especially permitting) to meet data center demands for AI. Observed U.S. private sector enthusiasm is stymied by regulatory delays.

  “...in the US we have about 1,300 gigawatts of energy. But there’s about 2,000 gigawatts... waiting for permits from FERC...”
  — Jared Kushner [28:21]

• Middle East as AI Capital and Partner: Gulf nations have long recognized the strategic importance of AI and have uniquely favorable environments for sandboxes—access to data, capital, and integrated governments.

  "They have companies, they have governments, they have data, and they're able to really be a great partner to a lot of these AI companies."
  — Jared Kushner [30:53]

6. Middle Eastern Diplomacy, The Abraham Accords, and Regional Transformation

[31:58, 32:27, 37:56, 40:22, 43:52]

• Kushner’s Approach to Diplomacy: Brought a business-like, first-principles approach—defining success up front and iterating relentlessly, learning from both successes and failures.

  “…if you fail doing it, then you start another company. That’s a culture that’s celebrated ... in politics everyone's afraid to take on hard things.”
  — Jared Kushner [35:57]

• Summary of Treaties and Accords:

  • Major normalization deals between Israel and UAE, Bahrain, Morocco, Sudan, Kosovo; resolved the GCC dispute involving Qatar, Saudi, UAE, Bahrain, and Egypt.

  “We got UAE and Israel… then Bahrain ... Sudan ... Morocco ... Kosovo ... and at the end ... the GCC dispute solved.”
  — Jared Kushner [37:56]

• Regional Business Integration: Affinity’s investments brought Middle Eastern and Israeli investors together, e.g., investment in Phoenix Holdings, Israel.

  “When you get an Arab and Israeli together and they start talking about a business opportunity, they forget about everything else.”
  — Jared Kushner [44:15]

7. Lessons for Private Sector Leaders Entering Government

[49:18, 49:40, 52:33, 55:44]

• Culture Shock and Opportunity: Washington operates fundamentally differently but offers great potential for private sector leaders to drive change.

  “...it's a different system design. But if you spend the time to understand the system, there's tremendous amounts of positive things that could be accomplished from doing it.”
  — Jared Kushner [49:40]

• Recruitment of Exceptional Talent: Second Trump administration is systematically bringing in higher-caliber private sector talent to effect rapid change.

• Personal and Professional Reward: Service in government expands perspectives, builds relationships, and unlocks insights valuable in business.

  "Your mind expands, it never returns to its original size."
  — Jared Kushner [52:33]

8. Kushner’s Approach to Leadership and Business

[56:24, 56:38]

• Chairman-Style Engagement: After extensive operating experience, Kushner now prefers to help CEOs with strategy and transformative challenges, abstracting away from day-to-day minutiae.

  “...There's mission critical things and then there's minutiae... How do you spend time with the people you want on the best problems?”
  — Jared Kushner [56:38]

Notable Quotes & Moments (With Timestamps)

• On Creating Global Value Through Affinity Partners:

  “By having a real global perspective... you can help people who are very good at something accelerate or modify their business in order to do something hopefully better than they would have done without your perspective.”
  — Jared Kushner [02:08]

• On AI-Driven Construction Permitting:

  "...with AI, it could take three minutes."
  — Jared Kushner [17:32]

• On Optimal Market Conditions:

  "If you don't have the right tailwinds behind you, you shouldn't be investing. It's just much easier to be with tailwinds than headwinds. You know, I liken it to surfing..."
  — Jared Kushner [08:01]

• On Organizational Change and Resistance:

  “Change is like heaven. Everyone wants to go there, but nobody wants to die.”
  — Jared Kushner [24:51]

• On Geopolitical Value of Middle Eastern AI Initiatives:

  "They have companies, they have governments, they have data, and they're able to really be a great partner to a lot of these AI companies..."
  — Jared Kushner [30:53]

• On Diplomacy and Business Mindset:

  "If you fail doing it, then you start another company. That’s a culture that's celebrated ... in politics everyone's afraid to take on hard things..."
  — Jared Kushner [35:57]

• On Private Sector Talent in Government:

  "You'll definitely make a contribution and you'll feel good about the fact that things are different in the world because of you..."
  — Jared Kushner [52:33]

Memorable Anecdotes

• Abraham Accords Origin: Kushner was assigned Middle East peace after Trump told the New York Times before even asking him; learned on the job, questioned received wisdom, rigorously iterated strategies [32:27].

• Phoenix Holdings Investment: Affinity’s investment in Israel’s leading financial institution during a period of high geopolitical risk led to a nine-fold return, changing perceptions among Gulf investors and forging new regional links [44:15].

Key Timestamps for Core Segments

• [00:41] Affinity’s mission and methodology
• [02:08] The value of cross-border/global perspective in investing
• [05:27] Influence of government experience on investment strategy
• [12:48] Origin story and purpose of BrainCo
• [17:32] Detailed BrainCo real-world use cases
• [23:49] Challenges and criteria for transformative AI customers
• [28:21] Why US energy policy matters for AI proliferation
• [32:27] The Abraham Accords: diplomatic process and philosophy
• [44:15] Real-world results from regional business integration
• [49:40] Advice and opportunities for private sector leaders in government

Conclusion

This episode offers a wide-ranging, illuminating masterclass in the intersection of technology, investment, and geopolitics. Jared Kushner provides a rare behind-the-scenes look at how high-stakes business and diplomacy get done—and how the global AI revolution will shape markets, governments, and societies for years to come.

Find the full transcript and future episodes at no-priors.com.