Podcast Summary: Uncapped #29 | Thomas Laffont (Coatue)

Host: Jack Altman (Alt Capital)
Guest: Thomas Laffont (Coatue Management)
Recorded: October 22, 2025

Overview

In this episode of Uncapped, Jack Altman sits down with Thomas Laffont, co-founder of Coatue, for a rich, in-depth conversation about tech market cycles, the evolution of AI infrastructure, investment strategies across public and private markets, founder qualities, firm culture, and life lessons from golf, mentoring, and working with family. The discussion is candid and spanning, offering insights into how one of the world’s leading tech investors navigates seismic industry shifts and personal development.

Market Cycles, Capital Deployment, and the State of AI (00:25–10:43)

• Market Cycles and Structural Shifts:
  Thomas reflects on his experience seeing multiple tech cycles over 25 years—from the iPhone’s impact, Nvidia’s exponential guidance, to Oracle's reinvention and the acceleration of AI investment.

  • “The stakes to me feel different [now]… companies are saying, no, it feels more existential. I’m actually willing to invest significantly more, maybe even more than the cash flows that I’m producing...” —Thomas (04:45)

• AI Infrastructure Build-Out:
  The host and Thomas discuss how AI was initially funded by public tech giants using positive cash flow, but now even cash flow–negative companies like OpenAI and Anthropic are making huge infrastructure bets. Oracle is now a meaningful and competitive entrant in cloud, aiming for double-digit market share.

  • “You could see [Oracle] getting to maybe 15% market share of cloud in a few years from essentially zero.” —Thomas (03:40)

Investment Approaches: Thematic Buckets and Building Blocks (06:45–12:32)

• Thematic, Layered Approach:

  • Thomas describes using a “wide aperture lens”—being thematic but opportunistic across public/private and geographies. He sees AI’s foundational stack as having three key components:
    1. Semiconductors: Absolute necessity for AI; major players like Nvidia and Broadcom; innovative startups like Cerebras (06:45–08:28).
    2. Data Centers & Power: Nuclear (e.g., Constellation Energy) and liquid gas (GE Vernova) as critical enablers—reflecting a view that, “you’re not going to be able to have AI without that foundational layer.” (08:32–09:30)
    3. Foundational Models: He believes there’s consolidation around a few model labs (OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, and possibly Meta).
  • The data layer, with companies like Snowflake and Databricks (and app integrations, e.g., Workday), is also becoming foundational to transform business operations.

• “System of Record Is Dead” and the Future of Enterprise Software:

  • Thomas predicts a big shift away from traditional SaaS platforms locking in data. Instead, data will flow more freely between best-in-class tools, and every enterprise interaction will be recorded and queried for intelligence, changing the compliance and HR landscape (13:00–15:02).
    • “Every interaction within the enterprise within three years will be recorded. I think the default is going to be record on.” —Thomas (13:00)
    • "The role of Workday will [be to] sit on top... as a validator... Workday is going to be able to make HR and coaching decisions based on the entire data set.” —Thomas (15:02)

Navigating Public vs. Private Markets & Old vs. New VC Models (18:46–23:01)

• Not a Typical VC:
  Thomas positions himself as an “investor” rather than a traditional VC—bundling public/private investing and shifting between stages and geographies.

  • “I don't tend to think about whether my time is spent between public or private because some of the best research that I do for my public investing is by meeting private companies—or vice versa.” —Thomas (22:06)

• Flexible Model:
  He likens traditional VC to “plots on the river,” while his approach is to roam up and down, fishing for the best opportunities, irrespective of being early, late, public, or private.

• Competition and Zero-Sum Thinking:
  Thomas disdains the prevalent zero-sum mindset in early-stage VC and instead prefers knowledge sharing and mutual benefit.

VC Tribalism, Rounds, and Learning from “No” (24:17–27:17)

• Tribal Culture:
  Thomas describes VC as tribal—he maintains relationships across “villages” (firms), trying to leave each better than he found it.

• Round Dynamics and Second Chances:

  • One of his key insights is that for his 10-15 top private investments, the first opportunity was always a ‘no’—either Coatue or the company passed, but second chances led to great wins.
    • “Without exception, my first opportunity to invest was a no…What ended up happening is opportunities to invest later came around, and as it turns out, they were very successful.” —Thomas (25:00)

• Private vs. Public, Thematic vs. Stage:
  He cautions against overfitting to stage or geography since opportunities and markets change rapidly.

Conflicts, Firm Scaling, and “Second Call” Investing (29:25–33:38)

• Conflicts in Venture:
  Thomas distinguishes between real and perceived conflicts and emphasizes disclosure and trust as foundational principles, especially since Coatue is SEC-regulated.

  • “First thing is I’m going to tell the entrepreneur first... The second is trust and reputation. The trust of making sure that information doesn’t leak.” —Thomas (31:39)

• A Scalable Role: The Entrepreneur's “Second Call”:

  • “As a founder…I’m trying to be your second call…The first call you’re going to call, your VC…then you think, okay, what do I do about this now? Who can I turn to help? I want to be the second call.” —Thomas (30:15)

• The Value of Crossover Investors:
  He underlines how his experience across public/private and being able to assist at later stages is especially helpful for maturing companies.

Decision-Making and Firm Culture at Coatue (41:18–46:39)

• Deal-Making by Internal Momentum:
  Rather than a strict investment committee, Coatue relies on open, collaborative process. Early feedback from various internal experts is integral, and deals build momentum over time until consensus is clear.

  • “The way we've tended to work is just momentums of deals…very collaborative from the very beginning…by the time you get to a yes, it’s like, come on, we got to do this as a firm.” —Thomas (41:28, 42:00)

• Organizational Model:
  Coatue operates somewhere between a West Coast VC and an East Coast hedge fund—meritocratic, promoting high-impact young people quickly, but still collaborative.

  • “Your contributions better match the economics that you have in the business.” —Thomas (45:34)
  • On Andreessen Horowitz vs. Coatue: Both imported “competitive metabolism” into venture but from different sources—Coatue from hedge funds, a16z from founder energy (46:49).

What Makes a “Star” Founder? (36:44–40:28)

• Star Quality is Real:
  Drawing on his time at CAA, Thomas compares startup founders to movie stars—some have an “aura” or magnetism that is simply unmistakable.
  • “Tom Cruise…shook my hand and looked me in the eye and we talked for three minutes. And for three minutes I thought, wow, no one cares more about me in the world right now than Tom Cruise does… I do think that, to me, I do look for that in founders.” —Thomas (37:05)
  • On Snap’s Evan Spiegel: “The way he built SNAP as a platform, as a reflection of those trends. So what was it? Well, everything disappears. No one kind of stores your data. You can't trust institutions to look out for you. I think it ended up being incredibly prescient...” (38:28)
  • Magnetism needn’t be universally positive—polarizing characters (like Travis Kalanick) can also succeed (39:42–40:28).

Golf, Presence, and Building Relationships (48:25–54:25)

• Life-Changing Power of Golf:
  Thomas credits golf with changing his life, teaching integrity, presence, handling adversity, and building genuine social bonds.

  • “Golf changed my life. Just point blank, without exception, my life would be completely different if I had chosen not to play.” —Thomas (48:52)
  • “There’s so many opportunities to cheat in golf where no one would really know… I love the continuous test of integrity and character.” —Thomas (49:14)
  • The “defined end” of a game fosters authentic, unhurried interaction, which is rare elsewhere (50:33).

• On Learning and Mentorship:

  • Golf and other interests like surfing, video games, and vinyl serve as analogs for slowing down and being present.
  • “Do yourself a favor and learn how to play. You're just going to spend incredible time with friends…and meet new friends of different ages.” —Thomas (51:34)

Working with Family & Trust at the Top (54:25–57:19)

• Working with His Brother Philippe:

  • Complete trust, transparency, and absence of politics underpin the partnership; discussions of economics have been minimal due to inherent trust.
    • “We don't question each other's motives…We know we're kind of stuck with each other…So it completely eliminates a whole waste of energy around the politics...” —Thomas (54:56)

• Cost of Success:
  The negative side is that work can dominate the relationship, but shared activities and external interests (e.g., golf) help balance it out.

Mentorship, Apprenticeship, and Gift Wrapping (57:19–62:34)

• Importance of Mentorship:
  Thomas credits early mentors (notably Brian Lord at CAA) with shaping his values and leadership—emphasizing learning from mistakes and sharing success.

• Apprenticeship Lesson—Gift Wrapping:
  He tells a story about standing out as a mailroom assistant by perfecting gift wrapping for agents—showing how focus and craftsmanship on “small” tasks compound into recognition and opportunity.

  • “If I saw an agent a gift, I would take it. I’d be very meticulous on how I gift wrapped it…I became, like, the gift wrapping guy…Turns out that being known for having attention to detail…served me really well.” —Thomas (60:39–61:10)

• Career Advice:
  When starting out, focus is a luxury; treat “small” projects with utmost detail and pride, because they build your reputation and skills for bigger opportunities ahead.

Notable Quotes & Timestamps

• On Changing Market Stakes:
  • “The stakes to me feel different. The intensity and the criticalness is increasing. And so I think our vigilance has to increase as well.” —Thomas (05:10)
• On ‘Second Call’ Investing:
  • “I want to be the second call where it’s like, gee, why don’t we call Thomas and see if he knows somebody or has a point of view on a market or can make an introduction?” —Thomas (30:15)
• On Magnetism in Founders:
  • “Star quality is real. Most people don’t have it, some do.” —Thomas (37:05)
• On Life Lessons from Golf:
  • “At the end of the day in golf, you’re responsible for your own score.” —Thomas (49:14)
• On Apprenticeship:
  • “Focus is a luxury…think of that model the way I was thinking about gift wrapping. Watch over every cell, every line, the formatting, what font you use…” —Thomas (60:01–61:10)

Selected Timestamps for Key Segments

| Segment | Timestamp | |--------------------------------------------------|-----------------| | State of tech/AI infrastructure & cloud | 01:20–05:31 | | Roadmap for capital deployment in AI | 06:45–10:43 | | The end of traditional SaaS/system of record | 12:32–15:02 | | Zero-sum VC & public/private investing | 18:46–23:06 | | VC tribalism and “no” on the first round | 24:17–27:17 | | Conflicts and scaling venture | 29:25–33:38 | | Founder selection and star quality | 36:44–40:28 | | Coatue’s deal and firm processes | 41:18–46:39 | | Golf, presence, and relationship-building | 48:25–54:25 | | Working with family | 54:25–57:19 | | Mentorship and “gift wrapping” principle | 57:19–62:34 |

Tone and Wrap-Up

Throughout, Thomas is frank, analytical, and self-reflective, with anecdotes and philosophy drawn from Wall Street, Hollywood, and the startup world. The atmosphere is collegial yet thoughtful, with Jack Altman picking up threads from Coatue's operational DNA to personal philosophy.

This episode offers a window into both the macro mental models of a world-class tech investor and the highly human side of investing, leadership, and lifelong learning.