Qasar Younis is the co-founder and CEO of Applied Intuition, a $15 billion AI company that adds intelligence to cars, tractors, planes, submarines, and other vehicles—essentially, Tesla or Waymo without the hardware. He was previously COO of Y Combinator, started his career as an engineer at GM and Bosch, and was born on a farm in Pakistan.
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We discuss:
Why the biggest AI revolution will play out in mining, farming, construction, and trucking over the next 5 to 10 years, not in software
Why Qasar intentionally stayed under the radar for nearly a decade while building Applied Intuition, and why most founders shouldn’t do that
The truth about China’s AI capabilities and why comparisons to American companies are fundamentally flawed
The company values that drive Applied Intuition: speed above everything, laugh a lot, half the work is follow-up, never disappoint the customer
The biggest lessons from Qasar’s stint as YC’s COO, including that the most successful companies show traction very early
How reading old books is the best way to build taste
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Where to find Qasar Younis:
• X: https://x.com/qasar
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/qasar
• Website: https://qy.co
• Reading list: https://qy.co/books
Referenced:
• Applied Intuition: https://www.appliedintuition.com
• Marc Andreessen: The real AI boom hasn’t even started yet: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/marc-andreessen-the-real-ai-boom
• Elad Gil’s website: https://eladgil.com
• Bosch: https://www.bosch.com
• Berkshire Hathaway: https://www.berkshirehathaway.com
• Naval Ravikant on X: https://x.com/naval
• Y Combinator: https://www.ycombinator.com
• Waymo: https://waymo.com/
• Tesla: https://www.tesla.com
• DeepSeek: https://www.deepseek.com
• Rivian: https://rivian.com
• Crate & Barrel: https://www.crateandbarrel.com
• OpenClaw: https://openclaw.ai
• Sam Altman on X: https://x.com/sama
• Peter Ludwig on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/peterwludwig
• What Steve Jobs really meant when he said ‘Good artists copy; great artists steal’: https://www.cnet.com/tech/tech-industry/what-steve-jobs-really-meant-when-he-said-good-artists-copy-great-artists-steal
• 7 quotes on the power of reading from Charlie Munger: https://www.neil.blog/articles/7-quotes-power-reading-charlie-munger
• Andreessen Horowitz: https://a16z.com
• John Doerr on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-doerr-03248211
• Gandhi’s quote: https://www.azquotes.com/author/5308-Mahatma_Gandhi/tag/truth#google_vignette
• Steve Ballmer on X: https://x.com/Steven_Ballmer
• General Motors: https://www.gm.com
Recommended books:
• House of Huawei: The Secret History of China’s Most Powerful Company: https://www.amazon.com/House-Huawei-History-Powerful-Company/dp/0593544633
• Maintenance: Of Everything, Part One: https://press.stripe.com/maintenance-part-one
• The Autobiography of Malcolm X: As Told to Alex Haley: https://www.amazon.com/Autobiography-Malcolm-Told-Alex-Haley/dp/0345350685
• High Output Management: https://www.amazon.com/High-Output-Management-Andrew-Grove/dp/0679762884
• The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer: https://www.amazon.com/Emperor-All-Maladies-Biography-Cancer/dp/1439170916
• Made in America: https://www.amazon.com/Sam-Walton-Made-America/dp/0553562835
• My American Journey: https://www.amazon.com/American-Journey-Autobiography-Colin-Powell/dp/0679432965
• Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies: https://www.amazon.com/Guns-Germs-Steel-Fates-Societies/dp/0393317552
• Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed: https://www.amazon.com/Collapse-Societies-Choose-Succeed-Revised/dp/0143117009
• SPQR: A History of Ancient Rome: https://www.amazon.com/SPQR-History-Ancient-Mary-Beard/dp/0871404230
• A World Appears: A Journey into Consciousness: https://www.amazon.com/World-Appears-Journey-into-Consciousness/dp/198488199X
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Lenny may be an investor in the companies discussed.
