In this episode of Culture and Code, Rei and Tara explore one of the most consequential questions facing the tech industry: whether America can maintain its technological dominance in an era of geopolitical turbulence. Drawing from Tara's analysis of Nvidia's first-ever Washington D.C. summit, they examine historical patterns of technological revolution, the critical role of rare earth minerals in the AI race, and why the relationship between the U.S. and China will define the next 70 years of innovation. Through an anthropological lens spanning 130 years of economic history, they reveal why we may already be living in a "bridge period", an uncomfortable era of chaos that precedes the next great technological leap.

Key Takeaways

The Bridge Period Hypothesis

• Historical pattern: Major technological revolutions (35-40 years of growth) are separated by bridge periods (30-40 years) of intense social, political, and economic turbulence
• First Industrial Revolution (1830-1870): European dominance, followed by U.S. agricultural economy
• Second Industrial Revolution (1870-1915): U.S. emergence through steam engines, railroads, and infrastructure
• Bridge Period 1 (1915-1950): Two World Wars, extreme turbulence, but also massive technological invention (transistors, foundational science)
• Information Age Boom (1950-2020s): America's GDP per capita skyrocketed for 70 years
• Bridge Period 2 (2020s-?): We are likely already in the next bridge period, characterized by AI innovation alongside geopolitical tension

The Rare Earth Reality

• Rare earth minerals aren't rare. They're just difficult and environmentally toxic to refine
• China dominates global rare earth supply: 40% of reserves, 69% of mining, 90% of refining
• U.S. position: Only 1.6% of reserves and less than 5% of refining capacity
• The U.S. relinquished manufacturing starting in the 1980s, focusing on the "knowledge economy"
• China made a strategic sacrifice in the 1990s: reduced environmental regulations to monopolize rare earth refining over 30 years
• This creates a fundamental asymmetry: U.S. owns the "top of the stack" (software, IP, cloud), China owns the "bottom" (manufacturing, materials, processing)

The New Apollo Moment

• Nvidia's D.C. summit marked a clear pivot: announcing AI factories for government, supercomputers, and quantum initiatives
• Jensen Huang explicitly framed this as an "Apollo moment"—echoing the 1960s Space Race against the Soviet Union
• Unlike the Cold War, today's competition is more complex: the U.S. needs China's manufacturing capabilities
• The next 5-10 years will be "absolutely critical" in determining who leads for the next 70 years
• We're witnessing not just a tech race, but a simultaneous trade war and battle for technological dominance

Navigating Turbulence

• The bridge period mindset: "wartime CEO" versus "peacetime CEO"
• For investors and technologists: stay nimble, understand where the world is heading, identify what technologies will be needed
• Despite the chaos, there's still work to be done and business to be built
• Historical lesson: the most uncomfortable periods often yield the greatest technological breakthroughs

The Cultural Paradox

• Tara's "underrated opinion": Americans and Chinese are surprisingly similar in personality- outgoing, with complementary humor and ways of being
• This stands in contrast to the structural similarities between Scandinavians and Japanese (formality, tradition, structure)
• The people-level compatibility suggests potential for collaboration despite political tensions
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• Decoupling is unlikely: interdependence is too deep, especially given...

In this episode of Culture and Code, Rei and Tara explore the resurgence of the browser wars as AI companies race to control the interface between users and the digital world.

From OpenAI's Atlas to Perplexity's Comet, they dissect why browsers suddenly matter again after 30 years of relative stagnation, what makes a browser "AI-native," and whether any of these new experiences are sticky enough to change daily habits. Through their own evolving usage patterns, they examine the tension between innovation and incumbency, and what this platform shift means for businesses waiting on the sidelines.

Key Takeaways:

The New Browser Wars Are Here

• Multiple AI-first browsers launched in recent months: OpenAI's Atlas, Perplexity's Comet, Browser Company's Dia (now acquired by Atlassian)
• First major browser innovation wave since the Netscape era 25 years ago
• Browsers emerging as the critical gateway to the AI ecosystem, not just web pages

What Makes a Browser AI-Native

• Reasoning layer on top of search: ability to synthesize across thousands of sources (e.g., "find me the best hiking pants")
• Conversational interface replacing keyword search
• Personal memory banks that learn user preferences across sessions
• Integration of shopping, research, and generation in one interface

The Stickiness Problem

• Despite impressive onboarding (Comet's "space age" experience), habit formation remains elusive
• Chrome's dominance (60-70% market share) is hard to disrupt
• Google's AI mode in search brings users back by being "good enough" for generic queries
• Users still switching between tools: Perplexity for research, ChatGPT for generation, Chrome by default

Platform Implications for Business

• Businesses waiting to see where the platform shift lands before restructuring digital experiences
• Potential disruption to search advertising model (Google's primary revenue)
• OpenAI bringing commerce into chat (shop Etsy through ChatGPT window)
• The browser determines back-end and front-end infrastructure decisions

The 30-Year Paradigm Question

• Browser paradigm unchanged since the 1990s
• ChatGPT created a new interaction model - can browsers evolve beyond their current form?
• This is an experience problem, not a tech problem
• Still an "open design space" with no clear winner

Rei Inamoto: Creative entrepreneur and founding partner of I&CO, a global innovation firm with offices in New York, Tokyo, and Singapore.

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Newsletter "The Intersection"

Tara Tan: Managing partner of Strange Ventures, an early-stage firm investing in the future of computing.

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Newsletter: The Strange Review

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Culture and Code is a podcast about the biggest shifts in tech, business, and culture—before they go mainstream. New episodes on every Tuesday.

In this episode of Culture and Code, Rei and Tara explore the unexpected global rise of matcha through the lens of Cuzen Matcha, a San Francisco-based company bringing ceremonial Japanese tea to the masses.

Through this case study, they examine how innovation happens when outsiders spot opportunities in traditional markets, the role of cultural fluidity in product adoption, and how businesses differentiate in hyper-commoditized industries. The conversation reveals how sometimes the best solutions come from solving a different problem than everyone else is focused on.

The Matcha Moment: From Ceremony to Fast Food

• Matcha's transformation from specialized Japanese tea ceremony to global beverage trend
• The role of "fast foodification" and "TikTokification" - Instagram-friendly aesthetics driving adoption
• Blank Street Coffee: 90 locations in 5 years selling customized matcha (blueberry matcha, white chocolate matcha, rocky road matcha)
• Why plain matcha's bitterness needed Western adaptation through sugar and customization

Spotting Opportunity: The Cuzen Matcha Origin Story

• Founder Eiji Sakata (ex-Suntory) noticed matcha in multiple NYC cafes in 2014-2015
• Convinced Suntory to explore US matcha market, leading to Stone Mill Matcha in San Francisco
• Eventually launched Kuzen Matcha: "The Nespresso of matcha" - automated home preparation
• The power of being both insider (Japanese tea heritage) and outsider (American market perspective)

Innovation Through Cultural Crossover

• Why coffee spread globally vs. matcha's singular cultural origin (limited Japanese diaspora)
• The advantage of bringing local heritage knowledge to global markets
• Japanese engineering mindset + American consumer needs = breakthrough product
• Sometimes you need distance from tradition to innovate within it

Differentiation in Commoditized Markets

• Two primary levers in competitive beverage markets: customization or price
• Luckin Coffee's aggressive US expansion: $1.50-$2 coffee vs. Starbucks' $7-8
• Strategic timing: Chinese brand entering US during politically sensitive period
• Distribution as strategy: multiple locations within blocks for accessibility

The Innovation Dilemma Insight

• Sometimes the opportunity is "right under your nose" but requires an outside perspective
• Example: Audi engineers solving a different problem led to unexpected breakthrough
• The question: When stuck, can you solve a different problem to create improvement?
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• Breaking entrenched systems requires "diversity of ideas" and openness

Rei Inamoto: Creative entrepreneur and founding partner of I&CO, a global innovation firm with offices in New York, Tokyo, and Singapore.

Follow Rei here:

Rei's LinkedIn

Newsletter "The Intersection"

Tara Tan: Managing partner of Strange Ventures, an early-stage firm investing in the future of computing.

Follow Tara here:

Tara's LinkedIn

Newsletter: The Strange Review

Connect &...