Google’s long-running antitrust case has reached its remedy stage, and the outcome was far lighter than many expected. No breakup, no ban on default search deals, just a few constraints on bundling apps and some required data sharing, but it may not be quite as simple as it seems on the surface.

Meanwhile, OpenAI dropped $1.1 billion to acquire Statsig, a product analytics company. What are the details of the deal, and what does it reveal about the future of OpenAI?

To top the week off, Y Combinator released its Fall 2025 Request for Startups, and the lineup is surprisingly AI-heavy. Is this really a good indicator of successful startups, or are YC missing the mark with this one? Chris and Yaniv discuss this at length, cutting deeply into why these criteria were chosen, what you should (and shouldn’t) listen to, and where founders can looking for investors instead.

In this episode, you will:

Understand why Google’s “light touch” antitrust remedies sent its stock up 8% overnight
Learn what OpenAI’s Statsig acquisition signals about its long-term strategy
Explore why YC’s latest startup requests are so heavily AI-focused, and why that’s a mistake
Compare today’s antitrust rulings with the Microsoft case of the 1990s
Discover how AI may disrupt not just tech, but also government consulting and enterprise software
Get Yaniv’s insider view on why intent-driven marketplaces may be the next frontier

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Key links

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Learn more about Chris and Yaniv

Work 1:1 with Chris: http://chrissaad.com/advisory/

Follow Chris on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chrissaad/

Follow Yaniv on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ybernstein/

Producer: Justin McArthur https://www.linkedin.com/in/justin-mcarthur

Intro Voice: Jeremiah Owyang https://web-strategist.com/

Insiders React: Google Antitrust: Is The Ruling Fair? + YC’s Latest Request For Startups, Statsig Acquisition

The Startup Podcast