Original: Lenny Rachitsky · 08/03/2026
Summary
Qasar Younis, CEO of Applied Intuition, discusses the future of AI in various industries and shares insights from his experience at Y Combinator.Key Insights
“The biggest AI revolution will play out in mining, farming, construction, and trucking over the next 5 to 10 years.” — Discussing the future impact of AI across various industries.
“Most successful companies show traction very early.” — Reflecting on lessons learned from his time as COO of Y Combinator.
“Reading old books is the best way to build taste.” — On the importance of reading for personal and professional development.
Topics
Full Article
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 vehiclesessentially, 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.Listen on YouTube, Spotify, and Apple PodcastsWe discuss:Why the biggest AI revolution will play out in mining, farming, construction, and trucking over the next 5 to 10 years, not in softwareWhy Qasar intentionally stayed under the radar for nearly a decade while building Applied Intuition, and why most founders shouldnt do thatThe truth about Chinas AI capabilities and why comparisons to American companies are fundamentally flawedThe company values that drive Applied Intuition: speed above everything, laugh a lot, half the work is follow-up, never disappoint the customerThe biggest lessons from Qasars stint as YCs COO, including that the most successful companies show traction very earlyHow reading old books is the best way to build tasteBrought to you by:OmniAI analytics your customers can trustVantaAutomate compliance. Simplify security.LovableBuild apps by simply chatting with AIWhere 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/booksReferenced: Applied Intuition: https://www.appliedintuition.com Marc Andreessen: The real AI boom hasnt even started yet: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/marc-andreessen-the-real-ai-boom Elad Gils 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 Gandhis 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.comRecommended books: House of Huawei: The Secret History of Chinas 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/198488199XProduction and marketing by https://penname.co/. For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email podcast@lennyrachitsky.com.Lenny may be an investor in the companies discussed.My biggest takeaways from this conversation: Read moreRelated Articles
AI is critical for humanity’s survival: Cisco president on the AI revolution | Jeetu Patel
Lenny Rachitsky · explanation · 86% similar
The design process is dead. Here’s what’s replacing it. | Jenny Wen (head of design at Claude)
Lenny Rachitsky · explanation · 74% similar
The tactical playbook for getting 20-40% more comp (without sounding greedy) | Jacob Warwick (Executive Negotiator)
Lenny Rachitsky · how-to · 70% similar
Originally published at https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/the-most-successful-ai-company-youve-never-heard-of.