Martin Shkreli: Big Pharma's Blind Spot, Betting Against Quantum & What Prison Taught Him
Shkreli argues that quantum computing faces steep limits in both practical performance and commercial value, while warning that today's hardware may eventually be superseded. He also describes how the volume of medical research led his team to start a small NLP company in 2015. On AI, he sees potential in Meta's distribution and product work but doubts AI will produce a relevant drug in the next 10 years.
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Shkreli argues that quantum computing has little near-term business utility: he says its speed advantage applies mainly to integer factorization and elliptic-curve discrete-log problems, while current systems lack the speed, storage, and ability to handle larger inputs needed to outperform Nvidia machines. He also says he and Chelsea could not get a quantum computer to multiply 300 by 200.
Shkreli warns that quantum investors face both technical and business-model risk, comparing the technology to early computing hardware such as punch cards and vacuum tubes that later disappeared. He notes that Google, IBM, and Microsoft spend hundreds of millions of dollars annually on quantum computing despite the possibility that it may not yield a viable outcome.
Shkreli says the burden of reviewing 40 million medical papers led his team to start a small NLP company in 2015, but he remains skeptical that AI will produce relevant drugs: he does not expect an AI-developed drug to matter within the next 10 years. That timeline is his forecast, not an established outcome.
TECHNOLOGY
“And I think the basic point of quantum computing is that there's one algorithm. In fact, the whole field was invented because of Peter Shore's thought experiment…”—
“The modern quantum computers run at a clock speed of hundreds of hertz or thousands of hertz, not at the gigahertz that we're used to…”—
“Yeah. No, of course. I think the issue though is do you buy would you go long punch cards and vacuum tubes, right?…”—
Martin Shkreli joins the Besties!
The hosts introduce Shkreli and ask for his case against quantum computing; he says its key advantage is narrow, unlikely to create broad business value, and that he has lost money shorting the sector.
Why quantum computing is a one-trick business and why he’s betting against it
Shkreli recounts starting in finance as a teenager, shifting toward drug development, and finding valuable medicines overlooked by larger companies; he says research volume motivated his team to build an NLP company.
The drugs big pharma sells too cheap and his journey from hedge fund trader to pharma
Shkreli predicts current GPU hardware may eventually be displaced, discusses investment in AI infrastructure, and argues Meta has strong distribution and product instincts while doubting AI will produce a relevant drug within a decade.
AI, drug discovery, and who actually wins
The conversation challenges AI safety warnings and explores the economic potential of AI; Shkreli argues demand for intelligence could be vast, while discussing Meta, OpenAI, and competitive advantage.
Brilliance and rule-breaking, the gifted-kid trap & what prison taught him
Shkreli reflects on gifted people, unconventional thinking, and Sam Bankman-Fried, saying the pressure to fulfill an image of being a great trader contributed to his own downfall; prison taught him to value shared human ties.
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