Motive Notes

The Execution Layer Changed. The Understanding Layer Did Not.

A company running AI agents at scale generates the equivalent of 70 Wikipedias of text per month.

Jun 18 • Oana Olteanu

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What I Learned at the First Conference Built for Agentic AI

San Jose, CAIS 2026

Jun 3 • Oana Olteanu

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My First Angel Investment Just Sold for $3.6B. Here's What I Saw.

On workflow, responsibility, and why the best software starts with the work itself.

Jun 1 • Oana Olteanu

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May 2026

When Your VC Leaves, You Are Fundraising Again

A founder texted me this morning.

May 1 • Oana Olteanu

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April 2026

Beautiful software doesn’t just help developers write faster. It helps developers think better.

That’s one reason I invested in Poolside early, and why I’ve stayed excited watching them build quietly for years.

Apr 28 • Oana Olteanu

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The Risk You Won't Take

The Meaning of Your Life, Arthur Brooks

Apr 24 • Oana Olteanu

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Motive Force

If you are reading this and thinking: this is me, it probably is.

Apr 15 • Oana Olteanu

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March 2026

Robotics Is Not About Robots

Henry Ford’s Rouge (source)

Mar 25 • Oana Olteanu and Christian

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Team Devtools. But for a Team of Agents.

Pacific Stock Exchange Option Trading Facility, San Francisco, 1985 (credit here)

Mar 24 • Oana Olteanu

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Your Sleep Debt is Diluting Your Equity

A note for founders who think sleep is a luxury.

Mar 11 • Oana Olteanu

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December 2025

AI Engineers Are Getting 3x the Equity of Regular Engineers

What 50 AI engineers told me about their compensation, and why founders need to radically rethink their equity budgets

Dec 4, 2025 • Oana Olteanu

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November 2025

The End of the Prompt: Building Voice Systems, Not Voice Apps

Notes from Pipecat's November 2025 Voice AI Meetup in San Francisco

Nov 18, 2025 • Oana Olteanu

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