Silicon Valley's hot new talking points: beer and cigarettes

After Mark Zuckerberg’s cautious-looking sip of stout on Stripe cofounder John Collison’s "Cheeky Pint" podcast became a social-media talking point, a new conversation has emerged: which tech leaders can really clasp their drink?

Soon following Zuckerberg's much-memed appearance, ETN, a tech podcast, built what it called the "Cheeky Pint Benchmark," publishing a leaderboard of guests' Guinness consumption, measured to the nearest sixth of a pint.

Elon Musk, the world’s richest man, currently tops the diagram following drinking three complete pints during his appearance on Collison’s show.

The diagram prompted characteristically rivalrous responses from the tech world.

Antonio García Martínez, a director at Base, stated the benchmark was "weak condiment in general."

Andreessen Horowitz partner Martin Casado joked that he'd beverage so much if he went on the podcast that the indicator would need a new scale.

The benchmark follows a viral clip of Zuckerberg appearing to grimace following taking a sip of Guinness during a latest two-hour-plus event alongside Meta’s chief AI officer, Alexandr Wang.

One X person came to Zuckerberg’s defense, arguing that Guinness was "performative at best" and noting that the Meta CEO had nevertheless completed two beers during the interview.

Zuckerberg himself replied simply: "that’s fair my face."

Wang additionally appeared to clasp the joke, responding to a fan-made "Tech Founder Beer Matrix" that placed founders on a spectrum from "beer sippers" to "beer tankers," and from "good hang" to "bad hang."

The diagram positioned Wang firmly on the beer-tanker flank — notwithstanding not finishing a complete pint on the podcast — alongside figures including Elon Musk, Larry Ellison, and erstwhile Apple CEO Tim Cook.

Intercom cofounder Des Traynor took matter alongside being placed on the "beer sippers" flank of the matrix, saying he was the archetypal "multi-pint drinker" to appear on "Cheeky Pint," and that his event included a detailed conversation of beer.

The leaderboard’s methodology is already under scrutiny. Will O'Brien, originator of autonomous aquatic conveyance resolute Ulysses, asserted that the figures have to be adjusted for event length, using pints per hr fairly than raw totals.

He additionally stated another alcoholic drinks should figure if the item is to acknowledge who is "actually DRINKING."

Kalshi cofounder Tarek Mansour also disputed the "Cheeky Pint Benchmark," saying he had to depart his appearance before it ended. Still, he established a argent lining: he drank additional than Andreessen Horowitz cofounder Marc Andreessen.

Musk, meanwhile, basked in the glow of topping the chart, replying alongside ale mugs and a laughing emoji — during adding that he "hardly ever" drinks alcohol.

The jokes arrive as Silicon Valley is seeing a sharper distinct between those embracing vice and those seeking to optimize all aspect of their health.

As Business Insider’s Henry Chandonnet reported final month, a small collection of founders, engineers, and investors has embraced cigarettes in a field earlier known for its fit obsessions.

Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev additionally posted this week that he was "hearing additional and additional AI researchers are taking up smoking," adding: "superintelligence is near."

That idea resurfaced following Palantir CTO Shyam Sankar described AI researchers taking up smoking to indication their confidence that synthetic intellect volition cure cancer.

After Sankar's comments, longevity entrepreneur Bryan Johnson — who is famed for his fanatical chase of fine health — joked that he was prepared to pivot to smoking, drinking, accelerated food, and all-nighters.

For now, though, the emerging tech-industry trend appears to be small concerning optimizing for longevity than proving one is relaxed adequate not to care.