Founders Fund launches a game show starring Sam Altman, Palmer Luckey, and other tech elite

Have you ever had a desire to see Sam Altman and Palmer Lokey face off in a somewhat suspenseful card game? If so, you’re in luck.

Silicon Valley leaders are quick to embrace the power of the media for marketing and political capital. Now, in a sign of the times, Founders Fund, the venture capital firm co-founded by Peter Thiel, has launched its own gaming offering.

“MAFIA the GAME” will apparently be an ongoing thing, with tech superstars coming together and facing off in a card game (the show is named after the favorite party game).

This scene is run by Mike Solana, editor of Pirate Wires (who is also CMO at Founders Fund). The first episode includes the names of the players – Sam Altman; Palmer Lucky; Brian Johnson, the famous biohacker who (according to him) will live forever; and Moxy Marlinspike, founder of encrypted chat app Signal.

“I’m so bored with venture capital content,” Solana told Newcomer, which originally reported on the show’s existence. “There has to be a more interesting way to get to know someone, and I think this is a more interesting way to get to know someone.”

TechCrunch has reached out to Founders Fund for more information about the program.

In many ways, having a reality TV platform is a good thing these days. The Internet has turned the world into a chronic media-consuming society, and the average American spends about 2.5 hours on social media every day. Much of this time is spent scrolling through an endless deluge of ad-filled memes and videos.

In the modern era, the path to power and influence is paved with information and entertainment.

Companies and executives have sought to take advantage of this new reality in different ways. OpenAI recently raised some eyebrows when it purchased TBPN, the founder-led podcast podcast. At the same time, a number of prominent technology players have taken advantage of the spread of the virus to their advantage. Johnson, for example, has been able to grow his following through his very active (and very strange) social media presence. At the same time, Elon Musk has also been able to leverage his public persona to go viral (although arguments can be made that his online presence has sometimes hurt rather than helped his business).

The trend has also spread to the startup space, where people like Cluely CEO Chungin “Roy” Lee have demonstrated the power of being a one-man viral hype machine.