What’s Your Moonshot?

TLDR: On Thursday evening, September 24, I’m hosting William Shatner for the Hollywood red-carpet premiere of the Star Trek 60th Anniversary documentary he executive-produced. After the film, I’m sitting down with him for a fireside chat about the impact Star Trek has had on humanity, the technology it has inspired, and the positive vision it has given us for our future. And you’re invited!

The next day (Sept 25) I’m hosting Moonshots LIVE, a full-day gathering of 1,500 founders, builders, and creatives participating in the biggest celebration of optimism in the galaxy!

Star Trek inspired my personal Moonshots. Everything I’ve accomplished from XPRIZE to Singularity University plus 25+ companies I’ve co-founded, I can trace back to a kid in front of a television being told that humanity’s future was out among the stars and that it was going to be extraordinary.

“Apollo showed me what possible in 1969. Star Trek showed me where humanity was going.”

Sixty years later, I get to sit across from Captain Kirk and discuss how a TV show inspired a generation of engineers, scientists, and founders. I have waited my whole life for that conversation.

WHY YOU NEED A MOONSHOT NOW

We are moving from AGI toward ASI faster than anyone planned. Two days ago, I read Sam Altman’s words on our podcast, after OpenAI’s 10,000-agent swarm claimed a result on a Millennium Prize math problem that stood for two centuries: “I did not expect a result of this magnitude to happen so soon.”

Here is what that means for you. AGI and ASI are amplifiers. They multiply whatever you point them at. Each of us is about to be handed superpowers no human has ever held: the ability to research, design, build and deploy at a scale that used to require a company of thousands.

The question is, where do you aim them?

A Moonshot, a North Star, a target big enough to organize your life around, is how you answer that. Without one, the most powerful tools in history multiply noise. With one, you get leverage that would have looked like magic a decade ago.

There’s a second reason, and it’s the one I care about most as a father of two 15-year-olds. A Moonshot that intrinsically motivates you is the antidote to fear. The people I know who are not anxious about AI are the ones who know exactly what they want to build with it. Purpose beats dread every time.

“AGI multiplies whatever you point it at. Aim it at nothing and you get multiplied noise. Aim it at your Moonshot and you change the world!”

And the Moonshot has to be bigger than you think. In thirty years of running XPRIZE, I have never once seen a team regret aiming too high. I’ve watched hundreds regret aiming too low.

THURSDAY NIGHT: STAR TREK AT 60

September 24, the United Theater on Broadway, downtown Los Angeles. Red carpet, then the world premiere of The Sixty-Year Mission: How Star Trek Changed Television and the World, written and directed by Mark A. Altman and executive produced by William Shatner.

Shatner walks the carpet with us, and after the screening, he and I sit down on stage for a fireside conversation. Roughly 25 members of the Star Trek cast and crew are expected across the generations; the film features George Takei, Walter Koenig, Jonathan Frakes, Brent Spiner, Gates McFadden, Robert Picardo and Rod Roddenberry, who carries his father’s legacy and helped bring this premiere and the event together (Rod will be with us at Moonshots as well).

Consider the record. In 1966 a flip-open communicator was fantasy; Martin Cooper, who led the Motorola team that built the first handheld cell phone in 1973, has credited Star Trek as his inspiration. Tablets, voice computers, video calls, universal translators. A writer’s room imagined them, and the kids who watched grew up and built them. Star Trek is the most successful Moonshot in the history of entertainment, and it worked by giving people a hopeful picture of the destination.

That is exactly what Thursday night is for.

FRIDAY: THE OSCARS FOR OPTIMISM

Then on September 25, in a restored 1920s movie palace, I’m hosting the inaugural Moonshots LIVE event. I call it the Oscars for Optimism, and here’s why.

I’ve been running two XPRIZEs for the past 6 months – competitions with over $5 million in prize money, and competitions intended to address fear and transform how we all see our future.

The first competition is called the Future Vision XPRIZE. We asked filmmakers around the world to deliver a 3-minute film trailer for a movie that shows us a hopeful, compelling and abundant future for humanity. A modern version of Star Trek. We had over 5,000 teams register and we’ve narrowed down to the TOP 5 film makers who will show their trailer, answer questions and battle it out on stage.

Then YOU, and a group of amazing judges (including Rod Roddenberry, Neil deGrasse Tyson, Neal Stephenson and Mira Lane) will select a winner.

The winner will have their movie produced for global cinematic release by Range Media Partners.

Our second competition is The Build with Gemini XPRIZE, backed by Google. This is a 90-day hackathon, the largest ever run. Teams had 90 days to build a real, profitable AI business solving a problem that touches thousands of lives. Five finalists pitch Shark Tank-style to Palmer Luckey, Cathie Wood and Mark Pincus for a $2 million pool, $500,000 to first place. Decided in the room.

“Storytellers imagine the destination. Builders create the path. Friday funds both.”

Between the two XPRIZE battles on-stage, it’s all about coaching and inspiration.

I’ll be there with the 5 Moonshot Mates (AWG, Dave, Salim, and Emad) recording a WTF episode, then, we get to go deep with Palmer Lucky and his experience as an entrepreneur. Next up, a deep dive with Ben Lamm, CEO of Colossal, on what it’s like to go from $0 to $10 billion in valuation in 4 years. Astro Teller, captain of Moonshots at Alphabet, will guide us on how to build a personal Moonshot and a Moonshot organization. Cathie Wood will be sharing her vision through ARK’s Big Ideas Report, and go deep on the Agentic Economy with Circle’s CTO Nikhil Shandock.

It’s a LONG day, and the evening runs through 10 PM: parties, music, food and drink will surround an unconference which includes Anousheh Ansari teaching how to design an XPRIZE, Astro Teller on building a Moonshot startup, AWG on “Solve Everything”, Salim on the “Organizational Singularity”, Dave on investing in AI and Cathie Wood going deep on the ARK Invest Big Ideas report.

And the BEST PART? It’s who you’re in the room with. Fifteen hundred seats, selected through competitive admission. The person next to you is building something that matters.

HOW TO BE IN THE ROOM

This is our inaugural year, and I’ve kept it deliberately accessible. A Moonshots LIVE pass is $1,495 and includes the full Friday program, PLUS the Star Trek premiere on Thursday night. Every seat funds the prize pool; your ticket is the money on that stage.

Because our mission is to gather the world’s top entrepreneurs, builders and creatives, we’ve reserved 100 scholarship seats for entrepreneurs under 28, by application, at half the price.

“If you’re young, hungry and already making things happen, there is no reason to miss this over money. Apply.”

Everything is at www.Moonshots.com.

MY PROMISE

Here is what I can promise anyone who joins us for both nights.

You will walk out of the United Theater on Thursday (9/24) having watched sixty years of proof that a hopeful vision of the future changes what humanity builds.

You will walk out of Moonshots LIVE on Friday (9/25) supercharged, with clarity about your Moonshot, a vision of the decade ahead, the tools to act on it, and a room full of people to build it with.

I’ve spent thirty years asking one question. On September 24 and 25, come find your answer.

What’s your Moonshot?

To a future of abundance,

Peter