VIDEO: Chamath Palihapitiya on Google, Facebook, WeWork and space tourism

Google is a monopoly - but that’s a good thing.

Prospects “are horrible” for any travel brands relying on Google. And large tech companies, starting with Facebook, are going to be broken up.

Those are just three of the provocative opinions shared by Social Capital CEO Chamath Palihapitiya in a broad-ranging interview with Altimeter Capital CEO Brad Gerstner at The Phocuswright Conference.

Last month Palihapitaya took a step into a frontier of travel - space tourism - with an investment in Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic of $700 million from his special purpose acquisition company Social Capital Hedosophia and another $100 million of his own money.

Palihapitiya now owns 49% of the newly public company and serves as chairman.

During the nearly 40-minute discussion with Gerstner, Palihapitiya shared his thoughts on why “the clock is running out” for Google to find its second act, why innovation has vanished in recent decades and why there is an urgent need to “define ambitious goals for the human race."

Prior to his onstage interview, Palihapitiya sat down in the PhocusWire Studio to discuss why he’s so bullish on space tourism, how travel has to be a force for good and the fundamentals behind investing and wealth.