That’s a fantastic talk. I listen to it about once a year and it still holds up (as in the systemd haters are still mostly salty and uninterested in building a better alternative)
The only somewhat serious build-an-alternative-project I know of is Chimera Linux, see their FAQ: https://chimera-linux.org/docs/faq#what-is-the-projects-take-on-systemd
Yeah, specifically because of this line in the OP
Hilarious