Tue. 03/26 – Musical Chairs As Microsoft Reorganizes Itself Around AI
Executive shuffling indicates that Microsoft is serious about reorganizing itself around AI. The US and UK move against those alleged Chinese infrastructure hackers. OpenAI seems to be courting Hollywood for its Sora tool. And is the IPO window finally open for tech companies? Links: Microsoft has a new Windows and Surface chief (The Verge) Canva Strikes Biggest Acquisition Yet in Chase to Take on Adobe (Bloomberg) US sanctions APT31 hackers behind critical infrastructure attacks (BleepingComputer) OpenAI shows off first examples of third-party creators using Sora (VentureBeat) OpenAI Courts Hollywood in Meetings With Film Studios, Directors (Bloomberg) Reddit options launch draws bulls, as shares soar (Reuters) IPO Window Cracks Open and Silicon Valley Sees Some Daylight (Bloomberg) Meta’s new opt-out setting limits visibility of politics on Instagram and Threads (The Verge) Elon Musk’s Starlink Terminals Are Falling Into the Wrong Hands (Bloomberg) Nat Friedman YouTube Video Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
26 Mar 202416min
Mon. 03/25 – The Wheels Of DMA Justice Move Fast
They said this law would be one that was capable of moving fast. The EU has already opened formal DMA investigations into Apple and Google. Stability AI seems to be circling the Deadpool. Checking in on the health of X. Greater homescreen control coming to iPhones? And what should we make of tech insiders selling massive amounts of shares? Sponsors: MackWeldon.com promocode RIDE Links: EU probes Apple, Meta and Alphabet under landmark new law (Financial Times) Stability AI Founder Emad Mostaque Plans To Resign As CEO, Sources Say (Forbes) Fewer people are using Elon Musk’s X as the platform struggles to attract and keep users, according to analysts (NBCNews) Spotify adds video learning courses in latest experiment (The Verge) Sources: iOS 18 Lets Apps Be Placed Anywhere on Home Screen Grid (MacRumors) Justice Department Risks Picking the Wrong Fight With Apple (Bloomberg) Thiel, Bezos and Zuckerberg join parade of insiders selling tech stocks (Financial Times) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
25 Mar 202415min
Fri. 03/22 – Apple Antitrust Suit Fallout
Everyone is analyzing the DOJ’s case against Apple. An unpatchable vulnerability in Apple Silicon has been uncovered. Threads joins the Fediverse. How that whole Microsoft hiring the Inflection AI team actually maths out. And, of course, the Weekend Longreads Suggestions. Links: Apple CarPlay is anticompetitive, too, US lawsuit alleges (The Verge) U.S. versus Apple: A first reaction (Six Colors) Unpatchable vulnerability in Apple chip leaks secret encryption keys (ArsTechnica) Threads’ fediverse beta opens to share your posts on Mastodon, too (The Verge) Microsoft Agreed to Pay Inflection $650 Million While Hiring Its Staff (The Information) Weekend Longreads Suggestions: 8 Google Employees Invented Modern AI. Here’s the Inside Story (Wired) China’s Super-Cheap EVs Offer Hope for Average American Buyers (Bloomberg Businessweek) Indie, rocked (The Verge) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
22 Mar 202418min
Thu. 03/21 – The DOJ Sues Apple
The DOJ opened a lawsuit against Apple. Reddit’s IPO should be happening today. An Epic Games Store on iOS should be coming later this year. Carvana is a Covid-times high-flier that has actually recovered. And Neuralink’s first human patient reveals himself to the world. Links: U.S. Sues Apple, Alleges Tech Giant Exploits Illegal Monopoly (WSJ) Reddit prices IPO at $34 per share in first major social media offering since 2019 (CNBC) The Epic Games Store is coming to Android (9to5Google) Apple Faces Legal Protest From Meta, Microsoft, X, Spotify and Match (WSJ) Carvana makes U-turn away from financial abyss (Financial Times) Amazon’s New Focus: Fending Off Rivals Temu and Shein (WSJ) Watch Neuralink’s First Human Subject Demonstrate His Brain-Computer Interface (Wired) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
21 Mar 202415min
Wed. 03/20 – Microsoft Hires DeepMind Co-Founder And Rocks The AI Community
Microsoft hiring DeepMind co-founder Mustafa Suleyman to run their new AI division might sound like boring c-suite musical chairs, but it’s actually super interesting. Intel gets the first huge check from the CHIPS Act. Stardew Valley is breaking gaming records. And the interesting startup that does AI music. Links: Microsoft Hires DeepMind Co-Founder Suleyman to Run Consumer AI (Bloomberg) Microsoft bets on start-ups to extend AI lead with hiring of Inflection chief (Financial Times) Intel to receive $8.5bn in US funding for high-end chip manufacturing (Financial Times) Stardew Valley’s 1.6 update smashes its Steam player record (The Verge) A ChatGPT for Music Is Here. Inside Suno, the Startup Changing Everything (Rolling Stone) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
20 Mar 202417min
Tue. 03/19 – Nvidia Developer Event
Nvidia announced… well, a ton of things. Two new AI tools show that video is having an AI moment. An update on how TikTok is faring in the Senate. And an interesting raise from a startup that wants to become a major new platform player in Gaming. Sponsors: FactorMeals.com/ride50 and code ride50 Links: Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang announces new AI chips: ‘We need bigger GPUs’ (CNBC) Nvidia launches NIM to make it smoother to deploy AI models into production (TechCrunch) Nvidia enlists humanoid robotics’ biggest names for new AI platform, GR00T (TechCrunch) Nvidia announces Earth-2 digital twin to forecast planet’s climate change (VentureBeat) Google researchers unveil ‘VLOGGER’, an AI that can bring still photos to life (VentureBeat) Stability AI brings a new dimension to video with Stable Video 3D (VentureBeat) DOJ to Push for TikTok Divestiture in Senate Briefings (Bloomberg) Playtron: the startup hoping to Steam Deck-ify the world (The Verge) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
19 Mar 202430min
Mon. 03/18 – Apple To Partner With Google For AI On iOS?
I did NOT have on my bingo card Apple turning to Google to power its first big foray into modern AI on its hardware. Even while a new Apple AI model might be pointing to breakthroughs in AI reasoning. One of the biggest e-sports competitions in the world has been hacked by cheaters. And some pretty bearish news for the VR industry. Links: Apple Is in Talks to Let Google Gemini Power iPhone AI Features (Bloomberg) Apple researchers achieve breakthroughs in multimodal AI as company ramps up investments (VentureBeat) xAI open-sources base model of Grok, but without any training code (TechCrunch) Musk’s Grok AI goes open source (VentureBeat) Massive ‘Apex Legends’ Hack Disrupts NA Finals, Raises Serious Security Concerns (Forbes) Sony Hits Pause on PSVR2 Production as Unsold Inventory Piles Up (Bloomberg) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
18 Mar 202416min
(Bonus) Aravind Srinivas Of Perplexity AI
Perplexity CEO Aravind Srinivas tell Chris and I to expect more partnerships like the recent one with Yelp; how Perplexity thinks of search differently than Google does; and the competition Perplexity fears beyond Google. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
16 Mar 202429min
