Wed. 05/29 – Did The Secret Sauce Of Google Search Just Leak?

Masa Son came through for OpenAI, to the tune of a $40 billion dollar round at a $300 billion-dollar post-money valuation. Sam Altman says OpenAI is going back to open weights. A new encryption model for Gmail. A new movie strategy for Amazon. And why the Switch 2 represents a new revenue strategy for Nintendo. Sponsors: FreshBooks.com Links: OpenAI closes $40 billion funding round, largest private tech deal on record (CNBC) OpenAI Finalizes $40 Billion Funding at $300 Billion Value (Bloomberg) OpenAI plans to release a new ‘open’ AI language model in the coming months (TechCrunch) Gmail is making it easier for businesses to send encrypted emails to anyone (The Verge) Amazon’s New Movie Strategy Starts With Theaters (NYTimes) Nintendo Departs From Its Founding Philosophy With Switch 2 (Bloomberg) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

1 Apr 202516min

Over the weekend Elon said that xAI has acquired X. Elon does love to blend his companies together. Tensions between SpaceX and Apple. Apple is working on a major Health app overhaul. And in this era of crypto ascendency, is Ethereum being left behind? Links: Elon Musk says xAI has acquired X in deal that values social media site at $33 billion (CNBC) Musk’s xAI Startup Swallows Up X Social Network in Surprise Deal (Bloomberg) Amazon unveils Nova Act, an AI agent that can control a web browser (TechCrunch) Apple and Musk Clash Over Satellite Expansion Plans (WSJ) Apple Readies Its Biggest Push Into Health Yet With New AI Doctor (Bloomberg) Crypto’s Trumpian Embrace Is Leaving Bitcoin’s Big Rival Behind (Bloomberg) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

31 Mars 202517min

Me On The Big Technology Podcast Talking This Week In Tech Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

30 Mars 202558min

Silicon Valley is in more trouble than I think people are talking about... Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

29 Mars 202513min

Move big moves in the gaming space. But we need to talk about that CoreWeave IPO. It. Didn’t. Go. Well. Facebook has a shocking idea: what if you could see what your friends were up to? Anthropic says it’s getting close to understanding how LLM’s actually work. And, of course, the Weekend Longreads Suggestions. Sponsors: LinkedIn.com/ride Links: ‘Assassin’s Creed’ Maker Ubisoft Jumps After Games Carve Out (Bloomberg) CoreWeave prices IPO at $40 a share, below expected range (CNBC) CoreWeave’s Shaky IPO Signal (The Information) Facebook Returns to Its Roots: Showing Posts From Friends and Family (NYTimes) Thoughts on setting policy for new AI capabilities (Joanne Jang) Anthropic makes a breakthrough in opening AI’s ‘black box’ (Fortune) Weekend Longreads Suggestions: Yahoo Is Still Here—and It Has Big Plans for AI (Wired) Inside arXiv—the Most Transformative Platform in All of Science (Wired) YouTube Video Of My Essay Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

28 Mars 202519min

Everyone is using that new ChatGPT image generator to make Miyazaki memes. Google is taking Android development private. Are we seeing signs of an AI datacenter pullback? Now even you can do extra gig work for Instacart. And quantum computers seem to have cracked truly random random number generators. Sponsors: Get the right life insurance for YOU, for LESS, at SELECTQUOTE.COM/RIDE Shopify.com/ride Links: OpenAI’s viral Studio Ghibli moment highlights AI copyright concerns (TechCrunch) OpenAI CEO Responds to ChatGPT Users Creating Studio Ghibli-Style AI Images (Variety) Exclusive: Google will develop the Android OS fully in private, and here's why (AndroidAuthority) Microsoft Abandons Data Center Projects, TD Cowen Says (Bloomberg) China built hundreds of AI data centers to catch the AI boom. Now many stand unused. (MIT Technology Review) Apple chips will be made in US at faster pace, says TSMC (9to5Mac) Instacart will pay shoppers to take videos of store shelves (The Verge) JPMorgan Says Quantum Experiment Generated Truly Random Numbers (Bloomberg) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

27 Mars 202516min

It’s all AI today basically. New Gemini “thinking” models. New “deep reasoning” agents for Copilot. But the really big news is the new image generator from OpenAI. Fidelity wants to get in the stablecoin business. And if Europe wants to create its own Starlink, it’s got some serious hurdles to overcome. Links: OpenAI rolls out image generation powered by GPT-4o to ChatGPT (The Verge) Gemini 2.5 Pro is Google’s ‘most intelligent AI model’ with thinking built-in (9to5Google) Microsoft adds ‘deep reasoning’ Copilot AI for research and data analysis (The Verge) Fidelity plans to launch stablecoin in digital assets push (FT) ‘No substitute’: Europe’s battle to break Elon Musk’s stranglehold on the skies (FT) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

26 Mars 202517min

Looks like the EU is bringing down the hammer on Meta. Waymo’s next city is Washington DC. Napster continues to live! And it has a new owner! Maybe domestic chip production can be cost competitive? And what happens if Europe decouples from Silicon Valley? Sponsors: Tonal.com promocode RIDE for $200 off Links: European Union to slap Meta with fine up to $1B or more for breaching strict antitrust rules: sources (NYPost) EToro Files for IPO Showing Commissions Jumped 46% Last Year (Bloomberg) Waymo plans robotaxi launch in Washington, DC in 2026 (The Verge) Napster pioneered music sharing over 25 years ago. It just got bought for $207 million (CNBC) Producing wafers at TSMC Arizona is only 10% more expensive than in Taiwan: TechInsights (Toms Hardware) Trump’s Aggression Sours Europe on US Cloud Giants (Wired) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

25 Mars 202518min