Fri. 09/27 – Sam Altman Declines To Go “Founder Mode”

Now researchers say they have trained a cutting edge AI model for… checks notes… $50. Not $50 million dollars. $50. Dollars. Get ready for the superbowl of AI ads. Amazon has scheduled an Alexa AI event. And also, why does Amazon fail so hard when it comes to physical retail? Sponsors: Oracle.com/techmeme Links: Researchers created an open rival to OpenAI’s o1 ‘reasoning’ model for under $50 (TechCrunch) Google Kills Diversity Hiring Targets (WSJ) Google Unwinds Employee Diversity Goals, Citing Trump’s D.E.I. Orders (NYTimes) OpenAI Set to Make Super Bowl Ad Debut (WSJ) OpenAI to Air Its First Super Bowl Ad (AdWeek) Amazon's AI revamp of Alexa assistant nears unveiling (Reuters) Bill banning social media for youngsters advances (Politico) Trump's de minimis cancellation is bad news for Temu, but worse for Shein (Reuters) Amazon, King of Online Retail, Can’t Seem to Make Its Physical Stores Work (WSJ) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

6 Feb 202516min

Temu And Shein got a reprieve from the USPS, but they are still in deep, deep trouble. I’ll explain why. Alphabet earnings disappoint their investors but cheer investors of Nvidia. Google and Meta going in different directions when it comes to AI. And why are people increasingly refusing to pay ransomware? Sponsors: Acorns.com/ride Links: USPS Resumes Accepting Packages From China After Unexpected Suspension (Wired) Google expects to spend $75 billion this year on the AI race (The Verge) Google drops pledge not to use AI for weapons or surveillance (The Washington Post) Meta says it may stop development of AI systems it deems too risky (TechCrunch) After a bruising year, Sonos readies its next big thing: a streaming box (The Verge) 35% Year-over-Year Decrease in Ransomware Payments, Less than Half of Recorded Incidents Resulted in Victim Payments (Chainalysis) Apple Launches New 'Invites' App (MacRumors) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

5 Feb 202516min

Is the US government about to get into, or at least, heavily impact the VC investing business? Apparently, the trade war with China is still on. The resurrection of Twitterific. And how Spotify has quietly stopped investing, and started getting real about profitability. Sponsors: LinkedIn.com/ride Links: Trump Signs Executive Action to Create Sovereign Wealth Fund (Bloomberg) China Hits Back Against Trump’s Tariffs With Targeted Actions (Bloomberg) China targets Google, Nvidia and Intel as Trump tariffs bite (Financial Times) Twitterrific team launches new ‘Tapestry’ iPhone app for Bluesky, Mastodon, RSS, more (9to5Mac) Opera’s new browser might save you from doomscrolling (The Verge) Spotify Reports First Full-Year Profit (WSJ) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

4 Feb 202516min

OpenAI unveils Deep Research, an AI agent just for that. I’ll explain. Are Shein and Temu first up to feel the brunt of the new Trump tariffs? Apple canceled the AR project I assumed they would be pivoting toward. And the Beatles won a Grammy last night with the first AI augmented song to ever win a Grammy. Sponsors: QualiaLife.com/ride and code RIDE Links: OpenAI unveils a new ChatGPT agent for ‘deep research’ (TechCrunch) Trump Targets Loophole Temu, Shein Used to Take On Amazon (Bloomberg) Shein to Face EU Consumer Law Probe Under E-Commerce Crackdown (Bloomberg) Apple Scraps Work on Mac-Connected Augmented Reality Glasses (Bloomberg) Stablecoins are finding product-market fit in emerging markets (TechCrunch) That AI-restored Beatles song won Grammy for Best Rock Performance (The Verge) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

3 Feb 202517min

If the entire world shifts after you launch your startup, what do you do? Terra Trust founder Mike DiPetrillo tells you how to do it. What was our original use-case? DOUBLE DOWN on what you do well. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

1 Feb 202538min

Apple’s earnings are decidedly mixed. Mark Zuckerberg’s complaints about everything he says leaking… leaked, and there are a lot of interesting details in those leaks. Looks like the SoftBank and OpenAI courtship is a serious one, and if the marriage happens, looks like Arm Holdings can be leveraged for the dowery. And, of course, the Weekend Longreads Suggestions. Links: Apple shares rise 3% as boost in services revenue overshadows iPhone miss (CNBC) Mark Zuckerberg said that Meta missed TikTok's rise because it didn't seem 'social' enough, leaked recording reveals (Business Insider) OpenAI in Talks for Huge Investment Round Valuing It at Up to $300 Billion (WSJ) OpenAI’s Sam Altman and SoftBank’s Masayoshi Son Are AI’s New Power Couple (WSJ) Weekend Longreads Suggestions: DeepSeek Chief’s Journey From Math Geek to Global Disruptor (WSJ) Chinese Quant Whiz Built DeepSeek In The Shadow Of a Hedge Fund Rout (Bloomberg) DeepSeek Debates: Chinese Leadership On Cost, True Training Cost, Closed Model Margin Impacts (SemiAnalysis) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

31 Jan 202518min

Meta and Microsoft reported earnings, but all Wall Street cared about was getting Capex updates. Meta settles with… the President. Waymo’s expansion continues apace. Why Masa Son is the perfect white knight for OpenAI. And AI IS copyrightable. Sponsors: Shopify.com/ride Links: Microsoft shares slide as cloud forecast, AI spending disappoint (Reuters) Meta’s Reality Labs posts $5 billion loss in fourth quarter (CNBC) Zuck shrugs off DeepSeek, vows to spend hundreds of billions on AI (TechCrunch) Meta to Pay $25 Million to Settle 2021 Trump Lawsuit (WSJ) Waymo to test in 10 new cities in 2025, starting with Las Vegas and San Diego (The Verge) SoftBank in talks to invest up to $25bn in OpenAI (FT) Copyright Office Offers Assurances on AI Filmmaking Tools (Variety) Authors Guild sets up ‘Human Author’ portal to certify books come from ‘human intellect’ (AP) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

30 Jan 202518min

Essentially, OpenAI suspects that DeekSeek might have copied them. I’ll explain the term, “distillation.” Could you soon be able to connect to Starlink on your iPhone? Is Comcast about to make the Internet… better? And the hopeful return of commercial supersonic flight. Links: OpenAI says it has evidence China’s DeepSeek used its model to train competitor (Financial Times) Microsoft Probing If DeepSeek-Linked Group Improperly Obtained OpenAI Data (Bloomberg) Alibaba releases AI model it says surpasses DeepSeek (Reuters) Alibaba Announces AI Model That ‘Outperforms ChatGPT & DeepSeek’ (Tech.co) Alibaba’s Qwen 2.5 surpasses DeepSeek as China’s AI race heats up (BGR) Apple and SpaceX Link Up to Support Starlink Satellite Network on iPhones (Bloomberg) Comcast is rolling out ‘ultra-low lag’ tech that could fix the internet (The Verge) Streaming prices climb in 2025 after already surpassing inflation rates (ArsTechnica) Netflix won the streaming wars, and we’re all about to pay for it (The Verge) Civilian jet breaks sound barrier during historic test flight over Mojave Desert (CBSNews) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

29 Jan 202517min