Fri. 11/16 - How Much Money Does Airbnb Make?

Do people know when they’re using the MetaAI app, it’s public? Chime had a successful IPO so let me tell you about my IPO-meter. The financials behind that fully-AI commercial running during the NBA playoffs. More signs stablecoins are taking over, but in the Longreads, do stablecoins represent a unique danger to the global financial system? Sponsors: FactorMeals.com/ride50off and code ride50off For a limited time only, get 35% off plus an additional 50% off your first order when you head to Smalls.com and use code RIDE Links: The Meta AI app is a privacy disaster (TechCrunch) Meta Risks Regulatory Scrutiny in Pursuit of Scale AI (Bloomberg) Apple Targets Spring 2026 for Release of Delayed Siri AI Upgrade (Bloomberg) Chime pops 37% in Nasdaq debut after pricing IPO above expected range (CNBC) Walmart and Amazon Are Exploring Issuing Their Own Stablecoins (WSJ) Here’s the $2,000 fully AI-generated ad that aired during the NBA Finals (The Verge) Weekend Longreads Suggestions: Why we should worry about the rise of stablecoins (FT) Nintendo Switch 2 review: bigger, faster, and the best handheld since Game Boy (The Shortcut) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

13 Juni 18min

I explain how and why exactly this big Meta investment in Scale AI came about. Hollywood sues AI in a big way for the first time. A look at how stablecoins have mainstreamed crypto at long last. And episode number 205 of the long running series: we blew up traditional TV just to rebuild it. Links: Meta to Pay Nearly $15 Billion for Scale AI Stake and Startup’s 28-Year-Old CEO (The Information) Disney, NBCU sue Midjourney over copyright infringement (Axios) Wikipedia Pauses AI-Generated Summaries After Editor Backlash (404Media) How stablecoins are entering the financial mainstream (Financial Times) EXCLUSIVE: Amazon Doubles Prime Video Ads to 6 Minutes Per Hour (AdWeek) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

12 Juni 16min

OpenAI rolls out an o3-pro model. Android one-ups iOS with a quick release. So far so good for the launch of the Switch 2. What is Google doing with its headcount? And is essentially a giant hologram the future of video calling? Sponsors: Shopify.com/ride Links: OpenAI releases o3-pro, a souped-up version of its o3 AI reasoning model (TechCrunch) God is hungry for Context: First thoughts on o3 pro (Latent Space) Google Releases the Android 16 OS Months Earlier Than Expected (CNET) Nintendo Switch 2 Sets Sales Record in Boon for Games Sector (Bloomberg) Elon Musk says Tesla robotaxi rides in Austin ‘tentatively’ set to begin June 22 (CNBC) Google Offers Buyouts to Employees in Search and Ads, Other Units (The Information) HP reveals $24,999 hardware created just for Google Beam (The Verge) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

11 Juni 16min

Zuckerberg’s big ambitions for AI seem to be coming into focus. OpenAI is actively starting to play the field when it comes to compute. More signs AI is kneecapping web traffic. And what do we think? Is liquid glass a good design choice, or a cul-de-sac for Apple? Sponsors: LinkedIn.com/ride Links: Meta Is Creating a New A.I. Lab to Pursue ‘Superintelligence’ (NYTimes) Zuckerberg Is Personally Recruiting New ‘Superintelligence’ AI Team at Meta (Bloomberg) Exclusive: OpenAI taps Google in unprecedented cloud deal despite AI rivalry, sources say (Reuters) Waymo halts service in downtown Los Angeles amid ICE protests (LA Times) News Sites Are Getting Crushed by Google’s New AI Tools (WSJ) Apple will end support for Intel Macs next year, macOS 27 will require Apple Silicon (9to5Mac) ‘Beautiful’ and ‘Hard to Read’: Designers React to Apple’s Liquid Glass Update (Wired) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

10 Juni 15min

All the headlines from WWDC. Microsoft unveils the first iteration of that handheld gaming strategy. Meta is considering its largest external AI investment yet. And did Apple researchers reveal that Large Language Model have a structural ceiling, and are we basically there? Sponsors: Acorns.com/ride Links: Hands-On With the Xbox Ally X, the New Gaming Handheld from Asus and Microsoft (IGN) Meta in Talks for Scale AI Investment That Could Top $10 Billion (Bloomberg) A knockout blow for LLMs? (Gary Marcus On AI) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

9 Juni 21min

Circle had such a successful IPO, I’m wondering if IPO’s might finally be back on the menu. Turns out Anthropic cut off Windsurf for the most obvious reason. Maybe Manus really is stoking a new gold rush, at least in China. And in the Weekend Longreads Suggestions, the most consequential weather forecast of all time. Sponsors: Tonal.com Links: Stablecoin issuer Circle soars 168% in NYSE debut after pricing IPO above expected range (CNBC) Anthropic co-founder on cutting access to Windsurf: ‘It would be odd for us to sell Claude to OpenAI’ (TechCrunch) Anysphere, Hailed as Fastest Growing Startup Ever, Raises $900 Million (Bloomberg) Manus has kick-started an AI agent boom in China (MIT Technology Review) Weekend Longreads Suggestions: Runway CEO Cris Valenzuela wants Hollywood to embrace AI video (The Verge) The Man Whose Weather Forecast Saved the World (NYTimes) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

6 Juni 17min

Reddit goes after Anthropic. Meta seems to be reading a much cheaper Vision Pro killer, while still moving forward with their ambitious smartglasses product. What if your Amazon delivery person was not a person at all, but a humanoid robot. And how, quietly, Hollywood studios are already deep into AI adoption. Sponsors: CornBreadHemp.com/ride and code ride Links: Reddit Sues Anthropic, Alleges Unauthorized Use of Site’s Data (WSJ) Meta Talks to Disney, A24 About Content for New VR Headset (WSJ) Here’s what’s inside Meta’s experimental new smart glasses (The Verge) OpenAI slams court order to save all ChatGPT logs, including deleted chats (ArsTechica) Amazon Prepares to Test Humanoid Robots for Delivering Packages (The Information) Everyone Is Already Using AI (And Hiding It) (Vulture) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

5 Juni 17min

Windsurf accuses Anthropic of blocking it from AI models in a sign that competition in the AI coding space is fierce. But will the real battle happen when the likes of Microsoft and Google really go after the startups? NotebookLM is now sharable. Pump.fun is raising big money. And Nintendo didn’t send out any Switch 2 review units. What are they afraid of? Sponsors: 1Password.com/ride Links: Windsurf says Anthropic is limiting its direct access to Claude AI models (TechCrunch) AI startups revolutionize coding industry, leading to sky-high valuations (Reuters) Google’s NotebookLM now lets you share your notebook — and AI podcasts — publicly (The Verge) Pump.fun plans $1B token sale at $4B valuation: Sources (Blockworks) How Morgan Stanley Tackled One of Coding’s Toughest Problems (WSJ) It’s official: There are no Nintendo Switch 2 reviews. Here’s what that means for us, and you (VGC) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

4 Juni 16min