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Is what happened with the Studio Ghibli ChatGPT image generation stuff even legal? I spoke with AI lawyer Rob Rosenberg, former general counsel at Showtime Networks and founder and principal of Telluride Legal Strategies about it, and what he told me was very interesting. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Well we gotta talk about this tariff thing because the early indications are this could impact almost every nook and cranny of the tech industry. Could we get an announcement about TikTok within days? I think I figured out why CoreWeave’s stock popped back up. And how Nintendo plans to fight the scalpers. Links: Trump’s New Tariffs Test Apple’s Global Supply Chain (NYTimes) Trump to Outline TikTok Deal Proposal, With ByteDance Retaining Stake (The Information) Google in Advanced Talks to Rent Nvidia AI Servers From CoreWeave (The Information) AI Video Startup Runway Valued at $3 Billion in Funding Round (Bloomberg) Amazon targets April 9 launch of first Kuiper internet satellites (Reuters) Nintendo’s Switch 2 preorder process has strict requirements to thwart scalpers (The Verge) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

All the details from the big Nintendo Switch 2 reveal this morning. Wikimedia says AI bots are increasing its costs by 50%. North Korean IT workers allegedy continue to go after remote IT jobs worldwide. Meta is reading its more ambitious, more expensive smartglasses for maybe later this year. And maybe the CoreWeave IPO wasn’t a bust? Sponsors: Udacity.com/ride and promocode RIDE Links: Amazon Said to Make a Bid to Buy TikTok in the U.S. (NYTimes) Everything announced at Nintendo’s Switch 2 Direct (Polygon) AI crawlers cause Wikimedia Commons bandwidth demands to surge 50% (TechCrunch) North Korean IT worker army expands operations in Europe (BleepingComputer) How Meta’s Upcoming $1,000+ Smart Glasses With a Screen Will Work (Bloomberg) Stablecoin issuer Circle files for IPO as public markets open to crypto (CNBC) CoreWeave shares rip nearly 42% higher, rising above IPO price (CNBC) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

23andMe files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Are mergers and acquisitions officially back on the menu of Silicon Valley? Are cameras coming to the Apple Watch? Devs, does your AI experience line up with your peers? And how Broadway is using AI live translation to reach new audiences. Sponsors: Timeline.com/ride Links: DNA Tester 23andMe Files Bankruptcy to Sell Firm, CEO Quits (Bloomberg) Big Startup Deals Soar to $55 Billion, Passing Quarterly Record (Bloomberg) Ticket reseller StubHub files for an IPO (Axios) AI Chip Startup FuriosaAI Rejects Meta’s $800 Million Offer (Bloomberg) Google is rolling out Gemini’s real-time AI video features (The Verge) Apple Working on Turning Watches Into AI Devices With Cameras (Bloomberg) How Software Engineers Actually Use AI (Wired) New York’s longest-running play offers AI-powered live translations to attract new audiences (Semafor) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

That whole thing with Meta allegedly scraping all the world’s books using LibGen is back in the news. Cloudflare is fighting AI scraping with AI slop. A super interesting executive shakeup at Apple. And, of course, the Weekend Longreads Suggestions. Sponsors: FreshBooks.com Links: The Unbelievable Scale of AI’s Pirated-Books Problem (The Atlantic) Cloudflare builds an AI to lead AI scraper bots into a horrible maze of junk content (The Register) Apple Shuffles AI Executive Ranks in Bid to Turn Around Siri (Bloomberg) Gmail rolling out AI-powered ‘Most relevant’ search update (9to5Google) Weekend Longreads Suggestions: How the AI Boom Created the Most Valuable Monopolies in History (Bloomberg) One Man’s Crypto Windfall Is Funding a $1 Billion Space Station Dream (Bloomberg) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

SoftBank acquires a chip making startup. Nvidia says it hasn’t been approached to help save Intel. OpenAI announces another expensive AI tier. Apple TV+ is losing more than a billion dollars a year. And do Apple’s recent stumbles indicate their where Microsoft was in the Windows Vista era? Sponsors: Incogni.com/ridehome and code ridehome Links: SoftBank Seals $6.5 Billion Deal for Chip Designer Ampere (Bloomberg) Nvidia CEO says company has not been asked to buy a stake in Intel (Reuters) Nvidia to spend hundreds of billions on US supply chain, says chief (FT) A First Look at How Apple’s C1 Modem Performs With Early Adopters (Ookla) OpenAI’s o1-pro is the company’s most expensive AI model yet (TechCrunch) Apple Streaming Losses Top $1 Billion a Year (The Information) Apple innovation and execution (Benedict Evans) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The EU Commission has brought the hammer down on Apple and Google at the same time. All the big news from Nvidia’s big event yesterday. More details on that Google/Wiz deal. Two new Pebble smartwatches and Google’s new entry-level Pixel… that you can’t preorder yet. Sponsors: MackWeldon.com and promocode BRIAN Links: EU sends Apple first DMA interoperability instructions for apps and connected devices (TechCrunch) Google Search charged with breaking EU antitrust rules (The Verge) Nvidia announces Blackwell Ultra and Rubin AI chips (CNBC) The key takeaways from Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang’s GTC keynote (SiliconAngle) NVIDIA GTC 2025 – Built For Reasoning, Vera Rubin, Kyber, CPO, Dynamo Inference, Jensen Math, Feynman (SemiAnalysis) Google's $32 billion deal for Wiz accelerated under Trump, sources say (Reuters) The first new Pebble smartwatches are coming later this year (The Verge) The Pixel 9A is a midrange phone that actually looks like a good deal (The Verge) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We get that first big test of M&A I was looking for as Alphabet acquires Wiz. Is Roku going to force us to watch ads just to turn on our TVs? The AI coding assistant space continues to be hot. The breakthrough in electric vehicle charging that could really change the game. And what exactly does Lumon Industries do? Sponsors: Robinhood.com/gold Links: Google Strikes $32 Billion Deal for Cybersecurity Startup Wiz (WSJ) “Awful”: Roku tests autoplaying ads loading before the home screen (Ars Technica) Critical RCE flaw in Apache Tomcat actively exploited in attacks (Bleeping Computer) Cognition AI Hits $4 Billion Valuation in Deal Led by Lonsdale’s Firm (Bloomberg) BYD Shares Jump to Record on Five-Minute EV Battery Charging (Bloomberg) They Named Their Companies Lumon. Then ‘Severance’ Aired. (WSJ) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Europe wants to ween itself off of foreign big tech. Could this be the sign of a future rift with Silicon Valley? The weird case of Rippling versus Deel. Klarna lands a big fish. What the Coreweave IPO could mean for tech. And how the new iPhone Air signals a big hardware design change at Apple. Sponsors: QualiaLife.com/ride and promocode RIDE Links: European tech industry coalition calls for ‘radical action’ on digital sovereignty — starting with buying local (TechCrunch) Accusations of Corporate Espionage Shake a Software Rivalry (NYTimes) Klarna, nearing IPO, plucks lucrative Walmart fintech partnership from rival Affirm (CNBC) CoreWeave serves as bellwether for AI in soft IPO market (Semafor) Apple’s iPhone 17 ‘Air’ Is a Step Toward a Slimmer, Port-Free Era (Bloomberg) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The new RCS messaging standard makes encryption universal, and even Apple is getting on the bandwagon. OpenAI calls for a US ban of DeepSeek. Is Apple about to turn your AirPods into the Universal Translator from Star Trek? And, of course, The Weekend Longreads Suggestions. Sponsors: FactorMeals.com/factorpodcast and code FACTORPODCAST Links: Apple will soon support encrypted RCS messaging with Android users (The Verge) OpenAI calls DeepSeek ‘state-controlled,’ calls for bans on ‘PRC-produced’ models (TechCrunch) Apple Plans AirPods Feature That Can Live-Translate Conversations (Bloomberg) Gemini can now personalize its answers based on your search history (The Verge) Sony’s new RGB backlight tech absolutely smokes regular Mini LED TVs (The Verge) Weekend Longreads Suggestions: ‘Ne Zha 2’s $2B+ Box Office Run: How It Happened And What Does Blockbuster Behemoth Mean For China & Hollywood Ahead (Deadline) The End Of Children (The New Yorker) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Intel has a new boss and they seem to want to double down on the Foundry strategy. Meta is testing community notes. Sonos is abandoning its big streaming video hardware project. Is Adobe falling behind in AI? Is Oracle the leader to take over TikTok US? And why is John Gruber so mad at Apple? Sponsors: Shopify.com/ride Links: Intel appoints chip industry veteran Lip-Bu Tan as CEO (Reuters) Intel CEO Signals That He’ll Stick With Contentious Foundry Plan (Bloomberg) Meta unveils new community notes program; will not apply distribution penalties nor limit flow of information (Fox News) Sonos has canceled its streaming video player (The Verge) Microsoft’s new Xbox Copilot will act as an AI gaming coach (The Verge) Adobe shares drop 13% as concerns about AI growth overshadow better-than-expected results (CNBC) Oracle Is Leading Contender to Help Run TikTok in New Deal (The Information) Something Is Rotten in the State of Cupertino (Daring Fireball) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Niantic officially sells to that Saudi-owned game developer. iRobot says it might not be alive in about 12 months time. Sam Altman believes he has an AI that can write believable fiction. Is the cavalry coming to save Intel? And why can’t we create a true AI Einstein in a data center? Sponsors: Acorns.com/ride Links: Pokémon Go developer Niantic to sell gaming business to Saudi group (The Verge) Saudi-owned Scopely buys Pokémon Go in $3.5bn gaming deal (FT) One-Time Amazon Takeover Target iRobot Warns Doubt on Future (Bloomberg) Google calls Gemma 3 the most powerful AI model you can run on one GPU (TheVerge) Sam Altman says OpenAI has trained a fiction writing AI model that’s actually decent (SiliconAngle) Google changes Chrome extension policies following the Honey link scandal (TheVerge) Exclusive: TSMC pitched Intel foundry JV to Nvidia, AMD and Broadcom, sources say (Reuters) Hugging Face’s chief science officer worries AI is becoming ‘yes-men on servers’ (TheVerge) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Are we about to get the biggest overhaul of iOS since 2013? Is inference the way that everybody is going to eat Nvidia’s lunch? Exactly how much to AI search engines get it wrong? Why is the global smartwatch market shrinking? And apparently the new Mac Studios are the thing you want to get, if you can afford it! Sponsors: Take your personal data back with Incogni! Use code RIDEHOME at the link below and get 60% off an annual plan: http://incogni.com/ridehome 1password.com/ride Links: Apple Readies Dramatic Software Overhaul for iPhone, iPad and Mac (Bloomberg) Exclusive: Meta begins testing its first in-house AI training chip (Reuters) How ‘inference’ is driving competition to Nvidia’s AI chip dominance (FT) Sony is experimenting with AI-powered PlayStation characters (The Verge) AI Search Has A Citation Problem (CJR) Global Smartwatch Shipments in 2024: Market Declines for First Time, China Leads for First Time (Counterpoint Research) Apple Mac Studio (Early 2025) Review: Renewed vigor with M4 Max and M3 Ultra (Tom's Hardware) Apple Mac Studio (M3 Ultra) first look: a weekend with an $8,000 powerhouse (The Verge) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Well, do we have another DeepSeek moment on our hands? I tell you about Manus, which had some people losing their minds over the weekend. Now do we have the first signs of the AI M&A I’ve been looking for? Absolutely everybody wants to get in on the Stablecoin business. And the AI crisis at Apple delayed a product we might have seen this month. Sponsors: Kinsta.com/brian Timeline.com/ride Links: China’s Autonomous Agent, Manus, Changes Everything (Forbes) Manus probably isn’t China’s second ‘DeepSeek moment’ (TechCrunch) Undocumented commands found in Bluetooth chip used by a billion devices (BleepingComputer) ServiceNow Nears Deal to Buy AI Assistant Maker Moveworks (Bloomberg) Banks and fintechs join ‘stablecoin gold rush’ (Financial Times) Apple Clears the Decks With Rare Early-Year Product Frenzy (Bloomberg) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

(Omnibus) Week Of 03/03/2025 Subscribe to get this every week AD-FREE at tech.supercast.tech Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Will Apple have to allow side loading in Brazil? The US Strategic Crypto Reserve becomes a reality. Larry Page has a new startup. The concept of a startup being nothing more than an “AI Wrapper” is no longer a pejorative. And, of course, the Weekend Longreads Suggestions. Sponsors: Tonal.com Promocode RIDE for $200 off Links: Brazilian court gives Apple 90 days to allow sideloading on iOS (9to5Mac) Donald Trump signs executive order for Strategic Bitcoin Reserve (CoinTelegraph) Drone Defense Startup Shield AI Lands $5.3 Billion Valuation (Bloomberg) Larry Page Has a New AI Startup (The Information) The Hottest AI Companies Right Now Are ‘Apps’ (Bloomberg) Weekend Longreads Suggestions: McDonald’s Gives Its Restaurants an AI Makeover (WSJ) YouTube at 20: How the Video Colossus Launched the Creator Economy and Turned From Hollywood Foe to Friend (Variety) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

More signs the tech IPO logjam is breaking. Another cheap new AI model from China. Would you pay 20 THOUSAND dollars a month to use an OpenAI agent? The umpteenth foldable iPhone rumor, though this time with dates. And let me introduce you to YouTube Premium Lite. Sponsors: LinkedIn.com/ride Links: Klarna to File for $1 Billion-Plus IPO as Soon as Next Week (Bloomberg) Discord in Early Talks With Bankers for Potential I.P.O. (NYTimes) Alibaba’s new open source model QwQ-32B matches DeepSeek-R1 with way smaller compute requirements (VentureBeat) OpenAI Plots Charging $20,000 a Month For PhD-Level Agents (The Information) Google Search’s new ‘AI Mode’ lets users ask complex, multi-part questions (TechCrunch) Kuo: Apple's First Foldable iPhone to Feature Book-Style Design, Sell for Over $2,000 (MacRumors) New M4 MacBook Air fixes the line's biggest problem (Apple Insider) YouTube launches a $7.99 per month, ad-free Premium Lite subscription (TechCrunch) YouTube Music hits 125 million subscribers, adding 2m subs per month on average over the past year (Music Business Worldwide) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Elon can’t stop OpenAI, but the case will go on. Trump wants to stop the Chips Act immediately. Apple released more new Macs today. If you can believe it, Digg is back! They’re coming for Reddit! And the AI chatbot that might have passed the uncanny valley when it comes to AI generated speech. Sponsors: Oracle.com/techmeme Links: Musk’s Fight With OpenAI Set for Expedited Trial This Year (Bloomberg) Trump Calls for End to $52 Billion Chips Act Subsidy Program (Bloomberg) Apple launches new Mac Studios with M4 Max and M3 Ultra chips (The Verge) Digg is coming back, thanks to its founder — and Reddit’s (The Verge) Bored Ape Creator Yuga Labs Says SEC Closing Investigation in 'Huge Win' for NFT Sector (Decrypt) Google Urges Trump DOJ to Reverse Course on Breaking Up Company (Bloomberg) Eerily realistic AI voice demo sparks amazement and discomfort online (ArsTechnica) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We have our first official IPO of the AI Era coming. Anthropic has a big new round. New iPads from Apple. New phones from Nothing. Waymo rolls out in Austin, Texas. And how the Kinnect technology lives on, as a tool for Ghostbusters. Sponsors: FreshBooks.com IQBar: Text TECHMEME to 64000 Links: AI cloud provider CoreWeave files for IPO (CNBC) Anthropic Finalizes Megaround at $61.5 Billion Valuation (Bloomberg) Apple launches a new M3-powered iPad Air (The Verge) Waymo is now available exclusively on Uber in Austin (The Verge) Nothing’s Phone 3A and 3A Pro use AI to organize all your stuff (The Verge) Ghost hunting, pornography and interactive art: the weird afterlife of Xbox Kinect (The Guardian) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Maybe we really will be getting that national crypto reserve after all. TSMC doubles down on manufacturing in the US. Return to the office is one thing, but Sergey Brin things RTO could lead to AGI, at least at Google. And Mark Gurman says there is an AI crisis inside Apple. Sponsors: Take your personal data back with Incogni! Use code RIDEHOME at the link below and get 60% off an annual plan: http://incogni.com/ridehome QualiaLife.com/ride Links: Donald Trump Names Components Of Crypto Reserve (CoinDesk) Trump, Chip Maker TSMC Expected to Announce $100 Billion Investment in U.S. (WSJ) Google’s Gemini now lets you ask questions using videos and what’s on your screen (TechCrunch) Google’s Sergey Brin Urges Workers to the Office ‘at Least’ Every Weekday (NYTimes) Peter Thiel-backed fintech Ramp nearly doubles valuation to $13bn (Financial Times) Apple’s Artificial Intelligence Efforts Reach a Make-or-Break Point (Bloomberg) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

OpenAI has launched GPT-4.5, but they want you to know, this is not a frontier model, it’s a stepping stone. Skype enters the Deadpool. Memecoins are ok by the SEC. Most criminality in crypto is now done with stablecoins. And in the Weekend Longreads Suggestions, how the MTA is using Pixel phones to do subway maintenance. Links: OpenAI announces GPT-4.5, warns it’s not a frontier AI model (The Verge) OpenAI CEO Sam Altman says the company is ‘out of GPUs’ (TechCrunch) Microsoft hangs up on Skype: service to shut down May 5, 2025 (TechCrunch) Microsoft is killing Skype after 14 years of neglect (Windows Central) Meta plans to release standalone Meta AI app in effort to compete with OpenAI’s ChatGPT (CNBC) SEC says most meme coins are not securities (CNBC) Illicit Crypto Volume in 2024 Hit a Record $40B in 2024 (CoinDesk) Meta is firing about 20 employees for leaking information (The Verge) Weekend Longreads Suggestrions: The New York City Subway Is Using Google Pixels to Listen for Track Defects (Wired) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Nvidia’s first earnings are out after the whole DeepSeek thing. Do they seem nervous or no? A pretty big price cut for the PlayStation VR2. Huge outflows from bitcoin ETFs. Can insecure code somehow make AI homicidal? And is the iPhone 16e worth your money? Links: Nvidia sales grow 78% on AI demand, company gives strong guidance (CNBC) Sony drops PlayStation VR 2 price to $399 (The Verge) Bitcoin ETFs Are Hit by a Record $1 Billion Outflow in One Day (Bloomberg) FAA targeting Verizon contract in favor of Musk’s Starlink, sources say (Washington Post) Researchers puzzled by AI that praises Nazis after training on insecure code (Ars Technica) iPhone 16E review: Eh, it’s alright (The Verge) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Amazon finally updated Alexa with generative AI. It’s called Alexa+ and it can do plenty of neat things, but unless you’re a Prime subscriber, it’s gonna cost ya. DeepSeek is rushing its next AI model to press its momentum. Zuck wants to build a $200B AI datacenter. And how the SteamDeck has created a whole new category in gaming. Sponsors: shopify.com/ride Links: Amazon announces AI-powered Alexa Plus (The Verge) Amazon unveils a new and improved Alexa, Alexa+ (TechCrunch) DeepSeek rushes to launch new AI model as China goes all in (Reuters) Meta Discusses AI Data Center Project That Could Cost $200 Billion (The Information) How North Korea pulled off a $1.5 billion crypto heist—the biggest in history (ArsTechnica) Three years later, the Steam Deck has dominated handheld PC gaming (The Verge) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Anthropic releases its latest cutting-edge model, Claude 3.7 Sonnet. Would you tolerate ads inside your Excel spreadsheet if you could use Excel for free? Why some journalists are joining AI companies. And let me introduce you to “tiny teams” the new startup meme in Silicon Valley. Links: Anthropic launches a new AI model that ‘thinks’ as long as you want (TechCrunch) AI Startup Anthropic Finalizing $3.5 Billion Funding Round (WSJ) Microsoft Quietly Launched a Free Ad-Supported Office App, and No One Noticed (Beebom) Apple’s $500 Billion U.S. Investment Is Mostly Already in the Books (WSJ) Meet the journalists training AI models for Meta and OpenAI (NeimanLab) A.I. Is Changing How Silicon Valley Builds Start-Ups (NYTimes) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Apple makes a huge investment in US manufacturing and hiring. Are SMS messages as 2-factor authentication on the way out? The biggest crypto theft of all time happened over the last few days. And why some school districts are turning to AI counseling for students. Sponsors: RobinHood.com/gold Links: Apple Will Add 20,000 US Jobs Amid Threat from Trump Tariffs (Bloomberg) Apple Abandons Budget Smartphone Market With the iPhone 16e (Bloomberg) Google Confirms Gmail To Ditch SMS Code Authentication (Forbes) Bybit Hit by Crypto’s Worst Hack With Almost $1.5 Billion Stolen (Bloomberg) Bybit Hack (CoinDesk) Microsoft Dropped Some AI Data Center Leases, TD Cowen Says (Bloomberg) When There’s No School Counselor, There’s a Bot (WSJ) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Well, kinda... But we do talk about how the show started, get a bit into the process of what I do every day. But mostly we get deep into where AI is going, my fears for silicon valley if the M&A activity doesn't pick up, why I got into investing, what it means if Silicon Valley is bigger than the government (maybe?) what it's like when that weird dude you talk to at a tech meetup becomes a billionaire, and why this is still the greatest job I've ever had. Thank you all for listening. Here's to 2,000 more episodes. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Microsoft is claiming a historical quantum breakthrough with its first quantum processor, the Majorana 1. Google is going all in on the Gemini brand. The world’s thinnest foldable phone. Rabbit releases a demo it probably should have led with. And James Bond now works for Amazon. Sponsors: Freshbooks.com/pricing-offer Take your personal data back with Incogni! Use code RIDEHOME at the link below and get 60% off an annual plan: Incogni.com/ridehome Links: Microsoft announces quantum computing breakthrough with new Majorana 1 chip (The Verge) Microsoft’s Xbox AI era starts with a model that can generate gameplay (The Verge) Google app on iOS removing Gemini as it pushes users to full app (9to5Google) The world’s thinnest foldable phone doesn’t come cheap (The Verge) Rabbit shows off the AI agent it should have launched with (The Verge) 'Bond' Producers Stepping Back From Iconic Franchise As Amazon MGM Studios Takes Creative Control (Deadline) Join us for the livestream tonight here: https://riverside.fm/studio/2000th-episode Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Apple has announced the new iPhone 16e. I’ve got all the details for you. The Humane AI Pin is definitively dead, and HP is acquiring the ashes. Yet ANOTHER potentially big new AI player. And why some Bytedance investors kind of don’t care if TikTok US gets split off. In fact, they might even prefer it. Links: Apple launches new iPhone 16e: Here’s everything you need to know (9to5Mac) All of Humane's AI pins will stop working in 10 days (Engadget) ‘Pokémon Go’ Maker Nears $3.5 Billion Deal to Sell Games Unit (Bloomberg) Mira Murati debuts Thinking Machines Lab, her AI startup (Axios) ByteDance's US Backers Say China Growth to Counter Any TikTok Ban Damage (Bloomberg) Can AI Predict the Next Big IPO? Crunchbase Thinks So. (WSJ) 2000th episode livestream link: https://riverside.fm/studio/2000th-episode AI Engineer Summit Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

xAI and Elon Musk have launched Grok-3, their cutting-edge AI model. Is it really a step forward? It’s really the cutting-edge? Andrej Karpathy is gonna tell us. The first tri-foldable phone is here. Is there a new huge AI player? And how Apple’s move to manufacture in India is going. Sponsors: MackWeldon.com Promocode: BRIAN Links: Elon Musk’s xAI releases its latest flagship model, Grok 3 (TechCrunch) Impressions of Grok-3 (@karpathy) Huawei’s trifold phone launches outside of China (The Verge) Trump tariffs result in 10% laptop price hike in U.S. says Acer CEO (Tom's Hardware) OpenAI Co-Founder Sutskever’s Startup Is Fundraising at $30 Billion-Plus Valuation (Bloomberg) Apple’s quiet pivot to India (FT) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The vultures are circling Intel, if that’s not too aggressive an analogy. OpenAI’s board officially rejects Elon’s bid. Zelle is quietly the biggest player in P2P payments. Everybody wants to go after robotics as the next big thing. And why over a thousand tech unicorns are in trouble. Sponsors: QualiaLife.com/ride and code RIDE at checkout Links: TSMC Considers Running Intel’s US Factories After Trump Team Request (Bloomberg) Broadcom, TSMC Weigh Possible Intel Deals That Would Split Storied Chip Maker (WSJ) OpenAI Rejects Elon Musk’s $97.4 Billion Bid for Control of the Company (NYTimes) Zelle payments top $1 trillion in 2024 as network’s growth outpaces rivals including PayPal (CNBC) TikTok Grabs Market Share From Shein Despite Looming Risks (Bloomberg) Meta Plans Major Investment Into AI-Powered Humanoid Robots (Bloomberg) Apple and Meta Are Set to Battle Over Humanoid Robots (Bloomberg) The Unicorn Boom Is Over, and Startups Are Getting Desperate (Bloomberg) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

TikTok is back in the app stores. But the biggest news is that Arm is going to make its own chips, thereby upending how the entire semiconductor industry has been constituted. Why Reddit has been killing it lately. And in the Weekend Longreads Suggestions, what if TikTok, but for Wikipedia? Sponsors: Tonal.com promocode RIDE for $200 off Links: Apple, Google Restore TikTok App After Assurances From Trump (Bloomberg) Arm to launch its own chip in move that could upend semiconductor industry (Financial Times) Shein IPO plans hit by Trump’s low-cost parcels crackdown (Financial Times) AI Licensing Deals With Google and OpenAI Make Up 10% of Reddit's Revenue (AdWeek) Weekend Longreads Suggestions: Forget DeepSeek. Large language models are getting cheaper still (The Economist) How a resurgent Walmart saw off the Amazon threat (Financial Times) Developer creates endless Wikipedia feed to fight algorithm addiction (Ars Technica) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We maybe have a roadmap for GPT-5, but also, is it not really GPT-5 just a renaming of what they already have in the pipeline? It’s kind of weird. Elon gives his conditions for dropping his takeover bid. Utility companies say the AI hype is real, but what if, in the end, the end users don’t actually show up? Sponsors: Shopify.com/ride Links: OpenAI postpones its o3 AI model in favor of a ‘unified’ next-gen release (TechCrunch) Elon Musk will withdraw bid for OpenAI’s nonprofit if its board agrees to terms (TechCrunch) Musk, Altman Spar Over $97.4 Billion OpenAI Bid in Court Filings (Bloomberg) The Apple TV app is now available on Android: watch Apple TV+ and MLS Season Pass (9to5Mac) Meta Opens Facebook Marketplace to Rivals in EU Antitrust Clash (Bloomberg) Data Center Power Demand Almost Doubled in Virginia, Utility Says (Bloomberg) AI Agents Are Everywhere…and Nowhere (WSJ) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The first big AI legal ruling has come down, and it might not be good news for AI startups. Apple launches its biggest health study yet. This one weird trick that tech companies are using to make their AI spending seem not so expensive. And Matt Levine on the whole Elon buying OpenAI thing. Sponsors: Kinsta.com/brian FactorMeals.com/ride50off Links: Thomson Reuters Wins First Major AI Copyright Case in the US (Wired) Apple Plans to Learn More About Your Holistic Health With Its New Apple Health Study. You Can Enroll Now (CNET) Meta In Talks To Buy Korean AI Chip Startup Founded By Samsung Engineer (Forbes) Meta Accounting Move on AI Servers to Boost Profit This Year (Bloomberg) Sam Altman Dismisses Elon Musk’s Bid to Buy OpenAI in Letter to Staff (Wired) Sure Elon Musk Might Buy OpenAI (Matt Levine/Bloomberg) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Elon makes an unsolicited bid to buy OpenAI, or at least the non-profit that controls it, and maybe he doesn’t really want to own it, it’s complicated. I’ll explain. YouTube continues to be the biggest thing in media. Forget smartwatches, get ready for smart earbuds. And the crazy cheap Chinese EVs can now do crazy cheap self-driving too! Sponsors: 1Password.com/ride Links: Elon Musk-Led Group Makes $97.4 Billion Bid for Control of OpenAI (WSJ) Exclusive: OpenAI is not for sale, CEO Sam Altman says (Axios) Musk’s $97.4 Billion OpenAI Bid Piles Pressure on Sam Altman (WSJ) YouTube Surprise: CEO Says TV Overtakes Mobile as “Primary Device” for Viewing (THR) Google Calendar removed events like Pride and BHM because its holiday list wasn’t ‘sustainable’ (The Verge) Powerbeats Pro 2 Debut With Heart Rate Monitoring, H2 Chip, Active Noise Cancellation, and More (MacRumors) Chinese EV leader BYD to offer ‘God’s Eye’ self-driving system on all models (FT) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

According to the Super Bowl ad I saw last night, anyone can use Starlink on their phone soon, not just T-Mobile users. Was this the Super Bowl of crypto-betting? Are we seeing the first signs that AI is stealing jobs from tech workers? And a behind the scenes tale of how Sam Altman outflanked Elon Musk. Sponsors: Timeline.com/ride Links: T-Mobile to Charge $15 Per Month for Starlink Satellite Texting Feature (Bloomberg) Polymarket Bettors Punt $1.1B on Superbowl Results, Despite Regulatory Overhang (CoinDesk) Exclusive: OpenAI set to finalize first custom chip design this year (Reuters) IT Unemployment Rises to 5.7% as AI Hits Tech Jobs (WSJ) Exclusive: Anthropic's "index" tracks AI economy (Axios) Christie’s announces AI art auction, and not everyone is pleased (TechCrunch) How Sam Altman Sidestepped Elon Musk to Win Over Donald Trump (NYTimes) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

(Omnibus) Week Of 02/03/2025 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Is the UK government about to force Apple to put backdoors into all of our iPhones? Tallying up the Tech Earnings week of CAPEX announcements. We might get a new iPhone next week. The Weekend Longreads suggestions. And listen to the end of the show cause I’m running an experiment. Sponsors: IQBar. Text TECHMEME to 64000 Links: U.K. orders Apple to let it spy on users’ encrypted accounts (Washington Post) Amazon plans to spend $100 billion this year to capture ‘once in a lifetime opportunity’ in AI (CNBC) Tech Giants Double Down on Their Massive AI Spending (WSJ) Apple’s Long-Awaited Overhaul of iPhone SE Nears Release (Bloomberg) Softbank set to invest $40 billion in OpenAI at $260 billion valuation, sources say (CNBC) Weekend Longreads Suggestions: How is Fortnite's Attempt to Become the YouTube of Gaming Going? (Posting Nexus) The Sims Turned Players Into Gods. And Farmers. And Vampires. And Landlords. (NYTimes) Signup to the Premium Feed at tech.supercast.tech Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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

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

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

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