This is a free preview of a premium episode. To subscribe to Down Round Premium and get access, head here . While the northern hemisphere is on summer holiday, we grind. Given there's not much tech news floating around as a result, we continued the discussion of AI from last episode – this time getting wildly philosophical about legal rights and the art of creation. With a few diversions along the way ;). Links I Made This – Hypercritical See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information....
Jul 11, 2024•3 min
Over the past few weeks, several equity reports – from the likes of Goldman Sachs and Barclays – have sounded the alarm on the amount of capital expenditure currently being spent by the tech industry on building out AI capacity. Analysts and investors are asking: how are you going to pay for all this? And how long do we have to wait for that? In this ep, we talk about the current discourse, connect it to the dot com bubble, and arrive at a 100% correct take no one could possibly dispute. See omn...
Jul 09, 2024•36 min
Australia's experiment with forcing big tech to pay media companies like Nine and News Corp for content is running into choppy waters, as Meta refuses to play ball and Google seems less keen on news than it once was. In this episode, we catch up with the media and how it's handling today's dynamics of the internet and – especially – the new era of AI deals. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Jul 03, 2024•43 min
Nuclear is in the air. (Not literally.) In Australia, politicians are debating it, while a huge range of nuclear startups are ruling it out for funding and attention. In this episode, we chat about nuclear power and how the tech industry is talking about it. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Jun 27, 2024•4 min
Nvidia is the engine room of the AI moment, but they are struggling a little right now. The stock underwent a massive correction this week, and founder Jensen Huang is reportedly worried that the gravy train is about to end. We used that as an excuse to dive into a few interesting trends going on in AI, Apple's moves, whether the hype is matching the product, and what it all means. Note: we said in this episode that Apple was striking an AI deal with Meta, but now Bloomberg is saying it ain't so...
Jun 25, 2024•38 min
Tencent is one of the largest and most valuable companies on earth, with operations that touch just about every part of the digital economy in China and beyond. From WeChat to gaming to film production to payments, Tencent continues to expand far beyond its original station as a Chinese app developer. In this ep, we take a tour through Tencent, including its weird connections to a South African company. Classic Down Round material. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information....
Jun 18, 2024•28 min
This is a free preview of a premium episode. To subscribe to Down Round Premium and get access, head here . You thought that because COVID was long over you could stop hearing about GameStop. Wrong! Keith "RoaringKitty" Gill has returned, and the notorious meme stock has been pumping as a result. We took this as an excuse to revisit the GameStop story from the beginning, exploring the factors which led to the original phenomenon. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information....
Jun 13, 2024•5 min
This week, Apple held the keynote at its annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC), where it traditionally announces its upcoming software updates. As predicted, the company announced its moves into generative AI – which it is bundling under the name Apple Intelligence – alongside a partnership with OpenAI. In this ep, we dive into the announcements, and what they mean for Apple going forward. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information....
Jun 11, 2024•57 min
This is a free preview of a premium episode. To subscribe to Down Round Premium and get access, head here . A few weeks ago, Microsoft announced its new Surface Laptop with Copilot + PC, which it intends to be a direct competitor with the MacBook Air. On the one hand, it's an interesting attempt to get Windows PCs back into competition. ON the other hand, it's also an attempt by Microsoft to wind LLMs an AI into its operating system. In this ep, we talk about the Apple/Microsoft rivalry, and whe...
Jun 07, 2024•4 min
For a long time, it wasn't a great look for startups and big tech – outside of companies like Microsoft – to openly work with the military-industrial complex. That was for contractors like Raytheon and General Dynamics. Tech generally maintained the sunny disposition that it was better to enable world peace through well targeted digital ads. That has changed, and startups like Anduril are now positioning themselves as a new generation of military supplier, marrying Silicon Valley innovation with...
Jun 04, 2024•45 min
In the first part of a two-part episode on Google and OpenAI's tough PR challenges of the past couple of weeks, we dive into Google's launch of AI summaries on the web, which led the venerable search engine to recommend pregnant women blast cigs and amateur chefs to mix glue into their pizza sauce. We chat about the rocky launch, what it means for Google, and how it might affect the web going forward. Later this week, premium subscribers can hear us talk about OpenAI's fight with Scarlett Johans...
May 29, 2024•36 min
It's time for another edition of DOWN ROUND Q&A. We solicited questions from both or premium members in Discord and our followers on X, and today we're answering them for you. We cover everything from macOS to LLMs to Boeing and smart homes. Links Down Round on X Down Round on Instagram Down Round on TikTok Sign up for Down Round Premium See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information....
May 21, 2024•52 min
This is a free preview of a premium episode. To subscribe to Down Round Premium and get access, head here . The pain for the gaming industry doesn't seem over, with Xbox closing studios, more layoffs, Sony fighting with its fanbase and growth looking sluggish. It raises one big question: has blockbuster game development outrun its ability to actually make money? In this episode, we return to the world of gaming to discuss Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo, the increasingly fraught big budget gaming f...
May 16, 2024•5 min
Apple and Google are both on the precipice of announcing deeper integration of generative AI into their respective operating systems. Google's IO conference is this week, and reporting abounds that Apple has inked a deal with OpenAI to integrate GPT with iOS. There's a big question as to whether they're doing this because users actually want it, or because investors and the market thinks they should. In this episode, we talk about Google and Apple, what their AI implementations might look like, ...
May 14, 2024•50 min
This is a free preview of a premium episode. To subscribe to Down Round Premium and get access, head here . Quantum computing has been a research and academic pursuit for decades, but it has been picking up buzz over the last few years as both big tech companies and smaller startups get into the space. The Australian government recently announced a $1 billion investment into quantum startup PsiQuantum, which gives us an excuse to talk about it. What is quantum computing? Is it actually useful? C...
May 09, 2024•5 min
Anyone who lives in Australia would be aware of Foxtel's new streaming box Hubbl, thanks to an absolutely overwhelming ad campaign pitching it. We talk about the Hubbl, and use it as an excuse to dive into streaming more generally, and what's been going on since the last time we talked about it. Links Foxtel faces its streaming apocalypse – AFR Down Round on X Down Round on Instagram Down Round on TikTok Sign up for Down Round Premium See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information....
May 07, 2024•52 min
Well, it happened: the US passed legislation to force ByteDance to divest TikTok in the country. Now, the company technically has 12 months to make it happen. But is that the end of the story? In this episode, we discuss how we arrived at this point, what avenues TikTok has left, and who or what might acquire TikTok if it comes down to that. Links TikTok could soon be sold. Here's how much it's worth and who could buy it. – CBS Byte-Dance was told to sell TikTok or face a ban. There are legal co...
Apr 30, 2024•50 min
Everything is chatbots now. Every company must become a purveyor of bespoke chatbots.The latest cab off the rank is Meta, which just unveiled Llama 3 , the latest version of its open source LLM. But this time they have integrated it deeply into Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram, whacking a big nasty chatbox over the searchbar in all these apps. In this episode, we talk about Meta's strategy in AI, and what Zuck might be cooking. Links The Dwarkesh pod with Zuckerberg Down Round on X Down Round on...
Apr 23, 2024•42 min
This is a free preview of a premium episode. To subscribe to Down Round Premium and get access, head here . As Downies will know well, one of the themes we're keeping an eye on is the number of products and product categories that are trying to replace the smartphone, which has been lagging in sales and hype of late. Two devices which pitched a bold new path forward are the Humane AI Pin and the Apple Vision Pro. Based on reviews, neither of them are looking very good at all. We discuss. Links H...
Apr 19, 2024•6 min
Over the past few weeks, there has been a surprising amount of movement in the AI music space. Suno and Udio are two lavishly funded AI music generation startups which just launched new models, which allow you to make songs in a wide range of genres from prompts. While not perfect, they both sound pretty good. At the same time, Spotify is trialling AI-generated playlists, seemingly laying the groundwork for their own generative music. In this ep, we talk about the new models and what they might ...
Apr 16, 2024•49 min
This week, we're joined by Kyle Harrison , who is General Partner at Contrary , a US venture capital fund. As well as investing, Kyle writes the newsletter Investing 101 2.0 , where he shares his various insights into the VC ecosystem – including where, in his view, it's all gone wrong. Kyle joins us to chat about the state of VC after the end of the tech boom, why he doesn't think anyone has learned their lesson, and what he thinks will happen with AI on both the tech and the investment side. L...
Apr 09, 2024•1 hr 3 min
This is a free preview of a premium episode. To subscribe to Down Round Premium and get access, head here . Sometimes a company merges with or acquires another, and it turns out to be a bad idea. That's OK. We all make stupid decisions. There's nothing to be ashamed of, even when we're talking about multibillion-dollar deals. Some of these bad acquisitions aren't just about a culture mismatch or poor due diligence, though. Some of them speak to executives making a bet on the future of the econom...
Apr 04, 2024•6 min
One of the great turnarounds in 21st century was the tobacco industry's shift toward a so-called 'smokeless' future – agreeing that cigs are pretty bad for you, and that a range of hi-tech vapes could be a less bad replacement. Of course, it hasn't actually worked out that well, with public health bodies and governments around the world cracking down on vapes for targeting kids with flashy influencer marketing campaigns and cool flavours. In this ep we talk about the rise of vapes, the changing ...
Apr 02, 2024•43 min
This is a free preview of a premium episode. To subscribe to Down Round Premium and get access, head here . This week, we're back on Apple. There are two big reasons: one, they're being sued by the United States on antitrust grounds. And secondly, multiple news reports suggest they are looking for a partner in the generative AI space – which might be Google, or Anthropic, or any number of others. We dig into these two stories, and what they say about the current state of tech – and why AI might ...
Mar 28, 2024•6 min
Last week, it was reported that Elon Musk's Neuralink had successfully allowed a patient to play chess with his mind. It represents a small – and maybe a tad overhyped – step towards the company's goal for a full brain computer interface. In this ep, we discuss Neuralink, brain-computer interfaces, and exactly what Musk and others in the space are trying to achieve. Also, the big question: who is the market? Links Elon Musk wants to merge humans with AI. How many brains will be damaged along the...
Mar 26, 2024•39 min
This is a free preview of a premium episode. To subscribe to Down Round Premium and get access, head here . Dropbox. There's a name you probably haven't thought about in a while. Once among the hottest startups on Earth, it lost some of its lustre once every major company in the world began offering consumer and enterprise cloud storage. But it's still alive, kicking and profitable – and making a pivot to AI. In this ep, we talk about Dropbox and the other cloud storage businesses of the 2000s a...
Mar 21, 2024•3 min
This week we're looking at BYD, the Chinese battery maker turned electric vehicle behemoth, which is now the world's biggest EV maker. Following on from our premium episode about the Apple Car a couple of weeks ago, we talk about the current state of the EV market, how BYD found success, and why the world is still relatively slow on the uptake of electric cars. Always remember: build your dreams, folks. Links Tesla overtaken by China’s BYD as world’s biggest EV maker – FT See omnystudio.com/list...
Mar 19, 2024•47 min
Well folks, it's happening again. The US is threatening to ban TikTok. A bill is currently worming its way through Congress which would ban the app unless it fully divested itself from ByteDance, its Chinese parent company. This led TikTok to engage battle stations, and launch probably the stupidest PR campaign in recent history. In this episode, we talk TikTok, make predictions about a ban, and pontificate on its effect on politics and culture. Links TikTok Prompts Users to Call Congress to Fig...
Mar 12, 2024•45 min
This is a free preview of a premium episode. To subscribe to Down Round Premium and get access, head here . The fabled Apple car – also known as Project Titan – is no more. After working on it for the last 10 years and blowing $10 billion, the company internally announced that it would scrap the project and reassign many of its staff to generative AI. In this ep, we talk about the Apple car project: why it was originally imagined, what it sought to do, and why it ultimately didn't work out. Link...
Mar 07, 2024•5 min
One less discussed angle of the rise of AI and widely available LLMs is the relationship dimension. From ChatGPT's personalisation features to AI chatbots on Meta platforms, through to porn and sexbots, many people are using AI for companionship. It's big business too, with The Information reporting that pornbot providers are one category of AI company which are growing without the need for external investment. To unpack the weird world of AI companionship, some of the rising companies in the sp...
Mar 05, 2024•54 min
