(Preview) xAI Buys X, The Bitter Lesson for Everyone, Everywhere, Google’s Only Hope in AI

Sharp Tech with Ben Thompson

Mar 31, 2025•13 min

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Episode description

Thoughts on both X and xAI in the wake of Friday’s announcement from Elon Musk, Chat GPT’s image capabilities and whether AI-adjacent SaaS companies will ever have a moat, and emailers offer counterpoints on Sam Altman’s ads answer and the notion that Google can’t make great products anymore. At the end: Should Substack serve ads?, answers on Israeli cybersecurity, and more on Steve Jobs and Studio Ghibli.

To email the show: email@sharptech.fm

@SharpTechPodcast Channel — YouTube

@Stratechery Channel — YouTube

Musk Merges His AI Company With X, Claiming Combined Value of $113 Billion — Wall Street Journal

Thread from @realEstateTrent — X

Stevey's Google Platforms Rant — Github Gist

ChatGPT 4o Adds Image Generation and It’s Fun as Hell — Daring Fireball

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