(Omnibus) Week Of 02/03/2025
(Omnibus) Week Of 02/03/2025 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Feb 08, 2025•1 hr 19 min
Tech Brew Ride Home
Silicon Valley's water cooler podcast. A tech news summary every day... 15 minutes and you're up to date. From Tech Brew, Morning Brew's tech hub.
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Episodes
Fri. 02/07 – UK Backdoor Into iPhones?
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...
Feb 07, 2025•20 min
Thu. 02/06 – A $50 (!!) AI Model?
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 ...
Feb 06, 2025•17 min
Wed. 02/05 – Shein And Temu In Deep Trouble
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 ...
Feb 05, 2025•16 min
Tue. 02/04 – Uncle Sam As A VC?
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...
Feb 04, 2025•16 min
Mon. 02/03 – OpenAI Deep Research
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) Sh...
Feb 03, 2025•17 min
(BNS) Terra Trust And How To Build In Uncertain Times
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
Feb 01, 2025•39 min
Fri. 01/31 – Zuck’s Complaints About Leaks… Leaks
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...
Jan 31, 2025•19 min
Thu. 01/30 – Everyone Reports Earnings But Wall Street Only Wants Capex Answers.
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) ...
Jan 30, 2025•18 min
Wed. 01/29 – OpenAI Says: No Copying!
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 sur...
Jan 29, 2025•17 min
Tue. 01/28 – Day 2 Of The DeepSeek Era
More fallout from the DeepSeek realignment of everybody’s thinking about AI. Could this be a signal that the large model business model is over and value is going to be in the application layer? Pebble lives! Spotify says it pays out tons, but does it really? And the network of AI local news newsletters. Sponsors: Robinhood.com/gold Links: Viral AI company DeepSeek releases new image model family (TechCrunch) Smartwatch pioneer and Kickstarter darling Pebble is returning in a new form (TechCrunc...
Jan 28, 2025•18 min
Mon. 01/27 – Why DeepSeek Has Stunned Silicon Valley (And Wall Street)
It’s one of those days where there’s only one story. Maybe you saw that tech stocks got obliterated today. I’m here to tell you why. It’s solely because of DeepSeek and Chinese AI tech generally. How this tech is making people think twice about the AI boom, what DeepSeek did that is different and how this could affect all of Silicon Valley. Sponsors: TryJoyMode.com and use code RIDE Links: China’s DeepSeek Tops iPhone Downloads and Spurs AI Selloff (Bloomberg) The Short Case for Nvidia Stock (Je...
Jan 27, 2025•17 min
Fri. 01/24 – Operator AI
OpenAI releases its agentic bot that can do things on your behalf on your computer. Has the Stargate controversy driven a rift between Musk and Trump? Will the US government create a strategic crypto stockpile? And, of course, the Weekend Longreads Suggestions. Sponsors: MackWeldon.com promocode: BRIAN Links: OpenAI’s new Operator AI agent can do things on the web for you (The Verge) We Tried OpenAI’s New Agent—Here’s What We Found (Every) Trump staff ‘furious’ after Musk trashes AI project (Pol...
Jan 24, 2025•17 min
Thu. 01/23 – “Humanity’s Last Exam”
Ok, that whole AI datacenter joint venture thing seems to have gotten messy. A ByteDance board member thinks TikTok might have a way out without selling. Netflix rakes in a bunch of Oscar nominations. And humanity’s final exam has been formulated to see when AI has actually graduated to true intelligence. Sponsors: Qualialife.com/ride and code ride Links: OpenAI, SoftBank Each Commit $19 Billion to Stargate Data Center Venture (The Information) OpenAI’s Stargate Deal Heralds Shift Away From Micr...
Jan 23, 2025•17 min
Wed. 01/22 – The Galaxy S25 Lineup
All the headlines from today’s Samsung event, including the S25 lineup. The Silk Road creator gets a pardon. A huge joint venture for a new AI datacenter effort. Will Elon take half of TikTok and the US the other half? And guess what? Netflix is raising prices again. Sponsors: Timeline.com/ride Links: The Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra smooths out some sharp edges (The Verge) Trump Pardons Creator of Silk Road Drug Marketplace (NYTimes) OpenAI teams up with SoftBank and Oracle on $500B data center pro...
Jan 22, 2025•16 min
Tue. 01/21 – TikTok Lives?
Alright, I’ll sum up everything that happened this weekend with TikTik, but also get to all of the changes the new Trump administration has made, which is relating to tech, in just the past 24 hours. How folks are trying to eat TikTok’s lunch. Should Apple buy Sonos? And the IMDB loses its founder after 25 years. Sponsors: IQBar text TECHMEME to 64000 1Password.com/ride Links: Trump signs order refusing to enforce TikTok ban for 75 days (The Verge) Trump signs executive order to halt TikTok ban,...
Jan 21, 2025•16 min
(BNS) Senator Ron Wyden On TikTok, AI, Regulation And His New Book
I speak to Senator Ron Wyden about the TikTok ban, AI and regulation, tech regulation in general, and his new book: It Takes Chutzpah: How to Fight Fearlessly for Progressive Change Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jan 18, 2025•22 min
Fri. 01/17 – TikTok Loses In The Supreme Court
The Supreme Court rules against TikTok, but at this point, I think this is all kabuki theater. Somehow TikTok is going to survive. Bumble’s founder returns to the company. Is Apple Intelligence really working for anyone? Does anyone care that the Chinese have allegedly hacked everything at this point? And, of course, The Weekend Longreads suggestions. Sponsors: MackWeldon.com promocode BRIAN Links: Supreme Court Upholds Law That Threatens US TikTok Ban (Bloomberg) Bumble Founder Whitney Wolfe He...
Jan 17, 2025•17 min
Thu. 01/16 – Nintendo Switch 2
Nintendo finally takes the wraps off the Switch 2. Everybody seems to want to give TikTok more time, but can they find a way to do it? A big new AI research lab. A check in with Nothing. The company, I mean. And the weird story of when Walgreens tries to replace refrigerator doors with smartscreens. Sponsors: TryJoyMode.com and code RIDE at checkout Links: Here’s the Nintendo Switch 2 (The Verge) Trump considers executive order hoping to ‘save TikTok’ from ban or sale in U.S. law (Washington Pos...
Jan 16, 2025•16 min
Wed. 01/15 – SEC Sues Elon Musk
The SEC is suing Elon Musk. Big AI insertions in Microsoft Copilot, Google Workspace and even LinkedIn. How TikTok plans to handle the immediate aftermath of a shutdown. Another new Instagram alternative. And have your AirPods been misbehaving? Here’s what Apple did without telling anyone. Sponsors: Shopify.com/ride Links: Musk Accused by SEC of Cheating Twitter Investors Out of Millions (Bloomberg) Microsoft relaunches Copilot for business with free AI chat and pay-as-you-go agents (The Verge) ...
Jan 15, 2025•17 min
Tue. 01/14 – Could Elon Buy TikTok?
Break out your 2025 headline bingo cards. Did you have Elon Musk maybe buying TikTok on there? You’re a better bingo player than I am. Is the EU going to back off Tech in the Trump era? More layoffs come to Meta. The big streaming sports play that isn’t gonna happen now. And why is Barcelona a hub for spyware companies? Sponsors: LinkedIn.com/ride Links: China Weighs Sale of TikTok US to Musk as a Possible Option (Bloomberg) EU reassesses tech probes into Apple, Google and Meta (Financial Times)...
Jan 14, 2025•17 min
Mon. 01/13 – Nvidia Isn’t Happy With New Chip Rules
The Biden administration unveils its long planned new chip export rules, and Nvidia isn’t happy. That whole botched Sonos app debacle has cost the CEO his job. Why we might not see blockbuster tech IPOs this year. Why some of Nvidia’s customers are returning Blackwell chips. And say hello to China’s answer to Instagram. Sponsors: Robinhood.com/gold Links: US imposes export controls on chips for AI to counter China (FT) Sonos CEO Leaving After Botched App Revamp Led to Customer Revolt (Bloomberg)...
Jan 13, 2025•16 min
(BNS) Simon Willison And SWYX Tell Us Where AI Is In 2025
The great Simon Willison joins SWYX and I to talk about everything we learned about LLMs in 2024, and what the state of AI is generally, as we go into 2025. Here is Simon's blog post we keep referring to: https://simonwillison.net/2024/Dec/31... 00:00 The State of AI in 2025 10:05 The Evolution of AI Models 19:54 Challenges in AI Agents 30:07 The Future of AI in Creative Industries 38:29 The Rise of AI Influencers 40:54 Credibility in the Age of AI 43:15 The Future of User Interfaces for LLMs 51...
Jan 11, 2025•1 hr 17 min
Fri. 01/10 – The Controversies Continue
All the controversies continue. I’ll update you on the Meta moderation controversy. The latest twist in the WordPress brouhaha. The TikTok thing is coming to a head right now as we speak, in the form of Supreme Court arguments. Asking again if the business model of Triple A gaming development is broken. And, of course, the Weekend Longreads Suggestions. Sponsors: Qualialife.com/ride and code ride Links: Mark Zuckerberg gave Meta’s Llama team the OK to train on copyrighted works, filing claims (T...
Jan 10, 2025•18 min
Thu. 01/09 – The Wildfire App Everyone In LA Has Been Using
Big new zero day to tell you about. Apple says Siri is safe, honest. Google rolls out an AI Daily Listen audio feature. Looking at the next wave of wearable AI. And let me tell you about WatchDuty, the app everyone in LA was using overnight. Sponsors: Timeline.com/ride33 Links: Hackers are exploiting a new Ivanti VPN security bug to hack into company networks (TechCrunch) Apple says Siri isn’t sending your conversations to advertisers (The Verge) Google’s ‘Daily Listen’ lab is a personalized pod...
Jan 09, 2025•16 min
Wed. 01/08 – Fallout From Meta’s Content Moderation Changes
Tons and tons of controversy and fallout from Meta’s announced content moderation changes yesterday. I’ve got I think a fair, comprehensive rundown of all the angles. Interesting new rounds for Bluesky and Anthropic. And the coolest stuff I’ve seen from CES thus far, including: are rollable laptop screens finally ready for prime time? Sponsors: Acorns.com/ride Links: Meta’s fact-checking changes are just what Trump’s FCC head asked for (The Verge) Social-Media Companies Decide Content Moderation...
Jan 08, 2025•17 min
Tue. 01/07 – Nvidia Still Takes CES Seriously
Meta is completely revamping its fact-checking program, going instead with a version of Community Notes. A new Tesla recall, but for a different reason. Dell is taking rebranding to new, Google-like lows. All the headlines from a jam-packed Nvidia keynote. And what about an AI copilot but for gaming? Sponsors: LinkedIn.com/ride Links: US opens probe into 2.6 million Tesla vehicles over remote driving feature (Reuters) Getty Images and Shutterstock agree to merge (Axios) Getty Images and Shutters...
Jan 07, 2025•18 min
Mon. 01/06 – Sam Altman Is Already Moving Past AGI
Sam Altman says AGI isn’t cool. You know what’s cool? Superintelligence. Why is nobody using Meta’s AI profiles? Keep an eye on Zuck, is my advice. The big trend at CES so far is AI inside smart TVs. And our first day wrap up of some of the cool things we’ve seen so far at CES. Sponsors: Oracle.com/techmeme Links: Reflections (Sam Altman's Blog) Meta's AI Profiles Are Indistinguishable From Terrible Spam That Took Over Facebook (404 Media) Samsung spreads Vision AI across its 2025 TV portfolio (...
Jan 06, 2025•17 min
Fri. 01/03 – Turns Out, Siri WAS Listening To You!
Apple pays a fine cause Siri was listening in on what you said. Strava does a tie-in with Apple Fitness+. Net Neutrality is dead again, and it looks like for good this time. The nuclear winter in the VC space, CES is coming for us all, and a Weekend Longreads Suggestion. Links: Apple to pay $95 million to settle Siri privacy lawsuit (Reuters) Apple Fitness Plus and Strava are collaborating with a new integration (The Verge) US appeals court blocks Biden administration effort to restore net-neutr...
Jan 03, 2025•18 min
(BNS) The Golden Girls - With Christina Warren
Among other things, learn how Miami Vice inspired the Golden Girls, how the Golden Girls helped finance the making of the movie Reservoir Dogs, whether or not Betty White and Bea Arthur hated each other, where the Golden Girls house was, and the real ages of the actresses when they were playing Golden Girls. Special guest, Christina Warren, @film_girl ! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices...
Jan 01, 2025•1 hr 2 min
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