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 Billio...
Feb 19, 2025•17 min
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 o...
Feb 18, 2025•17 min
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 Spli...
Feb 17, 2025•17 min
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 in...
Feb 14, 2025•18 min
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...
Feb 13, 2025•18 min
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 H...
Feb 12, 2025•16 min
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 Al...
Feb 11, 2025•17 min
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...
Feb 10, 2025•16 min
(Omnibus) Week Of 02/03/2025 See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .
Feb 08, 2025•1 hr 18 min
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 opportuni...
Feb 07, 2025•19 min
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 Go...
Feb 06, 2025•16 min
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 Ve...
Feb 05, 2025•16 min
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 In...
Feb 04, 2025•16 min
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 &n...
Feb 03, 2025•17 min
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. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info ....
Feb 01, 2025•38 min
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 ...
Jan 31, 2025•18 min
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 &...
Jan 30, 2025•18 min
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...
Jan 29, 2025•17 min
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 &nbs...
Jan 28, 2025•18 min
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 Nvid...
Jan 27, 2025•16 min
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 trash...
Jan 24, 2025•16 min
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 Fro...
Jan 23, 2025•17 min
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 dat...
Jan 22, 2025•16 min
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 hal...
Jan 21, 2025•16 min
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 See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info ....
Jan 18, 2025•21 min
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 Whit...
Jan 17, 2025•16 min
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 &nb...
Jan 16, 2025•16 min
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 ...
Jan 15, 2025•16 min
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 (Fina...
Jan 14, 2025•16 min
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  ...
Jan 13, 2025•16 min
