Tech Brew Ride Home

China is stirring the pot on the tech trade wars once again. Sora has grown faster than even ChatGPT did. Is OpenAI now better at vibe coding than Anthropic is? How just a handful of malicious documents and poison an LLM. And in the longreads, the one game that has the fate of EA on its shoulders. China blacklists major chip research firm TechInsights following report on Huawei (CNBC) OpenAI’s Sora hit 1 million downloads in less than five days (CNBC) OpenAI Is Catching Up To Anthropic in AI Coding (The Information) Meta Tells Its Metaverse Workers to Use AI to ‘Go 5X Faster’ (Wired) It's trivially easy to poison LLMs into spitting out gibberish, says Anthropic (The Register) Kalshi, a Prediction Market, Raises Funds and Expands Overseas (NYTimes) Weekend Longreads Suggestions: Battlefield 6 is a pivotal moment for the series — and EA (The Verge) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Intel tries to punch its way back to relevancy with the release of Panther Lake, the first chip built on its 18A process. Is Cursor so successful it’s about to rocket to a $30 billion valuation? Big raise for a US Deep Seek competitor? And are we starting to get the first models moving beyond attention based architecture? Here is Panther Lake, Intel’s 2026 laptop chip with next-gen graphics (The Verge) Intel Debuts New Technology in Make-or-Break Moment for CEO’s Turnaround Bid (Bloomberg) Discord says 70,000 users may have had their government IDs leaked in breach (The Verge) Cursor-Maker Anysphere Considers Investment Offers at $30 Billion Valuation (The Information) Reflection AI, an A.I. Model Start-Up, Raises $2 Billion (NYTimes) Samsung AI researcher's new, open reasoning model TRM outperforms models 10,000X larger — on specific problems (VentureBeat) Microsoft Tries to Catch Up in AI With Healthcare Push, Harvard Deal (WSJ) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

More on the circular nature of the recent AI deals. AI now accounts for more debt issuance than US banks. AI companies consider using the billions they’ve raised to pay off lawsuits since they can’t get insurance. Another way OpenAI is the new Microsoft. And at the end? Look at that! A non-AI story! OpenAI, Nvidia Fuel $1 Trillion AI Market With Web of Circular Deals (Bloomberg) Nvidia’s Huang says he’s surprised AMD offered OpenAI 10% of company in ‘clever’ deal (CNBC) At $1.2 Trillion, More High-Grade Debt Now Tied to AI Than Banks (Bloomberg) Without data centers, GDP growth was 0.1% in the first half of 2025, Harvard economist says (Fortune) Insurers balk at multibillion-dollar claims faced by OpenAI and Anthropic (Financial Times) OpenAI Sneezes, and Software Firms Catch a Cold (Wired) Amazon Pharmacy introduces kiosks that can quickly dispense medications at the doctor’s office (GeekWire) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Forget building apps on TOP of ChatGPT, now they’ve put the apps INSIDE of ChatGPT. Why this is a play for ChatGPT to become the Windows of the AI era. The prediction market market continues to explode. Turning down the volume on streaming ads. And why Mr. Beast is worried about AI social media. OpenAI announces Apps SDK allowing ChatGPT to launch and run third party apps like Zillow, Canva, Spotify (VentureBeat) OpenAI’s Windows Play (Stratechery) NYSE Owner to Invest Up to $2 Billion in Polymarket (WSJ) California law forces Netflix, Hulu to turn down ad volumes (Politico) MrBeast says AI could threaten creators’ livelihoods, calling it ‘scary times’ for the industry (TechCrunch) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Another huge OpenAI deal, this time with AMD. The huge amount of chips Elon is buying for his Colossus II. It’s not just compute! How the AI boom is driving up prices for memory and storage chips. And does the math work out for those new fangled small nuclear reactors? AMD stock skyrockets 30% as OpenAI looks to take stake in AI chipmaker (CNBC) Elon Musk Gambles Billions in Memphis to Catch Up on AI (WSJ) AI data centers are swallowing the world's memory and storage supply, setting the stage for a pricing apocalypse that could last a decade (Tom's Hardware) OpenAI and Jony Ive grapple with technical issues on secretive AI device (FT) US and investors gambling on unproven nuclear technology, warn experts (FT) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Make It Snow is Snowflake’s go-to-market playbook, told by longtime CRO Chris Degnan and CMO Denise Persson. The central idea: sales and marketing must operate as “one brain in two bodies.” The takeaways are practical and candid: embed with customers sooner than feels comfortable, pick a clear foil, design programs you can rerun, centralize data so sales and marketing act from one truth, and treat culture as GTM infrastructure. If you’re a founder, CRO, CMO, or operator trying to go from zero to billions without losing the plot, Make It Snow is a field manual for aligning people, narrative, and pipeline at every stage. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Apple removes an app after the DOJ asked them to. People are using AI, but which AI are they actually paying for? Sora is now the number one app in all the land. And in the Longreads, now is it time to blame ChatGPT for breaking up marriages? Apple takes down ICE tracking apps after pressure from Bondi DOJ (Fox Business) A new a16z report looks at which AI companies startups are actually paying for (TechCrunch) AI is not killing jobs, US study finds (Financial Times) OpenAI wraps $6.6 billion share sale at $500 billion valuation (CNBC) OpenAI’s invite-only video generation app Sora tops Apple’s App Store (CNBC) Weekend Longreads Suggestions: Egon Durban’s $55bn buyout bet raises stakes for Silver Lake (Financial Times) Silver Lake Cements Power Broker Status With $55 Billion EA Deal (Bloomberg) ChatGPT Is Blowing Up Marriages as Spouses Use AI to Attack Their Partners (Futurism) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

More fallout from the Sora explosion, including my take on using it. OpenAI is now officially the biggest startup in the galaxy. We now know what Mira Murati’s new startup is building. The Brave browser is hitting some impressive user milestones. And why are young people flocking back to… checks notes… AOL? OpenAI’s Sora 2 Copyright Infringement Machine Features Nazi SpongeBobs and Criminal Pikachus (404Media) OpenAI Valuation Reaches $500 Billion, Topping Musk’s SpaceX (Bloomberg) Apple Shelves Vision Headset Revamp to Prioritize Meta-Like AI Glasses (Bloomberg) Mira Murati’s Stealth AI Lab Launches Its First Product (Wired) Google Translate Rival DeepL Explores US IPO (Bloomberg) Brave Now Has Over 100 Million Users (Thurott) Exclusive: Yahoo nears deal to sell AOL to Italy's Bending Spoons for $1.4 billion, sources say (Reuters) https://sora.chatgpt.com/profile/brianmccul Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Why Sora is all anyone can talk about, both the new social network and the new AI model. Satya Nadella is still Microsoft’s CEO but he’s taken some things off his plate. Oura gets colorful, and a hardware company that we’ve not spoken about in years is back, with AI onboard. OpenAI's Sora app lets friends swap AI video cameos (Axios) OpenAI made a TikTok for deepfakes, and it’s getting hard to tell what’s real (The Verge) Satya Nadella appoints a new CEO to run Microsoft’s biggest businesses (The Verge) Oura adds colorful ceramic rings and charging case to lineup (The Verge) I got sweaty with Peloton's new Bike and Tread — but Peloton IQ is just as impressive (Tom's Guide) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

All the headline’s from Amazon’s fall hardware event. Daniel Ek is stepping back from Spotify. A new Claude model. ChatGPT gets into the shopping biz. And OpenAI is likely launching it’s own TikTok clone soon to feature AI videos. And new buzzword alert! Microsoft wants you to start “vibe working.” Amazon announces new Kindle Scribes, including one with a color screen (The Verge) Amazon Revamps Echo Speakers, Displays in Hardware Reboot (Bloomberg) Spotify Founder Daniel Ek Leaving CEO Job (WSJ) Anthropic launches Claude Sonnet 4.5, its best AI model for coding (TechCrunch) Etsy pops 16% as OpenAI announces ChatGPT Instant Checkout for the shopping site (CNBC) OpenAI Is Preparing to Launch a Social App for AI-Generated Videos (Wired) Microsoft launches ‘vibe working’ in Excel and Word (The Verge) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The biggest sign yet of the state of the gaming industry, EA is being taken private. DeepSeek’s new model might start a new AI price war. OpenAI announces their parental controls for teen users. And, the Wall Street Journal says debt financing is now playing an increasing role in AI CAPEX buildout. Electronic Arts Goes Private for $52.5 Billion in Largest LBO Ever (WSJ) EA Agrees to $55 Billion Sale in Largest Leveraged Buyout on Record (Bloomberg) EA Buyout Talk Highlights Gaming Struggles as Growth Slows (Bloomberg) DeepSeek Debuts ‘Sparse Attention’ Method in Next-Gen AI Model (Bloomberg) Jaguar Land Rover Gets Government Loan Guarantee to Support Supply Chain; Restarts Production (WSJ) OpenAI Adds Parental Safety Controls for Teen ChatGPT Users. Here’s What to Expect (Wired) Debt Is Fueling the Next Wave of the AI Boom (WSJ) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

One of the very first VCs of the Internet Era, and especially the NYC tech ecosystem, Jerry Colonna reflects on his journey from growing up in New York to becoming a successful journalist and venture capitalist. Jerry discusses his transition to venture capital, the founding of Flatiron with Fred Wilson, and the challenges faced during the dot-com bubble and 9/11. He emphasizes the importance of curiosity and the human experience in his coaching practice, aiming to alleviate suffering and transform lives. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Maybe… the TikTok thing has finally reached a resolution. Again. Maybe Amazon owes us all some money. Maybe that Neon app from yesterday was a bad idea. OpenAI and Meta make some super interesting strategic AI moves. And, of course, The Weekend Longreads Suggestions. Trump signs executive order supporting proposed deal to put TikTok under US ownership (AP) TikTok Being Sold for a Song (Spyglass) Amazon agrees largest ever civil penalty in $2.5bn settlement with US regulators (Financial Times) Viral call-recording app Neon goes dark after exposing users’ phone numbers, call recordings, and transcripts (TechCrunch) OpenAI really, really wants you to start your day with ChatGPT Pulse (The Verge) Meta launches ‘Vibes,’ a short-form video feed of AI slop (TechCrunch) Weekend Longreads Suggestions: AI isn't replacing radiologists (Works In Progress) HSBC claims quantum trading breakthrough (FT) Jerry Colonna Interview On YouTube Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Another lawsuit against OpenAI, this time from xAI. Intel approached Apple about bailing them out. What if crypto was reversable so you could recover fraud. Drama in open source land. And would you like to get paid to train AI on your phone calls? You’re in luck! Musk's xAI accuses rival OpenAI of stealing trade secrets (Reuters) Intel Is Seeking an Investment From Apple as Part of Its Comeback Bid (Bloomberg) Spotify to label AI music, filter spam and more in AI policy change (TechCrunch) Stablecoin issuer Circle examines ‘reversible’ transactions in departure for crypto (Financial Times) Microsoft embraces OpenAI rival Anthropic to improve Microsoft 365 apps (The Verge) Shopify, pulling strings at Ruby Central, forces Bundler and RubyGems takeover (Joel Drapper) Neon, the No. 2 social app on the Apple App Store, pays users to record their phone calls and sells data to AI firms (TechCrunch) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Stargate gets off the ground, or at least, announces it is. What if OpenAI leases the chips from Nvidia instead of buying them. I go a bit deep in this episode in terms of the incentives behind all these AI moves. And what happens if AI makes translation as ubiquitous as spell check? OpenAI Teams Up With Oracle and SoftBank to Build 5 New Stargate Data Centers (Wired) In OpenAI Megadeal, Nvidia Discusses a New Business Model: Chip Leasing (The Information) Nvidia’s $100bn bet on ‘gigantic AI factories’ to power ChatGPT (FT) Alibaba Shares Soar After Hiking AI Budget Past $50 Billion (Bloomberg) VCs to AI Startups: Please Take Our Money (Bloomberg) Disney+, Hulu, ESPN to Hike Prices Again in October (The Wrap) WhatsApp adds built-in text translations on iPhone and Android (The Verge) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Nvidia is investing $100B in OpenAI, and there are a billion angles to that fact, so get ready to dive into it. Why were there giant sim farms popping up around NYC? The new AI to help you with Candy Crush, I guess. And new buzzword alert: say hello to “workslop.” Nvidia is partnering up with OpenAI to offer compute and cash (The Verge) Altman, Huang and the last-minute negotiations that sealed the $100 billion OpenAI-Nvidia deal (CNBC) Secret Service Thwarts Plot to Take Out Cell Service Near UN (Bloomberg) Play Games Sidekick is Gemini Live for Android games (9to5Google) AI Generated "Workslop" Is Destroying Productivity (Harvard Business Review) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Once again, I THINK a TikTok deal is happening, so updates on that. Why lots of folk in the tech industry are worried about new H-1B visa rules. Might those annoying cookie consent checkboxes be going away? And why the real land grab in data center building is happening in Scandinavia. Inside Trump's deal to save TikTok (Axios) Startup leaders warn new $100K H-1B visa fee will hurt U.S. entrepreneurship and innovation (GeekWire) Big Tech companies, foreign governments scramble after Trump slaps $100,000 fee on H-1B visas (CNBC) Europe’s cookie law messed up the internet. Brussels wants to fix it. (Politico) Oura Ring Maker to Become $11 Billion Company With Latest Raise (Bloomberg) Coinbase CEO: We Want To Become A Super App (CoinDesk) Nordic Data Center Boom Fueled by Low Prices, Empty Land and Cool Weather (Bloomberg) My most recent AI content experiment Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today I’m joined by Olivier Pomel, cofounder/CEO of Datadog. We trace his path from French open-source tinkerer to NYC founder, the dev-vs-ops friction that sparked Datadog, finding product-market fit through integrations, and the choice to stay independent en route to a 2019 IPO and S&P 500. Olivier shares scaling war stories, culture and GTM lessons, and what observability means in an AI era. If you build software—or companies—this one’s packed with playbooks, from hiring to pricing to platform bets that work. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

(Sorry about the editing error earlier) Nvidia is investing in self-driving AI tech. Google has given up the ghost and is making Chrome a full AI tool. Would you tolerate advertisements on the screen of your smart refrigerator? And why Apple executives are growing worried about OpenAI’s hardware plans. ⁠⁠Nvidia in talks for $500mn investment in UK self-driving start-up Wayve⁠⁠ (FT) ⁠⁠Google Injects Gemini Into Chrome as AI Browsers Go Mainstream ⁠⁠(Wired) ⁠⁠Software update shoves ads onto Samsung’s pricey fridges ⁠⁠(ArsTechnica) Weekend Longreads Suggestions: ⁠⁠Since Leaving Washington, Elon Musk Has Been All In on His A.I. Company⁠⁠ (NYTimes) ⁠⁠OpenAI Raids Apple for Hardware Talent, Manufacturing Partners⁠⁠ (The Information) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

(Sorry about the editing error earlier) Nvidia is investing in self-driving AI tech. Google has given up the ghost and is making Chrome a full AI tool. Would you tolerate advertisements on the screen of your smart refrigerator? And why Apple executives are growing worried about OpenAI’s hardware plans. ⁠Nvidia in talks for $500mn investment in UK self-driving start-up Wayve⁠ (FT) ⁠Google Injects Gemini Into Chrome as AI Browsers Go Mainstream ⁠(Wired) ⁠Software update shoves ads onto Samsung’s pricey fridges ⁠(ArsTechnica) Weekend Longreads Suggestions: ⁠Since Leaving Washington, Elon Musk Has Been All In on His A.I. Company⁠ (NYTimes) ⁠OpenAI Raids Apple for Hardware Talent, Manufacturing Partners⁠ (The Information) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices