Tech Brew Ride Home
About
Available on
Community
2232 episodes
Meta earnings good. The street like the AI spending. Microsoft earnings bad. Why is growth in their cloud business not as robust all of the sudden? Elon is following through on taking Tesla all in on robots and AI. The AI inspired layoffs are NOT just for the tech industry. And are you actually technical enough to run that Clawdbot? Zuckerberg teases agentic commerce tools and major AI rollout in 2026 (TechCrunch) Microsoft stock drops 7% on slowing cloud growth, light margin guidance (CNBC) Tesla scraps models in pivot to AI as annual revenue falls for first time (FT) Dow to Cut 4,500 Employees in AI Overhaul (WSJ) Waymo robotaxi hits a child near an elementary school in Santa Monica (TechCrunch) Tiny startup Arcee AI built a 400B-parameter open source LLM from scratch to best Meta’s Llama (TechCrunch) Clawdbot sheds skin to become Moltbot, can't slough off security issues (The Register) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
The Amazon layoffs showed up on schedule. Is Tether behind the rise in the price of gold? A new type of privacy screen tech from Samsung. Elon wants to IPO on his birthday. Anthropic raises more ahead of its IPO. And AI is finding weird stuff in Space. Amazon says it is laying off 16,000 employees (TechCrunch) Tether Is Shaking Up the Gold Market With Massive Metal Hoard (Bloomberg) Samsung confirms Galaxy S26's insane 'pixel level' privacy feature (SamMobile) SpaceX weighs June IPO timed to planetary alignment and Elon Musk’s birthday (FT) Anthropic doubles VC fundraising to $20bn on surging investor demand (FT) Anthropic Hikes 2026 Revenue Forecast 20% but Delays When It Will Go Cash Flow Positive (The Information) Astronomers used AI to find 1,400 ‘anomalous objects’ from Hubble archives (The Verge) RideHomeFund News: CrowdStrike buys identity security startup SGNL for $740 million in latest deal push Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
I think we have to gird ourselves for a slew of Chinese AI releases in the coming weeks. Are AI inspired layoffs poised to sweep the tech industry? Meta goes with subscriptions. Uber wants to train AI for others. And Dario Amodei has a pretty stark warning about AI. China’s Moonshot Unveils AI Model Ahead of DeepSeek Release (Bloomberg) Pinterest laying off 15% of workforce in push toward AI roles and teams (CNBC) TikTok says a power outage caused a 'cascading systems failure' that messed up its algorithm (BusinessInsider) Meta to test premium subscriptions on Instagram, Facebook, and WhatsApp (TechCrunch) Uber launches an ‘AV Labs’ division to gather driving data for robotaxi partners (TechCrunch) Thread On The Amodei Essay @aakashgupta Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Did you even notice that new TikTok privacy policy over the weekend? AirTags finally have a second generation. Microsoft confirms it will give out your BitLocker recovery keys if you’re silly enough to store them with them. And let me introduce you to Clawdbot. Since you can’t see the spelling, you won’t understand how this is different until I explain. TikTok Is Now Collecting Even More Data About Its Users. Here Are the 3 Biggest Changes (Wired) Apple launches AirTag 2 with improved range, louder speaker, more (9to5Mac) EU opens formal probe into Musk’s xAI over Grok deepfakes (FT) Latest ChatGPT model uses Elon Musk’s Grokipedia as source, tests reveal (The Guardian) Microsoft Gave FBI Keys To Unlock Encrypted Data, Exposing Major Privacy Flaw (Forbes) Clawdbot Showed Me What the Future of Personal AI Assistants Looks Like (MacStories) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Ok, ok, maybe the whole TikTok thing is a done deal at long last? Amazon is planning another major round of layoffs. Are Epic Games and Google doing an end-run around the judge? Capital One acquires Brex. And, of course, The Weekend Longreads Suggestions. Trump’s TikTok deal is a gift to China (FT) Exclusive: Amazon plans thousands more corporate job cuts next week, sources say (Reuters) Epic and Google have a secret $800 million Unreal Engine and services deal (The Verge) Apple Expands Hardware Chief's Role (Bloomberg) Capital One Strikes $5.15 Billion Deal for Fintech Brex (WSJ) Weekend Longreads Suggestion: Russia, Ukraine and the race for Chinese drone components (FT) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Apple is developing their own AI wearable, the size of an AirTag. Anthropic overhauls Claude’s constitution. South Korea is the latest place to ride the AI rocket ship. And I think I know why your boss thinks AI is the solution to everything: it’s the solution to all of the work THEY have to do. Apple Developing AI Wearable Pin (The Information) Anthropic rewrites Claude’s guiding principles—and entertains the idea that its AI might have ‘some kind of consciousness or moral status’ (Fortune) Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin launches satellite internet service to rival SpaceX, Amazon (CNBC) South Korean leader celebrates ‘Kospi 5,000’ moment as stock market soars (FT) CEOs Say AI Is Making Work More Efficient. Employees Tell a Different Story. (WSJ) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Anthropic continues to project strength in the AI race. How OpenAI is rolling out ads on ChatGPT. Netflix wants to become TikTok faster than TikTok can become them. YouTube wants to have it both ways when it comes to AI. And Elon wants SpaceX to win the great IPO race of 2026. Anthropic’s CEO stuns Davos with Nvidia criticism (TechCrunch) OpenAI rolls out age prediction on ChatGPT (Reuters) OpenAI Lines Up Advertisers, Reveals Key Details Ahead of Ads Launch (The Information) Netflix Is Testing Vertical Video Features For Mobile (THR) YouTubers will be able to make Shorts with their own AI likenesses (The Verge) YouTube CEO Neal Mohan’s Big Ideas for 2026: More Superstar Creators and Transparency, Less AI Slop (THR) Why Elon Musk Is Racing to Take SpaceX Public (WSJ) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Netflix ups its bid with all cash. Sony is spinning off its legendary TV business with TCL. One of the biggest seed rounds I’ve ever heard of. Reels continues to win for Zuck. And let me introduce you to the “Assistant Axis” and what it might mean for AI. Netflix revises its offer for Warner Bros. Discovery. Now, it’s all cash (CNN) Sony’s TV business is being taken over by TCL (The Verge) An A.I. Start-Up Says It Wants to Empower Workers, Not Replace Them (NYTimes) Most of Instagram’s ads ran on Reels in 2025, data shows (CNBC) Anthropic Uncovers AI Personality Crisis as Models Secretly Switch Identities (eWeek) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Ads are finally coming to ChatGPT. Why everyone online can’t stop talking about going on Claude benders. Elon’s case against OpenAI moves forward again. The Thinking Machines saga roils on again. And the big movie about AI every is apparently watching. OpenAI brings advertising to ChatGPT in push for new revenue (FT) OpenAI's Revenue Soars Past $20 Billion After 233% Jump—But Explosive Growth Comes With Massive Compute Costs And A $17 Billion Burn Rate (Benzinga) Claude Is Taking the AI World by Storm, and Even Non-Nerds Are Blown Away (WSJ) ‘No Reasons to Own’: Software Stocks Sink on Fear of New AI Tool (Bloomberg) Musk Seeks Up to $134 Billion Damages From OpenAI, Microsoft (Bloomberg) Thinking Machines Exodus Tests Investor Appetite for a $50 Billion Valuation (The Information) There’s a Hit Movie Set Deep Inside an AI Lab—and It Will Give You Goosebumps (WSJ) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
More fallout from the Thinking Machines stuff. I’m officially calling it: I think the Metaverse is over, at least at Meta. Cloudflare continues to make an effort to protect the web and creators from AI strip mining. And, of course, the weekend longreads suggestions. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Apparently their ain’t no drama like AI industry drama, proven once again by some high-profile defections from Thinking Machine Labs. Grok says it’s cleaned up its act. TSMC is winning thanks to AI. More price rises from Spotify. And why is Ireland missing out on the AI datacenter boom? Two Thinking Machines Lab Cofounders Are Leaving to Rejoin OpenAI (Wired) Grok was finally updated to stop undressing women and children, X Safety says (ArsTechnica) TSMC delivers another record quarter as profit jumps 35% fueled by robust AI chip demand (CNBC) Ireland Is Trying to Get Back on the Data Center Bandwagon (Bloomberg) Spotify Raises Premium Subscription Prices in US to $13 a Month (Bloomberg) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Nvidia can officially sell its chips in China, but not if China doesn’t let anyone buy them. Tesla will stop selling FSD beginning next month. Matthew McConaughey says NOT alright alright alright to unauthorized AI use of his voice. And another story about how AI is disrupting the consultancy game. Exclusive: China's customs agents told Nvidia's H200 chips are not permitted, sources say (Reuters) Meta is closing down three VR studios as part of its metaverse cuts (The Verge) Tesla Driver-Assist System FSD Will Switch to Subscription-Only, Musk Says (Bloomberg) Matthew McConaughey Trademarks Himself to Fight AI Misuse (WSJ) Microsoft’s Spending on Anthropic AI Is on Pace to Hit $500 Million (The Information) Apple Struggling With Key Material Shortage as AI Chips Drain Supply (MacRumors) McKinsey challenges graduates to use AI chatbot in recruitment overhaul (FT) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Microsoft tries to calm data center buildout backlash. Layoffs come to the Metaverse. Apple has a new creator subscription package. More implications from that Apple/Google AI deal from yesterday. And is Cowork for Claude the personal AI agent we’ve been waiting for? Microsoft responds to AI data center revolt, vowing to cover full power costs and reject local tax breaks (GeekWire) Meta Begins Job Cuts as It Shifts From Metaverse to AI Devices (Bloomberg) Apple debuts ‘Apple Creator Studio’ subscription, here’s what you get (9to5Mac) Google Gemini Partnership With Apple Will Go Beyond Siri Revamp (MacRumors) Anthropic’s new Cowork tool offers Claude Code without the code (TechCrunch) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Apple announces that its going with Google’s Gemini to power Siri later this year, and Google joins the $4T club on the news. Governments around the world are still mad at Grok. AI has essentially killed Stack Overflow but its making more money than it ever has. And how you get get AI to give you the full text of books. Apple picks Google’s Gemini to run AI-powered Siri coming this year (CNBC) UK’s Ofcom investigates X over Grok’s sexualised AI images of women and children (FT) Anthropic expands into healthcare a week after OpenAI launched a similar product (Business Insider) Stack Overflow’s forum is dead thanks to AI, but the company’s still kicking... thanks to AI (Sherwood News) AI’s Memorization Crisis (The Atlantic) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Grok dials back the AI image generation thing. Kinda. xAI just raised all that money cause it kinda has to. Looks like the next Deep Seek model is incoming. Why a16z is officially the biggest VC firm in all the world. And, of course, the Weekend Longreads Suggestions. No, Grok hasn’t paywalled its deepfake image feature (The Verge) Musk’s xAI Burns Almost $8 Billion, Reveals Optimus Plan (Bloomberg) Chinese Firms Dominated Global Humanoid Robot Shipments in 2025 (Bloomberg) DeepSeek To Release Next Flagship AI Model With Strong Coding Ability (The Information) Andreessen Horowitz raises $15 billion for new funds (Axios) A16z’s $15 Billion Fund Vacuumed Up A Fifth Of Venture Dollars Raised Last Year (Forbes) Weekend Longreads Suggestions: The Man Who Could Be Apple’s Next C.E.O. (NYTimes) The cost of America’s nuclear revival (FT) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Grok and X have been letting people create some risqué and in some cases, probably illegal images, and governments around the world are getting pissed. Does Google think AI can obviate your email inbox? And would you upload your medical history to ChatGPT? Sam Altman is asking you to. Grok Is Generating Sexual Content Far More Graphic Than What's on X (Wired) Google is taking over your Gmail inbox with AI (The Verge) OpenAI launches ChatGPT Health, encouraging users to connect their medical records (The Verge) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
xAI has raised another monster round. Polymarket has yet another controversy around whether a bet should pay out or not. Could the AI datacenter buildout actually disrupt politics in local America? And a sort of roundup of what’s been at CES so far. Elon Musk’s xAI Raises $20 Billion (NYTimes) Polymarket refuses to pay bets that US would ‘invade’ Venezuela (FT) Americans Hate AI. Which Party Will Benefit? (Politico) The data center rebellion is here, and it’s reshaping the political landscape (Washington Post) Three Reasons We Can’t Get Enough of LinkedIn (WSJ) What surprised us the most at CES 2026 (The Verge) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Nvidia launches its next chip platform. AMD says, hey, us too! Also, did you know Nvidia is building self-driving car platforms? Did you know Dell is bring the XPS brand back? And did you know that the most interesting product launch I’ve seen so far has come from Lego? Nvidia launches Vera Rubin AI computing platform at CES 2026 (The Verge) AMD shows off new higher performing AI chip at CES event (Reuters) I tested Nvidia’s Tesla Full Self-Driving competitor — Tesla should be worried (The Verge) Dell Admits It Made a Huge Mistake When It Abandoned XPS (Gizmodo) Robot Vacuum Maker Roborock Shows Off Stair-Climbing Model With Legs (Bloomberg) Lego announces Smart Brick, the ‘most significant evolution’ in 50 years (The Verge) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Coming to you live from Las Vegas with the first of the CES madness. More signs that insider betting on prediction markets is going to become something we’re going to have to live with. Is Reddit bigger than TikTok now, at least by one measure? And how Reels became bigger than YouTube by maybe the most important measure. Exclusive: Samsung to double AI mobile devices to 800 million units this year (Reuters) Voice control opening and closing comes to Samsung’s Family Hub smart fridges (The Verge) Someone made a ton of money betting on Maduro’s capture (The Verge) SpaceX, OpenAI and Anthropic prepare to launch landmark IPOs (Financial Times) Reddit overtakes TikTok in UK thanks to search algorithms and gen Z (The Guardian) How Meta’s Reels Became a $50 Billion Business (WSJ) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
More on Manus, who they are, how they got positioned to sell, and more on what Meta wants to do with them. Open AI is paying employees more than anyone in history. The TriFold phone is a bit a dud. And, of course, the weekend longreads suggestion. How Meta’s Newest Acquisition Target Got Around Worries Over Its Ties to China (WSJ) Manus: The Hands of AI Fate (Spyglass) Musk’s xAI Buys Building to Expand ‘Colossus’ Data Center (Bloomberg) OpenAI Is Paying Employees More Than Any Major Tech Startup in History (WSJ) AI Trade’s Next Leg Is All About Tech’s ‘Pick-and-Shovel’ Stocks (Bloomberg) Samsung’s First Trifold Phone Is Expensive and Half-Baked (Bloomberg) Weekend Longreads Suggestion: 2025 letter (Zhengdong Wang) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
This flurry of M&A deals at the end of the year (I have another one to tell you about) are people getting out while the getting is good, or is this just the start of what’s going to be a big deal in 2026? And are half of the big VC raises we’re seeing just folks trying to build up cash reserves to hedge either way? Meta to Buy Manus, an AI Startup With Chinese Roots (Bloomberg) After a Year of Blistering Growth, AI Chip Makers Get Ready for Bigger 2026 (WSJ) AI start-ups amass record $150bn funding cushion as bubble fears mount (WSJ) Microsoft’s Nadella overhauls leadership as he plots AI strategy beyond OpenAI (FT) Waymo and Other Driverless Taxis Move Into a New Era (Bloomberg) Listen to This: Some Audiobooks Are Outselling Hardcovers (WSJ) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Nvidia kindaquires Groq I’ll tell you what we think the strategy is here. A shot across my bow that CES is next week. Accountants shut down remote testing because of AI. And for all the recent bullishness, an honest look at the immediate limitations of today’s robotics. Nvidia Reaches Technology Licensing Deal With Startup Groq (Bloomberg) Why Nvidia Struck a $20 Billion Megadeal with Groq (The Information) Samsung brings Google Photos to the biggest screen in your home (AndroidPolice) Accounting body scraps remote exams to combat cheating (Financial Times) Even the Companies Making Humanoid Robots Think They’re Overhyped (WSJ) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Feel free to check out Rad History if you enjoyed this. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
You can find out more about The Newsworthy here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Well, turns out my spidey sense was right cause there definitely seems to be a new tech trade war brewing between the US and Europe. Seems like ads are definitely coming to ChatGPT. How bitcoin miners are pivoting to AI. And why Netflix wants to get into dayparting. US bars five Europeans it says pressured tech firms to censor American viewpoints online (AP) OpenAI’s Ads Push Starts Taking Shape (The Information) AST SpaceMobile Launches Biggest Satellite to Challenge SpaceX (Bloomberg) Bitcoin Miners Thrive Off a New Side Hustle: Retooling Their Data Centers for AI (WSJ) YouTube Has a Firm Grip on Daytime TV (NYTimes) Weekend Longreads Suggestions: The Hottest Toy of the Year Is Made by a Tech Startup You’ve Never Heard Of (WSJ) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
I hope you weren’t expecting Santa to leave a drone under the tree this week. Europe is forcing Apple to pair nicely with others. More signs of the AI fueled debt explosion. And in the year of the stablecoin, the rise of stablecoin-based banks. U.S. Bans New China-Made Drones, Sparking Outrage Among Pilots (WSJ) Pentagon Adds Grok-Derived Products to Something Called the ‘AI Arsenal’ (Gizmodo) iOS 26.3 Brings AirPods-Like Pairing to Third-Party Devices in EU Under DMA (MacRumors) AI debt boom pushes US corporate bond sales close to record (Financial Times) A $309 Billion Bet Fuels 24/7 Dollar Banking Without Borders (Bloomberg) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Turns out when the lights go out, Waymo’s don’t handle that well. Larry Ellison actually puts his money on the line. Somebody is pirating music like it’s 1999. And two deep-dive looks at whether or not Google’s TPU’s really are a threat to Nvidia and OpenAI. Waymo resumes robotaxi service in San Francisco after blackout chaos — Musk says Tesla car service unaffected (CNBC) Paramount guarantees Larry Ellison backing in amended WBD bid (CNBC) Instacart Scraps All Price Tests After Customer Pushback (WSJ) Spotify Music Library Scraped by Pirate Activist Group (Billboard) ChatGPT will now let you pick how nice it is (The Verge) TPU Mania (The Chip Letter) Why Nvidia maintains its moat and Gemini won’t kill OpenAI (SiliconANGLE) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Has TikTok finally been sold, episode number 47… The Pennsylvania supreme court says police don’t need a warrant to read your search history. YouTube terminates some big accounts over AI usage. A new League of Legends is coming. And in the longreads, and in the show, a look at how Zuck’s big bet on AI is coming along. Scoop: TikTok signs deal for U.S. unit after yearslong saga (Axios) TikTok U.S. Deal to Close Next Month: Oracle and Silver Lake Confirmed in Buyer Consortium (The Hollywood Reporter) Pa. high court rules that police can access Google searches without a warrant (The Record) Meta Is Developing a New AI Image and Video Model Code-Named ‘Mango’ (WSJ) YouTube Shuts Down Channels Using AI To Create Fake Movie Trailers Watched By Millions (Deadline) Riot Has a Secret Plan to Remake Its ‘League of Legends’ Game (Bloomberg) Weekend Longreads Suggestions: Inside Mark Zuckerberg’s turbulent bet on AI (FT) Economics of Orbital vs Terrestrial Data Centers (Andrew McCalip) Feeding the Machine (The Verge) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Has China cracked a major puzzle for chip parity? Trump Media merges with a… Fusion Energy startup? Coinbase continues its efforts to let you trade everything. OpenAI is turning on the fundraising afterburners. And how to catch a North Korean IT infiltrator. China may have reverse engineered EUV lithography tool in covert lab, report claims — employees given fake IDs to avoid secret project being detected, prototypes expected in 2028 (Tom's Hardware) Trump media group agrees $6bn merger with Google-backed fusion energy company (FT) Coinbase adds prediction markets and stock trading in push to be one-stop trading app (CNBC) OpenAI Has Discussed Raising Tens of Billions at Valuation Around $750 Billion (The Information) Amazon Caught North Korean IT Worker By Tracing Keystroke Data (Bloomberg) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
ChatGPT ups its image generation game. Now it’s Amazon’s turn to invest in OpenAI. WBD says it still wants to go with the Netflix offer. Waymo’s raising money again. And the new AI sort of newsletter Google wants to put in your inbox every morning. OpenAI’s ChatGPT Updated to Make Images Better and Faster (Bloomberg) ChatGPT Images just got a major upgrade — and it could change how we all create (TechRadar) OpenAI in Talks to Raise At Least $10 Billion From Amazon and Use Its AI Chips (The Information) Coursera to buy Udemy, creating $2.5 billion firm to target AI training (Reuters) Warner Rejects Paramount’s Hostile Bid, Saying Netflix Deal Still Superior (WSJ) Waymo Seeking Over $15 Billion Near $100 Billion Valuation (Bloomberg) Waymo in talks to raise funds at $100bn valuation (FT) U.S. Threatens Penalties Against European Tech Firms Amid Regulatory Fight (NYTimes) Google wants its AI assistant CC to replace your morning scroll (The Verge) Betting on prediction markets has exploded over past two years (FT) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
