Sharp Tech with Ben Thompson

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Holiday Mailbag: The Next Intel, Google’s AI Revival, Modern Sportswriting, TSMC Mugs, Tutoring Takes, and Lots More Dec 19, 2024

Show notes

Ending the year with a slew of great emails from listeners, including questions about the next U.S. flagship to fail, Google's advantages in AI, an iOS 18 autopsy, the classes that Ben and Andrew would teach as professors, AI for chip production, TSMC mugs, recommendations for X usage, and the return of the TikTot segment to discuss tutoring and children. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from the whole Sharp Tech family!

To email the show: email@sharptech.fm

@SharpTechPodcast Channel — YouTube

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Rapidus, The End of Economic Rationality, AI Disruption — Stratechery Update

Google Announces Veo 2, The Empire Strikes Back, Free ChatGPT Search — Stratechery Update

The 2024 Stratechery Year in Review — Stratechery

TSMC Coffee Mug — X: @benthompson

TWINSCAN EXE:5000 Lego Set — ASML Store

Get all episodes of Sharp Tech, Sharp China, Stratechery Updates and Interviews, Greatest of All Talk and the Dithering Podcast as part of Stratechery Plus for $15/month or $150/year.

(Preview) Google’s Willow Chip, Drones as a Platform and Anduril Follow-Up, Building Inside and Outside Silicon Valley Dec 16, 2024

Show notes

A high level read on Google's quantum computing announcement and Google's R&D efforts generally, a listener's question about drones as a platform, follow-up on last week's conversation about Anduril and the future of the U.S. defense industry, and questions on the near term concerns surrounding an AI Manhattan project, Clayton Christensen’s theory of integration and modularity as applied to Silicon Valley, and housing prices in the Bay Area.

To email the show: email@sharptech.fm

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Meet Willow, our state-of-the-art quantum chip — Google

The Anduril Lattice SDK, Understanding Lattice, Anduril + Palantir — Stratechery Update

An Interview with Gregory Allen About the Updated China Chip Ban — Stratechery Interview

The ZTE Ban, Tech’s Trade War Risk, China’s Delayed Approval and Apple’s Pain — Stratechery Update

Chips and Geopolitics — Stratechery

Chips and China — Stratechery

Get all episodes of Sharp Tech, Sharp China, Stratechery Updates and Interviews, Greatest of All Talk and the Dithering Podcast as part of Stratechery Plus for $15/month or $150/year.

(Preview) Anduril and the Lattice Partner Program, A New Direction for Defense Tech, OpenAI Introduces ChatGPT Pro Dec 12, 2024

Show notes

Unpacking a quietly significant announcement from Anduril this week, the future of hardware and software in the U.S. defense industry, and checking in with OpenAI as the company announces a new subscription tier for ChatGPT.

To email the show: email@sharptech.fm

@SharpTechPodcast Channel — YouTube

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Anduril Industries — X: @andruiltech

An Interview with Gregory Allen About the State of China Chip Export Controls — Stratechery Interview

ChatGPT Pro, o1 Pro, Sora — Stratechery Update

OpenAI seeks to unlock investment by ditching ‘AGI’ clause with Microsoft — Financial Times

Get all episodes of Sharp Tech, Sharp China, Stratechery Updates and Interviews, Greatest of All Talk and the Dithering Podcast as part of Stratechery Plus for $15/month or $150/year.

(Preview) Mailbag: Building Toward Self-Driving Computers, Capitalism and Its Trade-Offs, The Reels-ification of 'X' Dec 09, 2024

Show notes

First, a follow-up to Ben's article on Gen AI and the future of user interfaces, and then emails on architecture and structural incentives, Bob Noyce and American lithography, Blue Origin and Amazon, the role of capitalism in the declining birth rate around the world, and thoughts on 'X' and its Reels-ification in 2024.

To email the show: email@sharptech.fm

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The Gen AI Bridge to the Future — Stratechery

Get all episodes of Sharp Tech, Sharp China, Stratechery Updates and Interviews, Greatest of All Talk and the Dithering Podcast as part of Stratechery Plus for $15/month or $150/year.

Gelsinger Out at Intel, 20 Years of Structural Challenges and Strategic Blindspots, The Board and What’s Next Dec 05, 2024

Show notes

A closer look at Intel's fall from grace in the wake of CEO Pat Gelsinger's sudden retirement and with the company facing a fresh round of questions about its future. Topics include: Ben's overview of a 20-year run of paradigm shifts and strategic missteps, Gelsinger's strengths and weaknesses, CHIPS Act funds and a looming inflection point, and the murky path forward for American made chips.

To email the show: email@sharptech.fm

@SharpTechPodcast Channel — YouTube

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Gelsinger Out at Intel, What Happened, Ten Years Too Late — Stratechery Update

An Interview with “Father of the iPod” Tony Fadell — Stratechery Interview

An Interview with Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger — Stratechery Interview

Intel Honesty — Stratechery

Intel Concerns, Fubo Blocks Venu — Stratechery Update

Intel Problems — Stratechery

The Intel Opportunity — Stratechery

Get all episodes of Sharp Tech, Sharp China, Stratechery Updates and Interviews, Greatest of All Talk and the Dithering Podcast as part of Stratechery Plus for $15/month or $150/year.

(Preview) Mailbag: AppLovin on a Tear, The Business of OnlyFans, Questions on OpenAI and Elon Musk Dec 02, 2024

Show notes

Returning from the holiday week with a look at the explosive growth of AppLovin, various takeaways from the towering success of OnlyFans, Bloomberg history, and questions on the future for Elon Musk and OpenAI.

To email the show: email@sharptech.fm

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An Interview with Eric Seufert About the Current State of Digital Advertising — Stratechery Interview

Podcast: Understanding AppLovin — Mobile Dev Memo

The Single-Staircase Radicals Have a Good Point — Slate

Get all episodes of Sharp Tech, Sharp China, Stratechery Updates and Interviews, Greatest of All Talk and the Dithering Podcast as part of Stratechery Plus for $15/month or $150/year.

(Preview) LLM Utilities, Google Disruption, Remote Work Angst, Family Tech Support, and a Thanksgiving Mailbag Nov 26, 2024

Show notes

Celebrating the holiday week with emails from subscribers. Topics include: integrating LLMs into the modern workflow, human reactions to AI content, Google and its disruption risks, a follow-up to last week’s trade discussion, advice for a young engineer working remotely, creating new reality shows, an unpaid shoe testimonial, family tech support, and more. Happy Thanksgiving to all!

To email the show: email@sharptech.fm

@SharpTechPodcast Channel — YouTube

@Stratechery Channel — YouTube

Get all episodes of Sharp Tech, Sharp China, Stratechery Updates and Interviews, Greatest of All Talk and the Dithering Podcast as part of Stratechery Plus for $15/month or $150/year.

America and the Trade Status Quo, Tariffs and What May Come Next, A Chance to Build in Tech and Beyond Nov 22, 2024

Show notes

Talking through the evolution of the modern trade landscape, the implications of tariffs under a new U.S. administration, and Ben’s article on Monday, A Chance to Build. Topics include: the realities that are prompting change, China’s growth in hardware and software, TSMC and Trump, the future for Waymo, and more.

To email the show: email@sharptech.fm

@SharpTechPodcast Channel — YouTube

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A Chance to Build — Stratechery

President Trump, Take Two; Big Tech, Little Tech, Chips, and Hardware; Elon Musk’s Triumph — Stratechery Update

Get all episodes of Sharp Tech, Sharp China, Stratechery Updates and Interviews, Greatest of All Talk and the Dithering Podcast as part of Stratechery Plus for $15/month or $150/year.

(Preview) Monday Mailbag: Netflix and Its Mike Tyson Adventures; WBD Settles with the NBA; Lessons from Building Passport Nov 18, 2024

Show notes

The Jake Paul-Mike Tyson fight and what might have gone wrong for Netflix on Friday night, a resolution of the NBA's months-long contract dispute with Warner Bros. Discovery, and Ben explains what Passport can do for creators and shares a few takeaways from his experience building the product over the past few years.

To email the show: email@sharptech.fm

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Netflix’s Tyson-Paul Boxing Bout Gets 65 Million Viewers at Peak — Bloomberg

Warner Bros. Discovery, NBA Settle Legal Battle Over TV Rights — Wall Street Journal

An Interview with Dylan Patel and Doug O’Laughlin About the Current State of Semiconductors and SemiAnalysis — Stratechery Interview

Post by Tim Urban — X: @waitbutwhy

Get all episodes of Sharp Tech, Sharp China, Stratechery Updates and Interviews, Greatest of All Talk and the Dithering Podcast as part of Stratechery Plus for $15/month or $150/year.

(Preview) Today’s Internet and Tomorrow’s AI Innovation, Progress Reportedly Slowing for New LLMs, The Vision Pro as a Productivity Device Nov 14, 2024

Show notes

An emailer wonders whether 30 years of Internet investments and data were the bootloader for an AI transformation in the real world. Ben offers his take on recent reports that OpenAI and Google are seeing diminishing returns from their latest LLMs, and the arrival of Ultrawide capabilities leads to refined takes on the Vision Pro and advice for Apple moving forward.

To email the show: email@sharptech.fm

@SharpTechPodcast Channel — YouTube

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OpenAI, Google and Anthropic Are Struggling to Build More Advanced AI — Bloomberg

Apple Earnings; AI, Capex, and R&D; The Vision Pro Gets a Killer App — Stratechery Update

Meta Meets Microsoft — Stratechery

Get all episodes of Sharp Tech, Sharp China, Stratechery Updates and Interviews, Greatest of All Talk and the Dithering Podcast as part of Stratechery Plus for $15/month or $150/year.

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