Sharp Tech with Ben Thompson

Latest Episodes:

(Preview) What Trump 2.0 Could Mean for Tech, Questions on Antitrust, EU and Growth, Elon Musk and the Election Nov 07, 2024

Show notes

Looking to President Trump's first term for clues about what tech policy might look like for the next four years. Topics include: Apple's balancing act with the U.S. and China, why Meta and Google might have fared better under Kamala Harris, the implications for "Little Tech," an open question on M&A policies, unresolved tensions with EU regulators, TikTok, crypto policy, the case for growth, and thoughts on Elon Musk and the role that X played in the election.

To email the show: email@sharptech.fm

@SharpTechPodcast Channel — YouTube

@Stratechery Channel — YouTube

Apple’s E.U. Fine, Apple’s Next Case? — Stratechery Update

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: The James Harden of Tech; Bandwidth and the Video Takeover; Gen AI and Ads; Political Donation Texts Nov 04, 2024

Show notes

An email comparing James Harden to a tech company spawns several other tech and basketball crossovers. Then: A brief history of the bandwidth buildout that made it possible for video to take over the internet, an email about generative AI and digital advertising, a listener cries for help over political donation solicitations, and Ben aborts an experiment with the Google Pixel.

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.

Meta and an Abundance of AI Opportunities, When AI Integrates Into the Feed, AI for UI and One Emailer's Dismay Oct 31, 2024

Show notes

Talking through Ben's piece on Meta and Abundance, including the past, present and future of Meta's value proposition to e-commerce advertisers, plans to incorporate AI-generated content into news feeds, and questions about augmented reality and the next phase of user interfaces. At the end: An emailer highlights potential downsides of the vision Meta is selling.

To email the show: email@sharptech.fm

@SharpTechPodcast Channel — YouTube

@Stratechery Channel — YouTube

Meta’s AI Abundance — Stratechery

Meta sees AI spending accelerating as earnings top forecasts — Financial Times

Meta’s going to put AI-generated images in your Facebook and Instagram feeds — The Verge

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: AI Abundance and Enterprise Questions; Automated Podcasts; Big Tech and China Tariffs; Reading Habits Oct 28, 2024

Show notes

The open questions about competition in AI and enterprise software, emails regarding text-to-voice podcasts and replacing Andrew with an AI agent, and a question about Amazon and the proposed tariffs on consumer goods from China. Plus: Apple Intelligence, OpenAI's naming strategy, and the daily media intake for both hosts.

To email the show: email@sharptech.fm

@SharpTechPodcast Channel — YouTube

@Stratechery Channel — YouTube

An Interview with Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff about AI Abundance — Stratechery Interview

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.

Understanding Stablecoins and Their Utility, Why Stripe is Buying Bridge, Virtual Reality for NFL Quarterbacks Oct 24, 2024

Show notes

A closer look at the emergence of stablecoins, their utility in crypto and cross-border payments, progress in the crypto space that could lead to more widespread adoption, and the strategic logic of Stripe's plan to buy Bridge, a stablecoin platform, for a reported $1.1 billion. At the end: Updates on the Apple Vision Pro, and the secret behind the success of Jayden Daniels in Washington, D.C.

To email the show: email@sharptech.fm

@SharpTechPodcast Channel — YouTube

@Stratechery Channel — YouTube

Stripe Confirms Plans to Acquire Stablecoin Platform Bridge — Bloomberg

Stripe Acquires Bridge, Stablecoins, Platform of Platforms — Stratechery Update

Tim Cook on Why Apple’s Huge Bets Will Pay Off — Wall Street Journal

Apple Sharply Scales Back Production of Vision Pro — The Information

Jayden Daniels’ growth with VR simulation has Commanders embracing mind games — The Athletic

The German VR ‘flight simulator’ behind LSU QB Jayden Daniels’ Heisman-caliber 2023 season — The Athletic

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: The Value of the ChatGPT Brand; OpenAI and Its AGI Clause; Bitter Lesson Follow-Up; Orion and Big Tech Recruiting Oct 21, 2024

Show notes

OpenAI's latest valuation and the value of the ChatGPT brand, the AGI clause in the OpenAI-Microsoft partnership, a follow-up on Waymo's data and the Bitter Lesson, a twist in the AI device form factor conversation, and a question about Orion and the importance of elite talent in big tech.

To email the show: email@sharptech.fm

@SharpTechPodcast Channel — YouTube

@Stratechery Channel — YouTube

OpenAI’s New Model, How o1 Works, Scaling Inference — Stratechery Update

OpenAI DevDay, OpenAI’s Wrenching Transition, Lonely At the Top — Stratechery Update

Microsoft and OpenAI’s Close Partnership Shows Signs of Fraying — New York Times

Elon Dreams and Bitter Lessons — Stratechery

An Interview with Hugo Barra About Orion and Meta’s AR Strategy — Stratechery Interview

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.

Tesla and the Road to True Autonomy, Strategy that Starts with the Dream, Regulation and Market Questions Oct 17, 2024

Show notes

Understanding Tesla’s approach to an autonomous driving future, why some observers think Tesla is ahead of Waymo today, and questions about market structure and regulation concerns as the future of transportation takes shape. At the end: An additional note on politics as a zero sum game, and a few thoughts on the rest of the F1 season.

To email the show: email@sharptech.fm

@SharpTechPodcast Channel — YouTube

@Stratechery Channel — YouTube

Elon Dreams and Bitter Lessons — Stratechery

The Bitter Lesson — Incomplete Ideas

An Interview with Hugo Barra About Orion and Meta’s AR Strategy — Stratechery Interview

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: A Moment for SpaceX; After the End of the Beginning; Tesla's 'We, Robot' Event; Waymo Follow-Up Oct 14, 2024

Show notes

Explaining the SpaceX breakthrough over the weekend and why it mattered, an email about the next decade in tech, Tesla's 'We, Robot' event and the challenge of analyzing Elon Musk, a few more Waymo emails, and watches.

To email the show: email@sharptech.fm

@SharpTechPodcast Channel — YouTube

@Stratechery Channel — YouTube

In an engineering feat, mechanical SpaceX arms catch Starship rocket booster back at the launch pad — AP

SpaceX Starship Flight 5 — YouTube

The End of the Beginning — Stratechery

An Interview with Gregory Allen About Transforming U.S. Defense — Stratechery Interview

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 and the Search for Antitrust Remedies, Network Effects and Natural Monopolies, Waymo vs. Tesla for the Future of Transportation Oct 10, 2024

Show notes

An injunction in the wake of the Epic v. Google case highlights the value of network effects in the app store market and the limits of antitrust law to restore competition, the DOJ proposes a break-up of Google that may run into similar problems in the search market, and Ben explains why Tesla's taking a different approach to autonomous driving than Waymo.

To email the show: email@sharptech.fm

@SharpTechPodcast Channel — YouTube

@Stratechery Channel — YouTube

Google Must Make It Easier for App Stores to Compete on Android, Judge Rules — Wall Street Journal

Google’s Play Store Remedies, The Injunction, The Power of Network Effects — Stratechery Update

US Weighs Google Breakup in Historic Big Tech Antitrust Case — Bloomberg

Tesla’s Robotaxi Event, Tesla Self-Driving 12.5 Experience, Starlink and Airlines — 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) Waymo and Our Automated Future, Augmented Reality and Form Factor Questions, NotebookLM and Media Consumption Oct 02, 2024

Show notes

Ben's experience with Waymo and a question about AI automation implications, NotebookLM arrives and intrigues, follow-ups on the Orion conversation, and two notes on platforms and the future of media consumption.

To email the show: email@sharptech.fm

@SharpTechPodcast Channel — YouTube

@Stratechery Channel — YouTube

Taking Waymo, Uber and Waymo — Stratechery Update

More on Orion, Where Vision Pro Went Wrong, Apple’s Response and Meta’s Motivation — Stratechery Update

Post from Kuldar — X: @kkuldar

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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