Sharp Tech with Ben Thompson

Latest Episodes:

(Preview) How Apple Changed the Cellular Economy, What SpaceX Wants to Do With Spectrum, Airlines and Carriers, Yann LeCun Departs Meta Nov 14, 2025

Show notes

Andrew and Ben analyze SpaceX's nearly $20 billion in purchases by first touching on cell carrier history and the power dynamics that iPhones upended 20 years ago. Then: Understanding the SpaceX business and Musk's approach to strategy, what Starlink is trying to do with satellite internet on airlines, a power play with cell carriers that appears to have failed earlier this year, and now, a Plan B that may involve an acquisition and a bid to partner with Apple. At the end: Why Yann LeCun leaving Meta is the right outcome for both sides, a question about big companies and innovation spawns regulation cautionary tales and a cigar anecdote, and wondering about the impact of big tech on AI's future.

To email the show: email@sharptech.fm

@SharpTechPodcast Channel — YouTube

@Stratechery Channel — YouTube

Why Do Carriers Subsidize the iPhone? — Stratechery

SpaceX Buys More Spectrum, SpaceX’s Pivot, Why Apple and SpaceX Should Partner — Stratechery Update

SpaceX Buys Spectrum, Spectrum Specifics, SpaceX’s Big Bet — Stratechery Update

An Interview with Unity CEO Matthew Bromberg About Turnarounds — Stratechery Interview

Meta chief AI scientist Yann LeCun plans to exit and launch own start-up — Financial Times

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

(Preview) OpenAI Wants Help from the Government, Apple Taps Google for AI, Q&A on Bubbles, Amazon Groceries, and YouTube TV Nov 07, 2025

Show notes

Ben and Andrew begin with reactions to the OpenAI CFO discussing a federal "backstop" for prospective financing, as well as Sam Altman's recent comments about OpenAI's spending. Then: An emailer objects to the discussion of Bubble benefits, and questions about Meta's AI spending and a looming the AI backlash as hiring contracts and electricity prices rise. From there: Unpacking the announcement that Apple will use Gemini to power Siri, and two follow-ups to last week's discussion of "Too Big to Fail" in tech. At the end: Thoughts on Amazon's grocery ambitions, Walmart's continued success, the YouTube TV-ESPN dispute, and a listener's mental model of Ticketmaster.

To email the show: email@sharptech.fm

@SharpTechPodcast Channel — YouTube

@Stratechery Channel — YouTube

The Benefits of Bubbles — Stratechery

OpenAI Isn’t Yet Working Toward an IPO, CFO Says — Wall Street Journal

The Deployment Age — Reaction Wheel

Apple to Kick Off 50th Anniversary With Nearly $140 Billion Quarter — Bloomberg

Amazon Earnings, AWS and OpenAI, Did Amazon Solve Groceries? — Stratechery Update

An Interview with Michael Morton About AI E-Commerce — Stratechery Interview

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

(Preview) The Hidden Benefits of Bubble Economics, Microsoft and OpenAI Make a Deal, Notes on Taylor Sheridan, Sora, and Nexperia Oct 31, 2025

Show notes

Discussing Ben's interview with Substrate CEO James Proud, including the "insane" challenge he's undertaken as Substrate attempts to compete with TSMC and ASML, and the ways in which a bubbly environment benefits innovation by incentivizing exactly that sort of moonshot. From there: Ben's thoughts on the "Too Big to Fail" era in tech that may be averted, reactions to the latest humanoid robot, and thoughts on both sides of the OpenAI-MIcrosoft announcement earlier this week. At the end: Taylor Sheridan leaves Paramount for greener pastures, Sharp Text and lessons from Grantland, a temperature check on Sora one month later, lessons from the Nexperia mess in Europe, a question about Magic: The Gathering, and a few corrections to last week's show.

To email the show: email@sharptech.fm

@SharpTechPodcast Channel — YouTube

@Stratechery Channel — YouTube

An Interview with Substrate CEO James Proud About Building a Disruptive Foundry in America — Stratechery Interview

An Interview with Byrne Hobart About Bubbles and Escaping Stagnation — Stratechery Interview

Nvidia GTC in DC, Qualcomm’s AI Chip, OpenAI’s Restructuring — Stratechery Update

Why Taylor Sheridan Is Worth a Billion Dollars — Sharp Text

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

(Preview) Understanding the AWS Outage, Resiliency Realities and Innovation Urgency, F1 Heads to Apple TV Oct 24, 2025

Show notes

Celebrating the return of the NBA with reactions to Inside the NBA on ESPN before turning to an extended explanation of the technology underlying the AWS outage this week and the history of US-East-1 in Northern Virginia. Then: Grappling with the trade-offs inherent to investing in resiliency to preserve the status quo, the risks that preservation comes at the expense of innovation, and Twitter as an object lesson. At the end: Questions on F1's deal with Apple, an F1 hater checks in, a sales pitch for YouTubeTV, and Ben chooses his favorite karaoke songs and explains how he learned Chinese.

To email the show: email@sharptech.fm

@SharpTechPodcast Channel — YouTube

@Stratechery Channel — YouTube

The NBA's ESPN Problem Might Finally Be Over — Sharp Text

Resiliency and Scale — Stratechery

Zero Trust Information — Stratechery

F1 on Apple TV, Distribution as Differentiation, A Worthwhile Gamble — Stratechery Update

對面的女孩看過來 — Song by Richie Jen (任賢齊)

自由 — Song by Zhang Zhen Yue (張震嶽)

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

(Preview) How America Lost Rare Earths, Netflix Partners with Spotify and Bill Simmons, What Comes Next in the Robotaxi Wars Oct 17, 2025

Show notes

Andrew and Ben begin by examining the various structural forces and business decisions that led the U.S. and the West to cede rare earth mining and refining to China, including reduced friction at the expense of resilience n a variety of areas, predatory pricing that pays extra dividends in the commodities business, and why Ben is keeping an eye on the Middle East in the months to come. From there: Reactions to the news that Spotify and Netflix are partnering and pulling podcasts off of YouTube, with thoughts on the limits of that strategy and the difference between YouTube's cut of creator ad revenue and Apple's developer fees. At the end: Uber, Tesla, and Waymo and the shape of the future autonomous vehicle marketplace, Ben's thoughts on Tesla's Full Self-Driving, OpenAI's corporate structure, and ChatGPT embraces AI erotica.

To email the show: email@sharptech.fm

@SharpTechPodcast Channel — YouTube

@Stratechery Channel — YouTube

An Interview with Gracelin Baskaran About Rare Earths — Stratechery Interview

Gas Turbine Makers Are Riding the AI Power Boom — Wall Street Journal

China and Rare Earth Metals, Chips and Rare Earths, The U.S.’s Self-Inflicted Challenge — Stratechery Update

Walmart on ChatGPT, Walmart (and Amazon) Motivations, Spotify Podcasts on Netflix — Stratechery Update

Netflix Jumps Into Podcasts With Spotify Deal — New York Times

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

(Preview) OpenAI Astride the World, Infrastructure Buildouts and Boundless Ambitions, More on Sora and Creation Oct 10, 2025

Show notes

Thoughts on OpenAI after a month of infrastructure and partnership announcements, including the differences between OpenAI and a Mag7 company, Ben’s interview with Sam Altman this week, Apps in ChatGPT, and drawing on Windows, Apple, and WeChat to better understand the company’s strategy. At the end: Questions on Sora, the 90-9-1 law, and OpenAI’s approach to copyright, as well as some brief reactions to China's move to escalate curbs on rare earth exports.

To email the show: email@sharptech.fm

@SharpTechPodcast Channel — YouTube

@Stratechery Channel — YouTube

An Interview with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman About DevDay and the AI Buildout — Stratechery Interview

Sora, AI Bicycles, and Meta Disruption — Stratechery

OpenAI’s Windows Play — Stratechery

Netflix and the Conservation of Attractive Profits — Stratechery

China Clamps Down Even Harder on Rare Earths — New York Times

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

(Preview) Sora 2 and an AI Video Boom, Meta’s Vibes One Week Later, Questions on TikTok, Solar Power, and the iPhone Air Oct 03, 2025

Show notes

Andrew and Ben begin with reactions to OpenAI's Sora 2, a new Sora app, and more thoughts on last week’s ‘Vibes’ release from MetaAI. Topics include: Parallels between Sora 2 and the GPT 3.5 release in 2022, responding to a sample of disgusted MetaAI 'Vibes' reactions, why OpenAI is investing in short form video, why the threat to Meta is clearer than ever, and fair questions about Mark Zuckerberg's leadership after the last several years. At the end: TikTok’s business prospects and security concerns, solar power possibilities for AI infrastructure, Ben's shocking embrace of the iPhone Air, and a Sharp Tech x Oreo crossover.

To email the show: email@sharptech.fm

@SharpTechPodcast Channel — YouTube

@Stratechery Channel — YouTube

Sora 2 is here — OpenAI

Sora the App, Sonnet 4.5 and the Question of Models as Processors — Stratechery Update

Emergency Pod: Instant Reactions to MetaAI Vibes — Sharp Tech

The TikTok War — Stratechery

An Interview with Terraform Industries CEO Casey Handmer About the Solar Energy Revolution — Stratechery Interview

An Interview with Ben Bajarin About AI Infrastructure — Stratechery Interview

Ben Buys an iPhone — Dithering

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

Emergency Pod: Instant Reactions to MetaAI Vibes Sep 26, 2025

Show notes

Ninety minutes after they wrapped a conversation about YouTube, Google and the future of AI video, Ben and Andrew reconvene to make Ben eat his words about Meta's inability to ship and react to Vibes — a new feed in the Meta AI app for short-form, AI-generated videos.

To email the show: email@sharptech.fm

@SharpTechPodcast Channel — YouTube

@Stratechery Channel — YouTube

Post by Alexandr Wang — X

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

(Preview) Video's Ongoing Victory Over Text, Google and YouTube's Abundance of Opportunity, Six Questions About an AI Bubble Sep 26, 2025

Show notes

On today's show Andrew and Ben begin with a 60-second iPhone review before turning to YouTube and Google's abundance of AI opportunities. Then: Six questions about the AI bubble, including reactions to Nvidia's investment in OpenAI, Oracle's financing vs. cloud incumbents, Microsoft's spending strategy, the looming power crisis, and more. At the end: A salute to the bubble prince, more on Meta's smart glasses, and "presage" confirmation.

To email the show: email@sharptech.fm

@SharpTechPodcast Channel — YouTube

@Stratechery Channel — YouTube

The YouTube Tip of the Google Spear — Stratechery

Meta’s AI Abundance — Stratechery

MrBeast on His Quest to Turn YouTube Fame Into an Entertainment Empire — Bloomberg

Oracle Pops, From Databases to AI, Oracle and OpenAI — Stratechery Update

The Oracle Inflection Point, Apple’s Price Increase — Stratechery Update

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

(Preview) Meta Doubles Down on Smart Glasses, Nvidia Partners with Intel, Notes on the Hidden YouTube Colossus Sep 19, 2025

Show notes

Andrew and Ben react to the Meta Ray-Ban Display and the progress of the Meta Neural Band, including keynote FOMO, debating the value of handwriting words in the air, the strategic logic of shipping these products now, an incredible price point, and lots more. From there: A look at the Intel-Nvidia partnership that was announced Thursday morning, and Ben's thoughts on YouTube after a visit to New York City for an afternoon with creators and YouTube CEO Neal Mohan. At the end: Positive buzz on liquid glass, the dangers of CFOs as CEOs, innovations from incumbent companies, Ben's repatriation takeaways, life advice for moving, and the five CEOs who have contributed most to the Stratechery bundle.

To email the show: email@sharptech.fm

@SharpTechPodcast Channel — YouTube

@Stratechery Channel — YouTube

Meta Ray-Ban Display, Why Less is More, Price and the Neural Band — Stratechery Update

Meta Launches $799 Glasses With Screen and AI Integration — Bloomberg

Meta struggles to decouple from Chinese supplier of AI smart glasses — Financial Times

Intel and NVIDIA to Jointly Develop AI Infrastructure and Personal Computing Products — Intel Newsroom

An Interview with Dan Kim About Intel, Nvidia, and the U.S. Government — Stratechery Interview

An Interview with YouTube CEO Neal Mohan About Building a Stage for Creators — Stratechery Interview

The Deal That Makes No Sense — Stratechery

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

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