Sharp Tech with Ben Thompson

Latest Episodes:

(Preview) Justice for Software Engineers, The Various Futures of Vibe Coding, Questions at xAI and Progress for Tesla Jun 24, 2025

Show notes

On today's show Ben and Andrew answer questions about the future of engineering jobs, the definition of vibe coding, Meta's AI upside, ChatGPT-led fashion shows, xAI as a third-tier streamer, and bitter lessons as autonomous driving becomes more viable. At the end: An emailer follow-ups on last week's conversation about normies and AI risk.

To email the show: email@sharptech.fm

@SharpTechPodcast Channel — YouTube

@Stratechery Channel — YouTube

xAI Raising Money, xAI and Oracle, Xbox = Windows — Stratechery Update

Meta + Scale AI?, Meta’s Reset, AI as Sustaining Innovation — Stratechery Update

Vibe Coding, Windsurf and Anthropic, ChatGPT Connectors — Stratechery Update

Elon Dreams and Bitter Lessons — 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.

(Preview) Meta Continues Its AI Spending Spree, More Fun with OpenAI and Microsoft, ‘Apple in China’ and Related Matters Jun 19, 2025

Show notes

Ben and Andrew react to reports that in addition to adding Scale AI CEO Alexandr Wang, Meta’s now in advanced talks to hire prominent AI investors and frequent Stratechery guests, Nat Friedman and Daniel Gross, for an offer that could exceed $1 billion. Then: Follow-ups on Perplexity and Apple, the calculus for both sides amid reports of between OpenAI and Microsoft, a question about ‘Apple in China’ and culpability for the last 20 years of decision-making, and thoughts on the competition between the US and China, in general.

To email the show: email@sharptech.fm

@SharpTechPodcast Channel — YouTube

@Stratechery Channel — YouTube

Meta in Talks to Hire AI Investors Friedman and Gross, Partially Buy Out Their Venture Fund — The Information

Stratechery Interview Series: Nat Friedman and Daniel Gross — Stratechery

Microsoft-OpenAI Drama Continues, WhatsApp Ads, Channel Subscriptions and the Creator Perspective — Stratechery Update

An Interview with “Apple in China” Author Patrick McGee — 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 Futures for Cursor and Perplexity, Multi Modality Dreams and Apple Possibilities, Normies Contemplate an AI Future Jun 17, 2025

Show notes

As the dust settles after keynote season, Ben and Andrew answer mailbag questions and talk through the future prospects for Cursor and Perplexity, multi-modality possibilities for AI devices, Apple's advantages if they deepen their partnership with OpenAI, more on Meta's investment in Scale AI, the business logic of chasing superintelligence, and takes on an AI conversation between Bill Simmons and Chuck Klosterman.

To email the show: email@sharptech.fm

@SharpTechPodcast Channel — YouTube

@Stratechery Channel — YouTube

An Interview with Cursor Co-Founder and CEO Michael Truell About Coding With AI — Stratechery Interview

Chuck Klosterman on the NBA Finals, a Rival League, the Sonics, ‘The Rehearsal,’ Cooper Flagg, and the Fear of AI — The Bill Simmons Podcast

Nvidia’s Jensen Huang says he disagrees with almost everything Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei says — Fortune

Regretful Accelerationism — 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.

Apple’s WWDC Retreat, Liquid Glass and One Question, Meta Puts $14.8 Billion Toward an AI Reset Jun 12, 2025

Show notes

A variety of announcements at WWDC, and why Apple’s lack of jaw-dropping news or boundary pushing plans was the most sensible approach available this year. Then: Questions about Meta’s AI execution, as the company reportedly invests $14.8 billion in Scale AI and its CEO Alexander Wang.

To email the show: email@sharptech.fm

@SharpTechPodcast Channel — YouTube

@Stratechery Channel — YouTube

Apple Retreats — Stratechery

Meta Is Creating a New A.I. Lab to Pursue ‘Superintelligence’ — New York Times

Meta + Scale AI?, Meta’s Reset, AI as Sustaining Innovation — 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) Nike’s Lessons on the Internet, Why Nike on Amazon Makes Sense, Meta and Anduril and Silicon Valley History Jun 05, 2025

Show notes

What’s gone wrong for Nike and why a deal with Amazon is likely the best way forward, the history of the U.S. military and Silicon Valley, and rationale for both sides of the Meta-Anduril partnership. At the end: Some corrections on Ukraine’s drone attack and more thoughts on the future of high-trust trade.

To email the show: email@sharptech.fm

@SharpTechPodcast Channel — YouTube

@Stratechery Channel — YouTube

Nike on Amazon; Nike’s Disastrous Pivot; Inevitability, Intentionality, and Amazon — Stratechery Update

Anduril + Meta, Silicon Valley and the Pentagon, Meta’s Motivations — Stratechery Update

An Interview with Michael Morton About E-Commerce Winners and Losers — 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) Operation Spider's Web and Global Trade, More on io and Devices of the Future, The Allure of Sports on Streaming Jun 02, 2025

Show notes

Reactions to Sunday’s shocking reports out of Russia and why the virtues of a shipping container may become more complicated in years to come. Then: questions on foldable phones, the io upside, and the future of apps, and NASCAR goes to streaming, where early returns are positive.

To email the show: email@sharptech.fm

@SharpTechPodcast Channel — YouTube

@Stratechery Channel — YouTube

Ukraine stages audacious attack on airfields deep in Russian territory — Financial Times

Daily Update: Thinking Twice on Drones, by James Allworth — Stratechery Update

Friction — 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.

(Preview) The End of the Ad-Supported Internet, Imagining What Comes Next, A Human-AI Agent PSA May 29, 2025

Show notes

Discussing Ben's Article on the future of the agentic web, including the virtues of the ad-supported internet we've enjoyed for the last three decades, why that model is becoming less viable as the years pass, and the potential for new solutions as agentic web traffic proliferates in the years and decades to come. At the end: An epiphany surrounding AI workflows and chain of thought exchanges between employers and their employees.

To email the show: email@sharptech.fm

@SharpTechPodcast Channel — YouTube

@Stratechery Channel — YouTube

The Agentic Web and Original Sin — Stratechery

Personalized Advertising — Minority Report (2002)

Claude 4, Anthropic Agents, Human-AI Agents — 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.

OpenAI Enters the Hardware Business, The Challenges and Opportunities for Jony Ive, Takeaways from Google I/O 2025 May 22, 2025

Show notes

Ben and Andrew react to the news that OpenAI is acquiring Jony Ive's hardware startup for $6.5 billion worth of stock, including questions about the form factor of future AI devices, challenges inherent to manufacturing hardware in 2025, the logic of these ambitions for OpenAI, and yes, a few words about the 9-minute video announcing the deal. At the end: Google's plans for its search business, Veo 3 and gen AI videos, and Ben's appearance on the Bill Simmons Podcast this week.

To email the show: email@sharptech.fm

@SharpTechPodcast Channel — YouTube

@Stratechery Channel — YouTube

OpenAI Acquires io, OpenAI’s Strategic Positioning, Apple’s Worsening AI Problem — Stratechery Update

OpenAI to Buy AI Device Startup From Apple Veteran Jony Ive in $6.5 Billion Deal — Bloomberg

Sam & Jony introduce io — OpenAI

A conversation with Jony Ive — Stripe (YouTube)

Google I/O, The Search Funnel, Product Possibilities — Stratechery Update

The Invincible OKC, Knicks Nirvana and Giannis Trades — The Bill Simmons Podcast

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 U.S. Partners with the Middle East in AI, Why OpenAI Is Acquiring Windsurf, Google’s Side of the Platform Wars May 19, 2025

Show notes

The implications of last week’s announcements on AI investments from Saudi Arabia and the UAE (and the repeal of the AI Diffusion rules), Ben’s thoughts on OpenAI’s acquisition of Windsurf, and questions about Android and VRBO vs. Airbnb.

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, Asianometry and the Dithering Podcast as part of Stratechery Plus for $15/month or $150/year.

(Preview) Airbnb and Its Varied Ambitions, The High Agency Golden Era, HBO Max and the End of an Error May 15, 2025

Show notes

Reactions to a revamped app and the expanded ambitions of Airbnb, an excellent email about practical considerations for leaders if AI accelerates a bifurcation of society, and thoughts on HBO's rebrand and ESPN's new streaming app.

To email the show: email@sharptech.fm

@SharpTechPodcast Channel — YouTube

@Stratechery Channel — YouTube

Airbnb’s New App, Experiences and Services, Chesky’s Founder Mode — Stratechery Update

It’s Not Max, It’s HBO Max: Streaming Service Flips Name Again — Bloomberg

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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