Sharp Tech with Ben Thompson

Latest Episodes:

Apple and the Power of Platforms, AI Comes for Google Search, ChatGPT Comes for Higher Education May 08, 2025

Show notes

Talking Platform Power and 15 years of App Store arguments, with topics including Ben's memories from Microsoft, the difference between regulating platforms and aggregators, and the case for intervening in the App Store today. Then: Eddy Cue testifies that Apple is exploring AI search options for Safari, and a New York Magazine feature on ChatGPT in colleges sparks thoughts on tech, higher education, and Blue Books.

To email the show: email@sharptech.fm

@SharpTechPodcast Channel — YouTube

@Stratechery Channel — YouTube

Platform Power Is Underrated — Stratechery

Apple Eyes Move to AI Search, Ending Era Defined by Google — Bloomberg

Everyone Is Cheating Their Way Through College — NY Mag

AI Homework — 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) What’s Next for Apple and the App Store, The Risks of Continuing This Fight, More on Meta and Its AI Vision May 05, 2025

Show notes

Ben's Daily Update on Friday and Apple's argument appealing the order in Epic v. Apple, the risks facing Apple as they've continued to fight these battles the past several years, and questions for the future as the present gets increasingly messy. At the end: Meta's plans for AI business agents, an emailer asks whether Meta's message today means Facebook failed yesterday, and a proposal for AI officiating in the NBA is soundly rejected.

To email the show: email@sharptech.fm

@SharpTechPodcast Channel — YouTube

@Stratechery Channel — YouTube

Apple Held in Contempt, The Crux of the Case, The Takings Clause — 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 and Its Many Plans in AI, Apple Gets Hammered in Court, The Costs of Waiting to Do the Right Thing May 01, 2025

Show notes

A 360 degree look at Meta's AI efforts after Ben's sitdown with Mark Zuckerberg and Meta's launch of a standalone AI app. Then: Reactions to Wednesday's holding that Apple violated a court order and may be criminally liable for its behavior, responses to an email about a broadened understanding of consumer welfare, and a Punchbowl News headache for Amazon.

To email the show: email@sharptech.fm

@SharpTechPodcast Channel — YouTube

@Stratechery Channel — YouTube

An Interview with Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg About AI and the Evolution of Social Media — Stratechery Interview

Meta’s AI Abundance — Stratechery

Apple Dealt Stinging Court Defeat on App Store Sales Commissions — Bloomberg

Amazon, Trump, and Tariff Costs; Amazon Haul and Temu; Political Lessons — 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) All About AI Companions: Personalization Upsides, Dystopian Downsides, AI Therapy, Advertising Tension, and Lots More Apr 28, 2025

Show notes

After last week's conversation about AI for companionship, Ben and Andrew answer emails about the future of personalized LLM answers, speculative costs and benefits, the tension between building trust and building a product with 3 billion customers, and much more.

To email the show: email@sharptech.fm

@SharpTechPodcast Channel — YouTube

@Stratechery Channel — YouTube

ChatGPT Memory, Boundaries and AI Companions, Auren — Stratechery Update

Tech’s Two Philosophies — Stratechery

How People Are Really Using Gen AI in 2025 — Harvard Business Review

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 and the Ghosts of Companies Past, Privacy at the Expense of Performance, The Cook Question Apr 24, 2025

Show notes

Talking through Ben's article on Apple and the Ghosts of Companies Past, including Apple's religious commitment to privacy, untapped platform potential in AI, parallels to Intel, and why Tim Cook is probably the wrong CEO to undertake the cultural shifts today that may be required for the company to thrive tomorrow. At the end: An AppleTV+ public service announcement.

To email the show: email@sharptech.fm

@SharpTechPodcast Channel — YouTube

@Stratechery Channel — YouTube

Apple and the Ghosts of Companies Past — Stratechery

The Intel Opportunity — Stratechery

The Deal That Makes No Sense — Stratechery

Apple is Losing Over $1 Billion a Year on Streaming Service — The Information

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) What Memory Can Do for ChatGPT, OpenAI's Future and Google's Circles Past, What College Football Can Teach Us About Tech Apr 21, 2025

Show notes

Talking through the implications of memory capabilities for ChatGPT, the future of AI companionship, OpenAI's platform ambitions, and why Google Circles never found a market. At the end: College football, tech, and a bit of Bell Labs history.

To email the show: email@sharptech.fm

@SharpTechPodcast Channel — YouTube

@Stratechery Channel — YouTube

ChatGPT can now remember and reference all your previous chats — Ars Technica

ChatGPT Memory, Boundaries and AI Companions, Auren — 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.

Three Eras of Facebook (and the Internet), The Problems with FTC v. Meta, The Realities of Perfect Competition Apr 17, 2025

Show notes

Tracing the history of Facebook to understand the challenges for the government in this month's FTC v. Meta trial, and thoughts on the nature of competition on the Internet and its impact on the economy at large.

To email the show: email@sharptech.fm

@SharpTechPodcast Channel — YouTube

@Stratechery Channel — YouTube

Meta v. FTC, The Three Facebook Eras, Video Slop and Market Forces — Stratechery Update

Regulators and Reality — 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) Apple Gets a Temporary Reprieve, The End of Internet 2.0, An Incomplete Tech Blog Post Canon Apr 14, 2025

Show notes

Andrew and Ben discuss another weekend of pivots, updates and clarifications to the Trump trade policies, the big picture shifts and fundamental questions underlying these policies, a question about Spotify, and Stevie's platform rant inspires an emailer's request for a tech blog post canon.

To email the show: email@sharptech.fm

@SharpTechPodcast Channel — YouTube

@Stratechery Channel — YouTube

Apple Was on Brink of Crisis Before Trump Tariff Concession — Bloomberg

Internet 3.0 and the Beginning of (Tech) History — Stratechery

Strategy Letter V — Joel on Software

The Bitter Lesson — Rich Sutton

Stevey's Google Platforms Rant — Github Gist: chitchcock

Complexity and Strategy — Terry Crowley

The Tinkerings of Robert Noyce — Tom Wolfe

The Spirit Of The Internet — The Awl

The only thing that matters — Marc Andreessen

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.

American Disruption, Tech’s Manufacturing History in Asia, The Power of Demand in an Uncertain Future Apr 10, 2025

Show notes

Ben and Andrew return to discuss Liberation Day whiplash, Apple’s history in China and tech’s history in Asia, and the various challenges inherent to the efforts to rejuvenate America’s industrial capacity. At the end: Ben recaps a visit to a Formula 1 race in Japan.

To email the show: email@sharptech.fm

@SharpTechPodcast Channel — YouTube

@Stratechery Channel — YouTube

American Disruption — Stratechery

Trade, Tariffs, and Tech — Stratechery Update

A Chance to Build — Stratechery

How Apple tied its fortunes to China — 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) xAI Buys X, The Bitter Lesson for Everyone, Everywhere, Google’s Only Hope in AI Mar 31, 2025

Show notes

Thoughts on both X and xAI in the wake of Friday’s announcement from Elon Musk, Chat GPT’s image capabilities and whether AI-adjacent SaaS companies will ever have a moat, and emailers offer counterpoints on Sam Altman’s ads answer and the notion that Google can’t make great products anymore. At the end: Should Substack serve ads?, answers on Israeli cybersecurity, and more on Steve Jobs and Studio Ghibli.

To email the show: email@sharptech.fm

@SharpTechPodcast Channel — YouTube

@Stratechery Channel — YouTube

Musk Merges His AI Company With X, Claiming Combined Value of $113 Billion — Wall Street Journal

Thread from @realEstateTrent — X

Stevey's Google Platforms Rant — Github Gist

ChatGPT 4o Adds Image Generation and It’s Fun as Hell — Daring Fireball

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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