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Microsoft Pledges To Pay Its Own Way Jan 13, 2026

Show notes

Microsoft tries to calm data center buildout backlash. Layoffs come to the Metaverse. Apple has a new creator subscription package. More implications from that Apple/Google AI deal from yesterday. And is Cowork for Claude the personal AI agent we’ve been waiting for?

Microsoft responds to AI data center revolt, vowing to cover full power costs and reject local tax breaks (GeekWire)
Meta Begins Job Cuts as It Shifts From Metaverse to AI Devices (Bloomberg)
Apple debuts ‘Apple Creator Studio’ subscription, here’s what you get (9to5Mac)
Google Gemini Partnership With Apple Will Go Beyond Siri Revamp (MacRumors)
Anthropic’s new Cowork tool offers Claude Code without the code (TechCrunch)

Siri Goes With Gemini Jan 12, 2026

Show notes

Apple announces that its going with Google’s Gemini to power Siri later this year, and Google joins the $4T club on the news. Governments around the world are still mad at Grok. AI has essentially killed Stack Overflow but its making more money than it ever has. And how you get get AI to give you the full text of books.

Apple picks Google’s Gemini to run AI-powered Siri coming this year (CNBC)
UK’s Ofcom investigates X over Grok’s sexualised AI images of women and children (FT)
Anthropic expands into healthcare a week after OpenAI launched a similar product (Business Insider)
Stack Overflow’s forum is dead thanks to AI, but the company’s still kicking... thanks to AI (Sherwood News)
AI’s Memorization Crisis (The Atlantic)

Grok Still Groking Jan 09, 2026

Show notes

Grok dials back the AI image generation thing. Kinda. xAI just raised all that money cause it kinda has to. Looks like the next Deep Seek model is incoming. Why a16z is officially the biggest VC firm in all the world. And, of course, the Weekend Longreads Suggestions.

No, Grok hasn’t paywalled its deepfake image feature (The Verge)
Musk’s xAI Burns Almost $8 Billion, Reveals Optimus Plan (Bloomberg)
Chinese Firms Dominated Global Humanoid Robot Shipments in 2025 (Bloomberg)
DeepSeek To Release Next Flagship AI Model With Strong Coding Ability (The Information)
Andreessen Horowitz raises $15 billion for new funds (Axios)
A16z’s $15 Billion Fund Vacuumed Up A Fifth Of Venture Dollars Raised Last Year (Forbes)

Weekend Longreads Suggestions:

The Man Who Could Be Apple’s Next C.E.O. (NYTimes)
The cost of America’s nuclear revival (FT)

ChatGPT Health Jan 08, 2026

Show notes

Grok and X have been letting people create some risqué and in some cases, probably illegal images, and governments around the world are getting pissed. Does Google think AI can obviate your email inbox? And would you upload your medical history to ChatGPT? Sam Altman is asking you to.

Grok Is Generating Sexual Content Far More Graphic Than What's on X (Wired)
Google is taking over your Gmail inbox with AI (The Verge)
OpenAI launches ChatGPT Health, encouraging users to connect their medical records (The Verge)

CES Day 3 Jan 07, 2026

Show notes

xAI has raised another monster round. Polymarket has yet another controversy around whether a bet should pay out or not. Could the AI datacenter buildout actually disrupt politics in local America? And a sort of roundup of what’s been at CES so far.

Elon Musk’s xAI Raises $20 Billion (NYTimes)
Polymarket refuses to pay bets that US would ‘invade’ Venezuela (FT)
Americans Hate AI. Which Party Will Benefit? (Politico)
The data center rebellion is here, and it’s reshaping the political landscape (Washington Post)
Three Reasons We Can’t Get Enough of LinkedIn (WSJ)
What surprised us the most at CES 2026 (The Verge)

CES Day 2 Jan 06, 2026

Show notes

Nvidia launches its next chip platform. AMD says, hey, us too! Also, did you know Nvidia is building self-driving car platforms? Did you know Dell is bring the XPS brand back? And did you know that the most interesting product launch I’ve seen so far has come from Lego?

Nvidia launches Vera Rubin AI computing platform at CES 2026 (The Verge)
AMD shows off new higher performing AI chip at CES event (Reuters)
I tested Nvidia’s Tesla Full Self-Driving competitor — Tesla should be worried (The Verge)
Dell Admits It Made a Huge Mistake When It Abandoned XPS (Gizmodo)
Robot Vacuum Maker Roborock Shows Off Stair-Climbing Model With Legs (Bloomberg)
Lego announces Smart Brick, the ‘most significant evolution’ in 50 years (The Verge)

CES Day 1 Jan 05, 2026

Show notes

Coming to you live from Las Vegas with the first of the CES madness. More signs that insider betting on prediction markets is going to become something we’re going to have to live with. Is Reddit bigger than TikTok now, at least by one measure? And how Reels became bigger than YouTube by maybe the most important measure.

Exclusive: Samsung to double AI mobile devices to 800 million units this year (Reuters)
Voice control opening and closing comes to Samsung’s Family Hub smart fridges (The Verge)
Someone made a ton of money betting on Maduro’s capture (The Verge)
SpaceX, OpenAI and Anthropic prepare to launch landmark IPOs (Financial Times)
Reddit overtakes TikTok in UK thanks to search algorithms and gen Z (The Guardian)
How Meta’s Reels Became a $50 Billion Business (WSJ)

Manus, The Hands Of Fate Dec 31, 2025

Show notes

More on Manus, who they are, how they got positioned to sell, and more on what Meta wants to do with them. Open AI is paying employees more than anyone in history. The TriFold phone is a bit a dud. And, of course, the weekend longreads suggestion.

How Meta’s Newest Acquisition Target Got Around Worries Over Its Ties to China (WSJ)
Manus: The Hands of AI Fate (Spyglass)
Musk’s xAI Buys Building to Expand ‘Colossus’ Data Center (Bloomberg)
OpenAI Is Paying Employees More Than Any Major Tech Startup in History (WSJ)
AI Trade’s Next Leg Is All About Tech’s ‘Pick-and-Shovel’ Stocks (Bloomberg)
Samsung’s First Trifold Phone Is Expensive and Half-Baked (Bloomberg)

Weekend Longreads Suggestion:

2025 letter (Zhengdong Wang)

The End Of Year M&A Rush Dec 30, 2025

Show notes

This flurry of M&A deals at the end of the year (I have another one to tell you about) are people getting out while the getting is good, or is this just the start of what’s going to be a big deal in 2026? And are half of the big VC raises we’re seeing just folks trying to build up cash reserves to hedge either way?

Nvidia Kindacquires Groq Dec 29, 2025

Show notes

Nvidia kindaquires Groq I’ll tell you what we think the strategy is here. A shot across my bow that CES is next week. Accountants shut down remote testing because of AI. And for all the recent bullishness, an honest look at the immediate limitations of today’s robotics.

Nvidia Reaches Technology Licensing Deal With Startup Groq (Bloomberg)
Why Nvidia Struck a $20 Billion Megadeal with Groq (The Information)
Samsung brings Google Photos to the biggest screen in your home (AndroidPolice)
Accounting body scraps remote exams to combat cheating (Financial Times)
Even the Companies Making Humanoid Robots Think They’re Overhyped (WSJ)

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