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The AI Concern Committee Is Back Oct 08, 2025

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More on the circular nature of the recent AI deals. AI now accounts for more debt issuance than US banks. AI companies consider using the billions they’ve raised to pay off lawsuits since they can’t get insurance. Another way OpenAI is the new Microsoft. And at the end? Look at that! A non-AI story!

OpenAI, Nvidia Fuel $1 Trillion AI Market With Web of Circular Deals (Bloomberg)
Nvidia’s Huang says he’s surprised AMD offered OpenAI 10% of company in ‘clever’ deal (CNBC)
At $1.2 Trillion, More High-Grade Debt Now Tied to AI Than Banks (Bloomberg)
Without data centers, GDP growth was 0.1% in the first half of 2025, Harvard economist says (Fortune)
Insurers balk at multibillion-dollar claims faced by OpenAI and Anthropic (Financial Times)
OpenAI Sneezes, and Software Firms Catch a Cold (Wired)
Amazon Pharmacy introduces kiosks that can quickly dispense medications at the doctor’s office (GeekWire)

OpenAI Wants To Be The Windows Of AI Oct 07, 2025

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Forget building apps on TOP of ChatGPT, now they’ve put the apps INSIDE of ChatGPT. Why this is a play for ChatGPT to become the Windows of the AI era. The prediction market market continues to explode. Turning down the volume on streaming ads. And why Mr. Beast is worried about AI social media.

OpenAI announces Apps SDK allowing ChatGPT to launch and run third party apps like Zillow, Canva, Spotify (VentureBeat)
OpenAI’s Windows Play (Stratechery)
NYSE Owner to Invest Up to $2 Billion in Polymarket (WSJ)
California law forces Netflix, Hulu to turn down ad volumes (Politico)
MrBeast says AI could threaten creators’ livelihoods, calling it ‘scary times’ for the industry (TechCrunch)

OpenAI’s Big AMD Deal Oct 06, 2025

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Another huge OpenAI deal, this time with AMD. The huge amount of chips Elon is buying for his Colossus II. It’s not just compute! How the AI boom is driving up prices for memory and storage chips. And does the math work out for those new fangled small nuclear reactors?

(BNS) How Snowflake Wrote The GTM Playbook Oct 04, 2025

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Make It Snow is Snowflake’s go-to-market playbook, told by longtime CRO Chris Degnan and CMO Denise Persson. The central idea: sales and marketing must operate as “one brain in two bodies.” The takeaways are practical and candid: embed with customers sooner than feels comfortable, pick a clear foil, design programs you can rerun, centralize data so sales and marketing act from one truth, and treat culture as GTM infrastructure. If you’re a founder, CRO, CMO, or operator trying to go from zero to billions without losing the plot, Make It Snow is a field manual for aligning people, narrative, and pipeline at every stage.

Apple Blocks ICEBlock Oct 03, 2025

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Apple removes an app after the DOJ asked them to. People are using AI, but which AI are they actually paying for? Sora is now the number one app in all the land. And in the Longreads, now is it time to blame ChatGPT for breaking up marriages?

Apple takes down ICE tracking apps after pressure from Bondi DOJ (Fox Business)
A new a16z report looks at which AI companies startups are actually paying for (TechCrunch)
AI is not killing jobs, US study finds (Financial Times)
OpenAI wraps $6.6 billion share sale at $500 billion valuation (CNBC)
OpenAI’s invite-only video generation app Sora tops Apple’s App Store (CNBC)

Weekend Longreads Suggestions:

Egon Durban’s $55bn buyout bet raises stakes for Silver Lake (Financial Times)
Silver Lake Cements Power Broker Status With $55 Billion EA Deal (Bloomberg)
ChatGPT Is Blowing Up Marriages as Spouses Use AI to Attack Their Partners (Futurism)

Apple To Bench The Vision Pro? Oct 02, 2025

Show notes

More fallout from the Sora explosion, including my take on using it. OpenAI is now officially the biggest startup in the galaxy. We now know what Mira Murati’s new startup is building. The Brave browser is hitting some impressive user milestones. And why are young people flocking back to… checks notes… AOL?

OpenAI’s Sora 2 Copyright Infringement Machine Features Nazi SpongeBobs and Criminal Pikachus (404Media)
OpenAI Valuation Reaches $500 Billion, Topping Musk’s SpaceX (Bloomberg)
Apple Shelves Vision Headset Revamp to Prioritize Meta-Like AI Glasses (Bloomberg)
Mira Murati’s Stealth AI Lab Launches Its First Product (Wired)
Google Translate Rival DeepL Explores US IPO (Bloomberg)
Brave Now Has Over 100 Million Users (Thurott)
Exclusive: Yahoo nears deal to sell AOL to Italy's Bending Spoons for $1.4 billion, sources say (Reuters)

https://sora.chatgpt.com/profile/brianmccul

Sora, Sora, Sora Oct 01, 2025

Show notes

Why Sora is all anyone can talk about, both the new social network and the new AI model. Satya Nadella is still Microsoft’s CEO but he’s taken some things off his plate. Oura gets colorful, and a hardware company that we’ve not spoken about in years is back, with AI onboard.

OpenAI's Sora app lets friends swap AI video cameos (Axios)
OpenAI made a TikTok for deepfakes, and it’s getting hard to tell what’s real (The Verge)
Satya Nadella appoints a new CEO to run Microsoft’s biggest businesses (The Verge)
Oura adds colorful ceramic rings and charging case to lineup (The Verge)
I got sweaty with Peloton's new Bike and Tread — but Peloton IQ is just as impressive (Tom's Guide)

Amazon’s Hardware Event Sep 30, 2025

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All the headline’s from Amazon’s fall hardware event. Daniel Ek is stepping back from Spotify. A new Claude model. ChatGPT gets into the shopping biz. And OpenAI is likely launching it’s own TikTok clone soon to feature AI videos. And new buzzword alert! Microsoft wants you to start “vibe working.”

Amazon announces new Kindle Scribes, including one with a color screen (The Verge)
Amazon Revamps Echo Speakers, Displays in Hardware Reboot (Bloomberg)
Spotify Founder Daniel Ek Leaving CEO Job (WSJ)
Anthropic launches Claude Sonnet 4.5, its best AI model for coding (TechCrunch)
Etsy pops 16% as OpenAI announces ChatGPT Instant Checkout for the shopping site (CNBC)
OpenAI Is Preparing to Launch a Social App for AI-Generated Videos (Wired)
Microsoft launches ‘vibe working’ in Excel and Word (The Verge)

EA Taken Private Sep 29, 2025

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The biggest sign yet of the state of the gaming industry, EA is being taken private. DeepSeek’s new model might start a new AI price war. OpenAI announces their parental controls for teen users. And, the Wall Street Journal says debt financing is now playing an increasing role in AI CAPEX buildout.

(BNS) You're Not Killing It. Nobody Is Killing It. VC Legend Jerry Colonna Sep 27, 2025

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One of the very first VCs of the Internet Era, and especially the NYC tech ecosystem, Jerry Colonna reflects on his journey from growing up in New York to becoming a successful journalist and venture capitalist. Jerry discusses his transition to venture capital, the founding of Flatiron with Fred Wilson, and the challenges faced during the dot-com bubble and 9/11. He emphasizes the importance of curiosity and the human experience in his coaching practice, aiming to alleviate suffering and transform lives.

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