Down Round

BF Borgers, founded in 2009, rapidly grew into a major US auditor but faces criticism for possibly overextending. It notably audited Trump Media & Technology Group, cautioning financial instability. Despite its small team, it's the eighth largest in the US by client count.

After initial guaranteed compensation, success depends on performance and available resources; consider if the move offers personal growth and more opportunities.

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Sometimes a company merges with or acquires another, and it turns out to be a bad idea. That's OK. We all make stupid decisions. There's nothing to be ashamed of, even when we're talking about multibillion-dollar deals.

Some of these bad acquisitions aren't just about a culture mismatch or poor due diligence, though. Some of them speak to executives making a bet on the future of the economy – and betting wrong. In this ep, we go through some of the worst tech acquisitions of all time, and why they're interesting.

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Tricked government into $750M contract, not seen as taking money. Theory not applied to pump and dump scams, raising insider trading legality question. Also involves crypto's complexity.

One of the great turnarounds in 21st century was the tobacco industry's shift toward a so-called 'smokeless' future – agreeing that cigs are pretty bad for you, and that a range of hi-tech vapes could be a less bad replacement. Of course, it hasn't actually worked out that well, with public health bodies and governments around the world cracking down on vapes for targeting kids with flashy influencer marketing campaigns and cool flavours.

In this ep we talk about the rise of vapes, the changing tobacco industry, and new trends (Zyn, etc)

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This week, we're back on Apple. There are two big reasons: one, they're being sued by the United States on antitrust grounds. And secondly, multiple news reports suggest they are looking for a partner in the generative AI space – which might be Google, or Anthropic, or any number of others.

We dig into these two stories, and what they say about the current state of tech – and why AI might be at a low point of the hype cycle.

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Last week, it was reported that Elon Musk's Neuralink had successfully allowed a patient to play chess with his mind. It represents a small – and maybe a tad overhyped – step towards the company's goal for a full brain computer interface.

In this ep, we discuss Neuralink, brain-computer interfaces, and exactly what Musk and others in the space are trying to achieve. Also, the big question: who is the market?

Links

• Elon Musk wants to merge humans with AI. How many brains will be damaged along the way? – Vox
• Elon's tweet about 'Blindsight'

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Andrew Hohns introduces a financial model to offload banks' carbon emissions, leveraging financial strategies and carbon offsets, while raising questions about the valuation and moral implications of such schemes. In parallel, Donald Trump's financial overestimations showcase similar themes of illusion versus reality, reflecting broader societal questions on responsibility and environmental accountability.

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Dropbox. There's a name you probably haven't thought about in a while. Once among the hottest startups on Earth, it lost some of its lustre once every major company in the world began offering consumer and enterprise cloud storage. But it's still alive, kicking and profitable – and making a pivot to AI.

In this ep, we talk about Dropbox and the other cloud storage businesses of the 2000s and 2010s, and why they're between a rock and a hard place.

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This week we're looking at BYD, the Chinese battery maker turned electric vehicle behemoth, which is now the world's biggest EV maker. Following on from our premium episode about the Apple Car a couple of weeks ago, we talk about the current state of the EV market, how BYD found success, and why the world is still relatively slow on the uptake of electric cars.

Always remember: build your dreams, folks.

Links

• Tesla overtaken by China’s BYD as world’s biggest EV maker – FT

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