Erik Torenberg and Byrne Hobart discuss the implications of recent tariffs, the impact of AI advancements like DeepSeek, Meta's investments in VR and AI, stock market dynamics, and differing perspectives on open-source AI models.

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🎙️Investor and writer of the popular newsletter The Diff, Byrne Hobart, and co-host Erik Torenberg discuss today’s major inflection points in technology, business, and markets – and help listeners build a diversified portfolio of trends and ideas for the future. 

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LINKS:

Byrne’s writing: https://thediff.co 

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HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE EPISODE:

• Trump's proposed 25% tariffs on Canadian goods highlight tensions between using tariffs as negotiation tactics versus long-term economic strategy.

• China's Belt and Road Initiative is essentially branding for existing Chinese international infrastructure investments aimed at extending economic influence.

• DeepSeek's AI developments caused unexpected market reactions, with non-AI momentum stocks rising as investors unwound their AI-focused positions.

• Forward Deployed Engineers serve as crucial bridges between complex technical products and business implementation, helping evolve products based on real-world usage.

• Meta's significant capital expenditure on AI infrastructure represents a strategic shift from being purely asset-light to more capital-intensive.

• A fantasy stock-picking competition aims to identify investment talent outside traditional recruiting paths through various categories like small-cap, mid-size, and event-driven investments.

• The transition from asset-light to capital-intensive business models can actually strengthen a company's competitive position by making value harder to replicate.

• Meta's metaverse investment might be premature, but AR (rather than VR) could emerge as the dominant future interface.