How is defence tech reshaping geopolitics? And what does the battlefield of the future look like? In the final episode of our series on the technological weapons of war, the FT’s innovation editor John Thornhill sits down with the FT’s industry correspondent Sylvia Pfeifer, deputy Beijing bureau chief Ryan McMorrow and US-China correspondent Demetri Sevastopulo. Clips: MCA/Universal Pictures, CCTV, NBC

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China gains dexterous upper hand in humanoid robot tussle with US 

Buyout groups and VCs ready to play role in Europe’s rearmament 

US ability to defeat China in Taiwan threatened, top Indo-Pacific commander warns 

Tech Tonic is produced by Josh Gabert-Doyon and Persis Love. Edwin Lane is senior producer. Flo Phillips is the executive producer. Manuela Saragosa is the FT’s acting co-head of audio. Original music is by Metaphor Music. Samantha Giovinco and Breen Turner were the sound engineers for this season. This episode is dedicated to our engineer Joseph Salcedo, who tragically passed away last month.

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

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For European leaders, the war in Ukraine has strained relations with the US and prompted major questions about how the continent will defend itself in the future. Governments are boosting defence spending and defence tech companies' valuations have risen, particularly after the emergence of drone warfare in Ukraine. So what should a European strategy for security look like? John Thornhill sits down with Gundbert Scherf, co-founder of Helsing - Europe’s most valuable defence tech start-up - to discuss the future of European defence and what role technology needs to play.

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‘We have to be prepared’: Torsten Reil of defence tech company Helsing

VC funding in European defence and security tech surges to record $5.2bn

Can Europe’s defence groups step up if Donald Trump pulls back?

Tech Tonic is produced by Josh Gabert-Doyon and Persis Love. Edwin Lane is the senior producer. The executive producers are Manuela Saragosa, Flo Phillips and Topher Forhecz. Sound design by Breen Turner and Sam Giovinco. Original music by Metaphor Music. Cheryl Brumley is the FT’s global head of audio.

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Israel has long been a leader in hi-tech warfare. In this episode, the Financial Times innovation editor John Thornhill explores the Israel Defense Forces’ use of artificial intelligence targeting aids as part of its arsenal in the war against Hamas. Can AI reduce civilian casualties and prevent breaches of international humanitarian law or has the technology served only to accelerate the loss of life? And what can Israel's defence tech ecosystem tell us about the future of warfare?

We hear from Nadim Nashif, executive director of the Palestinian digital rights group 7amleh, Tal Mimran, an Adjunct Lecturer at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Hamutal Meridor, co-founder of Israeli defence tech start-up Kela, and Elke Schwarz, professor at Queen Mary University of London.

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‘This is what victory looks like’: inside Israel’s aggressive new security plan

DeepMind UK staff seek to unionise and challenge defence deals and Israel links

Israel pledges to protect tech start-ups from effects of Hamas war

Tech Tonic is presented by John Thornhill. The producers are Josh Gabert-Doyon and Persis Love. The senior producer is Edwin Lane and the executive producers are Manuela Saragosa and Topher Forhecz. Sound design by Breen Turner and Samantha Giovinco. Original music by Metaphor Music. The FT’s head of audio is Cheryl Brumley.

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Defence tech is booming in the US. Start-ups building drones, missiles and AI systems are competing with established companies for a piece of the US defence budget. Are these new participants the future of the defence industry? John Thornhill hears from investors and founders, and we visit the neighbourhood of El Segundo in Los Angeles, dubbed the Silicon Valley of defence tech.

Free to read: 

The age of drone warfare is disrupting the defence industry

US defence industry braced for tech shake-up under Trump

The appetite for US defence tech is growing

This episode of Tech Tonic is produced by Persis Love. Edwin Lane is the senior producer. The executive producers are Manuela Saragosa and Topher Forhecz. Sound design by Breen Turner, Sam Giovinco, and Joseph Salcedo. Original music by Metaphor Music. Cheryl Brumley is the FT’s global head of audio.

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The conflict in Ukraine has turned into the world’s first fully fledged drone war. The remote-controlled flying machines are now used by both sides for transporting supplies, surveilling the enemy and carrying out attacks. John Thornhill visits Kyiv to learn more about how the war has sparked a boom in Ukrainian defence tech that has changed the battlefield. He sees first-hand how these drones are made, and unpacks what the rest of the world can learn from Ukraine about future wars.  

Free to read:

Ukraine is winning the drone start-up war

Ukraine weighs lifting arms export ban to scale up drone industry

Ukraine’s battle against Russia in maps and charts

This episode of Tech Tonic is produced by Persis Love, Edwin Lane and Kateryna Malofieieva, with special thanks to Christopher Miller. The executive producers are Manuela Saragosa and Topher Forhecz. Sound design by Breen Turner, Sam Giovinco, and Joseph Salcedo. Original music by Metaphor Music. Cheryl Brumley is the FT’s global head of audio.

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

New technologies such as drones, robots and AI systems are finding their way into conflict zones around the world. 

In this season of Tech Tonic, John Thornhill looks at how this new type of warfare is transforming conflicts in places such as Ukraine and Gaza. He also explores how start-ups in the US and Europe are challenging the established defence industry with their cutting-edge weaponry. 

Free to read from FT.com:

The age of drone warfare is disrupting the defence industry

Ukraine is winning the drone start-up war

Palantir and Anduril join forces with tech groups to bid for Pentagon contracts

Tech Tonic is presented by John Thornhill. The producers are Josh Gabert-Doyon and Persis Love. The senior producer is Edwin Lane and the executive producers are Manuela Saragosa and Topher Forhecz. Sound design by Breen Turner, Samantha Giovinco and Joe Salcedo. Original music by Metaphor Music. The FT’s head of audio is Cheryl Brumley.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The biggest companies in tech are fighting to be the leader in generative AI - even as the path to profitability for the technology remains unclear. So what’s the long game for companies such as OpenAI, Google, and Meta? And what does the rise of Chinese start-up DeepSeek mean for AI companies with massive valuations?

In the second episode in our series on the business of AI, the FT’s AI editor Madhumita Murgia speaks with FT technology reporter Cristina Criddle as well as Vahap Can, an instructor on a prompt engineering course at Capital City College, Anton Korinek, a professor in the department of economics at the University of Virginia, and Alex Chalmers, a writer, researcher formerly of Air Street Capital.

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DeepSeek’s ‘aha moment’ creates new way to build powerful AI with less money

Liang Wenfeng, the DeepSeek founder panicking the tech world

OpenAI targets 1bn users in next phase of growth

Meta sticks with big bet on AI even after DeepSeek shook markets

This season of Tech Tonic is presented by Madhumita Murgia, and produced by Josh Gabert-Doyon. Edwin Lane is the senior producer and Manuela Saragosa is the executive producer. Sound design by Breen Turner, Samantha Giovinco and Joe Salcedo, with original music from Metaphor Music. The FT’s head of audio is Cheryl Brumley.

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Is generative AI over-valued? At the heart of the generative AI boom has been the premise that a ‘killer app’ for AI will make investors a return on their capital. But it’s unclear how those use cases will actually make money for businesses that deploy them. Plus - is the problem a lack of AI take-up among employees? We hear from Joe Richardson, head of operations at Octopus Energy, Jim Covello, head of global equity research at Goldman Sachs and George Lee, co-head of the Goldman Sachs Global Institute for a debate about the investment case for AI; Victor Riparbelli, chief executive of AI video start-up Synthesia, Amjad Masad, chief executive of coding start-up Replit, and Claudia Harris, chief executive at tech training company Makers.

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UK artificial intelligence start-up Synthesia hits $2bn valuation

AI-powered coding pulls in almost $1bn of funding to claim ‘killer app’ status

This season of Tech Tonic is presented by Madhumita Murgia, and produced by Josh Gabert-Doyon. Edwin Lane is the senior producer and Manuela Saragosa is the executive producer. Sound design by Breen Turner, Samantha Giovinco and Joe Salcedo, with original music from Metaphor Music. The FT’s head of audio is Cheryl Brumley.

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Generative AI is impressive, but can it be profitable? Since the emergence of ChatGPT in 2022, Silicon Valley investors and tech giants have poured billions into developing generative AI models and tools. But when will it start generating returns? The FT’s artificial intelligence editor Madhumita Murgia investigates efforts to develop a ‘killer app’ for AI, the use of AI in the workplace, and asks if some of the most highly valued AI companies in Silicon Valley are getting it all wrong.

Free to read:

OpenAI targets 1bn users in next phase of growth

AI-powered coding pulls in almost $1bn of funding to claim ‘killer app’ status

Meta sticks with big bet on AI even after DeepSeek shook markets

This season of Tech Tonic is presented by Madhumita Murgia, and produced by Josh Gabert-Doyon. Edwin Lane is the senior producer and Manuela Saragosa is the executive producer. Sound design by Breen Turner, Samantha Giovinco and Joe Salcedo, with original music from Metaphor Music. The FT’s head of audio is Cheryl Brumley.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The past two years have seen the EU bring in landmark legislation to curb the power of big tech companies such as Apple, Google and Meta, threatening to break up the companies that do not play by its rules on privacy and competition. But not everyone agrees with its approach. Murad Ahmed speaks to Aura Salla, former lobbyist for Meta and now an MEP in Brussels, who says EU rules will work to rein in Big Tech, and may even harm the development of Europe’s own tech industry.

Free to read:

EU reassesses tech probes into Apple, Google and Meta

Europe’s rushed attempt to set the rules for AI

What impact is the Digital Markets Act having?

This season of Tech Tonic is presented by Murad Ahmed, and produced by Persis Love. Edwin Lane is the senior producer and Manuela Saragosa is the executive producer. Sound design by Breen Turner and Samantha Giovinco, with original music from Metaphor Music. The FT’s head of audio is Cheryl Brumley.

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.