venture capital discovers there's no exit

https://pivot-to-ai.com/2026/03/20/openai-anthropic-spacex-to-trash-stock-market-ipos-for-2026/ - blog post

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Source:

• Mega IPOs Could Threaten 2026 IPO Class (PDF) https://pitchbook.brightspotcdn.com/c1/54/df4900734f9484a3bcb6745f4992/q1-2026-pitchbook-analyst-note-mega-ipos-could-threaten-2026-ipo-class.pdf

Previously on Pivot to AI:

• a16z raising fresh $20b to keep the AI bubble pumping https://pivot-to-ai.com/2025/04/10/a16z-raising-fresh-20b-for-ai-bubble-investments/
• video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M7a1-6MU3QA&list=UU9rJrMVgcXTfa8xuMnbhAEA
• AI winter is in the air! But we think the AI bubble keeps going until 2027 https://pivot-to-ai.com/2025/08/23/ai-winter-is-in-the-air-but-we-think-the-ai-bubble-keeps-going-until-2027/
• video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vp1-3Ypmr1Y&list=UU9rJrMVgcXTfa8xuMnbhAEA
• Musk wants to merge SpaceX with xAI, then take it public https://pivot-to-ai.com/2026/02/02/musk-wants-to-merge-spacex-with-xai-then-take-it-public/
• video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VMKyocHwUJI&list=UU9rJrMVgcXTfa8xuMnbhAEA

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Microsoft will pay you tomorrow for a token today

https://pivot-to-ai.com/2026/03/19/companies-go-full-ai-then-the-bill-comes-due/ - blog post

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Sources:

• You've Finally Figured Out AI at Work — Now Comes the Bill https://www.wsj.com/tech/ai/ai-tokens-productivity-d35c6bd8
• hearing microsoft is reorganizing its AI team https://bsky.app/profile/edzitron.com/post/3mhbcolqpds2y
• I won't share details of my job specifically https://bsky.app/profile/icanfly42.bsky.social/post/3mhbcvz75qc2y
• Yep, at my work for more than a year they've been pushing "AI all the things!" https://mastodon.social/@kralcttam/116256227967652032
• My Dinner With AI https://www.grumpygamer.com/my_dinner_with_ai/
• One of the solutions proposed https://bsky.app/profile/edzitron.com/post/3mhbcst6rrk2y

Previously on Pivot to AI:

• AI winter is in the air! But we think the AI bubble keeps going until 2027 https://pivot-to-ai.com/2025/08/23/ai-winter-is-in-the-air-but-we-think-the-ai-bubble-keeps-going-until-2027/
• video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vp1-3Ypmr1Y&list=UU9rJrMVgcXTfa8xuMnbhAEA
• Steve Yegge's Gas Town: Vibe coding goes crypto scam https://pivot-to-ai.com/2026/01/22/steve-yegges-gas-town-vibe-coding-goes-crypto-scam/
• video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-0_8gPam4tM&list=UU9rJrMVgcXTfa8xuMnbhAEA

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the Metaverse just didn't have legs

https://pivot-to-ai.com/2026/03/18/facebook-shutting-down-its-horizon-worlds-vr-metaverse/ - blog post

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Sources:

• Updates to Your Meta Quest Experience in 2026 https://communityforums.atmeta.com/blog/AnnouncementsBlog/updates-to-your-meta-quest-experience-in-2026/1369435
• NewsMeta Horizon Worlds is discontinued! https://www.reddit.com/r/oculus/comments/1rweb1a/meta_horizon_worlds_is_discontinued/
• Our Renewed Focus in 2026 https://developers.meta.com/horizon/blog/2026-vr-state-of-the-union-horizon-mobile-focus/
• Meta Reports Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2025 Results https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/meta-reports-fourth-quarter-and-full-year-2025-results-302673127.html
• Meta to cut up to 30% of metaverse budget, Bloomberg News reports https://www.reuters.com/business/meta-ceo-zuckerberg-plans-deep-cuts-metaverse-efforts-bloomberg-news-reports-2025-12-04/
• Meta Plans to Shift Spending Away From the Metaverse https://www.wsj.com/tech/ai/meta-plans-to-shift-spending-away-from-the-metaverse-d0ac3b7f
• Building a Digital Future: The Metaverse (PDF, archive) https://web.archive.org/web/20260318174813/https://davidgerard.co.uk/tmp/Resnick2022_Building_ResearchByGartner_21pages.pdf
• Into the Metaverse: Creators, Commerce and Connection https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7j7P6gt2jLU&list=UU9rJrMVgcXTfa8xuMnbhAEA

Previously on Pivot to AI and Attack of the 50 Foot Blockchain:

• Terra's stablecoin does its own 2008 crisis — UST crashes and takes Bitcoin with it https://davidgerard.co.uk/blockchain/2022/05/10/terras-stablecoin-does-a-2008-crisis-ust-crashes-and-takes-bitcoin-with-it/
• Wear Meta's AI creepshot glasses — or be left behind! https://pivot-to-ai.com/2025/08/04/wear-metas-ai-creepshot-glasses-or-be-left-behind/
• video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NOlAbLVX_wk&list=UU9rJrMVgcXTfa8xuMnbhAEA

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When you're out of ideas, why not try magic

https://pivot-to-ai.com/2026/03/17/uk-chancellor-rachel-reeves-quantum-is-an-area-within-ai/ - blog post

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Sources:

• Mais Lecture 2026 https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/mais-lecture-2026
• LIVE: UK finance minister Rachel Reeves delivers annual Mais Lecture https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TPjXVpctAHo&list=UU9rJrMVgcXTfa8xuMnbhAEA
• UK's "Quantum leap" to help beat disease, deliver high-paid jobs, and strengthen national security, as first country in the world to roll out Quantum computers at scale https://www.gov.uk/government/news/uks-quantum-leap-tohelp-beat-diseasedeliver-high-paid-jobs-and-strengthen-national-security-as-first-country-in-the-world-to-roll-out-quantum
• Reeves vows to stop UK tech from 'drifting abroad' (archive) https://web.archive.org/web/20260317021100/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c0k16zdr1r1o
• UK will win AI race as Chancellor sets out economic 'big choices' https://www.gov.uk/government/news/uk-will-win-ai-race-as-chancellor-sets-out-economic-big-choices
• Ensuring that the UK can capture the benefits of quantum computing https://www.oxfordeconomics.com/resource/ensuring-that-the-uk-can-capture-the-benefits-of-quantum-computing/

Previously on Pivot to AI:

• The hype after AI: lads, it's looking really quantum https://pivot-to-ai.com/2025/09/16/the-hype-after-ai-lads-its-looking-really-quantum/
• video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P2y2fX4YNKw&list=UU9rJrMVgcXTfa8xuMnbhAEA
• UK AI Action Plan: vaporware, crypto bros, and no AI https://pivot-to-ai.com/2026/03/10/uk-ai-action-plan-vaporware-crypto-bros-and-no-ai/
• video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nB415dkRsYI&list=UU9rJrMVgcXTfa8xuMnbhAEA

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actual quote from the OpenAI Expert Council on Well-Being and AI

https://pivot-to-ai.com/2026/03/16/openai-advisor-adult-mode-risks-becoming-sexy-suicide-coach/ - blog post

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• Sennheiser HD 599 SE https://amzn.to/4dvY7Y6 (UK) https://amzn.to/4bsMDCh (US)

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CONTENT WARNING: this episode discusses sexual chatbots and their horrifying failure modes, though with no explicit detail.

Sources:

• OpenAI's Bid to Allow X-Rated Talk Is Freaking Out Its Own Advisers https://www.wsj.com/tech/ai/openai-adult-mode-chatgpt-f9e5fc1a
• We made ChatGPT pretty restrictive to make sure we were being careful with mental health issues https://x.com/sama/status/1978129344598827128
• Ok this tweet about upcoming changes to ChatGPT blew up on the erotica point much more than I thought it was going to! https://x.com/sama/status/1978539332215681076
• If it's allowed in an R-rated movie, it's allowed in @Grok Imagine https://x.com/elonmusk/status/2031989543529038103

Previously on Pivot to AI:

• ChatGPT sales are flat — so Altman offers OpenAI adult chat https://pivot-to-ai.com/2025/10/17/chatgpt-sales-are-flat-so-altman-offers-openai-adult-chat/
• video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZzFVuQl7xp8&list=UU9rJrMVgcXTfa8xuMnbhAEA
• Grok generates bikini pics of children — UK, US oddly powerless https://pivot-to-ai.com/2026/01/09/grok-generates-bikini-pics-of-children-uk-us-oddly-powerless/
• video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=evezPiGyTas&list=UU9rJrMVgcXTfa8xuMnbhAEA

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Sorry kid, life is rentware now

https://pivot-to-ai.com/2026/03/13/ai-chatbot-kids-toys-are-still-an-obviously-terrible-idea/ - blog post

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Sources:

• AI toys for children misread emotions and respond inappropriately, researchers warn https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/clyg4wx6nxgo
• Trouble in Toyland 2025 (PDF) https://publicinterestnetwork.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/TOYLAND-2025-11-14-7a.pdf

Previously on Pivot to AI:

• Sorry kid, we killed your robot — Embodied goes broke, AI social devices will stop working https://pivot-to-ai.com/2024/12/10/sorry-kid-we-killed-your-robot-embodied-goes-broke-ai-social-devices-will-stop-working/

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I owe my SOUL.md to the company store

https://pivot-to-ai.com/2026/03/12/ai-companies-try-to-pay-staff-in-ai-tokens-not-money/ - blog post

• Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/davidgerard (get in with the cool kids)
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Sources:

• Silicon Valley is buzzing about this new idea: AI compute as compensation https://www.businessinsider.com/ai-compute-compensation-software-engineers-greg-brockman-2026-3
• I am increasingly asked during candidate interviews https://x.com/thsottiaux/status/2024635825997459841 the inference compute available to you is increasingly going to drive overall software productivity https://x.com/gdb/status/2024662197692223857
• Sam Altman: Getting Fired (and Re-Hired) by OpenAI, Agents, AI Copyright issues (2024) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nSM0xd8xHUM&list=UU9rJrMVgcXTfa8xuMnbhAEA
• Sam Altman: This Past Weekend w/ Theo Von #599 (2025) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aYn8VKW6vXA&list=UU9rJrMVgcXTfa8xuMnbhAEA
• Nvidia CEO hints at end of investments in OpenAI, Anthropic https://www.reuters.com/business/nvidia-will-not-be-able-invest-100-billion-openai-due-ipo-ceo-jensen-says-2026-03-04/
• Nvidia Will Spend $26 Billion to Build Open-Weight AI Models, Filings Show https://www.wired.com/story/nvidia-investing-26-billion-open-source-models/

Previously on Pivot to AI:

• Sam Altman rebrands Worldcoin to 'World', still wants your eyeballs https://pivot-to-ai.com/2024/10/20/sam-altman-rebrands-worldcoin-to-world-still-wants-your-eyeballs/
• What Satya Nadella actually said at Davos about the AI bubble https://pivot-to-ai.com/2026/01/21/what-satya-nadella-actually-said-at-davos-about-ai/
• video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oOPPKG7XLZk&list=UU9rJrMVgcXTfa8xuMnbhAEA
• OpenAI's '$110b' funding round is $25b and some promises https://pivot-to-ai.com/2026/03/03/openais-110b-funding-round-is-25b-and-some-promises/
• video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vXdofxSKtDg&list=UU9rJrMVgcXTfa8xuMnbhAEA

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the dumbest AI bubble acqui-hire this week

https://pivot-to-ai.com/2026/03/11/ai-bot-network-facebook-buys-ai-bot-network-moltbook/ - blog post

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• Bialetti Moka Pot 6tz https://amzn.to/4sLUAJP

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Sources:

• Exclusive: Meta hires duo behind Moltbook https://www.axios.com/2026/03/10/meta-facebook-moltbook-agent-social-network
• Meta acquired Moltbook, the AI agent social network that went viral because of fake posts https://techcrunch.com/2026/03/10/meta-acquired-moltbook-the-ai-agent-social-network-that-went-viral-because-of-fake-posts/
• Meta envisages social media filled with AI-generated users (2024) https://www.ft.com/content/91183cbb-50f9-464a-9d2e-96063825bfcf
• Mark Zuckerberg — AI will write most Meta code in 18 months https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rYXeQbTuVl0&list=UU9rJrMVgcXTfa8xuMnbhAEA
• Fastly Threat Insights Report (PDF) https://learn.fastly.com/rs/025-XKO-469/images/Fastly-Threat-Insights-Report.pdf

Previously on Pivot to AI:

• If AI is so good at coding ... where are the open source contributions? https://pivot-to-ai.com/2025/05/13/if-ai-is-so-good-at-coding-where-are-the-open-source-contributions/
• video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lPu_qzv0zIA&list=UU9rJrMVgcXTfa8xuMnbhAEA
• Moltbot/Clawdbot/OpenClaw: an expensive and insecure AI agent that doesn't work https://pivot-to-ai.com/2026/01/28/moltbot-clawdbot-an-expensive-and-insecure-ai-agent-that-doesnt-work/
• video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=InH0S9QHlbY&list=UU9rJrMVgcXTfa8xuMnbhAEA
• The obnoxious GitHub OpenClaw AI bot is ... a crypto bro https://pivot-to-ai.com/2026/02/16/the-obnoxious-github-openclaw-ai-bot-is-a-crypto-bro/
• video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xYFvi4hK7wI&list=UU9rJrMVgcXTfa8xuMnbhAEA

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♫ we told you so ♫

https://pivot-to-ai.com/2026/03/10/uk-ai-action-plan-vaporware-crypto-bros-and-no-ai/ - blog post

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Sources:

• The U.K. Pivot to AI Is Doomed From the Start https://foreignpolicy.com/2025/03/10/ai-uk-starmer-opportunities-plan/
• Revealed: UK's multibillion AI drive is built on 'phantom investments' https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2026/mar/09/revealed-uks-multibillion-ai-drive-is-built-on-phantom-investments
• Prime Minister sets out blueprint to turbocharge AI https://www.gov.uk/government/news/prime-minister-sets-out-blueprint-to-turbocharge-ai
• From press release ... to scrap metal site: the Essex 'supercomputer' that's still a scaffolding yard https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2026/mar/09/from-press-release-to-scrap-metal-site-the-essex-supercomputer-thats-still-a-scaffolding-yard
• US-UK pact will boost advances in drug discovery, create tens of thousands of jobs and transform lives https://www.gov.uk/government/news/us-uk-pact-will-boost-advances-in-drug-discovery-create-tens-of-thousands-of-jobs-and-transform-lives

Previously on Pivot to AI:

• ChatGPT predicts tremendous role for ChatGPT in UK government https://pivot-to-ai.com/2024/07/16/chatgpt-predicts-tremendous-role-for-chatgpt-in-uk-government/
• UK government plans to splurge billions on AI — we step through the tricky details https://pivot-to-ai.com/2024/07/16/chatgpt-predicts-tremendous-role-for-chatgpt-in-uk-government/

Full Pivot to AI playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=UU9rJrMVgcXTfa8xuMnbhAEA

ayahuasca beard weirdo

https://pivot-to-ai.com/2026/03/09/blocks-ai-layoffs-are-fake-too/ - blog post

• Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/davidgerard (get in with the cool kids)
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Sources:

• we're making @blocks smaller today. here's my note to the company https://x.com/jack/status/2027129697092731343
• Q4 2025 Shareholder Letter (PDF) https://s29.q4cdn.com/628966176/files/doc_financials/2025/q4/Q4-2025-Shareholder-Letter_Block.pdf
• Inside the Rolling Layoffs at Jack Dorsey's Block https://www.wired.com/story/inside-rolling-layoffs-jack-dorsey-block/
• Jack Dorsey's 4,000 Job Cuts at Block Arouse Suspicions of AI-Washing https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-03-01/jack-dorsey-s-4-000-job-cuts-at-block-arouse-suspicions-of-ai-washing
• Current and former Block workers say AI can't do their jobs after Jack Dorsey's mass layoffs: 'You can't really AI that' https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2026/mar/08/block-ai-layoffs-jack-dorsey
• My employer Block laid off 40% of its workforce last Thursday (2/26) https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7434699479389405184/
• yes we over-hired during covid https://x.com/jack/status/2027290756793135253

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