Sharp Tech with Ben Thompson

By Andrew Sharp and Ben ThompsonTechnology

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Typical duration
26 min
per episode

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Sharp Tech with Ben Thompson episodes

August 15, 2025 Facebook is Dead; Long Live Meta, Does OpenAI Need to Log Off?, Questions on Bubbles, Blackberry, and Bell Labs
Ben and Andrew discuss a monster earnings report for Meta, the mechanics of how they got there, and the newfound trust the company enjoys from investors. Then: Reactions to GPT-5 and subsequent updates from OpenAI, the strategic logic of the changes, questions about OpenAI leadership, the AGI race, and prompts to engineer the right LLM tone. At the end: A question on bubbles and the implications of our current circumstances, Apple's interests vs. America's interests, Blackberry's thin client comeback, a few fun Bell Labs facts, and Google as slime mold.
To email the show: [email protected]
@SharpTechPodcast Channel — YouTube
@Stratechery Channel — YouTube
Facebook is Dead; Long Live Meta — Stratechery
Meta Myths — Stratechery
Meta and Reasonable Doubt — Stratechery
ChatGPT 5, Product Trade-Offs, Personality and Model Upgrades — Stratechery Update
A leaked Google memo compared it to slime mold — Business Insider
Get all episodes of Sharp Tech, Sharp China, Stratechery Updates and Interviews, Greatest of All Talk, Asianometry and the Dithering Podcast as part of Stratechery Plus for $15/month or $150/year.
1 hr 36 min
August 08, 2025 (Preview) AI and the Winner’s Curse, Google’s Genie 3 Breakthrough, Questions on Intel, Fertility Rates, and Banning Advertising
Andrew and Ben discuss Ben’s article on Apple and AWS in the AI era, including a call for Apple to make an acquisition, a bit of AWS history, AWS as the new Azure, and the challenge of making changes amidst continued success. Then: Thoughts on Google’s Genie 3 breakthrough and OpenAI’s open weights models, and questions on Intel, scrutiny of Lip-Bu Tan, whether AI will compound the fertility crisis, and an emailer who wants to eliminate advertising from the human condition.
To email the show: [email protected]
@SharpTechPodcast Channel — YouTube
@Stratechery Channel — YouTube
Paradigm Shifts and the Winner’s Curse — Stratechery
Genie 3: A new frontier for world models — Google DeepMind
Trump Calls on Intel CEO to Resign Over China Ties — Wall Street Journal
Get all episodes of Sharp Tech, Sharp China, Stratechery Updates and Interviews, Greatest of All Talk, Asianometry and the Dithering Podcast as part of Stratechery Plus for $15/month or $150/year.
21 min
July 30, 2025 Intel and the US Semi Future, Will Any Big Tech Incumbents Lose in an AI World?, Questions on Tea, Grok, and The Ringer
Intel's future in leading edge manufacturing looks more uncertain, while prospects for the US semiconductor supply chain are beginning to look more promising. Then: Google's earnings inspire a question about Big Tech in AI, who will win the entertainment space in AI, thoughts on doomerism and marketing, Apple's App store promises and a very bad week for the Tea development team, a question about The Ringer and Grantland, and a note on life coaching and Apple's 2TB storage plan.
To email the show: [email protected]
@SharpTechPodcast Channel — YouTube
@Stratechery Channel — YouTube
TSMC Earnings; A16 and TSMC’s Approach to Backside Power; Intel Earnings, Architecture, and AI — Stratechery Update
Tesla and Samsung, Customer Service and Intel, The U.S. Semi Supply Chain — Stratechery Update
Google Earnings, Google Flips the Switch on Cloud, Search Notes — Stratechery Update
The End of the Beginning — Stratechery
Meme Stocks Are Back — Bloomberg
Grantland and the (Surprising) Future of Publishing — Stratechery
Get all episodes of Sharp Tech, Sharp China, Stratechery Updates and Interviews, Greatest of All Talk, Asianometry and the Dithering Podcast as part of Stratechery Plus for $15/month or $150/year.
1 hr 34 min
July 24, 2025 (Preview) The Post-AI Internet Realities, How Future Creators Can Succeed, Mail on Startups, F1 Rights, and Alternative Rock
The pay-per-crawl model for compensating content creators on the Internet, what sorts of content might win if that market actually materializes, and the grim outlook for today's digital publishers. From there: Thoughts on the cost structures that can succeed, the value of community and direct connections to customers, and Stephen Colbert's exit at CBS. At the end: Questions on big tech's hiring power, contractors at startups, Chinese AI development, F1 broadcast rights, alternative rock, and what to do in Taipei and DC.
To email the show: [email protected]
@SharpTechPodcast Channel — YouTube
@Stratechery Channel — YouTube
Content and Community — Stratechery
Cloudflare’s Content Independence Day, Google’s Advantage, Monetizing AI — Stratechery Update
Netflix Earnings, Apple and F1 — Stratechery Update
Get all episodes of Sharp Tech, Sharp China, Stratechery Updates and Interviews, Greatest of All Talk, Asianometry and the Dithering Podcast as part of Stratechery Plus for $15/month or $150/year.
30 min
July 18, 2025 Windsurf Madness, Big Tech Wins as the Silicon Valley Ecosystem Erodes, Cloudflare Wants to Fix the Internet Economy
A week of news surrounding Windsurf and Google (and now Cognition), why the Silicon Valley ecosystem as we've known it appears to be coming to an end, and why the hiring and acquisiton conventions emerging now are a clear win for big tech. From there: A counterfactual on the founding of OpenAI, and various reactions to Cloudflare's plans to block AI crawlers by default and offer a pay-per-crawl model to LLMs and websites. At the end: An email about having a second child spawns a discussion about parenting.
To email the show: [email protected]
@SharpTechPodcast Channel — YouTube
@Stratechery Channel — YouTube
Google and Windsurf, Stinky Deals, Chesterton’s Fence and the Silicon Valley Ecosystem — Stratechery Update
Cognition Buys Windsurf, Nvidia Can Sell to China, Grok 4 and Kimi — Stratechery Update
Cloudflare on the Edge — Stratechery
OpenAI, Artificial Intelligence and Data, Data and Recruiting — Stratechery Update
Cloudflare’s Content Independence Day, Google’s Advantage, Monetizing AI — Stratechery Update
Cloudflare Introduces Default Blocking of A.I. Data Scrapers — New York Times
Get all episodes of Sharp Tech, Sharp China, Stratechery Updates and Interviews, Greatest of All Talk, Asianometry and the Dithering Podcast as part of Stratechery Plus for $15/month or $150/year.
1 hr 33 min
July 10, 2025 (Preview) Apple Searches for an AI Partner, A Second Fair Use Ruling and Reckoning with Reality, The F1 Movie and Related Matters
The considerations for Apple and its potential partners as the company considers external help with its project to supercharge Siri, a word about risks for Google and Microsoft in the AI era, and thoughts on a second ruling regarding the scope of the fair use doctrine and LLM training. At the end: Politics and LLMs, bad news for TSMC engineers, and variety of thoughts on F1: The Movie and the future for F1 the sport.
To email the show: [email protected]
@SharpTechPodcast Channel — YouTube
@Stratechery Channel — YouTube
Apple + Anthropic?, Apple’s Fall, Apple’s Options — Stratechery Update
Tech Philosophy and AI Opportunity — Stratechery
Post by Tyler Palmer — X: @tyler__palmer
Training AI is Not Fair Use?, LLMs and Scale, Pushing on a String — Stratechery Update
Apple bids for Formula 1 rights in US after success of Brad Pitt film — Financial Times
Get all episodes of Sharp Tech, Sharp China, Stratechery Updates and Interviews, Greatest of All Talk, Asianometry and the Dithering Podcast as part of Stratechery Plus for $15/month or $150/year.
16 min
June 26, 2025 A Big Ruling on LLM Training and Midsummer Mail on NBA Salaries in Tech, Starting from Scratch in 2025, and More
On today's show Andrew and Ben begin by breaking down a favorable ruling for Anthropic in a case concerning copyrighted material, the fair use doctrine, and LLM training. Then: A midsummer mailbag with questions on huge salaries for big names in tech that may be past their prime, waiting for AI to suggest software solutions, starting careers from scratch in 2025, Huwaei’s ascent and China’s commitment to Apple, Taylor Swift, shortform video regulation, recommendations for would-be watch collectors, and more.
To email the show: [email protected]
@SharpTechPodcast Channel — YouTube
@Stratechery Channel — YouTube
Training AI is Fair Use, Product Protection Versus LLM Liability, Piracy and Competition — Stratechery Update
BARTZ v. ANTHROPIC — U.S. District Court, N.D. CA
Talent Wars, NBA Money, AI Money — Stratechery Update
Get all episodes of Sharp Tech, Sharp China, Stratechery Updates and Interviews, Greatest of All Talk, Asianometry and the Dithering Podcast as part of Stratechery Plus for $15/month or $150/year.
1 hr 17 min
June 24, 2025 (Preview) Justice for Software Engineers, The Various Futures of Vibe Coding, Questions at xAI and Progress for Tesla
On today's show Ben and Andrew answer questions about the future of engineering jobs, the definition of vibe coding, Meta's AI upside, ChatGPT-led fashion shows, xAI as a third-tier streamer, and bitter lessons as autonomous driving becomes more viable. At the end: An emailer follow-ups on last week's conversation about normies and AI risk.
To email the show: [email protected]
@SharpTechPodcast Channel — YouTube
@Stratechery Channel — YouTube
xAI Raising Money, xAI and Oracle, Xbox = Windows — Stratechery Update
Meta + Scale AI?, Meta’s Reset, AI as Sustaining Innovation — Stratechery Update
Vibe Coding, Windsurf and Anthropic, ChatGPT Connectors — Stratechery Update
Elon Dreams and Bitter Lessons — Stratechery
Get all episodes of Sharp Tech, Sharp China, Stratechery Updates and Interviews, Greatest of All Talk, Asianometry and the Dithering Podcast as part of Stratechery Plus for $15/month or $150/year.
10 min
June 19, 2025 (Preview) Meta Continues Its AI Spending Spree, More Fun with OpenAI and Microsoft, ‘Apple in China’ and Related Matters
Ben and Andrew react to reports that in addition to adding Scale AI CEO Alexandr Wang, Meta’s now in advanced talks to hire prominent AI investors and frequent Stratechery guests, Nat Friedman and Daniel Gross, for an offer that could exceed $1 billion. Then: Follow-ups on Perplexity and Apple, the calculus for both sides amid reports of between OpenAI and Microsoft, a question about ‘Apple in China’ and culpability for the last 20 years of decision-making, and thoughts on the competition between the US and China, in general.
To email the show: [email protected]
@SharpTechPodcast Channel — YouTube
@Stratechery Channel — YouTube
Meta in Talks to Hire AI Investors Friedman and Gross, Partially Buy Out Their Venture Fund — The Information
Stratechery Interview Series: Nat Friedman and Daniel Gross — Stratechery
Microsoft-OpenAI Drama Continues, WhatsApp Ads, Channel Subscriptions and the Creator Perspective — Stratechery Update
An Interview with “Apple in China” Author Patrick McGee — Stratechery Interview
Get all episodes of Sharp Tech, Sharp China, Stratechery Updates and Interviews, Greatest of All Talk, Asianometry and the Dithering Podcast as part of Stratechery Plus for $15/month or $150/year.
15 min
June 17, 2025 (Preview) The Futures for Cursor and Perplexity, Multi Modality Dreams and Apple Possibilities, Normies Contemplate an AI Future
As the dust settles after keynote season, Ben and Andrew answer mailbag questions and talk through the future prospects for Cursor and Perplexity, multi-modality possibilities for AI devices, Apple's advantages if they deepen their partnership with OpenAI, more on Meta's investment in Scale AI, the business logic of chasing superintelligence, and takes on an AI conversation between Bill Simmons and Chuck Klosterman.
To email the show: [email protected]
@SharpTechPodcast Channel — YouTube
@Stratechery Channel — YouTube
An Interview with Cursor Co-Founder and CEO Michael Truell About Coding With AI — Stratechery Interview
Chuck Klosterman on the NBA Finals, a Rival League, the Sonics, ‘The Rehearsal,’ Cooper Flagg, and the Fear of AI — The Bill Simmons Podcast
Nvidia’s Jensen Huang says he disagrees with almost everything Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei says — Fortune
Regretful Accelerationism — Stratechery
Get all episodes of Sharp Tech, Sharp China, Stratechery Updates and Interviews, Greatest of All Talk, Asianometry and the Dithering Podcast as part of Stratechery Plus for $15/month or $150/year.
12 min