Elon can’t stop OpenAI, but the case will go on. Trump wants to stop the Chips Act immediately. Apple released more new Macs today. If you can believe it, Digg is back! They’re coming for Reddit! And the AI chatbot that might have passed the uncanny valley when it comes to AI generated speech.

Sponsors:

• Oracle.com/techmeme

Links:

• Musk’s Fight With OpenAI Set for Expedited Trial This Year (Bloomberg)
• Trump Calls for End to $52 Billion Chips Act Subsidy Program (Bloomberg)
• Apple launches new Mac Studios with M4 Max and M3 Ultra chips (The Verge)
• Digg is coming back, thanks to its founder — and Reddit’s (The Verge)
• Bored Ape Creator Yuga Labs Says SEC Closing Investigation in 'Huge Win' for NFT Sector (Decrypt)
• Google Urges Trump DOJ to Reverse Course on Breaking Up Company (Bloomberg)
• Eerily realistic AI voice demo sparks amazement and discomfort online (ArsTechnica)

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We have our first official IPO of the AI Era coming. Anthropic has a big new round. New iPads from Apple. New phones from Nothing. Waymo rolls out in Austin, Texas. And how the Kinnect technology lives on, as a tool for Ghostbusters.

Sponsors:

• FreshBooks.com
• IQBar: Text TECHMEME to 64000

Links:

• AI cloud provider CoreWeave files for IPO (CNBC)
• Anthropic Finalizes Megaround at $61.5 Billion Valuation (Bloomberg)
• Apple launches a new M3-powered iPad Air (The Verge)
• Waymo is now available exclusively on Uber in Austin (The Verge)
• Nothing’s Phone 3A and 3A Pro use AI to organize all your stuff (The Verge)
• Ghost hunting, pornography and interactive art: the weird afterlife of Xbox Kinect (The Guardian)

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Maybe we really will be getting that national crypto reserve after all. TSMC doubles down on manufacturing in the US. Return to the office is one thing, but Sergey Brin things RTO could lead to AGI, at least at Google. And Mark Gurman says there is an AI crisis inside Apple.

Sponsors:

• Take your personal data back with Incogni! Use code RIDEHOME at the link below and get 60% off an annual plan: http://incogni.com/ridehome
• QualiaLife.com/ride

Links:

• Donald Trump Names Components Of Crypto Reserve (CoinDesk)
• Trump, Chip Maker TSMC Expected to Announce $100 Billion Investment in U.S. (WSJ)
• Google’s Gemini now lets you ask questions using videos and what’s on your screen (TechCrunch)
• Google’s Sergey Brin Urges Workers to the Office ‘at Least’ Every Weekday (NYTimes)
• Peter Thiel-backed fintech Ramp nearly doubles valuation to $13bn (Financial Times)
• Apple’s Artificial Intelligence Efforts Reach a Make-or-Break Point (Bloomberg)

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OpenAI has launched GPT-4.5, but they want you to know, this is not a frontier model, it’s a stepping stone. Skype enters the Deadpool. Memecoins are ok by the SEC. Most criminality in crypto is now done with stablecoins. And in the Weekend Longreads Suggestions, how the MTA is using Pixel phones to do subway maintenance.

Links:

• OpenAI announces GPT-4.5, warns it’s not a frontier AI model (The Verge)
• OpenAI CEO Sam Altman says the company is ‘out of GPUs’ (TechCrunch)
• Microsoft hangs up on Skype: service to shut down May 5, 2025 (TechCrunch)
• Microsoft is killing Skype after 14 years of neglect (Windows Central)
• Meta plans to release standalone Meta AI app in effort to compete with OpenAI’s ChatGPT (CNBC)
• SEC says most meme coins are not securities (CNBC)
• Illicit Crypto Volume in 2024 Hit a Record $40B in 2024 (CoinDesk)
• Meta is firing about 20 employees for leaking information (The Verge)

Weekend Longreads Suggestrions:

• The New York City Subway Is Using Google Pixels to Listen for Track Defects (Wired)

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Nvidia’s first earnings are out after the whole DeepSeek thing. Do they seem nervous or no? A pretty big price cut for the PlayStation VR2. Huge outflows from bitcoin ETFs. Can insecure code somehow make AI homicidal? And is the iPhone 16e worth your money?

Links:

• Nvidia sales grow 78% on AI demand, company gives strong guidance (CNBC)
• Sony drops PlayStation VR 2 price to $399 (The Verge)
• Bitcoin ETFs Are Hit by a Record $1 Billion Outflow in One Day (Bloomberg)
• FAA targeting Verizon contract in favor of Musk’s Starlink, sources say (Washington Post)
• Researchers puzzled by AI that praises Nazis after training on insecure code (Ars Technica)
• iPhone 16E review: Eh, it’s alright (The Verge)

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Amazon finally updated Alexa with generative AI. It’s called Alexa+ and it can do plenty of neat things, but unless you’re a Prime subscriber, it’s gonna cost ya. DeepSeek is rushing its next AI model to press its momentum. Zuck wants to build a $200B AI datacenter. And how the SteamDeck has created a whole new category in gaming.

Sponsors:

• shopify.com/ride

Links:

• Amazon announces AI-powered Alexa Plus (The Verge)
• Amazon unveils a new and improved Alexa, Alexa+ (TechCrunch)
• DeepSeek rushes to launch new AI model as China goes all in (Reuters)
• Meta Discusses AI Data Center Project That Could Cost $200 Billion (The Information)
• How North Korea pulled off a $1.5 billion crypto heist—the biggest in history (ArsTechnica)
• Three years later, the Steam Deck has dominated handheld PC gaming (The Verge)

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Anthropic releases its latest cutting-edge model, Claude 3.7 Sonnet. Would you tolerate ads inside your Excel spreadsheet if you could use Excel for free? Why some journalists are joining AI companies. And let me introduce you to “tiny teams” the new startup meme in Silicon Valley.

Links:

• Anthropic launches a new AI model that ‘thinks’ as long as you want (TechCrunch)
• AI Startup Anthropic Finalizing $3.5 Billion Funding Round (WSJ)
• Microsoft Quietly Launched a Free Ad-Supported Office App, and No One Noticed (Beebom)
• Apple’s $500 Billion U.S. Investment Is Mostly Already in the Books (WSJ)
• Meet the journalists training AI models for Meta and OpenAI (NeimanLab)
• A.I. Is Changing How Silicon Valley Builds Start-Ups (NYTimes)

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Apple makes a huge investment in US manufacturing and hiring. Are SMS messages as 2-factor authentication on the way out? The biggest crypto theft of all time happened over the last few days. And why some school districts are turning to AI counseling for students.

Sponsors:

• RobinHood.com/gold

Links:

• Apple Will Add 20,000 US Jobs Amid Threat from Trump Tariffs (Bloomberg)
• Apple Abandons Budget Smartphone Market With the iPhone 16e (Bloomberg)
• Google Confirms Gmail To Ditch SMS Code Authentication (Forbes)
• Bybit Hit by Crypto’s Worst Hack With Almost $1.5 Billion Stolen (Bloomberg)
• Bybit Hack (CoinDesk)
• Microsoft Dropped Some AI Data Center Leases, TD Cowen Says (Bloomberg)
• When There’s No School Counselor, There’s a Bot (WSJ)

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Well, kinda... But we do talk about how the show started, get a bit into the process of what I do every day. But mostly we get deep into where AI is going, my fears for silicon valley if the M&A activity doesn't pick up, why I got into investing, what it means if Silicon Valley is bigger than the government (maybe?) what it's like when that weird dude you talk to at a tech meetup becomes a billionaire, and why this is still the greatest job I've ever had. Thank you all for listening. Here's to 2,000 more episodes.

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Microsoft is claiming a historical quantum breakthrough with its first quantum processor, the Majorana 1. Google is going all in on the Gemini brand. The world’s thinnest foldable phone. Rabbit releases a demo it probably should have led with. And James Bond now works for Amazon.

Sponsors:

• Freshbooks.com/pricing-offer
• Take your personal data back with Incogni! Use code RIDEHOME at the link below and get 60% off an annual plan: Incogni.com/ridehome

Links:

• Microsoft announces quantum computing breakthrough with new Majorana 1 chip (The Verge)
• Microsoft’s Xbox AI era starts with a model that can generate gameplay (The Verge)
• Google app on iOS removing Gemini as it pushes users to full app (9to5Google)
• The world’s thinnest foldable phone doesn’t come cheap (The Verge)
• Rabbit shows off the AI agent it should have launched with (The Verge)
• 'Bond' Producers Stepping Back From Iconic Franchise As Amazon MGM Studios Takes Creative Control (Deadline)

Join us for the livestream tonight here: https://riverside.fm/studio/2000th-episode

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