Sharp Tech with Ben Thompson

Andrew Sharp and Ben Thompson

A podcast about understanding how tech works and the way it is changing the world. Hosted by Andrew Sharp with Ben Thompson.

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28 episodes
weekly
Avg 25 min
English

Episodes 28

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March 27 · 20 min
(Preview) A Spring Break Mailbag: RIP Sora, Ads and Surplus, F1 Going in Reverse, Elon Inc., Smartphone Parenting, and More
Ben and Andrew interrupt Stratechery’s spring vacation with a mailbag. First, they discuss the end of Sora, the difference between Sora and Instagram, and where the OpenAI/Microsoft parallels break down. Then: A great take on advertising, ChatGPT engagement farming, Formula 1’s new era, the NFL’s world takeover, and how NBC solved tape delay at the Olympics. At the end: A question about Vision Pro and wives, whether elementary schoolers should have smart phones, Elon’s continued adventures with xAI, a Netflix dating show, LLM-aided dogfooding etymology, and Ben’s (admittedly boring) Taipei routine. To email the show: email@sharptech.fm @SharpTechPodcast Channel — YouTube @Stratechery Channel — YouTube 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.
March 19 · 32 min
(Preview) OpenAI’s Enterprise Pivot, The Rise of Agents and Bubble Counterpoints, Nvidia Changes Its Inference Story
Ben and Andrew begin with the news that OpenAI is shifting away from “side quests” and allocating resources to the enterprise space, including Dropbox history to explain OpenAI’s present, lessons in the enterprise space generally (and what you learn in business school), and OpenAI taking cues from 1980s Microsoft. From there: Talking through Ben’s article on Monday, including the implications of agents and questions about integration as durable differentiation for Anthropic and OpenAI. At the end: Nvidia’s new messaging on inference chips and Groq integration, and a word about winters (and whiners) in Wisconsin. To email the show: email@sharptech.fm @SharpTechPodcast Channel — YouTube @Stratechery Channel — YouTube Jensen Huang and Andy Grove, Groq LPUs and Vera CPUs, Hotel California — Stratechery Update Agents Over Bubbles — Stratechery An Interview with Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang About Accelerated Computing — Stratechery Interview OpenAI to Cut Back on Side Projects in Push to ‘Nail’ Core Business — 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.
March 13 · 17 min
(Preview) Nerding Out with the Neo, Claude and the Integration Question, The End of Coding Language History
Ben and Andrew begin with the MacBook Neo, including Ben’s memory needs, Apple’s clever move to repurpose old iPhone chips, and the market for a $599 laptop. From there: A question about VisionOS, Andrew’s notes after six weeks of Vision Pro joy, and an extended discussion of Claude’s differentiation, harnessing, Microsoft’s AI strategy, and the future of integration and AI. At the end: A question on the end of coding language, what went wrong at the Washington Post, and being right points on AI group chats. To email the show: email@sharptech.fm @SharpTechPodcast Channel — YouTube @Stratechery Channel — YouTube MacBook Neo, The (Not-So) Thin MacBook, Apple and Memory — Stratechery Update Copilot Cowork, Anthropic’s Integration, Microsoft’s New Bundle — 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.
March 6 · 29 min
(Preview) The Anthropic Mess Continues, Frontier AI and the Uncertain Future of Law, Q&A on Netflix, Dating Apps, F1
Ben and Andrew react to a week of Anthropic discussion, including Dario Amodei’s leaked memo to employees, why a compromise is still possible, and answering a variety of questions in response to Ben’s article this week. At the end: A terrible AI law for young parents, surveying the implications for Netflix after Paramount wins the Warner Brothers bidding, a dispatch from dating app hell, a question about feeds on chatbots, should Google be the model for ChatGPT ads?, and thoughts on the business of F1 and the new season. To email the show: email@sharptech.fm @SharpTechPodcast Channel — YouTube @Stratechery Channel — YouTube Read Anthropic CEO’s Memo Attacking OpenAI’s ‘Mendacious’ Pentagon Announcement — The Information Anthropic and Alignment — Stratechery Technological Scale and Government Control, Paramount Outbids Netflix for Warner Bros. — Stratechery Update The End of the World As We Know It — Sharp Text An Interview with Gregory Allen About Anthropic and the U.S. Government — Stratechery Interview AI Homework — Stratechery Pro-Neutrality, Anti-Title II — Stratechery The Definitive Ranking of Tech Company Takeability — Sharp Text F1 on Apple TV, Distribution as Differentiation, A Worthwhile Gamble — 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.
February 20 · 15 min
(Preview) The Roots of a Global Memory Shortage, Thick, Thin and Apple, Shopify is Fine, Actually
Ben and Andrew discuss the global memory shortage and answer a listener’s question: how did this happen? Topics include: What memory chips have in common with logic chips, why Intel left the memory market in the 1980s, how the international shipping market explains today’s shortage, how major players will address the problem going forward, possibly with some help from the Chinese. From there: A look at the “thin” future of AI computing as memory and performance takes precedent, AI computing that will still be done on device, and Apple’s AI strategy. At the end: Responses to Shopify concerns in the AI era, a question about the future of brands as AI finishes what digital advertising started, Shopify preferencing its own AI tools, and a looming test of Apple’s commitment to the Vision Pro. To email the show: email@sharptech.fm @SharpTechPodcast Channel — YouTube @Stratechery Channel — YouTube Rampant AI Demand for Memory Is Fueling a Growing Chip Crisis — Bloomberg Thin Is In — Stratechery Shopify Earnings, Shopify’s AI Advantages — Stratechery Update Dreamer – why we built it! — David Singleton Apple and the Ghosts of Companies Past — 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.
February 13 · 30 min
(Preview) Spotify Spreads Its Wings, CapEx Explosions and Distinctions, Q&A on Viral AI Tweets, Anthropic, Giannis
Ben and Andrew react to a killer round of earnings for Spotify and Daniel Ek’s final earnings call, including thoughts on Spotify’s transformation of the music industry, how a record company oligopoly helped create the definitive tech bundle, and why Spotify’s personalization requires an addendum to aggregation theory. From there: The difference between AI spending at Google and Amazon, why the AI buildout should be funded by debt, un-optimized tech companies, and the logic and risks of Amazon’s AI future. At the end: Reactions to a viral essay on AI job loss, a note about the Princeton Law Review, an ad man strikes back after Ben’s Anthropic criticism, and thoughts on Giannis’ investment in Kalshi. To email the show: email@sharptech.fm @SharpTechPodcast Channel — YouTube @Stratechery Channel — YouTube Spotify Earnings, Individualized Networks, AI and Aggregation — Stratechery Update Amazon Earnings, CapEx Concerns, Commodity AI — Stratechery Update An Interview with Ben Thompson by John Collison on the Cheeky Pint Podcast — Stratechery Interview Something Big Is Happening — X: @mattshumer_ 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.
February 6 · 27 min
(Preview) SaaSmageddon and the Future, Microsoft After a Market Correction, Anthropic’s Super Bowl Lies
Ben and Andrew react to a bloodbath for public Saas companies with thoughts on the future of software in the AI era, beginning with why companies choose to outsource solutions to Saas companies today, and why those moats may be more durable than skeptics think. Then: Why SaaS skepticism remains fair, including an analogy to the newspapers in the ’90s, the absence of anti-fragility, a variety of headwinds that will impact pricing power, start-ups with superior cost structures, and looming consolidation and layoff questions. At the end: The biggest SaaS company of them all and what Microsoft’s roadmap should look like, a response to data center skepticism, supply and demand for hyperscalers, why Ben hated the Anthropic Super Bowl ads, should AI hallucinations be good case law?, and a Vision Pro announcement. To email the show: email@sharptech.fm @SharpTechPodcast Channel — YouTube @Stratechery Channel — YouTube Microsoft and Software Survival — Stratechery An Interview with Benedict Evans About AI and Software — Stratechery Interview OpenAI Bets on Super Bowl to Break Through the Competition — Bloomberg Sam Altman’s Response to Anthropic — X: @sama Anthropic’s Super Bowl ads — X: @jmsltnv Hallucinated Cases Are Good Law — X: @ProfRobAnderson 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.
January 30 · 28 min
(Preview) Meta’s Plans to Spend $135 Billion, The ‘AI Bubble’ Bubble?, Why Hyperscalers Should NOT Invest in TSMC
Unpacking the latest round of Meta earnings, including Wall Street’s about-face after last year’s CapEx squeamishness, whether Zuckerberg’s astronomical CapEx plans are more evidence he yearns to be more than an app maker, why Meta owes a thank you to Apple, Apple and Meta in the AI era, and a word about Instagram messages. Then: Are we in an “AI is a Bubble” bubble? Thoughts on mass adoption among software makers, demand that looks insatiable, product managers vs. engineers, and the era of perfect competition among employees. From there: Why hyperscalers should not solve the CapEx problem by co-investing in TSMC, why Ben sympathizes with TSMC, and a note on Samsung. At the end: Andrew shares his experience with Bucks-Lakers in the Vision Pro and reviews Ben’s takes. To email the show: email@sharptech.fm @SharpTechPodcast Channel — YouTube @Stratechery Channel — YouTube Meta Earnings, Turning Dials, Zuckerberg’s Motivation — Stratechery Update Barrels and Ammunition — Conor Dewey TSMC Risk — 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.

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