Podcast Summary: Bloomberg Tech

Episode: Alibaba to Ramp Up AI Spend, Kimmel Returns to Late Night
Date: September 24, 2025
Hosts: Caroline Hyde (NY), Ed Ludlow (SF)

Brief Overview

In this episode, Bloomberg Tech offers a sweeping look at the major forces shaping the tech and business world: unprecedented AI investment by Alibaba and Chinese tech, the latest in US data center infrastructure (including the massive Stargate project), the evolving power dynamics in AI partnerships (notably Microsoft, OpenAI, and Anthropic), shifts in the semiconductor sector (Micron), Jimmy Kimmel's controversial return to TV, and how platforms like Instagram are using AI to stay competitive. The show also discusses Europe’s tech ambitions and AI policy, alongside notable interviews with industry leaders and VCs.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Markets, Macro Sentiment, and Tech Moves

• Markets were largely flat, NASDAQ marginally lower, with tech news driving some individual names.
• Oracle’s $15B debt sale, including a rare 40-year note—raising funds to support its cloud/data center expansion and AI capacity commitments.
• Alibaba shares surged (+9.5%) on news of a substantial ramp in AI spending over the next three years.

2. Geopolitics and the UNGA – Europe, US, Russia, and China

Interview: Kaia Kallas, EU Top Diplomat & Former Estonian PM (05:30)

• On Trump’s Ukraine Policy Reversal:
  "We really welcome the shift in the tone. The president also talked about even going further into even Russia." —K. Kallas
• Europe has provided €25B in military support to Ukraine this year and is pushing for more defensive investment—even as it requires tough decisions on social spending.
• The EU has enacted 19 sanctions packages against Russia, and is now targeting crypto firms and energy as well.
• Energy dependence on Russia is an obstacle, with some EU states slow to phase out Russian gas.
• Kallas sees US-EU partnership as critical, especially on sanctions and pressure on Russia.

3. Microsoft, OpenAI, and Anthropic: AI Power Plays

Speaker: Brody Ford, Bloomberg Tech (27:00)

• Microsoft is integrating Anthropic models into Copilot, reducing reliance on OpenAI.
• Observes a “slow drift apart” between Microsoft and OpenAI, even as they collaborate.
• Reflects broadening bets on generative AI, signaled by support for multiple frontier models.
• Oracle is now pivotal in AI infrastructure, bridging OpenAI’s data center operations (“Stargate”) with $15B in new debt.

"Oracle is one of the great cash cow businesses, but its cash flows went negative... It's a historic amount of investment and they're having to use interesting new structures." —Brody Ford

4. Data Center Arms Race and AI Infrastructure Bubble?

Guest: Kim Forrest, CIO, Bocker Capital Partners (34:00)

• Micron reports robust demand for high-bandwidth memory (HBM), crucial for AI infrastructure.
• Despite beating consensus, profit-taking kept shares under pressure—up 94% YTD, second-best on the index.
• Warns of the risks of physical infrastructure (energy, utility constraints) but sees continued demand for chips.

"We have this crazy thing called the physical world that is running up against the virtual world… I don't understand the use case where businesses are going to pay… enormous sums." —Kim Forrest

• Calls current AI infrastructure investments a “very, very big bubble,” focused on a narrow set of use cases—especially natural language processing.

5. Jimmy Kimmel Returns After Suspension

Controversy and Media Fallout (44:30)

• Kimmel made an emotional return following remarks about Charlie Kirk's assassination.

"It was never my intention to make light of the murder of a young man." —Jimmy Kimmel (44:42)

• Ongoing tensions between media, Disney, and Trump (who threatened legal action on Truth Social).
• Noted impact: 23% of US TV markets (via Sinclair, Nexstar) did not carry Kimmel’s show; business implications for Disney+ and Hulu were discussed, including subscription cancellations.

6. Alibaba and the China AI Race

Guest: Henry Ren, Bloomberg Equities/Tech (49:00)

• Alibaba increased its 3-year AI infrastructure guidance far beyond the $50B previously disclosed.
• New cloud data centers are planned in the Netherlands, France, and Brazil.
• Alibaba released the new Qwen Max 3 large language model—claimed to be “among the top in the charts.”
• Investors responded strongly; $35B in market cap added in a day.

7. China & Europe in Global AI Competition

Guest: Fabrizio Bluisi, CEO of Prosus (52:00)

• “The giant clients of China are invested substantially… Alibaba is doing a great work, but also Tencent.”
• China's bold policy: 70% of devices to use open-source AI in 3 years; full societal disruption in 10 years.
• Europe lags in AI investment, but Bluisi urges “trillion-dollar” tech champions, pushing Prosus to invest $15B+ in Europe.

"This is going to change the world in the next 10, 20 years substantially… China is playing very well. US is playing very well. But there is a big space for other big tech champions in Europe." —Fabrizio Bluisi (53:00)

• Calls for greater speed and fewer regulatory obstacles from Brussels (“Europe needs to move faster, take more risk, create local champions”).

8. Alphabet’s Ruth Porat on AI’s Pace and Promise

Remarks from Bloomberg Global Forum (65:00)

• AI progress is “moving really fast and really slow”—technical breakthroughs arrive rapidly, but real-world adoption is lagging.

"The excitement about AI is across the board. The economic upside—$4 trillion potential contribution to GDP by 2030… but it's still very early days." —Ruth Porat (65:45)

• Touts DeepMind’s AlphaFold as transformative for medicine; over 3 million scientists in 190 countries use it.

9. The Private Market, Venture, and the AI Buildout

Guest: Steve Jiang, Kindred Ventures (70:30)

• Sees underappreciated scale in global demand for training and inference—spanning from consumer (TikTok, Instagram, YouTube) to enterprise adoption (call centers, reports, search).
• The “bubble” talk is acknowledged as part of the tech cycle, but sees real economic productivity and revenue in today’s AI applications.

"Bubbles are necessary. They create growth and velocity… This tech cycle is very different because there's real revenue." —Steve Jiang (72:30)

• Notes crossover between data center infrastructure for AI and crypto, especially stablecoins.

10. Instagram Hits 3 Billion Users: AI for Algorithmic Discovery

Guest: Kurt Wagner, Bloomberg + Interview with Adam Mosseri, Head of Instagram (78:00)

• Instagram is shifting from “glossy life moments” to AI-powered content feeds (DMs, Reels, Stories).
• Testing new AI-driven features that let users more explicitly set their content preferences.
• In markets like India (where TikTok is banned), Instagram is pushing users straight into Reels to boost engagement.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments (With Timestamps)

• Kaia Kallas, on Ukraine and US-EU Cooperation

  "We really welcome the shift in the tone. The president also talked about even going further into even Russia." (07:50)

• Brody Ford, on Oracle and AI Infrastructure Arms Race

  "Oracle is one of the great cash cow businesses, but its cash flows went negative… It's a historic amount of investment…" (29:50)

• Kim Forrest on AI Hype vs. Reality

  "We have this crazy thing called the physical world that is running up against the virtual world… I don't understand the use case where businesses are going to pay…enormous sums." (36:15)

• Jimmy Kimmel’s return after controversy

  "It was never my intention to make light of the murder of a young man." (44:42)

• Fabrizio Bluisi on China and the Global AI Game

  "The giant clients of China are invested substantially… Alibaba is doing a great work, but also Tencent." (53:00)

• Ruth Porat on AI’s Economic Potential

  "The excitement about AI is across the board. The economic upside—$4 trillion potential contribution to GDP by 2030… but it's still very early days." (65:45)

• Steve Jiang, on Bubbles and Tech Progress

  "Bubbles are necessary. They create growth and velocity… This tech cycle is very different because there's real revenue." (72:30)

• Adam Mosseri (via Kurt Wagner) on Instagram’s Algorithm

  "They're able to do this because of the advancements in AI. They're able to read videos with AI, determine exactly what's in them and then feed that to you." (80:10)

Important Segment Timestamps

• [05:30] – Kaia Kallas (EU) on Ukraine, sanctions, China, and EU defense
• [27:00] – Brody Ford on Microsoft, OpenAI, Anthropic, Oracle, Stargate
• [34:00] – Kim Forrest on Micron, AI infrastructure bubble, tech market risks
• [44:30] – Jimmy Kimmel controversy and Disney business fallout
• [49:00] – Henry Ren on Alibaba’s increased AI spend and China’s AI race
• [52:00] – Fabrizio Bluisi (Prosus) on European AI, China, and cross-global competition
• [65:00] – Ruth Porat (Alphabet) on AI science vs. real-world implementation
• [70:30] – Steve Jiang (Kindred Ventures) on private investing in the AI arms race, bubbles, and crypto
• [78:00] – Kurt Wagner on Instagram’s rise to 3B users, AI algorithms, and strategy

Conclusion

This episode of Bloomberg Tech captures a tech world at an inflection point—where massive investment in AI and infrastructure is matched by both optimism (across big tech in China, US, and Europe) and a healthy skepticism about sustainability and business models. Key voices from public markets, venture capital, and media illuminate the true cost, opportunity, and risks of the generative AI revolution, while platforms like Instagram are riding the wave with new AI-powered user experiences. In the background, geopolitics, regulation, and media controversies swirl—making this an essential listen for anyone interested in the next chapter of innovation and its global context.