Databricks Raises $4 Billion, TikTok Finds Its Shopping Stride

Summary

Bloomberg Tech – Episode Summary

Episode Title: Databricks Raises $4 Billion, TikTok Finds Its Shopping Stride
Date: December 16, 2025
Hosts: Caroline Hyde (New York), Ed Ludlow (San Francisco)
Guest Highlights: Jacob Helberg (Undersecretary of State for Economic Affairs), Carol (Chief Market Strategist, BMO Private Wealth), Joanna Geraghty (CEO, JetBlue), Eric Mazikowski (CEO, Bespoke Partners), Kurt Wagner (Bloomberg Social Media Reporter)

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Overview

This episode dives into some of the hottest trends and developments at the intersection of technology, business, and geopolitics:

• Databricks’ record $4B funding round, reflecting continued investor appetite for AI-centric tech companies even amidst public market anxiety.
• The changing playbook for US-China tech relations and supply chain security, with exclusive remarks from Undersecretary Jacob Helberg.
• TikTok’s surge into live shopping, an area it’s succeeding in where others have stumbled.
• The state of the labor market amid AI disruption and what it means for executive recruiting.
• The evolving landscape for EVs, the Ford shake-up, and how global pressure reshapes the future of autos.
• Exclusive conversation with JetBlue’s CEO on the airline’s premium pivot and competitive landscape.

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Key Segments & Insights

1. Databricks’ $4B Raise: Private Market Mania

Segment Start: [02:07]

• Databricks secured $4B in new funding at a $134B valuation.
• Brody Ford (Bloomberg): Private investors are pouring money into companies with strong AI narratives, despite anxiety in public markets. “If you’re able to tell an AI story...then investors will be lining up.” [03:43]
• Databricks boasts ‘clean financials’ and high momentum. The company is often talked about as perpetually IPO-ready but has stayed private thanks to robust secondary markets and employee liquidity sales.
• Databricks is a significant competitor in the data infrastructure space, rivalling public giants like Oracle and Snowflake.

Notable Quote:

• “For Databricks that is, ‘we’re going to get all your data together and make it easy for you to run LLMs on it,’ then investors will be lining up.” — Host [03:46]

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2. Market Perspective: Bubble, Revolution, or Both?

Segment Start: [05:08]

• Carol (BMO Private Wealth): Investors are increasingly discerning, favoring companies with strong fundamentals and not shying from pulling back when there are surprises or overextension on commitments.
• Industrial Revolution 4.0 is a critical macro theme, with AI being only one element of much broader transformation.
• The push to participate in private tech comes in the wake of past missed opportunities—investors seek not to have “everything on the sidelines.” [06:52]
• The options and futures market for private valuation is evolving, with CBOE and others aiming to write options on private companies.
• The panel debates whether this is true democratization or speculative “froth.” Carol doesn’t see pure bubble behavior yet as valuations, especially in the Magnificent 7, have shown some relative discipline.

Notable Quotes:

• “Does it get frothy? Frothy gets when everyone runs in the same direction and we push these things all parabolic...despite the fact they’ve been running for what, three years now, but they're not parabolic yet.” — Carol [08:02]
• “Nvidia was trading with a lower forward PE ratio than Walmart was.” — Carol [09:21]

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3. JetBlue CEO on Premium Pivot & Industry Challenges

Segment Start: [11:07]

• Joanna Geraghty (JetBlue CEO) at new flagship lounge opening:
  • JetBlue is introducing lounges and shifting towards more premium offerings, including a domestic first class launch in 2026, as part of its “Jet Forward” strategy.
  • The objective is to break even on operating margin in 2026, following a tough 2025 marked by macro setbacks and a government shutdown impacting the airline sector.
  • Despite the leisure carrier label, JetBlue attracts business travelers due to high net promoter scores.
  • Industry consolidation is a major challenge – “when four carriers have 80% of the domestic seats, that’s a real problem.” [16:57]
  • JetBlue is fighting for a more level playing field, recently denied a Heathrow gate while larger, legacy carriers benefit from scale.
  • Partnerships, such as the new Blue Sky agreement with United, expand route networks and provide utility to loyalty program members.

Notable Quotes:

• “We want to make sure that JetBlue offers something to everyone.” — Geraghty [16:05]
• “We fight very hard in D.C. to try to make sure that we’re heard, that the challenges we face—whether it’s cost pressures, lack of scale, lack of access to gates...those are little things that add up over time.” — Geraghty [16:57]

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4. Ford, EVs, and the Global Green Pullback

Segment Start: [22:57]

• Ford’s CEO Jim Farley discusses strategic pivots towards profitable hybrids and affordable pickups as the company reports a $19.5B charge in its EV business.
• Craig Friedel (Bloomberg Auto): The slow uptake of EVs is as much about readiness and infrastructure as price. Europe’s 2035 fossil fuel ban is increasingly seen as unrealistic by both policymakers and industry, especially under the weight of more appealing, affordable Chinese EV imports.
• China’s dominance in EV manufacturing and pricing has become a geopolitical flashpoint for US and Europe, leading to new tariffs and a push for domestic manufacturing.

Notable Quotes:

• “Manufacturers like Ford have learned that the hard way...bringing out electric vehicles that were just too expensive, not supporting them with enough charging infrastructure.” — Craig Friedel [23:35]
• “Are you prepared to allow China to export its deflation to your markets, when that is going to mean a loss of jobs, a loss of industry?” — Craig Friedel [25:26]

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5. AI and Executive Labor Market Shifts

Segment Start: [28:50]

• US unemployment ticked higher to a four-year high (4.6%), but AI-driven mass layoffs have not broadly materialized yet.
• Eric Mazikowski (Bespoke Partners): Executive job market is exceptionally tight, especially with a backlog of private equity-owned companies poised for exit. AI is transforming executive search from an old-boy network to comprehensive, data-driven sourcing.
• Bespoke indexed 700,000 executives in North America and uses AI tools to precisely match candidates to modern leadership roles, fundamentally shifting how talent is identified and recruited.

Notable Quote:

• “The key is to make sure you’re looking at the entire market. And I think that’s where AI really comes in.” — Mazikowski [30:37]

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6. Securing the US Tech Supply Chain: Jacob Helberg

Segment Start: [35:39]

• The US government is supporting Korea Zinc’s $7.4B Tennessee smelter project as part of a broader “Pax Silica” initiative to secure critical mineral and tech supply chains.
• Jacob Helberg: Economic security is national security. The government is willing to co-invest, coordinate with allies, and even take stakes in firms to guarantee stable access to materials and components — an approach that blends public and private sector strengths.
• EU and US are forging closer alignment on these issues. The US strategy aims “not to insult, but to diagnose” Europe’s existential choice between managed decline and competitive rejuvenation.
• China’s recent easing on rare earth exports to Europe reflects a complex global dance, but the US remains focused on “putting America first,” promoting domestic innovation, and diffusing American technology globally to maintain its leadership (“the American stack”).

Notable Quotes:

• “Economic security is national security and economic policy is downstream of national security.” — Helberg [37:40]
• “Our policy is we want to win the race because we want to put America first.” — Helberg [46:04]

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7. Social Media & TikTok’s E-Commerce Play

Segment Start: [48:39]

• Instagram debuts its Reels-dedicated TV app on Amazon Fire, aiming to compete with YouTube and capture users’ attention on big screens.
• Kurt Wagner (Bloomberg): TikTok’s live shopping is succeeding in the US where Facebook and YouTube struggled. US-based mom-and-pop shops see “great sales,” and celebrities like Kim Kardashian are jumping on the trend.
• The specter of a TikTok ban has faded: “I think we can all probably agree at this point that a ban seems very unlikely...they didn’t seem to pump the brakes on live shopping at all despite this kind of cloud hanging over the company.” — Wagner [50:40]

Notable Moment:

• Snoop Dogg and Kim Kardashian teaming up for TikTok shopping — “Brave new world as always.” — Caroline Hyde [51:06]

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Notable Quotes & Timestamps

• “For Databricks that is, ‘we’re going to get all your data together and make it easy for you to run LLMs on it,’ then investors will be lining up.” — Host [03:46]
• “Does it get frothy? Frothy gets when everyone runs in the same direction...they’re not parabolic yet.” — Carol [08:02]
• “We want to make sure that JetBlue offers something to everyone.” — Joanna Geraghty [16:05]
• “Manufacturers like Ford have learned that the hard way...bringing out electric vehicles that were just too expensive, not supporting them with enough charging infrastructure.” — Craig Friedel [23:35]
• “The key is to make sure you’re looking at the entire market. And I think that’s where AI really comes in.” — Eric Mazikowski [30:37]
• “Economic security is national security and economic policy is downstream of national security.” — Jacob Helberg [37:40]
• “I think we can all probably agree at this point that a ban seems very unlikely...they didn’t seem to pump the brakes on live shopping at all despite this kind of cloud hanging over the company.” — Kurt Wagner [50:40]

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Additional Highlights & Memorable Moments

• JetBlue’s struggle for profitability and market access underscored the challenges of industry consolidation and regulatory hurdles for smaller carriers. [16:57]
• Ford’s EV reset embodied global headwinds for green technologies; shifting consumer attitudes, infrastructure gaps, and Chinese competition all cited as causes.
• The US’s assertive new supply chain and economic security doctrine marks a significant strategic realignment, with Helberg framing it as a “diagnosis” rather than an attack on Europe. [44:25]
• TikTok’s growing e-commerce prowess signals a changing tide in how Americans might shop online — blending entertainment and commerce in ways previously seen only in East Asia.

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Conclusion

This episode provides a sweeping look at the forces reshaping tech, markets, and geopolitics as 2025 sets the stage for further disruption:

• Private market exuberance collides with public market caution.
• The AI revolution endures but demands discernment.
• US government and industry draw closer in the battle for tech and mineral self-sufficiency.
• Social media platforms, especially TikTok, continue to rewrite the rules of commerce and culture.

For anyone tracking the next big shifts in business, technology, and global competition, this episode is a must-listen.

Transcript

[Host/Announcer]

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[Caroline Hyde]

Bloomberg Audio Studios Podcasts Radio News.

[Host/Announcer]

Bloomberg Tech is live from coast to.

[Caroline Hyde]

Coast with Caroline Hyde in New York and Ed Ludlow in San Francisco. This is Bloomberg Tech coming up, DataBricks raising over $4 billion as its valuation skyrockets to 134 billion. We have the details on the relentless investor demand for AI oriented tech companies. Plus we talk the future of US China Tech with Jacob Helberg, Undersecretary of State for Economic affairs and Founder of the Hill and Valleys Forum. This, while shopping on China's TikTok Live, is catching on in the U.S. we'll explore how big the experience might become for users, but first we talk about not particularly large moves in the market. Right now we are unchanged on the NASDAQ 100. It is a noisy jobs report that we tried to digest, but it does come across as a slowing data set that we see for nonfarm payrolls. Unemployment ticks higher, the market tries to digest Bitcoin Though just ticking up about 2%, 87% 7,962 it has been under pressure over the last few trading days and in fact could be the fourth ever annual loss for bitcoin more broadly. But as we see nervousness around the overall public market phase, what about the private market phase? Data BRICS another tell raising over $4 billion in a new funding round that values the private software firm $134 billion. Bloomberg's Brody Ford joins us now to discuss what just seems to be relentless. Even though we have anxiety in the public markets, we are all in, in, yeah, what a big valuation. I mean Series L is it?

[Host/Announcer]

I mean this is one of these companies that you know, for as long as I can remember an IPO is.

[Jacob Helberg]

Six or 12 months out.

[Host/Announcer]

But they just keep raising money from the private markets and it's clear that private investors are happy to keep giving it to them. Right now if you're able to tell an AI story and for databricks that is, we're going to get all your data together and make it easy for you to run lems on it, then investors will be lining up. And I mean this is a company with very clean financials with a lot of momentum. And so, you know, my guess is in six months we'll be here again talking about the series whatever letters after.

[Caroline Hyde]

L May gets to see Ali Gods. He has said, look, I wouldn't be running a cash positive business if I didn't want to be tapping the public markets at some point. And it seems to be trying to also do secondary sales for employees. They are a competitor of Oracle and Snowflake in public markets. Again we're worrying about Oracle and exposure to leases for data centers.

[Host/Announcer]

Yeah.

[Caroline Hyde]

How much anxiety you hearing about round Oracle?

[Host/Announcer]

So Oracle disclosed a big jump in its leases. In a three month period they inked $150 billion in leases.

[Caroline Hyde]

150 billion.

[Host/Announcer]

And of course that's over the next 15, 19 years. But you break it down, that's what, around 16 billion a year in lease payments for the coming decade and a half. That's significant. That's a lot of money that you know, was not necessarily known about. We knew they were leasing data centers but probably not quite to this scale. And so it's just one more data point that's giving folks indigestion about how much is it going to cost to really get the data centers up and running.

[Caroline Hyde]

Indigestion is a nice turn of phrase ready for. We'll see how this market digests as we enter the end of the year. Let's get more of a market perspective on that. Let's go to Carol. She is the chief market strategist at BMO Private Wealth. Carol, that anxiety around Oracle, around companies that have been tapping the debt markets to finance the AI well, focus on infrastructure. Do you think it's the right moment to be going into these sorts of names or to be pulling back?

[Carol (Chief Market Strategist at BMO Private Wealth)]

I think it's very interesting because as you know, there's been a lot of chat on the street, if you will, about are we in a bubble? Are we not in a bubble? But the fact that investors are being very discerning. They're putting money in private companies, they're putting money in some of those public companies, but then they're also pulling back from companies where they're not necessarily approving, if you will, of the total package or don't like the surprises for increased spending or increased commitments. And so that discerning nature is really constructive and we are big believers. In fact, one of our core big three macro themes that we'll be introducing in our capital market assumptions is Industrial Revolution 4.0. And we think AIR is just part of it. There's a lot bigger broader spend. But we are definitely in a revolution that's, that's taking this economy and putting it in a whole different place.

[Caroline Hyde]

I mean, Carol, go deeper on what discerning is discerning. $134 billion valuation for a private company that agreed has a revenue run rate of some $4.8 billion. An $800 billion market valuation for Space X in the private market. So wants to be worth 1.5 trillion when it IPOs in 2026. One what spells out discerning to you? What are the financials you need to see?

[Carol (Chief Market Strategist at BMO Private Wealth)]

I think discerning spells out somewhat. If we just take the public markets and we look at for example when you had five of the mag seven I'll report in the same week and some and they all for the most part beat expectations. And yet some stocks rallied and some declined because of investors listening through to this story. So there's a piece there where investors want to participate in the industry, in technology in general and they're trying to fig year. I think there is always that allure. It's tough to get your head around the financials even though a number of different entities now are trying to provide us index on private companies. And I saw last week that that the CBOE and others are looking to want to write options and futures on private companies. So there's different ways to participate in it, but investors want to foot in that market because I think for anyone who lived through prior periods, you don't want to miss out on not having, on having everything on the sidelines.

[Caroline Hyde]

But Carol, is that democratization or is that frothiness and a desire to just get in on super high valuations?

[Carol (Chief Market Strategist at BMO Private Wealth)]

Yeah, I think we're still trying to figure that out. For me, it's a way of passing risk in different places. It's sort of like too that we've seen this evolution of the prediction markets where if in the old days you had, you know, your traditional 6040 portfolio, if you were nervous about markets, you had to trim equity exposure, now you have different ways to sort of execute on that. That risk nervousness. You might go buy a levered ETF or if you own a single highly concentrated position in one name, you might go out and say, well, I'm going to buy an option or, or a single strategy ETF or a single stock ETF on that that's levered to the downside just to offset some of my potential risk. So there's different ways to play it which we're still trying to figure out. You know, does it get frothy and frothy gets. When everyone runs in the same direction and we push these things all parabolic and despite the fact that they've been running for what, three years now, they're not parabolic yet.

[Caroline Hyde]

Yeah. And therefore is the proof point yet again, earnings season, is that where you start to see that actually valuations are in line because the P valuations aren't out of whack if you're really seeing the revenue that they're bringing and broadly we see productivity broaden out.

[Carol (Chief Market Strategist at BMO Private Wealth)]

Yeah, I think it's very interesting because actually when you looked at the last earnings season, when you got to the end of it, you looked at forward earnings. Nvidia was trading with a lower forward P E ratio than Wal Mart was. And so part of that is, is the movement of, of those earnings we need to get for all of us. I can't wait till we get into the December report season. Sooner or later we will have some sort of a handoff from all the, the focus and concentration around just those seven or 10 or 15 names. And we do need to see more broadening in the markets because there's been a lot of interesting stuff going on in a lot of other sectors as well. Or that some that are second and third iteration related to technology and some that are totally unrelated but are benefiting or will benefit from increased use of robotics and technology. And down the road when we have a breakthrough in quantum.

[Caroline Hyde]

Carol, we're already excited for January 20th when Netflix kicks off our tech earnings. Wishing away our end of the year. But it's so great to have you on to really push us forward to what your key areas focus our carriage life. Always great in the show. Chief market strategist at BMO Private Wealth. Coming up, let me joined by JetBlue CEO as the airline prepares to open its first airport lounge. This is Bloomberg Tech. Jetblue well, it's preparing to open its first airport lounge just ahead of what's expected to be a busy holiday travel season. Bloomberg's Lisa Abramowicz joins us now from John F. Kennedy Airport. A very special guest.

[Lisa Abramowicz]

Thank you so much. Yes, Caroline, I am here with Joanna Garrity, the CEO of JetBlue in the very first lounge. It is fashioned like an art deco New York City apartment from the 1940s, 30s, 70s, 30s. Okay, I think I got it right. Joanna, thank you so much for being here before the launch launch later this week. I want to start with just how this fits into the strategy of JetBlue right now to make the airline truly profitable for a sustainable period of time.

[Joanna Geraghty (CEO of JetBlue)]

Yeah, thanks for the question. Great to be here and have you in Blue House. JetBlue's first foray into lounges. This is very much part of our Jet Forward strategy. We've been working very hard for the last several quarters on really turning towards premium and trying to make sure that we're offering more opportunities for customers who want to pay a little more. And the lounge is part of that. Our transition to a first class product next year, a domestic first class product will be part of that. Our premier card or even more as a cabin. And really excited to start seeing all of that come to life in 2026.

[Lisa Abramowicz]

All of the big airlines have talked about loyalty and how important loyalty and premium offerings is to their profitability going forward. How is it different for JetBlue? Because there isn't the sort of obvious business customer that typically, typically fuels the loyalty offering.

[Joanna Geraghty (CEO of JetBlue)]

I mean, we're a leisure carrier. We tend to get, you know, a nice share of business customers because they love the product. You know, we're back at the top for net promoter score. So really proud of that. But at the end of the day, this is really designed around trying to make sure that customers who travel for vacation have a reason to come back again and again, providing a little oasis of peace and you know, really through our loyalty program, we want to reward people who choose JetBlue because they love the product, the service and what we offer.

[Lisa Abramowicz]

You have already offered Mint and other premium rollouts. How has it been going?

[Joanna Geraghty (CEO of JetBlue)]

It's been great. Mint's been a very strong source of revenue for JetBlue for well over the last decade. And so we're not new to this. We have a brand that, you know, definitely associates with more of a higher end leisure customer, providing more to customers at a very reasonable fare. We want to make sure that we offer something for everybody across the full spectrum. Whether you want sort of a dialed down experience, still free wi Fi and great legroom and great snacks and drinks, TVs. But then if you want to pay a little more, you have the opportunity for a lounge, our Mint class for Transatlantic. And then when we, when we launch domestic first later this year, that's going to be a great product offering for customers who want a little more.

[Lisa Abramowicz]

So I was shuttled into here through very long security lines and lots of people with screaming children trying to get to different destinations for their warm holidays. This is the busy season. How is it looking in terms of demand given the fact that there were some hiccups in the past couple years of couple of months, but at this point people are getting back to what they originally had.

[Joanna Geraghty (CEO of JetBlue)]

2025 has been a very tough year. Whether it was the macro setback or the government shut down or the list goes on and on, we're really looking forward to the holiday season. Bookings are coming in strong. As we go into 2026, we're optimistic that the consumer is healthy and that we're going to start really ramping up the initiatives that we have been working really hard for the last year to execute to and seeing the benefit as we move through 2027. 6.

[Lisa Abramowicz]

How long do you think it'll take before you start to actually turn profitable and sustain that?

[Joanna Geraghty (CEO of JetBlue)]

You know, our goal next year is to break even from an operating margin perspective and that's the first step back to profitability. We have a great team here. Everybody's pulling for us. We're doing all the right things, whether it's our focus on operational reliability, Net Promoter score, all the premium products that we're launching, our laser focus on costs and really trying to make sure that we're, we're delivering a great product offering for, for customers because JetBlue has this wonderful brand and this sense of people want to love us and they want to see us succeed and 2026 is going to be our year with everything we've put into Place, because 2025 was.

[Lisa Abramowicz]

Not the year for a lot of airlines. There are a lot of airlines. There were a lot of issues. And you talk about the government shutdown. This has been a big discussion among a lot of the airline CEOs where they've said we just can't make up that kind of revenue. So there will be some sort of head. Have you disclosed any kind of revenue loss as a result of some of the shutdown?

[Joanna Geraghty (CEO of JetBlue)]

You know, we haven't disclosed any kind of revenue loss. You know, we've said that we remain on track for Q4 and I think we're pleased with what we're seeing in terms of bookings coming in for the, for the balance of the month. We definitely saw some softness, obviously, during the government shutdown, but we're recovering coming out of that. I think most have shared that, but it was, it was definitely an impact and unfortunate that the airlines were put, you know, right in the middle of that shutdown. You know, all the great air traffic controllers and the TSA workers, they need to be, you know, casting as essential workers. We really need to make sure that, if anything, this industry is so essential to our economy. I mean, think about all the people who are traveling for weddings and funerals or doctor's appointments that were displaced because we couldn't get on the same page in Washington, D.C. so we're really hopeful that, you know, we've turned a page there and that we can move forward. You know, looking at that end of January date with, you know, a little bit of nervousness, but I'm confident that DC Will pull it together and get us, get it, get us in the back end of that.

[Lisa Abramowicz]

Yeah, you somehow being an airline CEO probably wasn't in your bingo card that you'd be well focused on health care legislation with your fingers crossed heading into January. I'm wondering how much you're hoping to attract a new class of customers versus capitalize on the ones that you have that might be willing and able to pay a little bit more with some of the new offerings.

[Joanna Geraghty (CEO of JetBlue)]

It's a little bit of both. We know we have customers today that want our first class product. And so it's really, you know, offering that to them so that they can buy up when that opportunity presents it. But it's also making sure that we're competitive with the industry. Everybody's moved towards premium. You know, we're going to continue to move towards premium because it is a resilient customer segment. But we're not going to forget the folks that fly in our coach product. I mean, they're just as important. And we want to make sure that JetBlue offers something to everyone.

[Lisa Abramowicz]

It really does feel a little bit like the Sharks and the Jets. When you speak to some of the airline industry CEOs where they talk about, you know, it's become a game of consolidation and it's become a game of the big fish, really.com dominating the fields in a lot of different ways. They say it's going to be very hard to be a more budget focused airline. How do you fight back? How do you sort of create a viable business model at a time when you do see this consolidation of profitability and travel in the biggest airlines?

[Joanna Geraghty (CEO of JetBlue)]

I mean, it's definitely hard. We talk about the need for a more level playing field when four carriers have 80% of the domestic seats. That's a real problem. You know, we fight very hard in D.C. to try to make sure that we're heard that the challenges we face, whether it's cost pressures, the lack of scale, the lack of, you know, consolidated purchasing, the, you know, inability to get access to gates, we just bid on a gate, a Heathrow, a Heathrow slot, and we were denied it. And so, you know, while maybe understand why it went to a legacy larger carrier, those are little things that add up over time and the smaller carriers really need to be given a fair shot to win in this environment. And that's not happening right now. So we're focused on what we can can control. We're focused on a whole series of initiatives under our Jet Forward program. It's getting us moving in the right direction. I'm excited about what it's going to bring, but we do need the government to kind of make that a more level playing field so smaller carriers can more effectively compete.

[Lisa Abramowicz]

In the meantime, you do have this cooperation with United. You've been expanding in a host of different places. Is that the template going forward? Maybe not consolidation due to the recent issues, but in terms of the, the previous merger that was denied, but going forward having some sort of partnership with major airlines to expand the routes.

[Joanna Geraghty (CEO of JetBlue)]

We've got 50 airline partners across the globe and now we have the Blue sky partnership with United. That is most certainly a part of trying to provide more utility to our loyalty program and providing a broader global network for our customers when eventually in Q1 they can book a JetBlue flight on United.com and vice versa through our interline agreement. And so we're excited about what it's it's going to bring. Does it solve the problem fully? No, it doesn't. But it's definitely a meaningful revenue initiative that gets us back back moving in the right direction.

[Lisa Abramowicz]

Do you anticipate consolidation at any point in your future? Is that sort of on the back burner?

[Joanna Geraghty (CEO of JetBlue)]

That's on the back burner. We're really focused on jet forward. You know, I'm really excited with the progress we're making. We're seeing it. We're seeing improved operational reliability, improved customer scores. We have not let the grass grow under our feet in 2025. We've executed a whole series of revenue initiatives. We've kept our costs under control despite pulling a point and a half capacity this year. So 2026 really is the year that we should reap the benefits of all these initiatives that we put into Place in 2025.

[Lisa Abramowicz]

Before I let you get back to celebrating the new launch, I do want to just ask you about the recent incident with an, with a pilot for JetBlue plane that was in the route between Curacao and JFK. There was a close call with an US Air Force jet. Do you have any more information about what happened there to make sure that it doesn't happen again?

[Joanna Geraghty (CEO of JetBlue)]

Yeah, I'm really proud of our pilot. He reported the event and we trained them for situations like this. We reported the incident to the government. We're waiting to hear the results of their investigation, but just pleased with how our pilot handled it and how air traffic control handled it. There's a whole series of safety nets in place in the area, in the national airspace system. And the pilot, it is the last line of defense and he absolutely did his job, did it well. And, you know, my hope is that doesn't, that doesn't happen again.

[Lisa Abramowicz]

Joanna Garrity, thank you so much for being with us. Joanna Garrity, the CEO of JetBlue. I'll send it back to you.

[Caroline Hyde]

Great looking lounge, Bloomberg's Lisa Barrow. It's great interviews. We thank you. Coming up, is the EV revolution stalling or shifting gears? That discussion next is a Bloomberg Tech.

[Host/Announcer]

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[Jacob Helberg]

It's really about moving to more profitable vehicles. You know we're going to make in Tennessee now an affordable pickup truck. So these are going to be better investments for the company profit and all.

[Host/Announcer]

Those hybrid sales, you know those are.

[Jacob Helberg]

Really profitable vehicles for us.

[Caroline Hyde]

The Ford CEO Jim Farley speaking with Bloomberg's Matt Miller yesterday as the company announced that it's going to take a 19 and a half billion dollar charge tied to an overhaul of its EV business. More Bloomberg's Cratered out joins us. You cover all things automotive and really this comes in the context of the US and Europe re envisaging what their relationship with the EV fuel is looking like.

[Craig Friedel (Automotive Reporter)]

Yeah, I think with with what we've seen just in the last day, day and a half. At this point, it's really a matter of sort of plenty of blame going around. Right. This is a case where the consumer absolutely has, has not been ready to go fully electric. You know, universally. I think manufacturers like Ford have learned that the hard way and I think they have, you know, some, some mistakes to wear here in terms of, you know, bringing out electric vehicles that were just too expensive, not supporting them with enough charging infrastructure. And then you have, I think, policymakers too, where you have a lot of criticism of the approach that the EU has taken and the need on Brussels part to kind of back down from this, you know, 2035 policy that, you know, kind of all along was seen by the industry as really a stretch. And the closer we get to it, the more, you know, real doubts have emerged about us being able to come anywhere close to that ambition.

[Caroline Hyde]

And, Craig, that ambition, just to remind us, was an effective ban on combustion engines.

[Craig Friedel (Automotive Reporter)]

Yeah, it was, was 100% reduction in emissions by 2035. I think you have to sort of throw it effective in there and that there are, you know, lots of loopholes and sort of ways in which you can sort of, you know, preserve at least, you know, some role for combustion engines with offsets and so forth. But this was absolutely going to be a very difficult ambition for this industry and it will remain so even with some of these changes that we're learning about today out of Brussels.

[Caroline Hyde]

Craig, this comes in the context, us, Europe, of this global pullback from green policies. But it also goes without saying that China has really made building affordable EVs very difficult to compete with.

[Craig Friedel (Automotive Reporter)]

Yeah, I think that's a really important aspect of all this. And absolutely you have to, on one hand, give China credit for really sort of bum rushing this technology, building up this huge lead, both from a technology perspective, appeal and, you know, being able to, to offer prices that the rest of the world can't match. I think, you know, what you have to ask yourself though, if your other, you know, sort of governments in other parts of the world is are you prepared to sort of allow China to sort of export itself, deflation to your markets, when that is going to mean, you know, a loss of jobs, a loss of industry. We've already seen enough, you know, hollowing out in so many of these places and a rise of populism, rise of a lot of things that, you know, have, have sort of been ugly for, for the world. And hence we get this pushback, we get these tariffs and even today with the eu, you know, sort of a means for a quote, unquote, quote super credits that, you know, manufacturers will earn only if they make electric vehicles in Europe. And so that's going to lead to, you know, sort of some further support and sort of preference for domestic manufacturing over imports from China.

[Caroline Hyde]

Geopolitics just intertwining itself with capital markets and with the auto sector. Bloomberg's Craig Friedel, thanks so much for breaking that down. Now coming up, we're going to be talking with the CEO of Bespoke Partners about his impact on executive recruiting and the labor market more broadly is why we digest of course, unemployment rising yet again to a four year high in the United States. NASDAQ 100 trying to take on the chin. The labor market in the slowdown. We're off by 3, 10 of a percent. The Magnificent Seven as you see on the downside, semis under pressure check out broadcom off by 2, 10%. They've had third of a trillion dollars wiped off their market cap in the last four days alone. This is BLOOMBERG Tech. Welcome back to Bloomberg Tech. Let's check in on these markets because we're trying to digest a relatively noisy report as some people are saying about the jobs market. Of course this comes for October. November numbers. 64,000 nonfarm payrolls increased in November but the unemployment rate ticked higher 4.6%. Federal Reserve therefore unlikely to do much on this particular current jobs report. So the market pretty sanguine off by 4. 10 of a cent. Bitcoin managed to ramp up almost 2%, 8, 7,000 where we trade. But it is under significant pressure as we end this year and in fact it looks to be fourth ever down year for the OG in crypto. But more broadly, we think about how US Unemployment is factoring in to market sentiment as we said, the figure rising to a four year high in November. And while clear evidence of widespread AI related layoffs hasn't quite emerged, more and more firms like these are pointing to the technology as they announce or plan for cuts for firms hiring AI skills are actually becoming a must have, but could actually I also help solve a potential leadership shortage. Eric Wellsykowski is with us. He's CEO for executive recruiting firm Bespoke Partners. And really you're thinking about the intersection of AI in the labor market. You're thinking about how I can help with the job search, Eric, but first your view on whether these jobs numbers and unemployment rate increases are in any way tied to AI and automation.

[Eric Mazikowski (CEO of Bespoke Partners)]

Caroline, thanks for having me on the show. Look, when I think about AI it's definitely impacting the broader market. But I think that while payroll growth has stalled, I don't think it's collapsed. And I think this tick up in unemployment is temporary. And I think when we look at the last couple of years, we've had a tight monetary policy, high capital rates, low deal flow. In Q3, I think we've started to see deal flow pick up and I think we're going to start to see deal flow pick up from there. And from there I think we'll see leadership change and then job creation.

[Caroline Hyde]

Okay, so you're very much focused on, focused on sort of SMEs held by private equity that might be going through some sort of change in transition. But you've been trying to warn that maybe the leadership isn't quite there to stand into these sorts of periods of transition.

[Eric Mazikowski (CEO of Bespoke Partners)]

Well, what's interesting is deal flow finally picked up in Q3 and we're seeing the tightest labor market ever in executives for software companies.

[Joanna Geraghty (CEO of JetBlue)]

Companies.

[Eric Mazikowski (CEO of Bespoke Partners)]

It's the perfect storm. As deal flow has picked up, demand for these executives has also picked up because we need new executives for, for new platforms. But There are about 13,000 companies in the private equity sector that need to exit at some point. There's light at the end of the tunnel. And so in a market where there's natural churn with executives, you have more executives now who are waiting for the exit in the next 12 to 18 months, putting a significant amount of pressure on these leadership changes.

[Caroline Hyde]

So there's people looking for an exit. Does that mean we're going to have a glut of leadership leaders coming onto the market because suddenly their businesses are sold and do they have the right talents and the right talents to advise in the future and to take more leadership positions?

[Eric Mazikowski (CEO of Bespoke Partners)]

I think we are going to see more folks come onto the market, but I think it's going to take a significant amount of time to get through this private equity bloat, backlog, number of portfolio companies that need to exit. And So I anticipate 2026 and 2027 to be a very tight leader market. That said, we're paid to find the best of the best and those folks are out there. The key is to make sure that you're looking at the entire market. And I think that's where I really comes in and gives us the opportunity to determine who those right executives are.

[Caroline Hyde]

So how is AI helping?

[Eric Mazikowski (CEO of Bespoke Partners)]

What's interesting, when I entered the exec search industry about five years ago, I saw an industry where searches were done from the bottom up and the very best. Executive search professionals were only seeing about 20% of the market because effectively what they were doing is they were going to a database of who they know. So we started a a project about four years ago where we indexed the entire market for software executives in North America and identified all 700,000 executives that participate in the market. Those AI tools have then allowed us to determine who is particularly the best fit for the executive roles that we're placing.

[Caroline Hyde]

Eric, fascinating talking to you in this current environment. Eric Mazikowski, he's the CEO Bespoke Partners. We thank you. Coming up, an important conversation from geopolitical perspective. Jacob Helberg joining us Under Secretary of State for Economic Affairs. He's also the founder of the Hill and Valley Forum. We're going to talk all things chips, China, securing the supply chain. This is Bloomberg Tech.

[Host/Announcer]

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[Caroline Hyde]

In a latest move to secure the supply chain, the US Government is backing a project by Korea Zinc to build a $7.4 billion smelter in Tennessee. So latest in a flurry of Trump administration measures aimed at establishing domestic supply chains for key minerals. Jacob Helberg, Undersecretary of State for Economic affairs, is leading one of those key initiatives, Pax Silica, I'm very pleased to say he joins us now. And you are all in on a supply chain resiliency and maybe managing to ensure that China doesn't own it all. How does this particular Tennessee smelter speak to that initiative?

[Jacob Helberg]

Well Caroline, it's great to be with you and it's great to be on your show. So during my confirmation hearing back in June, the Senate asked for a strategy and the President's National Security Strategy gave them one. And every day the State Department is wasting no time to give them results. Our economic security strategy is based on four pillars. We're rebalancing trade and Secretary Lutnick, Secretary Besson and Ambassador Greer have done a stellar job at renegotiating decades long trade deals. We're stabilizing conflict zones, we're re Industrializing America to make sure that we maintain our competitive edge. And the deal with Korea's Inc. Is a major milestone in that effort. And ultimately we're also securing our supply chains. Pac Silica provides the framework that allows us to work with our allies and partners to make sure that we can secure our supply chains in order to lead the industries of the future. And we're very proud of the rollout of Korea Zinc. The Department of War was an instrumental pillar to the deal. And ultimately this is the kind of whole of government approach that we're looking at advancing to advance our interests.

[Caroline Hyde]

Talk about that approach. In this case, it feels very much more like public private partnership on a particular smelter. J.P. morgan's in there as well with its initiative. On other cases, you're actually taking stakes in companies that aren't even American. How do you see it being fit for purpose on each individual way?

[Jacob Helberg]

So one of the reasons that we started the Pack Silica initiative is because the global supply chain is global. We wanted to get together with the Koreans, the Japanese, the Australians, the Brits, the Singaporeans and Israel because of all of these companies bring unique attributes to the table. And ultimately the deal with Careers Inc. Illustrates the competitive advantages that some of our key partners and allies have in these areas. Ultimately, what we realize is that there is a new economic security consensus that's emerging across our allied space that economic security is national security and economic policy and is downstream of national security. And our allies are on the same page, that this is not a line item. It's a prerequisite for national survival. So through Pak Silica, we're cooperating on economic security practices as well as opening new channels for co investment in fabs, data centers, as well as refining projects like the Korea Zinc refining facility in Clarksville. Ultimately, we want to pool together and leverage different investment vehicles that our respective governments have. In the US we have the Development Finance Corporation, we have the Department of War, the Office of Strategic Capital. There are so many resources at our disposal. And most importantly, we have the world's best corporate ecosystem and innovation ecosystem. And this is where collaboration between allies as well as between the public sector and the private sector can really make.

[Caroline Hyde]

A difference when stakes are taken. For example, we're looking at A graphic showing $400 million for 50% of MP materials. Some might say this isn't very pro capitalism. How do you speak to that?

[Jacob Helberg]

It's an investment in America. Ultimately, the Department of War needs various minerals in order to make sure that we have the best arsenal to deter and to determine our adversaries and maintain our peace through strength policy. It is in the preamble of our constitution that it is a fundamental purpose of the US Government to provide for the common defense. And so the Department of War needs weapons to do that. In order to get the weapons that it needs, it needs to be able to have an ecosystem of suppliers that are reliable in times of peace and as well as in times of war. And ultimately the Department of War has demonstrated its commitment in order to use every tool in its toolbox in order to make sure that we actually have an ecosystem here in the US that can guarantee our critical supplies for minerals, especially in a wartime. So we're very proud of this project. And it's going to have dramatic spillovers on the commercial sector as well.

[Caroline Hyde]

Spillovers are on commercial sector. How much could we spill over in more countries joining? We're looking at the inaugural PAC Silica Summit. The allies that joined, but some were guests as well. Taiwan, oecd, Europe in particular will more join.

[Jacob Helberg]

So we do expect a number of them to join in the first half of next year. We're talking to a number of countries right now and including India among several others. India is host to the AI Impact Forum next year. We're very much looking forward to participating in that. Ultimately we, we want to make sure that the group stays focused on, on solving very specific challenges of supply chain security. So we approach every single partner very much through the lens of which companies are they able to bring to bear to the table in order to solve concrete challenges. That is very much our model. We expect to pursue that model. But we do realize that the meeting that we held was a first step. It's not a final destination now. We're shifting towards implementation and we will likely add more new partners early next year.

[Caroline Hyde]

Many are watchful as to how much the EU will get involved. One key company in the EU is sml. We spoke with the CEO recently about his own supply chain, us Trying to just take a minute to listen to this, Jacob, if you will.

[Host/Announcer]

Most probably we need to develop a much bigger supply chain.

[Joanna Geraghty (CEO of JetBlue)]

So maybe not depending fully on China.

[Caroline Hyde]

I don't know much we have in Europe.

[Host/Announcer]

So that's also why it's important to.

[Jacob Helberg]

To keep some of those market open.

[Host/Announcer]

I think you're right.

[Joanna Geraghty (CEO of JetBlue)]

The interdependencies we have between, you know, us, China, the US is being reminded to us every day.

[Caroline Hyde]

Now we understand that China has just started allowing rare earth export licenses to certain European companies in particular. And the top trade negotiator yesterday told us that things were looking up. Is it looking up for the US as well with rare earth metals for example?

[Jacob Helberg]

So we're seeing a very interesting debate take place in Europe. And Europe fundamentally has a choice between the loss of identity, the loss of industry and the loss of borders. Or they can choose regulatory simplification, energy abundance and fair and reciprocal trade. There is an effort within the EU context aimed at regulatory simplifications which we find very encouraging. I will say we also find it very, very encouraging that there is a growing economic security consensus between the United States and Europe. And one of the examples of that is the fact that the G7 theme next year is global imbalances. And you know, as you know, the French government is not referring to weather patterns when they're talking about imbalances. It's referring to the fact that Europe is awakening to the economic security challenges of industrial overreliance and decades of unfair practices. And we welcome that and we want to work with them on that. The Netherlands did participate in the, the PAC Silica summit. We want to deepen that collaboration and ultimately we view Europe as an important partner and we want to work with them as they are currently working through to solve their economic and supply chain challenges as well.

[Caroline Hyde]

I mean Jacob, many would say that Europe felt that your national security strategy as was put out on December the fifth was a real wake up call. In fact, I think they saw it as a significant reorientation of us and its relationship with Europe. They felt sort of under threatened, specifically criticized. How did you take on board that reaction? I think there is even the words used, civilization, erasure, as you thought to tackle, tackle immigration or put your views forward on culture wars in Europe.

[Jacob Helberg]

Sure. So the President's national security strategy was not an insult, it was a diagnosis. It was the fact that he laid out in clear and simple terms that there is a turning point that Europe is facing. It can choose, manage, decline, bureaucratic paralysis, or it can choose rejuvenation, secure borders, energy abundance and fair and reciprocal trade. We have our disagreements with Europe on how they approach the technology sector. We think that there they are way too heavy handed from a bureaucratic and regulatory standpoint over cutting edge technologies. We believe ultimately that, you know, when they take steps to go after our companies, they actually end up hurting themselves by deteriorating they investment climate in Europe. With that being said, we do have notable areas of convergence including on economic security. They are now experiencing the economic, security and supply chain challenges that we are experiencing. They are having healthy open debates about supply chain security and the theme of the G7 highlights where their mind is at. And so we do see a healthy terrain to engage with them on supply chain security. We hope to seize that opportunity and actually expand it if and where possible.

[Caroline Hyde]

That term diagnosis. Jacob, you've been diagnosis for a long time diagnosing the relationship, the security risks of U.S. and China. You've been writing about it, you've been a public servant around it, you've done private company roles around it. What do you think the relationship with the US And China should be like? Because at the moment this diagnosis is we're still dependent on 19% of our.

[Jacob Helberg]

Rare earth metals from that well, ultimately the president's been clear that we want to have a constructive, stable and positive relationship with China and we're going to do that all the while standing up for America and putting America first. And so he delivered a landmark speech back in July on winning the air race. Our policy is we want to win the race because we want to put America first. And so we're never going to apologize or back down from defending American interests. We believe that winning the race has two main vectors. We need to have the best innovation and we need to have the most diffusion. And ultimately we are pursuing a two track approach to make sure that we expand our compute capacity capacity here at home to have the best models in the world, all the while exporting our technology onto the world market to make sure that the world's developers are all building on the American stack.

[Caroline Hyde]

Jacob Halberg, great to have some time with you. Come back soon. US Under Secretary of State for Economic affairs, of course, the founder of Helen Valley Forum as well. Much more coming up. Stay with us. This Bloomberg Tech. And it's time now for Talking Tech. First up, President Donald Trump has filed a defamation suit against the BBC over an edit of his January 6, 2021 speech used in Panorama documentary. According to the court filings in Florida, Trump is seeking $10 billion in damages, alleging that the edit falsely suggested that he issued a direct call for violence under the attack on the U.S. capitol. Plus PayPal, well, it's a place to become a bank in the United States. The payments firm is looking to take advantage of the Trump administration's openness to fintech companies entering the banking system. The company says if approved, a PayPal bank would help strengthen its small business lending capabilities. And the Nasdaq is looking for regulatory approval to extend its trading hours to 23 hours during the workweek. According to the filing, the firm has asked the SEC for permission to add an additional trading session for from 9:00pm 4:00am Eastern Time. Let's talk social media and Instagram it has just unveiled its first dedicated TV app. It lets users watch short form video feature reels on a larger screen, something Instagram head and Mossari hinted at earlier in this year during our Bloomberg Screen time event. Bloomberg's Kurt Wagner was the person interviewing him at that screen time event. You cover all things social media. So any big surprises here?

[Kurt Wagner (Social Media Reporter)]

No, not exactly. A little faster, honestly than I thought. If you remember, when we chatted with Adam Mosseri in October, he kind of hinted that this was something they were looking toward. Here we are just two months later. They do have this app that they're debuting. The one thing I'll point out is that this is just for the Amazon Fire TV right now. I imagine that they want to create this app for all those different smart TV platforms. So, you know, sort of limited in scope at the moment, but obviously, obviously the plan being to expand this quite aggressively.

[Caroline Hyde]

And you just think about how already YouTube is dominated so much of our attention span. Looking at tv, we're all thinking about Warner Brothers Discovery and what that means in terms of competition, but there's a lot of competition in terms of social media as well for our eyeballs and for our wallets. Kurt, what are you making of Tick Tock? Ever more encroaching on our wallet and I'm shopping.

[Carol (Chief Market Strategist at BMO Private Wealth)]

Yeah.

[Kurt Wagner (Social Media Reporter)]

There was a great story by our colleague Alex Levine this morning about the rise of livestream shopping on TikTok. It's a big it's a kind of a format that is very popular in China. It is responsible for hundreds of billions of dollars in annual spend in China. It is not translated to the US despite sort of efforts from YouTube from matter from other big tech companies over the years, TikTok is having a little bit more success here. The story highlights some of the small mom and pop shops that are really seen great sales on Tik Tok Live. Kim Kardashian just did a a holiday special for her skims company. So it feels like maybe TikTok is having a little bit of success where other larger tech companies have not. And I have to imagine that's just because people are so used to scrolling, so used to being entertained on that app that when you throw in sort of an entertaining infomercial, it doesn't feel so out of place to users.

[Caroline Hyde]

What's interesting was TikTok used by about half the country. There have been so much concern and anxiety by those dedicated users that tick tock was going to be kicked out of the United States. Have they been able to ramp up other parts of the business model as that anxiety seems to dial down? We're just getting extension after extension in terms of whether or not I'll be allowed to serve here.

[Kurt Wagner (Social Media Reporter)]

Well, what's interesting is they didn't seem to, you know, pump the brakes on live shopping at all despite this kind of cloud hanging over the company. Now, I think we can all probably agree at this point that a ban seems very unlikely. President Trump has now accepted extended the deadline for them to sign a deal several times. He clearly does not want to ban this app, but they were kind of pushing this forward regardless, and I think they're now benefiting from that.

[Caroline Hyde]

Well, Snoop Dogg seem to be doing cocktails with Kim Kardashian via Tick Tock. So brave new world as always. Bloomberg's Kurt Wagner. Great to have you on on all things social. That does it for this edition of Bloomberg Tech. But don't forget to check out our podcast. You can find it on the terminal as well. Well as online on Apple, Spotify and Iheart. And go check out our socials too. This is Bloomberg Tech.

[Host/Announcer]

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