Bloomberg Tech - Episode Summary

Episode Title: Huawei AI Chips Contain Advanced Parts from Rivals
Air Date: October 3, 2025
Hosts: Caroline Hyde (New York), Ed Ludlow (San Francisco)
Podcast Focus: Technology, innovation, and the future of business

Episode Overview

This episode delivers a deep dive into the tech news cycle, highlighting several major stories:

• The latest revelations from a Bloomberg investigation showing that Huawei’s AI chips contain advanced parts from foreign rivals, despite ongoing US sanctions.
• The ongoing challenges and strategic moves of major tech firms in the context of AI, including market dynamics, supply chain issues, and regulatory hurdles.
• Noteworthy developments from Rivian (vehicle safety), Perplexity (AI browser competition), OpenAI (video generation and misinformation risks), and Vercel (funding and public scrutiny).
• A snapshot of AI’s swelling influence on investment, market valuations, and global geopolitics.

Main Story: Huawei AI Chips and Global Supply Chain Challenges

Key Findings from Bloomberg’s Peter Elstrom

(Segment starts ~07:10)

• Headline Scoop:
  Bloomberg’s analysis of Huawei’s "Ascend" AI chips revealed the use of advanced components from TSMC, Samsung, and SK Hynix—companies prohibited from doing business with Huawei under US sanctions.

• Mechanism of Access:
  Although current direct sales are blocked, Huawei likely stockpiled components prior to sanctions or found alternative procurement paths.

  “They’ve been able to use TSMC dies. They’ve been able to use the HBM chips from Samsung and SK Hynix. These are somewhat older HBM components. It’s the HBM generation 2e which is not the most cutting edge at this point.”
  —Peter Elstrom, 09:40

• Implication for China:
  The inclusion of foreign technology points to continued dependency on overseas supply chains and exposes the limits of China’s domestic chip industry. If these stockpiles run out, Huawei may not be able to continue production at the same scale.

• Market Impact:
  Despite these hurdles, Huawei has ambitious plans to double production to meet domestic AI demand, but Bloomberg notes that many Chinese companies would still prefer Nvidia chips if politics didn’t intervene.

Market & Investment Discussion: The Global AI Race

With Anna Rathbun (CEO, Grenadilla Advisory)

(Segment starts ~14:10)

• Global Supply Chain Realities:
  Rathbun ties the Huawei scoop to a broader observation: true independence in semiconductor production takes years, and China can’t simply “will” a domestic supply chain into existence.

  “I am not surprised. But it also highlights the urgency of the AI race... Chips is not something you can just produce on a dime.”
  —Anna Rathbun, 15:40

• Valuation Hype vs. Reality:
  Current AI valuations are "nosebleed," with a “bubble” mentality infiltrating the market—but historical comparisons might be moot as this is a truly unique phase.

  “Yes, it feels hot compared to historical standards. But… maybe the norm in this new world might be a little bit higher.”
  —Anna Rathbun, 18:00

• Investment Strategy:
  With high concentration risk in individual AI leaders, Rathbun recommends diversification, especially into adjacent industries that benefit from AI indirectly.

Rivian Door Safety Redesign

Broken by Ed Ludlow & Emily Chang

(Segment starts ~31:00)

• Issue:
  Rivian is revising its next-generation EV door release mechanisms after employees and customers flagged safety concerns—specifically, making the manual release more intuitive in case of electronic failure.

  “They’ve decided for their next car they have to do something different with the design. We do not know if they will do another redesign... But this is an industry-wide thing.”
  —Ed Ludlow, 34:10

• Sector Context:
  Follows recent scrutiny and design changes at Tesla. At present, there’s been no major incident or investigation involving Rivian.

AI Browser Wars: Perplexity’s Comet Goes Free

Guest: Dmitri Shevelenko, Chief Business Officer, Perplexity

(Segment starts ~36:50)

• Product Announcement:
  Perplexity’s AI browser, Comet, is now free to all, challenging market dominant Google Chrome.

• Usage Stats:
  Users ask 6–18 times more questions on Comet than on any previous browser—Engagement and retention are spiking.

• Competitive Edge:
  Perplexity claims faster iteration and native AI integration compared to "bolt-on" approaches from incumbents.

  “Our biggest advantage ... is execution velocity. It's the clock speed of iterating and improving the product.”
  —Dmitri Shevelenko, 39:30

• Monetization:
  Mixed subscription model and new “Comet Plus” offers premium journalism with direct compensation for publishers.

AI Misinformation & OpenAI Sora

Guest: Rachel Metz, Bloomberg Reporter

(Segment starts ~45:00)

• Product News:
  OpenAI has launched Sora, a social media-style app powered by its latest AI video generator.

• Misinformation Risks:
  Sora makes it trivially easy to produce convincingly fake videos, raising the specter of viral misinformation.

  “I made several incriminating looking videos of my boss.... It was really easy.”
  —Rachel Metz, 46:00

• Mitigation:
  OpenAI now includes watermarks, but concerns remain about the effectiveness.

U.S.-China Policy Shifts: Investment and AI Tech Access

Guest: Eric Martin, Bloomberg State Dept. Reporter

(Segment starts ~51:20)

• Breaking News:
  China is offering a massive investment package—possibly $1 trillion—in return for eased US national security restrictions.

  “If this deal is reached and if investment in the US is opened in a much bigger way to China ... it’s really hard to overstate how big a change this would be.”
  —Eric Martin, 53:25

• Expert Analysis (Ted Mortensen, BAD):
  The inability of China to manufacture sub-14nm chips domestically is driving this “grand bargain” scenario; letting US firms back in could radically alter global technology markets.

Big Tech, Big Deals, and Expanding Valuations

BlackRock’s $40 Billion Data Center Play

(Segment starts ~01:00:40)

• News:
  BlackRock’s Global Infrastructure Partners is set to acquire Aligned Data Centers for ~$40 billion, a testament to the feverish demand for cloud and AI infrastructure.
• Industry Implication:
  Signals potential for more gigantic M&A deals as capital chases AI growth.

Innovation in Europe: Goldman Sachs' David Solomon

(Segment starts ~01:07:50)

• Key Takeaways:
  David Solomon emphasizes that for Europe’s tech ecosystem to compete, it must centralize capital, take more risks, and encourage integration across national borders.

  “You gotta take risk, you've got to deploy capital. This really has to become a bigger center of capital deployment.”
  —David Solomon, 01:10:20

Startup Spotlight: Vercel’s Controversial High-Profile Week

Guest: Guillermo Rauch, CEO & Founder, Vercel

(Segment starts ~01:13:30)

• Controversy:
  Rauch’s photo with Israel PM Netanyahu (during an AI-focused meeting) sparked heated debate and viral criticism online, with concerns from community and customers.

  “Maybe just to get all of the noise out of the way ... I want to clearly acknowledge that the post did cause quite a bit of pain.”
  —Guillermo Rauch, 01:15:20

• Business Update:
  Vercel just closed an up-round at a $9.3B valuation, is approaching $250M revenue, and growing 80% Y/Y.

• Employee Engagement:
  Rauch clarifies there have been no notable resignations or loss of business due to the public controversy.

Music & Culture: Taylor Swift’s Record-Smashing Album Release

(Segment starts ~01:24:30)

• News:
  Taylor Swift’s 12th album, "The Life of a Showgirl," dropped at midnight.
• Cultural Impact:
  The album’s release dominated Google Trends and social media; pre-saves hit a Spotify record (5 million+).
• Commercial Tie-ins:
  Film release, strategic brand partnerships (e.g., Target), and minimal but pointed promotion drive momentum.

Notable Quotes

• “They’re not supposed to have access to these components, but they’ve been able to get them.”
  —Peter Elstrom, Bloomberg (09:40)

• “If they can’t get [components] from domestic supply, that suggests maybe they’re going to run out at some point.”
  —Peter Elstrom, Bloomberg (11:00)

• “This also highlights the urgency of the AI race ... it’s very hot, and China’s going to have to figure it out if it doesn’t have internal supply chains.”
  —Anna Rathbun, Grenadilla (15:40)

• “Just being first to something new doesn’t guarantee you capture that market … It’s the clock speed of iterating and improving the product.”
  —Dmitri Shevelenko, Perplexity (39:30)

• “I made several incriminating looking videos of my boss … and it was really easy.”
  —Rachel Metz, Bloomberg (46:00)

• “If this deal is reached ... it’s really hard to overstate how big a change this would be.”
  —Eric Martin, Bloomberg (53:25)

• “You gotta take risk, you’ve got to deploy capital. This really has to become a bigger center of capital deployment.”
  —David Solomon, Goldman Sachs (01:10:20)

Additional Highlights & Timestamps

• Samsung’s Market Surge: Samsung shares rose to a multi-year high on AI infrastructure demand (05:00).
• Applied Materials Revenue Hit: A $600M reduction tied to US export restrictions on semiconductor tooling for China (25:35).
• Perplexity’s Media Partnerships: Comet Plus introduces new economics for media—publishers get paid as users access content (41:55).
• OpenAI’s Content Moderation Dilemma: Sora’s watermarking after user “workarounds” exposed content vulnerability (47:15).
• Aligned Data Centers' $40B Deal: Illustrates ongoing AI infrastructure euphoria and M&A appetite (01:00:40).

Conclusion

This jam-packed episode underscores the increasingly global, interconnected, and politically sensitive nature of the technology industry in 2025. From the persistence of gray-market chips inside Chinese AI processors to skyrocketing valuations in the AI sector, the ripple effects stretch across supply chains, corporate strategies, geopolitics, and culture.

For listeners seeking key themes:

• Supply chain vulnerabilities and strategic dependence remain at the forefront—especially for China.
• AI hype is both well-founded and historically anomalous.
• Competitive innovation, market dynamics, and geopolitical tensions are shaping investment trends and regulatory action at unprecedented speeds.
• The culture industry (exemplified by Taylor Swift) continues to leverage tech-driven marketing and multi-platform dominance.

For deeper dives, refer to specific timestamps above for each segment of interest.