Bloomberg Tech Podcast Summary

Episode Title: Investors Question AI Valuations
Date: November 4, 2025
Host(s): Caroline Hyde, Ed Ludlow, Scarlet Fu, Paul Sweeney
Key Guests: Mariana Perez Mora (BofA Securities), Craig Trudeau (Bloomberg Autos), Peter (Grab CFO), Christina Hooper (Man Group), Sridhar Ramaswamy (Snowflake CEO), Ian King (Bloomberg Semiconductor Reporter), Ashley Kahman (Bloomberg), Natalie Lung (Bloomberg)

Main Theme / Purpose

This episode of Bloomberg Tech dissects how investors are increasingly questioning the valuations assigned to AI-related companies, addressing concerns about potential bubbles, sustainability of growth, and the reality of earnings across the tech sector. Featuring interviews with analysts, executives, and reporters, the episode covers Palantir’s performance, Grab’s expanding product lines, sovereign wealth fund opposition to Elon Musk’s pay at Tesla, and deeper market and economic trends impacting the tech and AI landscape.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Market Overview & Valuation Concerns

• Host discussion: The NASDAQ 100 is under pressure, Bitcoin hits its lowest since June, and some investors are placing bearish bets on overheated tech valuations.
• Quote: "There is a tension here about some of the levels of valuations in certain people speaking out about putting on some short bearish bets." (Host, 02:10)

2. Palantir’s Earnings and AI Valuation Scrutiny

Guest: Mariana Perez Mora, BofA Securities

• Palantir beat Q3 earnings and raised annual revenue outlook, but shares fell as investors worried about high valuations and echoes of an AI bubble.
• Perez Mora praises Palantir’s 20+ year investment in AI-ready infrastructure, emphasizing data integration “ontology” that empowers human decision-making and wins both U.S. government and commercial clients.
• Palantir demonstrates real-world ROI and successful AI deployment, unlike many peers.
• Quote: "Palantir has proven that has been the winner of this implementation...the growth they are unlocking. The customers actually go into them because they can prove that they can actually extract value from this implementations." – Mariana Perez Mora (03:37)
• Perez Mora is confident in Palantir’s resilience even if an AI bubble bursts, due to “the structure to actually extract value.”
• U.S. commercial growth is robust (121% YoY), but international growth lags due to market focus.
• Quote: "Even if the bubble were to burst, Palantir will survive because is the structure to actually extract that value and do more with AI..." – Mariana Perez Mora (06:27)

3. Tesla’s Pay Package and Shareholder Opposition

Guest: Craig Trudeau, Bloomberg Autos

• Norway’s sovereign wealth fund, Tesla’s 9th largest shareholder, publicly votes against Elon Musk’s $1T pay package, citing concerns over magnitude, dilution, and ‘key man risk.’
• Despite previous opposition, substantial retail ownership often swings in Musk’s favor.
• Quote: "[The fund] praised the value that Musk has created...and yet they're concerned just about the sort of magnitude of this award, about dilution and also about the issue of sort of key man risk." – Craig Trudeau (09:01)

4. Instacart, Uber & Grab: Earnings and Strategic Moves

Natalie Lung / Christina Hooper, Bloomberg

• Instacart launches white-label AI chatbots for groceries, aiming to deepen retail partnerships. (14:35)
• Uber reports accelerating bookings (~20% YoY) but profit concerns persist due to new venture investments and muted forecasts. (15:14)

Peter, Grab CFO Interview (16:20–22:57):

• Grab’s profit beats expectations; affordable group rides and food orders fuel user growth.
• Customer base widened with 48 million monthly users, driven by affordable product stack.
• Affordability attracts more frequent, cross-product engagement.
• Fintech/loans business touted, with $1B loan target on track.
• AV (autonomous vehicle) partnerships in Singapore (with WeRide) and broader Southeast Asia highlighted, with careful regulatory engagement.
• AI is core to Grab: >1000 in-house models in use, 98% of engineers leveraging AI tools, deployment of AI features for accessibility and merchants.
• Quote: "We've now 48 monthly transacting users on our platform, which is another record for us...that affordability also is pushing the average spend..." – Peter, Grab CFO (16:20)

5. AI’s Real-Economy Footprint: Data, Energy & Policy

• Data center demand in New Jersey drives up wholesale electricity prices, highlighting infrastructure strains from AI boom.
• "As of right now there is about 500 megawatts of AI data center capacity up and running right now. Within a year that's likely to double." – Paul Sweeney (25:15)

6. Spotify & Netflix: Platform Shifts & Video Podcast Wars

Ashley Kahman, Bloomberg

• Spotify’s earnings strong, but investors want further U.S. price hikes.
• Spotify integrating with ChatGPT and expanding presence.
• Netflix enters discussions to license video podcasts from iHeartMedia, signaling growing competition between platforms for video podcast exclusives.
• Quote: “The fact that Netflix is having conversations with additional networks like iHeart is pretty significant. It shows that they really are interested in at least testing out this video podcast space.” – Ashley Kahman (28:09)

7. Macro Market Warnings & the “AI Bubble” Debate

Guest: Christina Hooper, Man Group

• Strong investor enthusiasm for AI—reminiscent of the Dot-com bubble—could be overlooking major obstacles:
  • Supply chain risks (e.g., rare earth elements)
  • Questions about true productivity gains
  • NIMBY (not-in-my-backyard) resistance to new datacenter builds due to rising energy costs
• Hooper cautions that valuations may be vulnerable if expectations for AI profit gains aren’t met, especially if capex slows or consumer weakness spreads.
• Quote: “There is just a lot of enthusiasm around anything that's related to AI. And I'm old enough to remember the late 1990s and...everyone was scrambling to change their name to have dotcom at the end.” – Christina Hooper (29:22)
• Suggests diversifying, including into Chinese AI names, as risks and valuations differ internationally.

8. Snowflake CEO Sridhar Ramaswamy: ROI, Reality, and Bubble Talk

Interview (39:16–45:23):

• Announces expanded partnerships with Google Cloud (Gemini models), underlining a multi-cloud, data-centric approach.
• Snowflake’s distinctive consumption-based model only recognizes revenue for real product usage, tying their growth to proven, tangible ROI for clients.
• Agent AI features streamline analytics, enabling scale and cost savings over traditional dashboards.
• Prioritizing gradual, stepwise AI deployments with substantial proof-of-concept before companywide rollouts.
• On “AI bubble” questions, Ramaswamy focuses on customer value and fundamental business use cases rather than market hype.
• Quote: "The consumption model is a huge help here because if the product isn't used, there's no revenue on our side." – Sridhar Ramaswamy (41:49)

9. AMD Earnings Preview

Guest: Ian King (Bloomberg Semiconductor Reporter)

• AMD rides a wave of AI chip optimism, but is still far behind Nvidia in datacenter revenue; near-term forecasts will be closely watched for substantiating long-term tech validation.
• Quote: "Maybe AMD has a seat at the table now. Maybe, you know, we've seen some validation of its technology in these deals. Whether that translates in the short term to stronger revenue...is going to be what determines the reaction today." – Ian King (46:05)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

| Speaker | Segment Topic | Quote | Timestamp | |----------------------------------|---------------------------------------|--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|-----------| | Host | Market Tension | "There is a tension here about some of the levels of valuations in certain people speaking out..." | 02:10 | | Mariana Perez Mora (BofA) | Palantir superiority | "Palantir has proven that has been the winner of this implementation..." | 03:37 | | Mariana Perez Mora (BofA) | Palantir resilience | "Even if the bubble were to burst, Palantir will survive because is the structure to actually extract..."| 06:27 | | Craig Trudeau (Bloomberg Autos) | Tesla key man risk | "[The fund] praised the value that Musk has created...they're concerned just about the magnitude..." | 09:01 | | Peter (Grab CFO) | Affordable product strategy | "...now 48 monthly transacting users on our platform, which is another record for us..." | 16:20 | | Paul Sweeney | AI datacenter energy impact | "As of right now there is about 500 megawatts of AI data center capacity up and running right now..." | 25:15 | | Ashley Kahman (Bloomberg) | Netflix/iHeartMedia podcast deal | "The fact that Netflix is having conversations with additional networks like iHeart is pretty significant."| 28:09 | | Christina Hooper (Man Group) | AI bubble warning | “There is just a lot of enthusiasm around anything that's related to AI... the late 1990s..." | 29:22 | | Sridhar Ramaswamy (Snowflake) | ROI & real usage | "The consumption model is a huge help here because if the product isn't used, there's no revenue..." | 41:49 | | Ian King (Bloomberg) | AMD optimism | "Maybe AMD has a seat at the table now...Whether that translates...is going to be what determines..." | 46:05 |

Important Timestamps

| Topic/Segment | Start |
|------------------------------------------|-----------|
| (Full) Market overview & AI stock jitters| 01:46 |
| Palantir earnings analysis (Perez Mora) | 03:14 |
| Tesla shareholder revolt (Trudeau) | 09:01 |
| Instacart, Uber, Grab earnings | 14:18 |
| Grab CFO interview / AI & AV Strategy | 16:20 |
| Datacenter-driven energy inflation (NJ) | 25:15 |
| Spotify, Netflix platform podcast moves | 26:47 |
| Macro warnings & AI bubble (Hooper) | 29:22 |
| Snowflake CEO on ROI and AI hype | 39:16 |
| AMD earnings preview (Ian King) | 45:29 |

Overall Tone and Takeaways

The episode is a dynamic, well-argued discussion at the intersection of technology, investment, and macroeconomics. The hosts and guests balance optimism around genuine AI breakthroughs and profitability with sharp skepticism over bubble-like valuations and infrastructural or economic headwinds. There’s tangible excitement about innovation, but persistent reminders from veteran analysts to “focus on fundamentals,” seek “real ROI,” and beware repeating past manias.

For further exploration:

• How platforms like Palantir, Snowflake, and Grab pitch (and deliver) real-world AI value
• The looming challenges—regulatory, energy, and consumer demand—that could slow the AI growth story
• Shifting competitive and partnership dynamics among the platform giants (Spotify, Netflix, Instacart, Uber)
• The ongoing debate: Are we in an AI bubble, or is this a justified investment boom?

For more details, listen to the full episode on Bloomberg, Spotify, Apple, or where you get your podcasts.