OpenAI Pushes for Policies to Offset AI’s Impact

Summary

---

Bloomberg Tech Podcast Summary

Episode: OpenAI Pushes for Policies to Offset AI’s Impact
Date: April 6, 2026
Hosts: Caroline Hyde (New York), Ed Ludlow (San Francisco)

---

Overview

This episode delivers timely analysis on the intersection of technology, public policy, and global business, with a particular focus on OpenAI's sweeping new policy recommendations aimed at mitigating the economic and societal impacts of AI. Discussion also touches on big tech earnings, geopolitical tensions, upcoming mega-IPOs like SpaceX, new executive moves at Oracle, and a light look at tech culture through the lens of television.

---

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Geopolitical Instability and Market Reactions

[02:42] Tyler Kendall (Washington Correspondent)

• Ongoing Middle East tensions are influencing markets, especially tech stocks, as Iran rejects a ceasefire deal.
• “No rational person would agree to a cease fire, accusing a short term agreement of being in favor of the US to give the US Time to regroup.” – Tyler Kendall [02:48]
• Resulting risk sentiment keeps the market on edge, though tech shows resilience, reflecting investor focus on AI and earnings rather than the war’s direct impact.

---

2. Tech Earnings & Big Capex Spending

Guest: Jed Ella Brooks, Argent Capital Management
[04:41–06:41]

• Investors are watching tech’s “big capex spenders” (Amazon, Meta, Microsoft, Google) to see if massive infrastructure investments will begin translating into revenue growth.
• “Investors want more confidence that those humongous Capex spending plans are going to pay off.” – Jed Ella Brooks [04:44]
• First quarter earnings are seen as a turning point, particularly for AWS and Google’s GCP.
• The market’s concern is less about geopolitics and more about the rapid adoption and impact of AI.

---

3. Mega-IPOs: SpaceX and AI Companies

[07:11–09:53]

• The market is anticipating several blockbuster IPOs, notably SpaceX, Anthropic, and OpenAI itself.
  • “Perhaps the most fascinating tech question in 2026 is where is the money going to come from for the SpaceX, Anthropic, and OpenAI IPOs.” – Jed Ella Brooks [07:40]
• The question of who will emerge as long-term winners in tech and AI remains open, mirroring Jamie Dimon’s annual investor letter: “That too hard bucket is really big... investors are starting to pick through the rubble as it relates to software in particular.” – Jed Ella Brooks [09:19]
• Many companies are considered “too hard to call,” echoing widespread uncertainty about AI’s impact on software and other sectors.

---

4. OpenAI’s Policy Proposal to Offset AI’s Impact

[10:57–11:57] Seth Figman, Bloomberg Editor

• OpenAI released headline-grabbing policy proposals including:
  • A public (sovereign) wealth fund
  • Expanded safety nets
  • Shorter work weeks
  • Faster electrical grid development

Motivations Behind the Proposals

• OpenAI is acknowledging imminent advances in AI (“superintelligence”) and aims to get ahead of societal shifts.
• “They seem to liken [the proposals] loftily to the New Deal.” – Seth Figman [11:46]

Management Shakeups

• OpenAI’s leadership has seen changes, including health-related leaves and reassignments among key executives—a significant move as the company gears up for potential public markets entry and celebrates a historic funding round.

---

5. Oracle’s New CFO Amid Data Center Push

[13:05–14:04] Brody Ford (Bloomberg, Oracle Reporter)

• Oracle names Hillary Maxson as CFO (formerly of Schneider Electric), signaling a shift toward industrial expertise as Oracle undergoes a costly data center expansion.
• “They didn’t pick a software CFO … [but] someone with heavy industrial experience. That’s effectively how the biggest tech companies are operating now.” – Brody Ford [14:04]

---

6. SpaceX’s Anticipated $2 Trillion IPO

[17:22–25:11]

• SpaceX is conducting pre-IPO “testing the waters” meetings with banks, aiming for a possible June IPO and targeting an unprecedented $2 trillion valuation.
• “There is no math that correlates the current revenues to $2 trillion dollars. None. So yes, it’s a bet on the future—a compelling … and very uncertain future.” – Lisa Buyer, Class 5 Group [23:02]
• A successful SpaceX IPO could open doors for more mega-listings; a stumble would likely send others to the sidelines.

---

7. Deep Dive: OpenAI’s Chief Global Affairs Officer on New Policy Proposals

[27:00–38:45] Conversation with Chris Lehane, OpenAI

Defining the Policy Package

• The proposals are not formal, but “conversation starters” that aim to stimulate debate about AI’s impact on society.
• “What this document really reflects is the work and thinking of OpenAI’s researchers … that this is technology that’s on par with historic general purpose technologies of the past: the wheel, the printing press, the combustion engine, electricity.” – Chris Lehane [27:13]
• OpenAI’s ideas include:
  • An “open economy” to ensure AI is “free, fair, safe” and universally accessible.
  • A sovereign wealth fund, modeled after Alaska’s Permanent Fund for oil wealth.
• Emphasis on ensuring “AI needs to be understood as a right, that everyone … has at least the opportunity to be able to participate in.” – Chris Lehane [28:28]

Government and Public Participation

• Efforts are underway to brief policymakers; multiple conversations have occurred with senators and administration officials.
• “There is a growing awareness from policymakers … of just how fast this technology is accelerating.” [29:16]

Rationale for “Now”

• The timing is driven by the speed of AI development and OpenAI’s imminent technical advances, not by negative public opinion.
• “As more and more people use AI, obviously perceptions of it [will improve], but this is really at the core … [the researchers] understanding where this technology is going and how quickly it’s moving in that direction.” – Chris Lehane [31:15]

Global Context

• Other countries are taking innovative steps:
  • Japan aims for 80% AI literacy among graduates by 2030.
  • Estonia and Greece integrating AI in public services and education.

OpenAI’s Internal Dynamics and Funding

• Addressed rumors of leadership discord; emphasized teamwork and the record-breaking $122B raise.
• “We just raised $122 billion and Sarah Fryer was at the center of all those meetings … It is the fact that you’ve had probably one of the most impressive cap tables in the world.” – Chris Lehane [35:41]

---

8. Pop Culture: “The Audacity” – Dark Comedy on Silicon Valley

[40:41–48:14]

• Show creators and stars satirize the tech world’s ambition, excess, and ethical ambiguity.
• “Tech lives matter.” – (trailer quote) [40:39]
• “The idea that everybody back in the day was truly optimistic … but that all kind of went in the opposite direction for the most part. But they made a lot of money doing it.” – Jonathan Glatzer [47:14]

---

9. NASA’s Artemis 2 Lunar Flyby: A New Milestone

[48:45–50:28] Lauren Grosch, Bloomberg Space Reporter

• Artemis 2 brings humans to record distance from Earth—closest lunar flyby in 50 years.
• Mission running smoothly, save for an onboard toilet malfunction (“the biggest headache might be the onboard toilet” [49:31]), which became a lighthearted moment in space operations.

---

Notable Quotes

• "Investors want more confidence that those humongous capex spending plans are going to pay off." – Jed Ella Brooks, [04:44]
• "They seem to liken [the policy proposals] loftily to the New Deal." – Seth Figman, [11:46]
• "We really need to scale up the kinds of conversations that are taking place so that we're actually able to meet this technology where it is and more moreover, where it's going." – Chris Lehane, [33:18]
• "There is no math that correlates the current revenues to $2 trillion dollars. None. So yes, it's a bet on the future." – Lisa Buyer, [23:02]
• "The idea that everybody back in the day was truly optimistic and a genuine way … but that all kind of went in the opposite direction for the most part … but they made a lot of money doing it." – Jonathan Glatzer, [47:14]

---

Key Timestamps for Major Segments

• Geopolitics and Markets: 02:42–04:11
• Tech Earnings, Capex, AI Uncertainty: 04:41–09:53
• OpenAI Policy Proposals: Motivation and Details: 10:57–12:11, 27:00–38:45
• Oracle’s CFO Change: 13:05–14:26
• SpaceX IPO Anticipation: 17:22–25:11
• Dark Comedy Show “The Audacity”: 40:41–48:14
• NASA Artemis 2 Lunar Flyby Update: 48:45–50:28

---

Tone and Style

• The conversation is direct, analytical, and forward-looking, blending policy depth, financial insight, and a touch of pop culture wit.
• Expert guests offer candid, nuanced perspectives on risk, opportunity, and uncertainty in tech and finance.
• OpenAI’s Chris Lehane reflects optimism but urges inclusive, proactive policy, while market analysts highlight both promise and peril in tech’s current investing climate.

---

For listeners who missed the full episode, this summary captures the key debates and announcements shaping tech, business, and policy discourse as AI rapidly evolves.

Transcript

[Deloitte Narrator]

The right technology can strengthen human judgment. That's why Deloitte brings together AI and data analytics with multidisciplinary teams who can help you connect the dots across your enterprise, from risk to operations to customer needs. So opportunities don't slip by and surprises don't spread. Because the smarter your systems, the sharper your instincts. That's how technology makes people better at what they do best. Deloitte Together makes progress. Learn [e-mail] TogetherMakesProgress when you manage procurement for multiple facilities, every order matters. But when it's for a hospital system, they matter even more. Grainger gets it and knows there's no time for managing multiple suppliers and no room for shipping delays. That's why Grainger offers millions of products in fast, dependable delivery so you can keep your facility stocked, safe and running smoothly. Call 1-800-GRAINGER Click grainger.com or just stop by Grainger for the ones who get it done. Bloomberg audio studios podcasts, radio news.

[Caroline Hyde]

Bloomberg Tech is live from coast to

[Deloitte Narrator]

coast with Caroline Hyde in New York and Ed Ludlow in San Francisco.

[Ed Ludlow]

This is Bloomberg Tech. Coming up, Open Air releases a slew of policy recommendations to help navigate the era. We'll discuss with Chief Global Affairs Officer Chris Lehane later this hour.

[Bloomberg Host]

Plus, Oracle names a new CFO to help the company navigate massive datacenter development plans and a cash crunch.

[Ed Ludlow]

And NASA's Artemis 2 is set for the first lunar flyby with astronauts on board in more than 50 years. We'll discuss what to expect.

[Bloomberg Host]

And all of this amid the context of global instability, concerns about the Middle east conflict, and indeed a market that is on edge hopeful that cease fire could be upon us. But still we're seeing the latest rebuttals coming from Iran. We're still holding on to gains up 4.10of a percent on the NASDAQ 100. I'm looking at Bitcoin holding above that level of 2, almost 3% higher, but just sub the $70,000. But there is optimism in the market. Is it right to be had at

[Ed Ludlow]

the moment at the headlines on the tunnel this morning is about Iran rejecting a cease fire and wanting a permanent end to the war in Iran. Let's bring in Bloomberg's Tyler Kendall out of Washington D. That's where we're at. You know, there is a back and forth between which each side wants from the President's perspective and from the United States of America's perspective. What is the latest, Tyler?

[Tyler Kendall]

Hey, Ed. Well, at this point, it's not necessarily surprising that we heard from Iranian state media within the last 30 minutes saying that Iran has rejected a cease fire proposal because earlier this morning an Iranian official came out and said that, quote, no rational person would agree to a cease fire, accusing a short term agreement of being in favor of the US to give the US Time to regroup. But this is really raising questions as we get closer to President Trump's now extended deadline of tomorrow at 8pm Eastern for Iran to make a deal amid US threats to hit Iranian civilian infrastructure. So we'll have to watch where this goes from here. President Trump is set to brief reporters at 1pm Eastern where we may be able to get some more of our questions answered because Axios is now reporting that Iran has instead submitted a 10 point plan to the US which US officials are calling maximalist in their demands. Have the details quite yet on this proposal. But we know previously Iran has demanded, for example, to have sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz. And that appears to still be the biggest sticking point We've heard from Iranian state media over the weekend saying that Iran needs to have payments for war damages that they are seeking to be repaid through tolls charged on ships going through the strait. There has been a little bit of progress, as you well know. Bloomberg News crunched the data and are now saying that we have seen the highest amount of traffic through the strait this weekend, but it still falling well below those levels that we saw before the war began.

[Bloomberg Host]

Tyler Kendall, what you need to know in terms of geopolitics. We thank you. Look, as tensions in the Middle east remain elevated, to say the least, investors are weighing what it means for the markets for risk appetite and the outlook of big Tech for us on this show. Jed, Ella Brooks, person, person to talk to about Argent Capital Management joins us now. You help manage the large cap equity fund over there. And it's a tough time for anyone trying to navigate these markets. When will big tech manage to go back on the upside? We had a strong week last week, but will that last?

[Jed Ella Brooks]

Yeah, I think that's probably the biggest question facing the market today. Heading into earnings season here in two weeks, I think investors in big Tech, the big capex spenders, especially Amazon, Mehta, Microsoft, Google investors want more confidence that those humongous Capex spending plans are going to pay off, you know, in higher revenue and higher profits. And there are initial signs of that, but not enough to get investors over the hump. And so this is a really big earnings season for them. They announced last quarter, you know, humongous increases, 60, 70, 80% increases in capex for 2026. Investors want to see positive revenue estimate revisions, you know, to follow that. And I think AWB and Google's GCP in particular are going to show us that in the first quarter with more to come later in the year. And then Microsoft is more of a mixed picture because over the last year they've kind of reprioritized their own model development within the company after their OpenAI agreement was renegotiated. So a little bit of a messy picture with Microsoft, but I think we're going to see clear signs of acceleration for us and gcp and that will

[Bloomberg Host]

be the catalyst enough to put the geopolitical angst to the sidelines for big fund managers, you think?

[Jed Ella Brooks]

I think it has the potential to be. Investors have been disappointed in Amazon and Google and Microsoft over the last year because their free cash flow estimates have been declining because of those really big CapEx increases. I think that trend is going to reverse here as 2026 progresses and I hope that the first quarter is kind of the first tangible sign of that

[Ed Ludlow]

Jed state of Play. Is the Nasdaq 100 down more than 4%, modestly underperforming the S&P 500 chip stocks up 11% year to date in part because of memory, probably earlier in the year. What I'm trying to get a sense of is how micro focused investors in the technology sector are on the war in Iran or if they're already looking past it anyway. Other structural and spending issues that you just outlined in part with the hyperscalers.

[Jed Ella Brooks]

Yeah, I think prior to the war breaking out, tech was underperforming meaningfully from the start of the year to the start of the war. Since the war broke out, you know, the last 25 trading days or so, tech has performed better relative to other sectors. So you know, I interpret that as the market being more concerned with AI and it's really fast adoption within our economy and the positives and negatives there more so than the impact of war.

[Ed Ludlow]

I have to ask you about some of the IPOs waiting in the wings. There was a lot over the weekend on the social medias about the relative performance of some public names might be indicative of investors getting themselves ready for a Space X IPO in June. We reported just last week that the S1 file, confidentially, it's going to be June. Is that something that actually happens in markets where people are like, I better have some cash ready for this?

[Jed Ella Brooks]

Yeah, yeah. I think, you know, perhaps the most fascinating tech question in 2026 is where is the money going to come from for the Space X anthropic and, and OpenAI IPOs. And I think an obvious first thought is the rest of publicly traded tech. Do investors pre trade that to the extent you're suggesting, you know, trades happening in March and April for an IPO that will come in June and then perhaps the fourth quarter in the case of Ant.

[Ed Ludlow]

And I'm not, I'm not suggesting, Jed, I'm asking, I've got no idea because I don't participate in the markets. That's why I want to ask you.

[Jed Ella Brooks]

Yeah, yeah, I doubt it personally. We're not doing that at Arjun Capital. We will consider anthropic and, and OpenAI and Space X, but we wouldn't pre trade it by a couple of months and get that cash lined up with, with that duration. That's not necessary for us.

[Bloomberg Host]

What's so interesting is they are, yes, a space focused company and I know you have exposure to space and aerospace more broadly in the fund, but we've got three of the biggest players in AI all coming to the market at the same time. Now, interestingly, Jamie Dimon's been putting his very long pen to paper or typing away for his annual letter to investors. And today you did talk about in many ways and I want to focus in on the investment side because he's saying it's not a speculative bubble but at the moment you can't see who the winners and the losers are actually going to be in a related industries. Do you think that's right? Can you not discern who the winners are yet?

[Jed Ella Brooks]

Yeah, I think those comments stuck out to me and really spoke to me. I, I think that he gave a pretty accurate description of what's happening in tech today. I think that there, you know, in any investing environment there are certain companies that fit in the too hard bucket for investors. There are too many unanswered questions, there's too much uncertainty. Investors decide, I'd rather be on the sideline. I don't want to invest in this right now. Today it feels like that too hard bucket is really large, much bigger than normal. And of course software is in the too hard bucket. I think insurance brokers are in the too hard bucket and a whole bunch of other sectors and industries where investors are not sure if AI is going to be a net positive for these businesses and industries or if it will be a net negative. And so we've seen valuations compress significantly for software, most, you know, most notably, but many other industries and sectors too. So his comments today just, you know, I think it was a good kind of description of where markets sit today. That too hard bucket is really big. His comments indicate, you know, he sees a lot of companies in that too hard bucket. And you know, me as an investor, my response to that is I think that smells like opportunity in many ways. I think investors are starting to pick through the rubble as it relates to software in particular. And I think there's a lot more that to come in the future. There are software companies whose competitive position will erode because of AI and the reduced costs of software development. But I think there are other software companies that are going to adopt AI integrated into their product set, improve the offerings for consumers and grow and thrive.

[Ed Ludlow]

Right, Jed? Ella Brook, Margin Capital Management thank you very much. Now coming up, the world faces an era of AI upheaval. But fear not, OpenAI is out with a set of policy recommendations to put people, real human people first. We'll discuss that next. This is Bloomberg Tech.

[Bloomberg Host]

OpenAI says it's working to, quote, ensure AI benefits everyone. And it's now rolling out policy recommendations to address the rapid social changes AI is driving from jobs to regulation. For more, Bloomberg's reporter Seth Figman joins us.

[Microsoft Narrator]

Now.

[Bloomberg Host]

You're not a reporter, you're an editor and you're help managing the team in many ways. Seth, I'm really interested in on the why now. This is a lot of proposals, conversation starters, the intertwining of public private partnerships. But why are they putting it out now?

[Seth Figman]

Yeah, I mean, certainly the rhetoric from OpenAI and elsewhere is that we are moving very fast towards more advanced AI systems. Opening AI specifically is supposed to be working on a new model in the coming weeks. So it could partly be a way of getting ahead of that. Keep in mind that what they're saying here is still hypothetical. They're talking about a more advanced form of AI called super intelligence that would outperform any person on earth at any task. We're not there yet, but these proposals are just that. They're trying to shift the discourse a little bit and trying to incentivize bigger ideas, a new social contract, if you will, that they seem to liken loftily to the new deal.

[Ed Ludlow]

Seth, a lot of open air news over a long weekend in the United States, reshuffle in terms of leadership and management to health related and one sort of strategic just update us as best you can.

[Seth Figman]

Yeah, a lot of news right before the holiday weekend. You know, Fiji, Semo, who has really been sort of a fast you know, growing influential figure in the organization is stepping back for a short term medical leave. She was previously the CEO of Instacart and has been really instrumental in a lot of their product and business initiatives. Brad Lightcap, who we certainly had on our air before, the CEO of the company who had assumed some of the CEO responsibilities over the last year and change, is now stepping into a new special role where he'll help oversee partly the efforts to bring AI to more businesses through a joint venture with firms and then their CMO is stepping down permanently to deal with her recovery from cancer. So it's a mix of factors here and stepping back, it's a meaningful shake up at a time when we understand this company is moving ahead with plans for possible IPO and just close the largest funding round that we have ever seen.

[Ed Ludlow]

All right, Bloomberg's editor Seth Figgman, thank you very much. Another story out this morning. Oracle has tapped former Schneider Electric EVP Hillary Maxson as cfo and that's effective immediately. For more on the move, let's get out to Bloomberg's Brody Ford who covers Oracle. Hillary Maxson, interesting appointment, but I think the bigger story is, you know, Oracle has a new CFO at a critically important time for managing Oracle Finances. What do we need to know?

[Billy Magnuson]

You got to remember Oracle is going through a pretty gnarly financial situation, right? I mean they are transitioning from an asset like database company to one that is going through tens of billions of dollars in data center development and they've had to issue equity, they're doing thousands of layoffs. And so they're navigating a pretty complicated financial picture. And it's not shocking to see a new leader for those finances experts yet

[Bloomberg Host]

the expertise that she brings in particular the background and, and where really her focus will lie, you think? Brady?

[Billy Magnuson]

Yeah, well, I think that's really interesting because, you know, they didn't pick a software cfo. They picked someone with heavy industrial experience. And that's effectively how the biggest tech companies are operating now, right? They are heavy industrial companies with massive capex books and it makes sense that they would bring somebody kind of outside the software world to navigate that.

[Bloomberg Host]

Already. Ford, across all things, Oracle, as always are, thank you very much indeed. Now Coming up, Space X and prepares for its launch into the public markets. That says more than $2 trillion valuation potentially. We'll discuss expectations for its listing and other mega public debuts. That's next. Bloomberg Tech.

[Deloitte Narrator]

The right technology can strengthen human judgment. That's why Deloitte brings together AI and data analytics. Multidisciplinary teams. People with deep industry experience who can challenge assumptions and help you connect the dots across your enterprise. From risk signals to operational pressure points to shifting customer needs, Deloitte helps you see what's coming sooner so opportunities don't slip by and surprises don't spread. It's not just dashboards, it's real clarity in the moments your decisions are made. When models reveal patterns, people can ask better questions. When data and people are connected, leaders can move faster with confidence. And when your teams are aligned, smart choices can scale from the frontline to the C suite. Because the smarter your systems, the sharper your instincts. That's how technology makes people better at what they do best. Deloitte Together Makes Progress learn [e-mail] Together

[Microsoft Narrator]

makes progress and Pause really quick. Wanted to also mention that not Only is Windows 11 Pro designed to help unlock operational efficiency and build long term advantage for your business, it can seriously level up your team's productivity. And since I know you all love stats, guess what I got Microsoft commissioned stats. Compared to Windows 10 PCs, Windows 11 Pro users reported on average 50% faster workflows and collaboration, 42% faster completion of demanding workloads and on average 61% longer battery life. Windows 11 Pro chip to Cloud security is designed to help employees stay protected and uninterrupted at the office, at home, the coffee shop, wherever they work. Speaking of uninterrupted, you IT managers are going to love this one. The Microsoft Commission survey also reported Windows 11 Pro PCs having a 62% drop in security incidents compared to Windows 10 PCs because Windows means business upgrade to Windows 11 Pro@windows means business.com before we had AT and T Business Wireless coverage, our delivery GPS wasn't the most reliable. Once our driver had to do a 14 point turn to get back on route. A 14 point turn. An influencer, even livestream the whole thing. Not good for business. Now with AT and T Business wireless routes are updating on the fly and deliveries are on time. And the influencer did get us 53 new followers though AT and T Business

[Ed Ludlow]

Wireless Connecting changes everything.

[Bloomberg Host]

Elon Musk's Space X is meeting with banks today we understand as the world's most valuable startup gears to pitch potentially the biggest ever market market debut. Let's get the latest Bloomberg's Bailey Lipschultz so we understand much is on the table. Much has been asked of banks. Not just only advice it would seem in some reporting. But what are we likely to get in terms of a sense of when they could come how significantly they're going to get to this 2 trillion number.

[Bailey Lipschultz]

Yeah. So what you'll see play out over the coming weeks is these so called testing the waters meetings. So basically bankers will meet with their pitch deck, show investors and say hey, look at terrible a fab. How exciting our orbital space data centers and what the ultimate vision could look like. It won't necessarily focus on actual valuation just yet, but it'll really center on the financials financial forecast what 27, what 2028 could look like given the expectations that this should price in June. So the next kind of march forward would be waiting for that formal flip public which would then kick start 22 days to going public. So that's the next next key milestone. But we're going to be talking to investors, talking to sources, trying to understand what these meetings look like while the company awaits a formal response from the SEC which would then kind of move this along.

[Ed Ludlow]

We reported right in the middle of last week that the confidential filings in then we reported that the valuation being targeted is climbing above $2 trillion. But all of those little bits of reporting would indicate what you just talked about, that June, June is happening. What else would give us confidence that a June IPO is realistic at this point?

[Bailey Lipschultz]

The big thing Ed, is that it'll take a month typically for the SEC to give formal comments. So they filed the middle of last week, call it the early first few days of May is when they would get that filing response from the sec. It would be up to the company and up to its lawyers to address any qualms from regulators to really set the stage for what we call a formal public flip which then kicks off again a 15 day waiting period before a formal marketing could take place and then the deal could be priced. So the big thing to keep in mind is if there's any hold up with the SEC that could delay this process. But from our understanding the company wants to move as quickly as possible which would then mean a public flip where you formally see that S1 on Edgar and kind of being breaking news sometime in mid to late May which would then set the stage for an IPO to price in the company to start trading at some point in mid to late June.

[Bloomberg Host]

Obviously retail investors get excited but who are the big players that likely to be talking to at the moment? There has been reporting of big anchor investors who are being looked for anyone

[Bailey Lipschultz]

and everyone will be kind of tasked with investing. When you're looking to raise $75 billion that's more than double the largest IPO of all time. And when you look at a book that, according to our reporting, they could try to sell about 30% to retail, that's more than $22 billion. So you're still, still solving for a $50 billion problem, whether that's sovereign wealth funds around the world, whether that's institutional investors, and also, oh, by the way, probably being pitched to some of the largest strategic investors, just given the propensity for X Orbital data centers and kind of the grand vision that Elon Musk is pitching.

[Ed Ludlow]

Bloomberg's Bailey Lipschultz, thank you very much. Let's stick with expectations for a Space X IPO and other possible mega listings this year. Least buyer is with us. She's the founder and partner of IPO advisory firm Class 5 Group. Bailey was just talking about the test the Waters meetings. And one of the things we've tried to report on in some detail over a number of years, it's not new, is the revenues break down at Space X. Right. There was a point where it went from mostly launch to mostly Starlink. What I'm seeing and hearing right now is Starlink at the top end tracking to maybe $20 billion of revenues this year. You know, if they exceed. How do you price an IPO on that data?

[Lisa Buyer]

It's, it's the perfect question. And thanks for having me here. First of all, all the numbers we've seen so far are leaked numbers or rumored numbers or through the grapevine until they flip that document public, we are really going to know what any of the numbers are. And then until they go out, as you just heard, and meet with investors and the test the Waters years, we're not going to know what the expect the bank's Expectations are for 2027, 2028. I presume they'll go out much further. But none of the numbers that are being bandied about in any way fundamentally correlate to $1 trillion or a trillion and a half dollar or a $2 trillion right valuation. It's all, it's all hope. It's all, do we believe the vision? It's all, do we believe that they will have limited competition, which we know there's more coming. So it's, it's a leap of faith and there's going to be a lot of FOMO here. And the, the best way to look at how to value it is to go way back to 1934, where you look at Graham and Dodd, who wrote the book on fundamental securities valuation, and they had a great comment that was applicable during the Internet phase and it's applicable now and it's hey, look, there are times, I'm paraphrasing, but there are times when there are new fields of endeavor, new companies in areas we've never seen before and investors can in fact make a lot of money if they are involved early enough. But everybody needs to understand it is not a fundamental investment and it is a bet. It is a speculative bet and that's what money at these valuations will be Going into Space X. You roll a dice and you say, you know, Starlink's pretty cool.

[Bloomberg Host]

You think, Lisa, this is rolling a dice situation. That's certainly not. So it's going to be being discussed with banks talking to investors today.

[Lisa Buyer]

There is no math that correlates the current revenues to $2 trillion dollars. None. So yes, it's a bet on the future and it's a compelling and potentially fascinating and enormous and also very uncertain future lease.

[Ed Ludlow]

Typically before a big IPO of a late stage startup, they would raise a big round, right, Largely to bring in the crossover investors. In this case, Space X merged with xi, which changed the valuation inflation dynamic, brought debt onto the balance sheet, etc. What was your assessment of that transaction pre IPO?

[Lisa Buyer]

Typical Musk, I would say. I think again, until we know what the math looks like, it's very hard to make any sort of a sound assessment. It's clearly bundling things together and heaven knows he's done pretty astonishing things in the past that have worked out and some that have, they haven't. So it's we don't yet know. And again, I've not been on the test, the Waters meetings, maybe they're explaining that, maybe they're explaining this, but how the two are going to interact such that 1 in 1 equal 8 is.

[Bloomberg Host]

Does this have read across to any of the others in the pipeline, Lisa, or is this very much your view on Elon Musk and this bet on Space X? Because it's also a bet on Xi and we have plenty of AI companies potentially waiting in the wings.

[Lisa Buyer]

So from a general sense, when you have a very large IPO and we've never seen one like this before, but we've had Alibaba, we've had Facebook, we've had other big. We had Saudi Aramco, although kind of a very different industry, when you have a big IPO that goes goes well, as Alibaba did, usually a number of the companies in the wings put the foot on the gas and say we're going to take advantage of the fact that investors are feeling good about IPOs and you see much more activity when you see a larger IPO that stumbles out of the gate, as Facebook did. People and companies go back into hibernation for a while. So this could be the opening of the door that certainly bankers would love to see, but we have to see how it plays is a buyer.

[Bloomberg Host]

It's been fascinating talking to you, partner and founder at Class 5 Group, about the lineup in this currently happening with all things public markets. Let's quick recap on the public markets right now as to what's happening when President Trump has been speaking. Some headlines have been coming out moments ago, part of the White House Easter egg roll. But of course, conversation has moved into the world of Iran. We understand that President Trump currently is saying that Iran has some missiles and drones left and the Iranian people will fight the regime when it's safe for them to do so. But more broadly, he's talking about Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon, Ed. He's also talking about his popularity right now, the American people wanting the US to win and to come home. And more broadly that he'd like this end to the current conflict.

[Ed Ludlow]

And okay. Coming up on the program, we speak to Chris Lehane, OpenAI's Chief Global affairs officer, as the company releases social and economic policy proposals for the era.

[Seth Figman]

Error.

[Ed Ludlow]

It's half time in the program. We'll be right back. And this is Bloomberg Tech. Welcome back to Bloomberg Tech. In an era of artificial intelligence upheaval, OpenAI is proposing ways to spread the benefits of the technology and put people first. To start is published a set of policy recommendations, solutions ranging from a public wealth fund and expanded safety nets to shorter work weeks and faster electrical grid development. For more, OpenAI's Chief Global affairs officer, Chris Lehane is with us here on Bloomberg Tech. I mean, they, they are proposals, they are not formal proposals. But what I'm trying to understand with this, Chris, if we get the idea, is how everyday people would participate in it. Who enacts it? Open AI or government?

[Tyler Kendall]

Government.

[Ed Ludlow]

But you're talking about people whose lives are impacted themselves by AI participating in it. Explain it.

[Caroline Hyde]

Yeah, that's exactly right. Let me take a step back and Caroline, thanks for having me. So first and foremost, what this document really reflects is the work and thinking of OpenAI's researchers, the folks who are really building and innovating this AI technology and think they understand and recognize, recognize that this is technology that's on par with historic general purpose technologies of the past. The wheel, the printing press the combustion engine, electricity. You know, each of those ultimately drove the human condition forward by driving economic progress. But every time one of these technologies came along, there was obviously challenges that came with it. And so what this document really is attempting to do is to put out some kind of concepts and ideas that are really as transformative as the actual underlying technology. And so it's divided into two sections. One section really deals with an open economy, which is what you are talking about. How can we make sure AI is free, fair, safe? How can people participate as much as possible? And, you know, the sovereign wealth fund idea is something that we really took from what we had seen in Alaska with the Alaska Permanent Fund, where the entire population of Alaska gets to participate in, and the economics of the fossil fuel extraction in Alaska. But ultimately, there's a whole range of ideas. One of the. I think at the core of all of this, though, particularly on the economic opportunity piece, is the understanding that AI needs to be understood as a right, that everyone in this country, everyone in the world has at least the opportunity to be able to participate in. And that's really what's fundamental to this.

[Ed Ludlow]

I mean, Chris, a public or sovereign wealth wealth fund is a very specific proposal. Have you discussed that idea with anyone within the administration? Who within the administration have you discussed that with?

[Caroline Hyde]

Yeah, I'm not going to get into specific names, which may be a shock to you, but we have certainly had those conversations with folks both in the administration. You obviously have the Trump accounts, you know, which is a version of some kind of a fund. I think in the last two or three weeks, I've probably met with a dozen, two dozen, actually, as I think about it, members of the United States Senate, where we've been talking about these types of concepts. And I think what's really going on right now is that there is a growing awareness from policymakers, particularly in Washington, D.C. of just how fast this technology is accelerating the scale that it's going to be impacting all of us, and an interest and desire to really uplevel the nature of the policy conversations. You know, to date, the conversations have really been almost binary. On one hand, there is an approach. Keep your hands off, don't worry, everything's going to be great. On the other possible extreme, there is the doomer view, which is that this is technology that's so powerful, only a small number of people should control it. We're really trying to put out a different approach. And this approach is based on actually offering solutions that are going to meet the technology, where the technology is but doing it in a way that's inherently small d democratic, working through the democratic process to actually identify the ideas that will allow this technology to benefit as many people as possible. And that's, that's really what we're trying to put out here today. And this is a conversation starter, as you were alluding to. We don't pretend to have all of the answers. Certainly people have smarter ideas. People will pressure test these. But we do think we need to open up that proverbial Overton window so that we begin having these conversations now, so that we can identify the solutions quickly.

[Bloomberg Host]

The now is interesting. Was the now prompted by this growing awareness that this isn't very popular with the general public right now, or is it now because you've got something coming, the models are updating, an iPad is on the diverge and therefore you need to get ahead of the policy perspective too.

[Caroline Hyde]

It's really the latter and not the former. I mean, certainly when you talk about and you look at the underlying data, those who use AI tend to have a pretty positive to very positive perspective on it. And you know, we're nearing a billion folks who are using this on a regular basis. So as more and more people use AI, obviously perceptions of it understand how it's going to impact education, health, health care in their daily lives grows. But this is really at the core. And again, this came from our researchers who are really understanding where this technology is going and how quickly it's moving in that direction, that we do need to begin to identify those ideas, those solutions, those concepts that are going to meet the technology where it is. And I've said this, but this technology is transformative. We're going to need policy ideas are equally transformative. And if I could, I mean maybe an analogy here is the New Deal, and I don't mean the New Deal in a sense that we believe that there's big government solutions for this. But what the New Deal ultimately recognized was that as technology drove industrialization, there really needed to be a calibration or perhaps a recalibration between the allocation of capital and labor to make sure that the social contract was really in balance.

[Bloomberg Host]

And you want labor to have more of a voice. I'm sorry, you want labor to have more of a voice. Chris and what's interesting is others are speaking to this too. Jamie Dimon putting out his letter to shareholders today, also talking about his view that this is moving quickly, it could eliminate some jobs, and his firm is got definitive plans on how we can support and redeploy Our affected workforce. How is other business going to play a role, Chris? And also what other governments are doing? You look at this from a global perspective. Where is doing this right versus the

[Caroline Hyde]

U.S. it's a great question. And I think you can see interesting pockets around the world. You know, when I travel to Asia, Japan or Korea, you see a real focus on driving up a literacy, raising the amount of people in those countries who actually understand how to use AI. I think Japan has a goal of 80% of its country. Are graduating students literate by 2030. You go to places like Estonia, which has always been a digital forward country. They're building AI into their actual government infrastructure. Greece, we've spent a lot of time with the Prime Minister of Greece and his government. He's in the process of building AI into their public education system. And so you're seeing pockets of this. But again, I think part of what's behind this release of this particular document is our belief that we really do need to scale up the kinds of conversations that are taking place so that we're actually able to meet this technology where it is and more moreover, where it's going.

[Ed Ludlow]

Chris, there's been some reporting from the information that your cfo, Sarah Fryer has some concerns about the spending plan over the next few years and the reality of a timeline to IPO this year in disagreement with Sam Altman, your CEO.

[Chris Lehane]

CEO.

[Ed Ludlow]

The report also details that Sarah Fry was excluded from some finance or investor meetings as a result of that disagreement. What can you tell us, please?

[Caroline Hyde]

So, first of all, I'm actually blessed and privileged to work with an incredible team. Not just in terms of the talent, but how well everyone really works together. You know, perhaps the greatest validation of both the team, our researchers, and really our overall strategy is that last week, as you all covered, right, we announced the single largest raise in history, $122 billion. And at the core of that, I think, was the validation of our, of our focused, our really laser focused strategy, which is on compute. Compute is really Sam's insight. He deserves enormous credit for this. He was there long before anyone else. That it is the most finite and most precious resource when it comes to the intelligence age, age. And we have focused a lot of our work on making sure that we have access to that compute. That compute drives a flywheel, right? For every quantum of compute we get, we effectively get a 3x in revenue. And it works the following way. Compute drives innovation. When our researchers do, that then leads to more tools. Those tools use more users. Right? We were the first to 10 million first, 100 million approaches.

[Ed Ludlow]

I think we've lost that approach. Chris, you're fine. Your. Your zoom froze for a moment there, but I'm going to go back to my question. Sarah Fryer was or was not excluded from meetings because of a disagreement on strategy with Sam Altman.

[Caroline Hyde]

We just raised $122 billion and Sarah Fryer was at the center of all of those meetings. Point all of those conversations together. It's awesome to see the teamwork that exists between her. Sam, Fiji, you know, our head of applications. And as I said, I get to work with a dream team in terms of talent and how well everyone works together. And again, $122 billion. It's not the amount of money, although that is a large amount of money. It is the fact that you've had probably one of the most impressive cap tables in the world. Take a look at our business strategy, take a look at our leadership, take a look at our researchers. It really give us a huge vote of confidence. I mean, think about where we are from a revenue perspective. In 2024, I'm doing this right kind of. We had $1 billion in revenue a quarter. We're now doing $2 billion in revenue a month. I mean, you just haven't seen growth numbers like that historically.

[Bloomberg Host]

Let's talk about the talent because it's got bigger and there has been reshuffling. And our thoughts go to those with health issues, particularly Fiji, as she takes a step back. Chris. But tvpn, that's coming under your leadership. Why?

[Caroline Hyde]

I'm so excited for this, Caroline. I am so excited for this. I'm excited for it for two reasons. On one hand, you know, these guys, Jordi and John and their whole team do as good a job as anyone out there in unpacking the why and the how behind technology. And explicitly, AI folks come on to other media outlets. I mean, you guys do an incredible job of breaking news and scooping news. What these guys do is really break down ideas and scoop out what's behind those ideas. And at a time. And, you know, this even relates to the beginning of this conversation on the document that we put out today at a time when we really need to be scaling how the world understands AI. Yeah, these folks do one of the best jobs out there. We want to give them the resources so that their audience grows. And the second point here is that I'm able to bring in house, really, in my view, what is the leading agency when it comes to being content, forward and digital first, you know, a lot of analogies have been used. I mean, Bloomberg is obviously owned by a financial services company and then has a media entity. In terms of analogies out there, I think there's actually a different analogy here that's a little bit more applicable and that as you think about Apple, Apple under Steve jobs in the 1980s and early 90s, they actually brought in Shia Day, which had been their outside marketing agency, and created something called the Apple Media Lab. And it really became a model for how to build in house marketing in an age when a lot of that, that marketing was done through what we would now call traditional advertising. We're in a different age today. Digital is at the center of the conversation and I see this as analogous to that. But for the digital age, we're bringing in really I think the best agency in the world to help us do the best job we possibly can do as we continue to grow in terms of how we communicate. So I'm totally pumped for this. I'm really excited when you came on

[Bloomberg Host]

to talk about that communication, that potential of policy initiatives as well. Chris Lehane we always wish we had another 10, 15 minutes with you. Krista Hayne of I thought we were going to get to talk about the

[Caroline Hyde]

NC Double Championship tonight.

[Bloomberg Host]

Next time we'll go off of that. Affairs Officer, we so appreciate you tuning in today and joining us. Meanwhile, coming up, a new show. Well, it's taking fun at the Silicon Valley so called bubble. We sit down with the creator and star of the new AMC show, the Audacity of Bloomberg Tech

[Microsoft Narrator]

and pause really quick. Wanted to also mention that not Only is Windows 11 Pro designed to help unlock operational efficiency and build long term advantage for your business, but it can seriously level up your team's productivity. And since I know you all love stats, guess what I got Microsoft commissioned Stats. Compared to Windows 10 PCs, Windows 11 Pro users reported on average 50% faster workflows and collaboration, 42% faster completion of demanding workloads, and on average 61% longer battery life. Windows 11 Pro chip to Cloud security is designed to help employees stay protected and uninterrupted at the office, at home, the coffee shop, wherever they work. Speaking of uninterrupted, you IT managers are gonna love this one. The Microsoft Commission survey also reported Windows 11 Pro PCs having a 62% drop in security incidents compared to Windows 10 PCs. Because windows means business. Upgrade to Windows 11 [e-mail].

[Billy Magnuson]

Genius is not about figuring out the solution.

[Caroline Hyde]

It's about being unhinged enough to do

[Billy Magnuson]

something outrageous with it. Fear impedes innovation. I call that self police brutality.

[Caroline Hyde]

Tech lives matter.

[Ed Ludlow]

Exactly.

[Bloomberg Host]

That was a bit of the trailer for the Audacity. It's a new, should I say, dark comedy coming to AMC set inside the bubble of Silicon Valley. Pleased to say the show's executive producer, Lisa Jonathan Glatz is with us as well as one of the stars, Billy Magnuson, who had slightly longer locks. Great to have you.

[Billy Magnuson]

Thank you so much.

[Bloomberg Host]

Let's poke some fun or let's have some reality check as well. What a time to be writing about what maybe you're presenting as masters of the universe in some way here. How did this come to bear? How relevant is it for our time?

[Chris Lehane]

I think it's extremely relevant, but it is one of these funny things with television. You write it a year or so before it actually airs, so you're guessing at what might be relevant. And it's a difficult thing to chase. Obviously, with tech, it's just moving way too fast to try to anticipate what the next thing is going to be. I think we managed to do that. It's kind of like sometimes the Defense Department brings in screenwriters to say, like, what would a great weapon be of the future?

[Bloomberg Host]

What.

[Chris Lehane]

In a lot of ways, that's what we did in terms of, like, where we thought tech was going, the therapy bot, things like, even. Even aspects that were major news items, like what happened with the VA and Doge and everything like that is a major story point for us, but we wrote it before that actually happened.

[Bloomberg Host]

Life imitating art, indeed, Billy. What's interesting is on the X Prize actually is going out out there at the moment, wanting people to come up with more positive views of how technology is going to change because they want the next phone in the way that was inspired by Star Trek. But for you, how did you get into character? How did you think about this tension that we have of Utopia versus, well, dystopia?

[Billy Magnuson]

Oh, that's quite interesting. You know, basing as an actor, you know, you take in, you decipher what you see out there. We know all the people in the headlines, we know who is in the tech titans of.

[Bloomberg Host]

Who are you most fascinated by?

[Billy Magnuson]

All of them, to tell you. True. I don't want to put names out there, but we know who they are. And then you just take the good, the bad, the ugly, and then you try to build a character through all that and make this melange of a character that I was like, okay, what's interesting to me, what's scary to me, yeah, it's just they're out there, we see them, we know who we are. And the best part about Jonathan Glatzer making the story, there's the tech titans, but Duncan part is right under them and he is hungry for it. And it just kind of shows a little bit the toxic nature that can seep into these guys who probably genuinely, when they started, they had hope and had hope to build something positive for the world and then greed, corruption, all the beautiful things that we see out there seeps in.

[Chris Lehane]

So beautiful. Yeah. And I think it was important also for there to be. For him to be a wannabe titan, for that desperation to be there to fuel the story, but also to not necessarily be influenced by the fame and the spotlight that the people at the very top of the ladder, we see them be like rock stars. And I feel like that desire to be amongst them, it was so important, but not actually being one of them was.

[Billy Magnuson]

Was, I guess it's a fun world he's created. Actually it's not, it's just again, our job is to show a little bit of a mirror to reality.

[Ed Ludlow]

Oh, hey, I hear you, Billy. No, I know, I know you don't want to name names, right? So your character is an audacious data mining CEO. I can tell you how many decade

[Billy Magnuson]

that's like the oil of that industry.

[Ed Ludlow]

So how do you prepare for that character? So there are some real world examples out there of the audacious data mining CEO. Go through the process, the process of

[Billy Magnuson]

it, honestly, it's just looking and regarding what's out there and then you slowly just pull back each little layer of it and you make a beautiful dish out of it. And I think that's the fun part again, the world was created in Jonathan Glatzer's mind and like to have one of the most profound writers of our time, and I'll quote me on that, I think he is absolutely exceptional. That playground then is created for me just to dance on. And I couldn't be more grateful to be a collaborator with this, this fine gentleman to my right.

[Ed Ludlow]

Likewise, Jonathan. I, I want to respect the, the specifics of the audacity and the distinction in genre almost. But I came to San Francisco in 2018 with several seasons of Silicon Valley under my belt. Yeah, right. And that show so closely aligned with the culture satirical poked fun at what it is to be maybe the lower end of the spectrum, the startup, small scale, early stage. How conscious of that were you that that exists out there and how much you wanted Audacity to. To be representative of all of the capital that's here, intellectual and financial capital that underpins the technology industry.

[Chris Lehane]

I think that I was a huge fan of Silicon Valley myself. It's brilliant, brilliant satire. It definitely is about a time in the Valley that was a little bit more optimistic, the garage incubator type of culture and that. That striving to, you know, make it to a place where. Which, as I said before, is part of what Duncan is going through. But Duncan already. Duncan park, the character that Billy plays so brilliantly. He had a company prior to this called fafa, which was about bringing people together, and they would be trading candles and canoes and stuff like that. And then he became a Dada merchant, third party type of data merchant. And I think that what we're showing in our, you know, it's a very different show. It's a much more of a family is interacting. The psychiatrist is the second lead of the show. But the idea that everybody back in the day was truly optimistic and a genuine way that they were going to be bringing people together, they were going to lower the barriers in terms of tolerance and people communicating together and the idea that information is going to be something that's reliable and accessible, and that all kind of went in the opposite direction for the most part. For the most part.

[Ed Ludlow]

Right.

[Chris Lehane]

But they made a lot of money doing it. And so. So it was kind of like, wait, are we. We're sort of tearing at society in a lot of ways here, and communication has been completely bifurcated and people don't seem to be any more tolerant, let alone all the other things that they. That they talked about. But we're making so much money doing it, and maybe this is what people want, you know, and so that sort of cynicism and that. That I think it just imbued a different chapter in the Silicon Valley story. And hopefully there's a chapter coming up. I don't know when, but hopefully there will be one where they realize that the power that they have is also the power to do good.

[Billy Magnuson]

But also I love the characters he's created. It is the culture you're examining, the culture that lives inside Silicon Valley Valley now. And I love that, that. That dynamic of the whole, whole project. I feel lucky to be part of this project, honestly.

[Ed Ludlow]

Gentlemen, we appreciate having you here on Bloomberg Tech. And I think I'm right in saying it's already been renewed for a second season as well. The Audacity premieres April 12th on AMC. Jonathan Glatzer, Billy Magnuson, thank you for coming by, NASA's Artemis 2 is set to pass at the closest distance that humans have come to the lunar surface in 50 years. 7pm New York Times. Tonight, as the crew does its flyby of the moon, let's bring in Bloomberg's Lauren Grosch, just back from first Florida, then Houston. Big moment, 7pm what do we need to know?

[Lauren Grosch]

There are quite a few big moments today. Actually, one thing that will start before even 7pm is around 2pm Eastern. The crew will actually break the distance record previously set by Apollo 13 of the farthest any humans have traveled from Earth. So that will kind of be a nice little lead in to the flyby. And then, yeah, this is today is the day what the Artemis 2 mission is all about. It's getting close to the moon and being able to see the far side of the moon, parts of the far side that humans have never seen before. So it's a really exciting day and

[Bloomberg Host]

it's been so exciting to watch this minute by minute, take by take as this journey continues. Lauren, you've got some fascinating reporting on what, what's working well out there also, what's not working well.

[Tyler Kendall]

Right.

[Lauren Grosch]

So actually, I've been blown away by how smooth this mission has gone. Obviously, there's little glitches here and there that they'll be reporting to mission control, but overall, it seems to be a relatively smooth mission. One thing that we have all noticed is that the biggest headache might be the onboard toilet. So it kind of started acting up that first day of flight. They were able to fix it by helping to prime the pump. But then on the next day or a few days after, they had an issue with maybe some ice blockage from the vent line. They dump the contents overboard periodically and there was kind of some blockage there. So but they seem to get it working again. So it's just been, it's been a nice comedic moment. You know that if the only issue is your toilet, obviously it's probably not something the astronauts want to be malfunctioning. But at least that's the only thing that seems to be a real problem.

[Bloomberg Host]

Laura Grosch, it's been some beautiful writing, some incredible reporting throughout the weekend, and we so appreciate you joining us ahead of today's really important day of space Ed, that does it for this edition of Bloomberg Tech. Back together again.

[Ed Ludlow]

Yeah, strong start to the week. A lot. To recap, check out the podcast. You know exactly where to find it on the Bloomberg terminal, as well as online on Apple, Spotify and on Iheart from New York. And from San Francisco, this is Bloomberg Tech.