Podcast
Sharp Tech with Ben Thompson
Hosted by Andrew Sharp and Ben Thompson · EN
A podcast about understanding how tech works and the way it is changing the world. Hosted by Andrew Sharp with Ben Thompson.
57episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
(Preview) SpaceX Hype and the Elon Bargain, Nvidia and the Neoclouds, Q&A on Dropbox, Google, Ferrari Luce Backlash
4d ago00:35:20Summary readyBen and Andrew begin with a look at SpaceX before its June IPO. Topics include: Why the S-1 math that doesn’t quite pencil out for now, the madness of analyzing Musk companies generally, the company’s ultimate upside, and why the IPO is worth applauding regardless. Then: Questions on terrestrial solutions vs. data centers in space, the durability of SpaceX’s rocket monopoly, Nvidia’s earnings and the future of the ACIE market, why neoclouds are advertising on podcasts, and the op-ed from Cloudflare CEO Matthew Prince explaining his company’s AI-driven layoffs. From there: Dropbox as the Penny Hardaway of tech companies, an emailer worried about enshittifed AI chatbots yields discussion of the real reasons Google’s gotten worse. At the end: The Jony Ive-designed Ferrari Luce, why Ben regrets a tweet, how Ferrari will sell these cars, and more philsophical thoughts on why everyone was upset this week. To email the show: email@sharptech.fm @SharpTechPodcast Channel — YouTube @Stratechery Channel — YouTube The SpaceX IPO and Data Centers in Space — Stratechery It’s a Tesla — Stratechery Mistakes and Memes — Stratechery How I Choose Which Cloudflare Employees to Replace With AI — Wall Street Journal Enterprise Philosophy and the First Wave of AI — Stratechery Fake News — Stratechery Ferrari Luce — Ferrari Get all episodes of Sharp Tech, Sharp China, Stratechery Updates and Interviews, Greatest of All Talk, Asianometry and the Dithering Podcast as part of Stratechery Plus for $15/month or $150/year.
Summary(Preview) Inference in the Agentic Future, xAI Is Two Companies in One, Q&A on Elon’s Lawsuit, Intel, Apple
3w ago00:25:57Summary readyBen and Andrew discuss the future of computing and its implications for the chip market, including what Cerebras is doing that’s different, why speed may no longer be a top priority for inference, good news for China’s AI ecosystem, the future for Nvidia, and questions on Pat Gelsinger’s role in Intel’s revival. From there: Both sides of the Anthropic-xAI deal, including Anthropic’s compute solution and the triumph of market principles, as well as the market’s message to Elon Musk and xAI, and the implications for SpaceX. At the end: Thoughts on Musk’s OpenAI lawsuit, a theory on Apple’s gross margins and a land grab, and a listener’s wife enters founder mode with Claude. To email the show: email@sharptech.fm @SharpTechPodcast Channel — YouTube @Stratechery Channel — YouTube The Inference Shift — Stratechery The Deployment Company, Back to the 70s, Apple and Intel — Stratechery Update SpaceX and Anthropic, xAI’s Two Companies, Elon Musk and SpaceXAI’s Future — Stratechery Update Elon’s OpenAI Lawsuit Is Boring and Insulting, and It’s Already a Success — Sharp Text Get all episodes of Sharp Tech, Sharp China, Stratechery Updates and Interviews, Greatest of All Talk, Asianometry and the Dithering Podcast as part of Stratechery Plus for $15/month or $150/year.
Summary(Preview) AWS History and Trainium’s AI Future, OpenAI Makes a Deal With Microsoft, Meta and the Future of Wearable Devices
May 100:24:02Summary readyBen and Andrew react to Amazon’s impressive earnings in AI with a cliffs notes history on AWS cloud computing strategy, how Amazon is returning to that playbook in AI, and why the Trainium bets look more reasonable than ever. From there: Understanding both sides of the OpenAI and Microsoft deal this week, including why OpenAI wants to be on AWS, and why Microsoft’s conflict of interest is now resolved. At the end: Extended thoughts on Meta Display glasses, the future of AR devices, the mother of all patent lawsuits, as well as a few Apple follow-ups, and an eye surgery epiphany. To email the show: email@sharptech.fm @SharpTechPodcast Channel — YouTube @Stratechery Channel — YouTube AWS re:Invent, Nova and Model Choice, AI as Commodity — Stratechery Update Paradigm Shifts and the Winner’s Curse — Stratechery An Interview with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and AWS CEO Matt Garman About Bedrock Managed Agents — Stratechery Interview AI Hardware, Meta Display, Redefining VR and AR — Stratechery Update Get all episodes of Sharp Tech, Sharp China, Stratechery Updates and Interviews, Greatest of All Talk, Asianometry and the Dithering Podcast as part of Stratechery Plus for $15/month or $150/year.
Summary(Preview) Six Questions on Frontier AI Labs, Messaging AI to a Skeptical Public, Amazon (and Apple?) Ramps Up Competition with Elon
Apr 1700:23:37Summary readyBen and Andrew begin with six emails on AI, including a question about the future of AI consumer demand, Gemini’s quiet few months, whether compute constraints should lead to price hikes, and divergent approaches to AGI at Anthropic and OpenAI. From there: An extended answer to a question about AI messaging in the face of widespread skepticism, an Einstein AI thought experiment, and extended thoughts on Amazon’s acquisition of Globalstar, Apple’s role, and what Amazon wants from LEO satellites. At the end: Emails on Allbirds and pivots, the ZIRP/NBA cap spike analogy for displaced engineering talent, Evan Spiegel’s advice for Meta, and two notes on the news business. To email the show: email@sharptech.fm @SharpTechPodcast Channel — YouTube @Stratechery Channel — YouTube An Interview with F1 Driver and Venture Capitalist Nico Rosberg About the Drive to Win — Stratechery Interview Mythos, Muse, and the Opportunity Cost of Compute — Stratechery TSMC Risk — Stratechery Amazon Buys Globalstar, Delta to Add Leo, The Apple Angle — Stratechery Update Get all episodes of Sharp Tech, Sharp China, Stratechery Updates and Interviews, Greatest of All Talk, Asianometry and the Dithering Podcast as part of Stratechery Plus for $15/month or $150/year.
Summary(Preview) Mythos and Project Glasswing, The Year of Anthropic Continues Apace, Q&A on the NYT, Altman, De-globalization
Apr 1000:21:41Summary readyBen and Andrew begin with reactions to Anthropic’s Mythos announcement and Project Glasswing, including thoughts on the security risks, the business benefits of keeping this model private, lessons on the “Boy Who Cried Wolf,” and renewed focus on Anthropic’s relationship with the U.S. government. From there: Anthropic’s new deal with Broadcom and Google, a year of stunning Anthropic success that began in 2024, the threats that Anthropic poses to Microsoft, and where AI can and can’t help with taxes. At the end: How the New York Times is adapting to the future, understanding Sam Altman’s history at OpenAI, and a question on the implications of de-globalization. To email the show: email@sharptech.fm @SharpTechPodcast Channel — YouTube @Stratechery Channel — YouTube Anthropic’s New Model, The Mythos Wolf, Glasswing and Alignment — Stratechery Update Anthropic’s New TPU Deal, Anthropic’s Computing Crunch, The Anthropic-Google Alliance — Stratechery Update ChatGPT Gets a Computer — Stratechery An Interview with New York Times CEO Meredith Kopit Levien About Betting on Humans With Expertise — Stratechery Interview In Defense of The New York Times — Stratechery Hormuz, Rushmore, and a Sam Altman Story That Missed the Story — Sharp Text Sam Altman May Control Our Future—Can He Be Trusted? — The New Yorker Get all episodes of Sharp Tech, Sharp China, Stratechery Updates and Interviews, Greatest of All Talk, Asianometry and the Dithering Podcast as part of Stratechery Plus for $15/month or $150/year.
SummaryMythos and Project Glasswing, The Year of Anthropic Continues Apace, Q&A on the NYT, Altman, De-globalization
Apr 1000:21:41Summary readyBen and Andrew begin with reactions to Anthropic’s Mythos announcement and Project Glasswing, including thoughts on the security risks, the business benefits of keeping this model private, lessons on the “Boy Who Cried Wolf,” and renewed focus on Anthropic’s relationship with the U.S. government. From there: Anthropic’s new deal with Broadcom and Google, a year of stunning Anthropic success that began in 2024, the threats that Anthropic poses to Microsoft, and where AI can and can’t help with taxes. At the end: How the New York Times is adapting to the future, understanding Sam Altman’s history at OpenAI, and a question on the implications of de-globalization. To email the show: email@sharptech.fm @SharpTechPodcast Channel — YouTube @Stratechery Channel — YouTube Anthropic’s New Model, The Mythos Wolf, Glasswing and Alignment — Stratechery Update Anthropic’s New TPU Deal, Anthropic’s Computing Crunch, The Anthropic-Google Alliance — Stratechery Update ChatGPT Gets a Computer — Stratechery An Interview with New York Times CEO Meredith Kopit Levien About Betting on Humans With Expertise — Stratechery Interview In Defense of The New York Times — Stratechery Hormuz, Rushmore, and a Sam Altman Story That Missed the Story — Sharp Text Sam Altman May Control Our Future—Can He Be Trusted? — The New Yorker Get all episodes of Sharp Tech, Sharp China, Stratechery Updates and Interviews, Greatest of All Talk, Asianometry and the Dithering Podcast as part of Stratechery Plus for $15/month or $150/year.
Summary(Preview) Five Questions on Apple at 50 Years Old, The Axios Hack and AI Security, Q&A on Starlink, AI IPOs, AirPods
Apr 300:21:03Summary readyBen and Andrew begin with Q&A on Apple after 50 years, including thoughts on Steve Jobs weaknesses, putting iTunes on Windows, the best Apple ads, Chinese manufacturing counterfactuals, and tech company Mount Rushmore. From there: Thoughts on Apple’s AI bet and the downside risk, the signs that Cupertino sees AI as a disruptive technology, and extended thoughts on the Axios hack and why why AI will make security issue worse in the short-term, but may be the solution in the long run. At the end: Delta chooses Amazon Leo over Starlink, two questions on Anthropic and OpenAI IPOs, why headhunters won’t be disrupted by AI, streaming sports abroad, and new fronts emerge in the AirPods battle. To email the show: email@sharptech.fm @SharpTechPodcast Channel — YouTube @Stratechery Channel — YouTube Will AI Disrupt Apple? — Dithering An Interview with Asymco’s Horace Dediu About Apple at 50 — Stratechery Interview Apple’s 50 Years of Integration — Stratechery Axios Supply Chain Attack, Claude Code Code Leaked, AI and Security — Stratechery Update Original Apple iPhone 2G Commercials! 2007 Ads That Started It All! — YT: Latest Tech HD Apple iPhone | Christmas Commercial 2013 — YT: Markedu Fixed: The Sad iPad Ad — YT: Seth Godin Apple - Think Different - Full Version — YT: Harry Piotr Get all episodes of Sharp Tech, Sharp China, Stratechery Updates and Interviews, Greatest of All Talk, Asianometry and the Dithering Podcast as part of Stratechery Plus for $15/month or $150/year.
Summary(Preview) A Spring Break Mailbag: RIP Sora, Ads and Surplus, F1 Going in Reverse, Elon Inc., Smartphone Parenting, and More
Mar 2700:20:42Summary readyBen and Andrew interrupt Stratechery’s spring vacation with a mailbag. First, they discuss the end of Sora, the difference between Sora and Instagram, and where the OpenAI/Microsoft parallels break down. Then: A great take on advertising, ChatGPT engagement farming, Formula 1’s new era, the NFL’s world takeover, and how NBC solved tape delay at the Olympics. At the end: A question about Vision Pro and wives, whether elementary schoolers should have smart phones, Elon’s continued adventures with xAI, a Netflix dating show, LLM-aided dogfooding etymology, and Ben’s (admittedly boring) Taipei routine. To email the show: email@sharptech.fm @SharpTechPodcast Channel — YouTube @Stratechery Channel — YouTube Get all episodes of Sharp Tech, Sharp China, Stratechery Updates and Interviews, Greatest of All Talk, Asianometry and the Dithering Podcast as part of Stratechery Plus for $15/month or $150/year.
Summary(Preview) OpenAI’s Enterprise Pivot, The Rise of Agents and Bubble Counterpoints, Nvidia Changes Its Inference Story
Mar 1900:32:50Summary readyBen and Andrew begin with the news that OpenAI is shifting away from “side quests” and allocating resources to the enterprise space, including Dropbox history to explain OpenAI’s present, lessons in the enterprise space generally (and what you learn in business school), and OpenAI taking cues from 1980s Microsoft. From there: Talking through Ben’s article on Monday, including the implications of agents and questions about integration as durable differentiation for Anthropic and OpenAI. At the end: Nvidia’s new messaging on inference chips and Groq integration, and a word about winters (and whiners) in Wisconsin. To email the show: email@sharptech.fm @SharpTechPodcast Channel — YouTube @Stratechery Channel — YouTube Jensen Huang and Andy Grove, Groq LPUs and Vera CPUs, Hotel California — Stratechery Update Agents Over Bubbles — Stratechery An Interview with Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang About Accelerated Computing — Stratechery Interview OpenAI to Cut Back on Side Projects in Push to ‘Nail’ Core Business — Wall Street Journal Get all episodes of Sharp Tech, Sharp China, Stratechery Updates and Interviews, Greatest of All Talk, Asianometry and the Dithering Podcast as part of Stratechery Plus for $15/month or $150/year.
Summary(Preview) Nerding Out with the Neo, Claude and the Integration Question, The End of Coding Language History
Mar 1300:17:42Summary readyBen and Andrew begin with the MacBook Neo, including Ben’s memory needs, Apple’s clever move to repurpose old iPhone chips, and the market for a $599 laptop. From there: A question about VisionOS, Andrew’s notes after six weeks of Vision Pro joy, and an extended discussion of Claude’s differentiation, harnessing, Microsoft’s AI strategy, and the future of integration and AI. At the end: A question on the end of coding language, what went wrong at the Washington Post, and being right points on AI group chats. To email the show: email@sharptech.fm @SharpTechPodcast Channel — YouTube @Stratechery Channel — YouTube MacBook Neo, The (Not-So) Thin MacBook, Apple and Memory — Stratechery Update Copilot Cowork, Anthropic’s Integration, Microsoft’s New Bundle — Stratechery Update Get all episodes of Sharp Tech, Sharp China, Stratechery Updates and Interviews, Greatest of All Talk, Asianometry and the Dithering Podcast as part of Stratechery Plus for $15/month or $150/year.
Summary