TBPN Diet – Kling AI, China's Aging Tech Talent, Drama at ThinkingMachine, and TBPN x CAA

Hosts: John Coogan & Jordi Hays
Date: January 22, 2026

Episode Overview

This episode of TBPN Diet spotlights:

• The meteoric rise of Kling AI, the Chinese video-generation model by Kuaishou
• “Curse of 35” and the aging workforce crisis in China’s tech sector
• Drama and key departures at AI startup ThinkingMachine
• TBPN’s new partnership with Creative Artists Agency (CAA)
  All delivered in an energetic, slightly irreverent tech talk format.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Kling AI and Kuaishou’s Video Tech Powerhouse

[00:02–07:00]

• Kling AI’s Impact:
  Kling AI, Kuaishou’s video generation platform, has soared to 12M MAU (Monthly Active Users) and generated more than $20M in revenue last year.

  • “Cling AI…has been on a tear. There's an article in the Wall Street Journal showing some pretty staggering numbers.” — John Coogan [00:02]
  • Not an independent startup, Kling is a project from Kuaishou, a major Chinese tech player.

• Kuaishou’s History and Scale:

  • Founded in 2011 as a GIF app; now China’s #2 short video platform after Douyin (TikTok).
  • Achieved 100M DAU by 2013, major investment from Tencent, and a 2018 IPO that was 30x oversubscribed.
    • “They raised $5.4 billion at the IPO…$165 billion of demand showed up from the market.” — John [02:20]
  • Post-IPO, Kuaishou faced government crackdowns and heavy competition, losing ~80% of stock value, but remains a massive business: $40B market cap, $20B revenue (USD).

• Kling as the Chinese Sora:

  • Launched three months after OpenAI demoed Sora, Kling has been updated 30 times and targets quality/cost trade-offs for video generation.
    • “For cinematic footage, people often recommend VO3 still, but for Cling, it has some really strong characteristics in motion control and in physics simulations.” — John [05:18]
  • Priced “attractive” at $0.10 per second; reportedly gross profit margin positive (not accounting for all R&D costs).

• Tech Landscape Context:

  • Kling’s success provides rare “firm data on how these products are monetizing.”
  • “Is this going to be super important to the AI race in America? Probably not… But this is interesting because we're actually getting firm data on how these products are monetizing.” — John [07:00]

2. China’s Aging Tech Worker Crisis – The 'Curse of 35'

[07:00–12:00]

• Systemic Ageism:

  • Chinese tech companies routinely dismiss workers as young as 35, favoring young, unmarried recruits.
    • “They're firing unks over there. That's what's happening. They're firing.” — John [08:19]
  • Nickname “the curse of 35” is used for layoffs in their mid-30s; Kuaishou’s internal cutbacks codenamed "Limestone."
    • “Kuaishou is pushing out junior workers in their mid-30s… known internally as Limestone. Wow, they're giving code names to age discrimination. That's insane.” — Tyler [09:12]
  • Unlike the U.S., China’s labor laws don’t explicitly ban age discrimination.

• Comparison to U.S. Tech:

  • U.S. “Mag 7” companies increased headcounts even through layoffs; layoffs in China led to true multi-year downsizing.

3. Drama at ThinkingMachine: Talent Wars and Leadership Turmoil

[12:00–19:20]

• Wall Street Journal Scoop:

  • AI startup ThinkingMachine faces a founder exodus after a co-founder, CTO Barrett Zof, is fired following relationship disclosures and performance disputes.
    • “There was a war for narrative here between, between Barrett and Mira. Clearly they didn't…” — John [15:25]
  • Both Zof and the colleague he had a relationship with left to return to OpenAI.
  • Issues arose over relationship disclosure and whether or not it was romantic, with the hosts joking about “bro downs” as non-disclosed relationships.

• Key Quotes – Leadership Tensions & Talent Churn:

  • “Do you think this was a three-hour talent acquisition process? …It seemed like they were talking before.” — John & Tyler [14:20–14:48]
  • “You gotta take a little responsibility.” — Tyler, on Zof’s claim of being ‘manipulated’ into a relationship [17:09]
  • “Relationship disclosures need to go beyond romantic… If you’re just broing down with people…” — John [18:01]

• Industry Impact:

  • Massive seed round ($2B at $12B val.) underscores how the AI race is as much about talent mobility and company politics as technology.

4. AI, Job Loss, and the Productivity Paradox

[19:20–26:00]

• AI at Davos:

  • Davos conversations focus on how AI might replace entry-level roles and the resulting productivity gain hopes across governments and the private sector.
    • “Once the labs are close to AGI, they're just stoked on each other. I'm on pretty good terms with pretty much all of the other leaders at the leading labs.” — John, quoting Demis Hassabis [20:28]
  • Host humor: “It's a pleasure to be on the gloom and doom panel.” — Larry [22:07]

• Will Jobs Disappear or Transform?

  • Debates: Will entry-level jobs disappear, or just transform into more “fake” or auxiliary roles?
    • “Are there just going to be no junior jobs in like five years or are they just going to be like…” — Scott [21:50]
  • Optimists point to AI tools boosting productivity for senior engineers, while entry-level spots shrink.

• Enormous AI CapEx:

  • Estimated $600B in U.S. data center spending for AI.
    • “Roughly $600 billion this year in capex for data centers…” — Tyler [24:01]
  • Skepticism about real productivity gains versus hype for fundraising.

5. Miscellaneous: Jensen's Billion-Dollar Car & OpenAI’s "Sweet Pea" Earbuds

[26:00–28:25]

• Jensen Huang’s 'Most Expensive Car':

  • Anecdote about cashing out Nvidia stock at a $300M valuation to buy an S-Class Mercedes for his parents; if held, the stock would now be worth billions.
    • “My only regret… I bought them a Mercedes S Class… It is the most expensive car in the world, maybe a billion-dollar car.” — John [26:19]
  • Bitcoin “regret-buy” joke follows.

• OpenAI "Sweet Pea" Earbuds Leak:

  • Anticipation for OpenAI's always-on AI assistant earbuds, shipping in September 2026, with projected unit sales (40–50M by 2027) compared to AirPods, Xbox, and more.

6. TBPN’s Big News: Partnership with Creative Artists Agency (CAA)

[28:26–29:34]

• TBPN x CAA:
  • Announcement of partnership with CAA in true “Hollywood mode.”
    • "We are officially signed with CIA. We went Hollywood Mode. That's very exciting." — John [28:26]
    • "The Creative Artists Agency, sort of the anthropic of agencies." — John [28:53]
  • Parallels drawn between AI lab founder wars and CAA’s own “rebellious” founding story.

Notable Quotes & Timestamps

• “[Kling AI] has some really strong characteristics in motion control and in physics simulations.” — John Coogan [05:18]
• “They're firing unks over there. That's what's happening. They're firing.” — John Coogan [08:19]
• “Kuaishou is pushing out junior workers in their mid-30s... code names to age discrimination. That's insane.” — Tyler [09:12]
• “Do you think this was a three hour talent acquisition process...? It seemed like they were talking before.” — John & Tyler [14:20–14:48]
• “You gotta take a little responsibility.” — Tyler [17:09]
• “Relationship disclosures need to go beyond romantic… If you’re just broing down with people...” — John [18:01]
• “Are there just going to be no junior jobs in like five years or are they just going to be like…” — Scott [21:50]
• “My only regret … I bought them a Mercedes S Class … a billion-dollar car.” — John [26:19]

Key Timestamps for Important Segments

• Kling AI and Kuaishou Overview: [00:02–07:00]
• China's Aging Tech Workforce Problem: [07:00–12:00]
• ThinkingMachine Drama: [12:00–19:20]
• AI, Productivity, and Job Loss: [19:20–26:00]
• Jensen Huang Story / Sweet Pea Earbuds: [26:00–28:25]
• TBPN x CAA Announcement and Parallels: [28:26–29:34]

Tone & Style

TBPN maintains its characteristic blend of enthusiasm, skepticism, and sarcastic tech commentary. The hosts mix concrete reporting, clever analogies (“the anthropic of agencies”), and humor, making dense tech news lively and digestible.

A must-listen episode for those tracking the evolving intersection of Chinese tech innovation, global AI talent wars, and the shifting landscape of creative, white-collar work in the AI era.