TBPN Podcast Summary

Episode: Oracle Slides, Disney x OpenAI, SpaceX IPO
Date: December 11, 2025
Hosts: John Coogan & Jordi Hays
Notable Guests: Dylan Byers (Puck News), Fidji Simo (CEO, OpenAI Apps), Angela Jiang (Worktrace), Jonathan Slotkin (Scrub Capital), Aaron Cannon (Outset), Karan Kunjur (K2 Space)

Episode Overview

This episode dives deep into three major, breaking stories in tech and business:

• SpaceX’s potential $1.5 trillion IPO and the broader future of space, data centers in orbit, and the economic and regulatory implications.
• Disney’s $1B partnership and licensing deal with OpenAI for AI-generated, IP-based content, plus the underlying shifts in media, entertainment, and AI verticalization.
• The state and skepticism of AI infrastructure investment, examined through Oracle’s mounting spending versus returns and a granular look at enterprise AI adoption.

Along the way, the hosts and their expert guests elucidate shifting narratives in tech (AI vs. space vs. media), highlight “moat” moments for big companies, and showcase startup innovation across the space, AI, and workflow sectors.

Key Discussion Points & Segments

1. SpaceX IPO & Orbital Economy

[00:00 – 21:08]

• $1.5 Trillion IPO: SpaceX plans to go public at a historic valuation, targeting $30B in new funding.
  • Ben: "If he actually goes out at 1.5 trillion? That's an incredibly small amount of dilution." (00:25)
• Elon Math: Analysis of Musk’s penchant for big, optimistic predictions—often missing timelines, but setting vision.
  • Ben: "He loves to rip predictions...sometimes way off…but at least he's telling a story that's optimistic about the future." (04:47)
• Starlink’s Real Market: The pivot from launches-for-launch’s-sake to Starlink’s telecom/data value was the real unlock.
• Data Centers in Space: The next narrative; orbital compute as the future, possibly requiring tens of thousands of satellites to match a gigawatt data center.
  • Ben: "For a gigawatt of compute in space, you probably have a billion dollars of hard costs just for the chips." (20:03)
• IPO Rationale: Increased capital for next-gen space infrastructure, orbital data centers, and to “play” in the AI/data future.
  • Read-through of Eric Berger’s article and Musk’s reply. (13:19)
• Venture Perspective: Founders Fund's early $20M investment in SpaceX, now at ~10% ownership—a candidate for best VC bet ever. (22:25)

2. Vertically Integrated Space & K2 Space’s Big Bet

[166:24 – 180:51]

• K2 Space ($250M raised): Building the largest space platforms ever for high-power satellites, serving both telecom and government; early focus was giant telescopes.
  • Karan: "We're building the largest space platforms that have ever existed." (167:00)
• Growth Trajectory: From $5M (2023) → $50M (2024) → $500M in total contract value for 2025.
• Power Race in Orbit: "If I can deploy more power at lower cost, suddenly I have better unit economics."
• AI Data Centers in Space: Despite early skepticism, this trend is increasingly legitimate in the eyes of founders and investors.

3. Disney x OpenAI: The AI-Driven Future of Entertainment

[43:01 – 87:03]

• The Deal: Disney invests $1B in OpenAI, licenses 200+ Disney, Marvel, Star Wars, and Pixar characters for AI video/image generation via Sora.
  • Ben: "It's going to let users generate videos using Sora…that could be a delightful, delightful experience for a young child." (44:46)
• Implications:
  • Disney gets Sora/ChatGPT exclusivity for 1 year, later could open to other platforms.
  • First major, publicly visible platform deal—Disney picks OpenAI over Google (sent Google a cease & desist for Gemini’s copyright infringement).
  • Personalization at scale: "If your kid can have Ariel send a personalized message about doing the dishes, that's the future." (47:01)
  • Serious economic moat: Disney’s IP could dramatically boost OpenAI’s consumer moat for the next year.
  • Ben: "If you're a Disney family, and only one app can 'make you the Avengers', you're going to pay for it." (81:50)
• Media Saturnalia:
  • With the guest, Dylan Byers, hosts explore nostalgia and the coming transformation—children won’t just watch content, but create and interact with it.
  • Core risk: preserving curation and artistic intent versus "slop" or brain rot of AI mashups.

Memorable Quotes:

• Dylan Byers: “We are all going in this process...The future of this business does not rest on future generations going back and watching Humphrey Bogart.”
• Ben: “I think Wall-E is art...[don’t] blast crazy mashups at my kids after it ends.” (50:53)

4. Enterprise AI & Oracle: Skepticism and Adoption Plateau

[29:47 – 41:09]; [115:04 – 118:10]

• Oracle’s AI Infrastructure Story:
  • Oracle stock drops as AI investments/revenues lag; skeptical market response despite $523B in committed (but not recognized) revenue.
  • "This is a race to the bottom in infra pricing.” Satya Nadella seen as shrewd for not doubling down on infra.
• Enterprise AI Adoption Plateaus:
  • Ramp.com’s AI Index shows business AI-adoption flat at 45%, particularly in finance/tech.
  • OpenAI adoption even fell slightly in November, while Anthropic and Gemini saw marginal gains.
  • Ben: “Models aren’t more useful yet; just getting better on benchmarks doesn’t drive adoption.”
• Real Moat = Content & Verticalization:
  • Disney as a key vertical, Wall Street Journal providing unique exclusive content, etc.

5. OpenAI’s Next Chapter: With Fidji Simo (CEO, Applications)

[88:08 – 111:53]

• Leadership Move: Fidji Simo was on OpenAI’s board before joining as CEO of Applications.
• GPT-5.2 Launch:
  • Focus: Serving as a personal “super assistant” for everyone.
  • Simo: “If the wealthy have staff for every part of their life, why not give that to every person via AI?” (89:52)
• Success Metrics: Not just benchmarks—focus on real-world workflows unlocked, especially in enterprise adoption.
  • 75% of users say they can accomplish tasks they couldn’t do before.
  • Special focus: Slide/spreadsheet generation is finally "there" (“with 5.2, it gets the numbers right and structures them.”)
• Consumer-to-Enterprise Flywheel:
  • “Winning in enterprise is because we’ve won in consumer. Familiarity and delight matter at work.”
• Disney/Media Partnership:
  • “If you give people inspiring IP and easy tools, you unleash a golden age of creativity." (97:47)
• Advertising Philosophy:
  • No decisions yet, but trust in the model’s judgment will be paramount; “Best product, not best-paying company, should win.”
• Org Culture:
  • Deep emphasis on user trust, and separating product/app teams from ad or partner influence.
  • “Culture already so focused on protecting the user…the right antibodies are there day one.” (100:56)
• Outlook:
  • “Next frontier” is connecting AI with other parts of users’ lives—health records, travel, finance, etc.—not just living in text.

6. Market and Startup Roundtable: Research, Enterprise Workflow, and AI in Action

Worktrace AI (Angela Jiang, OpenAI alum):

• Platform detects repetitive workflow patterns and auto-suggests/creates agentic automations for enterprise tasks; closed $9M seed round with OpenAI Fund backing.

Outset (Aaron Cannon):

• “AI-moderated research” platform; raised $30M to vastly scale consumer and enterprise insights data gathering and analysis.
  • “There isn’t a ceiling for insight. Now, one researcher can do a study every week with 200 users, not every month with 15.” (160:09)

7. Future of Self-Driving: A Matter of Public Health

Jonathan Slotkin, Scrub Capital [140:49 – 155:35]

• Self-driving (Waymo, Tesla) has moved from “tech” to “public health urgency.”
• "If we play our cards right, we could eliminate traffic deaths as a leading cause in the US." (141:17)
• 40,000 lives lost a year—more than homicide and plane crashes combined.
• Main regulatory obstacle: capture by city councils, politicians, and the plaintiff bar.
• Framing: Like seatbelts and airbags, insurance and regulation will pressure adoption; must do so thoughtfully to address labor disruption.
• "Fifteen years of deliberate work at Waymo, with the rigor of a medical device." (154:08)

8. Media M&A & Nostalgia

With Dylan Byers [55:50 – 87:12]

• Hollywood’s consolidation wars (Paramount, Netflix, WBD, Ellison family), and how deals are shaped by personalities as much as economics.
• Legacy Hollywood is driven by nostalgia and creative “creds,” but ultimate market reality is changing as Netflix/Youtube reshape expectations (“commitment to the theatrical window” is often performative).
• “Industry has changed. The train has left the station.”

9. Recurring Themes, Metrics & Benchmarks

• AI Model Testing: GPT-5.2 gets live “shrimp fried rice” and Porsche GT3 RS copywriting benchmarks; LLMs still write in “AI slop” with telltale parallelisms.
• Fun/Meta Segments: Birth in a Waymo, presidential AI challenges, goalpost-moving as a live-show meme.
• Market News: Broadcom beats earnings; Oracle’s struggle, Salesforce’s AI business (“Agent Force” reaching $540M ARR, 4.3X YoY).

Notable Quotes & Timestamps

• Ben: "He loves to rip predictions… sometimes way off… but at least he's telling a story that's optimistic about the future." (04:47)
• "The internet is the business model for everything…if you invest in a space company, eventually you’re going to be an internet business." – Ben (23:03)
• Dylan Byers: "No one is sitting on a better IP portfolio than Disney, particularly when you’re talking about kids, obviously. And there’s no easier way to do this than with animation." (83:59)
• Fidji Simo: “If you give people inspiring IP and easy tools, you unleash a golden age of creativity.” (97:47)
• John Slotkin: "If we play our cards right...we could eliminate traffic deaths as a leading cause of death in the US." (141:17)
• Karan (K2 Space): "[We have gone] from $5M in TCV (2023) to $50M (2024), to $500M in 2025. I don't know many 3.5-year-old companies at half a billion." (170:28)
• Aaron Cannon (Outset): “There isn’t a ceiling for insight. Now, one researcher can do a study every week with 200 users, not every month with 15.” (160:09)
• Ben: “Personalization at scale: If your kid can have Ariel send a personalized message about doing the dishes, that's the future.” (47:01)
• Ben: "I think Wall-E is art...[don’t] blast crazy mashups at my kids after it ends." (50:53)
• Dylan Byers: "We're obsessed with ourselves." (57:24)

Episode Flow & Timestamps

• 00:00 – 21:08: SpaceX IPO and the orbital economy
• 21:08 – 54:48: Space verticalization, data centers in space, AI infra skepticism
• 54:48 – 87:03: Disney x OpenAI deep dive
• 87:03 – 111:53: OpenAI’s new applications, GPT-5.2, enterprise vs. consumer, Disney partnership (with Fidji Simo)
• 111:53 – 166:24: Startup roundtable: Worktrace, Outset; live AI benchmarks; SpaceX vertical narrative
• 166:24 – 180:51: K2 Space interview (Karan Kunjur)
• 140:49 – 155:35: Self-driving’s public health case
• 55:50 – 87:12: Dylan Byers on media, AI content, nostalgia, M&A
• Throughout: Ticker/news cut-ins, meme benchmarks, notable industry news

Final Notes

This episode is a must-listen for those tracking the convergence of AI, space, and media. It showcases inflection points—SpaceX’s public pivot, the first "IP moat" moment in AI content, and startups building beneath the tech giants.
The tone blends wit and irreverence (running gags, “goalpost moving,” shrimpy AI benchmarks) with razor-sharp market and technical insight—making it both accessible and deeply informative for insiders and the broader tech-interested audience.