Tech Brew Ride Home — Episode Summary

Episode: Not Great, Bob!
Date: December 3, 2025
Host: Brian McCullough
Podcast: Tech Brew Ride Home

Overview

Today’s episode delivers a brisk roundup of the top tech news, focusing on the intensifying AI IPO race, Amazon’s aggressive challenge to Nvidia, the real-world safety impact of self-driving cars, a reality check on AI’s business ROI, and a lighthearted account of a 4K mishap with Mad Men on HBO Max. The tone remains wry and insightful, full of industry context and memorable moments.

Key Discussion Points

1. Anthropic Preps for Monumental AI IPO

[01:57]

• Anthropic, the AI company behind Claude, is reportedly preparing for what could be the first blockbuster IPO of the AI era—possibly as soon as 2026.
  • Retained the law firm Wilson Sonsini, which previously handled Google, LinkedIn, and Lyft IPOs.
  • Currently valued between $300B–$350B after a recent round involving Microsoft and Nvidia.
  • Tension exists: Investors are eager, but some internal sources say 2026 is ambitious (“another person close to the company cautioned that an IPO so soon was unlikely”).
  • OpenAI is also reportedly preparing for IPO but lacks a concrete timeline.
  • Notable Quote [02:41]:
    “These moves represent a significant step in Anthropic's preparations for an IPO that would test the appetite of public markets to back the massive loss making research labs at the heart of the AI boom.”

Speaker’s Take:

[04:10]
Brian:
“Man, the hits just keep coming for OpenAI this week, don't they? And hey, for Nvidia, too.”

2. Amazon’s Multi-Pronged Attack on Nvidia’s AI Dominance

[04:10]

• Amazon introduces Trainium 3 chip, boasting:
  • 4x speed over Trainium 2
  • Up to 50% cost savings in AI training/operation versus top GPUs.
  • Trainium 3 Ultra Server: Each server can host 144 chips, enabling cloud systems with up to 1 million Trainium 3 chips ([05:40]).
  • 40% more energy efficient than previous generation.
• Roadmap: Trainium 4 to support Nvidia's NVLink—will integrate with Nvidia GPUs, aiming for cloud interoperability and cost savings.
• Amazon’s LLM Push:
  • Released improved models: Nova Lite, Nova Pro, Novasonic, Nova Omni (multimodal).
  • NovaForge tool allows customers to add custom data during base model training (“custom pre-training”), not just fine-tune (“Everyone is looking for a frontier model that's an expert in their domain,” says Rohit Prasad [06:46]).
  • Example: Reddit used NovaForge to create a moderation-specific model.
• Frontier Agents:
  • Kiro Autonomous Agent, AWS Security Agent, AWS DevOps Agent targeting different software needs.

3. Data Confirms: Self-Driving Cars Are Significantly Safer

[08:53]

• Waymo self-driving cars analyzed over 100 million miles in four US cities.
  • 91% fewer serious injuries or worse vs. human drivers.
  • 80% fewer injury-causing crashes.
  • 96% lower rate of intersection injuries ([09:17]).
  • Noted as a public health breakthrough.
  • Notable Quotes:
    • Dr. Jonathan Slotkin:
      “If Waymo's results are indicative of the broader future of autonomous vehicles, we may be on the path to eliminating traffic deaths as a leading cause of mortality in the United States.” [09:56]
    • “There's a public health imperative to quickly expand the adoption of autonomous vehicles.”
  • Huge economic and human cost savings described—over $1 trillion impact annually.

4. Uptake Challenge: Are Enterprises Really Paying for AI?

[13:20]

• Microsoft quietly lowers sales quotas for certain AI products after missing growth targets.
  • “It's rare for Microsoft to lower such quotas for specific products, the people said. The change shows how Microsoft is adjusting to resistance from companies to pay more for AI.” [14:06]
  • Clients find measuring ROI tough, and integration challenges inhibit adoption.
  • Private equity fund Carlyle reduced Copilot Studio spend after integration issues.
• OpenAI cuts AI agent revenue expectations by $26B over 5 years, pivots toward subscription revenue and advertising (the latter delayed by CEO Sam Altman).
• Other enterprise providers (Salesforce, ServiceNow, AWS, Anthropic) are offering discounts, hands-on assistance to boost adoption.
• Notable moment:
  • Brian relays a cautiously optimistic quote:
    Brian Spanswick, Cohesity CIO:
    “Talk to me in three months and I’ll show you the ROI.” [16:57]

5. 4K Mad Men Mishap on HBO Max — “Not Great, Bob!”

[17:59]

• First-ever 4K release of Mad Men on HBO Max plagued by:
  • Episodes out of order and mislabeled.
  • Major editing blunder:
    • In S1E7 (“Red in the Face”), a crew member and barf hose are clearly visible during a vomiting scene ([18:27]).
  • Cause: Lionsgate delivered the wrong 4K file to HBO Max.
  • Files swapped after discovery; HBO Max referred media to Lionsgate for comment.
• Notable Quote/Callback:
  • Brian:
    “But, well, not great. Bob.” ([17:59])—a meta nod to the Mad Men meme.

Notable Quotes & Time Stamps

• “These moves represent a significant step in Anthropic's preparations for an IPO that would test the appetite of public markets to back the massive loss making research labs at the heart of the AI boom.” [02:41]
• “Man, the hits just keep coming for OpenAI this week, don't they? And hey, for Nvidia, too.” [04:10]
• Reddit CTO Chris Slow: “Fine tuning a conventional model would not work ... custom pre-training combined with conventional fine tuning produced a frontier model that is expert at understanding and using Reddit.” [07:36]
• Dr. Jonathan Slotkin: “If Waymo's results are indicative of the broader future of autonomous vehicles, we may be on the path to eliminating traffic deaths as a leading cause of mortality in the United States.” [09:56]
• “It's rare for Microsoft to lower such quotas for specific products, ... The change shows how Microsoft is adjusting to resistance from companies to pay more for AI.” [14:06]
• Brian Spanswick: “Talk to me in three months and I’ll show you the ROI.” [16:57]
• “But, well, not great. Bob.” [17:59]

Tone & Style

• Wry, concise, newsy. Brian maintains a light, conversational pace while grounding stories in market realities.
• Tech-savvy, skeptical, slightly humorous. Especially in the Mad Men segment, meme references and editorial asides offer levity amidst business analysis.

For Listeners Who Missed It

• Major AI players are jockeying for landmark IPOs, but timelines and investor appetite remain fluid.
• Amazon is seriously investing in both hardware and software to make AI more accessible and affordable—taking aim at Nvidia’s stronghold.
• Real-world data shows autonomous vehicles, at least from Waymo, already handily outperform human drivers in safety.
• Despite the hype, enterprise adoption of state-of-the-art AI for real business use cases remains slow, with big names tempering initial expectations.
• Even entertainment tech is fallible: the much-hyped 4K re-release of Mad Men made a memorable technical blunder.

End of Summary