Tech Brew Ride Home: Tue 08/05 – Spygate At TSMC?
Released August 5, 2025 | Host: Brian McCullough
1. TSMC Fires Employees Over 2nm Technology Espionage
In a major development within the semiconductor industry, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) has terminated several employees accused of attempting to steal sensitive information related to its cutting-edge 2-nanometer (nm) chip technology. Brian McCullough opens the discussion at [00:04], highlighting the gravity of the situation:
"TSMC has fired several employees for violating rules on obtaining sensitive information about its 2 nanometer tech." — Brian McCullough [00:04]
According to reports from Nikkei Asia, these former employees were suspected of trying to access proprietary details regarding the development and production processes of TSMC's 2nm chips. TSMC confirmed that unauthorized activities were detected through routine monitoring, which revealed unusual access patterns by one of the employees. As a result, strict disciplinary actions were taken, and legal proceedings have been initiated.
The implications of this breach extend beyond corporate espionage, potentially touching on national security concerns, given Taiwan's pivotal role in the global semiconductor supply chain. TSMC is poised to utilize its 2nm technology for the upcoming A20 chips in the iPhone 18 series, reinforcing its position as a leader in advanced chip manufacturing.
Late-breaking news covered by McCullough at [02:30] reveals that Taiwanese prosecutors have arrested two former TSMC employees and a third suspect. Investigations also involved searches at Tokyo Electron, a Japanese chip tool manufacturer, indicating the international scope of the investigation.
2. Cloudflare Accuses Perplexity of Stealthy AI Scraping
Switching gears to cybersecurity and AI, Cloudflare has raised alarms about Perplexity, an AI startup, employing deceptive crawling techniques to scrape web content. As discussed at [02:30], Cloudflare alleges that Perplexity bypasses standard web scraping protocols by:
- Using undeclared user agents like "Perplexity Bot" or "Perplexity User"
- Rotating IP addresses to evade detection
- Changing Autonomous System Networks to circumvent blocks
"Perplexity uses stealth crawling techniques like undeclared user agents and rotating IP addresses to evade robots.txt files and network blocks." — Cloudflare [02:30]
This behavior undermines efforts to protect digital content, as Perplexity's bots reportedly accessed tens of thousands of domains and made millions of requests daily, despite restrictions set by website administrators. Cloudflare's findings emphasize the ongoing tension between AI development and the safeguarding of digital intellectual property.
3. Figma's IPO: Did They Leave Money on the Table?
Brian McCullough delves into the financial intricacies surrounding Figma's recent Initial Public Offering (IPO). At [04:52], he notes:
"Figma's stock did drop 27.38% to $88.60 yesterday, probably an inevitable bounce after last week's IPO pop." — Brian McCullough [04:52]
Despite the stock's significant initial surge—250% on its debut—Figma settled on an IPO price of $33 per share, which some analysts argue was conservative. Bloomberg sources suggest that Figma considered a higher pricing to maximize capital but opted for the $33 mark to attract long-term institutional investors. This decision resulted in Figma raising approximately $3.5 billion in value, surpassing Adobe's 2022 acquisition offer by nearly threefold.
Venture capitalist Bill Gurley criticized the IPO pricing strategy, highlighting inefficiencies in the current IPO process and advocating for direct listings to empower the market to determine share prices naturally. Gurley's perspective underscores the ongoing debates within Silicon Valley about the best ways to capitalize on a company's market potential during public offerings.
4. ElevenLabs Ventures into AI-Generated Music with 11 Music
Exploring innovations in AI and creative industries, ElevenLabs has launched "11 Music," a platform that enables users to generate entire music tracks using simple text prompts. As detailed at [09:53], this advancement allows both individuals and businesses to create commercial-grade music without the need for traditional composers or licensing fees.
"Users enter a prompt in plain English such as 'create a smooth jazz song with a 60s vibe and powerful lyrics, but relaxing for a Friday afternoon,' and the AI generates a tune within minutes." — ElevenLabs [09:53]
ElevenLabs has secured partnerships with Merlin Network and Cobalt Music Group to ensure that the AI-generated music adheres to copyright laws. These agreements allow the AI models to train on authorized artists' works, providing legal protection for broad commercial use. Additionally, the platform incorporates safeguards to prevent the creation of songs that mimic specific artists or contain inappropriate content.
Maddie Stanislaski, co-founder and CEO of ElevenLabs, emphasized the platform's potential to democratize music production, enabling creators to seamlessly integrate custom music into their projects.
5. Google DeepMind Unveils Genie 3 and Kaggle Game Arena
Google DeepMind continues to push the boundaries of artificial intelligence with the release of its Genie 3 model. As discussed at [09:53], Genie 3 can generate interactive 3D worlds based on text prompts, offering enhanced visual memory that allows for up to a minute of continuous interaction. This marks a significant improvement over its predecessor, Genie 2, which only supported brief interactions.
"Genie 3 can keep spaces in visual memory for about a minute, meaning that if you turn away from something in a world and then turn back to it, things like paint on a wall or writing on a chalkboard will be in the same place." — Google DeepMind [09:53]
In addition to Genie 3, DeepMind introduced the Kaggle Game Arena, a benchmarking platform where AI models compete in strategic games such as chess. The inaugural event features eight AI competitors battling in a single-elimination chess tournament, with matches live-streamed on Kaggle.com. Notable chess figures like Hikaru Nakamura and Magnus Carlsen provide commentary and analysis, adding a layer of human expertise to the AI competitions.
The tournament aims to evaluate the reasoning and strategic capabilities of various large language models, setting the stage for future advancements in AI-driven strategic thinking.
6. Patreon Surpasses $10 Billion Payout to Creators
In the realm of the creator economy, Patreon has announced remarkable growth figures. At [14:58], CEO Jack Conte shares that Patreon has now paid out over $10 billion to creators since its inception in 2013, with annual payouts exceeding $2 billion and over 25 million paid memberships.
"Creators now get more than $2 billion annually and there are now more than 25 million paid memberships." — Jack Conte, CEO of Patreon [14:58]
Patreon has expanded its platform to support a diverse range of creators by introducing new tools and products. These include advanced podcast management features, RSS mirroring, syncing, and the ability to upload ad-free live videos. The platform has also introduced free memberships alongside paid tiers to attract a broader audience, resulting in over one million free memberships and more than 700,000 conversions to paid tiers monthly.
Conte emphasized that Patreon's infrastructure is designed to accommodate the multi-faceted nature of modern creators, who often engage in various types of content creation across different media. Despite its impressive growth and substantial valuation of over $4 billion as of 2021, Patreon remains privately held with no immediate plans for an IPO.
Closing Remarks
Brian McCullough concludes the episode with a personal note, celebrating the successful relaunch of Tech Brew Ride Home and encouraging listeners to support the podcast by leaving positive reviews. His enthusiasm underscores the community-driven spirit of the Tech Brew network as it strives to become a top contender in the technology podcast category.
"One way you can do that, since you're already subscribed and listening to this, is to leave us a review." — Brian McCullough [16:56]
Stay Updated: For those who missed today's in-depth discussions on TSMC's espionage scandal, AI advancements, Figma's financial strategies, innovations in AI-generated music, and Patreon's exponential growth, this summary provides a comprehensive overview of the latest developments shaping the tech landscape.