The Rundown – “DeepSeek Smuggling Nvidia Chips, ChatGPT Partners with Adobe”
Podcast Host: Zaid Admani
Date: December 10, 2025
Produced by: Public.com
Episode Overview
In this episode, Zaid Admani delivers a concise yet informative update on the day’s biggest market stories. Main topics include:
- Expectations and implications of the Federal Reserve’s upcoming decision and press conference
- A wild smuggling operation by Chinese AI startup DeepSeek to acquire and use Nvidia’s Blackwell chips, despite US and Chinese bans
- OpenAI’s new strategic partnership with Adobe, bringing Photoshop and more into ChatGPT
- Notable moves in silver and Gamestop stocks
- A striking new statistic about the growing influence of retail investors on US stock volumes
The tone is lively, conversational, and practical—perfect for investors looking to keep up with fast-moving financial and tech news in under 10 minutes.
Key Discussion Points & Insights
1. Market Snapshot and Federal Reserve Anticipation
00:34 - 02:40
- Major indices were calm yesterday:
- S&P 500: Down 0.1%
- Nasdaq: Up 0.1%
- Russell 2000: Outperformed, up 0.2% and close to all-time highs
- The market is holding its breath ahead of the Fed’s 2pm interest rate decision and Jerome Powell’s 2:30pm press conference.
- The expectation: a 25 basis point rate cut (the third straight).
- Bigger question: “What the Fed might do in 2026?”
- Jerome Powell’s term as Fed Chair ends in May; successor Kevin Hazzett signaled rates could move lower, adding intrigue.
- Notable Quote (01:52):
“You know, we only have like four of these meetings left with Jerome Powell as Fed chair, including this one. So we got to cherish these moments.” — Zaid Admani
- Oracle Earnings Watch:
- Oracle reports after the bell; stock is down 30% from September due to investor concerns over debt to fund AI infrastructure.
- Potential ripple effects on AI stocks if Oracle disappoints.
2. DeepSeek’s Nvidia Chip Smuggling Story
02:41 - 05:20
- DeepSeek, a Chinese AI startup, has allegedly been training their next-gen model on Nvidia Blackwell chips—smuggled into China, skirting US export bans.
- How the smuggling worked:
- Chips are legally ordered by companies in countries like Singapore.
- Set up and inspected in local data centers, appearing compliant.
- After inspections, servers are dismantled; chips shipped to China piece by piece.
- Chips are reassembled in Chinese data centers for DeepSeek.
- Quote (03:35):
“DeepSeek found an elaborate workaround that sounds like the plotline to the next Ocean’s Eleven movie.” — Zaid Admani
- Risk isn’t just US sanctions—China also bans Nvidia chips, to promote local firms like Huawei.
“DeepSeek is taking a pretty big risk here by breaking Chinese law as well. I guess they don’t think that the Huawei chips are good enough to get the job done when it comes to training their next model.” (04:26)
- Background:
- DeepSeek became famous for an open-source AI model rivaling OpenAI at much lower training cost, once causing a 15% drop in Nvidia stock.
- Now aiming to release a new model in early 2026, necessitating access to latest hardware.
- New context:
- US just approved Nvidia H200 sales to China, but chips are still a generation behind Blackwell. Chinese government still needs to allow imports.
- Ongoing question: Will China crack down harder to prop up local chipmakers, or tacitly allow foreign hardware to preserve AI competitiveness?
3. OpenAI x Adobe: A Deepened ChatGPT Integration
05:20 - 06:38
- OpenAI partners with Adobe to bring Photoshop, PDF editing, and more into ChatGPT—directly within chat windows.
- Ambition: Turn ChatGPT into an “operating system” with multiple integrations: shopping, image editing, travel, even searching for homes (via Zillow).
- Stats:
- ChatGPT boasts 850 million weekly active users.
- For companies like Adobe, partnerships are a chance to reach a massive new audience and distribution channel.
- Notable Quote (05:59):
“OpenAI wants to turn ChatGPT almost into an operating system... you can shop, create, edit images, and book travel, even look for homes.” — Zaid Admani
- Monetization push: Denise Dresser, ex-Slack CEO, joins as Chief Revenue Officer to grow enterprise and workplace ChatGPT adoption.
- Reaction shift: Unlike three months ago, Adobe’s stock fell on news of the OpenAI partnership.
“You go back like three months ago, if OpenAI showed a logo of your company on their slide deck, your stock was going up 5 to 10%. But that doesn’t seem to be the case anymore.” (06:37)
4. Notable Stock & Commodity Movers
06:39 - 07:54
- Silver: Record high prices ($60/oz), up 90% this year. Driven by:
- Scarcity (produced mainly as a byproduct, hard to increase supply)
- Booming demand (electronics, solar panels)
- US adding silver to its “critical minerals” list in 2025—now seen as a national necessity, not just a precious metal.
- Gamestop: Stock down 4% after revenue dropped 4.5% (to $821M) this quarter—reversing last quarter’s 22% growth, which was boosted by Switch 2 hardware sales.
- Additional drag: Company’s Bitcoin holdings down 20% from their peak.
5. Rise of the Retail Investor: A Market Shift
07:55 - 09:05
- Fun Stat: Retail investors now account for over 20% of all US stock market volume; even higher share in sub-$5 stocks. This is double since 2010.
- The “Covid meme stock” boom isn’t a blip—this is a permanent sea change, enabled by zero-commission brokerages and social media.
- Big Question:
“With this buy the dip culture that we have, are we ever going to see a major market crash anymore? Because every time the market has a dip, it seems to get bought up.” — Zaid Admani (08:39)
- Zaid’s advice: Great to see more people investing, but maybe avoid ultra-risky trades like triple-levered ETFs and zero-day options.
Notable Quotes
-
“We only have like four of these meetings left with Jerome Powell as Fed chair, including this one. So we got to cherish these moments.”
– Zaid Admani [01:52] -
“DeepSeek found an elaborate workaround that sounds like the plotline to the next Ocean’s Eleven movie.”
– Zaid Admani [03:35] -
“DeepSeek is taking a pretty big risk here by breaking Chinese law as well. I guess they don’t think that the Huawei chips are good enough to get the job done when it comes to training their next model.”
– Zaid Admani [04:26] -
“OpenAI wants to turn ChatGPT almost into an operating system... you can shop, create, edit images, and book travel, even look for homes.”
– Zaid Admani [05:59] -
“You go back like three months ago, if OpenAI showed a logo of your company on their slide deck, your stock was going up 5 to 10%. But that doesn’t seem to be the case anymore.”
– Zaid Admani [06:37] -
“With this buy the dip culture that we have, are we ever going to see a major market crash anymore? Because every time the market has a dip, it seems to get bought up.”
– Zaid Admani [08:39]
Timestamps for Major Segments
- 00:34 – Market update and Fed preview
- 02:41 – Oracle earnings preview
- 03:05 – DeepSeek smuggles Nvidia chips
- 05:20 – OpenAI x Adobe partnership
- 06:39 – Silver and Gamestop movers
- 07:55 – Retail investor surge and impact
- 09:05 – Host’s wrap and final reflections
Conclusion
This fast-paced episode delivers “the need-to-know” on key trends at the intersection of markets and technology, with Zaid Admani’s signature blend of insight and wry commentary. Whether it’s the global intrigues of AI chip smuggling, paradigm shifts in retail investing, or the business impacts of Big Tech’s latest moves, The Rundown remains a lively and reliable source for staying smart on daily market moves.