OpenAI’s $50 Billion Fundraise, AI Advertising Game Theory, Apple’s AI Wearable Pin

23 Jan 2026 · 56 min · 26 chapters

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Big Technology Podcast Episode Summary

Episode Information

  • Podcast Title: Big Technology Podcast
  • Episode Title: OpenAI’s $50 Billion Fundraise, AI Advertising Game Theory, Apple’s AI Wearable Pin
  • Host: Alex Kantrowitz
  • Guest: Ranjan Roy from Margins
  • Air Date: [Specific Date Not Provided]

Episode Description In this episode, Ranjan Roy returns for a discussion on significant developments in the tech world, focusing on:

  1. Events at Davos
  2. OpenAI’s $50 billion fundraising round
  3. Concerns about OpenAI's sustainability and profitability
  4. Advertising strategies in AI
  5. Apple's innovative plans for an AI wearable pin

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Key Topics Discussed

  1. Event Highlights from Davos
  2. Overview: Alex shares insights from Davos, noting the strong presence of tech companies, including Amazon, Facebook, and Google.
  3. Observation: The atmosphere at Davos has shifted to a tech-focused environment, with significant participation from Gulf state investors.
  1. OpenAI’s $50 Billion Fundraise
  2. Funding Details:
  3. OpenAI is seeking to raise $50 billion at a valuation between $750 billion - $830 billion.
  4. CEO Sam Altman is engaging Middle East investors, indicating high stakes in fundraising.
  • Key Questions Raised:
  • Can OpenAI continue to attract funding at this scale?
  • Does raising such large sums set unattainable expectations for the company?
  • Will OpenAI ever turn a profit, given its substantial losses?
  1. OpenAI’s Path to Profitability
  2. Discussion Points:
  3. OpenAI claims that increasing computational resources directly correlates with revenue.
  4. Critics express skepticism about the sustainability of its business model, given the ongoing losses reported by AI companies, including OpenAI's competitors.
  • Competitor Analysis:
  • As OpenAI's lead in the market diminishes, the conversation shifts to competitive dynamics with other AI companies like Google’s Gemini.
  1. Introduction of Ads to ChatGPT
  2. Ad Strategy:
  3. OpenAI plans to introduce ads in ChatGPT, suggesting a new revenue stream.
  4. Ads will be clearly labeled and integrated into the user experience, such as travel suggestions with hotel ads appearing below responses.
  • Considerations:
  • The move towards ads raises questions about user trust and experience.
  • Comparisons are drawn with Google and the potential for both companies to innovate in AI advertising.
  1. Apple’s AI Wearable Pin Development
  2. Product Overview:
  3. Apple is reportedly working on a wearable AI pin that may include cameras and microphones, representing a significant shift in their product offerings.
  4. This pin aims to compete with existing AI technologies and could be released by 2027.
  • Implications for Apple:
  • Apple’s venture into AI wearables marks a notable change in strategy, echoing past product launches that sought to innovate beyond traditional devices.
  • The success of this product will depend on the utility and efficacy of its AI capabilities.

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Key Takeaways

  • OpenAI's Financial Future: The discussion highlights the precarious balance OpenAI must maintain between raising capital and demonstrating profitability.
  • Advertising in AI: OpenAI's foray into ads is positioned as a necessary evolution, although it presents risks to user experience.
  • Apple's Innovation Efforts: The development of an AI pin signifies Apple’s commitment to enter the AI hardware market, with potential competitive implications for existing players.

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Closing Remarks The episode concludes with anticipation for future developments in both OpenAI and Apple's strategies in AI and hardware, leaving listeners eager for updates on these pivotal topics in technology.

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Next Episode Teaser

  • The next episode features Joel Pino, the Chief AI Officer at Cohere, discussing cutting-edge AI research and its practical applications.

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Rating and Subscriptions

  • If you enjoyed this episode, please consider rating the podcast five stars in your podcast app. For further engagement, listeners are encouraged to subscribe to Big Technology on platforms like Substack and Discord for exclusive content.

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This summary encapsulates the key discussions from the episode, focusing on notable developments in the tech industry while highlighting critical concerns regarding profitability and innovation strategies.

Written by AI. May contain mistakes. Listen to the episode to check what was said.

Chapters

Tap a time to open that second in VO

Introduction to OpenAI's Fundraising

2:30 to 4:30

Discussion about OpenAI's reported $50 billion fundraising efforts.

“including the Cristiano Amon Qualcomm CEO episode, the Demis Asabas episode, which just went up and now we're talking.”

Insights from Davos

4:30 to 8:10

The hosts share their experiences and observations from Davos.

“And honestly, I was really focused on the podcast.”

OpenAI's Valuation and Fundraising Strategy

8:10 to 10:30

Discussion on OpenAI's valuation and its reliance on Middle Eastern investors.

“And if he makes this fundraising deal go through, there's going to be a need for even more security.”

Challenges of Keeping Up with Growth

10:30 to 14:00

Exploration of OpenAI's growth challenges and financial sustainability.

“They're going to eventually have to make enough money to justify this type of valuation.”

OpenAI's Future Fundraising Prospects

14:00 to 14:30

Explore OpenAI's potential future fundraising strategies and market valuation.

The Importance of Monetization for OpenAI

14:30 to 15:10

Discuss the necessity for OpenAI to generate revenue and its implications.

“You know, what happens if they're not able to like, and then eventually you got to start making money, right?”

Competitive Landscape in AI

15:10 to 16:20

Examine OpenAI's competitive position and market pressure from rivals.

“made that a much bigger part of the conversation.”

Challenges of User Retention in AI

16:20 to 17:20

Analyze user retention challenges and how switching costs affect AI chatbot usage.

“Obviously, they have this belief that if their, you know, their revenue is limited by compute, then they should get more compute.”

The Role of Advertising in AI

17:20 to 18:20

Consider the implications of integrating ads into AI products like ChatGPT.

“I mean, we all know Claude Code has gotten a lot more hype and excitement, reasonably so, than OpenAI.”

Potential Impact of Ads on User Trust

18:50 to 20:00

Investigate how advertising might affect user trust in AI services.

“They have their, let's say they're IPO-ing.”
Show all 26 chapters

Google's Position on Advertising

20:00 to 21:40

Discuss Google's stance on ads within its AI product offerings and potential impacts.

“Like from an actual user experience, just consumer grade chat AI is all pretty good.”

Demis Hassabis on AI Advertising

21:40 to 23:00

Examine Demis Hassabis's comments regarding advertising and AI competition.

“I mean, I have asked it to print its memory, but I also used, I think I used Claude as a diet coach.”

Debate on Google's Advertising Strategy

23:00 to 24:00

Explore the internal debate at Google regarding the implementation of ads in AI.

“Immediately after we signed off, OpenAI started to experiment with advertising in ChatGPT.”

Future of AI Advertising and User Experience

24:00 to 28:00

Speculate on the future of AI advertising and its influence on user experiences.

“and then underneath, in a clearly labeled sponsored section, they pop in an ad for a cottage rental in Santa Fe.”

Debating Google's Advertising Strategy

28:00 to 29:00

Explore the internal discussions at Google regarding AI advertising strategies.

“And it's solely a user story and usage story.”

The Future of Advertising in AI

29:00 to 30:20

Discuss the potential transformation of advertising formats in AI.

“But then that's a real advantage for Gemini, right, on the product side.”

Learning from Competitors in Advertising

30:20 to 31:30

Examine how large tech companies observe and adapt from one another in advertising.

“They led the way and that's what gave them dominance.”

OpenAI's Shift Towards Advertising

31:30 to 33:10

Analyze OpenAI's recent shift in approach towards integrating advertising.

“And there was like they could have been in a position where imagine Mark Zuckerberg acquires Instagram because but they're not making any money and there's a massive investor backlash.”

The Potential of Personalized Advertising

33:10 to 36:30

Discuss the implications of personalized advertising technology on various industries.

“Like OpenAI, Sam Altman in particular, has said that advertising is sort of the last resort for a company.”

Apple's Development of an AI Wearable Pin

38:50 to 40:50

Examine Apple's new initiative to create an AI-powered wearable pin.

“And we're back here on Big Technology Podcast Friday edition with Ranjan Roy of Margins.”

Apple's AI Product Portfolio

40:50 to 42:04

Discuss the various AI products Apple is currently developing.

“Here is the thing that really stood out to me.”

Apple's AI Device Strategy

42:04 to 43:50

Explore Apple's approach to AI-powered products and their implications.

“Like ecosystem capture is Apple has mastered.”

The Evolution of Smart Assistants

43:51 to 46:33

Discussion on the effectiveness of AI assistants like Alexa and Siri.

“I had made the switch to HomePods and Siri a couple of years ago, and now I bought the Echo Show after actually, I think, what was his name from Amazon listening to your episode?”

AI Glasses vs. AI Pins

46:34 to 49:04

Analyze the potential of AI glasses versus AI pins as digital companions.

“He talked about the various attempts to make smart glasses.”

The Future of Siri and AI Integration

49:05 to 51:00

Examine the anticipated enhancements to Siri and its integration with AI.

“So I thought that was really good listener feedback and just wanted to mention that this week.”

Experiences at Davos

51:01 to 55:28

Personal anecdotes about visiting Davos and its significance.

“it right, they're actually going to turn Siri into a chatbot, right?”
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Transcript

Automatic transcript. May contain errors.

0:00Big Technology Podcast:OpenAI is raising$50 billion. What happens if the funding runs out? Ads, meanwhile, are coming to Generative AI, and Apple is developing an AI pin? That's coming up on a Big Technology Podcast Friday edition right after this. This episode is brought to you by Focus Features. On March 27th, Focus Features invites you to be a part of the most explosive movie of this year's Sundance and South by Southwest film festivals.

0:28Ranjan Roy:The AI Doc, or How I Became an Apocaloptimist, is being called supremely entertaining and the most urgent movie of our time. The AI Doc, or How I Became an Apocaloptimist, rated PG-13, only in theaters March 27th.

0:45Big Technology Podcast:You said you were over him, but his hoodie is still in your rotation. It's time. Grab your phone, snap a few pics, and sell it on Depop, listed in minutes, with no selling fees. And just like that, a guy 500 miles away just paid full price for your closure. And right on cue.

1:02Ranjan Roy:Hey, still got my hoodie?

1:03Big Technology Podcast:Nope. But I've got tonight's dinner paid for. Start selling on Depop, where taste recognizes taste. List now with no selling fees. Payment processing fees and boosting fees still apply. See website for details. Welcome to Big Technology Podcast Friday edition, where we break down the news in our traditional cool-headed and nuanced format. We have a big show for you today. We're going to talk all about the massive fundraising that OpenAI is reportedly engaged in. They want to raise$50 billion. Also, right after we went off the air last week, OpenAI said, guess what? It's advertising time. So we'll discuss the implication of ads in Generative AI chatbots.

1:41Big Technology Podcast:We also have an idea of what those ads are going to look like. And then finally, we'll spend a bunch of time at the end talking about Apple developing a new AI wearable. According to reports, an AI pin. Are they going to bring the UMaine team in? I don't know. We'll find out. Joining us as always on Fridays to do it is Ranjan Roy of Margins. Ranjan, great to see you. Welcome back to the show.

2:01Ranjan Roy:It's good to see you. I'm very excited to talk about Siri and all these other things. But first, I have to ask, where are you in the world right now, Alex?

2:11Big Technology Podcast:So I am in my hotel room in, or really a kind of an apartment in Davos. I've just wrapped a massive week. This is the seventh podcast I've done in four days. Six of which are actually going to end up on the big technology feed. Three of which, or yeah, three of which, including this one are already there, including the Cristiano Amon Qualcomm CEO episode, the Demis Asabas episode, which just went up and now we're talking. It's been a busy week. It's been a weird, weird Davos. I would say for our purposes, really the most interesting thing is that Davos is basically a tech conference right now.

2:47Big Technology Podcast:And you walk down the promenade and you basically see houses set up by every single tech company. Amazon is here. Facebook is here. Google is here. That's where I did the Demis conversation. LinkedIn is here. Anthropic is here. Not too much of a presence from OpenAI, but they're certainly here as well. and then there's a big presence from the Gulf states here as well. So Qatar has a big house. The Emirates has a big house.

3:15Ranjan Roy:Have you been to the Qatar house? I don't know what's going on in the Qatar house, but that's where I want to go.

3:20Big Technology Podcast:I think they are very interested in investing in tech. Maybe Sam Altman is not even in the Qatar house, but he's going to make a stop there because he's definitely on a fundraising kick right now. But a fun fact, I did go to Qatar over the summer last year. I spent a day there basically as a stopover on Qatar Airlines between Nepal and Germany and got a chance to take a tour. Yeah, I would say so. Listen, Qatar is a small enough country.

3:47Ranjan Roy:Was it over 24 hours?

3:50Big Technology Podcast:In that range. Yes. And Qatar is a small enough country. You can see a lot of it in a day. And in fact, we saw a good chunk. We took a tour of the north, which is a lot of empty desert and some ruins, and actually a defunct fishing industry that they had to shut down, by and large. There's still a couple of fishing boats because they found natural gas in the ocean, and that was that, and that's one of the main sources of wealth. So yeah, their house here actually was of the colors of their flag, which was very interesting. Well, I'll tell you one Davos observation. So we got some questions in the discord.

4:30Big Technology Podcast:Who did you see? And, you know, rub shoulders with. And honestly, I was really focused on the podcast. I didn't go to any parties. I got a chance to meet with a lot of great people here. And that's kind of how I like to do things. But the most interesting thing to me here is it's one sidewalk. So as you walk up and down, you're just bumping into people as you go. And sometimes that means meeting people that you know from, you know, the work world or friends from different lives. And sometimes that means literally bumping into people because some countries have people walking on the right side of the sidewalk as their custom.

5:06Big Technology Podcast:And some people have, you know, some countries have people walking on the left side of the sidewalk as their custom. So you have way too many people here on a very narrow sidewalk and there's no agreed upon direction to walk back and forth on. So you're literally like slamming into people all day long. And half of the people, as you imagine in a place like this, are on their phones. So that to me has been the big takeaway. We need a universal left and right way of passage.

5:33Ranjan Roy:This is why globalization was never meant to be, because people couldn't all agree which side of the sidewalk to walk on. So actually on that, what is the globalization vibe right now? Is it, has everyone just moved on to AI right now? Or is like the World Economic Forum in Davos still selling the dream of a integrated, hyper-connected world?

5:57Big Technology Podcast:Well, remember, that dream was largely sold and orchestrated by a man named Klaus Schwab, who has plenty of detractors and people who don't like this move towards globalization. But anyway, and he doesn't seem like he was a very nice person at all. and he actually ended up resigning because of a nasty scandal. So this is now effectively like the Larry Fink Davos. So that, and Elon Musk is here today. I think his Alinsky's made his way here. So he, I think there's the, there's talk that Davos might be held in a different city like Dublin or Detroit or Jakarta in the future, which, you know, that would be welcome because there's way too many people in such a small ski town.

6:44Big Technology Podcast:It's overwhelmed without a doubt. But like I said at the beginning, the vibe is weird. And one last thing, I think the sidewalk problem is an argument for globalization, maybe the best argument for globalization. Because if the world can come together as one, at least we might be able to agree on which side of the sidewalk or

7:04Ranjan Roy:street to drive on walk walk on or drive on i believe it's not over yet folks globalization and world harmony are still in earshot as long as we all learn to walk on the same side of the

7:17Big Technology Podcast:sidewalk okay one last one last note then we can go and talk about opening eyes uh fundraising a lot of snipers and a lot of machine guns being moved about military vehicles moved about this one block yes wait lots of snipers a lot of machine guns snipers on the rooftops just hanging out yes yes see many that yeah when i'm hanging out at the guitar house i want to make sure i

7:42Ranjan Roy:have my own personal sniper just up on the roof just keeping an eye on me that's all you might

7:49Big Technology Podcast:need one because your your criticism of siri is really not making you many friends yeah we'll get to that at the end tim cook is out for you he's up for blood he's a powerful man ron john don't cross the guy.

8:01Ranjan Roy:Do you think Sam Altman has a sniper as he tours the Middle East as part of this fundraise? And that'll be my segue.

8:09Big Technology Podcast:I think there's certainly some security involved, for sure. And if he makes this fundraising deal go through, there's going to be a need for even more security. So now that we've done our Davos prelude, let's talk about what's actually happening in the world. All right. Bloomberg says OpenAI's Altman meets Middle East investors, Mideast investors for a$50 billion round. OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman has been meeting with top investors in the Middle East to line up funding for a new investment round that could total at least$50 billion. Altman recently visited the region where he spoke with investors, including some of the leading state-backed funds in Abu Dhabi.

8:46Big Technology Podcast:The chat GPT maker is looking to raise$50 billion or more in the round at a valuation of about$750 billion or$830 billion. I mean, there's two reactions to this that I have right away. First of all, I wonder if the company can keep raising money like they're at the final boss, which is the Gulf States. You don't really have many places to go until after you tap the sovereign wealth fund. So it looks like he's doing that. So that's one question. Are they going to be able to keep fundraising? And the other question is, do the size of these rounds put expectations on this company that will never be able to be met?

9:24Big Technology Podcast:What do you think, Ranjan?

9:28Ranjan Roy:I don't think the size is going to be any more of an issue than it already has. Again, like$50 billion at an$800 billion-ish valuation. I mean, for the amount of money they have been raising, this almost feels like a not unreasonable amount of money. I think more importantly, though, is what you were saying in terms of really focused on the Middle East and sovereign wealth funds. As you said, that's always been a very specific type of fundraising strategy, you know, when you've tapped out of a lot of other sources. So on that side, I think it can be indicative of is there or at least raises the question, is there fatigue among all of those early investors or more traditional sources of funding?

10:13Ranjan Roy:But by the same token, like, I mean, MGX and all these other funds have been really focused on modernizing the economies and overall strategies and bringing tech to the Middle East. So I think on that side, it's not unexpected at all. What do you think signals?

10:31Big Technology Podcast:This is the thing. They're going to eventually have to make enough money to justify this type of valuation. I mean, think about it. I think Saudi Aramco was the largest IPO ever. And they brought in 40 billion in that IPO. And man, they legitimately are printing money. Their oil comes out of the ground. So we're really going to have to see OpenAI be able to make the money to justify this. And we're going to get into that in a moment in terms of where that money is. You know what? Actually, screw it. Let's go right to it right now, because this is important. As they're going through this fundraise, a very interesting thing happens.

11:15Big Technology Podcast:They put a blog post out by Sarah Fryer, their CFO. She writes, OpenAI, a business that scales with the value of intelligence. She writes this,

11:57Big Technology Podcast:would have led to faster customer adoption and monetization. So basically the argument is we will make more money if we have more compute because the limit right now is not interest on behalf of customers to use the technology. It's our ability to serve it. And we've talked a lot about how there are these rate limits and people have been frustrated by them. And maybe they would use the products more if they weren't rate limited. and OpenAI is basically saying, look, you follow our compute, our revenue tracks directly with it, therefore adding, you know, many, you know,$50 billion potentially, they haven't, I don't think they've confirmed that number, is a good bet that we will make the money.

12:40Big Technology Podcast:Although the money, of course, you know, it'd be funny if they also had another chart, what they paid for that compute, because the money is certainly still a drop in the bucket compared to the compute they're buying. So what do you think about this? Obviously, it's time to the fundraise.

12:55Ranjan Roy:I think it was an incredibly well-crafted corporate communication because it laid out this really clear story, like one-to-one ratio of growth in compute to revenue in terms of like 9xing. And on face, I agree. It sounds nice. It sounds really good. It's saying like we're actually scaling compute in parallel with revenue. But you're right. We know they're losing ungodly amounts of money. Even this week we saw Anthropic, I think it was$5.8 billion. They're on pace to lose$5.6 billion last year is now confirmed is what was lost. So like, and we, everyone knows this and has been talking about it, that these companies have been burning ungodly amounts of cash.

13:39Ranjan Roy:So when you dig in one level deeper, I think it doesn't really answer the question, but it's still, I thought it was a pretty kind of craftily put together argument of why they actually are okay. But yeah, it doesn't, it still doesn't add up overall. Right.

13:57Big Technology Podcast:I mean, eventually they're going to have to start making money, right? That's the thing. like how many times can they go back and fundraise they can have this okay let's say they get this round from the gulf states they could probably go back to the gulf states one more time for a mega round right so let's say a hundred billion um if the gulf states are happy with the investment that because they have that money that maybe values them at one trillion 1.25 one one and a half and then eventually you have to go to the public markets right so how many so it sounds like maybe they're looking at being able to raise ballpark 250 billion more.

14:37Big Technology Podcast:You know, what happens if they're not able to like, and then eventually you got to start making money, right? Like, eventually you have to be a business.

14:46Ranjan Roy:As businesses go, that does seem to be the case. And actually, I will be in Abu Dhabi next week myself, not raising$50 billion, but speaking at the Shop Talk Lux conference. And I wish maybe I'll finally somehow go to the Abu Dhabi house, if not the Qatar house, and get some kind of fundraising interest. But I think in terms of this, having to make money monetization, the interesting part is it's clear that they've made that a much bigger part of the conversation. We've heard the story, enterprise, personal devices, AI cloud. They just made a big announcement. I forget his name, but the guy who came over from Thinking Machines under these cloudies, Barrett Zoff, he is actually going to be heading enterprise, which has been stated as one of their big priorities of 2026.

15:38Ranjan Roy:So I think it's clear that all the, I mean, actually, it's funny almost, like the idea that we just get to ADGI and it all figures itself out. They are trying to present themselves as a proper business this year. So in 2026, we're going to see, is it real or not? And I think it's going to have to be for this to actually kind of continue as it is.

16:00Big Technology Podcast:I disagree, Ronjan. I think it's, you know, 2026, they're still going to skate by on fundraising. But maybe I'm crazy. Eventually, they're going to have to make a profit, right? Like, even if you are okay to make a loss, you don't have infinite sources of money. They're going to have to eventually make a profit. But, you know, it's a question right now. Obviously, they have this belief that if their, you know, their revenue is limited by compute, then they should get more compute. So they raise money to buy it. But, you know, they have to let's say demand continues to go up. I mean, you're going to still, you know, serve more people, make more money, but lose more money.

16:42Big Technology Podcast:Like eventually the math has to work, right?

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16:45Ranjan Roy:I mean, yes. You're trying to bring a little rationality to a conversation that has not had any in a long time. Davos has changed you, man. Davos has changed you. But I think actually separate. So there's the actual like can open AI make money based on like all these kind of peripheral business models. But even from a competitive standpoint, I just saw a stat that Gemini is now at 22 % of consumer AI usage up from 13 and a half just a quarter ago, which was their code red. I mean, we all know Claude Code has gotten a lot more hype and excitement, reasonably so, than OpenAI. like open AI has not we've talked a lot about this this is my own the company I work for a writer like kind of autonomous knowledge work Claude Code Manus to me this is the biggest most important part of trend in 2026 they don't really have an offering in this so I'm actually almost more interested in how they're planning to address all this competitive pressure versus on a straight chat GPT level, can they make money or even chat GPT pro subscriptions, maybe a little enterprise, whatever else like they, I don't know, they have to land or show promise in one of these additional business models very quickly, I think for that, for them to raise that next$250 billion round or whatever you're saying, like they have to show something.

18:19Big Technology Podcast:user numbers is one thing right we always knew that google would be able to juice its user numbers because it can bolt on its ai products and its standard products but usage is the set that you cited that's the problem right because as soon as opening open ai you know for a long time far and away had the most usage of any ai bot and now it seems like you know they're still far in the lead but that is being cut it's not like a google bing situation right? Google's making real, real headway here. And again, they have the distribution. So just take us to 2027. They have their, let's say they're IPO-ing.

18:55Big Technology Podcast:They're going to have to still have the product lead. And the lead is shrinking. I was just on CNBC a couple minutes ago. I was speaking with the anchor, Kelly Evans, about this. I was like, the product is in the lead. And she said it's shrinking. And that lead is, it is shrinking. And of course, AWS's lead is shrinking, but AWS is still far and away the leading cloud provider. They're doing great. They're underpinning Amazon's entire valuation. So having the lead matters. But it's far from the one horse game and consumer that it was not long ago. So what do you think that means as they try to IPO?

19:32Big Technology Podcast:Is that going to cloud their story?

19:34Ranjan Roy:Oh, definitely. Which is why, again, I think, and I think what were we saying last week before it's, is it the foundation model or the product? And then we introduced, is it actually the business model? They have to figure something out because it's like, again, from a user perspective, the switching costs are so low in any of these chatbots so far. Now, everyone is talking about memory and context, and that's going to be the moat. But right now, there is no moat. Like from an actual user experience, just consumer grade chat AI is all pretty good. Like, I mean, people have different uses for different chatbots if you're an avid user, otherwise maybe, and as you said, Google has distribution.

20:21Ranjan Roy:So I think user perspective is dangerous. So they have to show we can make a lot of money doing drug development and pharmaceutical development and launching their own. I think it was rumored they're gonna be launching an AirPods type device. We're going to get into the pin from Apple in a bit, but did you see that?

20:43Big Technology Podcast:I did see that. Yeah, that's the rumor that it's going to be their first wearable. So that will be interesting. And yeah, we'll talk about the wearable side when we get to Apple in the second half. But one thing about this, I don't think memory is a moat. Remember, it's largely text. So here's a question for you. Let's say I'm in Chachipiti, I want to switch to Gemini. What if I just said, print out everything you know about me. Use as many characters as you need. And I copied that and I pasted that right into Gemini and be like, this is your memory. Let's go.

21:16Ranjan Roy:I was just about to say, you know, like, are they going to have some very defensive lack of export functionality in order to remain defensible? But it's a chatbot. It has very big context windows. We can drain their compute, too. We can just use up all just every word I've written to you, ChattyBT, print out. And please put it in a format that will be legible, maybe markdown for Gemini. And I'm trying that after this.

21:44Big Technology Podcast:I'll be honest. I've done it before. I mean, I have asked it to print its memory, but I also used, I think I used Claude as a diet coach. And then I copied and I copied and pasted the entire discussion. And I dropped it into OpenAI because I thought OpenAI's memory would be interesting to experiment with. And then I made OpenAI the diet coach. And guess what? it picked up on my tendencies it picked up on the advice it should give right away

22:10Ranjan Roy:so it's very no no i mean you're right you're right it it's not it can't be like singular part of your life context and memory it has to be like knowing you inside and out and your companion and maybe lover but it's got to be it's got to get to that level otherwise Otherwise, switching costs are too easy. The chatbot being your love partner is the only moat.

22:38Big Technology Podcast:I'm convinced.

22:39Ranjan Roy:Is the only moat. Love is the only moat. Memory is not a moat. Only love is.

22:44Big Technology Podcast:Love is that honestly another great tagline that we've produced here on the Friday show. All right. So it has to get its business in order. And here come the ads. Last week, we left off advertising. You know, who's going to be the company that gets advertising right? You said OpenAI. I said Google. Immediately after we signed off, OpenAI started to experiment with advertising in ChatGPT. This is from Wired. Ads are coming to ChatGPT. Here's how they'll work. OpenAI plans to start testing ads inside ChatGPT in the coming weeks, marking a significant shift for one of the world's most widely used AI products.

23:27Big Technology Podcast:OpenAI says the ads will not influence ChatGPT's responses and that all ads will appear in separate clearly labeled boxes directly below the chatbot's answer. For instance, if a user asks ChatGPT for help planning a trip to New York City, they will get a standard answer from the chatbot, and then they might also see an ad for a hotel in the area. And these are going to initially go to the free users and the$8 a month go tier, which is a new thing. OpenAI gave an interesting example of what the ad could look like. You're looking up some information about Santa Fe, and then underneath, in a clearly labeled sponsored section, they pop in an ad for a cottage rental in Santa Fe.

24:13Big Technology Podcast:Here's the cool thing about this ad. You can then tap the ad and start talking with the ad to help book your trip. So it sparked this notion, but then you can use of AI to go even deeper. That's very engaging ad. So first of all, Ranjan, is this kind of what you expected? Because you predicted that they were going to go out first. And what do you think about the way that they're structuring this?

24:36Ranjan Roy:Yeah, I think, and the reason I've been confident in this is because I work deeply in agentic commerce and trying to understand what this is going to look like, chat-based suggestions like this that can have a sponsorship basis make all the sense in the world. I do think someone will nail this model and I think everyone will be following and whether it will be Gemini or OpenAI, we'll see. But again, like I use ChatGPT all day long for travel planning, for suggestions on where to eat and whatever else, like those kinds of things. So there's so much commercial opportunity there. I think they recognize it.

25:19Ranjan Roy:Even like, you know, Fiji Simo had said, like people trust chat GPT for many important and personal tasks. It's crucial. We preserve what makes chat GPT valuable. They have to get it right because the moment they feel interruptive, it's a problem. Oh, and actually last week we said Meta potentially is in the best position to get it right because Meta has proven that they can just shove ads throughout the feed and everyone's happy and they can make really good ads. So I think ChatGPT has to nail that experience. Otherwise, it's actually another competitive pressure on their user growth because it's not going to be, it's going to make the product less useful and sticky.

26:01Big Technology Podcast:And so here's the question is, you know, is the thing that I saw, the thing that I saw on social media that made me laugh after we saw this news was someone tweeted that if OpenAI really believed AGI was around the corner, why would they be bothering? Why would they be using ads? They're clearly going to be much more disruptive and useful forms of this technology, so why do advertising? And I brought this up to Demis Hassabis this week at Davos. His comments on OpenAI were pointed, much more pointed than I anticipated. He said, I think those are tells. I think actions speak louder than words. Going back to the original conversation, because we started this way, going back to the original conversation we were having about Sam and others claiming AGI is around the corner.

26:51Big Technology Podcast:Why would you bother with ads then? And I pressed him. I said, well, Demis, how about you? Right? Because there's been some discussion that Google is going to do ads. He said, we have no plans at the moment to do ads. If you're talking about the Gemini app specifically, I think we're obviously going to watch very carefully the outcome of what ChatGPT is saying they're going to do. I think that has to be handled very carefully.

27:14Ranjan Roy:Yeah, I do kind of find it a bit rich that Demis is saying this when Gemini is ad funded, it's just not showing ads. It's just that you are living on top of a massive advertising monopoly and are able to actually fund the entire project and not have to show ads just yet. But I think I actually I'm surprised he was so aggressive about it, too, because remember, Google's biggest challenge is the disruption to their monopolistic advertising model. And they have to figure out some way to actually turn what existed in search into what's going to be existing in GEO or LLM search or whatever you want to call it.

27:55Ranjan Roy:So, like, I was surprised he kind of was taking that stance. It actually made me curious or think, again, organizationally, like, is he so sheltered from the business pressure for now? And it's solely a user story and usage story. What do you think? Do you think he's just not, no one's, Sundar's not tapping him on the shoulder and saying, make sure you're going to have to make a bit of money at a certain point.

28:21Big Technology Podcast:My guess would be that there is some sort of debate going on within Google, that there is a group that really wants to roll ads out. In fact, and I brought this up to Demis on a recent earnings quarter, Sundar talked about how they have some ideas about how you want to do advertising in generative AI applications. So clearly it's a discussion within the company. And I think the product side is probably just like, let's hold off as long as we possibly can. And especially think about this, maybe if open AI goes and loses trust because of the advertising and then people copy and paste their memory and drop it into Gemini.

28:59Big Technology Podcast:Yeah, as we're all going to do after this episode. God. Anyway, I'm not advocating for this. But then that's a real advantage for Gemini, right, on the product side. And remember, they're in this product battle. Like all the time in tech, you have companies that sort of compete based off of what they can offer to users, whether that's incentives or, you know, the best possible product experience. And then once the battle's won, then they kind of muck it up with ads and they raise their prices. And I think Google's been in these battles a couple of times, and I think that must be the strategy.

29:33Ranjan Roy:I disagree, though, because I actually think to get to no one knows what advertising is going to look like exactly in AI. And I genuinely believe there will be a new format on par with what search advertising was, what social platform advertising was. Each of these were like complete transformations of what advertising is. And I think it's going to be the same within an AI chat experience. And I guess either you just watch what others are doing and follow once someone figures it out, but it can be too late. And I think I actually would take open AI's approach here of starting small, experimenting, getting it right versus the idea that you're going to just wait it out for everyone else to do it.

30:19Ranjan Roy:because I think like Facebook invented social platform. They mastered it. Like they didn't wait. They led the way and that's what gave them dominance. Google did that with search. So I think I would rather be testing experiment and figuring it out versus just trying to pretend it's not going to be a thing.

30:40Big Technology Podcast:But it wasn't the business model. Like Facebook didn't win social media because it created the social ads platform. It won because its products were the most sticky And it found a very effective way then to monetize. I think that this idea and Demis said it like very, very clearly. And by the way, this is all from my end. We didn't talk about this other anything other than what he told me in the conversation. So I don't have any like deep insights about this or reporting. And this is all speculation on my end. But he said, like, we are going to watch and learn what OpenAI is doing. And I don't think Google will pay a big penalty for being late because remember, they can copy the format and their Google.

31:18Big Technology Podcast:They have better data than almost anybody and they can apply that and copy the format. And maybe the better example here is what Facebook did to Snapchat, right? It's you watch your smaller competitor or your competitor and then you copy the best stuff and let them make the mistakes.

31:36Ranjan Roy:is no but see i would actually again push back like i and maybe it's like it's the business person in me but it's like i think the facebook innovating on the business model within advertising like in feed sponsored content kind of like ad bidding systems related to in feed sponsored ads like that whole system that they built i think is what made them truly powerful because again And when they IPO, I would remember there was like a lot of worry about losing money. And there was like they could have been in a position where imagine Mark Zuckerberg acquires Instagram because but they're not making any money and there's a massive investor backlash.

32:17Ranjan Roy:Like there's so many kind of like historical moments that not having a cash machine kind of underneath the business would have meant a great product would not work. And actually talking about Snapchat, they have shown that you can't just replicate a business model even if you have massive user engagement and growth. So I think I'm going to go with – I'm still taking open AI in the ad battle. You sound like you might be leaning Gemini in the end.

32:49Big Technology Podcast:Yeah, I mean that's the way I was – that's where I was last week and that's where I am this week. So let me ask you one –

32:57Ranjan Roy:Yeah.

32:58Big Technology Podcast:Yeah, well, this will be a running, this is our new product and model debate. It's Google and OpenAI's ad. It's less exciting, I'll admit. Okay, let me ask you one last question on this segment, then we'll go to break. Like OpenAI, Sam Altman in particular, has said that advertising is sort of the last resort for a company. Put it into context. This is a company, again, trying to build AGI. And, you know, if Sam believed that at one time, what do you think it says about the company that is doing this now?

33:32Ranjan Roy:I think it should, again, as per the earlier conversation, I think 2026, they have to show promise on the revenue side and beyond subscription. So I think he has to, I think like what are all the AI cloud personal devices and whatever else is going to take time. So this is the most direct way. But I genuinely think if you're Sam Altman and next time he's on the pod, I hope you ask him, I think I would believe that my AI system can deliver great ads better than anyone else. And that will bring value to people's lives. And that will bring value to businesses. And it will kind of keep just thinking about travel and hospitality like hotels got to find you.

34:21Ranjan Roy:You find the right hotel. You book with them. They make money on you. They pay OpenAI to help find the customer. Everyone's happy. So if you truly deliver great personalized advertising, which potentially I think they can, like I'm surprised he's so kind of cavalier about like it's, you know, last resort. It's not like a long time ago. Yeah. Yeah. No, but I want him to come out and just frame it as we're going to deliver you the best goddamn ads you've ever seen. And you're going to be thanking us for more ads. And again, Instagram has certainly shown that's possible. I think if I was him, I would start taking that kind of line of thinking on the public or public speaking on this.

35:08Big Technology Podcast:So the best argument that I heard in favor of OpenAI's ad plan came from Brett Taylor, the OpenAI chair, whose episode I recorded here at Davos. It'll be live on the feed in a couple of weeks, but I'll spoil this part for people because I think it's pertinent and worth talking about. He basically said, when you're a company like OpenAI, people are going to get a lot of benefit out of it. And you're not necessarily cut in on the benefit all the time. Somebody uses GPT 5.2 Pro to like solve some major business problem. Maybe they paid you$20 a month for it. So you got to find ways to make money, you know, and this is one way that's surefire and has proven itself.

35:50Big Technology Podcast:So I think that's a pretty good argument. it.

35:52Ranjan Roy:Yeah, I think it has to be diversified in some way, especially on the consumer side. But yeah, I think we're going to this is going to be a bigger topic. I think we're all going to be seeing ads and this isn't going to be a Netflix pay five bucks extra to avoid ads. I think it's too valuable an opportunity for them to actually try to gate or like tier it out, maybe at the $200 level or something like that. But I think we're all going to be getting sponsored recommendations from our digital companions very soon. Okay.

36:29Big Technology Podcast:Well, let's go to break. And after the break, I definitely want to talk a little bit about Apple because Apple, I predicted just like, so your big prediction this year was that, you know, the agent thing is going to break out. My big prediction this year was that Apple is going to have its best year ever. and it's certainly looking like that's the case. So let's talk a little bit more about Apple's revived AI strategy right after this. I've interviewed a lot of great tech founders on this show and one surprisingly universal challenge comes up again and again, finding the right domain name. It's something I ran into myself when launching big technology.

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38:21Big Technology Podcast:With hundreds of ready-to-use templates, Shopify helps you build a beautiful online store that matches your brand's style. Get the word out like you have a marketing team behind you. Easily create email and social campaigns wherever your customers are scrolling or strolling. It's time to turn those what-ifs into with Shopify today. Sign up for your$1 per month trial today at Shopify.com slash Big Tech. Go to Shopify.com slash Big Tech. That's Shopify.com slash Big Tech. And we're back here on Big Technology Podcast Friday edition with Ranjan Roy of Margins. Ranjan, big news. What's happening? Apple.

39:01Big Technology Podcast:Apple's going to pin. Okay. Maybe they won't. Maybe they will. but let's talk about the story. The information says Apple is developing an AI wearable pin. The pin is going to be the size of an AirTag that is equipped with multiple cameras, wow, a speaker, microphones, and wireless charging. The device could be released as early as 2027. Such a product would position Apple to compete more effectively with OpenAI, which is planning its own AI-powered devices, and Meta, which is already selling smart glasses that offer access to its AI assistant. Do you think this is a good sign for Apple? I will give them credit that they're trying new things and experimenting with AI, even though the pin has been an object of much mockery and derision given its early flame outs in a couple of different formats.

39:53Ranjan Roy:Humane pin fell so Apple could rise is what the story will be. Because we've talked about this, even during the humane pin conversation, I think both of us at least acknowledged it was interesting. For me, the most exciting part of this is, I mean, I've been saying this for years, like the form factor of a phone that's a square in your hand as kind of like the be all end all of devices has gotten really boring. So anything that innovates it, I think it's why the meta Ray-Bans have been so interesting and exciting for me. So I'm team pin. Someone's going to make a useful pin. I actually was looking at, there's like a something called plod.

40:34Ranjan Roy:It's like a card size dictation thing. Um, I don't know, like I dictate all day long, um, on my AirPods with my iPhone, but I think the camera side, what exactly it's going to try to be doing. It's all, it's all interesting to me. So I am excited for the pin. All right.

40:55Big Technology Podcast:Here is the thing that really stood out to me. Of course, the information story says Apple's development is in the very early stages and could still be canceled. And it's planning to manufacture roughly 20 million units at launch. Guess how many lifetime Meta Ray-Bans glasses, the most successful quote unquote AI wearable ever has sold? Guess how many units it sold? 2 million. So Apple is believing that 10 times the The amount of people that have bought Meta Ray-Ban's lifetime will want to buy this pin.

41:32Ranjan Roy:I don't think it's unreasonable, though,$20 million. Again, you call it$199 or something. I don't think this is going to be like the$7 million Apple folding phone that I will still try to buy. But it's, you know, like this is going to be probably like an entry level. Yeah. So that's what I'm hearing,$7 million. I'm sarcastic. Standing by that reporting. Yeah. I think if it's an entry-level price, again, it's why my love-hate relationship with Apple extends beyond Siri. Like ecosystem capture is Apple has mastered. So like here's this new device. If it's pretty good at a reasonable entry price, I think they're going to get a lot of people trying it.

42:18Ranjan Roy:$20 million is high, but I think it could be a winning device.

42:25Big Technology Podcast:I mean, I like that Apple is trying, right? This is the thing that you want to see from Apple. You want to see initiative. And the story actually was very interesting because it shared a number of different AI products that Apple is working on. And just seeing it all in context was interesting. So it says, Apple's pin joins a growing portfolio of AI-powered products. The tech giant has under development, including AirPods equipped with enhanced sensors, a security camera, smart glasses, and augmented reality glasses. Apple is also working on a home product featuring a small display, speakers, and a robotic swiveling base.

43:00Big Technology Podcast:Designed with a heavy emphasis on AI features, that device could be released as soon as this spring. Man, like Apple, the company that once seemed to ship one product every bunch of years, starting to sound like Amazon now. They throw spaghetti at the AI device wall and just try to make it work.

43:19Ranjan Roy:Yeah, you're right. Do you know I'd forgotten that there are Alexa glasses? like amazon really just stuffed alexa wherever it could find and like i mean once they put made

43:30Big Technology Podcast:the alexa wall clock it was all over yeah yeah refrigerator and microwave but but in reality

43:36Ranjan Roy:though like i think apple still got to prove it can make an ai enabled device and we're going to get into what that actually is looking like at the company but i i have been slowly switching back to Alexa across my house. I had made the switch to HomePods and Siri a couple of years ago, and now I bought the Echo Show after actually, I think, what was his name from Amazon listening to your episode? Banos Panay. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Listened to that. Got one of the Echo Show 5, I think, the wall photo frame looking thing. So it's just that it's night and day versus where it is today. So So make the AI work is going to be critical to any of these because could you imagine you get your pin and it functions at the level of what Siri does today?

44:26And you're just like, now what?

44:29Ranjan Roy:Now what?

44:30Big Technology Podcast:Right. Are you down with Alexa Plus?

44:33Ranjan Roy:It's getting pretty good. I have it in my kitchen. I actually talk to it more. Or it's really good at pulling up YouTube videos, I found, which is really cool when you're cooking. Like, you know, give it a request, music video of something, some really specific Patriots highlights, whatever. And it nails it. It gets the right video, starts playing it. You can tell it to stop, get something else. So that, asking questions in general, it's getting there. It still hallucinates sports scores very weirdly, which should be the most solvable problem. But other than that, I'm liking it.

45:11Big Technology Podcast:Yeah, it's working well for me, too. I integrated my calendar with it. So I say, hey, what am I doing today? And it answers. I think the thing is just getting people to understand what they can do with these assistants is going to be the hard thing. Because, you know, I often just fall back on play some music and we'll see.

45:30Ranjan Roy:Actually, do you think Alexa Plus could be the dark horse for digital companion? I feel people had their first. Oh, my God.

45:41Big Technology Podcast:Listeners, Alexa, Ron Jones, Alexa said, I'm flattered to be considered for the digital companion.

45:47Ranjan Roy:Alexa, stop, please. Digital companion derby.

45:53Big Technology Podcast:Well, I mean, there you go. Clearly, it would be it sound it sounded very eager to help you.

45:58Ranjan Roy:That was pretty good. That was pretty good. And so, yeah, I got to be careful on any of those kind of prompts right now. But yeah, overall, I think in terms of like new devices, I'm excited Apple's at least trying. I don't know what they're going to do, but I'm excited they're trying. Yeah.

46:18Big Technology Podcast:And I was going to say the thing that I really think is important is the assistant inside. Right. And this is sort of what this was what Demis told me about classes. I went into this interview basically saying, I think the headline here is going to be AI glasses. And I felt that Demis really answered this somewhat conclusively about the size of Google's bet on AI glasses because it's massive. He talked about the various attempts to make smart glasses. And he goes, the thing it was missing was a killer app. And I think the killer app is a universal digital assistant that's with you, helping you in your everyday life and available to you on any surface, on your computer, on your browser, on your phone, but also on devices like glasses when you're walking around the city.

47:01Big Technology Podcast:And I think it needs to be seamless and knows each of those contexts and understands each of those contexts around you. And I think we're close now. He says it's one of the most exciting projects we're working on. And it's one of the things I'm personally working on, making smart glasses really work. That to me was basically a full-throated endorsement of the smart glasses as the form factor here. And you talked about what happens if the pin has like modern-day Siri in it. It's not going to work. And so what Demis is saying is like, yeah, we can make this work. I think the news is that it's going to ship this year, Google's AI glasses.

47:41Big Technology Podcast:And they believe they have the assistant there.

47:44Ranjan Roy:So that could be a determiner. Are you team glasses or team pin in the end? What is the winning form factor?

47:52Big Technology Podcast:I don't know. It's really hard for me to want one of these things. Maybe I'm team AirPods. I like AirPods a lot better than anything else, which makes me excited for OpenAI's device, actually.

48:03Ranjan Roy:Yeah, that's true. I mean, but we're also used to them and they're natural. But I remember when AirPods first came out, it was actually not common to constantly see people just walking around with kind of like wireless earbuds. And then they just made it totally normal. So I think there's I don't know. I'm team pin, even though I currently enjoying my glasses, but I don't wear prescription glasses either. So at a certain point, I would either have to be wearing sunglasses indoors or have just kind of like fashion glasses. So I think maybe that's what makes me lean team pin.

48:42Big Technology Podcast:What happens if Apple's pin takes off because it just makes a cool pin and the assistant inside is Siri, but Siri as a container for Gemini? so apple creates the killer app but it's google's assistant or based off of google's assistant which is what's happening isn't it yes although we did get we got a good uh reader email uh that pushed back a little bit on what i said last week about how like this is google getting user behavior from apple you know it's possible that apple just uses gemini as like a backbone to build its own app and then walls off that data from going back to Google. And I overlooked that last week.

49:30Big Technology Podcast:So I thought that was really good listener feedback and just wanted to mention that this week.

49:34Ranjan Roy:I think the one thing about the announcement this week around kind of enhancements to Siri, which I would say the winning part of it is it's code named Campos, which I don't know.

49:45Big Technology Podcast:Talk a little bit about what they're doing. Yeah.

49:49Ranjan Roy:So again, like let's move beyond what is powering it, even though it's reportedly Gemini, but it's more what it will be doing. And again, being able to, one of the big things that this reporting lean into is that again, that idea of like tapping into data across your phone, tapping into apps across your phone to try to leverage that context. that actually worried me a bit because as we've all seen and remember the uh what's her name from last of us who did the ad bella ramsey ads that were like supposed to do all this a year and a half ago i think now i think that was this a year ago at the super bowl um none of it worked that is a hard problem to solve like going through all these disparate data sets and trying to like understand or like vectorize them properly to be able to make it make them accessible is difficult so like just making one standalone basic experience that just answers some questions for you like start there guys just just make it work this worried me i was i'd been getting excited after last week and this actually kind of got me a little nervous no but this is if i read

51:01Big Technology Podcast:it right, they're actually going to turn Siri into a chatbot, right? So I think that is actually the foundation experience that all these companies have been able to build, and you'll be able to chat with them.

51:16Ranjan Roy:Well, no, no, but that part, it already is theoretically a chatbot, like you're supposed to be able to have kind of turns and instructions back and forth. So to me, I saw it a few places, and again, here are the exact, it's like, add features, including the ability to analyze onscreen content and tap into personal data. They keep talking about this universal search that right now when Siri kind of does a little bit of web results or pulls up relevant apps or starts, like it does it a little bit, getting all of that and doing it very well. But again, I think that's like a pretty hard problem to solve versus just making, just getting on par with JetGPT and Gemini and Claude and everything else at the consumer level, just making all that work.

52:06Ranjan Roy:I think trying to say, again, I think when is my flight is going to be the question everyone will ask first and it better damn get it right. Otherwise, like they're going to have some serious problems.

52:21Big Technology Podcast:That is a question that I do not have the answer to right now, whether it's with Siri or any app where when is my flight? Because looks like mine is going to head right into this massive snowstorm we have hitting New York. So start with Davos and with Davos. I think I'm now a permanent resident here. So I think I'll just be filming our podcasts and recording them from the Davos situation. Should be fun.

52:52Ranjan Roy:What is Davos like? Do you have any idea when it's not, quote unquote, Davos? Yeah, it's a beautiful ski town.

53:00Big Technology Podcast:The beautiful ski town there. That sidewalk that I talked about is actually, you know, you can take it between two lifts onto two different mountains that, you know, the town that is on either end of the town city, whatever it is. And I did manage to get out to one of the mountains on Wednesday morning. You can do this half day ski pass. And I did that. And it was really lovely and beautiful. And the only hiccup was I thought I was going down the red, which is in between the blue and the black diamond or the black trail. And it was one of those things where I was like, all right, just go. Don't think about it.

53:41Big Technology Podcast:Let your body take you. And then I realized that I was on a black trail and pinwheeled my way down that slope.

53:50Ranjan Roy:AI could not help you navigate that one.

53:53Big Technology Podcast:No, no. AI or my legs.

54:00Ranjan Roy:Well, I think the ultimate flex is going to Davos when it's not World Economic Forum time. and definitely dropping that you're in Davos at that time. Because that's when the real Davos people go. So maybe I'll try to schedule that.

54:15Big Technology Podcast:Yeah, one of the nice things on the slope was it was all locals. Because they're like, this is like the one week where the slopes are free. Because all the tech and policy people have taken the hotels in there. They're down there like a bunch of dummies. And meanwhile, we have our local mountain empty. So it was really some of the best skiing I've done for sure.

54:37Ranjan Roy:All right. All right. I'm going to need to try that. Off-season, not off-season, but off-conference Davos. That's the goal. Other than Qatar House, that's still number one. Yeah.

54:49Big Technology Podcast:Let's have the first big technology summit in Davos off season. Yeah. Not off season. Off, off, off conference, off conference. And just call it the real Davos. I think we could start a movement, get the entire harness, harness hive out for a great meet and greet. Someone on YouTube comments said we should call it the harness horde, which I also like.

55:12Ranjan Roy:I like that better than hive. That's kind of a more aggressive kind of like getting out into the world. It's a harness horde. That's right. We see you.

55:21Big Technology Podcast:We see you. All right, Ranjan, thank you so much for joining as always. Great speaking with you.

55:26Ranjan Roy:All right, see you next week. Hope your flight gets back in.

55:31Big Technology Podcast:It's highly unlikely, but I think I have a nice plan B. So, all right. Thank you, Ranjan. Thank you, everybody, for listening and watching. We'll be back on the feed on Wednesday, likely with Joel Pino, the chief AI officer at Cohere. We had a great conversation here about the cutting edge of AI research, where the biggest problems are, how the industry is tackling them, and then how the AI field is putting current applications, current technology into practice. I think you're going to like it a lot. And again, if you've missed the Demis conversation, it's only a half hour. Definitely recommend you check that out.

56:07Big Technology Podcast:That's on the feed. Thank you so much for listening and watching. And we'll see you next time on Big Technology Podcast. Akamai Cloud.

56:15Ranjan Roy:GPUs for agentic AI. Bring AI inferencing closer to users everywhere. Get started at akamai.com slash GPU.

56:42Big Technology Podcast:designed to keep you going without slowing you down. So put that fork down. Try the new wraps today in app or at order.sweetgreen.com. Available at participating locations only.

From the publisher

Ranjan Roy from Margins is back for our weekly discussion of the latest tech news. We cover: 1) What happened at Davos 2) OpenAI’s planned $50 billion funding round 3) Does the money set expectations too high for OpenAI? 4) Will OpenAI ever turn a profit? 5)) How many funding rounds does OpenAI have left? 6) Does OpenAI’s shrinking lead bode poorly for its inevitable IPO 7) OpenAI introduces ads to ChatGPT 8) Why is Google waiting to bring ads to Gemini? 9) Apple is building a wearable AI Pin 10) Wait, is Alexa Plus good? 

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