In this episode, Erik is joined by Byrne Hobart, author of tech and finance newsletter The Diff, to discuss Sam Altman's ousting from OpenAI and the new competitive landscape for AI companies. Make informed decision for high impact donations with GiveWell, which is offering Upstream listeners donation matching up to $100. To claim your match, go to https://www.givewell.org ➡️ pick “Podcast” enter "Upstream with Erik Torenberg" at checkout.
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RECOMMENDED PODCAST: @TheRiffPodcast
Every week investor and writer of the popular newsletter The Diff, Byrne Hobart, and co-host Erik Torenberg discuss today’s major inflection points in technology, business, and markets – and help listeners build a diversified portfolio of trends and ideas for the future. Subscribe to The Riff with Byrne Hobart and Erik Torenberg: https://link.chtbl.com/theriff.
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X / TWITTER:
@ByrneHobart (Byrne)
@eriktorenberg (Erik)
@upstream__pod
@turpentinemedia
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TIMESTAMPS:
(00:00) Episode Preview
(01:00) Non-obvious thoughts about governance and legal structures
(03:45) Could the board have found out something about Sam?
(04:40) Tech’s online coordination and choosing sides
(06:25) Why haven’t the OpenAI board shared their reasoning?
(12:20) Are they going to bring Sam back?
(15:10) What should OpenAI’s pivot be?
(17:30) Sponsor: Shopify | Givewell
(20:30) Analyzing Microsoft's moves and the sweetheart deal
(23:50) Satya's succession plans
(27:15) OpenAI's unique governance structure
(30:00) Sponsor: Oracle
(31:05) Why Byrne is long Microsoft
(39:00) What explains Microsoft's turnaround?
(41:10) Meta and Google
(47:05) Which of these companies Byrne would short: Apple, Amazon, Google, Facebook, Microsoft
(49:15) Was this a coup from the Effective Altruism movement?
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Upstream is a production from Turpentine
Producer: Sam Kaufman
Editor: Graham Bessellieu
For guest or sponsorship inquiries please contact Sam@turpentine.co