OpenAI has launched GPT-4.5, but they want you to know, this is not a frontier model, it’s a stepping stone. Skype enters the Deadpool. Memecoins are ok by the SEC. Most criminality in crypto is now done with stablecoins. And in the Weekend Longreads Suggestions, how the MTA is using Pixel phones to do subway maintenance.

Links:

• OpenAI announces GPT-4.5, warns it’s not a frontier AI model (The Verge)
• OpenAI CEO Sam Altman says the company is ‘out of GPUs’ (TechCrunch)
• Microsoft hangs up on Skype: service to shut down May 5, 2025 (TechCrunch)
• Microsoft is killing Skype after 14 years of neglect (Windows Central)
• Meta plans to release standalone Meta AI app in effort to compete with OpenAI’s ChatGPT (CNBC)
• SEC says most meme coins are not securities (CNBC)
• Illicit Crypto Volume in 2024 Hit a Record $40B in 2024 (CoinDesk)
• Meta is firing about 20 employees for leaking information (The Verge)

Weekend Longreads Suggestrions:

• The New York City Subway Is Using Google Pixels to Listen for Track Defects (Wired)

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Nvidia’s first earnings are out after the whole DeepSeek thing. Do they seem nervous or no? A pretty big price cut for the PlayStation VR2. Huge outflows from bitcoin ETFs. Can insecure code somehow make AI homicidal? And is the iPhone 16e worth your money?

Links:

• Nvidia sales grow 78% on AI demand, company gives strong guidance (CNBC)
• Sony drops PlayStation VR 2 price to $399 (The Verge)
• Bitcoin ETFs Are Hit by a Record $1 Billion Outflow in One Day (Bloomberg)
• FAA targeting Verizon contract in favor of Musk’s Starlink, sources say (Washington Post)
• Researchers puzzled by AI that praises Nazis after training on insecure code (Ars Technica)
• iPhone 16E review: Eh, it’s alright (The Verge)

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Amazon finally updated Alexa with generative AI. It’s called Alexa+ and it can do plenty of neat things, but unless you’re a Prime subscriber, it’s gonna cost ya. DeepSeek is rushing its next AI model to press its momentum. Zuck wants to build a $200B AI datacenter. And how the SteamDeck has created a whole new category in gaming.

Sponsors:

• shopify.com/ride

Links:

• Amazon announces AI-powered Alexa Plus (The Verge)
• Amazon unveils a new and improved Alexa, Alexa+ (TechCrunch)
• DeepSeek rushes to launch new AI model as China goes all in (Reuters)
• Meta Discusses AI Data Center Project That Could Cost $200 Billion (The Information)
• How North Korea pulled off a $1.5 billion crypto heist—the biggest in history (ArsTechnica)
• Three years later, the Steam Deck has dominated handheld PC gaming (The Verge)

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Anthropic releases its latest cutting-edge model, Claude 3.7 Sonnet. Would you tolerate ads inside your Excel spreadsheet if you could use Excel for free? Why some journalists are joining AI companies. And let me introduce you to “tiny teams” the new startup meme in Silicon Valley.

Links:

• Anthropic launches a new AI model that ‘thinks’ as long as you want (TechCrunch)
• AI Startup Anthropic Finalizing $3.5 Billion Funding Round (WSJ)
• Microsoft Quietly Launched a Free Ad-Supported Office App, and No One Noticed (Beebom)
• Apple’s $500 Billion U.S. Investment Is Mostly Already in the Books (WSJ)
• Meet the journalists training AI models for Meta and OpenAI (NeimanLab)
• A.I. Is Changing How Silicon Valley Builds Start-Ups (NYTimes)

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Apple makes a huge investment in US manufacturing and hiring. Are SMS messages as 2-factor authentication on the way out? The biggest crypto theft of all time happened over the last few days. And why some school districts are turning to AI counseling for students.

Sponsors:

• RobinHood.com/gold

Links:

• Apple Will Add 20,000 US Jobs Amid Threat from Trump Tariffs (Bloomberg)
• Apple Abandons Budget Smartphone Market With the iPhone 16e (Bloomberg)
• Google Confirms Gmail To Ditch SMS Code Authentication (Forbes)
• Bybit Hit by Crypto’s Worst Hack With Almost $1.5 Billion Stolen (Bloomberg)
• Bybit Hack (CoinDesk)
• Microsoft Dropped Some AI Data Center Leases, TD Cowen Says (Bloomberg)
• When There’s No School Counselor, There’s a Bot (WSJ)

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Well, kinda... But we do talk about how the show started, get a bit into the process of what I do every day. But mostly we get deep into where AI is going, my fears for silicon valley if the M&A activity doesn't pick up, why I got into investing, what it means if Silicon Valley is bigger than the government (maybe?) what it's like when that weird dude you talk to at a tech meetup becomes a billionaire, and why this is still the greatest job I've ever had. Thank you all for listening. Here's to 2,000 more episodes.

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Microsoft is claiming a historical quantum breakthrough with its first quantum processor, the Majorana 1. Google is going all in on the Gemini brand. The world’s thinnest foldable phone. Rabbit releases a demo it probably should have led with. And James Bond now works for Amazon.

Sponsors:

• Freshbooks.com/pricing-offer
• Take your personal data back with Incogni! Use code RIDEHOME at the link below and get 60% off an annual plan: Incogni.com/ridehome

Links:

• Microsoft announces quantum computing breakthrough with new Majorana 1 chip (The Verge)
• Microsoft’s Xbox AI era starts with a model that can generate gameplay (The Verge)
• Google app on iOS removing Gemini as it pushes users to full app (9to5Google)
• The world’s thinnest foldable phone doesn’t come cheap (The Verge)
• Rabbit shows off the AI agent it should have launched with (The Verge)
• 'Bond' Producers Stepping Back From Iconic Franchise As Amazon MGM Studios Takes Creative Control (Deadline)

Join us for the livestream tonight here: https://riverside.fm/studio/2000th-episode

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Apple has announced the new iPhone 16e. I’ve got all the details for you. The Humane AI Pin is definitively dead, and HP is acquiring the ashes. Yet ANOTHER potentially big new AI player. And why some Bytedance investors kind of don’t care if TikTok US gets split off. In fact, they might even prefer it.

Links:

• Apple launches new iPhone 16e: Here’s everything you need to know (9to5Mac)
• All of Humane's AI pins will stop working in 10 days (Engadget)
• ‘Pokémon Go’ Maker Nears $3.5 Billion Deal to Sell Games Unit (Bloomberg)
• Mira Murati debuts Thinking Machines Lab, her AI startup (Axios)
• ByteDance's US Backers Say China Growth to Counter Any TikTok Ban Damage (Bloomberg)
• Can AI Predict the Next Big IPO? Crunchbase Thinks So. (WSJ)

2000th episode livestream link: https://riverside.fm/studio/2000th-episode

AI Engineer Summit

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