Sharp Tech with Ben Thompson

Ben and Andrew begin with a look back at what Jensen Huang meant to Nvidia, why AI changed the company, what Jensen’s efforts meant to the AI buildout, and what his absence could mean for both the AI ecosystem and the Nvidia F1 car. From there: The corporate red lines Huang crossed at Nvidia, the enemies he made in Washington that may have led to his demise, Alice Huang spy intrigue, a funeral for opposition to chip bans (and more), the hawkish chip policies that loom in the wake of this week’s news, and Jensen’s fearless gambles that were inseparable from his ultimate downfall. At the end: Celebrating 300 episodes of Sharp Tech with a nerdy chronicle of Ben’s journey into 3D printing, related AI show-and-tell adventures, and a Fable 5.2 triumph in Ben’s war with Mac mini permission dialogs.

Ben and Andrew begin with reactions to this week’s elections and their implications across tech. First: The resounding rejection of AI data centers in localities across the country, why a pause in Texas is particularly problematic for U.S. AI infrastructure, widespread resentment of big tech, and the big tech blind spots that led to this point. From there: A digression SpaceX and data centers in space, why hyperscalers figure to be the beneficiaries of a buildout bottleneck, and a word about China. At the end: A Google state of the union after last week’s earnings, Reddit scrambles to adapt to a new environment, and AI Show & Tell spawns a discussion about the group chat era of software.

Ben and Andrew begin with a salute to the world champion Milwaukee Brewers before turning to Anthropic’s S-1 as the company prepares for its public offering in November. Topics: Anthropic’s impressive margins, questions about the second half of 2026, how the company “lost” $80 billion in 2026, how compute will be paid for going forward, and an SEC disclosure that finally shows us the breakdown of training vs. inference costs. From there: Anthropic’s obsession with OpenAI, reactions to Craig Moffet’s questions about the AI bubble, understanding Meta’s AI spending as an echo of Anthropic’s S-1, a brief 1Password history, and Muse as the ultimate founder bet. At the end: An emailer wonders about Elon’s role in the Ukraine War, Ben sees You Can See Everything, and a few emotional thoughts on the Brewers World Series win.

Ben and Andrew begin with notes on the future of the podcast before turning to a raft of ominous Netflix shows and a question: what can Netflix fix, and what growth problems are more intractable? From there: A note on Elon’s investment in Skydance, Anthropic solves an NSA mystery, and reactions to a variety of ominous cybersecurity developments from the past several days. At the end: Meeting the Meta VR glasses in person, Anthropic’s branding spawns thoughts on alignment, why Apple has retained the “Siri” branding (so far), reading as an AI bottleneck, olive oil recs, podcast-listening speeds, and Andrew reverses his stance on the new Nathan Fielder movie.

Ben and Andrew begin with reactions to Apple’s HomeView, including backlash to one of the company’s worst commercials ever, why the product category should exist, and whether Apple is the right company to execute in this space. From there: SpaceX moves full speed ahead with its plans for cellular coverage, why some airlines and carriers balked at partnering with SpaceX, and challenges the company will face going toe to toe with cellular incumbents. At the end: The Ringer’s new, Substack-forward model, the future of sports TV rights as AI spending continues, more on Amazon prices and the company’s logistic moat, building AI apps for iOS, the maddening centrality of smartphones in daily life, solidarity with Ben in his cupboard strategy and smart home instincts, the AI pitch that more companies should be emphasizing, and AI show & tell on a parenting use case that has paid dividends.