E34: Byrne Hobart on Sam Altman, Meta vs Google, and Effective Altruism

"Upstream" with Erik Torenberg

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, Microsoft's role in the story, and the new competitive landscape for AI companies.

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We're hiring across the board at Turpentine and for Erik's personal team on other projects he's incubating. He's hiring a Chief of Staff, EA, Head of Special Projects, Investment Associate, and more. For a list of JDs, check out: eriktorenberg.com.

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RELATED PODCAST

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

(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

(32:15) Why Byrne is long Microsoft

(40:10) What explains Microsoft's turnaround?

(42:15) Meta and Google

(48:10) Which of these companies Byrne would short: Apple, Amazon, Google, Facebook, Microsoft

(50:20) Was this a coup from the Effective Altruism movement?

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This show is produced by Turpentine: a network of podcasts, newsletters, and more, covering technology, business, and culture — all from the perspective of industry insiders and experts. We’re launching new shows every week, and we’re looking for industry-leading sponsors — if you think that might be you and your company, email us at [e-mail].

Producer: Sam Kaufman

Editor: Graham Bessellieu

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