M.G. Siegler
@mgsiegler.com
• Writer of spyglass.org • Investor in some companies you've heard of (and many you haven't) • Traveler with 👩🏻 & 👧🏼👶🏼 • #GoBlue 〽️🍻
Well, not exactly how I thought the myriad internal AI efforts would be unified (again), but here we are – from a few weeks ago: spyglass.org/google-gemin...
Google (Again) Clearly Needs to Unite Their AI Clans
Um, where is Gemini 3.5 Pro?
spyglass.org
Tim And Eric Mind Blown Universe Meme
ALT: Tim And Eric Mind Blown Universe Meme
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Techmeme@techmeme.com · 8h agoJeff Dean and three other Google execs are leaving to launch Discovery Loop, which will seek AI-powered breakthroughs in drug discovery, chip design, and more (Steven Levy/Wired) Main Link | Techmeme Permalink
In other words, SpaceX's CapEx for the quarter is now double what Apple spends a *year*, and they're quickly on their way to joining the $100B+ AI CapEx Club.
Techmeme@techmeme.com · yesterdaySpaceX says its Q2 capex was $18.4B, up from $2.8B a year ago, including $15.8B for AI (Micah Maidenberg/Wall Street Journal) Main Link | Techmeme Permalink
To me, this entire David Ellison op-ed just reads like: I'm willing to spin-off CNN if it gets the deal done now. The entire thing is framed around his love of movies. And the need to scale his studio/streamer if they hope to compete with Big Tech. www.nytimes.com/2026/08/04/o...
Opinion | David Ellison: In Defense of the Paramount-Warner Deal
The issue is whether I can be trusted as a steward of CNN.
nytimes.com
This, from 3 years ago when Ted Lasso ended, I think holds up well. Including, of course, the main prediction that it would be back. And now it is. 👨🏻⚽️🇬🇧 500ish.com/ted-lasso-wi...
Ted Lasso Will Be Back
We don’t need the show anymore in 2023, but we will again…
500ish.com
My read (after a number of re-reads and writing 2,000 words on the matter) is that the messages that OpenAI shared to push back against Apple's lawsuit are both not a great look for Apple, but also not nearly as bad as OpenAI suggests they are... spyglass.org/openai-vs-ap...
OpenAI Shows Some Receipts
But will publishing these specific messages be enough to stop Apple's real goal here: legal discovery?..
spyglass.org
Before Paramount's June 2027 deal deadline, but well, not this year! That's going to be both expensive and risky for all the sides...
Mediagazer@mediagazer.com · yesterdayA federal judge sets the antitrust trial over Paramount's acquisition of WBD for March 2-19, 2027; Paramount had sought a November start (Ted Johnson/Deadline) Main Link | Mediagazer Permalink
So what we're really celebrating here is that things are more expensive with time. That includes milk. That includes movie tickets. Congrats, everyone. spyglass.org/spider-man-b...
Hollywood's Brand New Day?
Predictably awesome box office results also require caveats galore...
spyglass.org
'The Bear' goes out with taste. Not all shows are so well prepared... spyglass.org/the-bear-end...
Sticking the Landing
'The Bear' did it, many others have not...
spyglass.org
Apple's latest CapEx number? $2.48B for the quarter – *down* 29% year-on-year. That puts them on pace for about $9B to $9.5B for the year. Both Google and Amazon are now targeting past $200B. 🤯 spyglass.org/the-capex-tw...
The CapEx Two-Step
Microsoft's masterful management of CapExpectations...
spyglass.org
Microsoft has ended up with a way to make it *look* like they're being mindful while not actually changing their spend! Rather brilliant. spyglass.org/the-capex-tw...
The CapEx Two-Step
Microsoft's masterful management of CapExpectations...
spyglass.org
There are currently over 28,000 people in the queue to buy some new Odyssey tickets released a minute ago. Feels like someone should probably build some more IMAX screens?
To help alleviate the pricing pain, you can subscribe to Apple hardware. spyglass.org/apple-as-a-s...
'Apple as a Service' At Last
Not quite 'iPhone Prime' but also, almost!
spyglass.org
Yeah, this doesn't seem correct. It's a bit in the accounting weeds, but matters here: Microsoft handles the Anthropic and OpenAI investments differently. With the latter they use the "equity method" so they take a pro rata portion of profits and losses. Last year: spyglass.org/buyer-beware...
Buyer Beware Big Tech Gains (and Losses) Boosted By Big AI
On paper gains from valuation markups and paper losses from burn...
spyglass.org
That "UGC" label, long affixed as an almost Scarlet Letter on the streaming service, is fading, fast. YouTube Premium will now feature "premium" shows and movies – but without having to directly commission any of them. spyglass.org/youtube-plus...
YouTube "Hackquires" Peacock
A rather brilliant move, perhaps on both sides! Sorry, Netflix.
spyglass.org
Just awful news. Such a great musician who was perfect and poignant in his one real movie role 20 years ago... RIP.
Rolling Stone@rollingstone.com · last wk.Glen Hansard, the Frames frontman and 'Once' star who won an Oscar for Best Original Song, has died at 56 following a motorcycle crash in Dublin. www.rollingstone.com/music/music-...
This backlash has been building for a while now. Six weeks ago: spyglass.org/anthropic-be...
Anthropic's Heel Turn
It's perhaps more of an Anakin Skywalker situation...
spyglass.org
Techmeme@techmeme.com · last wk.Anthropic faces backlash from Silicon Valley partners, founders, and researchers for competitive tactics, guardrails, and lack of support for open-weight models (Wall Street Journal) Main Link | Techmeme Permalink
I don't know why it's going around again this week other than it's summer time and it's awesome. spyglass.org/ian-fleming-...
The Ideal Writing Day (At Least to Write a Spy Novel)
Ian Fleming was on to something...
spyglass.org
Everyone seems to be falling in line behind the notion of "open" models and pushing for the US to take the lead in their build and spread. Well, everyone except Anthropic. And maybe, quietly, OpenAI. And their strange bedfellow here: the US government. spyglass.org/open-weight-...
Thoughts on "Open" Models
The open letter on open weights feels familiar yet different...
spyglass.org
Wow. This is almost like YouTube acquiring Peacock… without needing to acquire Peacock. A sort of “hackquisition” for media! And yeah, not great news for Netflix… spyglass.org/netflix-vs-y...
Can Netflix Become (More Like) YouTube Faster Than...
YouTube is poised to unify the streaming championship belts...
spyglass.org
Techmeme@techmeme.com · last wk.NBCU and YouTube reach a multiyear deal to include all Peacock content in YouTube Premium subscriptions in the US starting in early 2027 (Lillian Rizzo/CNBC) Main Link | Techmeme Permalink
Yeah this was always clearly a huge aspect of the investment, which seemingly spooked NVIDIA investors, so the company backtracked. Now it’s maybe more obfuscated? spyglass.org/nvidia-opena...
Techmeme@techmeme.com · last wk.Sources: Nvidia is in talks to provide a ~$250B backstop for OpenAI as part of a 10GW data center project that SoftBank is developing in Ohio (Wall Street Journal) Main Link | Techmeme Permalink
NVIDIA has placed its bet in AI. That bet is on...
Angry Gary Oldman Shouts Everyone!
ALT: Angry Gary Oldman Shouts Everyone!
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Techmeme@techmeme.com · last wk.Nvidia says it made a "substantial" investment in Safe Superintelligence, which will get access to Nvidia GPUs to up computing power by an "order of magnitude" (Keach Hagey/Wall Street Journal) Main Link | Techmeme Permalink
An attempt to distill down the several months worth of news in AI last week... spyglass.org/open-vs-clos...
How to Lose AI in 10 Days
Open vs. Closed. US vs. China. Big Tech vs. Big AI. Oh my...
spyglass.org
On the road this week and next and as I keep trying to make the new ChatGPT Mac app work for me, I do wonder more about the notion of an 'AI in the streets' versus an 'AI in the sheets' as it were... spyglass.org/bring-your-o...
BYOAI
Might the AI you use at home be the one you use at work?
spyglass.org
Potentially until June 2027. Which is, of course, also the (extended) drop-dead date for the deal. 👀
The New York Times@nytimes.com · 2w agoBreaking News: Paramount agreed to delay its merger with Warner Bros. Discovery while a judge considers a lawsuit aimed at blocking the deal.
Obviously incredibly biased in thinking LeBron should have gone back to Cleveland narrative-wise, and while I clearly get the thinking this may best path to one more title for his legacy… it’s a weird career arc?
Ian Rapoport@rapsheet.bsky.social · 2w agoPer Shams Charania, LeBron James is signing with the Philadelphia 76ers.
Finally removing all pretense of what Facebook once was. Will now just try to leverage 3B+ users to force ‘FaceTube’ into existence.
Techmeme@techmeme.com · 2w agoFacebook plans to test a full-screen "immersive video" player when users open the app, replacing the newsfeed, in select international markets this year (Alex Weprin/The Hollywood Reporter) Main Link | Techmeme Permalink
Beyond pointing out the ironically bizarre song choice, why is their ad repeating avatars over and over again? It's obvious enough that your eye catches it beyond freeze-framing it. Just a total, weird self-own. Again. techcrunch.com/2026/07/23/m...
