Unpacked Podcast - Weekly Tech Deep Dive Viggy Balagopalakrishnan, James Watterson

We dive into two meaty topics today. First, we analyze the Department of Justice's recent antitrust lawsuit against Apple. We look at the crux of their arguments, compare against past cases and debate whether Apple's lack of interoperability can be construed as anticompetitive.

Second, we dive into a new crop of search engine alternatively coming up called answer engines, the most popular one today being Perplexity. We dig into how these are different from search engines, past attempts at replacing Google Search and debate whether answer engines can replace search. We also dig into nuances around informational vs commercial queries, what that means for monetization and Google's potential response to these risks.

Follow us and join the conversation - every week, we provide research-based deep dives on the latest news, company strategies and trends in tech.

Timestamps:

(00:00) Introduction

(02:32) Tee up - DOJ sues Apple

(04:09) Brief summary of monopoly laws in the US

(07:15) How this case's arguments compare against Google, Amazon cases

(12:38) Thoughts on "performance smartphones" as a relevant market

(18:20) Alleged anti competitive behavior, Apple's lack of interoperability

(30:09) Answer engines, chat based search interfaces and the Perplexity hypothesis

(34:29) Past attempts at replacing Google search

(37:16) Can answer engines replace search

(41:56) Is is easier to build an answer engine today than it was to build a search engine in the past

(49:28) Informational vs commercial intent queries, hybrid interfaces

(57:30) Risks for Google and what they will likely do

NVIDIA has seen their valuation 5x over the last 5 years and is now worth more than $2 trillion. This week, we dive a few layers deep into the company. We start with the origin of the company and the launch of their first GPU in 1999 which unlocked several computing-heavy applications including gaming and video editing. We then talk about the NVIDIA of today that generates 78% of revenue from their AI-focused data center business (compared to 40% in 2021). Finally, we analyse what assumptions need to be true for the company's high valuation to hold up including long-term AI demand and competitive landscape.

Bonus - Viggy & James share their non-financial analyst takes on whether they'd buy the stock today. 

Follow us and join the conversation - every week, we provide research-based deep dives on the latest news, company strategies and trends in tech.

Timestamps:

(00:00) Introduction

(01:28) Tee up - NVIDIA hype and steep stock growth

(03:18) Company origins, first GPU launch, why GPUs matter, what is CUDA architecture, and use cases like gaming unlocked by GPUs

(14:19) NVIDIA business units today, explosive growth in data center revenue driven by AI, valuation, revenue multiples compared to peers

(21:04) Is there steep AI demand long term, GPU need for model training & inference

(33:45) Competitors, cloud providers making chips, can NVIDIA hold market share long term

(44:25) Non-financial analyst takes - will Viggy and James buy the stock today?

In this episode, we dissect Reddit's IPO filing, diving into critical aspects outlined in their S-1 - spanning across user growth, advertising, and data licensing to AI model providers. In the second half, we shift focus to India's recent contentious policy requiring government approvals for all AI model providers and applications before launch.

Follow us and join the conversation - every week, Viggy & James provide research-based deep dives on the latest news, company strategies and trends in tech.

Timestamps:

(00:00) Introduction

(01:36) Tee up - Reddit IPO

(03:52) What makes Reddit a great product

(10:17) User growth outlook - how much more room exists?

(13:59) Investment in their Ads product

(22:58) Data Licensing to AI companies

(28:35) Tee up - India's controversial AI regulation

(30:36) Why this is happening now, election year, Indian political landscape & election interference risks

(34:16) Who is impacted by this regulation

(40:55) India's history with a licensing regime, regulatory capture risks

(42:44) What is the right mechanism to regulate

Last week, 20 tech companies across Big Tech, social networks and AI providers signed a voluntary pledge to fight election interference from AI-generated content going through 2024. We dive into the timing of the announcement (2024 is a big election year across the globe), some recent deepfake mishaps, where should liability lie when bad things happen, and whether this pledge is enough. Bonus - couple of ideas for AI startups.

In the second half, we dive into Twillio's recent troubles, particularly with one of their large acquisitions from the past - Segment. We peel a few layers behind Twillio's original decision to buy Segment, what's changed since and what does future outlook look like for the company.

Follow us and join the conversation - every week, Viggy & James provide research-based deep dives on the latest news, company strategies and trends in tech.

In this episode, we dive into Meta's policy shift [https://techcrunch.com/2024/02/09/instagram-and-threads-will-no-longer-proactively-recommend-political-content/?guccounter=1] from last week, which halts the proactive recommendation of political content on platforms like Instagram Reels and Threads. We explore the criticism Meta has faced over its handling of political content, the factors driving this significant decision, the fragmented media environment, and how this decision impacts political discourse especially in an election year.  

Switching gears, we dive into the launch [https://www.engadget.com/google-rebrands-its-bard-ai-chatbot-as-gemini-which-now-has-its-own-android-app-151303210.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly96ZW5jYXN0ci5jb20v&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAACrt6f_-Mva4Vko-ZtX9GA_26hOiPeSLqDikT3hyBg_xKCDx86EWdbFQyFozDjkrbEENAGzcTn6ogN7t26iTFemTn0eSqVQc2aZrZK6cv4x_0_oFVkOJ2FZFeHTSU82oSlNjLW1XkDPg6QCtl0NukjL9abv4Za7bSS7AwsUmfX2Q] of Google Gemini app, which is the upgraded version of web-based Google Bard. Our discussion navigates through the app's consumer value proposition, its monetization prospects (or lack thereof), and its role in Google's broader competitive strategy. We unpack what Gemini means for users and how it positions Google in the evolving tech landscape. 

Follow us and join the conversation - every week, Viggy & James provide research-based deep dives on the latest news, company strategies and trends in tech.

This week, we delve into two significant developments. First, we explore Apple's App Store changes, focusing on third-party payments [https://www.engadget.com/apple-updates-us-app-store-guidelines-allowing-developers-to-link-to-third-party-payments-235836357.html] in the US and the introduction of side-loading apps in the EU [https://www.theverge.com/2024/1/25/24050200/apple-third-party-app-stores-allowed-iphone-ios-europe-digital-markets-act]. This move, particularly impactful for app developers like Epic Games, tests the boundaries of compliance while offering new monetization avenues.

Next, we analyze Semafor's venture into AI-generated news with the launch [https://www.semafor.com/article/02/05/2024/introducing-semafor-signals] of Semafor Signals. Our discussion spans across the state of the media landscape today & how it came to be, comparison of their AI-generated content's quality to human-written articles, brand implications for media outlets using AI, and assessing AI's potential in journalism. 

Follow us and join the conversation - every week, Viggy & James provide research-based deep dives on the latest news, company strategies and trends in tech.