Oracle Slides, Disney x OpenAI, SpaceX IPO | Fidji Simo, Dylan Byers, Angela Jiang, Jonathan Slotkin, Aaron Cannon, Karan Kunjur
Oracle Slides, Disney x OpenAI, SpaceX IPO | Fidji Simo, Dylan Byers, Angela Jiang, Jonathan Slotkin, Aaron Cannon, Karan Kunjur
Podcast3 hr 14 min
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Note: AI-generated summary based on third-party content. Not financial advice. Read more.
Quick Insights

A bidding war for Warner Brothers Discovery (WBD) is expected to drive its acquisition price well above $30 per share, with Netflix (NFLX) positioned as a potential buyer. Broadcom (AVGO) remains a strong buy after smashing earnings, reinforcing its key role in the profitable AI infrastructure build-out. Similarly, Salesforce (CRM) is demonstrating successful AI monetization with its "Agent Force" product showing explosive 4.3x year-over-year revenue growth. Conversely, consider avoiding Oracle (ORCL) as the market is highly skeptical of its AI strategy's profitability. For a long-term theme, watch self-driving leaders Waymo (GOOGL) and Tesla (TSLA) as overwhelming safety data pressures regulators to accelerate adoption.

Detailed Analysis

SpaceX (Private)

  • SpaceX is reportedly planning an Initial Public Offering (IPO) with a target valuation of $1.5 trillion, aiming to raise $30 billion.
  • This valuation represents an extremely high multiple of 65x projected revenue, which is more than double the multiple of a high-growth company like Nvidia (NVDA) at 24x revenue.
  • The company's narrative has evolved from Mars colonization to a focus on data centers in space, leveraging its Starlink satellite constellation. This is seen as a massive new market opportunity.
  • Starlink, the satellite internet service, is considered the "big unlock" for SpaceX's value, putting significant competitive pressure on traditional telecommunication companies like Verizon (VZ) and AT&T (T).
  • The $30 billion raised from the IPO may be used to fund the massive capital expenditure required for space-based data centers, including purchasing a large number of expensive GPUs from companies like Nvidia.
  • Founders Fund's early $20 million investment is highlighted as potentially one of the greatest venture capital investments of all time, with their stake potentially being worth $150 billion at the IPO valuation.

Takeaways

  • For Potential IPO Investors: An investment in a SpaceX IPO would be a bet on Elon Musk's vision for a "space economy" centered on data and communications, not just launch services.
  • Valuation is a Key Concern: The proposed $1.5 trillion valuation is exceptionally high. Investors would be paying a significant premium for future growth, which carries substantial risk if the company's ambitious plans for space-based data centers do not materialize as quickly or profitably as hoped.
  • Competitive Moat: SpaceX is described as "the Nvidia of space," with a lead over competitors that is potentially "two orders of magnitude." This dominant position is a significant part of the bullish case.

Oracle (ORCL)

  • The stock has tumbled due to investor anxiety over its AI strategy.
  • Investors are concerned that the company's heavy spending on building out AI data centers is outpacing the financial returns. Revenue and operating income recently fell short of analyst expectations.
  • The market is increasingly skeptical of the economics of Oracle's large cloud deal with OpenAI. One analyst take mentioned that the deal could be worth "negative $7 billion" to Oracle, implying the costs outweigh the benefits.
  • Despite a massive backlog of contracted revenue ($523 billion in remaining performance obligations), the market is giving the company less and less credit for it, suggesting a lack of faith in the profitability of these future contracts.

Takeaways

  • Bearish Sentiment: The current market sentiment for Oracle is negative. The high upfront costs and uncertain profitability of its AI infrastructure build-out are major headwinds for the stock.
  • Contrarian Opportunity?: For an investor who believes the market is underestimating the long-term profitability of providing cloud infrastructure for AI, Oracle could be seen as a contrarian bet. However, the risk is that the market is correct and Oracle will struggle to turn its massive AI investments into profit.
  • Competition: The discussion implies that competitors like Microsoft (MSFT), which passed on a similar deal structure with OpenAI, may have a more advantageous and informed position in the AI infrastructure race.

Disney (DIS)

  • Disney is making a $1 billion investment in OpenAI and licensing its valuable intellectual property (IP) — including Marvel, Star Wars, and Pixar characters — for use in OpenAI's video generation model, Sora.
  • The deal includes a one-year exclusivity clause, giving OpenAI a temporary competitive advantage.
  • A "curated selection" of these AI-generated videos will be available to stream on Disney+, signaling a major strategic push into personalized entertainment.
  • This partnership is happening while Disney is simultaneously taking legal action against Google (GOOGL), accusing it of "copyright infringement on a massive scale" for using Disney's works to train its own AI models.
  • The CEO of Disney, Bob Iger, is also personally an investor in Thrive Capital, a major venture capital backer of OpenAI, suggesting a deep, strategic alignment.

Takeaways

  • Strategic AI Pivot: This is a major strategic move for Disney, positioning it at the forefront of AI-driven entertainment. The partnership could unlock new revenue streams and increase engagement by allowing fans to create personalized content with their favorite characters.
  • Picking a Winner: Disney appears to be picking OpenAI as its primary partner in generative AI, while actively fighting competitors like Google. This could give OpenAI, and by extension Disney's investment in it, a significant advantage in the consumer AI space over the next year.
  • Brand Risk: While innovative, allowing user-generated content with its iconic characters on a platform like Disney+ carries brand risk. The success of this venture will depend heavily on Disney's ability to "curate" the content and maintain its high-quality, family-friendly image.

Broadcom (AVGO)

  • The company "smashed earnings," indicating strong financial performance.
  • Reported Earnings Per Share (EPS) was $19.50, significantly beating the projected $17.20.
  • Revenue came in at $18 billion, ahead of the $17.5 billion forecast.
  • The stock was up 3% in after-hours trading following the announcement.

Takeaways

  • Strong Performance: Broadcom is executing well and benefiting from strong demand, likely driven by the build-out of AI and data center infrastructure.
  • Bullish Indicator: The strong earnings beat and positive stock reaction reinforce its position as a key and profitable player in the semiconductor and infrastructure hardware market. This is a positive sign for current investors.

Salesforce (CRM)

  • Salesforce's AI product, named "Agent Force," is showing explosive growth.
  • The product has reached an Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR) of $540 million.
  • This represents a 4.3x year-over-year growth rate.
  • The success has led to speculation that CEO Marc Benioff might rename the entire company to Agent Force.

Takeaways

  • Successful AI Monetization: Salesforce is demonstrating a strong ability to successfully develop, integrate, and sell AI products to its massive enterprise customer base.
  • Growth Driver: The rapid growth of its AI revenue is a significant positive for the company's future growth prospects and a strong validation of its AI strategy.

Investment Theme: Media M&A (NFLX, WBD, PARA)

  • A major M&A battle is underway for Warner Brothers Discovery (WBD), with the primary bidders being Netflix (NFLX) and a group led by David Ellison (Skydance Media), backed by his father, Larry Ellison (Oracle).
  • The negotiation is described as highly personal and complex, but will ultimately be decided by who offers the most money. The final price is expected to be driven well above $30 per share.
  • Netflix is seen as the front-runner, but the deal is not yet finalized and Ellison's group is expected to make a higher offer because acquiring WBD is critical to their entire strategy of competing with Netflix.
  • The outcome will have massive implications for the media landscape, consolidating a huge amount of content and viewership under one roof. The combined Netflix/WBD or Ellison/Paramount/WBD would control roughly 14-15% of all TV watch hours in America.

Takeaways

  • For WBD Investors: The bidding war is a positive development, as it is likely to drive up the acquisition price, creating potential upside.
  • For NFLX Investors: Acquiring WBD would be a massive strategic move to consolidate content and market power. However, it would come at a very high price and introduce significant integration challenges and debt.
  • Industry Reshaping: This deal will create a media behemoth, putting immense pressure on other players. Investors in any media company should watch this situation closely as it will redefine the competitive landscape.

Investment Theme: Self-Driving Cars

  • The conversation reframes autonomous vehicles from a "tech moonshot" to a "public health urgency."
  • Data from Waymo's 100 million miles of driving shows a dramatic improvement in safety over human drivers.
  • Widespread adoption could potentially eliminate the 40,000 traffic deaths that occur annually in the United States, a leading cause of death for young people.
  • The primary hurdles to adoption are identified as regulatory capture and political opposition, not technological readiness.
  • Pressure from the insurance industry, which will likely offer lower rates for autonomous vehicles, is expected to be a major catalyst for adoption.

Takeaways

  • Long-Term Bullish Case: The public health argument is a powerful catalyst for regulatory change and public acceptance. The potential to save tens of thousands of lives per year creates a strong moral and economic incentive for governments to support deployment.
  • Key Players: Waymo (owned by Google/Alphabet) and Tesla (TSLA) are the clear leaders. As the safety data becomes undeniable, there could be a push for their technology to be mandated in all new vehicles, similar to airbags or seatbelts.
  • Investment Horizon: While the technology is ready, the rollout will be dictated by regulatory battles. This is a long-term theme, but the data suggests the "is it safe?" debate is largely over, shifting the focus to "how do we deploy it?"
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Episode Description
(00:36) - SpaceX IPO (29:55) - Oracle Slides (43:16) - Disney x OpenAI (55:38) - Dylan Byers, a founding partner and senior correspondent at Puck, covers the media industry, including business and gossip. He discusses the media's tendency toward self-obsession, highlighting how minor gossip can overshadow significant industry events. Byers also examines the personal dynamics influencing major mergers, such as the competition between Paramount and Netflix for Warner Bros. Discovery, and the role of AI in the future of media, noting Disney's partnership with OpenAI to create interactive experiences with its characters. (01:28:01) - Fidji Simo, a French-American businesswoman, is the CEO of Applications at OpenAI, having previously served as CEO of Instacart and as head of the Facebook app at Meta. In the conversation, she discusses her transition to OpenAI, emphasizing her commitment to democratizing AI by transforming ChatGPT from a chatbot into a personal super assistant that can manage various aspects of users' lives, such as travel planning and health management. She also highlights the importance of integrating AI into both consumer and enterprise applications, aiming to enhance productivity and accessibility across different sectors. (01:52:26) - 𝕏 Timeline Reactions (02:10:32) - Angela Jiang, a former product manager at OpenAI who contributed to the launches of GPT-3.5 and GPT-4, has co-founded Worktrace AI, a startup focused on automating repetitive tasks in large enterprises. In the conversation, she discusses how Worktrace AI observes employee workflows to identify tasks suitable for AI automation, aiming to bridge the gap between advanced AI models and their practical application in real-world business scenarios. The company recently emerged from stealth mode, announcing a $9 million seed funding round led by Conviction and 8VC, with participation from the OpenAI Fund and notable figures such as Mira Murati and Jason Kwon. (02:20:40) - Jonathan Slotkin, a practicing neurosurgeon and health system leader, discusses the significant public health benefits of autonomous vehicles, emphasizing that data from Waymo's 100 million miles of operation show a 91% reduction in serious injury crashes compared to human drivers. He argues that widespread adoption of self-driving cars could eliminate traffic deaths as a leading cause of mortality in the U.S., highlighting the need to overcome regulatory challenges and public skepticism to realize these life-saving advancements. (02:35:47) - Aaron Cannon, co-founder and CEO of Outset, discusses his company's AI-moderated research platform that enables enterprises to conduct and synthesize video interviews at scale, combining the depth of one-on-one interviews with the speed of surveys. He highlights Outset's recent $17 million Series A funding led by 8VC, bringing total funding to $21 million, and mentions partnerships with Fortune 500 companies like WeightWatchers, Nestlé, and Microsoft. Cannon emphasizes the platform's ability to deliver in-depth insights rapidly, noting that clients have experienced research processes that are over eight times faster and capture ten times more interviews than traditional methods. (02:46:02) - Karan Kunjur, co-founder and CEO of K2 Space, discusses the company's focus on developing large, high-power satellites to meet the growing demand for advanced space capabilities. He highlights the shift from smaller satellites to larger platforms, leveraging the capabilities of modern heavy-lift rockets like SpaceX's Falcon 9 and Starship. Kunjur also emphasizes K2 Space's commitment to providing cost-effective, high-capacity satellite solutions for both commercial and government clients. (03:00:43) - 𝕏 Timeline Reactions TBPN.com is made possible by:  Ramp - https://ramp.com Figma - https://figma.com Vanta - https://vanta.com Linear - https://linear.app Eight Sleep - https://eightsleep.com/tbpn Wander - https://wander.com/tbpn Public - https://public.com AdQuick - https://adquick.com Bezel - https://getbezel.com  Numeral - https://www.numeralhq.com Attio - https://attio.com/tbpn Fin - https://fin.ai/tbpn Graphite - https://graphite.dev Restream - https://restream.io Profound - https://tryprofound.com Julius AI - https://julius.ai turbopuffer - https://turbopuffer.com Polymarket - https://polymarket.com/ fal - https://fal.ai Privy - https://www.privy.io Cognition - https://cognition.ai Gemini - https://gemini.google.com Follow TBPN:  https://TBPN.com https://x.com/tbpn https://open.spotify.com/show/2L6WMqY3GUPCGBD0dX6p00?si=674252d53acf4231 https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/technology-brothers/id1772360235 https://www.youtube.com/@TBPNLive
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