OpenAI Debacle and Nvidia Earnings | Bloomberg Technology
>> FROM THE HEART OF WHERE MONEY, INNOVATION CLYDE IN SILICON VALLEY AND BEYOND, THIS IS "BLOOMBERG TECHNOLOGY" WITH CAROLINE HYDE AND ED LUDLOW. CAROLINE: I'M CAROLINE HYDE AT BLOOMBERG'S WILL TUG WHAT IS IN NEW YORK. ED: I'M ED LUDLOW IN SAN FRANCISCO. THIS IS "BLOOMBERG TECHNOLOGY." CAROLINE: FULL COVERAGE OF OPENAI AS INVESTORS SEEK TO REINSTATE SAM ALTMAN AS CEO. MORE AHEAD. ED: WE WILL PREVIEW WHAT TO EXPECT FROM NVIDIA. WITH A IXL IT IS EXPECTED TO DRIVE A SALES SEARCH FOR THE COMPANY, WE HAVE ALL THE DETAILS. CAROLINE:'ELON
MUSK'S X SUES MEDIA MATTERS. WE WILL DISCUSS THAT IN SO MUCH MORE THROUGHOUT THIS HOUR. LET'S CHECK IN ON THE MARKETS THAT HAVE BEEN ENTERING OVERBOARD TERRITORY COULD SUCH A RUN OF OVER THE COURSE OF NOVEMBER.
WE TAKE A PAUSE AFTER NVIDIA'S EARNINGS. 20-YEAR YIELD COMING DOWN AGAIN. THIS WAS A SUCCESSFUL OPTION -- AUCTION YESTERDAY. WE ARE NOT SEEING ANY SORT OF
PANIC OR FLIGHT AWAY FROM CERTAIN RISK ASSETS. VIX INDEX DOWN A LITTLE BIT. VOLATILITY IN THE FURY NEXT SHOWING AT THE MOMENT WE ARE SANGUINE. HAVE A LITTLE LOOK AT WHAT HAS BEEN HAPPENING IN TERMS OF THE WORLD OF CRYPTO. THE DOLLAR HAS BEEN RELATIVELY MUTED ON THE DAY. WE ARE STILL $37,000. IDIOSYNCRATIC NEWS AROUND CRYPTOCURRENCIES -- FOUR VIMPELCOM CRACK IT.-- FOR EXAMPLE, KRAKEN. ED:
INVIDIOUS STOCKS DOWN 1.6%. IT IS THE BIG ONE AFTER THE BELL. THIS IS A STOCK OF MORE THAN 240% YEAR TO DATE. ZOOM ANOTHER EARNINGS STORY. THE STREETS ARE WORRIED ABOUT GROWTH EXPECTATIONS GOING FORWARD. WE SPEAK TO THE CFO LATER IN THE PROGRAM. IT IS NOT DOING ANYTHING TO SUPPORT THE STOCK, DOWN ALMOST 5%. SO MUCH TALK ABOUT PALANTIR WINNING THE U.K.
NHS CONTRACT FROM A DATA PERSPECTIVE. BACK TO THE OPENAI STORY, IT IS STILL THE TOP STORY. IS SAM ALTMAN COMING BACK OR NOT? MICROSOFT IS A PUBLICLY TRADED PROXY.
DOWN 1.4%, BUT SO IS THE REST OF THE MARKET. SATYA NADELLA HASN'T SPOKEN TO US. THE LATEST BLOOMBERG REPORTING ON OPENAI COMING UP. CAROLINE: THE SITUATION CONTINUES TO UNFOLD AND IT IS CHAOTIC. A BOARDROOM COUP, INVESTORS PUSHING FOR ALTMAN'S RETURN, MICROSOFT HIRING ALTMAN TO LEAD A NEW AI RESEARCH TEAM, NEARLY ALL OPENAI EMPLOYEES THREATENING TO QUIT UNLESS ALTMAN IS REINSTATED IN THE BOARD RESIGNS.
AN OPENAI MEMO VIEWED BY BLOOMBERG SAYS THE COMPANY IS IN INTENSE DISCUSSIONS TO UNIFY ONCE AGAIN. LOOK, WHATEVER THE OUTCOME ENDS UP BEING, MICROSOFT CEO SATYA NADELLA EMPHASIZE THE COMPANY FULLY BACKED SEMEL MEN AND FORMER OPENAI CHAIR GREG BROCKMAN. >> WE ARE LEADING IN THE NEXT GENERATION OF AI TECHNOLOGY. WE CONTINUE TO BE COMMITTED TO OPENAI AND COMMITTED TO SAM AND GREG AND THE TEAM WITH RESPECT TO WHERE THEY ARE. CAROLINE:
JOINING US TO BREAK IT ALL DOWN, SHARE ENOUGH ALREADY. YOU HAD THE UP TO THE MOMENT REPORTING ON WHAT WAS HAPPENING INTERNALLY. IT FEELS AS THOUGH WE COULD EVEN SEE A REINSTATEMENT OR REUNIFICATION? >> THAT'S RIGHT.
THERE IS STILL HOPE BY EMPLOYEES AND MANAGEMENT AT THE COMPANY THAT THEY WILL BE ABLE TO REACH SOME KIND OF AGREEMENT WITH MANAGEMENT. AT AROUND 8:30 LAST NIGHT MANAGEMENT SENT A MEMO TO STAFF SAYING THAT THEY ARE GOING TO CALL IT A NIGHT AND IN THE MORNING, MEANING TODAY, TUESDAY, WHEN PEOPLE HAVE A LITTLE MORE SLEEP, THEY WILL PICK BACK UP. ED: GRAB A LITTLE SIP OF WATER BECAUSE I KNOW IT WAS A LATE NIGHT FOR YOU AS IT WAS FOR ME. THIS HAS COME FROM -- THIS WAS THE GLOBAL AFFAIRS CHIEF. I THINK WHAT THE AUDIENCE DOESN'T HAVE A SENSE OF IS HE WAS INSIDE OPENAI DOING THIS NEGOTIATING AT LEAST ON THE OPENAI SIDE. >> THERE IS KIND OF A CORE MANAGEMENT TEAM, IT IS KIND OF LIKE GOVERNMENT IN EXILE, YOU COULD CALL IT.
IT IS A GROUP OF PEOPLE WHO ARE TRYING TO ACT AS A BRIDGE BETWEEN THIS NEW BOARD AND THE OLD GUARD. AND THEIR GOAL IS TO TRY TO GET SAM ALTMAN, GREG BROCKMAN, THE OLD LEADERS BACK IN PLACE. THERE IS A DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE REPORTING WE HAVE DONE, SATYA NADELLA BEHIND THE SCENES BEING THE PEACE BROKER, BRINGING INVESTORS TO THE TABLE, THE BOARD WASN'T TALKING FOR A WHILE, AND THERE IS WHAT HE SAID ON CAMERA, WE BACK SAM EITHER WAY. DO WE HAVE A SENSE OF WHAT
SAM'S POSITION IS? SHIRIN: I MEAN, LOOK, WE KNOW THAT SAM HAS SAID HE IS GOING TO GO TO MICROSOFT WITH HIS OLD COLLEAGUE GREG BROCKMAN AND START NAI -- LEAD TO THE AI DEPARTMENT THERE. AT THE END OF THE DAY, WE KNOW THAT SAM'S GOAL IS TO DISH OPENAI IS THE COMPANY THAT HE FELT. IF YOU AS BEING OFFERED AN EXECUTIVE POSITION TO LEAD BACK THERE, IT IS HARD TO IMAGINE HIM NOT TAKING THAT. ED: BLOOMBERG'S SHIRIN GHAFFARY, LATE NIGHT FOR YOU, LATE NIGHT FOR THE TEAM ONCE AGAIN. WE ARE EXCITED TO SAY THE
COFOUNDER AND MANAGING PARTNER OF LUX CAPITAL JOINS US ON THE PROGRAM. JUST AS A SCENE SETTER, YOU ARE NOT AN INVESTOR IN OPENAI, AS I UNDERSTAND IT. THERE IS THIS TENDER DUE TO HAPPEN IN THE BACKGROUND. WOULD YOU INVEST IN OPENAI RIGHT NOW IF YOU COULD THROUGH A TENDER MECHANISM OR OTHERWISE? >> RIGHT NOW I WOULD NOT BECAUSE OF THE INSTABILITY. YOU CAN SEE THAT AS AN
OPPORTUNITY. I THINK THAT ONCE THEY GET THIS SORTED OUT PATIENT IMMUNITY FILED TO GO PUBLIC GOOD THE DEMAND -- IMMEDIATELY FILED TO GO PUBLIC. AT THE DEMAND AND INTEREST AND THE SUPPORT FOR SAM IS UNPRECEDENTED. IT IS ALMOST AN UNINTENDED PRE-IPO ROADSHOW. WHILE WE ARE NOT AN INVESTOR IN OPENAI, I DO THINK THAT IF I WERE THEM AND I WAS ON THE ULTIMATE BOARD, A RESTRUCTUR ED GOVERNANCE BOARD, I WOULD FILE FOR IPO. CAROLINE: THAT IS A CONTRARIAN VIEW OR ULTIMATELY IT LOOKS LIKE THE ENTIRE COMPANY IS DESTROYING ITSELF. WHAT WITH THE GOVERNANCE HAVE
TO LOOK LIKE IF A COMPANY WAS TO GO PUBLIC? JOSH: I THINK IT IS THE TRADITIONAL GOVERNANCE YOU WANT TO SEE. THERE IS A BIG GIVENS BETWEEN GIVING FOUNDERS CONTROL, WHICH HAS WORKED ISHMAEL FROM TECH AND GOOGLE AND META -- AND HAVING BASIC GOVERNANCE CHECKS AND BALANCES. YOU WILL FOR THE CAPRICIOUS WHIMS OF THE INDIVIDUALS AROUND THE TABLE. YOU WANT THE JUDGMENT TO AVOID
THIS MAKING DEVASTATING MISTAKES THAT CAN BE VERY HARD TO RECOVER FROM. THE IMPORTANT THING IS THIS WASN'T BECAUSE OF ABSENCE OF GPU'S, IT WASN'T BECAUSE OF THE ABSENCE OF COMPUTER. THE GREAT IRONY IS PEOPLE ARE SO WORRIED ABOUT AI DESTROYING THE STUFF. IT WAS HUMAN NATURE. WAS A BUNCH OF PEOPLE IN A ROOM. THE EMOTIONS THAT DROVE THE WHIMSICAL AND CAPRICIOUS DECISION TO SAY WE ARE GOING TO OUST THIS BELOVED LEADER IN TECH. ED: WE JUST SHOWED A GRAPHIC WITH SOME OF YOUR PORTFOLIO COMPANIES. YOU GUYS ARE INVESTING NAI, AI
NATIVE FOR AI-ADJACENT COMPANIES . WHAT DOES THIS DO FOR THE COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE? WE ALL RECOGNIZE THAT OPENAI WAS THE TECHNOLOGICAL LEADER, AND IN SOME SENSE THE COMMERCIAL LEADER . WHAT OPPORTUNITY DOES THIS PRESENT TO THOSE YOU ARE BACK IN? JOSH: THE ONE THING THAT OPENAI HAD WAS THE POLE POSITION -- I BELIEVE THEY CAN RECOVER IT. THEY HAD PREDICTABILITY AND RELIABILITY. CONFIDENCE GIVES TRUST. TRUST IS THE ULTIMATE CURRENCY. THE REASON I WATCH BLOOMBERG AND PEOPLE WATCH YOU EVERY IS THEY TRUST YOU. PEOPLE PARTNER WITH THE COMPANY
BECAUSE THEY TRUSTED. THIS WE CAN TRUST BLEW UP. I CAN TAKE 10 YEARS TO BUILD A REPUTATION AND 10 SECONDS TO LOSE IT. YOU HAVE ALL THE STARTUPS THAT WITH THE OPENAI DEMO DAY THOUGHT THEY JUST KILLED OUR LATEST PRODUCT OR FUTURE. NOW THEY HAVE A SECOND CHANCE
BECAUSE ANY COMPANY WORKING WITH THE HOSPITAL SYSTEM OR GOVERNMENT GROUP OR MAJOR CORPORATION, ALL OF THOSE ENTITIES WANT TO KNOW THEY ARE WORKING WITH SOMEONE WHO IS RELIABLE AND PREDICTABLE AND STABLE. YOU LOOK AT OUR COMPANIES HUGGING FACE ON THE OPEN SOURCE. THIS IS PROBABLY EXHIBIT A OF WHY YOU WANT OPEN SOURCE SYSTEMS AS OPPOSED TO CLOSED, SILO, CONCENTRATED SYSTEMS. IF YOU CARE ABOUT HUMANITY, IF YOU CARE ABOUT AI GETTING OUT INTO THE FAR REACHES OF THE INDUSTRY, YOU WANT AN OPEN SYSTEM. WHETHER IT IS HUGGING FACE, DOING DISTRIBUTED COMPUTING, RUNWAY ML, THEY ARE ALL THE FASTEST-GROWING AND WILL POSITION COMPANIES IN THE SPACES BECAUSE THEY ARE VERY HEAVILY GEARED TOWARDS OPEN SOURCE. CAROLINE: A LOT OF THEM ARE GEARED TO BEING SAFE AND ULTIMATELY ENSURING THAT IN SOME WAY THAT ALIGNS, IF NOT IN OPENAI'S CASE, FIRST ABOVE PROFITABILITY. I'M INTERESTED IN THE TENSION
WE SEE ABOUT ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AND ULTIMATELY WHETHER OR NOT WE CAN SEEM MONUMENTAL VALUATIONS AND PROFITABILITY AT THE SAME TIME AS, WELL, ETHICAL USE AND DEPLOYMENT. JOSH: I DO THINK SO. I THINK THE ETHICS IN THE SAFETY ARE BASIC GOOD JUDGMENT. ALWAYS WITH THIS BOARD COUP AND THE CRAZINESS IS BAD JUDGMENT -- WHAT WE SAW WITH THIS BOARD COUP AND THE CRAZINESS IS BAD JUDGMENT. WHEN ANYBODY SAYS "I'M DOING THIS TO SAVE THE WORLD," IT GETS MY SPIDEY SENSE GOING, I DON'T TRUST THAT.
IF I WANT TO SOLVE PROBLEMS AND GET EVERY STUDENT AND TEACHER A TUTOR AND HELP REDUCE HOSPITAL BILLS AND GET PEOPLE DIFFERENTIAL DIAGNOSES AND DISCOVER NEW DRUGS, THOSE ARE THE THINGS YOU WANT TO BE BACKING. MOST OF THOSE PEOPLE ARE THINKING, WHAT COULD GO WRONG. FAILURE COMES FROM FAILURE TO IMAGINE FAILURE.
IF YOU ARE THINKING ADEQUATELY ABOUT THE DOWNSIDES, WHAT CAN GO WRONG, WITHOUT A PURE TECHNICAL OPTIMIST VIEW, YOU DON'T HAVE TO HAVE REGULATION. YOU DON'T HAVE TO HAVE INTENSE SCRUTINY. IT SHOULD BE SELF REFLECTION AND GOOD LEADERSHIP TO ANTICIPATE THE FAILURE POINTS SO AS TO AVOID THEM. WHAT HAPPENED THIS WEEKEND WITH
OPENAI, WHAT IS STILL HAPPENING, WAS A FAILURE OF IMAGINATION. PEOPLE DID NOT IMAGINE THIS WAS POSSIBLE, THAT SO MUCH RISK COULD BE CONCENTRATED IN A HANDFUL OF PEOPLE'S HANDS TO MAKE A DECISION ON WHAT THE FUTURE WOULD BE. THERE IS ONE BIG WINNER HERE. AS YOU NOTED IS MICROSOFT. MY GROSS UP -- PEOPLE -- MICROSOFT, PEOPLE ARE FORGETTING THIS -- CAROLINE: REALLY, JOSH? ULTIMATELY THEY HAVE REGULATORY EXPOSURE AND CUTS EXPOSURE AND DON'T HAVE THE ARM'S-LENGTH PRODUCTION OF SEEING HALLUCINATION BUILT ON THEIR OWN BRANDED TYPE. JOSH: I WILL TRADE THAT IF I WAS A MICROSOFT SHAREHOLDER, I WOULD PRAY THAT EVERY TIME.
$10 BILLION OF COMMITTED CAPITAL. WHAT DID THEY GET IN MARKET CAP VALUE? A TRILLION DOLLARS COULD THAT IS ONE OF THE BEST TRADES IN TECHNOLOGY HISTORY. $10 BILLION TO CREATE A TRILLION DOLLARS OF MARKET VALUE.
I THINK THEY CAN AFFORD WHETHER IT IS $100 BILLION OF REGULATORY COSTS, BRAD SMITH TRYING TO GET REVELATORY CAPTURE, WHICH I DON'T APPROVE OF THAT I THINK IT IS WRONG OF THIS INDUSTRY COMMIT IS DISINGENUOUS IN ITS ATTEMPT -- BUT MICROSOFT HAS WON, $10 BILLION TO WIN A TRILLION DOLLARS OF MARKET VALUE IS A COUP OF EPIC PROPORTIONS. CAROLINE: BOY, ARE WE GOING TO TALK ABOUT THAT MORE. JOSH WOLFE, THANK YOU SO MUCH, MANAGING PARTNER OF LUX CAPITAL. WE HAVE MARGARET MITCHELL JOINING US ON THE SHOW, CHIEF ETHICS SCIENTIST. A LITTLE BIT MORE ON THE ETHICS SIDE OF THE EQUATION.
WE PUSH AHEAD TO BIG EARNINGS AFTER THE BELL. OF COURSE WE'RE TALKING AI, OF COURSE WE ARE TALKING NVIDIA'S RESULTS. THIS IS "BLOOMBERG TECHNOLOGY." ED: NVIDIA'S EARNINGS ARE THE BIG ONE AFTER THE BELL. AND MOSTS EXPECTS -- ANALYSTS
EXPECT SALES TO JUMP 151% TO BEEN BY DEMAND FOR THE AI ACCELERATORS PROFIT, ALSO EXPECTED TO JUMP -- WALL STREET SEES A LEAP IN PROFIT, $3.36 OF EARNINGS-PER-SHARE. IN VIA NVIDIA -- NVIDIA LEADS THE MARKET WITH ITS GPU USED TO TRAIN ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE MODELS. INVESTORS WON A BIT ON THE SUPER CHIP THAT STARTED SHIPPING LAST QUARTER. AN IMPROVED VERSION IS EXPECTED TO GO OUT AND THE SECOND QUARTER OF NEXT YEAR. THAT'S GET THE ANALYSIS WITH A BLOOMBERG INTELLIGENCE ANALYST.
HIGH BAR GOING INTO EARNINGS. WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING FOR? >> IT'S BEEN COMING UP AND UP AND EVERYONE EXPECTS THEM -- IT IS GOING TO COME DOWN TO HOW MUCH MORE CAN THEY KEEP REPEATING THE PERFORMANCE OVER THE LAST TWO QUARTERS. ED: PART OF THE PERFORMANCE IS THAT THEY ARE SUPPLY CONSTRAINED. HOW DOES IT FACTOR INTO YOUR MODEL? KUNJAN: THEY WILL SHIP A LOT MORE H100S. THE FIRST-HALF CONTRIBUTION
WOULD BE 30 TO 40% OF THE TOTAL GPU VOLUME. WE EXPECT THAT TO SIGNIFICANTLY INCREASE IN THE SECOND HALF BECAUSE WITH EACH ONE THEY GET A LOT MORE ASP. CAROLINE: WE THANK YOU SO MUCH. YOU WILL BE GLUED TO THE SCREENS AFTER THE BELL. JOINING US TO THINK MORE BROADLY ABOUT AI WHERE WE ARE CURRENTLY TRADING ACROSS THE BOARD FOR THE NASDAQ, HILLARY FISHER, SENIOR RESEARCH ANALYST AT CLEAR BRIDGE. DOING D5 INSIGHTS INTO CERTAIN
NAMES THAT HAVE BEEN BENEFITING FROM ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE. HOW HAVE WE SEEN VALUATIONS EXCEEDED THE GROWTH TRAJECTORY, THE MONETIZATION OPTIONS? >> GOOD TO BE HERE. I CAN, CAROLINE, THANK YOU, ED -- THANK YOU, CAROLINE, THANK YOU, EDDIE. NO, I DON'T THINK SO. WE HAVE BEEN SEEING PUSH AND PULL BETWEEN FUNDAMENTALS BUT FUNDAMENT ALSO STARTING TO COME THROUGH. AI MONETIZATION IS IN THE
EARLIEST STAGES, JUST ON THE CUSP OF SEEING WHAT THE COMPANIES WILL GARNER. WHAT HAS BEEN SO DISRUPTIVE TO THE SLEEP OF JOURNALISTS AND THOSE WORKING ON OPENAI BUT ALSO THE ECOSYSTEM MORE BROADLY HAS BEEN THIS SELF-DESTRUCTION PATH -- THIS IS A PRIVATE COMPANY, NOT ONE YOU WILL BE DOING DEEP DIVE RESEARCH ON TOO MUCH. WHAT THEY HAVE DONE HAS CREATED FIERCE COMPETITION AND EXUBERANCE EVER SINCE THE LAUNCH OF CHATGPT IN NOVEMBER OF LAST YEAR.
IS IT MORE COMPETITIVE NOW FOR SPACE, DO YOU THINK? HILARY: THE SPACE IS MORE COMPETITIVE AND WILL BE INCREASINGLY COMPETITIVE, BUT THE OPPORTUNITIES REASON EACH WEEK, EACH MONTH, MEANING COMPANIES ARE FIGURING OUT MORE AND MORE WAYS TO UTILIZE AI AND VENDORS ARE FIGURING OUT APPLICATIONS TO WHICH TO APPLY IT. I THINK WE ARE JUST IN THE INFANCY OF ALL THAT. YES, IT WILL BECOME MORE COMPETITIVE, ABSOLUTELY. CAROLINE: HAS IT BEEN A WORRY FOR THE COMPANIES YOU MONITOR OR MORE BROADLY THAT YOUR COMPANY HOLDS THAT ARE BASED ON THE LANGUAGE MODELS OF OPENAI? HILARY: I'M SORRY? CAROLINE: ULTIMATELY MANY COMPANIES HAVE BEEN BUILDING AROUND THE ARCHITECTURE OPENAI HAS BUILT, AND NOW PEOPLE ARE WORRIED ABOUT THE RESILIENCY. IS THAT A CONCERN? HILARY: WELL, NONE OF THE -- THE SITUATION AT OPENAI HAS INTRODUCED SOME LEVEL OF NEAR-TERM UNCERTAINTY, BUT MICROSOFT GAVE EVERYBODY AT OPENAI A BEAR HUG. SAM ALLMAN HAS APPEARED IN THE
JOINED MICROSOFT IN THE RESEARCH FASHION. IT IS TOO SOON TO CALL THIS A MAJOR ISSUE. MICROSOFT HAS HAD EXCLUSIVE ACCESS TO THE TECHNOLOGY. I THINK WHAT MICROSOFT NEEDS TO DO IS DRAW THIS SITUATION TO SOME FORM OF CONCLUSION. EITHER THEY CAN STABILIZE
OPENAI, THEY CAN ENCOURAGE SEMEL AND TO GO BACK TO OPENAI, OR THEY COULD TAKE ON THE MAJORITY OF THE EMPLOYEE BASE OF OPENAI FOR THE EMPLOYEES THEY WOULD LIKE, WHICH THEY CERTAINLY CAN DO. WE ARE GOING TO SEE A CONCLUSION BEFORE NOT TOO LONG, AND THEN WE CAN LOOK FORWARD. OTHER COMPANIES ARE COMPETING. I'M NOT SURE THAT THIS GIVES
THEM A MAJOR LEG UP YET. THERE SEEMS TO BE LOYALTY ON THE PART OF THAT TEAM. THEY WOULD LIKE TO STAY TOGETHER IF THEY CAN. MICROSOFT GAVE SIGNALS THAT THEY ARE MAKING IT POSSIBLE. CAROLINE: WE ALWAYS LOVE HAVING YOU WANT BECAUSE YOU LIKE STOCKS LIKE MICROSOFT, CRM SNOW, ORACLE, TO NAME BUT A FEW. I APPRECIATE YOU COMING ON ON A HOLIDAY-SHORTENED WEEK.
LET'S BRING YOU BREAKING NEWS, BECAUSE WE HAVE FURTHER VIEWPOINTS ON WHAT IS HAPPENING WITH BINANCE. CZ PLANS TO STEP DOWN AND PLEAD GUILTY, THIS BEING REPORTED BY "THE WALL STREET JOURNAL." CZ THUS FAR HAS BEEN INVESTIGATED AND THE SEC, APARTMENT OF JUSTICE LOOKING INTO WHAT HAD BEEN OCCURRING OVER BINANCE. CZ WILL ENTER A PLEA IN COURT IN SEATTLE ON TUESDAY, "THE WALL STREET JOURNAL" IS REPORTING. THE PLANTS MAY PRESERVE THE COMPANY'S ABILITY TO OPERATE IN THE UNITED STATES. CZ WILL MAINTAIN AUTHORITY OWNERSHIP OF BINANCE, BUT THE FOUNDER MAY BE PLEADING GUILTY AND STEPPING DOWN, ACCORDING TO "THE WALL STREET JOURNAL."
ALSO, X POINTING TO FIGURE F -- POINTING THE FINGER AT A MEDIA WATCHDOG GROUP AS ADVERTISERS ARE FLEEING THE PLATFORM. THIS IS "BLOOMBERG TECHNOLOGY." CAROLINE: TIME FOR "TALKING TECH." CRYPTO EXCHANGE PLATFORM KRAKEN IS IN HOT WATER WITH THE SEC. THE SEC SAYS KRAKEN CO-MINGLE THE CLIENT ASSETS WITH ITS OWN.
KRAKEN SAYS IT IS AGREED AND PLANS TO VIGOROUSLY DEFEND ITS POSITION. PRESIDENT BIDEN AND VICE PRESIDENT KAMALA HARRIS ARE OFFICIALLY ON THREADS. THE WHITE HOUSE OFFICIAL ACCOUNTS -- OPENED OFFICIAL ACCOUNTS FOR THE FIRST LADY AND SECOND GENTLEMAN, DAYS AFTER THE WHITE HOUSE CONDEMNED ELON MUSK. A COMMITTEES CALLING SOCIAL-IMMEDIATE EXECUTIVES WHO TESTIFY REGARDING ONLINE SEXUAL EXPLOITATION. THEY INCLUDE SNAP'S EVAN SPIEGEL AND X CEO LINDA YACCARINO MORE ON X. ED: THE PLATFORM FORMERLY KNOWN AS TWITTER IS SUING WATCHDOG GROUP MEDIA MATTERS CLAIMING THAT IT MALICIOUSLY DREW ADVERTISERS AWAY FROM THE PLATFORM.
MUSK HAS BEEN VERY VOCAL ON X, YACCARINO HAS BEEN VOCAL ON X. WHAT IS IT THEY ARE ACCUSING MEDIA MATTERS OF? >> THEY ARE SAYING MEDIA MATTERS MISCHARACTERIZED SOME OF THE CONTENT ON THE PLATFORM. ED: THIS IS THE REPORT A WEEK AGO. AISHA:
THE MEDIA MATTERS REPORT SAID THEY FOUND ADS FROM HUGE ADVERTISERS LIKE IBM AND APPLE NEXT TO PRO-NAZI CONTENT. WHAT YACCARINO AND MUSK ARE ARGUING IS THAT IS NOT THE CASE, IT IS ONLY A SMALL NUMBER OF PEOPLE THAT SO IT, THAT MEDIA MATTERS MANIPULATED THEIR FEED. THEY HAVE ALL THESE ARGUMENT AGAINST WHY THEY DON'T THINK THAT IS EXACTLY ACCURATE. CAROLINE: MEANWHILE, MEDIA MEDICINE SAYS THEY STAND BY THEIR REPORTING, AND ULTIMATELY THINK -- MEDIA MATTERS SAYS THEY STAND BY THEIR REPORTING AND ULTIMATELY THINK -- AISHA: MEDIA MATTERS SAYS WE HAVE SEEN THE ADS AND WE SAW THEM NEXT TO PRO-NAZI CONTENT. UNFORTUNATELY, THIS IS NOT SOMETHING THAT IS NEW. ADVERTISERS THAT SEEN AS THE
PAST YEAR. THIS IS AN ONGOING SAGA OF ADVERTISERS FINDING THEIR ADS NEXT TO CONTENT THEY DON'T LIKE. MEDIA MATTERS STANDS BY WHAT THEY PUT. ED: AT THE HEART OF THIS IS THE PERVASIVENESS OF FAKE CONTENT ON THE PLATFORM AND THE EXPOSURE OF THE ADVERTISERS.
UNI REPORTED THAT YACCARINO -- YOU AND I REPORTED THAT YACCARINO HAS ACKNOWLEDGED BROADLY ADVERTISER FLIGHT. WHAT HAS SHE SAID ABOUT ADDRESSING THE ISSUE AT HEART, THE PERVASIVENESS OF CONTENT ON THE PLATFORM? AISHA: THEY CONTINUE TO GO BACK TO THE POLICIES AND SAID THEY HAVE TAKEN STEPS TO PREVENT ANTISEMITIC CONTENT ON THE PLATFORM, THEY STAND BY THE POLICIES THEY HAVE. BUT IT IS HARD BECAUSE THEY CONTINUE TO SAY THAT, BUT ADVERTISERS ARE CONTINUING TO SEE THEIR ADS NEXT TO THIS CONTENT. AD AGENCY EXECUTIVE'S ARE FED UP WITH A LOT OF THE STUFF THEY ARE SEEING.
THEY HAVE CONSISTENTLY POINTED TO THE POLICIES AND ACTIONS THEY ARE TAKING, BUT FROM THE ADVERTISER PERSPECTIVE IT DOESN'T SEEM TO BE A DIFFERENCE, WHICH IS WHY WE ARE SEEING APPLE AND IBM AND COMCAST ANALOGIES CONVEYS FOR THEIR ADS FROM THE PLATFORM. CAROLINE: AISHA COUNTS, BUSY AS ALWAYS. THANK YOU FOR THE DEEP DIVE THERE. WE GO BACK TO THE ONGOING, AT OPENAI -- ONGOING DRAMA AT OPENAI. WE DISCUSSED WITH MARGARET MITCHELL OF HUGGING FACE, WHAT IT MEANS FOR AI MORE BROADLY.
ED: U.S. ADRS, THAT CHATBOT HOPING THE TOP LINE IN THE QUARTER. THIS IS BLOOMBERG. ED: WELCOME BACK TO "BLOOMBERG TECHNOLOGY." I'M ED LUDLOW IN SAN FRANCISCO. CAROLINE: I AM CAROLINE HYDE IN NEW YORK. "THE WALL STREET JOURNAL"
REPORTING THAT THE CEO OF BINANCE, CZ, HAS STEPPED DOWN AND PLEADED GUILTY TO ANTI-MONEY LAUNDERING REQUIREMENTS. THE CRYPTOCURRENCY EXCHANGE WILL PAY FINES. THIS IS THE DOJ'S INVESTIGATION, NOT THE SEC. WHAT CAUGHT YOUR ATTENTION FROM THIS LINE FROM "THE WALL STREET JOURNAL"? SONALI: THE FUNDS WILL BE $4.3 BILLION, AND IT DOES CLOSE A MATTER THAT
HAS BEEN GOING ON FOR MANY YEARS. INVESTIGATION FROM THE JUSTICE DEPARTMENT WITH INVOLVEMENT FROM THE TREASURY DEPARTMENT AND COMMODITY FUTURE TRADING COMMISSION. THIS DOES CLOSE THAT PAGE FOUR BINANCE, AND CHANGPENG ZHAO IS NOT ONLY STEPPING DOWN AS CEO, ACCORDING TO "THE WALL STREET JOURNAL," HE CAN RETAIN HIS MAJORITY OWNERSHIP OF FINANCE, AND THE SETTLEMENT WOULD ALLOW HIM TO KEEP WRITING. THIS IS THE WORLD'S LARGEST CRYPTO EXCHANGE. PACIFIC COMPANY IS A BIG DEAL IN LIGHT OF HIS PROBE -- TO SAVE THE COMPANY IS A BIG DEAL IN LIGHT OF THIS PROVEN SETTLEMENT IS SCHEDULED TO APPEAR IN COURT TUESDAY AFTERNOON AND ENTER HIS GUILTY PLEA. "THE JOURNAL" DOES TRAWL PARALLEL TO A PRIOR CASE.
ARTHUR HAYES HAD PLED GUILTY TO VIOLATING ANTI-MONEY LAUNDERING LAWS AND WAS SENTENCED TO TWO YEARS OF PROBATION AND AVOIDED JAIL TIME. THE SENTENCING WILL COME LATER. HE IS EXPECTED TO PLEAD GUILTY IN COURT. CAROLINE: NOTABLY, AS YOU SAY, HAYES DIDN'T HAVE JAIL TIME, AND WE WONDER WHAT WOULD HAPPEN IN TERMS OF THE GUILTY PLEA FROM CZ. IS THIS ENOUGH TO THEN APPEASE THE SEC? WHAT IS THE OFFERING TO SETTLE THE ONGOING INVESTIGATION? SONALI: WE KNOW THE SEC AMONG ALL REGULATORY BODIES, THE DOJ HAS COME DOWN HARD ON THE INDUSTRY. BUT THE SHEER SCALE OF HOW THEY HAVE BEEN APPROACHING THE INDUSTRY IS MASSIVE. YOU SAW THEIR APPROACH TO KRAKEN AND THEY'RE CONCERNED WITH MANY CRYPTO EXCHANGE'S AND THEIR ABILITY TO LIST TOKENS AND WHAT THE SEC LEAVES OUR SECURITIES.
FOR BINANCE TO KEEP OPERATING DRAWS A LOT OF QUESTIONS. REMEMBER, WHAT IS FIXED HERE? HE HAS PLED GUILTY TO VIOLATING ANTI-MONEY LAUNDERING LAWS IN THE UNITED STATES. WHAT IS BEING FIXED AT A PLACE LIKE BINANCE TO ENSURE THIS DOESN'T HAPPEN IN THE FUTURE IS A CRITICAL QUESTION AS WE THINK ABOUT THE FUTURE OF THESE CRYPTO EXCHANGES. CAROLINE: AND THE FUTURE OF RETAINING TALENT, WHICH QUITE A FEW EXECUTIVES HAVE BEEN DEPARTING OF LATE. SONALI BASAK ACROSS THESE BREAKING NEWS HEADLINES. CATCH SONALI WITH KAILEY LEINZ ON "BLOOMBERG CRYPTO" AT 1:00 P.M. NEW YORK TIME COULD IT WILL BE
SPEAKING TO THE COMMISSIONER, HESTER PIERCE. ED: INVESTORS ARE STILL TRYING TO RETURN CO-FOUNDER SAM ALTMAN TO A LEADERSHIP ROLE OF THE COMPANY. OPENAI STAFF ARE THREATENING MASS MUTINY, SAYING THEY WILL FOLLOW HIM TO MICROSOFT UNLESS THE BOARD RESIGNS. OUR CRIS SATYA NADELLA SPOKE TO EMILY CHANG LAST NIGHT.
THEY SAID THAT SHE SAID THEY WERE NOT OPPOSED THE RETURN TO OPENAI. SATYA: WE CONTINUE TO BE COMMITTED TO OPENAI AND COMMITTED TO SAM AND GREG AND THE TEAM, IRRESPECTIVE OF WHERE THEY ARE. I THINK ABOUT SAM HAS CHOSEN MULTIPLE TIMES TO WORK WITH US AND THAT IS FANTASTIC TO SEE. THE REAL THING IS THE CAPABILITY MICROSOFT HAS ACROSS THE TECH STACK IS WHAT ATTRACTS GREAT PEOPLE LIKE SAM, PEOPLE LIKE SAM, INNOVATORS LIKE SAM WHEN IT COMES TO AI, TO COME TO US, AND WE ARE THRILLED ABOUT IT. EMILY: YOU INCREDIBLY QUICKLY HIRED SAM AS WELL AS GREG. WE ARE HEARING THAT SAM WANTS TO RETURN, INVESTORS WANT HIM TO RETURN TO OPENAI. HOW WOULD YOU FEEL ABOUT THAT?
SATYA: AS I SAID, WE WANT TO PARTNER WITH OPENAI AND WE WANT TO PARTNER WITH SAM. IRRESPECTIVE OF WHERE SAM IS, HE IS WORKING WITH MICROSOFT. THAT IS THE CASE ON FRIDAY AND THAT IS THE CASE TODAY AND I ABSOLUTELY BELIEVE THAT WILL BE THE CASE TOMORROW. EMILY: WE UNDERSTAND THAT TO SUPPORT A RETURN OF SAM ALTMAN TO OPENAI, MICROSOFT WANTS CHANGES TO THE BOARD, TO GOVERNANCE, TO ITS OVERALL CONTRACT WITH OPENAI SO SOMETHING LIKE THIS NEVER HAPPENS AGAIN. WHAT SPECIFICALLY ARE YOU LOOKING FOR? WOULD YOU WANT A BOARD SEAT? IF NOT, WHAT ELSE? SATYA: WE DEFINITELY WANT GOVERNANCE CHANGES. SURPRISES ARE BAD. WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THINGS ARE
DONE IN A WAY THAT WOULD ALLOW US TO CONTINUE TO PARTNER WELL. THIS IDEA THAT SOMEHOW SUDDENLY CHANGES HAPPEN WITHOUT BEING IN THE LOOP IS NOT GOOD. WE WILL DEFINITELY ENSURE THAT THE CHANGES THAT ARE NEEDED HAPPEN.
AND WE CONTINUE TO BE ABLE TO GO ALONG ON THE PARTNERSHIP WITH OPENAI. CAROLINE: MICROSOFT CEO SATYA NADELLA ALONG WITH OUR OWN EMILY CHANG. LET'S KEEP DATING ON HOW ALL OF THIS JUST DIGGING -- LET'S KEEP TAKING ON HOW ALL OF THIS IMPACTS MICROSOFT. AUSTIN CARR HAS AN INTERESTING TAKE. THE INITIAL GREED WAS SATYA WINS, LEMONADE OUT OF LEMONS, HE MANAGES TO TURN AROUND THE SITUATION. YOUR DIGGING SHOWS THAT PERHAPS LONGER TERM THIS IS NOT THE BEST CASE SCENARIO TO -- MICROSOFT BRINGING OPENAI IN-HOUSE.
>> RIGHT AT THE BEGINNING THERE WAS THE IDEA THAT MICROSOFT WAS THE BIG WINNER. THE REALITY IS A BIT MORE WHEN VACATED. -- A BIT MORE COMPLICATED. IF IT SUDDENLY FALLS APART, IT DOESN'T LOOK FOR MICROSOFT, DOESN'T LOOK GOOD THAT THEY INVESTED SO MUCH MONEY, GIVEN SO MUCH GOVERNANCE HURDLES THAT THE STARTUP CLEARLY HAD PIT THE SECOND THING IS HIRING SAM ALTMAN. YOU HEARD HOW MANY TIMES SATYA SAID SALMON THAT INTERVIEW, A DOZEN OR MORE. THIS IS ABOUT DAMAGE CONTROL --
HOW CAN WE KEEP SAM ALTMAN IN THE MICROSOFT FAMILY? THAT IS THE FIRST THING THEY DID, HIRE SAM TO LEAD THE NEW RESEARCH GROUP. THAT DOESN'T COME WITHOUT COMPLICATIONS. IT WILL BE TREMENDOUSLY EXPENSIVE IF YOU HAVE HUNDREDS OF EMPLOYEES EXITING OPENAI TO REBUILD SOMETHING SIMILAR FROM SCRATCH INSIDE MICROSOFT YOU HAVE IP ISSUES. YOU HAVE BUREAUCRATIC ISSUES
WITHIN MICROSOFT, WHICH HAS ITS OWN AI AND RESEARCH TEAMS. IT IS TOO EARLY TO SAY THAT MICROSOFT THE CLEAR WINNER IN THIS. YOU SAW SATYA DOING AN EXCELLENT JOB OF DAMAGE CONTROL THE LAST 72 HOURS. ED: AUSTIN CARR, WAS BEEN WRITING "THE TECH DAILY," A SMART TAKE ON THE NEWS OF THE DAY AND THE HOUR. LET'S TURN TO ANOTHER ACTUAL PLAYER IN THE FIELD OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE, HUGGING FACE, AND DIVE MORE INTO THE IMPLICATIONS FOR THE AI INDUSTRY AT LARGE.
WE ARE JOINED BY THE CHIEF ETHICS SCIENTIST MARGARET MITCHELL. I KNOW THAT YOU HAVE RELATIONSHIPS WITH THE MANY THAT WORK AT OPENAI. FAILURE INDUSTRY PEERS, BUT YOU HAVE -- THEY ARE YOUR INDUSTRY PEERS, YOU HAVE DIRECT RELATIONSHIPS. I WOULD LIKE YOUR OVERALL THOUGHTS ON WHAT IS HAPPENING WITH OPENAI ABOUT THREE MILES FROM WHERE I'M SITTING. MARGARET: I THINK I HAVE A DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVE THAT A LOT OF PEOPLE, ALTHOUGH YOUR RECENT INTERVIEWS ARE HITTING ON THEM. I DON'T KNOW THAT IT IS THE CASE THAT THE BOARD HAS FAILED BROADLY. I DO THINK THEY HAVE FAILED THE
EMPLOYEES BECAUSE OF THIS CREATION OF SHOCK AND TRAUMA. WHAT WE ARE SEEING IS A RESPONSE BASED ON THAT. WHEN YOU HAVE THE RUG PULLED OUT FROM UNDER YOU, YOU WANT TO GET THE RUG BACK. THAT IS HAPPENING, AND THAT
COULD ARGUABLY BE A FAILURE OF THE BOARD. BUT I THINK BROADLY THE BOARD IS STICKING TO SOME OF ITS ORIGINAL GOALS, WHICH IS TO BALANCE THE PROFIT AND THE NONPROFIT AND MAKE SURE THAT SAFETY CONCERNS ARE BEING TAKEN SERIOUSLY AND EVEN MAKING THE DECISION TO LOSE PROFIT IN CASES WHERE SOME OF THE SAFETY CONCERNS ARE STARTING TO BECOME OVERWHELMING. CAROLINE: I THINK IF ONE GOES OPENLY TO OPENAI'S WEBSITE AND LOOKS AT ITS GOVERNANCE AND THE STATEMENT IT MAKES, AND MAKES IT ABUNDANTLY CLEAR THEY PUT SAFETY AHEAD OF PROFITS, AND THE NOT-FOR-PROFIT GOVERNANCE BOARD IN HINDSIGHT WASN'T TOTALLY ALIGNED. HAS THE DISCUSSION POINT CHANGED LONGER-TERM HERE, MARGARET? DO YOU THINK PEOPLE START TO SAY WE HAVE TO PUT THE SAFETY TO ONE SIDE BECAUSE WE NEED TO KEEP ON BUILDING AND THE FOUNDERS NEED TO KEEP ON DOING DEALS AND THE COMPUTER POWER IS SO EXPENSIVE? MARGARET: YEAH, I MEAN, I THINK THERE WILL DEFINITELY BE SOME CHANGES AND UPDATES TO THIS KIND OF STRUCTURE. THE CAP PROFIT MODEL THAT
OPENAI WAS SPEARHEADING WAS MORE OF AN EXPERIMENT, AND WITH EXPERIMENTS IN GENERAL WITH AI AND SCIENCE, YOU UPDATE BASED ON THE RESULTS YOU ARE GETTING. WE ARE SEEING THAT HERE AND WE WILL SEE CHANGES IN LIGHT OF THE FACT THAT THERE CLEARLY IS A NEED TO HAVE A RELIANCE ON COMMERCIAL INTERESTS, COMPANIES LIKE MICROSOFT TO PROVIDE COMPUTE. YOU DON'T WANT TO SURPRISE SATYA IF YOU HAVE THIS DEPENDENCY. THERE WILL PROBABLY BE SOME
UPDATES. I DO THINK THAT THE BOARD AS ORIGINALLY CONSTRUCTED IS BASICALLY DOING WHAT IT IS SUPPOSED TO BE DOING. ED: MARGARET, HOW DO WE FIND A MIDDLE GROUND IF THIS EXISTENTIAL THREAT ISSUE IS THE ISSUE? FRANKLY, WE DON'T KNOW WHY THE BOARD FIRED SAM ALTMAN. HOW DO YOU APPEASE BOTH SIDES? MARGARET: ACTUALLY, IF YOU WORK TOWARDS THE SOLUTIONS, IF YOU TAKE WHAT THE ISSUE IS AND WORK BACKWARDS TOWARD THE SOLUTIONS YOU WILL FIND THE SOLUTIONS OF SAFETY RATHER THAN EXISTENTIAL RISK, NONDISCRIMINATION, A LOT OF THESE ETHICAL VALUES THAT A LOT OF TECH MANY ARE HOLDING RIGHT NOW, THE ISSUES ARE ROUGHLY THE SAME. THE MIDDLE GROUND IS LET'S GO BACK TO WHAT THE SOLUTIONS ARE FOR ALL OF THESE ISSUES WE ARE THINKING AND SEEING. CAN WE AGREE ON THE SOLUTIONS
EVEN IF OUR GOALS ARE SOMEWHAT DIFFERENT? THAT WILL BE A PLACE WHERE ACROSS THE INDUSTRY WE WILL SEE ALIGNMENT. ED: MARGARET, CHIEF ETHICS SCIENTIST, THANK YOU FOR BEING WITH US. WE HAVE BREAKING NEWS CROSSING THE BLOOMBERG. OPENAI AND ITS BOARD ARE IN OPEN TALKS WITH SAM ALTMAN ABOUT A RETURN FOR SAM ALTMAN TO OPENAI.
THE LATEST IS ADAM D'ANGELO IS TALKING WITH SAM ALTMAN. ONE SOURCE TELLS ME THAT A POSSIBLE SCENARIO IS THAT A TRANSITION BOARD COMES INTO PLACE, AND SAM ALTMAN TAKES A DIRECTOR ROLE ON THE TRANSITION BOARD. THAT IS ONE, CAROLINE, POSSIBLE WAY FORWARD WE ARE HEARING ABOUT. INVESTORS ARE INVOLVED, INVESTORS ARE SPEAKING WITH THE OPENAI SITE AND THE OPENAI BOARD, AND WHAT WE ARE HEARING, MYSELF, EMILY CHANG REPORTING THIS AS WELL, IS EMMETT SHEAR, INTERIM OPENAI CEO, IS HAVING A TOUGH TIME, IS BASICALLY IN THE DARK COME AT A BREAKING POINT AT THIS POINT. CAROLINE: AND IT'S NOTABLE THAT VERY EARLY INVESTOR IN OPENAI HAD BEEN SAYING HOW MUCH THE FORMER CEO HAD BEEN DIGGING IN AND ULTIMATELY WHETHER OR NOT THAT WAS GOING TO BE A DIFFICULT SCENARIO TO BE ABLE TO HAVE A BOARD CHANGE OF DIRECTION.
ULTIMATELY WHAT ARE YOU HEARING IN TERMS OF BEING PUSHED OF THE MAKEUP OF THE BOARD? MANY WOULD SAY DOESN'T JUST NEED SAM ALTMAN TO BE REINSTATED. ED: THE NAME BRETT TAYLOR, CO-CEO OF SALESFORCE, KEEPS COMING UP TIME AND TIME AGAIN AS SOMEONE WHO WOULD BE AN APPEASEMENT TO BOTH SIDES OF THE DISCUSSION. WE MAKE THE POINT IN THE STORY WE HAVE JUST REPORTED JUST AS THE SOURCES MAKE THE POINT TO US THAT THE FACT THAT SAM IS EVEN SPEAKING TO ADAM D'ANGELO IS NEWS. IT IS A COMPLETE CHANGE FROM
THE WEEKEND. WE SAT THERE ALL DAY SUNDAY SAYING THAT SAM IS DEFINITELY COMING BACK IN THE BOARD IS GOING TO GO. WE KEEP GOING. CAROLINE: WE DO, AND ASSEMBLY CHATTED -- AS EMILY CHATTED TO SATYA, HE SUPPORTS WHEREVER SAM IS, WITH OPENAI OR MICROSOFT. WE WILL TALK ABOUT A CHIP AVENGER THAT SAM ALTMAN WAS TRYING TO BE BRINGING TO THE WORLD. WE WILL HAVE SARAH KUNST JOINING US NEXT. THIS IS "BLOOMBERG TECHNOLOGY." CAROLINE: WE JUST HAD THE BREAKING NEWS COMING FROM OUR OWN ED LUDLOW AND TEAM THAT SAM ALTMAN AND THE OPENAI BOARD ARE OPEN TO TALK FOR HIS POSSIBLE RETURN.
WHILE THE SAGA CONTINUES, WE WANT TO GO TO OUR VC SPOTLIGHT. CLEO CAPITAL FOUNDER SARAH KUNST AND YOUR OWN TAKE ON ALL OF US, THE REPERCUSSIONS FOR THE AI STARTUP SYSTEM MORE BROADLY. IS IT THAT IT BECOMES MORE COMPETITIVE, MORE CONCERNING VIS-À-VIS SAFETY? SARAH: I HONESTLY THINK THE BIGGEST TAKEAWAYS AND GOING TO BE -- ISN'T GOING TO BE ABOUT AI, IT IS ABOUT CORPORATE GOVERNANCE. ON THE HEELS OF EVERYTHING WITH FTX -- OBVIOUSLY COULD NOT BE MORE DIFFERENT SITUATIONS, BUT IN BOTH CASES YOU AT COMPANIES THAT ARE SUPER HOT AND RAISED BILLIONS OF DOLLARS, AND THERE IS NO BOARD, NO TRADITIONAL GOVERNANCE. WHEN THINGS GO SIDEWAYS, THEY GO SIDEWAYS IN A REALLY BIG WAY AND CATCH A LOT OF PEOPLE UNAWARES GOOD VENTURE IS A BUSINESS WHERE WE LIKE TO HANDLE THE MESSY STUFF A LITTLE BIT QUIETLY, AND THAT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO DO WHEN THERE IS NO BOARD, NO TRADITIONAL BOARD TO SAY LET'S SIT DOWN AND HASH THIS OUT. ED:
QUIETLY WE ARE REPORTING THAT ONE POSSIBLE OUTCOME IS THAT THERE IS A TRANSITIONAL BOARD. SAM ALTMAN JOINS THIS TRANSITIONAL BOARD AS A DIRECTOR. AS A VENTURE CAPITALIST, IF SOMEBODY PUT IN FRONT OF YOU THE OPPORTUNITY TO PARTICIPATING THE TENDER WHICH WE BELIEVE IS STILL PENDING, BASED ON THE INFORMATION I GAVE YOU, YOU TAKE ALLOCATION? SARAH: I DO EARLY STAGE VENTURES AND THEY ARE OUT OF RANGE, SO THAT IS ALL I WILL SAY. THE REALITY IS I THINK THIS IS GOING TO BE A MOMENT WHERE THE INVESTORS AROUND THE TABLE SAY, LOOK, WE PLAYED BY YOUR RULES, STARTED AS A NONPROFIT, YOU HAD THIS PROFIT MODEL, YOU HAD THIS BOARD THAT DO NOT DIRECTLY OVERSEE -- WASN'T NECESSARILY A FIDUCIARY TO THE FOUR-PROFIT ARM. IF SAM COMES BACK, THAT IS
GOING TO CHANGE. POSSIBLY IN A GOOD WAY FOR HIM. BUT PROBABLY IN A WAY THAT IS A BIT MORE INVESTOR- AND FOR-PRO FIT-FRIENDLY AS WELL. CAROLINE: EARLY OUTLOOK RIGHT NOW, THERE WAS THIS THESIS WHERE WE THOUGHT THAT SAM WAS GOING TO BE STICKING WITH MICROSOFT, THAT OPENAI TALENT MAY NOT GO THERE. THEY MAY CREATE THEIR OWN BUSINESSES.
ARE YOU SEEING AS MUCH EXUBERANCE ABOUT BUILDING AI COMPANIES AND THE SMALLER CHECK RANGE AT THE MOMENT? SARAH: IT IS STRUCTURALLY HARDER TO BUILD A TRUE AI COMPANY. FOUNDATIONAL MODELS, IT TAKES BILLIONS AND BILLIONS OF DOLLARS WORTH OF COMPUTE POWER. WE HAVE HEARD REPORTS OF VC'S WHO ARE GOING OUT AND GETTING COMPUTE SPACE, BUYING CHIPS, AI CHIPS, SO THEY CAN USE THAT AS AN ENTICEMENT TO FOUNDERS.
AND THE OTHER REALITY IS IT IS NOT JUST ENOUGH TO BE SMART AND HUNGRY WHEN YOU ARE TALKING ABOUT BUILDING THE FOUNDATIONAL AI SPACES. WE REALLY NEED SERIOUS ENGINEERING CHOPS, AND NOT A TON OF PEOPLE HAVE THEM. THE BLOOM IS A BIT OFF THE ROSE RIGHT NOW IN OPENAI, AND WHEN THINGS CHANGE THEY TEND TO STAY SOMEWHAT CHANGED. WE MIGHT SEE PEOPLE WHO ARE PLANNING TO STICK AROUND A COUPLE MORE YEARS. THE MACRO IS NOT GREAT.
THEY LIKED WHAT THEY WERE DOING IN OPENAI. THEY ARE NOW SITTING THERE SAYING -- SEEING WHIPLASH AND FEELING LIKE, WHILE, MAYBE I DO WANT TO GO OUT ON MY OWN. THAT IS NOT NECESSARILY A BAD THING. ED: CLEO CAPITAL FOUNDER SARAH KUNST, GOOD TO CATCH UP ON "BLOOMBERG TECHNOLOGY." COMING UP ON THE SHOW, WE WILL SPEAK TO THE CFO OF ZOOM, AS THE COMPANY REPORTS BETTER-THAN-EXPECTED REVENUE UNSTRUNG ENTERPRISE SALES, BUT BOTH CONCERNS. THIS IS "BLOOMBERG TECHNOLOGY." CAROLINE: ZOOM WAS OUT WITH EARNINGS REPORTING BETTER-THAN-EXPECTED REVENUE UNSTRUNG ENTERPRISE SALES. ZOOM CFO KELLY STECKELBERG
JOINS US NOW. THERE WAS SIGNIFICANT INTERNATIONAL SLOWDOWN. I AM INTERESTED AS TO HOW RESILIENT THE GROWTH YOU SAW IN THE PRIOR QUARTER IT'S FOR THE NEXT. KELLY: WE WERE REALLY PLEASED WITH OUR Q3 RESULTS. WE EXCEEDED OUR TOP LINE AS WELL AS OUR PROFITABILITY EXPECTATION AND WE WERE ABLE TO RAISE FOR THE FULL YEAR. WE SAW HEADWINDS IN ASIA PAC, SOME OF THAT DUE TO FX AND ASIA PAC WE WOULD HAVE BEEN FLAT YEAR-OVER-YEAR. WE ARE STARTING TO SEE SOME
MOMENTUM IN BOTH OF THOSE REGIONS AND ARE LOOKING FORWARD TO FURTHER PROGRESS AS WE MOVE TO THE REST OF THE YEAR AND INTO NEXT YEAR. ED: SOUTHSIDE ANALYSTS ARE SAYING THAT RAISING GUIDANCE IS NOT ENOUGH. THEY'RE WORRIED ABOUT THE LONG-TERM GROWTH OF ZOOM.
BASED ON HOW SOCIETY BEHAVES TODAY, HOW DO YOU TELL THEM DEFINITIVELY I CAN GROW THIS COMPANY FOREVER? KELLY: WE ACHIEVED AMAZING MILESTONES DURING Q3. ZOOM PHONE HIT 70 MILLION SEATS. OUR CONTACT CENTER GREW TO OVER 700 CUSTOMERS. ZOOM AI COMPANION HAS ONLY BEEN OUT FOR APPROXIMATELY TWO MONTHS AND HAS ALREADY ACTIVATED MORE THAN 200,000 ACCOUNTS. THAT SHOWS YOU WE ARE EXPANDING TO BE A FULL COLLABORATION AND COMMUNICATION PLATFORM. THAT IS WHAT IS GOING TO DRIVE OUR GROWTH IN THE FUTURE. THAT IS WHAT INVESTORS ARE
LOOKING FOR. THEY ARE LOOKING FOR RE-ACCELERATION IN THE DIRECT SEGMENT AND STABILIZATION IN THE ONLINE SEGMENT. THE EXPANSION OF THE PLATFORM IS EXACTLY WHAT IS GOING TO DRIVE THAT OVER TIME. CAROLINE: HOW HAVE YOU BEEN REACTING TO THE ONGOING CHANGES WITHIN AI RIGHT NOW? YOU HAVE A FEDERATED APPROACH AND YOU INCORPORATE MLM AND YOUR KEY COMPETITOR IS MICROSOFT AND THEY LOOKED TO BE CLOSER TO OPENAI.
HOW DOES THIS IMPACT YOU? KELLY: IN SETTING UP THIS MODEL WE THINK ABOUT IT FROM A CUSTOMER PERSPECTIVE. WE WANT THE BEST POSSIBLE PERFORMANCE AND WE BELIEVE A FEDERATED APPROACH DOES THAT. WE ARE WORKING WITH MANY PARTNERS IN THE SPACE AND THAT GIVES THE OPPORTUNITY TO FINE-TUNE OUR MODELS AND GET THE ABSOLUTE BEST RESULT FOR OUR CUSTOMERS. I WANT TO HIGHLIGHT THAT WE ARE DOING IT IN A VERY COST-EFFECTIVE WAY. ZOOM AI'S INCLUDED FOR FREE FOR ALL OF OUR PAYING CUSTOMERS.
THAT IS A KEY DIFFERENTIATOR, WHERE SOME OF OUR COMPETITORS ARE CHARGING UP TO $30 PER MONTH PER USER. CAROLINE: WE THANK YOU SO MUCH, KELLY STECKELBERG, ON THE REPORTING OF EARNINGS AND FUTURE GROWTH DRIVERS. ANOTHER EXTRAORDINARY SHOW ON "BLOOMBERG TECHNOLOGY," WITH BREAKING NEWS AFTER BREAKING NEWS. ED: IT REMINDS YOU THAT THE WILL OF TECHNOLOGY HAPPENS IN REAL TIME. WE RECAP EVERYTHING WE COVER ON THE PODCAST, WE PUBLISHED ALL DEPLATFORMS. THERE IS A LOT IN THE WORLD OF CRYPTO GOING ON, SO CHECK OUT THE CRYPTO SHOW, INCREDIBLY IMPORTANT.
2023-11-24 18:21
