Ben Thompson
Author/Founder of @stratechery. Host of @ditheringfm @sharptechpod. @notechben for sports. @monkbent on other networks. Home on the Internet.
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Articles by Ben Thompson
Google Earnings, Facebook Déjà Vu, The Agent Play
Google’s earnings miss looks a lot like Facebook’s, and that’s a credit to Google. The company is being more aggressive than they get credit for. Subscribe to Stratechery Plus for full access. Already subscribed? $15 / month or $150 / year With Stratechery Plus you get access to the subscriber-only Stratechery Update and Stratechery Interviews, and the Sharp Tech, Sharp China, Dithering, Greatest of All Talk, and Asianometry podcasts.
Stratechery by Ben Thompson
(Photo by Carmen Mandato/Getty Images) Welcome back to This Week in Stratechery! As a reminder, each week, every Friday, we’re sending out this overview of content in the Stratechery bundle; highlighted links are free for everyone. Additionally, you have complete control over what we send to you. If you don’t want to receive This Week in Stratechery emails (there is no podcast), please uncheck the box in your delivery settings. On that note, here were a few of our favorites this week.
Sharp Tech on Video: Anthropic’s S-1 and What It Means for Meta and Muse, You Can See Everything, and Brewers!
Sharp Tech is, for the first time, available on video. You have three ways to consume it: YouTube, Spotify, and here on Stratechery. Subscribe to Stratechery Plus for full access. Already subscribed? $15 / month or $150 / year With Stratechery Plus you get access to the subscriber-only Stratechery Update and Stratechery Interviews, and the Sharp Tech, Sharp China, Dithering, Greatest of All Talk, and Asianometry podcasts.
An Interview with Palantir CTO Shyam Sankar About the AI Religious War
Good morning, Today’s Stratechery Interview is with Palantir CTO Shyam Sankar. Sankar has worked at Palantir for 20 years, and has taken on an increasingly visible role as public intellectual, including authoring the book Mobilize, an exhortation “To Reboot the American Industrial Base and Stop World War III”. I previously interviewed Sankar in June 2023. That interview is a great place to start in terms of understanding Palantir, which we mostly discuss in this interview in the context of AI.
Meta Earnings, Muse and the Frontier, Musebook
Meta’s earnings come in the context of Zuckerberg delivering on his promise; if investors believe in Muse they must support Meta’s spending on compute. Subscribe to Stratechery Plus for full access. Already subscribed? $15 / month or $150 / year With Stratechery Plus you get access to the subscriber-only Stratechery Update and Stratechery Interviews, and the Sharp Tech, Sharp China, Dithering, Greatest of All Talk, and Asianometry podcasts.
Anthropic S-1, The Cost of Compute, Who Is Paying?
Anthropic’s IPO is finally here; the core business is very profitable, but competition may eat all of the profits, even as investors are set up for endless dilution. Subscribe to Stratechery Plus for full access. Already subscribed? $15 / month or $150 / year With Stratechery Plus you get access to the subscriber-only Stratechery Update and Stratechery Interviews, and the Sharp Tech, Sharp China, Dithering, Greatest of All Talk, and Asianometry podcasts.
The End of the Internet
It was the summer of 2003, just weeks before I was set to move to Taiwan, that I decided to create a blog to document my journey. I had, at that point, had a GeoCities site, a Blogspot site, a site I built in Microsoft FrontPage and hosted…somewhere, so this was my fourth swing at the blog thing (it was the seventh that ended up being Stratechery). I was intrigued by a just-released piece of software that promised a five-minute install; it was called WordPress.
Stratechery by Ben Thompson
Welcome back to This Week in Stratechery! This week marks a new era for Stratechery, which is now presented by Stripe. I’m excited about what this partnership can unlock, starting with in-person on-video episodes of Sharp Tech. Check out the YouTube video above (or watch it on Stratechery); and, for subscribers, look forward to a bonus episode showing up in your subscriber feed every Sunday morning (add your feed on sharptech.fm).
Sharp Tech on Video: Netflix Angst, the End of the Internet, and Meta’s VR Glasses
Sharp Tech is, for the first time, available on video. You have two ways to consume it: YouTube, and here on Stratechery Subscribe to Stratechery Plus for full access. Already subscribed? $15 / month or $150 / year With Stratechery Plus you get access to the subscriber-only Stratechery Update and Stratechery Interviews, and the Sharp Tech, Sharp China, Dithering, Greatest of All Talk, and Asianometry podcasts.
An Interview with Craig Moffett About SpaceX and Bubbles
An interview with Craig Moffett about SpaceX, from launch to broadband to mobile, plus how he is applying the lessons of the dot-com bubble to today. Subscribe to Stratechery Plus for full access. Already subscribed? $15 / month or $150 / year With Stratechery Plus you get access to the subscriber-only Stratechery Update and Stratechery Interviews, and the Sharp Tech, Sharp China, Dithering, Greatest of All Talk, and Asianometry podcasts.
Presented by Stripe
Stratechery is, starting from today, presented by Stripe. Readers have, over the years, pointed out the paradox of my belief in and advocacy for advertising-based business models being delivered in a format bereft of advertising.
Netflix Earnings, Business or Franchise, Disney’s Deal
Netflix has a solid business, which is exactly the problem: the company increasingly seems like a business and not a franchise, at least in terms of growth. Subscribe to Stratechery Plus for full access. Already subscribed? $15 / month or $150 / year With Stratechery Plus you get access to the subscriber-only Stratechery Update and Stratechery Interviews, and the Sharp Tech, Sharp China, Dithering, Greatest of All Talk, and Asianometry podcasts.
Muse Spark Open, Meta + Apple, Thin and Thick
Meta has a new open source model, and to everyone’s surprise, they are are partnering with Apple to make sure you can run it locally. Subscribe to Stratechery Plus for full access. Already subscribed? $15 / month or $150 / year With Stratechery Plus you get access to the subscriber-only Stratechery Update and Stratechery Interviews, and the Sharp Tech, Sharp China, Dithering, Greatest of All Talk, and Asianometry podcasts.
Do You Trust Apple?
On July 21, 1999, Steve Jobs did something remarkable at Macworld New York: first he went to Apple.com, then to “CNN Interactive”, then to Disney.com. That wasn’t the remarkable part: what blew the crowd away was when he picked up the just-introduced iBook and walked around while waiting for Disney.com to load.
Stratechery by Ben Thompson
(X: @twostraws) Welcome back to This Week in Stratechery! As a reminder, each week, every Friday, we’re sending out this overview of content in the Stratechery bundle; highlighted links are free for everyone. Additionally, you have complete control over what we send to you. If you don’t want to receive This Week in Stratechery emails (there is no podcast), please uncheck the box in your delivery settings. On that note, here were a few of our favorites this week. What is Apple Doing?
A Conversation With Ari Emanuel About Entertainment and AI
Good morning, This week’s Stratechery Interview ended up not being an Interview, but rather a conversation with Hollywood super-agent Ari Emanuel. Emanuel is the Executive Chairman of WME Group, Executive Chair and CEO of TKO Group Holdings (the owner of UFC and WWE), and Founder of MARI, a live events and experiences company.
Apple HomeView, The New Apple TV, The App Story
The Apple Homeview is official, and the question is how big is the addressable market for expensive devices based on subpar AI. Subscribe to Stratechery Plus for full access. Already subscribed? $15 / month or $150 / year With Stratechery Plus you get access to the subscriber-only Stratechery Update and Stratechery Interviews, and the Sharp Tech, Sharp China, Dithering, Greatest of All Talk, and Asianometry podcasts.
SpaceX Buys More Spectrum, Musk and Market Structure, Distributed Cellular
SpaceX’s mobile strategy is becoming clearly with its latest spectrum purchase, and it might work. Subscribe to Stratechery Plus for full access. Already subscribed? $15 / month or $150 / year With Stratechery Plus you get access to the subscriber-only Stratechery Update and Stratechery Interviews, and the Sharp Tech, Sharp China, Dithering, Greatest of All Talk, and Asianometry podcasts. Stratechery Update Substantial analysis of the news of the day delivered via three weekly emails or podcasts.
2026.41: It’s Not You, It’s Me
(Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images) Welcome back to This Week in Stratechery! As a reminder, each week, every Friday, we’re sending out this overview of content in the Stratechery bundle; highlighted links are free for everyone. Additionally, you have complete control over what we send to you. If you don’t want to receive This Week in Stratechery emails (there is no podcast), please uncheck the box in your delivery settings. On that note, here were a few of our favorites this week.
An Interview with Katie Harbath About Disrupting Politics at Facebook
An interview with former Facebook Head of Global Elections Katie Harbath about her new book Disrupting Politics, and how things change for the company in the 2010s. Subscribe to Stratechery Plus for full access. Already subscribed? $15 / month or $150 / year With Stratechery Plus you get access to the subscriber-only Stratechery Update and Stratechery Interviews, and the Sharp Tech, Sharp China, Dithering, Greatest of All Talk, and Asianometry podcasts.
Apple and LG, The House For Everyone Else, Agent Standards and Amazon
Apple is taking a smarter approach to the home than I expected, leaning into integration (with partners); then, what Amazon should do about agents. Subscribe to Stratechery Plus for full access. Already subscribed? $15 / month or $150 / year With Stratechery Plus you get access to the subscriber-only Stratechery Update and Stratechery Interviews, and the Sharp Tech, Sharp China, Dithering, Greatest of All Talk, and Asianometry podcasts.
Game Decompilation, Is This Legal?, A Well-Trodden Path
Games are being decompiled, but the real risk to gaming is new games and increased personalization. Subscribe to Stratechery Plus for full access. Already subscribed? $15 / month or $150 / year With Stratechery Plus you get access to the subscriber-only Stratechery Update and Stratechery Interviews, and the Sharp Tech, Sharp China, Dithering, Greatest of All Talk, and Asianometry podcasts. Stratechery Update Substantial analysis of the news of the day delivered via three weekly emails or podcasts.
Apple and a Hacker’s Future
My computer got hacked; the vulnerability that was exploited is detailed in this Ars Technica story: Dutch officials have warned that a high-severity macOS vulnerability that allows attackers to execute malicious code is under active exploitation.
2026.40: Dots and Question Marks
(Photo by Heather Diehl/Getty Images) Welcome back to This Week in Stratechery! As a reminder, each week, every Friday, we’re sending out this overview of content in the Stratechery bundle; highlighted links are free for everyone. Additionally, you have complete control over what we send to you. If you don’t want to receive This Week in Stratechery emails (there is no podcast), please uncheck the box in your delivery settings. On that note, here were a few of our favorites this week. Can Meta Focus?
An Interview with Jason Del Rey About Muse, Amazon, and Walmart
An interview with Jason Del Rey about Amazon versus Meta, which is a continuation of the oldest battle in retail between Amazon and Walmart. Subscribe to Stratechery Plus for full access. Already subscribed? $15 / month or $150 / year With Stratechery Plus you get access to the subscriber-only Stratechery Update and Stratechery Interviews, and the Sharp Tech, Sharp China, Dithering, Greatest of All Talk, and Asianometry podcasts.
OpenAI Dev Day, Dot and OpenAI’s Product Transition, Sign In With ChatGPT
OpenAI’s Dev Day showcased a product that is, frankly, pretty confusing. However, there is more vision here than it might seem. Subscribe to Stratechery Plus for full access. Already subscribed? $15 / month or $150 / year With Stratechery Plus you get access to the subscriber-only Stratechery Update and Stratechery Interviews, and the Sharp Tech, Sharp China, Dithering, Greatest of All Talk, and Asianometry podcasts.
One More Note on Agents, Meta Connect, Meta Enterprise Platform
Meta has the chance to own the consumer agentic space; going for enterprise is a big mistake. Subscribe to Stratechery Plus for full access. Already subscribed? $15 / month or $150 / year With Stratechery Plus you get access to the subscriber-only Stratechery Update and Stratechery Interviews, and the Sharp Tech, Sharp China, Dithering, Greatest of All Talk, and Asianometry podcasts. Stratechery Update Substantial analysis of the news of the day delivered via three weekly emails or podcasts.
Apps, Agents, and Aggregation
Three revolutionary products — you know the line. A wide-screen iPod with touch controls, a revolutionary mobile phone, and a breakthrough Internet communications device. That was how Steve Jobs introduced the iPhone: Today, we’re introducing three revolutionary products of this class. The first one is a wide-screen iPod with touch controls. The second is a revolutionary mobile phone. The third is a breakthrough Internet communications device.
2026.39: Begun, the Aggregator Wars Have
Welcome back to This Week in Stratechery! As a reminder, each week, every Friday, we’re sending out this overview of content in the Stratechery bundle; highlighted links are free for everyone. Additionally, you have complete control over what we send to you. If you don’t want to receive This Week in Stratechery emails (there is no podcast), please uncheck the box in your delivery settings. On that note, here were a few of our favorites this week. Meta vs. Amazon.
An Interview with Colossus EIC Jeremy Stern About Profiling Mark Zuckerberg
An interview with Colossus EIC Jeremy Stern about profiling Mark Zuckerberg and other prominent tech figures. Subscribe to Stratechery Plus for full access. Already subscribed? $15 / month or $150 / year With Stratechery Plus you get access to the subscriber-only Stratechery Update and Stratechery Interviews, and the Sharp Tech, Sharp China, Dithering, Greatest of All Talk, and Asianometry podcasts.
More on Muse, Amazon, and Walmart; Muse and Expedia; Whither Google?
Meta needs Walmart to wait out Amazon; Expedia seeks to keep its middleware position; meanwhile, where is Google? Subscribe to Stratechery Plus for full access. Already subscribed? $15 / month or $150 / year With Stratechery Plus you get access to the subscriber-only Stratechery Update and Stratechery Interviews, and the Sharp Tech, Sharp China, Dithering, Greatest of All Talk, and Asianometry podcasts.
Amazon Blocks Muse, Amazon’s Moat, Aggregator v Aggregator
Amazon predictably blocked Muse, but there is room for a deal based on the reality that Amazon’s physical world investments are an AI moat. Subscribe to Stratechery Plus for full access. Already subscribed? $15 / month or $150 / year With Stratechery Plus you get access to the subscriber-only Stratechery Update and Stratechery Interviews, and the Sharp Tech, Sharp China, Dithering, Greatest of All Talk, and Asianometry podcasts.
Frontier Overhangs
There has been, over the last week, what I think is a healthy debate about the philosophy and psychology that undergirds the views of meaningful segments of the AI community, particularly those obsessed with doomsday scenarios.
Stratechery by Ben Thompson
(Photo by Benjamin Fanjoy/Getty Images) Welcome back to This Week in Stratechery! As a reminder, each week, every Friday, we’re sending out this overview of content in the Stratechery bundle; highlighted links are free for everyone. Additionally, you have complete control over what we send to you. If you don’t want to receive This Week in Stratechery emails (there is no podcast), please uncheck the box in your delivery settings. On that note, here were a few of our favorites this week.
An Interview with Joanna Stern About the iPhone Duo and AI for Normal People
An Interview with Joanna Stern About the iPhone Duo and AI for Normal People Subscribe to Stratechery Plus for full access. Already subscribed? $15 / month or $150 / year With Stratechery Plus you get access to the subscriber-only Stratechery Update and Stratechery Interviews, and the Sharp Tech, Sharp China, Dithering, Greatest of All Talk, and Asianometry podcasts. Stratechery Update Substantial analysis of the news of the day delivered via three weekly emails or podcasts.
Salesforce AI Force, Agents as UI, The Race to Headless
Salesforce is abandoning UI as a moat, which is a very smart move because it’s disappearing for everyone. Subscribe to Stratechery Plus for full access. Already subscribed? $15 / month or $150 / year With Stratechery Plus you get access to the subscriber-only Stratechery Update and Stratechery Interviews, and the Sharp Tech, Sharp China, Dithering, Greatest of All Talk, and Asianometry podcasts.
OpenAI Ads, Amazon Ads in ChatGPT, Walmart to Accept Apple Pay
ChatGPT ads are working, and solve Amazon’s biggest problem with chatbots. Then, Walmart finally gives in to Apple Pay, because fighting the status quo is hard. Subscribe to Stratechery Plus for full access. Already subscribed? $15 / month or $150 / year With Stratechery Plus you get access to the subscriber-only Stratechery Update and Stratechery Interviews, and the Sharp Tech, Sharp China, Dithering, Greatest of All Talk, and Asianometry podcasts.
Pacing the Frontier, AI’s Digital Limits, AI Commissars
Dario Amodei wants to pace the frontier; it’s an unrealistic proposal that seems mostly geared to political control of AI. Subscribe to Stratechery Plus for full access. Already subscribed? $15 / month or $150 / year With Stratechery Plus you get access to the subscriber-only Stratechery Update and Stratechery Interviews, and the Sharp Tech, Sharp China, Dithering, Greatest of All Talk, and Asianometry podcasts.
Stratechery by Ben Thompson
(Photo by Benjamin Fanjoy/Getty Images) Welcome back to This Week in Stratechery! As a reminder, each week, every Friday, we’re sending out this overview of content in the Stratechery bundle; highlighted links are free for everyone. Additionally, you have complete control over what we send to you. If you don’t want to receive This Week in Stratechery emails (there is no podcast), please uncheck the box in your delivery settings. On that note, here were a few of our favorites this week.
The iPhone Duo, The Intelligent Personal Hub, Apple Watch Audio Intelligence
Apple once again demonstrated the power of integrating hardware and software, but it’s biggest AI blindspot might be its belief in the primacy of apps. Subscribe to Stratechery Plus for full access. Already subscribed? $15 / month or $150 / year With Stratechery Plus you get access to the subscriber-only Stratechery Update and Stratechery Interviews, and the Sharp Tech, Sharp China, Dithering, Greatest of All Talk, and Asianometry podcasts.
OpenAI Does Math, Reward-Hacking, Meta Launches Personal Agent
OpenAI solving one of the most famous math problems is extremely impressive, and of little impact to most people’s lives; Meta’s Muse agent launch has the potential to be the exact opposite. Subscribe to Stratechery Plus for full access. Already subscribed? $15 / month or $150 / year With Stratechery Plus you get access to the subscriber-only Stratechery Update and Stratechery Interviews, and the Sharp Tech, Sharp China, Dithering, Greatest of All Talk, and Asianometry podcasts.
Write Things Down
It was Merlin Mann and his 43folders website who introduced me to David Allen and Getting Things Done. Getting Things Done, a book which I have gifted multiple people, is first and foremost a philosophy about how to achieve a clear mind. Allen writes at the end of the first chapter: The short-term-memory part of your mind — the part that tends to hold all of the incomplete, undecided, and unorganized “stuff” — functions much like RAM on a personal computer.
2026.36: Friction and Feedback
(Photo by New York Yankees/Getty Images) Welcome back to This Week in Stratechery! As a reminder, each week, every Friday, we’re sending out this overview of content in the Stratechery bundle; highlighted links are free for everyone. Additionally, you have complete control over what we send to you. If you don’t want to receive This Week in Stratechery emails (there is no podcast), please uncheck the box in your delivery settings. On that note, here were a few of our favorites this week.
An Interview with OpenAI President Greg Brockman About Astra and Alignment
Good morning, This week’s Stratechery interview is with OpenAI President and co-founder Greg Brockman. Brockman dropped out of college in 2010 to join Stripe, and rose to become the company’s CTO; he left in 2015 and co-founded OpenAI, where he also served as CTO. Today, after an interesting few years, Brockman is President of OpenAI, and is the face of yesterday’s announcement of Astra, OpenAI’s newest model.
Fable 5.1, Enterprise Frontier Safeguards
Fable 5.1 is out, and the hated Fable data retention policy is not just being altered, but entirely removed in the meantime. Plus, why increased caching is a win-win. Subscribe to Stratechery Plus for full access. Already subscribed? $15 / month or $150 / year With Stratechery Plus you get access to the subscriber-only Stratechery Update and Stratechery Interviews, and the Sharp Tech, Sharp China, Dithering, Greatest of All Talk, and Asianometry podcasts.
Nvidia Earnings, Dollars Per Gigawatt, Open and Hugging Face
Nvidia’s earnings were remarking and boring — two sides of the same coin. Everything the company does is about avoiding a consolidated world. Subscribe to Stratechery Plus for full access. Already subscribed? $15 / month or $150 / year With Stratechery Plus you get access to the subscriber-only Stratechery Update and Stratechery Interviews, and the Sharp Tech, Sharp China, Dithering, Greatest of All Talk, and Asianometry podcasts.
Meta Settles, A Framework For Regulating Content, The Rest of Big Tech
Meta’s settlement makes sense for all parties, but the entire sage highlights why any solution to regulating technology feels off. Subscribe to Stratechery Plus for full access. Already subscribed? $15 / month or $150 / year With Stratechery Plus you get access to the subscriber-only Stratechery Update and Stratechery Interviews, and the Sharp Tech, Sharp China, Dithering, Greatest of All Talk, and Asianometry podcasts.
2026.35: Internet Hype and Real World Change
(Photo by Natalie Behring/Getty Images) Welcome back to This Week in Stratechery! As a reminder, each week, every Friday, we’re sending out this overview of content in the Stratechery bundle; highlighted links are free for everyone. Additionally, you have complete control over what we send to you. If you don’t want to receive This Week in Stratechery emails (there is no podcast), please uncheck the box in your delivery settings. On that note, here were a few of our favorites this week.
Apple Updates Mini and Studio, AI Computers, OpenAI Jalapeño
Apple and OpenAI have two completely different hardware announcements; both represent pressure on Nvidia. Subscribe to Stratechery Plus for full access. Already subscribed? $15 / month or $150 / year With Stratechery Plus you get access to the subscriber-only Stratechery Update and Stratechery Interviews, and the Sharp Tech, Sharp China, Dithering, Greatest of All Talk, and Asianometry podcasts.
Netflix to Sell Streaming Services?, Streamers as Aggregators, Revisiting Roku
Netflix is considering selling other streaming services, and I think it’s a good idea; it’s also a let-down for Netflix’s original goals and potential pivots. Subscribe to Stratechery Plus for full access. Already subscribed? $15 / month or $150 / year With Stratechery Plus you get access to the subscriber-only Stratechery Update and Stratechery Interviews, and the Sharp Tech, Sharp China, Dithering, Greatest of All Talk, and Asianometry podcasts.
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