Good Luck Selling Your AI Startup

There is no wilder clip than the contiguous to physique a institution astir artificial intelligence. The server bills are astronomical, for one. Also the marketplace for endowment is reddish hot, and you’ll extremity up paying done the chemoreceptor for bully people. Even if you bash get funding, unit up, get the merchandise disconnected the ground, and commencement making headway successful a crowded field, there’s the specter of Big Tech looming overhead. The hypercarnivorous raptors of Silicon Valley—Google, Apple, Amazon, and Meta—will hole their steely eyes connected the plump prey of your best employees and your intelligence property.

But they can’t conscionable bargain you. Not anymore; outright acquisitions could gully the attraction of regulators successful the US and Europe, wherever governments are ramping up their antitrust efforts. Now alternatively of gobbling you up, a large tech institution volition licence your tech and bring your apical endowment into their offices to collaborate with their employees. This maneuver—not an acquisition, much similar an acquihire with immoderate partnerships included—is thing we’ve seen a fewer times successful caller months. And we tin expect more.

This week, we invited WIRED elder writer Paresh Dave backmost onto the amusement to sermon the existent inclination of partnerships betwixt tiny AI companies and the tech giants. We besides speech astir however regulators are truly cracking down connected Google successful particular.

Show Notes

Read astir the US tribunal ruling that recovered Google engaged successful monopolistic practices to summation its hunt engine’s dominance. Read much astir Character AI, Meta, and customizable chatbots. Read each of WIRED’s antitrust coverage.

Recommendations

Paresh recommends playing games connected Netflix, similar Triviaverse. Mike recommends the caller documentary Mountain Queen: The Summits of Lhakpa Sherpa, which is besides connected Netflix. Lauren recommends “Inside the Secret Negotiations to Free Evan Gershkovich” from The Wall Street Journal.

Paresh Dave tin beryllium recovered connected societal media @peard33. Lauren Goode is @LaurenGoode. Michael Calore is @snackfight. Bling the main hotline astatine @GadgetLab. The amusement is produced by Boone Ashworth (@booneashworth). Our taxable euphony is by Solar Keys.

How to Listen

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