October 1, 2025 • 42 mins
Bloomberg’s Caroline Hyde and Ed Ludlow unpack the news that Samsung and SK Hynix have reached early-stage agreements to supply chips and other gear to OpenAI’s Stargate data center project. Plus, Wellington Management Head of Late-Stage Growth, Matt Witheiler, talks about the opportunities in the private markets as tech firms stay private longer. And Google, Amazon and Peloton are out with new AI-powered devices.
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Speaker 1 (00:04):
Bloomberg Tech is alive from coast to coast with Caroline
Hide in New York and Eva Low in Sent Francisco.
Speaker 2 (00:14):
This is Bloomberg Tech coming up another day, another deal.
Samsung and sk Heiniz forge initial agreements to supply chips
and other gear to open AI's Stargate projects.
Speaker 3 (00:24):
Plus Peloton shares drop after hiking prices and announcing an
overhaul of its hardware lineup and a new AI system.
Speaker 2 (00:31):
And Google also introduces new Nest branded hardware, including video cameras,
a doorbell, and a compact speaker, as the company advised
to integrate AI throughout the smart home.
Speaker 1 (00:42):
Hardware abound. But let's get to the hard fact of
the day.
Speaker 3 (00:44):
When it comes to the markets, we are flat on
the nastat one hundred.
Speaker 1 (00:47):
A lot to digest for investors.
Speaker 3 (00:49):
Whether we're looking at weaker jobs data once again signaling
weakness that the Federal Reserve might cut rates into.
Speaker 1 (00:55):
But will we get of course, the non.
Speaker 3 (00:57):
Farm payrolls on Friday, we are amid a government shut down,
and we will go to that best conferences and when
it starts with the leaders of the Democrats in the House.
Speaker 1 (01:04):
But I'm looking at gold Spot currently get a.
Speaker 3 (01:06):
Record high that anxiety fueling a bid for a haven
ED But what are you looking at?
Speaker 2 (01:11):
Yeah, I think we've got to get out to talk
more about what's happening with this shutdown because it's impacting
markets right now, including the tech sector. Bloombergs Tyler Kendall
is at the White House in DC for more. Sorry, Tyler,
explain the basics of where we stand in the shutdown
and what we're expecting to happen next.
Speaker 4 (01:28):
Right, So, ED, at this point, we haven't seen any
side really budge on their main points here. So at
this point, negotiations are continuing, but the government is shut down,
and we did hear from Republican leadership earlier today, including
House Speaker Mike Johnson and his words, more pain will
be inflicted the longer this shutdown goes on. It's our
(01:48):
understanding that House Republicans will hold a call later today
with the O and B Director of US Vote about
the potential for permanent layoffs. This has been a threat
that has been issued from this White House, essentially as
an ego shaving tactic.
Speaker 5 (02:00):
In these talks.
Speaker 4 (02:02):
But we should note at this point we haven't actually
seen the agency's outline plans for permanent firings. As of now,
Republicans are really standing firm behind this idea that they
want to see what's known as a clean continuing resolution
that would fund the government until mid November with no
other provisions attached. The Democrats say they want to see
policy changes now, and they all have to do with healthcare.
(02:24):
Really at the heart of this, the chief concern is
extending those expiring Obamacare premium tax subsidies that are set
to end at the end of this year. I would
watch out on that front because we have heard from
Senate Majority Leader John Thune there could be some room
for negotiation on that, but the government has to reopen
first in order for those talks to start.
Speaker 2 (02:42):
We were just showing some live picks of what we
expect to be House Democrats in a press conference on
the shutdown, and Askar said earlier, when it happens, will
bring you what you need to know. Bloombers Tyler Kendall
staying in DC for US, that's kind of the big
picture of what's happening in tech markets, but there are
stories out there that are driving specific moves as well.
I'm looking at Micron moving pretty much six percent to
(03:04):
the upside, like it was lower in pre market on
the news that it's big rivals in memory, sk Heinix
and Samsung have won the Stargate deal. Do you expect
it to be up six percent? Well, it is, and
then there is tension between the United States and Taiwan.
Taiwan pushing back on the idea. There's an agreement here
that they will push more manufacturing to be on shore
(03:25):
in the United States through TSMC. TSMC's usadrs are up
two percent. We need to get the details.
Speaker 3 (03:31):
There is a through line between these two key stories,
and Michael Shepherd, as always, can talk us through the
nuances and what's happening when it comes to the chip
industry and Washington's into play.
Speaker 1 (03:43):
So talk us through first and foremost.
Speaker 3 (03:44):
You've got Samsung Shynix of course, basically Asian players winning
contracts with Open AI and Stargate. But this is as
the leadership in Washington and really pushing for more domestic manufacturing.
Speaker 1 (03:57):
Just talk us through it.
Speaker 6 (03:59):
Well, when you think think about it, you have to
look at it in the broader AI context, and for
the Trump administration, this would certainly support their goal of
propelling investment in Stargate in Open Ai, in that big
data center project that the President heralded at the beginning
of his term. But there were a few questions left unanswered.
One is the price tag and will this help support
(04:21):
what is part of a trade deal with South Korea
that calls for as much as three hundred and fifty
billion dollars in South Korean investment in the US over
the next several years. Also left unanswered is where all
of this high bandwidth memory is going to be produced, Caro.
We don't know whether this is going to be made
in Asia or if they may try to do some
(04:41):
of this production in the US.
Speaker 5 (04:43):
And that is certainly a goal of.
Speaker 6 (04:46):
The US and of the Trump administration to onshore more
of that chip production. And so there may be more
pressure from the administration on these two companies, on the
government and SOUL to try to make some more of
that happen.
Speaker 2 (04:59):
Shap headline out of DC Trump's proposed changes to VISA
rules assailed by the chip industry.
Speaker 5 (05:06):
What's the team been reporting on here.
Speaker 6 (05:09):
Well, this is another cross current that we're seeing here
in Washington, and that is, namely that for all of
the push on getting manufacturing on short here. There is
a tension over the workforce, and we have heard administration
officials talk about trying to develop the workforce, but the
industry has outlined a major challenge, and that is simply
(05:31):
that the country is not producing enough graduates here in
the US to meet the potential demand of all of
that manufacturing and data center and AI expansion that is
projected to happen over the next five years. There is
an estimated sixty seven thousand job gap according to the
semiconductor makers. Now, what we're seeing is pushback from chip
(05:53):
makers against an administration plan the crackdown on the F
one student visa. This is a key pipeline for talent
in the tech industry. It is something that they have
relied on for years. Students currently are able to say
for an indefinite period as long as they're actively in
a course of study, but the administration wants to shorten
that to four years, and industry is saying, look, a
(06:16):
less friendly approach to immigration will drive away talent to
other countries that are more welcoming, and it will hurt competition,
one CEO wrote in An unnamed chief executive from a
semiconductor company wrote in to say that they were deeply
troubled to see this and that it will harm competitiveness
for the industry here in the US. And this comes
as also the administration is raising the fee for H
(06:39):
onebvs's to one hundred thousand dollars for new applications and
for chip companies that could mean one hundreds of millions
of dollars in additional fees. Trying to get all that
talent here in the US to meet this demand that they.
Speaker 5 (06:53):
Have for jobs.
Speaker 2 (06:54):
Bluembogs Mike Shechpad with two critical stories out of DC
and there are several that we didn't touch on. We'll
try to throughout the hour. Energy Secretary Chris Wright says
the US has taken an equity stake in Lithium Americas
in a bid to level the competitive playing field with China.
Wright said on the close that the US government will
have a five percent stake in the company and a
(07:15):
five percent stake in the actual mind all with an
exit strategy.
Speaker 7 (07:20):
So we did was a creative deal engaged with GM
and Lithium Americas to find a way to bring more capital,
equity capital into the mine. Yes, for US to take
an equity stake in the mind and to do those things.
So the mind's going to be viable, economically sound, it's
not going to be the next Cylindra. And then we
(07:41):
can advance the loan capital that will help that mind
get finished.
Speaker 3 (07:45):
And you have creative deals coming from the administration. Let's
get to the broader tech readA cross therefore with Frea Sincotos,
your senior market analyst at City Index. Look, we talk
about anxiety in the market, we talk about a government shutdown.
We worry about maybe the push and the pull of
trade deals, whether it's with Taiwan, whether it's with South Korea.
Speaker 1 (08:01):
And yet videos.
Speaker 3 (08:02):
At a record high today, Micron's had a record high today. Fiona,
do you just keep on allocating to the ai trade?
Speaker 8 (08:09):
It feels like it's that way. I mean, whilst we
are seeing pockets of safe haven demand. So obviously we've
seen goals trading at record high, We've seen the Japanese
Yenni's strengthening against the US dollar. We're seeing equities still
remaining very well supported. So I think there is very
(08:30):
much this sense that particularly tech stocks are still attracting
a lot of attention because investors want to put their
money somewhere, and big tech in the US remains a
solid trade, you know, and we've still got the outlooks,
will be getting more information of that when we get
into earning season. But it does feel that we've had
(08:51):
this sort of you know, gradual climb higher that's not
really letting up, even though there are clearly plenty of
risks out there, the shutdown of the US government, but
still those you know, optimism surrounding those fed rate cuts
is still helping the sector as well.
Speaker 3 (09:08):
It is about the macro policy making, whether or not
we get the jobs data on Friday or not. Fiona,
what's happening in Europe because I'm looking at ASML is
also at one point three percent. Are you getting a
pull across to other regions right now?
Speaker 8 (09:21):
Yes? I think there has been, And you know, it's
quite interesting because I think there was a period just
recently where Europe was struggling against the US. We were
seeing the US climbing fresh record highs. We were seeing
the nasdak Art, we were seeing the s and P
five hundred up, and yet in Europe we were sort
of suffering a little bit on down days. But I
think there is a sense now that that is starting
(09:42):
to turn around again. As you said, there is that
sort of pull across that we're getting from the US
into tech stocks in Europe, which is helping. As far
as sort of other sectors. There had been a strength
in defense stocks in Europe, which I think has just
sort of wound down a little bit. But yeah, as
far as techook are concerned, we are seeing some encouraging signs. Again.
Speaker 2 (10:07):
A story we did not get to with Bloomberg's Mike
Shepherd was Taiwan's Vice Premier coming out and saying that
the country rejects the United States demand for Taiwan to
actively help in bringing fifty percent half of semiconductor manufacturing
for the US supply base into the United States. This
(10:29):
is a sort of part of the negotiation broadly on
trade with that nation. But it speaks to other things
that Caroline outline to you, which is the impact of
this administration's policy on the technology sector.
Speaker 5 (10:40):
What do you make of that?
Speaker 8 (10:42):
Yeah, you know, I think with this administration, policy is
very much a central part of how markets are responding
as to the outlook for stocks and also for sentiment.
As we've talked about, you know, it does feel like
the a saidministration is having a very active role, as
we know, in setting out policy and involving themselves in policy,
(11:06):
which is affecting stocks. It's affecting sentiment to a degree.
But I think also that there is a little bit
of court and we're not seeing the same rapid, quick
responses that we used to see at the beginning of
Trump's administration, where he would make these announcements and we
would see a big reaction in stock, big reaction in
(11:29):
the markets. We're seeing more relaxed response, I would say
to the comments that come out from Trump, although they
are still there, they're just not making the same impact
that perhaps they have previously.
Speaker 2 (11:42):
Fiona, did technology investors start looking for opportunities in sectors
and companies where a US government might take a stake.
Speaker 8 (11:52):
Yeah, that does seem to feel like it could be
the next one to be watching for. You know. I
think they have been much more pro active in looking
for stakes as we've had with the lithium deal as well,
that they are keen to get a foot in and
perhaps make the US potentially even more competitive than it
(12:13):
is against peers such as China. So that could be
the next one to be watching out for.
Speaker 1 (12:18):
Peer and a duty signs of a bubble.
Speaker 8 (12:22):
I see that we are high value. There are high
valuations at the moment. I mean that was something that
was noted by Federal Reserve Chair Jerome pal just a
few weeks ago. But I think really what we need
to see is what earnings are going to be telling us.
You know, I think there's going to be a lot
of focus on earning season, on forward guidance. I don't
(12:43):
think we're in bubble territory, but I do feel that
we are quite overstretched in some areas. But that doesn't
mean to say that we necessarily are going to see
a big collapse here at all. I think there is
potential for some consolidation. And if we do get okay
readings from the earnings at the end of this month
going to November, then I think that could potentially be
(13:08):
a reasoner catalyst for another like high especially if we're
seeing the Federal Reserve cutting interest.
Speaker 2 (13:14):
Rates further ASML earnings on October fourteenth, how is it
earning season already? Fionasencoda from City Index, thank you, We're
ready coming up why some investors are rethinking their private
market play. But we're going to speak with Matt with Eiler,
Wellington Management late stage growth lead. This is where the
conversation is right now, and as you know, I want
(13:35):
to talk about debt.
Speaker 5 (13:36):
This is momboke tech.
Speaker 2 (13:45):
There's a lot happening in technology and private markets today
from London to LA. Startups are raising money and in
some cases, like the UK's n Scale in the former
quick follow on round around the world, pension fund state
back investment firms, venture catalysts are rethinking the private market's playbook.
Matt with Hyler, Wellington Management's late stage growth lead joins
(14:06):
us now. Wellington Management has more than nine point six
billion dollars in assets under management in the private investment bucket.
I have so much to ask you, but we were
showing a really well read story on the Bloomberg about
any participant in private markets after an era of easy
gains is now changing approach. Is that true of you
and what you're doing in your strategy?
Speaker 9 (14:26):
Well, I think for us, similar to what we've seen
over the last multiple decades is companies are just staying
private longer, right, and as that happens, then the historic
returns and public market investors would have gotten as companies
went public and then appreciating the public market those are
really only available those returns in the private market as
those companies continue to grow. So for us, it's more
(14:48):
of the same, continuing to capitalize on that trend and
apply the kind of full picture of Wellington, which is
seeing the public markets and applying that knowledge to the
private markets.
Speaker 2 (14:57):
Matt across infrastructure projects largely relating to AI and m
and A debt is in the headlines on a daily
basis at the moment different types of mechanisms. I'm trying
to understand how worried or not private market participants are
about the use of debt, Like the CLO market must
(15:20):
be like this is great. The m and A market
is claiming it's the connective tissue issuance giving life to it,
but others are saying this is really worrying.
Speaker 9 (15:29):
I mean, I think the amount of leverage we see
being deployed as capex expense for AI and all things
AI continues to increase, I think that the debt service
for that will be wholly determined by the revenue streams
that AI in general is creating. And so assuming AI
continues to deliver on the dream and continues to deliver
on the revenue forecasts, then I think that that leverage
(15:52):
in that debt is probably okay. But obviously if the
secular shift in AI doesn't act result in the revenue
that people are expecting, then that overleverage will be a challenge.
Speaker 1 (16:05):
So what is your base case for whether we meet
the hype.
Speaker 9 (16:11):
I think we believe that AI is a once in
a decade, maybe once in a generation technology shift, and
that as a result, a lot of this leverage and
a lot of the death that's put into the system
actually will be fine.
Speaker 5 (16:24):
I would say.
Speaker 9 (16:24):
I think our take is really that this trend of
companies staying private longer does have implications for the availability
of AI businesses in the public market, which is I
think a really interesting topic.
Speaker 1 (16:36):
Let's delve into that topic.
Speaker 3 (16:37):
If we look at your portfolio, we can see the
companies that you did back from an early stage and
well a late stage growth area in the private markets
and have successfully gone public, most recently Klana, but Airbnb affirm.
I'm also thinking about the ones that still haven't gone public. Stripe,
I mean, massive company that many would have thought would
have gone to IPO and it hasn't as yet. Data
Bricks just an one hundred billion dollar valuation. When is
(17:02):
it likely that the IPO market will open for these companies?
Is there just too much to be gained from remaining private. Look,
we've just had EA return to the private market, so
that the deal goes through.
Speaker 9 (17:12):
Well, I think there's two ways to answer your question.
The first way is to say that over the last
three years we had a historically low period of IPO activity.
You all talk about it on the show all the time.
Q three there were thirteen venture backed IPOs. Those companies
raised thirty six billion dollars in the public market or
have a combined market value of thirty.
Speaker 5 (17:33):
Six billion dollars.
Speaker 9 (17:34):
That's three thousand percent more than happened last year at
this time. So the IPO market is absolutely coming back,
and we're starting to see signs so that.
Speaker 1 (17:42):
If the SEC is opened.
Speaker 9 (17:43):
If the SEC reopens, that will throw a wrench in
companies like NAVAN, companies like Ethos, companies like wealth Front
that have filed their S one and are waiting. The
SEC is not open for business, so new issuances will
be down.
Speaker 2 (17:56):
Matt, has your definition of a late stage growth investment
changed definitely?
Speaker 9 (18:03):
And it has because companies stay private longer.
Speaker 2 (18:05):
So I know, to be fair, you've said that before,
So I'm trying tounstand, like, what specific company fits your
profile right now?
Speaker 9 (18:12):
Yeah, So let's talk about data bricks, which I think
is a great example. When I started a decade ago
investing in late stage private companies, the idea that we'd
be investing in a sixty plus billion dollar now one
hundred billion dollar private company was really hard to wrap
my head around. But as companies stay private longer, the
larger companies are just commanding more market cap in the
(18:34):
private market.
Speaker 5 (18:35):
And that's a big, big.
Speaker 9 (18:36):
Change from where things were a decade ago. There was
no sixty or one hundred billion dollar private companies ten
years ago. Today we sit and we can count dozen,
probably of them.
Speaker 3 (18:45):
What's interesting is Wellington does well in both scenarios as
we said, and you've well haven't exited yet Klana because
Klana goes public, you still hold, but there's a lock
up situation. Eventually, maybe Wellington on the one point three
trillion dollar assets on a management side, starts buying that
up in.
Speaker 1 (19:01):
The public markets.
Speaker 3 (19:01):
But when is it that you decide to exit from
the late stage growth perspective? Is it always when the
lock up expires, how long do you want to ride
these companies once they do go public?
Speaker 9 (19:11):
For us, we think about holistically as a firm where
the return characteristics for specific strategy lie and are we
able to achieve those return objectives? And so oftentimes it
will happen is one of our companies on the private
side will go public, we will have generated sufficient return
to what we underwrite two that may still leave plenty
(19:33):
of opportunity for the public market side to be buying.
And it's that combination of again, as I said before,
seeing the full picture of here's how they operate in
the private markets, in how they executed, and here's what
we believe can happen in the public markets mean that
although we may be selling out of the private side,
our one point three trillion on the public side may
be potentially buying those companies.
Speaker 2 (19:53):
And really quick we break the story in July SpaceX
at four hundred billion dollars it was a tender secondary
as a case study with your assets on the management.
Can you even get into something like that at that valuation?
Speaker 9 (20:04):
And at that stage the answer is yes, assuming that
we think that the return potential is there, and I
think One of the really interesting trends is companies stay
private longer. Is really to highlight the fact that perpetually
private for the vast majority of companies is not a
thing because the volume of liquidity in the private markets
is not sufficient to give employees, founders, and investors return
(20:28):
of capital that they need. The best way to illustrate that,
in my mind, is to point out the fact that
the entire private market transacts in a year volume that
equals five business days of trading in the public market.
So all the private universe transacts in just five days
in the public market. So liquidity in the private markets
(20:48):
isn't there to stay private forever.
Speaker 3 (20:51):
And only for a few really big key names. Matt
with Hyler a wedding to management. Always fascinating to have
him on the show.
Speaker 1 (20:59):
It is time now talking tech and first up.
Speaker 3 (21:01):
Intel says it remains committed to its plans for building
out its brawling chip manufacturing plant in Ohio. This after
US Senator Bernierino pressed the company about delays in the project.
In a statement released, Intel says the Ohio one initiatives quote.
Speaker 1 (21:15):
Remain an important part of our long term plans.
Speaker 3 (21:18):
Plus, Apple defended its decision to use open Ai over Elon.
Speaker 1 (21:22):
Musk's Xai in their iPhone software.
Speaker 3 (21:24):
This after Xai sued the company in August, alleging favoritism, stifling.
Speaker 1 (21:29):
Innovation, and reducing consumer choice.
Speaker 3 (21:31):
In a Tuesday court filing, Apple said it's quote widely
known it plans to partner with other AI chatbots in
the future. A Meta is said to be acquiring chip
start up Rebos to strengthen its in house semiconductor effort.
Speaker 1 (21:45):
That's according to sources now.
Speaker 3 (21:46):
The move aims to cut Meta's reliance on Nvidia, lower
AI costs, and support the company's push towards superintelligence.
Speaker 5 (21:59):
Welcome back to Bloomberg Tech.
Speaker 2 (22:00):
There's just so many technology news stories to get in today.
Here's a couple that I'm looking at. Qualcomm allow it
by about a percentage point. They said overnight that a
Delaware court has dismissed Arm's legal challenge again them. You'll
remember that the district court was looking at a case
where ARM had accused Qualcom and its subsidiary Nuvia of
breaching licensing agreements, and according to Qualcom, that case has
(22:23):
been thrown out. Although it's not doing anything to support
the stock now. Reddit is down ten percent on social media,
there is some discussion about a drop incitations that Reddit's
getting on the open Ai platforms. Our analysts a Bloomberg
Intelligence have also cited that data, saying that it is
a concern the stock is down ten percent, though we've
(22:44):
heard nothing official from either Reddit nor open Ai. And
you know, we're going to continue to look into this one.
But that's the basic logic. It's a data relating to
the drop incitations that Reddit's getting on open Ai platforms,
and we'll find out more current.
Speaker 3 (22:59):
We will in our Let's just talk about a stock
that has run up in recent days, maybe taking a
breather today. It's Core Weave. It's winning over Wall Street.
Nearly half of all analysts covering this stock now have
a buy equivalent rating. That's after the company announced a
slew of new business deals, including one.
Speaker 1 (23:13):
Just yesterday with Meta.
Speaker 3 (23:14):
Remember now for more meg Equity's reporter come and Renekey
is here to join us. It was fourteen billion with Meta,
but they'd already just done an extension with open Ai.
They've been beefing up outside of Microsoft. The analysts the
notes were suddenly seeing more positive read across.
Speaker 10 (23:28):
Yeah, so we've seen a slew of upgrades to buy
ratings for core Weave. As you said, nearly half of
all analysts now have a buy equivalent rating. That's up
from just twenty percent just a few months ago. Now,
Corey went public in March, so you know, analyst ratings
and coverage sort of trickles in as a company, you know,
goes along its lifetime. But this is really a shift
in sentiment, and as you said, these deals are making
(23:51):
Wall Street analysts feel more secure, more bullish about the
future of the company and that it has a diversified
revenue stream.
Speaker 5 (23:58):
That's not just focused on mistering trades.
Speaker 2 (24:00):
The CEO has done a couple of interviews with Bloomberg
in the last two weeks, one on TV and one
with Brody Ford in the print domain.
Speaker 5 (24:07):
But his point's really clear.
Speaker 2 (24:08):
Post IPO, he felt they were getting dinged, or at
least the stock could have gone higher had they demonstrated
a diverse customer base.
Speaker 5 (24:16):
Now they are. That's kind of what the market's fixated on, right, Yeah.
Speaker 1 (24:19):
That's really what we're seeing.
Speaker 10 (24:20):
It's this idea that the long term, you know, in
the future, things are going to get better for this company,
and right now that's really overshadowing sort of some of
the concerns that more bearish analysts have brought up around
the level of debt that they have versus the amount
of revenue that they're bringing in. So it seems like
a lot of those fears have been quelled, at least
in the near term. And the other thing that's interesting is,
you know, the average price target is bumped up to
(24:42):
one hundred and forty one dollars. That's the highest so
far and at least for now. The last time that
I checked it was above the current stock price. So
analysts have even been seeing some upside for shares, which
they weren't for months, you know, when it had this
huge run up after its IPO.
Speaker 1 (24:58):
I mean, that is competition.
Speaker 3 (25:00):
It's interesting that n Scale, still private in Europe, has
just raised a pre Series C, having just days ago
completed their Series B. All of this speaks to the
furious nature or trying to get AI compute right now,
and that is what's also helping the wind in call
Weyse sales, right.
Speaker 10 (25:17):
Yeah, exactly, it's and I think it's one of the
first ones to sort of come public and be a
very well known name in this space, and obviously it
has these great deals, but it has great partnerships as well.
You know, it's been linked with Nvidia Open AI. You
knows are really the key names in this space.
Speaker 1 (25:32):
Carmen Branicky always love her reporting me. Thank you.
Speaker 3 (25:34):
Meanwhile, Microsoft it's just unveiled new agentic security capabilities to
its Sentinel platform, hoping to offer a unified security offering
in this age of AI. We spoke with Microsoft Security
Corporate Vice President Basio Jakhar about the updates and to
discuss how AI is actually impacting a new age of cybersecurity.
Speaker 11 (25:53):
We're very excited about the superpowers that AI brings for defenders,
because you're right, we need to use AI for defense
and it is going to change this asymmetry in the
threat landscape. This is why we're introducing the Security Store,
because now anyone can build an agent through Security Copilot
and they can publish it in the Security Store. It
(26:13):
it enables organizations to quickly discover what agents are available
to them right in the tools like Defender and Purview
that Microsoft supports.
Speaker 3 (26:22):
How much have you had to beef up talent within
your know the hiring practices at the moment, because all
we talk of is talent wars at the moment. Is
it really faced within the cybersecurity area as well?
Speaker 1 (26:33):
Yeah, it is.
Speaker 11 (26:34):
Cybersecurity is a cultural transformation, and as part of Secure
Future initiative, we've taken a big initiative on skilling and upskilling.
We have a security Academy at Microsoft where we have
we are training every single employee to learn about how
to do security in this new age of AI. And
we also extend that training to our partner ecosystem and
(26:55):
our customer ecosystem, so we all can learn AI and
we can learn security together.
Speaker 2 (27:01):
That was Microsoft Security Corporate Vice President Vasu Jacau, Google
stop executive in Europe, said the continent should simplify complex
and conflicting rules on AI and technology. This is Silicon
Valley's biggest companies gripe about their impacts and their ability
to do business.
Speaker 5 (27:17):
In the EU.
Speaker 2 (27:18):
She spoke with Bloomberg's Francine Lacroix at Bloomberg's Women, Money
and Power Conference earlier today.
Speaker 5 (27:23):
Listen to this.
Speaker 12 (27:25):
I really think it's problematic that we have so much
regulation that is inconflicable with another. So I am eager
to engage in my new role.
Speaker 1 (27:33):
With sort of.
Speaker 12 (27:35):
I would say industry broadly, because whenever I talked to
business leaders there's universal frustration. I would say about sixty percent.
I think of a recent survey of business leaders say
they'd like simplification of regulation in the European Union. I'd
like to join arms with other fellow interested parties and
really advocate for a simpler regime here.
Speaker 2 (27:54):
Okay, be sure to catch more of Bloomberg's Women, Money
and Power conference. Tune in on the terminal live, Go Carot.
What's next coming up?
Speaker 3 (28:03):
UKAI startup synth Percia is launching video agents. We'll talk
to the CEO about the tools aimed it making videos
easier to create and interact with Q your avatar ed
this is green mag Tech. AI video startup Synthesia is
(28:24):
introducing an updated version of its platform. It's three point
zero the company known for creating AI clones for corporate videos.
It counts in video Adobe among its backers, and it
serves eighty percent of the top one hundred companies with
its video offerings. Cynthesia co founder CEO Victor Riverbelli joins
us now. Congratulations on the launch, Victor, what am I
going to get with three point zero.
Speaker 1 (28:44):
It's a bit of an overhaul here.
Speaker 13 (28:47):
Thank you so much, thanks for having me on to
be to be back here. So three point zero is
a bunch of different things. The main thing is that
we're evolving video from being kind of a static broadcast format.
Right you recorded once and everybody essentially watched it is
the exact same version of that video into video that's conversational.
And we're launching this new product called Video Agents, where
you're going to be able to create your videos like
(29:07):
you've always created your videos, but then you can insert
these agents at different points in your video and they
can serve different purposes. If you're doing a training video,
for example, you can have an agent that actually checks
if the person watching the video has understood the content.
Speaker 14 (29:19):
If you're doing recruiting.
Speaker 13 (29:21):
For examples, you could have an agent that interviews it's
a case stunt, a candidate that's kind of on the spot.
So lose video way for being static to something that's
much more dynamic and conversational. And then in the wake
of that, roles and launching a whole bunch of new
features just make the core product better. So launching a
new copilot making it easier for people to create video
in a chat style interface, Launching new avatar technologies where
(29:42):
you can take and prompt new avatars into exist, and
you can take the avatart that you already have of
yourself and you can say, hey, I want to be
on a boat, I want to be in a corporate office,
I want to change my outfit, And it cerentually just
opens up a whole bunch of new creative possibilities.
Speaker 3 (29:55):
New possibilities at a time where we're questioning the effectiveness
of these AI agents and indeed adoption within enterprise.
Speaker 1 (30:04):
Factor, just talk to us about how you've been talking
to your customers.
Speaker 3 (30:07):
We've had the MIT report saying ninety five percent of
pilots aren't working.
Speaker 1 (30:10):
How is it working within your clients?
Speaker 13 (30:15):
We've always had this manager cold utility of a novelty.
You know, We've always said technology is amazing and it's cool.
That of course is what we build our company around.
But Alsomate we have a solved to have to solve
the problem for them customer, right. I think that the
MIT reporters is pretty bang on in my own personal experience,
I think that like eighty percent of AI tools so
they simply just don't work. Fifteen percent of them kind
of stumble their way there. The last five percent actually work.
(30:36):
When you look at our business and I think the
kind of numbers that we're delivering, it's very clear that
our product really truly works. We increased our NR to
one hundred and forty two percent from up thirteen percent
from from twelve months ago. We have you know, four
time to spending, customers pay us small than one hundred
care that we did twelve months ago. And all these
things only happen because people actually get bye out of
the product. Right now, I think what we've discovered at
(30:57):
some DSA is that as important as the models a
right like of course, generating the avatars, generating these video
clips for people is really important. But ultimately it's about
a workflow. Why do you make a video? You make
a video because you want to communicate something to someone.
But we spent the last couple of years building out
as a platform that helps you with that entire process.
You create the video, you edit it this PowerPoint soft
style interface, you collaborate with your colleagues, You have content management,
(31:21):
translation with a publishing platform, with our own video tare
and so what we've managed to do is to take
that process and make it as quickly as we can.
Speaker 2 (31:28):
You quantified that the market for these tools and gave
numbers and those that you feel don't work, and we
as a team can go away and check that math.
But for Synthesia three point zero, do you have some
benchmarking data that that is evidence of its performance and
capability against the large field that is text to video?
Speaker 14 (31:51):
Well, I think the way you bench back these things
depends very much on the use case.
Speaker 13 (31:55):
Right If I'm creating a training video, that's a very
different benchmark down creating a marketing for example. I think
what we're seeing very clearly, like you know three point zero,
a lot of these things, we're literally releasing them as
we go right now, so they haven't been in the
market for twelve months.
Speaker 14 (32:07):
But what we see is.
Speaker 13 (32:08):
That if you do training content, for example, engagement is
increased by thirty percent versus.
Speaker 14 (32:13):
Sharing at as normal.
Speaker 13 (32:14):
Text's what benchmark is other text to video tools, but
we're really good at is avatars.
Speaker 14 (32:19):
That's the thing that we deeply care about.
Speaker 13 (32:20):
We're now integrating other models as well, So if you
want to use vio free in the product, you can
use that. We're adding a bunch of other models as well.
So I think for us as a company, I don't
really think it makes sense to benchmarkets against text to
video tools. You know, for us about the process of
communicating something to someone, and that goes much deeper than
just to models themselves.
Speaker 2 (32:37):
This week, the big focus has been on Meta's Vibes
it's a funny name, and the reporting that open ai
is looking at a video tool in conjunction with being
a social media platform. You've been on this program and discussed,
you know, the risks of AI generated video content in
(32:59):
social domains.
Speaker 5 (33:00):
But what's your reaction to.
Speaker 2 (33:02):
Those two moves by those two players.
Speaker 14 (33:06):
I think it's very predictable.
Speaker 13 (33:07):
I'm quoted, you know, I think four or five years
ago and in a book say that I think by
twenty twenty six, ninety five percent of all content and
incident's going to be AI generated, And I think that's
that's where we're moving toward style. It feels odd, it
feels weird. I think that we're going to be watching
AI generator content. But I think, you know, ultimately will
care less about how something was produced, will came more
about the content itself. A lot of the content people
(33:28):
make with AI today is what most people would call
slub right. It's not very high quality. It's kind of
like engagement farming, engagement baiting. But I think they'll eventually
be replaced by people using these tools to create awesome content.
There's so many great creators an incident, they'll pick up
these tools and they'll they'll and they'll use them to
create great content. As for the big platforms moving into
this space, I think again highly predictable. These companies ultimately
(33:49):
make their money off ads, right, and to launch an
AD in one of these networks, you want that to
be video in twenty twenty five because that performs way better.
And these platforms they want to offer you the tools
who make those videos for those ads, right, which is
exactly like Google owning the platform to create appwords for
search engine marketing, for example.
Speaker 14 (34:08):
I think it's very particularly going to move into this space.
Speaker 13 (34:10):
I think also predictable that they're going to offer these
tools inside their apps. You know, it feels new maybe
that they're adding AI video, but really they've been doing
this for six seven years, you know, like putting dog
gears on yourself with face filters. All this stuff is
roughly the same technology, right, So I think it's just
it's just like this of trajectory of you know, more
and more AI being part of the content creation flows
both in our personal lives but also very much in
(34:31):
our in our corporate life.
Speaker 3 (34:32):
And boy am I getting sore to maine videos coming
my way and the standalone app has been announced just yesterday, Victim.
Speaker 1 (34:38):
But I'm interested.
Speaker 3 (34:39):
In your story with at the moment avatars and being
liked by in video known less. We said that you're
already back by in video and Adobe. Jensen's just went
on stage last week in the UK. Thing is going
to get into your next round? When's that next running
round happening?
Speaker 13 (34:55):
Time will show you know, we're very appreciative of Jenson
now in video partnership, and I I think, if anything
for us as a testament to the fact that we
drive so much real value for our clients that we're
way past the kind of demo stage. I think, you know,
we're all capitalize. We've raised a bunch of funding rounds.
Who knows where the next one is kind of calm,
but but you know, we we've give you our word
(35:15):
that he'll get to participate in.
Speaker 2 (35:16):
A Victor ripperbelly CEO Synthesia. Great to have you back
on the show. Thank you. Amazon has overhauled devices, including
its Echo and Echo Studio. We spoke with the company's
head of Devices and Services, Panels pan A, who says
the products were built to be showcased in the home
(35:39):
and could help customers stop glancing at their smartphones.
Speaker 15 (35:43):
A lot of times we take out our phone, we
get distracted. I'm at the dinner table with my kids.
We have this idea that we want to keep our
phones down right because we want to be present with
each other. And there's so many times where you pull
out your phone to answer a question, almost like you
just said, but now it's just changed, it's completely different.
Speaker 5 (35:59):
Just say a like, so have the conversation.
Speaker 15 (36:02):
It's quite literally all the information there and it's conversational.
Not only that she can then get the next thing
done for you.
Speaker 2 (36:08):
Bloomberg's Mart gum And has written and it's based in
part on a conversation with you, that Amazon's overhauling its
device is to take on Apple in this AI era.
Speaker 15 (36:20):
Do you agree with that? I haven't seen it? Can
I say that? Let me read that article that here's
what I'd say. We build our products for our customers
and for people. My whole goal is quite simple. We
want AI to be useful for people, end of story.
And I think we're building devices to do just that.
(36:43):
And I do believe they're beautiful. I think they fit
in the home. I think they're so well thought through
that when people use these devices d They're going to
love them. They're just going to love them. I can't
like this is something. I just want people to get
their hands on them.
Speaker 1 (36:55):
Great conversation.
Speaker 3 (36:56):
Amazon's SVP of Devices and Services, Panaspan a look right
off the heels that Amazon launch, Google out with its
new smart devices powered by Gemini AI as being gam
Bluemag's Dana Woman for more. So, there's doorbells, cameras, there's
speakers what call you right.
Speaker 16 (37:11):
Right, So there's two cameras in a doorbell and a
smart speaker, which actually isn't coming out until spring of
next year, which is going to give Amazon quite the
head start with its own smart home lineup, which, as
you noted, was unveiled yesterday.
Speaker 2 (37:23):
So we have a little bit of competition here on
our hands team Amazon, then Google. They both seem to
be making a claim Dana to the home, the AI
in the home. What's kind of your reflection on the
last two days of announcements.
Speaker 16 (37:37):
So both companies have the challenge of making exciting devices
that really are designed to blend into the home. I
don't think people tend to get as excited about a
smart video camera or smart doorbell as they would let's
say a new iPhone. And so both companies have overhauled
their lineups and both are really staking the future or
(37:57):
at least the near term future of their ranges on
artificial intelligence and weaving an AI in a way that
is useful for consumers. Google, for instance, is saying that
you can ask if there's a new feature called Ask
Home where you can literally ask your products. Let's say,
what happened with the vase, and it will sort of
dial back the footage and tell you why an item
is misplaced or broken. Let's say, in a really extreme example.
Speaker 3 (38:21):
It is about an ecosystem, though, and keeping old uses engaged.
That seems to me why they're saying they speak is
delayed right, because it is quite a delay until Spring
twenty twenty six.
Speaker 16 (38:31):
That is the way Google has positioned it. They are
saying that they are prioritizing current users of the ecosystem,
many of whom have devices that go back, if not
a decade, close to a decade, So trying to roll
out those AI features to as wide of a population
of devices as possible. And then they say eventually unveiling
this new and shiny smart speaker that's coming.
Speaker 2 (38:52):
Bloomberg's Daniel Wilman with the reporting across devices, thank you
very much. Sticking on the devices front, Peloton is raising
prices both hardware and membership fees as part of a
product overhaul. The news sending shares down significantly, although they
paid some of that decline in the last few minutes
or so. Our consumer tech reporter Samantha Kelly joins us,
what do we need to understand here? Kara and I
(39:13):
are both hardware users of Peloton, we both as subscribers.
What's new in our use of this text?
Speaker 17 (39:20):
Yeah, so it's a revamp across its entire line. So
five new products. That's a traditional base level bike, a
bike plus premium model. There's the tread treadmill, the tread
plus premium again, and the Row plus. So the big
differences here are the premium line. All of them really
get a new swivel screen, which might not sound so exciting,
(39:42):
but the idea here is you can turn it around
and it opens you up to doing you know, yoga classes,
strength classes. The premium line has had this before, and
now it comes to the base level the premium line.
What's really kind of special here is the new camera system.
It tracks you, checks your movements, its AI to give
you personalized custom workouts, really gets to know your your movements,
(40:06):
gives you PEP talks and counts your reps. And this
is sort of what the company is banking here on AI.
It is interesting, you know, just following up on Amazon
and Google infused AI, even Peloton, you wouldn't necessarily think
there would be an integration here is also embracing AI as.
Speaker 3 (40:21):
Well plotan IQ, and it's kind of meant to be
like a cross trainer in many ways. The thing is,
I think you get new people drawn in or is
it just getting at an eye to upgrade all the time.
Speaker 1 (40:33):
Yeah, it's a great question.
Speaker 17 (40:34):
So all the models, even existing ones, can upgrade to
have this AI system now. But again the premium models
can have the camera movements, but it's not necessarily something
you know, you're going to drop thousands of dollars to
get a new camera system if you have equipment that
maybe you're not even using right now.
Speaker 1 (40:51):
So it's it's.
Speaker 17 (40:52):
Definitely to drum up excitement and that is pretty fun.
Speaker 1 (40:55):
I got to try it yesterday.
Speaker 17 (40:56):
It is kind of the Yeah, it's pretty neat. The
way it works is basically there's like almost like a
selfie camera and they put you next to a pre
recorded instructor and you know, I was lifting weights and
it was caping track of it and it was giving
me some suggestions and so pretty useful depending on what
you're looking for.
Speaker 3 (41:13):
It's so interesting though, I'm using Hinge Health when it
comes to physical therapy, you can just use.
Speaker 1 (41:19):
Your own phone. Yeah, as a camera medicine.
Speaker 3 (41:22):
And so there is going to be this sales pitch
they're going to have to do, is why build it
into the product?
Speaker 1 (41:27):
Why can't I?
Speaker 2 (41:27):
Now you and I are stuck right so I have
bike in tread. I think you have bike right in tread,
So like, okay, we face a choice, but I go
back to the stock reaction very quickly. Sam Imi Mark
was on the show earlier this week. It's the latest
turnaround and investors are selling that.
Speaker 17 (41:41):
Yeah, yeah, I mean it's also it's like, are people
going to actually do this? It's like fifty dollars a
month they're in. They're increasing the subscriptions also, so five
extra dollars to even keep you in these classes, and
that that really adds up. Although Peloton says, you know,
you can drop forty dollars on a standalone class, so
maybe it really depends sort.
Speaker 1 (41:58):
Of what you're looking for.
Speaker 3 (42:00):
So true, forty dollars if you want to go to
the latest bar class in New York, or you do
a Peloton Blug's Sam Kelly, I'm glad that you were
trying it out for us. Meanwhile, that does it for
this edition a Bloomberg Tech right here from New York
and coming up in fact in the next hour. You
don't want to miss our talk with Peloton CEO Peter
Stern's joining and these new devices.
Speaker 1 (42:18):
Don't want to miss it.
Speaker 5 (42:19):
Edge that pace, that power, that focus. That's a big interview.
Speaker 2 (42:24):
The show had pace, power and focus. Check out the pod.
You know where to find it. It's on the Bloomberg terminal,
It's online on Apple, Spotify, and iHeart It's Wednesday. I've
got a couple more days here in New York. We've
got a lot more to come in the week. Stay
with us. This is Bloomberg Tech
Bloomberg Tech is alive from coast to coast with Caroline
Hide in New York and Eva Low in Sent Francisco.
Speaker 2 (00:14):
This is Bloomberg Tech coming up another day, another deal.
Samsung and sk Heiniz forge initial agreements to supply chips
and other gear to open AI's Stargate projects.
Speaker 3 (00:24):
Plus Peloton shares drop after hiking prices and announcing an
overhaul of its hardware lineup and a new AI system.
Speaker 2 (00:31):
And Google also introduces new Nest branded hardware, including video cameras,
a doorbell, and a compact speaker, as the company advised
to integrate AI throughout the smart home.
Speaker 1 (00:42):
Hardware abound. But let's get to the hard fact of
the day.
Speaker 3 (00:44):
When it comes to the markets, we are flat on
the nastat one hundred.
Speaker 1 (00:47):
A lot to digest for investors.
Speaker 3 (00:49):
Whether we're looking at weaker jobs data once again signaling
weakness that the Federal Reserve might cut rates into.
Speaker 1 (00:55):
But will we get of course, the non.
Speaker 3 (00:57):
Farm payrolls on Friday, we are amid a government shut down,
and we will go to that best conferences and when
it starts with the leaders of the Democrats in the House.
Speaker 1 (01:04):
But I'm looking at gold Spot currently get a.
Speaker 3 (01:06):
Record high that anxiety fueling a bid for a haven
ED But what are you looking at?
Speaker 2 (01:11):
Yeah, I think we've got to get out to talk
more about what's happening with this shutdown because it's impacting
markets right now, including the tech sector. Bloombergs Tyler Kendall
is at the White House in DC for more. Sorry, Tyler,
explain the basics of where we stand in the shutdown
and what we're expecting to happen next.
Speaker 4 (01:28):
Right, So, ED, at this point, we haven't seen any
side really budge on their main points here. So at
this point, negotiations are continuing, but the government is shut down,
and we did hear from Republican leadership earlier today, including
House Speaker Mike Johnson and his words, more pain will
be inflicted the longer this shutdown goes on. It's our
(01:48):
understanding that House Republicans will hold a call later today
with the O and B Director of US Vote about
the potential for permanent layoffs. This has been a threat
that has been issued from this White House, essentially as
an ego shaving tactic.
Speaker 5 (02:00):
In these talks.
Speaker 4 (02:02):
But we should note at this point we haven't actually
seen the agency's outline plans for permanent firings. As of now,
Republicans are really standing firm behind this idea that they
want to see what's known as a clean continuing resolution
that would fund the government until mid November with no
other provisions attached. The Democrats say they want to see
policy changes now, and they all have to do with healthcare.
(02:24):
Really at the heart of this, the chief concern is
extending those expiring Obamacare premium tax subsidies that are set
to end at the end of this year. I would
watch out on that front because we have heard from
Senate Majority Leader John Thune there could be some room
for negotiation on that, but the government has to reopen
first in order for those talks to start.
Speaker 2 (02:42):
We were just showing some live picks of what we
expect to be House Democrats in a press conference on
the shutdown, and Askar said earlier, when it happens, will
bring you what you need to know. Bloombers Tyler Kendall
staying in DC for US, that's kind of the big
picture of what's happening in tech markets, but there are
stories out there that are driving specific moves as well.
I'm looking at Micron moving pretty much six percent to
(03:04):
the upside, like it was lower in pre market on
the news that it's big rivals in memory, sk Heinix
and Samsung have won the Stargate deal. Do you expect
it to be up six percent? Well, it is, and
then there is tension between the United States and Taiwan.
Taiwan pushing back on the idea. There's an agreement here
that they will push more manufacturing to be on shore
(03:25):
in the United States through TSMC. TSMC's usadrs are up
two percent. We need to get the details.
Speaker 3 (03:31):
There is a through line between these two key stories,
and Michael Shepherd, as always, can talk us through the
nuances and what's happening when it comes to the chip
industry and Washington's into play.
Speaker 1 (03:43):
So talk us through first and foremost.
Speaker 3 (03:44):
You've got Samsung Shynix of course, basically Asian players winning
contracts with Open AI and Stargate. But this is as
the leadership in Washington and really pushing for more domestic manufacturing.
Speaker 1 (03:57):
Just talk us through it.
Speaker 6 (03:59):
Well, when you think think about it, you have to
look at it in the broader AI context, and for
the Trump administration, this would certainly support their goal of
propelling investment in Stargate in Open Ai, in that big
data center project that the President heralded at the beginning
of his term. But there were a few questions left unanswered.
One is the price tag and will this help support
(04:21):
what is part of a trade deal with South Korea
that calls for as much as three hundred and fifty
billion dollars in South Korean investment in the US over
the next several years. Also left unanswered is where all
of this high bandwidth memory is going to be produced, Caro.
We don't know whether this is going to be made
in Asia or if they may try to do some
(04:41):
of this production in the US.
Speaker 5 (04:43):
And that is certainly a goal of.
Speaker 6 (04:46):
The US and of the Trump administration to onshore more
of that chip production. And so there may be more
pressure from the administration on these two companies, on the
government and SOUL to try to make some more of
that happen.
Speaker 2 (04:59):
Shap headline out of DC Trump's proposed changes to VISA
rules assailed by the chip industry.
Speaker 5 (05:06):
What's the team been reporting on here.
Speaker 6 (05:09):
Well, this is another cross current that we're seeing here
in Washington, and that is, namely that for all of
the push on getting manufacturing on short here. There is
a tension over the workforce, and we have heard administration
officials talk about trying to develop the workforce, but the
industry has outlined a major challenge, and that is simply
(05:31):
that the country is not producing enough graduates here in
the US to meet the potential demand of all of
that manufacturing and data center and AI expansion that is
projected to happen over the next five years. There is
an estimated sixty seven thousand job gap according to the
semiconductor makers. Now, what we're seeing is pushback from chip
(05:53):
makers against an administration plan the crackdown on the F
one student visa. This is a key pipeline for talent
in the tech industry. It is something that they have
relied on for years. Students currently are able to say
for an indefinite period as long as they're actively in
a course of study, but the administration wants to shorten
that to four years, and industry is saying, look, a
(06:16):
less friendly approach to immigration will drive away talent to
other countries that are more welcoming, and it will hurt competition,
one CEO wrote in An unnamed chief executive from a
semiconductor company wrote in to say that they were deeply
troubled to see this and that it will harm competitiveness
for the industry here in the US. And this comes
as also the administration is raising the fee for H
(06:39):
onebvs's to one hundred thousand dollars for new applications and
for chip companies that could mean one hundreds of millions
of dollars in additional fees. Trying to get all that
talent here in the US to meet this demand that they.
Speaker 5 (06:53):
Have for jobs.
Speaker 2 (06:54):
Bluembogs Mike Shechpad with two critical stories out of DC
and there are several that we didn't touch on. We'll
try to throughout the hour. Energy Secretary Chris Wright says
the US has taken an equity stake in Lithium Americas
in a bid to level the competitive playing field with China.
Wright said on the close that the US government will
have a five percent stake in the company and a
(07:15):
five percent stake in the actual mind all with an
exit strategy.
Speaker 7 (07:20):
So we did was a creative deal engaged with GM
and Lithium Americas to find a way to bring more capital,
equity capital into the mine. Yes, for US to take
an equity stake in the mind and to do those things.
So the mind's going to be viable, economically sound, it's
not going to be the next Cylindra. And then we
(07:41):
can advance the loan capital that will help that mind
get finished.
Speaker 3 (07:45):
And you have creative deals coming from the administration. Let's
get to the broader tech readA cross therefore with Frea Sincotos,
your senior market analyst at City Index. Look, we talk
about anxiety in the market, we talk about a government shutdown.
We worry about maybe the push and the pull of
trade deals, whether it's with Taiwan, whether it's with South Korea.
Speaker 1 (08:01):
And yet videos.
Speaker 3 (08:02):
At a record high today, Micron's had a record high today. Fiona,
do you just keep on allocating to the ai trade?
Speaker 8 (08:09):
It feels like it's that way. I mean, whilst we
are seeing pockets of safe haven demand. So obviously we've
seen goals trading at record high, We've seen the Japanese
Yenni's strengthening against the US dollar. We're seeing equities still
remaining very well supported. So I think there is very
(08:30):
much this sense that particularly tech stocks are still attracting
a lot of attention because investors want to put their
money somewhere, and big tech in the US remains a
solid trade, you know, and we've still got the outlooks,
will be getting more information of that when we get
into earning season. But it does feel that we've had
(08:51):
this sort of you know, gradual climb higher that's not
really letting up, even though there are clearly plenty of
risks out there, the shutdown of the US government, but
still those you know, optimism surrounding those fed rate cuts
is still helping the sector as well.
Speaker 3 (09:08):
It is about the macro policy making, whether or not
we get the jobs data on Friday or not. Fiona,
what's happening in Europe because I'm looking at ASML is
also at one point three percent. Are you getting a
pull across to other regions right now?
Speaker 8 (09:21):
Yes? I think there has been, And you know, it's
quite interesting because I think there was a period just
recently where Europe was struggling against the US. We were
seeing the US climbing fresh record highs. We were seeing
the nasdak Art, we were seeing the s and P
five hundred up, and yet in Europe we were sort
of suffering a little bit on down days. But I
think there is a sense now that that is starting
(09:42):
to turn around again. As you said, there is that
sort of pull across that we're getting from the US
into tech stocks in Europe, which is helping. As far
as sort of other sectors. There had been a strength
in defense stocks in Europe, which I think has just
sort of wound down a little bit. But yeah, as
far as techook are concerned, we are seeing some encouraging signs. Again.
Speaker 2 (10:07):
A story we did not get to with Bloomberg's Mike
Shepherd was Taiwan's Vice Premier coming out and saying that
the country rejects the United States demand for Taiwan to
actively help in bringing fifty percent half of semiconductor manufacturing
for the US supply base into the United States. This
(10:29):
is a sort of part of the negotiation broadly on
trade with that nation. But it speaks to other things
that Caroline outline to you, which is the impact of
this administration's policy on the technology sector.
Speaker 5 (10:40):
What do you make of that?
Speaker 8 (10:42):
Yeah, you know, I think with this administration, policy is
very much a central part of how markets are responding
as to the outlook for stocks and also for sentiment.
As we've talked about, you know, it does feel like
the a saidministration is having a very active role, as
we know, in setting out policy and involving themselves in policy,
(11:06):
which is affecting stocks. It's affecting sentiment to a degree.
But I think also that there is a little bit
of court and we're not seeing the same rapid, quick
responses that we used to see at the beginning of
Trump's administration, where he would make these announcements and we
would see a big reaction in stock, big reaction in
(11:29):
the markets. We're seeing more relaxed response, I would say
to the comments that come out from Trump, although they
are still there, they're just not making the same impact
that perhaps they have previously.
Speaker 2 (11:42):
Fiona, did technology investors start looking for opportunities in sectors
and companies where a US government might take a stake.
Speaker 8 (11:52):
Yeah, that does seem to feel like it could be
the next one to be watching for. You know. I
think they have been much more pro active in looking
for stakes as we've had with the lithium deal as well,
that they are keen to get a foot in and
perhaps make the US potentially even more competitive than it
(12:13):
is against peers such as China. So that could be
the next one to be watching out for.
Speaker 1 (12:18):
Peer and a duty signs of a bubble.
Speaker 8 (12:22):
I see that we are high value. There are high
valuations at the moment. I mean that was something that
was noted by Federal Reserve Chair Jerome pal just a
few weeks ago. But I think really what we need
to see is what earnings are going to be telling us.
You know, I think there's going to be a lot
of focus on earning season, on forward guidance. I don't
(12:43):
think we're in bubble territory, but I do feel that
we are quite overstretched in some areas. But that doesn't
mean to say that we necessarily are going to see
a big collapse here at all. I think there is
potential for some consolidation. And if we do get okay
readings from the earnings at the end of this month
going to November, then I think that could potentially be
(13:08):
a reasoner catalyst for another like high especially if we're
seeing the Federal Reserve cutting interest.
Speaker 2 (13:14):
Rates further ASML earnings on October fourteenth, how is it
earning season already? Fionasencoda from City Index, thank you, We're
ready coming up why some investors are rethinking their private
market play. But we're going to speak with Matt with Eiler,
Wellington Management late stage growth lead. This is where the
conversation is right now, and as you know, I want
(13:35):
to talk about debt.
Speaker 5 (13:36):
This is momboke tech.
Speaker 2 (13:45):
There's a lot happening in technology and private markets today
from London to LA. Startups are raising money and in
some cases, like the UK's n Scale in the former
quick follow on round around the world, pension fund state
back investment firms, venture catalysts are rethinking the private market's playbook.
Matt with Hyler, Wellington Management's late stage growth lead joins
(14:06):
us now. Wellington Management has more than nine point six
billion dollars in assets under management in the private investment bucket.
I have so much to ask you, but we were
showing a really well read story on the Bloomberg about
any participant in private markets after an era of easy
gains is now changing approach. Is that true of you
and what you're doing in your strategy?
Speaker 9 (14:26):
Well, I think for us, similar to what we've seen
over the last multiple decades is companies are just staying
private longer, right, and as that happens, then the historic
returns and public market investors would have gotten as companies
went public and then appreciating the public market those are
really only available those returns in the private market as
those companies continue to grow. So for us, it's more
(14:48):
of the same, continuing to capitalize on that trend and
apply the kind of full picture of Wellington, which is
seeing the public markets and applying that knowledge to the
private markets.
Speaker 2 (14:57):
Matt across infrastructure projects largely relating to AI and m
and A debt is in the headlines on a daily
basis at the moment different types of mechanisms. I'm trying
to understand how worried or not private market participants are
about the use of debt, Like the CLO market must
(15:20):
be like this is great. The m and A market
is claiming it's the connective tissue issuance giving life to it,
but others are saying this is really worrying.
Speaker 9 (15:29):
I mean, I think the amount of leverage we see
being deployed as capex expense for AI and all things
AI continues to increase, I think that the debt service
for that will be wholly determined by the revenue streams
that AI in general is creating. And so assuming AI
continues to deliver on the dream and continues to deliver
on the revenue forecasts, then I think that that leverage
(15:52):
in that debt is probably okay. But obviously if the
secular shift in AI doesn't act result in the revenue
that people are expecting, then that overleverage will be a challenge.
Speaker 1 (16:05):
So what is your base case for whether we meet
the hype.
Speaker 9 (16:11):
I think we believe that AI is a once in
a decade, maybe once in a generation technology shift, and
that as a result, a lot of this leverage and
a lot of the death that's put into the system
actually will be fine.
Speaker 5 (16:24):
I would say.
Speaker 9 (16:24):
I think our take is really that this trend of
companies staying private longer does have implications for the availability
of AI businesses in the public market, which is I
think a really interesting topic.
Speaker 1 (16:36):
Let's delve into that topic.
Speaker 3 (16:37):
If we look at your portfolio, we can see the
companies that you did back from an early stage and
well a late stage growth area in the private markets
and have successfully gone public, most recently Klana, but Airbnb affirm.
I'm also thinking about the ones that still haven't gone public. Stripe,
I mean, massive company that many would have thought would
have gone to IPO and it hasn't as yet. Data
Bricks just an one hundred billion dollar valuation. When is
(17:02):
it likely that the IPO market will open for these companies?
Is there just too much to be gained from remaining private. Look,
we've just had EA return to the private market, so
that the deal goes through.
Speaker 9 (17:12):
Well, I think there's two ways to answer your question.
The first way is to say that over the last
three years we had a historically low period of IPO activity.
You all talk about it on the show all the time.
Q three there were thirteen venture backed IPOs. Those companies
raised thirty six billion dollars in the public market or
have a combined market value of thirty.
Speaker 5 (17:33):
Six billion dollars.
Speaker 9 (17:34):
That's three thousand percent more than happened last year at
this time. So the IPO market is absolutely coming back,
and we're starting to see signs so that.
Speaker 1 (17:42):
If the SEC is opened.
Speaker 9 (17:43):
If the SEC reopens, that will throw a wrench in
companies like NAVAN, companies like Ethos, companies like wealth Front
that have filed their S one and are waiting. The
SEC is not open for business, so new issuances will
be down.
Speaker 2 (17:56):
Matt, has your definition of a late stage growth investment
changed definitely?
Speaker 9 (18:03):
And it has because companies stay private longer.
Speaker 2 (18:05):
So I know, to be fair, you've said that before,
So I'm trying tounstand, like, what specific company fits your
profile right now?
Speaker 9 (18:12):
Yeah, So let's talk about data bricks, which I think
is a great example. When I started a decade ago
investing in late stage private companies, the idea that we'd
be investing in a sixty plus billion dollar now one
hundred billion dollar private company was really hard to wrap
my head around. But as companies stay private longer, the
larger companies are just commanding more market cap in the
(18:34):
private market.
Speaker 5 (18:35):
And that's a big, big.
Speaker 9 (18:36):
Change from where things were a decade ago. There was
no sixty or one hundred billion dollar private companies ten
years ago. Today we sit and we can count dozen,
probably of them.
Speaker 3 (18:45):
What's interesting is Wellington does well in both scenarios as
we said, and you've well haven't exited yet Klana because
Klana goes public, you still hold, but there's a lock
up situation. Eventually, maybe Wellington on the one point three
trillion dollar assets on a management side, starts buying that
up in.
Speaker 1 (19:01):
The public markets.
Speaker 3 (19:01):
But when is it that you decide to exit from
the late stage growth perspective? Is it always when the
lock up expires, how long do you want to ride
these companies once they do go public?
Speaker 9 (19:11):
For us, we think about holistically as a firm where
the return characteristics for specific strategy lie and are we
able to achieve those return objectives? And so oftentimes it
will happen is one of our companies on the private
side will go public, we will have generated sufficient return
to what we underwrite two that may still leave plenty
(19:33):
of opportunity for the public market side to be buying.
And it's that combination of again, as I said before,
seeing the full picture of here's how they operate in
the private markets, in how they executed, and here's what
we believe can happen in the public markets mean that
although we may be selling out of the private side,
our one point three trillion on the public side may
be potentially buying those companies.
Speaker 2 (19:53):
And really quick we break the story in July SpaceX
at four hundred billion dollars it was a tender secondary
as a case study with your assets on the management.
Can you even get into something like that at that valuation?
Speaker 9 (20:04):
And at that stage the answer is yes, assuming that
we think that the return potential is there, and I
think One of the really interesting trends is companies stay
private longer. Is really to highlight the fact that perpetually
private for the vast majority of companies is not a
thing because the volume of liquidity in the private markets
is not sufficient to give employees, founders, and investors return
(20:28):
of capital that they need. The best way to illustrate that,
in my mind, is to point out the fact that
the entire private market transacts in a year volume that
equals five business days of trading in the public market.
So all the private universe transacts in just five days
in the public market. So liquidity in the private markets
(20:48):
isn't there to stay private forever.
Speaker 3 (20:51):
And only for a few really big key names. Matt
with Hyler a wedding to management. Always fascinating to have
him on the show.
Speaker 1 (20:59):
It is time now talking tech and first up.
Speaker 3 (21:01):
Intel says it remains committed to its plans for building
out its brawling chip manufacturing plant in Ohio. This after
US Senator Bernierino pressed the company about delays in the project.
In a statement released, Intel says the Ohio one initiatives quote.
Speaker 1 (21:15):
Remain an important part of our long term plans.
Speaker 3 (21:18):
Plus, Apple defended its decision to use open Ai over Elon.
Speaker 1 (21:22):
Musk's Xai in their iPhone software.
Speaker 3 (21:24):
This after Xai sued the company in August, alleging favoritism, stifling.
Speaker 1 (21:29):
Innovation, and reducing consumer choice.
Speaker 3 (21:31):
In a Tuesday court filing, Apple said it's quote widely
known it plans to partner with other AI chatbots in
the future. A Meta is said to be acquiring chip
start up Rebos to strengthen its in house semiconductor effort.
Speaker 1 (21:45):
That's according to sources now.
Speaker 3 (21:46):
The move aims to cut Meta's reliance on Nvidia, lower
AI costs, and support the company's push towards superintelligence.
Speaker 5 (21:59):
Welcome back to Bloomberg Tech.
Speaker 2 (22:00):
There's just so many technology news stories to get in today.
Here's a couple that I'm looking at. Qualcomm allow it
by about a percentage point. They said overnight that a
Delaware court has dismissed Arm's legal challenge again them. You'll
remember that the district court was looking at a case
where ARM had accused Qualcom and its subsidiary Nuvia of
breaching licensing agreements, and according to Qualcom, that case has
(22:23):
been thrown out. Although it's not doing anything to support
the stock now. Reddit is down ten percent on social media,
there is some discussion about a drop incitations that Reddit's
getting on the open Ai platforms. Our analysts a Bloomberg
Intelligence have also cited that data, saying that it is
a concern the stock is down ten percent, though we've
(22:44):
heard nothing official from either Reddit nor open Ai. And
you know, we're going to continue to look into this one.
But that's the basic logic. It's a data relating to
the drop incitations that Reddit's getting on open Ai platforms,
and we'll find out more current.
Speaker 3 (22:59):
We will in our Let's just talk about a stock
that has run up in recent days, maybe taking a
breather today. It's Core Weave. It's winning over Wall Street.
Nearly half of all analysts covering this stock now have
a buy equivalent rating. That's after the company announced a
slew of new business deals, including one.
Speaker 1 (23:13):
Just yesterday with Meta.
Speaker 3 (23:14):
Remember now for more meg Equity's reporter come and Renekey
is here to join us. It was fourteen billion with Meta,
but they'd already just done an extension with open Ai.
They've been beefing up outside of Microsoft. The analysts the
notes were suddenly seeing more positive read across.
Speaker 10 (23:28):
Yeah, so we've seen a slew of upgrades to buy
ratings for core Weave. As you said, nearly half of
all analysts now have a buy equivalent rating. That's up
from just twenty percent just a few months ago. Now,
Corey went public in March, so you know, analyst ratings
and coverage sort of trickles in as a company, you know,
goes along its lifetime. But this is really a shift
in sentiment, and as you said, these deals are making
(23:51):
Wall Street analysts feel more secure, more bullish about the
future of the company and that it has a diversified
revenue stream.
Speaker 5 (23:58):
That's not just focused on mistering trades.
Speaker 2 (24:00):
The CEO has done a couple of interviews with Bloomberg
in the last two weeks, one on TV and one
with Brody Ford in the print domain.
Speaker 5 (24:07):
But his point's really clear.
Speaker 2 (24:08):
Post IPO, he felt they were getting dinged, or at
least the stock could have gone higher had they demonstrated
a diverse customer base.
Speaker 5 (24:16):
Now they are. That's kind of what the market's fixated on, right, Yeah.
Speaker 1 (24:19):
That's really what we're seeing.
Speaker 10 (24:20):
It's this idea that the long term, you know, in
the future, things are going to get better for this company,
and right now that's really overshadowing sort of some of
the concerns that more bearish analysts have brought up around
the level of debt that they have versus the amount
of revenue that they're bringing in. So it seems like
a lot of those fears have been quelled, at least
in the near term. And the other thing that's interesting is,
you know, the average price target is bumped up to
(24:42):
one hundred and forty one dollars. That's the highest so
far and at least for now. The last time that
I checked it was above the current stock price. So
analysts have even been seeing some upside for shares, which
they weren't for months, you know, when it had this
huge run up after its IPO.
Speaker 1 (24:58):
I mean, that is competition.
Speaker 3 (25:00):
It's interesting that n Scale, still private in Europe, has
just raised a pre Series C, having just days ago
completed their Series B. All of this speaks to the
furious nature or trying to get AI compute right now,
and that is what's also helping the wind in call
Weyse sales, right.
Speaker 10 (25:17):
Yeah, exactly, it's and I think it's one of the
first ones to sort of come public and be a
very well known name in this space, and obviously it
has these great deals, but it has great partnerships as well.
You know, it's been linked with Nvidia Open AI. You
knows are really the key names in this space.
Speaker 1 (25:32):
Carmen Branicky always love her reporting me. Thank you.
Speaker 3 (25:34):
Meanwhile, Microsoft it's just unveiled new agentic security capabilities to
its Sentinel platform, hoping to offer a unified security offering
in this age of AI. We spoke with Microsoft Security
Corporate Vice President Basio Jakhar about the updates and to
discuss how AI is actually impacting a new age of cybersecurity.
Speaker 11 (25:53):
We're very excited about the superpowers that AI brings for defenders,
because you're right, we need to use AI for defense
and it is going to change this asymmetry in the
threat landscape. This is why we're introducing the Security Store,
because now anyone can build an agent through Security Copilot
and they can publish it in the Security Store. It
(26:13):
it enables organizations to quickly discover what agents are available
to them right in the tools like Defender and Purview
that Microsoft supports.
Speaker 3 (26:22):
How much have you had to beef up talent within
your know the hiring practices at the moment, because all
we talk of is talent wars at the moment. Is
it really faced within the cybersecurity area as well?
Speaker 1 (26:33):
Yeah, it is.
Speaker 11 (26:34):
Cybersecurity is a cultural transformation, and as part of Secure
Future initiative, we've taken a big initiative on skilling and upskilling.
We have a security Academy at Microsoft where we have
we are training every single employee to learn about how
to do security in this new age of AI. And
we also extend that training to our partner ecosystem and
(26:55):
our customer ecosystem, so we all can learn AI and
we can learn security together.
Speaker 2 (27:01):
That was Microsoft Security Corporate Vice President Vasu Jacau, Google
stop executive in Europe, said the continent should simplify complex
and conflicting rules on AI and technology. This is Silicon
Valley's biggest companies gripe about their impacts and their ability
to do business.
Speaker 5 (27:17):
In the EU.
Speaker 2 (27:18):
She spoke with Bloomberg's Francine Lacroix at Bloomberg's Women, Money
and Power Conference earlier today.
Speaker 5 (27:23):
Listen to this.
Speaker 12 (27:25):
I really think it's problematic that we have so much
regulation that is inconflicable with another. So I am eager
to engage in my new role.
Speaker 1 (27:33):
With sort of.
Speaker 12 (27:35):
I would say industry broadly, because whenever I talked to
business leaders there's universal frustration. I would say about sixty percent.
I think of a recent survey of business leaders say
they'd like simplification of regulation in the European Union. I'd
like to join arms with other fellow interested parties and
really advocate for a simpler regime here.
Speaker 2 (27:54):
Okay, be sure to catch more of Bloomberg's Women, Money
and Power conference. Tune in on the terminal live, Go Carot.
What's next coming up?
Speaker 3 (28:03):
UKAI startup synth Percia is launching video agents. We'll talk
to the CEO about the tools aimed it making videos
easier to create and interact with Q your avatar ed
this is green mag Tech. AI video startup Synthesia is
(28:24):
introducing an updated version of its platform. It's three point
zero the company known for creating AI clones for corporate videos.
It counts in video Adobe among its backers, and it
serves eighty percent of the top one hundred companies with
its video offerings. Cynthesia co founder CEO Victor Riverbelli joins
us now. Congratulations on the launch, Victor, what am I
going to get with three point zero.
Speaker 1 (28:44):
It's a bit of an overhaul here.
Speaker 13 (28:47):
Thank you so much, thanks for having me on to
be to be back here. So three point zero is
a bunch of different things. The main thing is that
we're evolving video from being kind of a static broadcast format.
Right you recorded once and everybody essentially watched it is
the exact same version of that video into video that's conversational.
And we're launching this new product called Video Agents, where
you're going to be able to create your videos like
(29:07):
you've always created your videos, but then you can insert
these agents at different points in your video and they
can serve different purposes. If you're doing a training video,
for example, you can have an agent that actually checks
if the person watching the video has understood the content.
Speaker 14 (29:19):
If you're doing recruiting.
Speaker 13 (29:21):
For examples, you could have an agent that interviews it's
a case stunt, a candidate that's kind of on the spot.
So lose video way for being static to something that's
much more dynamic and conversational. And then in the wake
of that, roles and launching a whole bunch of new
features just make the core product better. So launching a
new copilot making it easier for people to create video
in a chat style interface, Launching new avatar technologies where
(29:42):
you can take and prompt new avatars into exist, and
you can take the avatart that you already have of
yourself and you can say, hey, I want to be
on a boat, I want to be in a corporate office,
I want to change my outfit, And it cerentually just
opens up a whole bunch of new creative possibilities.
Speaker 3 (29:55):
New possibilities at a time where we're questioning the effectiveness
of these AI agents and indeed adoption within enterprise.
Speaker 1 (30:04):
Factor, just talk to us about how you've been talking
to your customers.
Speaker 3 (30:07):
We've had the MIT report saying ninety five percent of
pilots aren't working.
Speaker 1 (30:10):
How is it working within your clients?
Speaker 13 (30:15):
We've always had this manager cold utility of a novelty.
You know, We've always said technology is amazing and it's cool.
That of course is what we build our company around.
But Alsomate we have a solved to have to solve
the problem for them customer, right. I think that the
MIT reporters is pretty bang on in my own personal experience,
I think that like eighty percent of AI tools so
they simply just don't work. Fifteen percent of them kind
of stumble their way there. The last five percent actually work.
(30:36):
When you look at our business and I think the
kind of numbers that we're delivering, it's very clear that
our product really truly works. We increased our NR to
one hundred and forty two percent from up thirteen percent
from from twelve months ago. We have you know, four
time to spending, customers pay us small than one hundred
care that we did twelve months ago. And all these
things only happen because people actually get bye out of
the product. Right now, I think what we've discovered at
(30:57):
some DSA is that as important as the models a
right like of course, generating the avatars, generating these video
clips for people is really important. But ultimately it's about
a workflow. Why do you make a video? You make
a video because you want to communicate something to someone.
But we spent the last couple of years building out
as a platform that helps you with that entire process.
You create the video, you edit it this PowerPoint soft
style interface, you collaborate with your colleagues, You have content management,
(31:21):
translation with a publishing platform, with our own video tare
and so what we've managed to do is to take
that process and make it as quickly as we can.
Speaker 2 (31:28):
You quantified that the market for these tools and gave
numbers and those that you feel don't work, and we
as a team can go away and check that math.
But for Synthesia three point zero, do you have some
benchmarking data that that is evidence of its performance and
capability against the large field that is text to video?
Speaker 14 (31:51):
Well, I think the way you bench back these things
depends very much on the use case.
Speaker 13 (31:55):
Right If I'm creating a training video, that's a very
different benchmark down creating a marketing for example. I think
what we're seeing very clearly, like you know three point zero,
a lot of these things, we're literally releasing them as
we go right now, so they haven't been in the
market for twelve months.
Speaker 14 (32:07):
But what we see is.
Speaker 13 (32:08):
That if you do training content, for example, engagement is
increased by thirty percent versus.
Speaker 14 (32:13):
Sharing at as normal.
Speaker 13 (32:14):
Text's what benchmark is other text to video tools, but
we're really good at is avatars.
Speaker 14 (32:19):
That's the thing that we deeply care about.
Speaker 13 (32:20):
We're now integrating other models as well, So if you
want to use vio free in the product, you can
use that. We're adding a bunch of other models as well.
So I think for us as a company, I don't
really think it makes sense to benchmarkets against text to
video tools. You know, for us about the process of
communicating something to someone, and that goes much deeper than
just to models themselves.
Speaker 2 (32:37):
This week, the big focus has been on Meta's Vibes
it's a funny name, and the reporting that open ai
is looking at a video tool in conjunction with being
a social media platform. You've been on this program and discussed,
you know, the risks of AI generated video content in
(32:59):
social domains.
Speaker 5 (33:00):
But what's your reaction to.
Speaker 2 (33:02):
Those two moves by those two players.
Speaker 14 (33:06):
I think it's very predictable.
Speaker 13 (33:07):
I'm quoted, you know, I think four or five years
ago and in a book say that I think by
twenty twenty six, ninety five percent of all content and
incident's going to be AI generated, And I think that's
that's where we're moving toward style. It feels odd, it
feels weird. I think that we're going to be watching
AI generator content. But I think, you know, ultimately will
care less about how something was produced, will came more
about the content itself. A lot of the content people
(33:28):
make with AI today is what most people would call
slub right. It's not very high quality. It's kind of
like engagement farming, engagement baiting. But I think they'll eventually
be replaced by people using these tools to create awesome content.
There's so many great creators an incident, they'll pick up
these tools and they'll they'll and they'll use them to
create great content. As for the big platforms moving into
this space, I think again highly predictable. These companies ultimately
(33:49):
make their money off ads, right, and to launch an
AD in one of these networks, you want that to
be video in twenty twenty five because that performs way better.
And these platforms they want to offer you the tools
who make those videos for those ads, right, which is
exactly like Google owning the platform to create appwords for
search engine marketing, for example.
Speaker 14 (34:08):
I think it's very particularly going to move into this space.
Speaker 13 (34:10):
I think also predictable that they're going to offer these
tools inside their apps. You know, it feels new maybe
that they're adding AI video, but really they've been doing
this for six seven years, you know, like putting dog
gears on yourself with face filters. All this stuff is
roughly the same technology, right, So I think it's just
it's just like this of trajectory of you know, more
and more AI being part of the content creation flows
both in our personal lives but also very much in
(34:31):
our in our corporate life.
Speaker 3 (34:32):
And boy am I getting sore to maine videos coming
my way and the standalone app has been announced just yesterday, Victim.
Speaker 1 (34:38):
But I'm interested.
Speaker 3 (34:39):
In your story with at the moment avatars and being
liked by in video known less. We said that you're
already back by in video and Adobe. Jensen's just went
on stage last week in the UK. Thing is going
to get into your next round? When's that next running
round happening?
Speaker 13 (34:55):
Time will show you know, we're very appreciative of Jenson
now in video partnership, and I I think, if anything
for us as a testament to the fact that we
drive so much real value for our clients that we're
way past the kind of demo stage. I think, you know,
we're all capitalize. We've raised a bunch of funding rounds.
Who knows where the next one is kind of calm,
but but you know, we we've give you our word
(35:15):
that he'll get to participate in.
Speaker 2 (35:16):
A Victor ripperbelly CEO Synthesia. Great to have you back
on the show. Thank you. Amazon has overhauled devices, including
its Echo and Echo Studio. We spoke with the company's
head of Devices and Services, Panels pan A, who says
the products were built to be showcased in the home
(35:39):
and could help customers stop glancing at their smartphones.
Speaker 15 (35:43):
A lot of times we take out our phone, we
get distracted. I'm at the dinner table with my kids.
We have this idea that we want to keep our
phones down right because we want to be present with
each other. And there's so many times where you pull
out your phone to answer a question, almost like you
just said, but now it's just changed, it's completely different.
Speaker 5 (35:59):
Just say a like, so have the conversation.
Speaker 15 (36:02):
It's quite literally all the information there and it's conversational.
Not only that she can then get the next thing
done for you.
Speaker 2 (36:08):
Bloomberg's Mart gum And has written and it's based in
part on a conversation with you, that Amazon's overhauling its
device is to take on Apple in this AI era.
Speaker 15 (36:20):
Do you agree with that? I haven't seen it? Can
I say that? Let me read that article that here's
what I'd say. We build our products for our customers
and for people. My whole goal is quite simple. We
want AI to be useful for people, end of story.
And I think we're building devices to do just that.
(36:43):
And I do believe they're beautiful. I think they fit
in the home. I think they're so well thought through
that when people use these devices d They're going to
love them. They're just going to love them. I can't
like this is something. I just want people to get
their hands on them.
Speaker 1 (36:55):
Great conversation.
Speaker 3 (36:56):
Amazon's SVP of Devices and Services, Panaspan a look right
off the heels that Amazon launch, Google out with its
new smart devices powered by Gemini AI as being gam
Bluemag's Dana Woman for more. So, there's doorbells, cameras, there's
speakers what call you right.
Speaker 16 (37:11):
Right, So there's two cameras in a doorbell and a
smart speaker, which actually isn't coming out until spring of
next year, which is going to give Amazon quite the
head start with its own smart home lineup, which, as
you noted, was unveiled yesterday.
Speaker 2 (37:23):
So we have a little bit of competition here on
our hands team Amazon, then Google. They both seem to
be making a claim Dana to the home, the AI
in the home. What's kind of your reflection on the
last two days of announcements.
Speaker 16 (37:37):
So both companies have the challenge of making exciting devices
that really are designed to blend into the home. I
don't think people tend to get as excited about a
smart video camera or smart doorbell as they would let's
say a new iPhone. And so both companies have overhauled
their lineups and both are really staking the future or
(37:57):
at least the near term future of their ranges on
artificial intelligence and weaving an AI in a way that
is useful for consumers. Google, for instance, is saying that
you can ask if there's a new feature called Ask
Home where you can literally ask your products. Let's say,
what happened with the vase, and it will sort of
dial back the footage and tell you why an item
is misplaced or broken. Let's say, in a really extreme example.
Speaker 3 (38:21):
It is about an ecosystem, though, and keeping old uses engaged.
That seems to me why they're saying they speak is
delayed right, because it is quite a delay until Spring
twenty twenty six.
Speaker 16 (38:31):
That is the way Google has positioned it. They are
saying that they are prioritizing current users of the ecosystem,
many of whom have devices that go back, if not
a decade, close to a decade, So trying to roll
out those AI features to as wide of a population
of devices as possible. And then they say eventually unveiling
this new and shiny smart speaker that's coming.
Speaker 2 (38:52):
Bloomberg's Daniel Wilman with the reporting across devices, thank you
very much. Sticking on the devices front, Peloton is raising
prices both hardware and membership fees as part of a
product overhaul. The news sending shares down significantly, although they
paid some of that decline in the last few minutes
or so. Our consumer tech reporter Samantha Kelly joins us,
what do we need to understand here? Kara and I
(39:13):
are both hardware users of Peloton, we both as subscribers.
What's new in our use of this text?
Speaker 17 (39:20):
Yeah, so it's a revamp across its entire line. So
five new products. That's a traditional base level bike, a
bike plus premium model. There's the tread treadmill, the tread
plus premium again, and the Row plus. So the big
differences here are the premium line. All of them really
get a new swivel screen, which might not sound so exciting,
(39:42):
but the idea here is you can turn it around
and it opens you up to doing you know, yoga classes,
strength classes. The premium line has had this before, and
now it comes to the base level the premium line.
What's really kind of special here is the new camera system.
It tracks you, checks your movements, its AI to give
you personalized custom workouts, really gets to know your your movements,
(40:06):
gives you PEP talks and counts your reps. And this
is sort of what the company is banking here on AI.
It is interesting, you know, just following up on Amazon
and Google infused AI, even Peloton, you wouldn't necessarily think
there would be an integration here is also embracing AI as.
Speaker 3 (40:21):
Well plotan IQ, and it's kind of meant to be
like a cross trainer in many ways. The thing is,
I think you get new people drawn in or is
it just getting at an eye to upgrade all the time.
Speaker 1 (40:33):
Yeah, it's a great question.
Speaker 17 (40:34):
So all the models, even existing ones, can upgrade to
have this AI system now. But again the premium models
can have the camera movements, but it's not necessarily something
you know, you're going to drop thousands of dollars to
get a new camera system if you have equipment that
maybe you're not even using right now.
Speaker 1 (40:51):
So it's it's.
Speaker 17 (40:52):
Definitely to drum up excitement and that is pretty fun.
Speaker 1 (40:55):
I got to try it yesterday.
Speaker 17 (40:56):
It is kind of the Yeah, it's pretty neat. The
way it works is basically there's like almost like a
selfie camera and they put you next to a pre
recorded instructor and you know, I was lifting weights and
it was caping track of it and it was giving
me some suggestions and so pretty useful depending on what
you're looking for.
Speaker 3 (41:13):
It's so interesting though, I'm using Hinge Health when it
comes to physical therapy, you can just use.
Speaker 1 (41:19):
Your own phone. Yeah, as a camera medicine.
Speaker 3 (41:22):
And so there is going to be this sales pitch
they're going to have to do, is why build it
into the product?
Speaker 1 (41:27):
Why can't I?
Speaker 2 (41:27):
Now you and I are stuck right so I have
bike in tread. I think you have bike right in tread,
So like, okay, we face a choice, but I go
back to the stock reaction very quickly. Sam Imi Mark
was on the show earlier this week. It's the latest
turnaround and investors are selling that.
Speaker 17 (41:41):
Yeah, yeah, I mean it's also it's like, are people
going to actually do this? It's like fifty dollars a
month they're in. They're increasing the subscriptions also, so five
extra dollars to even keep you in these classes, and
that that really adds up. Although Peloton says, you know,
you can drop forty dollars on a standalone class, so
maybe it really depends sort.
Speaker 1 (41:58):
Of what you're looking for.
Speaker 3 (42:00):
So true, forty dollars if you want to go to
the latest bar class in New York, or you do
a Peloton Blug's Sam Kelly, I'm glad that you were
trying it out for us. Meanwhile, that does it for
this edition a Bloomberg Tech right here from New York
and coming up in fact in the next hour. You
don't want to miss our talk with Peloton CEO Peter
Stern's joining and these new devices.
Speaker 1 (42:18):
Don't want to miss it.
Speaker 5 (42:19):
Edge that pace, that power, that focus. That's a big interview.
Speaker 2 (42:24):
The show had pace, power and focus. Check out the pod.
You know where to find it. It's on the Bloomberg terminal,
It's online on Apple, Spotify, and iHeart It's Wednesday. I've
got a couple more days here in New York. We've
got a lot more to come in the week. Stay
with us. This is Bloomberg Tech
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