TechCheck

As earnings season kicks off, why tech is more important than the banks; how AI could kill the “year of efficiency;” and the spicy vs garpy mega-caps Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

New numbers from OpenAI reveal exponential growth. The darling of generative AI continues to fire on all cylinders. But can it become more than a chatbot and live up to its now giant expectations? Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Temu appears unstoppable. Since the Chinese shopping app launched in the U.S. a year ago, it has become the number one e-commerce app in the country, with downloads skyrocketing 50x from 600,000 to 30 million in just one quarter, according to Bernstein analysts. In contrast, Amazon’s downloads have dropped off a cliff, falling 40% in a year. Known for wild discounts and dirt-cheap prices that severely undercut Amazon’s, Temu has ratcheted up its ad spend to infiltrate the American consumer, set to spend an estimate $2 billion in marketing in 2023. This week on Tech Check, we dive how Temu has hit Amazon’s weak spots to take the country by storm. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Former billionaire Sam Bankman-Fried saw a meteoric rise as crypto’s golden boy and an even more spectacular fall as his $32 billion cryptocurrency exchange, FTX, collapsed in a matter of days. CNBC's Kate Rooney spoke with Anthony Scaramucci, founder of Skybridge Capital, about his front-row seat to the collapse and what it was like to visit SBF while his empire was crumbling around him. For the full Sam Bankman-Fried and FTX saga, watch the CNBC documentary "The Collapse of FTX: Insiders Tell All". Available now at cnbc.com/ftx and YouTube here: https://youtu.be/XqwGt69pDXQ Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

The IPO window of 2023 was short, not very sweet, and now likely closed as we head into the year end. Many of the recent debuts, including Birkenstock, Arm, Instacart and Klaviyo are down 10% or more from their highs, all before the lock-up period has expired when insiders can sell their shares. There are a number of factors that could be behind the stumbles, including company fundamentals, bankers mispricing the listing, and market conditions.   Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

CNBC’s Deirdre Bosa and Marc Golbert discuss Amazon Prime Day and Birkenstock's IPO price, the state of direct-to-consumer retail models, and Birkenstock’s unique approach to DTC business. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

As Amazon’s second sales event of the year kicks off, every day seems like a deal day on e-commerce apps like Temu and Shein. Temu, in particular, is far outpacing Amazon in terms of growth, and might be capturing American shoppers by gamifying the experience. Ben Harburg of MSA Capital joins us to talk about the Temu effect and the rising anxiety that it’s going to displace everyone from Amazon to Dollar Stores to Costco.  Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

The chip designer Arm gained a number of bulls today as its post-debut quiet period ends, with more than 10 firms involved in underwriting the IPO initiating coverage of the company at a “buy” rating or equivalent, despite the stock being down more than 20% from the intra-day high after it IPO-ed. That’s good news for Softbank founder Masayoshi Son, as Arm has become his firm’s new crown jewel after Alibaba, going from a 12% stake in March last year to 22% as of June this year.   Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

AI startups are continuing to raise money by the bucketful. This time, it’s the chatbot maker Anthropic, which is reportedly in talks to raise $2 billion from Google and other companies, giving it an eye-popping $20 billion to $30 billion valuation. Plus, two of Biden’s top antitrust regulators gave an update today on the administration’s efforts to hold big tech accountable, just a few weeks into the DOJ’s landmark case against Google. The DOJ’s Jonathan Kanter said he’s been surprised about how many comments in his case are coming from ordinary workers, and the FTC’s Lina Khan talked about the failure to push back against corporate consolidation.   Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.