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A.I.

A group of aides with close ties to Sam Altman, the OpenAI founder, quietly launched a new super PAC to boost Phillips

Silicon Valley Makes Its Anti-Biden Move

A group of tech insiders has quietly raised a half-million bucks to launch a new super PAC backing Dean Phillips, the long-shot Democratic presidential challenger.
Theodore Schleifer • December 8, 2023
Theodore Schleifer • December 6, 2023
The DeSantis Megadonor Panic Room
Republican presidential candidate Ron DeSantis speaks to guests during a campaign rally at the Thunderdome on December 02, 2023, in Newton, Iowa.
As his operation falls further into disarray, everyone is pissed at everyone else, and the money guys behind the scenes are having to make tough calls. Plus: a scoop on WhatsApp co-founder Jan Koum’s $5 million investment in Haley.
Baratunde Thurston • December 3, 2023
Sam Altman’s Pandora’s Box
Sam Altman’s OpenAI is a strange beast, with a Russian nesting doll structure containing a for-profit company inside a nonprofit organization.
Reflections on the anniversary of ChatGPT: the Q star breakthrough, Altman’s ouster, A.I. red lines, and why capital is stronger than containment.
Republican presidential candidate former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley stands on stage during a break in the NBC News Republican Presidential Primary Debate on November 8, 2023, in Miami, Florida.
Theodore Schleifer • November 29, 2023
The G.O.P. Megadonors Come to Jesus
Fear is growing within the Republican billionaire class that the party’s moneymen have lost any ability to elevate an alternative to Trump. Why would things be different for Nikki Haley?
Former OpenAI Chief Executive Officer Sam Altman speaks during an event at Keio University on June 12, 2023, in Tokyo.
Theodore Schleifer • November 22, 2023
Altman Alternative Facts
What Sam said at Stanford when confronted about ChatGPT. What people think of Sam’s effective-altruist board member Helen Toner. And what the hell happened at OpenAI.
Daniel Lurie has become something of a boundary-crossing, even contradictory, figure—between the haves and have-nots, the tech workers and the city’s true locals.
Theodore Schleifer • November 15, 2023
The Count of San Francisco
Daniel Lurie, the charming Levi Strauss heir running to be San Francisco’s next mayor, is ideally positioned to be the outrage vessel for the Pac Heights crowd. So why is Silicon Valley skeptical of his campaign?
Former eBay C.E.O. Devin Wenig, whose exorbitant salary and profligate spending were highlighted in reporting by David and Ina Steiner.
Eriq Gardner • November 13, 2023
A Spy in Silicon Valley
Jim Baugh, the former C.I.A. operative convicted of orchestrating a bizarre scheme to silence two eBay critics, blames the company for its toxic culture—and says he was still working as a spy. Now, the Justice Department is claiming that Baugh’s explosive allegations are classified.
Sam Altman has some eclectic views that don’t fit neatly into progressive dogma—but like most liberals in tech, he has been deeply unnerved by the real and growing threat of a second Donald Trump presidency.
Theodore Schleifer • November 8, 2023
President of the Biden-Skeptic Billionaires
Sam Altman, the OpenAI chief, has taken a profound interest in testing which Democrat could best challenge Trump in 2024. After talking with many of the party’s top operatives, he became convinced it was not Joe Biden. But… Dean Phillips?
There’s never been a defendant quite like Sam Bankman-Fried.
Theodore Schleifer & Eriq Gardner • November 1, 2023
Sam I Am
The financial trial of the century is wrapping up the only way it ever could: with Sam Bankman-Fried betting big on himself.
Elon has developed a reputation among Republican fundraisers during his redpilled era as a political flirt.
Theodore Schleifer • October 24, 2023
The Elon-Vivek Sweepstakes & More Ellisonology
New dish on Musk’s budding presidential bromance, how Larry Ellison ghosted Tim Scott, and a new S.B.F. dark-money casualty.
The Rockbridge Network was co-founded by J.D. Vance and Chris Buskirk, the publisher of the pro-Trump journal American Greatness, in 2019.
Theodore Schleifer • October 17, 2023
Rockbridge Over Troubled Waters
The secretive, Trump-friendly, Silicon Valley-inflected donor alliance is less interested in the Republican primary than in redpilling techies into MAGA populism, hyping Tucker’s new mediaco, and moving millions to the G.O.P. grassroots—the latest effort to replace the Koch-era coalition with something younger and edgier.
Caroline Ellison’s testimony and cross-examination were two of the most jaw-dropping moments of the trial.
Theodore Schleifer • October 13, 2023
Caroline in My Mind
In the trial of S.B.F., the defense set out to blame Caroline Ellison, Sam’s former colleague-turned-paramour-turned-cooperating witness. Was this cross-examination really the best he could do?
It’s stunning how quickly every part of life now involves some digital or online interaction, and how haphazard the rollout has been.
Baratunde Thurston • October 8, 2023
Catch-404
The digitization of our lives and livelihoods is leaving millions of Americans—particularly the elderly—on the wrong side of the digital divide. Is it possible to age-proof Silicon Valley?
Sometime in early November, we’ll get an answer to the biggest question of the trial: whether Sam Bankman-Fried testifies, himself, which might not be decided until fairly late in the process.
Theodore Schleifer • October 3, 2023
S.B.F.’s Expected Value Calculation
There are two reasons why Sam let this get to trial, and why he thinks he has a chance at a miraculous outcome. Plus: Reid Hoffman’s war against No Labels, and a new hire at Y Combinator.
Theodore Schleifer • September 26, 2023
S.B.F.’s McConnell Money Tickle, Part 2
As the trial of the century looms, three scoops shed new light on how Sam Bankman-Fried, and even former paramour Caroline Ellison, were part of the McConnell-DeSantis matrix.
donald trump
Theodore Schleifer • September 20, 2023
Trump’s Perfect Thiel Call & Two FTX Bombshells
Dish on Trump’s furious fundraising request to Peter Thiel, the former lawyer buying up FTX bankruptcy claims, and an explosive lawsuit targeting S.B.F.’s parents.
Sam Bankman-Fried
Eriq Gardner • September 18, 2023
S.B.F. Is Blaming It All on the Lawyers
Bankman-Fried is relying, in part, on a complicated and risky advice-of-counsel strategy. It might lead to one of the more dramatic courtroom moments in recent legal history.
SpaceX, Twitter and electric car maker Tesla CEO Elon Musk speaks during the Vivatech technology startups and innovation fair at the Porte de Versailles exhibition center in Paris, on June 16, 2023. (Photo by Alain JOCARD / AFP) (Photo by ALAIN JOCARD/AFP via Getty Images)
Baratunde Thurston • September 17, 2023
Elon’s Star Power & Apple’s New Era
Musk’s interventions in Ukraine are just one example of the risks of allowing private enterprise to replace public goods. Plus, three takeaways from Apple’s latest product showcase.