Tech Brew Ride Home - (CORRECT) OpenAI’s Hardware Plans Worry Apple

Episode Date: September 19, 2025

(Sorry about the editing error earlier) Nvidia is investing in self-driving AI tech. Google has given up the ghost and is making Chrome a full AI tool. Would you tolerate advertisements on the screen of your smart refrigerator? And why Apple executives are growing worried about OpenAI’s hardware plans. ⁠⁠Nvidia in talks for $500mn investment in UK self-driving start-up Wayve⁠⁠ (FT) ⁠⁠Google Injects Gemini Into Chrome as AI Browsers Go Mainstream ⁠⁠(Wired) ⁠⁠Software update shoves ads onto Samsung’s pricey fridges ⁠⁠(ArsTechnica) Weekend Longreads Suggestions: ⁠⁠Since Leaving Washington, Elon Musk Has Been All In on His A.I. Company⁠⁠ (NYTimes) ⁠⁠OpenAI Raids Apple for Hardware Talent, Manufacturing Partners⁠⁠ (The Information) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It's peak pollination season, and my business is scaling fast. To keep the nectar flowing, I need a phone plan with top priority data speed. That's why I chose GoogleFi Wireless. My connections stay strong even when the hive is buzzing. Plus, unlimited plans start at $35 a month. Now, that's a deal that doesn't stay. Explore GoogleFi Wireless plans today. Plus taxes and government fees.

GoogleFi Wireless is not subject to data traffic deprioritization during times of high network usage. Welcome to the Tech Brew Ride Home for Friday, September 19th, 2025. I'm Brian McCullough today. Invidia is investing in self-driving AI tech. Google has given up the ghost and is making Chrome a full AI tool. Would you tolerate advertisements on the screen of your smart refrigerator door and why Apple executives are growing worried about Open AI's hardware plans? Here's what you miss today in the world of tech. The F.T. says that Nvidia is in advanced discussions to invest $500 million in UK,

self-driving car startup wave as part of a two billion pound pledge for UK startups generally. Quote, Jensen Wong, NVIDIA's chief executive, announced the prospective deal as he stood alongside British Prime Minister Sir Kier Starmor at an event in London on Thursday following President Donald Trump's state visit. He also promised several more investments in UK-based companies, including Financial Technology Group Revolut, telling the audience of tech entrepreneurs and investors that, quote, the first trillion dollar company in the UK will be an AI company, that's for sure. Starmor said, today we put tech out there as a special feature of the special relationship. Thank you so much, Jensen, for your confidence in what we are doing and your investment.

During Trump's state visit, the Prime Minister signed a new tech agreement with the U.S. and secured pledges of tens of billions of dollars of investment from American big tech groups, including Microsoft and Google. London-based Wave, which was founded in 2017, has emerged as one of the UK's most prominent artificial intelligence startups after raising a $1 billion round led by Japanese conglomerate soft bank last year. The proposed Nvidia investment will form part of a new funding round wave said without providing further details of the deal. The two companies have signed a letter of intent to evaluate a $500 million strategic investment, wave said in a statement. At the event,

Wang listed eight UK startups including Revoluted AI video company Synthesia and Autonomous Transport Group OXA, telling each one in turn I'm going to invest in your next round. Vindia has already backed several of the companies listed by Guang, including Wave, which first took an equity investment from the chipmaker last year. Wave Chief Executive Alex Kendall said it has used Nvidia's system since 2018. Kendall said he has seen a, quote, complete U-turn in investor appetite in the last year. The interest is like nothing I've experienced before, he said, but added, the automotive industry requires patience, and quote. Google is cramming new AI features into Chrome, including a Gemini button and AI mode for U.S. desktop users and plans new agentic features coming in the next few months.

Quoting Wired, the Gemini in Chrome mode for the web browser uses generative AI to answer questions about content on a page and synthesize information across multiple open tabs. Gemini in Chrome first rolled out to Google's paying subscribers in May. The AI focus features are now available to all desktop users in the U.S. browsing in English. They'll show up in a browser update. On mobile devices, Android users can already use aspects of Gemini within the Chrome app, and Google is expected to launch an update for iOS users of Chrome in the near future. When I wrote about web browsers starting to add more generative AI tools back in 2023, it was primarily something that served as an alternative to the norm.

The software was built by misfits and changemakers who were experimenting with new tools or hunting for a breakout feature to grow their small user bases. All of this activity was dwarfed by the commanding number of users who preferred Chrome. Two years later, while Google's browser remains the market leader, the internet overall is completely seeped in AI tools, many of them also made by Google. Still, today marks the moment when the concept of an AI browser truly went mainstream, with the weaving of Gemini so closely into the Chrome browser. The Gemini strategy at Google has already been to leverage as many of its in-house integrations as possible from Gmail to Google Docs. So the decision to AIFI, the Chrome browser for a wider set of users does not come as a shock. Even so, the larger rollout will likely

be met with Iyer by some users who are either exhausted by the onslaught of AI-focused features in 2025, or want to abstain from using generative AI, whether for environmental reasons or because they don't want their activity to be used to train an algorithm. Users who don't want to see the Gemini option will be able to click on the Gemini Sparkle. icon and unpin it from the top right corner of the Chrome browser. Before the end of September, Google also plans to incorporate its chatbot-style search feature AI mode into Chrome's address bar, which Google calls the Omnibox. This means users will have an AI mode button and keyboard shortcut that uses Gemini and suggests prompts based on what's shown on the webpage. This feature

is optional and won't replace a user's ability to just run a regular Google search by typing a query into the address bar, though Generative AI's looming presence does feel inescapable, you'll probably bump into an AI overview at the top of those results anyway. While they're not rolling out yet, Chrome users can also expect to see agentic features come to the browser in the next few months. This basically means that a user could ask Gemini to complete a web-based task, like adding items to an Instacart order, then the generative AI tool will run in the background, attempt to choose groceries by clicking around, and then show you the results before you make the final purchasing decision. aspects of this are similar to what Google has previously demoed with its Project Mariner experiment.

When I tried out a comparable agent feature released by OpenAI earlier this year, previously called Operator, the results were messy and fairly slow. The agentic experience felt akin to letting a sloppy ghost loose to haunt my browser. Based on my past test of similar features, I'm skeptical these agent features for Chrome will feel like more than a parlor trick at release, end quote. Hey, can I interest you in some ad-exam? ads on your refrigerator? Well, buckle up hucklebutts because quoting ours, Technica, days after someone revealed the news on social media, Samsung confirmed today that it is showing advertisements on some U.S. customers' smart fridges. Samsung said the ads showing on some

Family Hub series fridges are part of a pilot program, but we suspect that they may become more permanent additions to Samsung fridges and or other types of screen-equipped smart home appliances soon. In a statement sent to Ars Technica, Samsung confirmed that it is, quote, conducting a pilot program to offer promotions and curated advertisements on certain Samsung Family Hub refrigerator models in the U.S. Samsung currently lists nine Family Hub refrigerators in the U.S., which have MSRPs ranging from $1,800 to $3,500. Family Hub fridges have 21.5-inch or 32-inch screens, which, until now, users have had autonomy over for displaying helpful or fun things like photos and videos, memos, weather times, and a web browser.

Some of those abilities require a Wi-Fi connection or a Samsung account. Now Samsung is commandeering some of the screens already set up in homes to display ads, as Samsung's rep explained. As part of this pilot program, Family Hub refrigerators in the U.S. will receive an over-the-network software update with terms of service and privacy notice changes. advertising will appear on certain Family Hub refrigerator cover screens. The cover screen appears when a Family Hub screen is idle.

Ad design format may change depending on Family Hub personalization options for the cover screen, and advertising will not appear when cover screen displays art mode or picture albums, end quote. If a user doesn't like a particular ad, they can remove it so they won't see the ad again during the campaign period. Samsung's rep noted, end quote. Samsung isn't answering basic questions about this pilot,

like how it'll handle angry owners or even which specific models will be getting the ads, adding to confusion around a program first surfaced by a Reddit post flagged by Sam Mobile. The photo shows a notice on a Samsung refrigerator that read, to enhance our service and offer additional content to users. Advertisance will be displayed on the cover screen for the weather, color, and daily board themes. That's awkward timing because in April, Samsung executive Zhang Sung Moon told the verge the company had no plans to put ads on AI home screens. Samsung could argue the pilot targets the larger cover screen,

not the smaller 7.9-inch AI home screen introduced in late 2024, but the nuance won't matter to customers surprised to find ads on a kitchen appliance. Users can avoid the ads by switching the display to photos or art or by taking the fridge offline, but both workarounds reduce features like recipes, meal planning, and shopping lists. Some owners may never notice, because, smart appliances often stay disconnected. Even LG said under half of its smart devices were online in 2023. Still, the push reflects a broader trend with pricey appliances replaced infrequently.

Manufacturers are chasing recurring revenue through data and advertising. Expect more ad experiments across the smart home board. Although, I don't know, called me old-fashioned, but if you buy an $1,800 smart fridge, maybe this is what you get. Ambition comes in all shapes and sizes. At First Citizens Bank, we roll with your goals because we're built for what you're building. Fit for your ambition for Citizens Bank. Study and play.

Come together on a Windows 11 PC. And for a limited time, college students get the best of both worlds. Get the unreal college deal, everything you need to study and play with select Windows 11 PCs. Eligible students get a year of Microsoft 365 premium and a year of Xbox GamePass Ultimate with a custom color Xbox wireless controller. Learn more at Windows.com slash student offer.

While supplies last, ends June 30th, terms at AKA.m.m.m.m. Ready to soundtrack your summer? With Red Bull Summer All Day Play, you choose a playlist that fits your summer vibe the best. Are you a festival fanatic, a deep end DJ, a road dog, or a trail mixer? Just add a song to your chosen playlist and put your summer on track. Red Bull Summer All Day Play. Red Bull gives you wings. Visit Red Bull.com slash bright summer ahead to learn more. See you this summer. Time for the weekend long-reach suggestions, but I'm going to do them as two standalone segments

because both of the stories I'm going to share with you are quite newsworthy in their own ways. First up, how are things going over at XAI? The information has recently reported that at a September 17th XAI meeting, Elon Musk and his executives said GROC has 64 million monthly users. By way of comparison, OpenAI said in August that ChatGPT had 700 million weekly users. On top of this, though, the New York Times is reporting that Elon Musk reorganized XAI extensively recently, which caused some researchers to leave the company because, in their opinion, XAI was abandoning science in favor of what they thought were more attention-grabbing products. Quote, over the summer, Mr. Musk spent most of his time at XAI's offices and

Palo Alto, California, working in frantic all-day spurts that sometimes stretched into the next day, according to three people with knowledge of the company's operations, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. Occasionally, as he has with his other companies over the years, he has slept at the office. Mr. Musk has reorganized XAI on the fly. He has led an aggressive recruiting drive for engineers, and he has pushed out a flurry of prominent researchers, even as others have left because they thought XAI had abandoned science in favor of attention-grabbing products, like a chatbot.

that sometimes produced offensive material and flirty AI chat companions, according to two people with knowledge of the company who spoke on the condition of anonymity. At the same time, XAI is spending billions of dollars on technology while it is not clear how much money it is bringing in. Mr. Musk has recently made heady predictions that XAI's product would help quintuple advertising revenue to $10 billion a year at X, his social media platform. Long before Meta started throwing around giant pay packages for AI expertise, Mr. Musk attracted many of his research with pay packages totaling millions of dollars a year, according to two people familiar with the company's early recruiting efforts who spoke on the condition of anonymity. Mr. Musk put executives

in charge of attempts to make GROC's responses edgier, aiming to draw more attention so the chatbot could go viral on X. The result was an embarrassment. In July, after a code update, Grock spewed anti-Semitic remarks, praising Adolf Hitler, and suggesting that people with Jewish surnames were more likely to spread online hate. The chatbot referred to itself, as a Mecca Hitler. Company engineers changed the code to prevent that behavior from happening again. A few weeks later, the company began offering its latest AI technology to customers via a $300 a month service called Super Grok Heavy and debuted a pair of cartoonish AI bots designed for virtual romance. The bots frustrated some of the company's researchers who thought XAI was straying from its

scientific mission, according to two people familiar with the situation, and some of them told colleagues they were leaving XAI because of these bots. Most AI researchers are driven by research. we want to answer big questions, said Sasha Lucioni, a researcher at the AI startup hugging face. The direction that XAI seems to be taking is less appealing for most AI researchers, at least the ones I know, end quote. At the end of July, Mr. Musk and Mike Liberatore, XAI's finance chief, raised $10 billion for the company, including an investment from SpaceX, Mr. Musk's rocket company. But half of these funds are classified as debt that the company must repay eventually. Two months later, Mr. Libratory left the company and was hired by rival OpenAI for a finance role.

Over the summer, XAI also parted ways with Mr. Babushkin, its general counsel, and other key employees. Several prominent researchers have left for rivals like Meta and Open AI. I've never seen anything crazier than AI recruiting, Mr. Musk said during Wednesday's meeting. One human resources manager also spoke about referral bonuses for existing employees, offering employees bonuses of 5% of their salary for every new hire, as well as a competition for prizes, including a chance to watch a SpaceX launch on a personal tour that included private jet flights, end quote. And meanwhile, what is going on with that whole Johnny Ive joining Open AI and Open AI maybe

doing hardware things thing? Well, quoting the information. In recent months, the startup behind ChatGPD has been rating the ranks of Apple's design manufacturing and supply chain teams in addition to Apple's team of AI researchers, according to 10 current and former Apple employees and a review of LinkedIn profiles. OpenAI has also begun tapping the same supply chain network in China that Apple spent decades developing to help OpenAI with its efforts to make a new line of devices. Lux Share, a major assembler of iPhones and AirPods in China, has already secured a contract

to assemble at least one of OpenAI's devices, according to multiple people with direct knowledge of the matter. Open AI has also approached Gore-Tech, which assembles AirPods, home pods, and Apple watches to supply components such as speaker modules for OpenAI's future products, the people said. One of the products OpenAI has talked to suppliers about making resembles a smart speaker without a display, the person said. Open AI has also considered building glasses, a digital voice recorder, and a wearable pin, and is targeting late 2026 or early 2027 for the release of its first devices, one of the people said. One reason for OpenAI's success in poaching Apple staffers is the lucrative compensation packages it has dangled in front of them.

But the company isn't just using money to win them over. Tang Tan, OpenAI's chief hardware officer, who previously spent 25 years at Apple working on design, has promised some of the people he is recruiting from Apple that they will encounter less bureaucracy and more collaboration at OpenAI than they do at their current employer, said one person familiar with Tang's outreach to Apple employees. So far this year, OpenAI has recruited more than two dozen employees from Apple

who worked on consumer hardware up from around 10 employees last year and virtually none in in 2023, according to an analysis of LinkedIn profiles. A big part of the attraction for working at OpenAI for Apple staffers is the chance to reunite with Tan and Johnny Ive, according to former Apple employees. In some cases, Tan doesn't even appear to have to twist the arms of some of his former Apple colleagues to get them to join OpenAI. Some longtime Apple employees working on the company's hardware products have become bored with the incremental changes in the type of products they're working on and frustrated with

bureaucracy at Apple, said people familiar with their thinking. It hasn't helped that employees have seen their incomes suffer due to Apple's lackluster stock over the past year. The people said Tan has told people that his vision is to recreate how industrial designers and hardware teams used to work together more efficiently and on Boulder products at Apple, said a person familiar with Tang's poaching discussions. There are some signs that Apple has become concerned about Open AI's recruiting of its employees. Last month, Apple abruptly canceled an off-site meeting. It holds annually in China for some members of its U.S. and China manufacturing and supply chain teams, where senior managers typically review plans for future products with employees, according to a

person with direct knowledge of the matter. Its reason for ditching the meeting? Senior Apple leaders were concerned that the meeting would keep too many executives away from the company's Cooper Tino, California headquarters for too long at a time when they were needed to prevent further defections to Open AI, a person who was informed of the decision said. The weekend bonus episode for you this weekend is an interview with Olivier Pommel, the founder and CEO of Data Dog, who I believe was the first ever sponsor on this podcast way back when we launched, back before they were even a public company. This is not a sponsored interview, but it is another one of my This Is Your Lifestyle interviews

going into the whole history of the company, Olivier's entire entrepreneurial background, But also, it's an interesting lesson about how do you build a company when your investors and even some of your potential customers don't quite understand what your product does or even why they need it. Well, people understand now. Data Dog just entered the S&P 500. So enjoy that. Talk to you on Monday. Yamava Resort and Casino at San Manuel is California's number one entertainment destination for today's superstars. Catch the Jonas Brothers return to the Yamava Theater stage on April 30th. The powerful vocals of Desmond. Elvado on May 17th and the signature Southern Country Rock of Eric Church on July 19th. Tickets on sale now at Yamava Theater.com, only at Yamava Resort and Casino, celebrating its 40th anniversary. You in? Must be 21 to enter.