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Tickets for AIEi Miami and AIE Europe are live, with first wave speakers announced!From pioneering software-defined networking to backing many of the most aggressive AI model companies of this cycle, Martin Casado and Sarah Wang sit at the center of the capital, compute, and talent arms race reshaping the tech industry. As partners at a16z investing across infrastructure and growth, they've watched venture and growth blur, model labs turn dollars into capability at unprecedented speed, and startups raise nine-figure rounds before monetization.Martin and Sarah join us to unpack the new financing playbook for AI: why today's rounds are really compute contracts in disguise, how the “raise → train → ship → raise bigger” flywheel works, and whether foundation model companies can outspend the entire app ecosystem built on top of them. They also share what's underhyped (boring enterprise software), what's overheated (talent wars and compensation spirals), and the two radically different futures they see for AI's market structure.We discuss:* Martin's “two futures” fork: infinite fragmentation and new software categories vs. a small oligopoly of general models that consume everything above them* The capital flywheel: how model labs translate funding directly into capability gains, then into revenue growth measured in weeks, not years* Why venture and growth have merged: $100M–$1B hybrid rounds, strategic investors, compute negotiations, and complex deal structures* The AGI vs. product tension: allocating scarce GPUs between long-term research and near-term revenue flywheels* Whether frontier labs can out-raise and outspend the entire app ecosystem built on top of their APIs* Why today's talent wars ($10M+ comp packages, $B acqui-hires) are breaking early-stage founder math* Cursor as a case study: building up from the app layer while training down into your own models* Why “boring” enterprise software may be the most underinvested opportunity in the AI mania* Hardware and robotics: why the ChatGPT moment hasn't yet arrived for robots and what would need to change* World Labs and generative 3D: bringing the marginal cost of 3D scene creation down by orders of magnitude* Why public AI discourse is often wildly disconnected from boardroom reality and how founders should navigate the noiseShow Notes:* “Where Value Will Accrue in AI: Martin Casado & Sarah Wang” - a16z show* “Jack Altman & Martin Casado on the Future of Venture Capital”* World Labs—Martin Casado• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/martincasado/• X: https://x.com/martin_casadoSarah Wang• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarah-wang-59b96a7• X: https://x.com/sarahdingwanga16z• https://a16z.com/Timestamps00:00:00 – Intro: Live from a16z00:01:20 – The New AI Funding Model: Venture + Growth Collide00:03:19 – Circular Funding, Demand & “No Dark GPUs”00:05:24 – Infrastructure vs Apps: The Lines Blur00:06:24 – The Capital Flywheel: Raise → Train → Ship → Raise Bigger00:09:39 – Can Frontier Labs Outspend the Entire App Ecosystem?00:11:24 – Character AI & The AGI vs Product Dilemma00:14:39 – Talent Wars, $10M Engineers & Founder Anxiety00:17:33 – What's Underinvested? The Case for “Boring” Software00:19:29 – Robotics, Hardware & Why It's Hard to Win00:22:42 – Custom ASICs & The $1B Training Run Economics00:24:23 – American Dynamism, Geography & AI Power Centers00:26:48 – How AI Is Changing the Investor Workflow (Claude Cowork)00:29:12 – Two Futures of AI: Infinite Expansion or Oligopoly?00:32:48 – If You Can Raise More Than Your Ecosystem, You Win00:34:27 – Are All Tasks AGI-Complete? Coding as the Test Case00:38:55 – Cursor & The Power of the App Layer00:44:05 – World Labs, Spatial Intelligence & 3D Foundation Models00:47:20 – Thinking Machines, Founder Drama & Media Narratives00:52:30 – Where Long-Term Power Accrues in the AI StackTranscriptLatent.Space - Inside AI's $10B+ Capital Flywheel — Martin Casado & Sarah Wang of a16z[00:00:00] Welcome to Latent Space (Live from a16z) + Meet the Guests[00:00:00] Alessio: Hey everyone. Welcome to the Latent Space podcast, live from a 16 z. Uh, this is Alessio founder Kernel Lance, and I'm joined by Twix, editor of Latent Space.[00:00:08] swyx: Hey, hey, hey. Uh, and we're so glad to be on with you guys. Also a top AI podcast, uh, Martin Cado and Sarah Wang. Welcome, very[00:00:16] Martin Casado: happy to be here and welcome.[00:00:17] swyx: Yes, uh, we love this office. We love what you've done with the place. Uh, the new logo is everywhere now. It's, it's still getting, takes a while to get used to, but it reminds me of like sort of a callback to a more ambitious age, which I think is kind of[00:00:31] Martin Casado: definitely makes a statement.[00:00:33] swyx: Yeah.[00:00:34] Martin Casado: Not quite sure what that statement is, but it makes a statement.[00:00:37] swyx: Uh, Martin, I go back with you to Netlify.[00:00:40] Martin Casado: Yep.[00:00:40] swyx: Uh, and, uh, you know, you create a software defined networking and all, all that stuff people can read up on your background. Yep. Sarah, I'm newer to you. Uh, you, you sort of started working together on AI infrastructure stuff.[00:00:51] Sarah Wang: That's right. Yeah. Seven, seven years ago now.[00:00:53] Martin Casado: Best growth investor in the entire industry.[00:00:55] swyx: Oh, say[00:00:56] Martin Casado: more hands down there is, there is. [00:01:00] I mean, when it comes to AI companies, Sarah, I think has done the most kind of aggressive, um, investment thesis around AI models, right? So, worked for Nom Ja, Mira Ia, FEI Fey, and so just these frontier, kind of like large AI models.[00:01:15] I think, you know, Sarah's been the, the broadest investor. Is that fair?[00:01:20] Venture vs. Growth in the Frontier Model Era[00:01:20] Sarah Wang: No, I, well, I was gonna say, I think it's been a really interesting tag, tag team actually just ‘cause the, a lot of these big C deals, not only are they raising a lot of money, um, it's still a tech founder bet, which obviously is inherently early stage.[00:01:33] But the resources,[00:01:36] Martin Casado: so many, I[00:01:36] Sarah Wang: was gonna say the resources one, they just grow really quickly. But then two, the resources that they need day one are kind of growth scale. So I, the hybrid tag team that we have is. Quite effective, I think,[00:01:46] Martin Casado: what is growth these days? You know, you don't wake up if it's less than a billion or like, it's, it's actually, it's actually very like, like no, it's a very interesting time in investing because like, you know, take like the character around, right?[00:01:59] These tend to [00:02:00] be like pre monetization, but the dollars are large enough that you need to have a larger fund and the analysis. You know, because you've got lots of users. ‘cause this stuff has such high demand requires, you know, more of a number sophistication. And so most of these deals, whether it's US or other firms on these large model companies, are like this hybrid between venture growth.[00:02:18] Sarah Wang: Yeah. Total. And I think, you know, stuff like BD for example, you wouldn't usually need BD when you were seed stage trying to get market biz Devrel. Biz Devrel, exactly. Okay. But like now, sorry, I'm,[00:02:27] swyx: I'm not familiar. What, what, what does biz Devrel mean for a venture fund? Because I know what biz Devrel means for a company.[00:02:31] Sarah Wang: Yeah.[00:02:32] Compute Deals, Strategics, and the ‘Circular Funding' Question[00:02:32] Sarah Wang: You know, so a, a good example is, I mean, we talk about buying compute, but there's a huge negotiation involved there in terms of, okay, do you get equity for the compute? What, what sort of partner are you looking at? Is there a go-to market arm to that? Um, and these are just things on this scale, hundreds of millions, you know, maybe.[00:02:50] Six months into the inception of a company, you just wouldn't have to negotiate these deals before.[00:02:54] Martin Casado: Yeah. These large rounds are very complex now. Like in the past, if you did a series A [00:03:00] or a series B, like whatever, you're writing a 20 to a $60 million check and you call it a day. Now you normally have financial investors and strategic investors, and then the strategic portion always still goes with like these kind of large compute contracts, which can take months to do.[00:03:13] And so it's, it's very different ties. I've been doing this for 10 years. It's the, I've never seen anything like this.[00:03:19] swyx: Yeah. Do you have worries about the circular funding from so disease strategics?[00:03:24] Martin Casado: I mean, listen, as long as the demand is there, like the demand is there. Like the problem with the internet is the demand wasn't there.[00:03:29] swyx: Exactly. All right. This, this is like the, the whole pyramid scheme bubble thing, where like, as long as you mark to market on like the notional value of like, these deals, fine, but like once it starts to chip away, it really Well[00:03:41] Martin Casado: no, like as, as, as, as long as there's demand. I mean, you know, this, this is like a lot of these sound bites have already become kind of cliches, but they're worth saying it.[00:03:47] Right? Like during the internet days, like we were. Um, raising money to put fiber in the ground that wasn't used. And that's a problem, right? Because now you actually have a supply overhang.[00:03:58] swyx: Mm-hmm.[00:03:59] Martin Casado: And even in the, [00:04:00] the time of the, the internet, like the supply and, and bandwidth overhang, even as massive as it was in, as massive as the crash was only lasted about four years.[00:04:09] But we don't have a supply overhang. Like there's no dark GPUs, right? I mean, and so, you know, circular or not, I mean, you know, if, if someone invests in a company that, um. You know, they'll actually use the GPUs. And on the other side of it is the, is the ask for customer. So I I, I think it's a different time.[00:04:25] Sarah Wang: I think the other piece, maybe just to add onto this, and I'm gonna quote Martine in front of him, but this is probably also a unique time in that. For the first time, you can actually trace dollars to outcomes. Yeah, right. Provided that scaling laws are, are holding, um, and capabilities are actually moving forward.[00:04:40] Because if you can put translate dollars into capabilities, uh, a capability improvement, there's demand there to martine's point. But if that somehow breaks, you know, obviously that's an important assumption in this whole thing to make it work. But you know, instead of investing dollars into sales and marketing, you're, you're investing into r and d to get to the capability, um, you know, increase.[00:04:59] And [00:05:00] that's sort of been the demand driver because. Once there's an unlock there, people are willing to pay for it.[00:05:05] Alessio: Yeah.[00:05:06] Blurring Lines: Models as Infra + Apps, and the New Fundraising Flywheel[00:05:06] Alessio: Is there any difference in how you built the portfolio now that some of your growth companies are, like the infrastructure of the early stage companies, like, you know, OpenAI is now the same size as some of the cloud providers were early on.[00:05:16] Like what does that look like? Like how much information can you feed off each other between the, the two?[00:05:24] Martin Casado: There's so many lines that are being crossed right now, or blurred. Right. So we already talked about venture and growth. Another one that's being blurred is between infrastructure and apps, right? So like what is a model company?[00:05:35] Mm-hmm. Like, it's clearly infrastructure, right? Because it's like, you know, it's doing kind of core r and d. It's a horizontal platform, but it's also an app because it's um, uh, touches the users directly. And then of course. You know, the, the, the growth of these is just so high. And so I actually think you're just starting to see a, a, a new financing strategy emerge and, you know, we've had to adapt as a result of that.[00:05:59] And [00:06:00] so there's been a lot of changes. Um, you're right that these companies become platform companies very quickly. You've got ecosystem build out. So none of this is necessarily new, but the timescales of which it's happened is pretty phenomenal. And the way we'd normally cut lines before is blurred a little bit, but.[00:06:16] But that, that, that said, I mean, a lot of it also just does feel like things that we've seen in the past, like cloud build out the internet build out as well.[00:06:24] Sarah Wang: Yeah. Um, yeah, I think it's interesting, uh, I don't know if you guys would agree with this, but it feels like the emerging strategy is, and this builds off of your other question, um.[00:06:33] You raise money for compute, you pour that or you, you pour the money into compute, you get some sort of breakthrough. You funnel the breakthrough into your vertically integrated application. That could be chat GBT, that could be cloud code, you know, whatever it is. You massively gain share and get users.[00:06:49] Maybe you're even subsidizing at that point. Um, depending on your strategy. You raise money at the peak momentum and then you repeat, rinse and repeat. Um, and so. And that wasn't [00:07:00] true even two years ago, I think. Mm-hmm. And so it's sort of to your, just tying it to fundraising strategy, right? There's a, and hiring strategy.[00:07:07] All of these are tied, I think the lines are blurring even more today where everyone is, and they, but of course these companies all have API businesses and so they're these, these frenemy lines that are getting blurred in that a lot of, I mean, they have billions of dollars of API revenue, right? And so there are customers there.[00:07:23] But they're competing on the app layer.[00:07:24] Martin Casado: Yeah. So this is a really, really important point. So I, I would say for sure, venture and growth, that line is blurry app and infrastructure. That line is blurry. Um, but I don't think that that changes our practice so much. But like where the very open questions are like, does this layer in the same way.[00:07:43] Compute traditionally has like during the cloud is like, you know, like whatever, somebody wins one layer, but then another whole set of companies wins another layer. But that might not, might not be the case here. It may be the case that you actually can't verticalize on the token string. Like you can't build an app like it, it necessarily goes down just because there are no [00:08:00] abstractions.[00:08:00] So those are kinda the bigger existential questions we ask. Another thing that is very different this time than in the history of computer sciences is. In the past, if you raised money, then you basically had to wait for engineering to catch up. Which famously doesn't scale like the mythical mammoth. It take a very long time.[00:08:18] But like that's not the case here. Like a model company can raise money and drop a model in a, in a year, and it's better, right? And, and it does it with a team of 20 people or 10 people. So this type of like money entering a company and then producing something that has demand and growth right away and using that to raise more money is a very different capital flywheel than we've ever seen before.[00:08:39] And I think everybody's trying to understand what the consequences are. So I think it's less about like. Big companies and growth and this, and more about these more systemic questions that we actually don't have answers to.[00:08:49] Alessio: Yeah, like at Kernel Labs, one of our ideas is like if you had unlimited money to spend productively to turn tokens into products, like the whole early stage [00:09:00] market is very different because today you're investing X amount of capital to win a deal because of price structure and whatnot, and you're kind of pot committing.[00:09:07] Yeah. To a certain strategy for a certain amount of time. Yeah. But if you could like iteratively spin out companies and products and just throw, I, I wanna spend a million dollar of inference today and get a product out tomorrow.[00:09:18] swyx: Yeah.[00:09:19] Alessio: Like, we should get to the point where like the friction of like token to product is so low that you can do this and then you can change the Right, the early stage venture model to be much more iterative.[00:09:30] And then every round is like either 100 k of inference or like a hundred million from a 16 Z. There's no, there's no like $8 million C round anymore. Right.[00:09:38] When Frontier Labs Outspend the Entire App Ecosystem[00:09:38] Martin Casado: But, but, but, but there's a, there's a, the, an industry structural question that we don't know the answer to, which involves the frontier models, which is, let's take.[00:09:48] Anthropic it. Let's say Anthropic has a state-of-the-art model that has some large percentage of market share. And let's say that, uh, uh, uh, you know, uh, a company's building smaller models [00:10:00] that, you know, use the bigger model in the background, open 4.5, but they add value on top of that. Now, if Anthropic can raise three times more.[00:10:10] Every subsequent round, they probably can raise more money than the entire app ecosystem that's built on top of it. And if that's the case, they can expand beyond everything built on top of it. It's like imagine like a star that's just kind of expanding, so there could be a systemic. There could be a, a systemic situation where the soda models can raise so much money that they can out pay anybody that bills on top of ‘em, which would be something I don't think we've ever seen before just because we were so bottlenecked in engineering, and this is a very open question.[00:10:41] swyx: Yeah. It's, it is almost like bitter lesson applied to the startup industry.[00:10:45] Martin Casado: Yeah, a hundred percent. It literally becomes an issue of like raise capital, turn that directly into growth. Use that to raise three times more. Exactly. And if you can keep doing that, you literally can outspend any company that's built the, not any company.[00:10:57] You can outspend the aggregate of companies on top of [00:11:00] you and therefore you'll necessarily take their share, which is crazy.[00:11:02] swyx: Would you say that kind of happens in character? Is that the, the sort of postmortem on. What happened?[00:11:10] Sarah Wang: Um,[00:11:10] Martin Casado: no.[00:11:12] Sarah Wang: Yeah, because I think so,[00:11:13] swyx: I mean the actual postmortem is, he wanted to go back to Google.[00:11:15] Exactly. But like[00:11:18] Martin Casado: that's another difference that[00:11:19] Sarah Wang: you said[00:11:21] Martin Casado: it. We should talk, we should actually talk about that.[00:11:22] swyx: Yeah,[00:11:22] Sarah Wang: that's[00:11:23] swyx: Go for it. Take it. Take,[00:11:23] Sarah Wang: yeah.[00:11:24] Character.AI, Founder Goals (AGI vs Product), and GPU Allocation Tradeoffs[00:11:24] Sarah Wang: I was gonna say, I think, um. The, the, the character thing raises actually a different issue, which actually the Frontier Labs will face as well. So we'll see how they handle it.[00:11:34] But, um, so we invest in character in January, 2023, which feels like eons ago, I mean, three years ago. Feels like lifetimes ago. But, um, and then they, uh, did the IP licensing deal with Google in August, 2020. Uh, four. And so, um, you know, at the time, no, you know, he's talked publicly about this, right? He wanted to Google wouldn't let him put out products in the world.[00:11:56] That's obviously changed drastically. But, um, he went to go do [00:12:00] that. Um, but he had a product attached. The goal was, I mean, it's Nome Shair, he wanted to get to a GI. That was always his personal goal. But, you know, I think through collecting data, right, and this sort of very human use case, that the character product.[00:12:13] Originally was and still is, um, was one of the vehicles to do that. Um, I think the real reason that, you know. I if you think about the, the stress that any company feels before, um, you ultimately going one way or the other is sort of this a GI versus product. Um, and I think a lot of the big, I think, you know, opening eyes, feeling that, um, anthropic if they haven't started, you know, felt it, certainly given the success of their products, they may start to feel that soon.[00:12:39] And the real. I think there's real trade-offs, right? It's like how many, when you think about GPUs, that's a limited resource. Where do you allocate the GPUs? Is it toward the product? Is it toward new re research? Right? Is it, or long-term research, is it toward, um, n you know, near to midterm research? And so, um, in a case where you're resource constrained, um, [00:13:00] of course there's this fundraising game you can play, right?[00:13:01] But the fund, the market was very different back in 2023 too. Um. I think the best researchers in the world have this dilemma of, okay, I wanna go all in on a GI, but it's the product usage revenue flywheel that keeps the revenue in the house to power all the GPUs to get to a GI. And so it does make, um, you know, I think it sets up an interesting dilemma for any startup that has trouble raising up until that level, right?[00:13:27] And certainly if you don't have that progress, you can't continue this fly, you know, fundraising flywheel.[00:13:32] Martin Casado: I would say that because, ‘cause we're keeping track of all of the things that are different, right? Like, you know, venture growth and uh, app infra and one of the ones is definitely the personalities of the founders.[00:13:45] It's just very different this time I've been. Been doing this for a decade and I've been doing startups for 20 years. And so, um, I mean a lot of people start this to do a GI and we've never had like a unified North star that I recall in the same [00:14:00] way. Like people built companies to start companies in the past.[00:14:02] Like that was what it was. Like I would create an internet company, I would create infrastructure company, like it's kind of more engineering builders and this is kind of a different. You know, mentality. And some companies have harnessed that incredibly well because their direction is so obviously on the path to what somebody would consider a GI, but others have not.[00:14:20] And so like there is always this tension with personnel. And so I think we're seeing more kind of founder movement.[00:14:27] Sarah Wang: Yeah.[00:14:27] Martin Casado: You know, as a fraction of founders than we've ever seen. I mean, maybe since like, I don't know the time of like Shockly and the trade DUR aid or something like that. Way back in the beginning of the industry, I, it's a very, very.[00:14:38] Unusual time of personnel.[00:14:39] Sarah Wang: Totally.[00:14:40] Talent Wars, Mega-Comp, and the Rise of Acquihire M&A[00:14:40] Sarah Wang: And it, I think it's exacerbated by the fact that talent wars, I mean, every industry has talent wars, but not at this magnitude, right? No. Yeah. Very rarely can you see someone get poached for $5 billion. That's hard to compete with. And then secondly, if you're a founder in ai, you could fart and it would be on the front page of, you know, the information these days.[00:14:59] And so there's [00:15:00] sort of this fishbowl effect that I think adds to the deep anxiety that, that these AI founders are feeling.[00:15:06] Martin Casado: Hmm.[00:15:06] swyx: Uh, yes. I mean, just on, uh, briefly comment on the founder, uh, the sort of. Talent wars thing. I feel like 2025 was just like a blip. Like I, I don't know if we'll see that again.[00:15:17] ‘cause meta built the team. Like, I don't know if, I think, I think they're kind of done and like, who's gonna pay more than meta? I, I don't know.[00:15:23] Martin Casado: I, I agree. So it feels so, it feel, it feels this way to me too. It's like, it is like, basically Zuckerberg kind of came out swinging and then now he's kind of back to building.[00:15:30] Yeah,[00:15:31] swyx: yeah. You know, you gotta like pay up to like assemble team to rush the job, whatever. But then now, now you like you, you made your choices and now they got a ship.[00:15:38] Martin Casado: I mean, the, the o other side of that is like, you know, like we're, we're actually in the job hiring market. We've got 600 people here. I hire all the time.[00:15:44] I've got three open recs if anybody's interested, that's listening to this for investor. Yeah, on, on the team, like on the investing side of the team, like, and, um, a lot of the people we talk to have acting, you know, active, um, offers for 10 million a year or something like that. And like, you know, and we pay really, [00:16:00] really well.[00:16:00] And just to see what's out on the market is really, is really remarkable. And so I would just say it's actually, so you're right, like the really flashy one, like I will get someone for, you know, a billion dollars, but like the inflated, um, uh, trickles down. Yeah, it is still very active today. I mean,[00:16:18] Sarah Wang: yeah, you could be an L five and get an offer in the tens of millions.[00:16:22] Okay. Yeah. Easily. Yeah. It's so I think you're right that it felt like a blip. I hope you're right. Um, but I think it's been, the steady state is now, I think got pulled up. Yeah. Yeah. I'll pull up for[00:16:31] Martin Casado: sure. Yeah.[00:16:32] Alessio: Yeah. And I think that's breaking the early stage founder math too. I think before a lot of people would be like, well, maybe I should just go be a founder instead of like getting paid.[00:16:39] Yeah. 800 KA million at Google. But if I'm getting paid. Five, 6 million. That's different but[00:16:45] Martin Casado: on. But on the other hand, there's more strategic money than we've ever seen historically, right? Mm-hmm. And so, yep. The economics, the, the, the, the calculus on the economics is very different in a number of ways. And, uh, it's crazy.[00:16:58] It's cra it's causing like a, [00:17:00] a, a, a ton of change in confusion in the market. Some very positive, sub negative, like, so for example, the other side of the, um. The co-founder, like, um, acquisition, you know, mark Zuckerberg poaching someone for a lot of money is like, we were actually seeing historic amount of m and a for basically acquihires, right?[00:17:20] That you like, you know, really good outcomes from a venture perspective that are effective acquihires, right? So I would say it's probably net positive from the investment standpoint, even though it seems from the headlines to be very disruptive in a negative way.[00:17:33] Alessio: Yeah.[00:17:33] What's Underfunded: Boring Software, Robotics Skepticism, and Custom Silicon Economics[00:17:33] Alessio: Um, let's talk maybe about what's not being invested in, like maybe some interesting ideas that you would see more people build or it, it seems in a way, you know, as ycs getting more popular, it's like access getting more popular.[00:17:47] There's a startup school path that a lot of founders take and they know what's hot in the VC circles and they know what gets funded. Uh, and there's maybe not as much risk appetite for. Things outside of that. Um, I'm curious if you feel [00:18:00] like that's true and what are maybe, uh, some of the areas, uh, that you think are under discussed?[00:18:06] Martin Casado: I mean, I actually think that we've taken our eye off the ball in a lot of like, just traditional, you know, software companies. Um, so like, I mean. You know, I think right now there's almost a barbell, like you're like the hot thing on X, you're deep tech.[00:18:21] swyx: Mm-hmm.[00:18:22] Martin Casado: Right. But I, you know, I feel like there's just kind of a long, you know, list of like good.[00:18:28] Good companies that will be around for a long time in very large markets. Say you're building a database, you know, say you're building, um, you know, kind of monitoring or logging or tooling or whatever. There's some good companies out there right now, but like, they have a really hard time getting, um, the attention of investors.[00:18:43] And it's almost become a meme, right? Which is like, if you're not basically growing from zero to a hundred in a year, you're not interesting, which is just, is the silliest thing to say. I mean, think of yourself as like an introvert person, like, like your personal money, right? Mm-hmm. So. Your personal money, will you put it in the stock market at 7% or you put it in this company growing five x in a very large [00:19:00] market?[00:19:00] Of course you can put it in the company five x. So it's just like we say these stupid things, like if you're not going from zero to a hundred, but like those, like who knows what the margins of those are mean. Clearly these are good investments. True for anybody, right? True. Like our LPs want whatever.[00:19:12] Three x net over, you know, the life cycle of a fund, right? So a, a company in a big market growing five X is a great investment. We'd, everybody would be happy with these returns, but we've got this kind of mania on these, these strong growths. And so I would say that that's probably the most underinvested sector.[00:19:28] Right now.[00:19:29] swyx: Boring software, boring enterprise software.[00:19:31] Martin Casado: Traditional. Really good company.[00:19:33] swyx: No, no AI here.[00:19:34] Martin Casado: No. Like boring. Well, well, the AI of course is pulling them into use cases. Yeah, but that's not what they're, they're not on the token path, right? Yeah. Let's just say that like they're software, but they're not on the token path.[00:19:41] Like these are like they're great investments from any definition except for like random VC on Twitter saying VC on x, saying like, it's not growing fast enough. What do you[00:19:52] Sarah Wang: think? Yeah, maybe I'll answer a slightly different. Question, but adjacent to what you asked, um, which is maybe an area that we're not, uh, investing [00:20:00] right now that I think is a question and we're spending a lot of time in regardless of whether we pull the trigger or not.[00:20:05] Um, and it would probably be on the hardware side, actually. Robotics, right? And the robotics side. Robotics. Right. Which is, it's, I don't wanna say that it's not getting funding ‘cause it's clearly, uh, it's, it's sort of non-consensus to almost not invest in robotics at this point. But, um, we spent a lot of time in that space and I think for us, we just haven't seen the chat GPT moment.[00:20:22] Happen on the hardware side. Um, and the funding going into it feels like it's already. Taking that for granted.[00:20:30] Martin Casado: Yeah. Yeah. But we also went through the drone, you know, um, there's a zip line right, right out there. What's that? Oh yeah, there's a zip line. Yeah. What the drone, what the av And like one of the takeaways is when it comes to hardware, um, most companies will end up verticalizing.[00:20:46] Like if you're. If you're investing in a robot company for an A for agriculture, you're investing in an ag company. ‘cause that's the competition and that's surprising. And that's supply chain. And if you're doing it for mining, that's mining. And so the ad team does a lot of that type of stuff ‘cause they actually set up to [00:21:00] diligence that type of work.[00:21:01] But for like horizontal technology investing, there's very little when it comes to robots just because it's so fit for, for purpose. And so we kinda like to look at software. Solutions or horizontal solutions like applied intuition. Clearly from the AV wave deep map, clearly from the AV wave, I would say scale AI was actually a horizontal one for That's fair, you know, for robotics early on.[00:21:23] And so that sort of thing we're very, very interested. But the actual like robot interacting with the world is probably better for different team. Agree.[00:21:30] Alessio: Yeah, I'm curious who these teams are supposed to be that invest in them. I feel like everybody's like, yeah, robotics, it's important and like people should invest in it.[00:21:38] But then when you look at like the numbers, like the capital requirements early on versus like the moment of, okay, this is actually gonna work. Let's keep investing. That seems really hard to predict in a way that is not,[00:21:49] Martin Casado: I think co, CO two, kla, gc, I mean these are all invested in in Harvard companies. He just, you know, and [00:22:00] listen, I mean, it could work this time for sure.[00:22:01] Right? I mean if Elon's doing it, he's like, right. Just, just the fact that Elon's doing it means that there's gonna be a lot of capital and a lot of attempts for a long period of time. So that alone maybe suggests that we should just be investing in robotics just ‘cause you have this North star who's Elon with a humanoid and that's gonna like basically willing into being an industry.[00:22:17] Um, but we've just historically found like. We're a huge believer that this is gonna happen. We just don't feel like we're in a good position to diligence these things. ‘cause again, robotics companies tend to be vertical. You really have to understand the market they're being sold into. Like that's like that competitive equilibrium with a human being is what's important.[00:22:34] It's not like the core tech and like we're kind of more horizontal core tech type investors. And this is Sarah and I. Yeah, the ad team is different. They can actually do these types of things.[00:22:42] swyx: Uh, just to clarify, AD stands for[00:22:44] Martin Casado: American Dynamism.[00:22:45] swyx: Alright. Okay. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Uh, I actually, I do have a related question that, first of all, I wanna acknowledge also just on the, on the chip side.[00:22:51] Yeah. I, I recall a podcast that where you were on, i, I, I think it was the a CC podcast, uh, about two or three years ago where you, where you suddenly said [00:23:00] something, which really stuck in my head about how at some point, at some point kind of scale it makes sense to. Build a custom aic Yes. For per run.[00:23:07] Martin Casado: Yes.[00:23:07] It's crazy. Yeah.[00:23:09] swyx: We're here and I think you, you estimated 500 billion, uh, something.[00:23:12] Martin Casado: No, no, no. A billion, a billion dollar training run of $1 billion training run. It makes sense to actually do a custom meic if you can do it in time. The question now is timelines. Yeah, but not money because just, just, just rough math.[00:23:22] If it's a billion dollar training. Then the inference for that model has to be over a billion, otherwise it won't be solvent. So let's assume it's, if you could save 20%, which you could save much more than that with an ASIC 20%, that's $200 million. You can tape out a chip for $200 million. Right? So now you can literally like justify economically, not timeline wise.[00:23:41] That's a different issue. An ASIC per model, which[00:23:44] swyx: is because that, that's how much we leave on the table every single time. We, we, we do like generic Nvidia.[00:23:48] Martin Casado: Exactly. Exactly. No, it, it is actually much more than that. You could probably get, you know, a factor of two, which would be 500 million.[00:23:54] swyx: Typical MFU would be like 50.[00:23:55] Yeah, yeah. And that's good.[00:23:57] Martin Casado: Exactly. Yeah. Hundred[00:23:57] swyx: percent. Um, so, so, yeah, and I mean, and I [00:24:00] just wanna acknowledge like, here we are in, in, in 2025 and opening eyes confirming like Broadcom and all the other like custom silicon deals, which is incredible. I, I think that, uh, you know, speaking about ad there's, there's a really like interesting tie in that obviously you guys are hit on, which is like these sort, this sort of like America first movement or like sort of re industrialized here.[00:24:17] Yeah. Uh, move TSMC here, if that's possible. Um, how much overlap is there from ad[00:24:23] Martin Casado: Yeah.[00:24:23] swyx: To, I guess, growth and, uh, investing in particularly like, you know, US AI companies that are strongly bounded by their compute.[00:24:32] Martin Casado: Yeah. Yeah. So I mean, I, I would view, I would view AD as more as a market segmentation than like a mission, right?[00:24:37] So the market segmentation is, it has kind of regulatory compliance issues or government, you know, sale or it deals with like hardware. I mean, they're just set up to, to, to, to, to. To diligence those types of companies. So it's a more of a market segmentation thing. I would say the entire firm. You know, which has been since it is been intercepted, you know, has geographical biases, right?[00:24:58] I mean, for the longest time we're like, you [00:25:00] know, bay Area is gonna be like, great, where the majority of the dollars go. Yeah. And, and listen, there, there's actually a lot of compounding effects for having a geographic bias. Right. You know, everybody's in the same place. You've got an ecosystem, you're there, you've got presence, you've got a network.[00:25:12] Um, and, uh, I mean, I would say the Bay area's very much back. You know, like I, I remember during pre COVID, like it was like almost Crypto had kind of. Pulled startups away. Miami from the Bay Area. Miami, yeah. Yeah. New York was, you know, because it's so close to finance, came up like Los Angeles had a moment ‘cause it was so close to consumer, but now it's kind of come back here.[00:25:29] And so I would say, you know, we tend to be very Bay area focused historically, even though of course we've asked all over the world. And then I would say like, if you take the ring out, you know, one more, it's gonna be the US of course, because we know it very well. And then one more is gonna be getting us and its allies and Yeah.[00:25:44] And it goes from there.[00:25:45] Sarah Wang: Yeah,[00:25:45] Martin Casado: sorry.[00:25:46] Sarah Wang: No, no. I agree. I think from a, but I think from the intern that that's sort of like where the companies are headquartered. Maybe your questions on supply chain and customer base. Uh, I, I would say our customers are, are, our companies are fairly international from that perspective.[00:25:59] Like they're selling [00:26:00] globally, right? They have global supply chains in some cases.[00:26:03] Martin Casado: I would say also the stickiness is very different.[00:26:05] Sarah Wang: Yeah.[00:26:05] Martin Casado: Historically between venture and growth, like there's so much company building in venture, so much so like hiring the next PM. Introducing the customer, like all of that stuff.[00:26:15] Like of course we're just gonna be stronger where we have our network and we've been doing business for 20 years. I've been in the Bay Area for 25 years, so clearly I'm just more effective here than I would be somewhere else. Um, where I think, I think for some of the later stage rounds, the companies don't need that much help.[00:26:30] They're already kind of pretty mature historically, so like they can kind of be everywhere. So there's kind of less of that stickiness. This is different in the AI time. I mean, Sarah is now the, uh, chief of staff of like half the AI companies in, uh, in the Bay Area right now. She's like, ops Ninja Biz, Devrel, BizOps.[00:26:48] swyx: Are, are you, are you finding much AI automation in your work? Like what, what is your stack.[00:26:53] Sarah Wang: Oh my, in my personal stack.[00:26:54] swyx: I mean, because like, uh, by the way, it's the, the, the reason for this is it is triggering, uh, yeah. We, like, I'm hiring [00:27:00] ops, ops people. Um, a lot of ponders I know are also hiring ops people and I'm just, you know, it's opportunity Since you're, you're also like basically helping out with ops with a lot of companies.[00:27:09] What are people doing these days? Because it's still very manual as far as I can tell.[00:27:13] Sarah Wang: Hmm. Yeah. I think the things that we help with are pretty network based, um, in that. It's sort of like, Hey, how do do I shortcut this process? Well, let's connect you to the right person. So there's not quite an AI workflow for that.[00:27:26] I will say as a growth investor, Claude Cowork is pretty interesting. Yeah. Like for the first time, you can actually get one shot data analysis. Right. Which, you know, if you're gonna do a customer database, analyze a cohort retention, right? That's just stuff that you had to do by hand before. And our team, the other, it was like midnight and the three of us were playing with Claude Cowork.[00:27:47] We gave it a raw file. Boom. Perfectly accurate. We checked the numbers. It was amazing. That was my like, aha moment. That sounds so boring. But you know, that's, that's the kind of thing that a growth investor is like, [00:28:00] you know, slaving away on late at night. Um, done in a few seconds.[00:28:03] swyx: Yeah. You gotta wonder what the whole, like, philanthropic labs, which is like their new sort of products studio.[00:28:10] Yeah. What would that be worth as an independent, uh, startup? You know, like a[00:28:14] Martin Casado: lot.[00:28:14] Sarah Wang: Yeah, true.[00:28:16] swyx: Yeah. You[00:28:16] Martin Casado: gotta hand it to them. They've been executing incredibly well.[00:28:19] swyx: Yeah. I, I mean, to me, like, you know, philanthropic, like building on cloud code, I think, uh, it makes sense to me the, the real. Um, pedal to the metal, whatever the, the, the phrase is, is when they start coming after consumer with, uh, against OpenAI and like that is like red alert at Open ai.[00:28:35] Oh, I[00:28:35] Martin Casado: think they've been pretty clear. They're enterprise focused.[00:28:37] swyx: They have been, but like they've been free. Here's[00:28:40] Martin Casado: care publicly,[00:28:40] swyx: it's enterprise focused. It's coding. Right. Yeah.[00:28:43] AI Labs vs Startups: Disruption, Undercutting & the Innovator's Dilemma[00:28:43] swyx: And then, and, but here's cloud, cloud, cowork, and, and here's like, well, we, uh, they, apparently they're running Instagram ads for Claudia.[00:28:50] I, on, you know, for, for people on, I get them all the time. Right. And so, like,[00:28:54] Martin Casado: uh,[00:28:54] swyx: it, it's kind of like this, the disruption thing of, uh, you know. Mo Open has been doing, [00:29:00] consumer been doing the, just pursuing general intelligence in every mo modality, and here's a topic that only focus on this thing, but now they're sort of undercutting and doing the whole innovator's dilemma thing on like everything else.[00:29:11] Martin Casado: It's very[00:29:11] swyx: interesting.[00:29:12] Martin Casado: Yeah, I mean there's, there's a very open que so for me there's like, do you know that meme where there's like the guy in the path and there's like a path this way? There's a path this way. Like one which way Western man. Yeah. Yeah.[00:29:23] Two Futures for AI: Infinite Market vs AGI Oligopoly[00:29:23] Martin Casado: And for me, like, like all the entire industry kind of like hinges on like two potential futures.[00:29:29] So in, in one potential future, um, the market is infinitely large. There's perverse economies of scale. ‘cause as soon as you put a model out there, like it kind of sublimates and all the other models catch up and like, it's just like software's being rewritten and fractured all over the place and there's tons of upside and it just grows.[00:29:48] And then there's another path which is like, well. Maybe these models actually generalize really well, and all you have to do is train them with three times more money. That's all you have to [00:30:00] do, and it'll just consume everything beyond it. And if that's the case, like you end up with basically an oligopoly for everything, like, you know mm-hmm.[00:30:06] Because they're perfectly general and like, so this would be like the, the a GI path would be like, these are perfectly general. They can do everything. And this one is like, this is actually normal software. The universe is complicated. You've got, and nobody knows the answer.[00:30:18] The Economics Reality Check: Gross Margins, Training Costs & Borrowing Against the Future[00:30:18] Martin Casado: My belief is if you actually look at the numbers of these companies, so generally if you look at the numbers of these companies, if you look at like the amount they're making and how much they, they spent training the last model, they're gross margin positive.[00:30:30] You're like, oh, that's really working. But if you look at like. The current training that they're doing for the next model, their gross margin negative. So part of me thinks that a lot of ‘em are kind of borrowing against the future and that's gonna have to slow down. It's gonna catch up to them at some point in time, but we don't really know.[00:30:47] Sarah Wang: Yeah.[00:30:47] Martin Casado: Does that make sense? Like, I mean, it could be, it could be the case that the only reason this is working is ‘cause they can raise that next round and they can train that next model. ‘cause these models have such a short. Life. And so at some point in time, like, you know, they won't be able to [00:31:00] raise that next round for the next model and then things will kind of converge and fragment again.[00:31:03] But right now it's not.[00:31:04] Sarah Wang: Totally. I think the other, by the way, just, um, a meta point. I think the other lesson from the last three years is, and we talk about this all the time ‘cause we're on this. Twitter X bubble. Um, cool. But, you know, if you go back to, let's say March, 2024, that period, it felt like a, I think an open source model with an, like a, you know, benchmark leading capability was sort of launching on a daily basis at that point.[00:31:27] And, um, and so that, you know, that's one period. Suddenly it's sort of like open source takes over the world. There's gonna be a plethora. It's not an oligopoly, you know, if you fast, you know, if you, if you rewind time even before that GPT-4 was number one for. Nine months, 10 months. It's a long time. Right.[00:31:44] Um, and of course now we're in this era where it feels like an oligopoly, um, maybe some very steady state shifts and, and you know, it could look like this in the future too, but it just, it's so hard to call. And I think the thing that keeps, you know, us up at [00:32:00] night in, in a good way and bad way, is that the capability progress is actually not slowing down.[00:32:06] And so until that happens, right, like you don't know what's gonna look like.[00:32:09] Martin Casado: But I, I would, I would say for sure it's not converged, like for sure, like the systemic capital flows have not converged, meaning right now it's still borrowing against the future to subsidize growth currently, which you can do that for a period of time.[00:32:23] But, but you know, at the end, at some point the market will rationalize that and just nobody knows what that will look like.[00:32:29] Alessio: Yeah.[00:32:29] Martin Casado: Or, or like the drop in price of compute will, will, will save them. Who knows?[00:32:34] Alessio: Yeah. Yeah. I think the models need to ask them to, to specific tasks. You know? It's like, okay, now Opus 4.5 might be a GI at some specific task, and now you can like depreciate the model over a longer time.[00:32:45] I think now, now, right now there's like no old model.[00:32:47] Martin Casado: No, but let, but lemme just change that mental, that's, that used to be my mental model. Lemme just change it a little bit.[00:32:53] Capital as a Weapon vs Task Saturation: Where Real Enterprise Value Gets Built[00:32:53] Martin Casado: If you can raise three times, if you can raise more than the aggregate of anybody that uses your models, that doesn't even matter.[00:32:59] It doesn't [00:33:00] even matter. See what I'm saying? Like, yeah. Yeah. So, so I have an API Business. My API business is 60% margin, or 70% margin, or 80% margin is a high margin business. So I know what everybody is using. If I can raise more money than the aggregate of everybody that's using it, I will consume them whether I'm a GI or not.[00:33:14] And I will know if they're using it ‘cause they're using it. And like, unlike in the past where engineering stops me from doing that.[00:33:21] Alessio: Mm-hmm.[00:33:21] Martin Casado: It is very straightforward. You just train. So I also thought it was kind of like, you must ask the code a GI, general, general, general. But I think there's also just a possibility that the, that the capital markets will just give them the, the, the ammunition to just go after everybody on top of ‘em.[00:33:36] Sarah Wang: I, I do wonder though, to your point, um, if there's a certain task that. Getting marginally better isn't actually that much better. Like we've asked them to it, to, you know, we can call it a GI or whatever, you know, actually, Ali Goi talks about this, like we're already at a GI for a lot of functions in the enterprise.[00:33:50] Um. That's probably those for those tasks, you probably could build very specific companies that focus on just getting as much value out of that task that isn't [00:34:00] coming from the model itself. There's probably a rich enterprise business to be built there. I mean, could be wrong on that, but there's a lot of interesting examples.[00:34:08] So, right, if you're looking the legal profession or, or whatnot, and maybe that's not a great one ‘cause the models are getting better on that front too, but just something where it's a bit saturated, then the value comes from. Services. It comes from implementation, right? It comes from all these things that actually make it useful to the end customer.[00:34:24] Martin Casado: Sorry, what am I, one more thing I think is, is underused in all of this is like, to what extent every task is a GI complete.[00:34:31] Sarah Wang: Mm-hmm.[00:34:32] Martin Casado: Yeah. I code every day. It's so fun.[00:34:35] Sarah Wang: That's a core question. Yeah.[00:34:36] Martin Casado: And like. When I'm talking to these models, it's not just code. I mean, it's everything, right? Like I, you know, like it's,[00:34:43] swyx: it's healthcare.[00:34:44] It's,[00:34:44] Martin Casado: I mean, it's[00:34:44] swyx: Mele,[00:34:45] Martin Casado: but it's every, it is exactly that. Like, yeah, that's[00:34:47] Sarah Wang: great support. Yeah.[00:34:48] Martin Casado: It's everything. Like I'm asking these models to, yeah, to understand compliance. I'm asking these models to go search the web. I'm asking these models to talk about things I know in the history, like it's having a full conversation with me while I, I engineer, and so it could be [00:35:00] the case that like, mm-hmm.[00:35:01] The most a, you know, a GI complete, like I'm not an a GI guy. Like I think that's, you know, but like the most a GI complete model will is win independent of the task. And we don't know the answer to that one either.[00:35:11] swyx: Yeah.[00:35:12] Martin Casado: But it seems to me that like, listen, codex in my experience is for sure better than Opus 4.5 for coding.[00:35:18] Like it finds the hardest bugs that I work in with. Like, it is, you know. The smartest developers. I don't work on it. It's great. Um, but I think Opus 4.5 is actually very, it's got a great bedside manner and it really, and it, it really matters if you're building something very complex because like, it really, you know, like you're, you're, you're a partner and a brainstorming partner for somebody.[00:35:38] And I think we don't discuss enough how every task kind of has that quality.[00:35:42] swyx: Mm-hmm.[00:35:43] Martin Casado: And what does that mean to like capital investment and like frontier models and Submodels? Yeah.[00:35:47] Why “Coding Models” Keep Collapsing into Generalists (Reasoning vs Taste)[00:35:47] Martin Casado: Like what happened to all the special coding models? Like, none of ‘em worked right. So[00:35:51] Alessio: some of them, they didn't even get released.[00:35:53] Magical[00:35:54] Martin Casado: Devrel. There's a whole, there's a whole host. We saw a bunch of them and like there's this whole theory that like, there could be, and [00:36:00] I think one of the conclusions is, is like there's no such thing as a coding model,[00:36:04] Alessio: you know?[00:36:04] Martin Casado: Like, that's not a thing. Like you're talking to another human being and it's, it's good at coding, but like it's gotta be good at everything.[00:36:10] swyx: Uh, minor disagree only because I, I'm pretty like, have pretty high confidence that basically open eye will always release a GPT five and a GT five codex. Like that's the code's. Yeah. The way I call it is one for raisin, one for Tiz. Um, and, and then like someone internal open, it was like, yeah, that's a good way to frame it.[00:36:32] Martin Casado: That's so funny.[00:36:33] swyx: Uh, but maybe it, maybe it collapses down to reason and that's it. It's not like a hundred dimensions doesn't life. Yeah. It's two dimensions. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Like and exactly. Beside manner versus coding. Yeah.[00:36:43] Martin Casado: Yeah.[00:36:44] swyx: It's, yeah.[00:36:46] Martin Casado: I, I think for, for any, it's hilarious. For any, for anybody listening to this for, for, for, I mean, for you, like when, when you're like coding or using these models for something like that.[00:36:52] Like actually just like be aware of how much of the interaction has nothing to do with coding and it just turns out to be a large portion of it. And so like, you're, I [00:37:00] think like, like the best Soto ish model. You know, it is going to remain very important no matter what the task is.[00:37:06] swyx: Yeah.[00:37:07] What He's Actually Coding: Gaussian Splats, Spark.js & 3D Scene Rendering Demos[00:37:07] swyx: Uh, speaking of coding, uh, I, I'm gonna be cheeky and ask like, what actually are you coding?[00:37:11] Because obviously you, you could code anything and you are obviously a busy investor and a manager of the good. Giant team. Um, what are you calling?[00:37:18] Martin Casado: I help, um, uh, FEFA at World Labs. Uh, it's one of the investments and um, and they're building a foundation model that creates 3D scenes.[00:37:27] swyx: Yeah, we had it on the pod.[00:37:28] Yeah. Yeah,[00:37:28] Martin Casado: yeah. And so these 3D scenes are Gaussian splats, just by the way that kind of AI works. And so like, you can reconstruct a scene better with, with, with radiance feels than with meshes. ‘cause like they don't really have topology. So, so they, they, they produce each. Beautiful, you know, 3D rendered scenes that are Gaussian splats, but the actual industry support for Gaussian splats isn't great.[00:37:50] It's just never, you know, it's always been meshes and like, things like unreal use meshes. And so I work on a open source library called Spark js, which is a. Uh, [00:38:00] a JavaScript rendering layer ready for Gaussian splats. And it's just because, you know, um, you, you, you need that support and, and right now there's kind of a three js moment that's all meshes and so like, it's become kind of the default in three Js ecosystem.[00:38:13] As part of that to kind of exercise the library, I just build a whole bunch of cool demos. So if you see me on X, you see like all my demos and all the world building, but all of that is just to exercise this, this library that I work on. ‘cause it's actually a very tough algorithmics problem to actually scale a library that much.[00:38:29] And just so you know, this is ancient history now, but 30 years ago I paid for undergrad, you know, working on game engines in college in the late nineties. So I've got actually a back and it's very old background, but I actually have a background in this and so a lot of it's fun. You know, but, but the, the, the, the whole goal is just for this rendering library to, to,[00:38:47] Sarah Wang: are you one of the most active contributors?[00:38:49] The, their GitHub[00:38:50] Martin Casado: spark? Yes.[00:38:51] Sarah Wang: Yeah, yeah.[00:38:51] Martin Casado: There's only two of us there, so, yes. No, so by the way, so the, the pri The pri, yeah. Yeah. So the primary developer is a [00:39:00] guy named Andres Quist, who's an absolute genius. He and I did our, our PhDs together. And so like, um, we studied for constant Quas together. It was almost like hanging out with an old friend, you know?[00:39:09] And so like. So he, he's the core, core guy. I did mostly kind of, you know, the side I run venture fund.[00:39:14] swyx: It's amazing. Like five years ago you would not have done any of this. And it brought you back[00:39:19] Martin Casado: the act, the Activ energy, you're still back. Energy was so high because you had to learn all the framework b******t.[00:39:23] Man, I f*****g used to hate that. And so like, now I don't have to deal with that. I can like focus on the algorithmics so I can focus on the scaling and I,[00:39:29] swyx: yeah. Yeah.[00:39:29] LLMs vs Spatial Intelligence + How to Value World Labs' 3D Foundation Model[00:39:29] swyx: And then, uh, I'll observe one irony and then I'll ask a serious investor question, uh, which is like, the irony is FFE actually doesn't believe that LMS can lead us to spatial intelligence.[00:39:37] And here you are using LMS to like help like achieve spatial intelligence. I just see, I see some like disconnect in there.[00:39:45] Martin Casado: Yeah. Yeah. So I think, I think, you know, I think, I think what she would say is LLMs are great to help with coding.[00:39:51] swyx: Yes.[00:39:51] Martin Casado: But like, that's very different than a model that actually like provides, they, they'll never have the[00:39:56] swyx: spatial inte[00:39:56] Martin Casado: issues.[00:39:56] And listen, our brains clearly listen, our brains, brains clearly have [00:40:00] both our, our brains clearly have a language reasoning section and they clearly have a spatial reasoning section. I mean, it's just, you know, these are two pretty independent problems.[00:40:07] swyx: Okay. And you, you, like, I, I would say that the, the one data point I recently had, uh, against it is the DeepMind, uh, IMO Gold, where, so, uh, typically the, the typical answer is that this is where you start going down the neuros symbolic path, right?[00:40:21] Like one, uh, sort of very sort of abstract reasoning thing and one form, formal thing. Um, and that's what. DeepMind had in 2024 with alpha proof, alpha geometry, and now they just use deep think and just extended thinking tokens. And it's one model and it's, and it's in LM.[00:40:36] Martin Casado: Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.[00:40:37] swyx: And so that, that was my indication of like, maybe you don't need a separate system.[00:40:42] Martin Casado: Yeah. So, so let me step back. I mean, at the end of the day, at the end of the day, these things are like nodes in a graph with weights on them. Right. You know, like it can be modeled like if you, if you distill it down. But let me just talk about the two different substrates. Let's, let me put you in a dark room.[00:40:56] Like totally black room. And then let me just [00:41:00] describe how you exit it. Like to your left, there's a table like duck below this thing, right? I mean like the chances that you're gonna like not run into something are very low. Now let me like turn on the light and you actually see, and you can do distance and you know how far something away is and like where it is or whatever.[00:41:17] Then you can do it, right? Like language is not the right primitives to describe. The universe because it's not exact enough. So that's all Faye, Faye is talking about. When it comes to like spatial reasoning, it's like you actually have to know that this is three feet far, like that far away. It is curved.[00:41:37] You have to understand, you know, the, like the actual movement through space.[00:41:40] swyx: Yeah.[00:41:40] Martin Casado: So I do, I listen, I do think at the end of these models are definitely converging as far as models, but there's, there's, there's different representations of problems you're solving. One is language. Which, you know, that would be like describing to somebody like what to do.[00:41:51] And the other one is actually just showing them and the space reasoning is just showing them.[00:41:55] swyx: Yeah, yeah, yeah. Right. Got it, got it. Uh, the, in the investor question was on, on, well labs [00:42:00] is, well, like, how do I value something like this? What, what, what work does the, do you do? I'm just like, Fefe is awesome.[00:42:07] Justin's awesome. And you know, the other two co-founder, co-founders, but like the, the, the tech, everyone's building cool tech. But like, what's the value of the tech? And this is the fundamental question[00:42:16] Martin Casado: of, well, let, let, just like these, let me just maybe give you a rough sketch on the diffusion models. I actually love to hear Sarah because I'm a venture for, you know, so like, ventures always, always like kind of wild west type[00:42:24] swyx: stuff.[00:42:24] You, you, you, you paid a dream and she has to like, actually[00:42:28] Martin Casado: I'm gonna say I'm gonna mar to reality, so I'm gonna say the venture for you. And she can be like, okay, you a little kid. Yeah. So like, so, so these diffusion models literally. Create something for, for almost nothing. And something that the, the world has found to be very valuable in the past, in our real markets, right?[00:42:45] Like, like a 2D image. I mean, that's been an entire market. People value them. It takes a human being a long time to create it, right? I mean, to create a, you know, a, to turn me into a whatever, like an image would cost a hundred bucks in an hour. The inference cost [00:43:00] us a hundredth of a penny, right? So we've seen this with speech in very successful companies.[00:43:03] We've seen this with 2D image. We've seen this with movies. Right? Now, think about 3D scene. I mean, I mean, when's Grand Theft Auto coming out? It's been six, what? It's been 10 years. I mean, how, how like, but hasn't been 10 years.[00:43:14] Alessio: Yeah.[00:43:15] Martin Casado: How much would it cost to like, to reproduce this room in 3D? Right. If you, if you, if you hired somebody on fiber, like in, in any sort of quality, probably 4,000 to $10,000.[00:43:24] And then if you had a professional, probably $30,000. So if you could generate the exact same thing from a 2D image, and we know that these are used and they're using Unreal and they're using Blend, or they're using movies and they're using video games and they're using all. So if you could do that for.[00:43:36] You know, less than a dollar, that's four or five orders of magnitude cheaper. So you're bringing the marginal cost of something that's useful down by three orders of magnitude, which historically have created very large companies. So that would be like the venture kind of strategic dreaming map.[00:43:49] swyx: Yeah.[00:43:50] And, and for listeners, uh, you can do this yourself on your, on your own phone with like. Uh, the marble.[00:43:55] Martin Casado: Yeah. Marble.[00:43:55] swyx: Uh, or but also there's many Nerf apps where you just go on your iPhone and, and do this.[00:43:59] Martin Casado: Yeah. Yeah. [00:44:00] Yeah. And, and in the case of marble though, it would, what you do is you literally give it in.[00:44:03] So most Nerf apps you like kind of run around and take a whole bunch of pictures and then you kind of reconstruct it.[00:44:08] swyx: Yeah.[00:44:08] Martin Casado: Um, things like marble, just that the whole generative 3D space will just take a 2D image and it'll reconstruct all the like, like[00:44:16] swyx: meaning it has to fill in. Uh,[00:44:18] Martin Casado: stuff at the back of the table, under the table, the back, like, like the images, it doesn't see.[00:44:22] So the generator stuff is very different than reconstruction that it fills in the things that you can't see.[00:44:26] swyx: Yeah. Okay.[00:44:26] Sarah Wang: So,[00:44:27] Martin Casado: all right. So now the,[00:44:28] Sarah Wang: no, no. I mean I love that[00:44:29] Martin Casado: the adult[00:44:29] Sarah Wang: perspective. Um, well, no, I was gonna say these are very much a tag team. So we, we started this pod with that, um, premise. And I think this is a perfect question to even build on that further.[00:44:36] ‘cause it truly is, I mean, we're tag teaming all of these together.[00:44:39] Investing in Model Labs, Media Rumors, and the Cursor Playbook (Margins & Going Down-Stack)[00:44:39] Sarah Wang: Um, but I think every investment fundamentally starts with the same. Maybe the same two premises. One is, at this point in time, we actually believe that there are. And of one founders for their particular craft, and they have to be demonstrated in their prior careers, right?[00:44:56] So, uh, we're not investing in every, you know, now the term is NEO [00:45:00] lab, but every foundation model, uh, any, any company, any founder trying to build a foundation model, we're not, um, contrary to popular opinion, we're

Gaming has grown into one of the biggest entertainment industries in the world-bigger than movies and music combined. 2026 is packed with incredible game launches across all genres - from big blockbusters to creative indie hits. Whether you are looking for an action title, a sports game or the heavily anticipated next installment in a major gaming franchise (i.e Grand Theft Auto), PlayStation's Kristin Zitani can share which titles you should be on the lookout for this year.2026 Titles:Grand Theft Auto (All Platforms) Grand Theft Auto (GTA) is an iconic open-world, action-adventure video game series by Rockstar Games, where players control criminals in sprawling fictional cities, engaging in story missions, all while offering immense freedom to explore and cause chaos in a satirical take on American culture.007 First Light (All Platforms)Earn the Number. 007 First Light is a thrilling espionage action-adventure game from IO Interactive. Follow James Bond as a young, resourceful and sometimes reckless recruit in MI6's training programme, and discover an origin story of the world's most famous spy.MLB The Show 26 (All Platforms)This year's version highlights a new level of control, deeper immersion, and more action on and off the field across modes such as Road to The Show, Diamond Dynasty, Storylines and Franchise. Baseball MVP Aaron Judge will once again hold court as the cover athlete and his journey will feature into the story-mode.NBA2K26 (All Platforms)For two decades, NBA 2K has redefined sports entertainment, establishing itself as an important piece of hoops culture by creating basketball video games with an immersive experience in the palm of your hand.Wolverine (PlayStation Only)From Insomniac Games, the developers of the critically acclaimed Marvel's Spider-Man franchise, comes Marvel's Wolverine. As he searches for answers about his past, Wolverine will do whatever it takes - unleashing brutal claw combat, violent rage and relentless determination - to cut through the mystery of the man he used to be.Marathon (PlayStation Only )Enter into the dark sci-fi world of Tau Ceti IV: A derelict colony rife with rival Runners, hostile UESC security forces, and unpredictable environments. As you scavenge its zones for valuables with a crew or alone, tense moments of exploration break into fast-paced PvP combat where gunplay is responsive, supplies are finite, and preparation is rewarded.Marvel Tokon: Fighting Souls (PlayStation + PC)Assemble a team of legendary Marvel characters in the ultimate 4v4 tag team fighter from PlayStation Studios, Arc System Works and Marvel Games. Experience fast, explosive action where every match is a unique and exciting team VS battle experience.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/arroe-collins-like-it-s-live--4113802/support.

This Week on True Crime News The Podcast: A killer's remorse, not for his victim, but for his regret at missing the newest “Grand Theft Auto” game while he's in prison. After brutally murdering his girlfriend Rachael Vaughan, Robert Richens called police to confess the crime and has been sentenced to life. Don Tabak joins host Ana Garcia. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tommy G is a Milwaukee-based documentary maker with over 3 million subscribers on YouTube, and his work takes you everywhere—from Grand Theft Auto stories and street-level chaos to investigating some of the worst prisons in the United States… and even exposing Scientology for what it is. In this conversation, we get into what it really takes to tell stories that hit hard: earning trust, walking into uncomfortable places, staying safe, and keeping your humanity when the internet only wants the “craziest clip.” Tommy's got that rare mix of curiosity + courage, and I think you're going to leave this episode feeling fired up to chase the stories you're meant to tell. If you're into documentaries, investigative storytelling, or just hearing how someone builds something massive by following their obsession—this one's for you. Watch the full episode, and let me know your favorite moment in the comments. Subscribe for more Passion Pod interviews with people who turned their passion into a real-life career. Listen to Passion Pod on: Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and wherever you get your podcasts. Follow Passion Pod / Chris: Instagram: @passionpod TikTok: @passionpodofficial Facebook: Passion Pod

As Grand Theft Auto VI begins to lock in its November 19th release date, we're already started to see publishers scramble with their release plans. A recent report out of The Verge firms up that Xbox, like much of this industry, will be attempting to evade the blast zone. As such, they are moving some games up and there's a chance others fall out of the year. Joining Matty this week is Last Stand's own Brad Ellis to talk about everything from Halo Campaign Evolved to Gears Of War: E-Day as we debate and discuss the respective windows of these games. The main question that lingers in our head is if Xbox is avoiding Grand Theft Auto, does that leave December as an option? If not, can all of their 2026 calendar make it out in the anniversary year or would it be best to delay some games into early 2027 for additional polish and breathing room? Sign up for your $1 per month trial period at https://www.shopify.com/duke Please keep in mind that our timestamps are approximate, and will often be slightly off due to dynamic ad placement. 0:00:00 - Intro0:02:33 - Health is wealth0:04:58 - Lies Of P reminder0:08:39 - A write in section0:10:40 - Checking in on Brad's Trails progress0:17:55 - Book check0:21:57 - Greedfall vibe check0:30:17 - Have we played Resident Evil Outbreak?0:36:27 - Valve breaks silence on the Steam Machine0:50:31 - Is it safe to lock in GTA 6 for this fall?0:58:48 - Diablo 2 DLC in 20261:05:48 - The absolutely insane Mindseye drama1:13:59 - Obsidian says it took over 5 years for people to like New Vegas1:23:29 - Yakuza Kiwami 3 is the final Kiwami game1:28:31 - Resident Evil Requiem's game length1:35:46 - Highguard team suffers layoffs1:42:59 - 2XKO layoffs1:51:57 - What We're Playing2:21:23 - Xbox's 2026 release schedule leaked2:45:28 - Next gen Xbox details leaked Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Welcome to This is True Really News Episode 1038! Hosts Scot Combs and Tony Verkinnes bring you the headlines that are 100% true—as far as you know.In this episode:Alien Teleportation or Grand Theft Auto? A Florida man claims extraterrestrials teleported him into a stolen BMW. We discuss the finer points of "quantum entanglement" and alien car theft rings.Cleanup on Aisle 4: A Texas "cowboy influencer" takes his horse on a shopping spree through Target. It was all smiles until the 1,000-pound animal left a few "steaming souvenirs" on the polished floors.The Naked Truth: A 36-year-old joyrides a stolen boat on the Hudson River—completely nude. His subsequent hospital escape involving a doctor's lab coat and no shoes is the stuff of surveillance legend.Medieval Evictions: Meet James Jacobs, the MMA fighter running a "Squatter Removal" business in Oakland. His secret weapon? Becoming the squatter's legal roommate while wielding a four-foot samurai sword.SUBMIT A STORY:Got a headline we missed or a question for the hosts?Email us: titr@netradio.networkSUPPORT THE SHOW:Like, subscribe, and follow! If you're on YouTube, click that bell icon to stay notified of our latest truth-adjacent content.#ThisIsTrueReallyNews #TITR #ScotCombs #TonyVerkinnes #TargetHorse #SamuraiEviction #WeirdNews #Satire

Well, the year is underway and honestly, with January now behind us, it feels like a rollocking start. Best guess is it's because everyone wants to get the eff-train out of the way of the splash that Grand Theft Auto is going to make when it lands towards the end of the year, so now things are kind of a little bit in reverse. That did lead us to think, though: how might the gaming landscape look or be different if certain key titles throughout its short history were either plucked from existence, or simply failed to catch fire the way that they did? Tim is back in charge here, and he's managed to drag Hewso along for the ride. Hendo & Hewso it is then, like some crappy Murdoch FM radio show from the '90s, only with fewer airhorn sound effects and way less transphobia. And also more video games. Way more video games. Games: Disciples: Domination, Romeo is a Dead Man Theme Music: Visitors from Dreams by Mathieu Stempell Dma-Sc Break Music: Freestyle Dojo by MkVaff Cast Matt Hewson Tim Henderson

This week on The Free Cheese, we came out and played. What happens when a developer with newfound fame and respect gets to make a prequel to one of its favorite movies from 25 years earlier? We find out when we add another Rockstar game to The List and see what The Warriors was bringing to PlayStation 2 in the midst of Grand Theft Auto's rise.

Όλοι ανακοινώνουν αποτελέσματα, το Xbox το χαβά του, ενώ Meta και Amazon βαρέθηκαν τα games. Get in touch: Email | Twitter Ι Facebook Group Hosted by: Elias Pappas - Facebook | Twitter | Instagram Manos Vezos - The Vez | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram Ι Apple Music Transmedia The Super Mario Galaxy Movie premiere moved up to April 1; Yoshi first look - Gematsu ‘Baldur's Gate' TV Series Continuing Game's Story In Works At HBO From ‘The Last Of Us' Co-Creator Craig Mazin & Hasbro Entertainment Greek Game Dev ASTHENIA Official Reveal Trailer Crimson Capes launches February 12, Bringing the Souls Formula to 2D With Deep Swordplay, Online Co-Op, and Invasions Swen Vincke #356: Critical hits Απολύσεις Ubisoft Ubisoft launches voluntary redundancy process to cut 200 jobs from Paris head office Amazon Games Amazon Games boss Hartmann reportedly leaving as firm retreats from PC and console Project Genie Google releases Project Genie AI tool for creating "playable worlds" that can feature copyrighted IP Take-Two CEO: ‘Google's Project Genie AI is a great sign of things to come' Take-Two CEO says "generative AI tools are driving costs and time efficiencies" but that its "worlds are handcrafted" Λογοκρισία Dispatch Dispatch censored on Switch and Switch 2 AdHoc Studios is "working with Nintendo on a path forward" to address Dispatch censorship Νέο παλιό FF VII New version of original Final Fantasy VII coming to PC - Gematsu Τέλος για Comcept Mighty No.9 and ReCore maker Comcept has been dissolved Steam Machine Steam Machine, Steam Frame, and Steam Controller update: “We have work to do to land on concrete pricing and launch dates” - Gematsu Αποτελέσματα Paradox Interactive Paradox operating profit dropped 162% year-on-year as it writes down Vampire: The Masquerade Bloodlines 2 Capcom Resident Evil and Street Fighter franchises boost Capcom's latest financials Capcom Platinum Titles sales update – as of December 31, 2025 Take-Two Interactive NBA 2K and Grand Theft Auto franchises boost Take-Two Q3 net revenue by 25% to $1.7bn Borderlands 4 for Switch 2 development paused - Gematsu EA EA net bookings jump 38% to over $3bn following Battlefield 6 launch Meta Reality Labs Meta's Reality Labs division generated $2.2bn, lost $19.2bn in FY25 Nintendo Nintendo net sales up 99.3% as Switch 2 shifts 17.37m units Sony PS5 unit sales drop during holiday period, Q3 hardware revenue down 15% to $3.9bn Ghost of Yōtei boosts Sony's Q3 results, "significantly contributed" to 6% rise in digital game revenue PS5 shipments top 92.2 million - Gematsu Microsoft FY26 Q2 - Press Releases - Investor Relations - Microsoft Microsoft reports 9% decrease in gaming revenue for Q2 Microsoft reports strong cloud earnings in Q2 as gaming declines Xbox Developer Direct Xbox Developer_Direct 2026 Recap: Everything Revealed, Including a Surprise New Double Fine Game Try the New Xbox Cloud Gaming Web Experience — Now in Public Preview Xbox Cloud Gaming's new design teases the future of Xbox console UI Xbox aims to be "more consistent" with launching first-party titles on PlayStation 5 Is there a future for the Xbox platform? | Opinion Obsidian boss says there are no plans for The Outer Worlds 3 following missed targets for the 2025 sequel

This week, Sunny and Alex discuss Take Two's comments on Grand Theft Auto 6's launch and marketing We also go through Sony's Q3 financial performance, new patents and more. Become a Patron for just £1 a month to help support the show and in return you will receive: - Episodes up to 3 days Early Access - Advertisement free episodes - Extra PlayStation shows every week 2026 Review Draft - https://www.patreon.com/posts/150159961?utm_campaign=postshare_creator PlayStation Predictions 2026 - www.patreon.com/posts/playstation…content=join_link Is PS6 in trouble video - www.patreon.com/posts/worldwide-r…content=join_link

What a chockablock episode this week, touching on games like Dragon Quest VII Reimagined, Cairn, and Vinny's Silent Hill f ending extravaganza, plus how the Epstein files intersect with gaming, alarming layoff stats in game development, Switch sales' major new milestone, things we miss from the pre-Internet gaming era, and the AI-powered Parappa the Rapper podcast coming soon to a PlayStation near you.CHAPTERS(00:00:00) NOTE: Some timecodes may be inaccurate for versions other than the ad-free Patreon version due to dynamic ad insertions. Please use caution if skipping around to avoid spoilers. Thanks for listening.(00:00:10) Intro(00:05:00) That video is fantastic and you should watch the whole thing!(00:05:36) There's even more of that terrible Captain America movie?(00:13:16) Cairn  |  [PC (Microsoft Windows), PlayStation 5]  |  Jan 29, 2026(00:23:52) First Break(00:23:57) Dragon Quest VII Reimagined  |  [Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch 2, PlayStation 5, PC (Microsoft Windows), Xbox Series X|S]  |  Feb 05, 2026(00:50:08) Earth Must Die  |  [PC (Microsoft Windows)]  |  Jan 27, 2026(00:53:26) Absolum  |  [Nintendo Switch, PC (Microsoft Windows), PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5]  |  Oct 09, 2025(00:56:22) TR-49  |  [PC (Microsoft Windows), Mac]  |  Jan 21, 2026(00:57:05) Silent Hill f  |  [PC (Microsoft Windows), PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S]  |  Sep 25, 2025(00:58:14) [SPOILERS] Ok, we are going to talk about SOME Silent Hill f narrative stuff(01:16:29) Second Break(01:16:33) The Epstein Files and Gaming(01:30:47) Sony patents AI podcasts?(01:39:34) Over a quarter of game developers have lost their jobs(01:47:13) Obsidian not working on Outer Worlds 3...(01:51:03) The Switch is Nintendo's biggest seller! Ever!(01:54:41) Finally, a use for you Labo VR!(01:59:51) Apex Legends shutting down on Switch(02:01:14) Grand Theft Auto 6 may indeed have a physical release at launch!(02:02:16) Highguard gets a five versus five mode!(02:05:22) Emails(02:27:38) Wrapping up and thanks(02:29:57) Mysterious Benefactor Tier Shoutouts(02:30:58) Nextlander Content Updates(02:33:14) See ya!

Send us a textTrav and Caleb wrap up the saga of GTA III with more violence, bathroom rendezvous, and, well, a helicopter explosion.Check out Dan Houser interview on YouTube.Check out Any Austin, GTA III Liminal Space. Support the showSupport the show on PatreonMore podcasts http://www.polymedianetwork.com, @TalesLesser, @CalebJRoss, @travplaysgamesPlease rate and review wherever you listen!Comment on episodes directly by visiting our Subreddit /r/polymedia

From Disney's new CEO to Googles game "maker". GTA 6 is locked in, and so is the final Fast and Furious. But what does it mean for you? Meanwhile Overwatch is shedding its 2, and going old school.

Rich Keefe & Ryan Davey preview the most anticipated video games coming out this year including Marvel's Wolverine and Grand Theft Auto 6. Plus This Week in #DORK with a look at all the TV shows they are currently watching, the Grammy's, Super Bowl commercials, Top 5 Butt Rock Bands, upcoming TV shows and the passing of a legend, Catherine O'Hara. Twitter, Instagram & YouTube: @DORKpodcast To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Rockstar may be staying quiet, but there's no shortage of GTA 6 mysteries to unpack. On this week's GTA VI O'clock, James Jarvis and Dan Dawkins unpack more intriguing developments from the world of Grand Theft Auto. A rumoured Lucia voice actor speaks out on a podcast - but what does it really tell us? A recent GTA Online update offers clear gameplay implications for GTA 6 What is Rockstar's Creator Team - and why does it matter?It's all here on this week's GTA VI O'clock. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Join us this week as we dive into the rave reviews for Cairn and share our first-hand experience with this challenging survival climber. We also discuss the latest PlayStation handheld rumors regarding an OLED Portal and the standalone RDNA 5 portable, alongside the news that GTA 6 may skip a physical release at launch. Plus, we check in on our 2026 Fantasy Critic draft and the latest updates for Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream on Nintendo Switch. Chapters 00:00:00 Coming Up 00:00:41 Cairn Review In-Progress 00:08:15 Code Vein II Review 00:15:20 Fantasy Critic Update 00:18:56 Tomodachi Life Direct 00:23:25 PlayStation Portal & Portable Leaks 00:29:27 Grand Theft Auto 6 Physcial Edition Missing Launch 00:36:22 What The Wiki?! The Press Start Podcast is Press Start Australia's weekly video game discussion podcast. SUBSCRIBE LiSTNR: https://play.listnr.com/podcast/the-press-start-podcast Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/70QgrzSyPK476F9cTsfUWJ Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/the-press-start-podcast/id812891885 YouTube: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLvh0fsLvVCs9Pym8WExQiXdiqQsscybcK&si=Zh7Gw4QsFJQGFoUU For more gaming news, reviews & more visit https://www.press-start.com.au SUBSCRIBE | https://goo.gl/i9FGAx FOLLOW US | https://www.facebook.com/gaming/PressStartAu https://twitter.com/PressStartAU https://www.instagram.com/pressstartau/ https://www.tiktok.com/@pressstartau Contact us at hello@press-start.com.au #gaming #podcast #playstation

For the first episode of 2026, we catch up on what's been happening in the year so far and then draft our picks for the 2026 game. SHOW DOT POINTS The gaming industry is experiencing significant changes with physical media declining. Life is Strange Reunion aims to conclude the Max and Chloe story arc. Ubisoft's cancellation of games reflects the challenges in the gaming market. Highguard's launch faced backlash due to insufficient marketing and optimisation issues. The hosts express excitement over upcoming game releases and trailers. Yoshi's portrayal in the new Super Mario Galaxy movie has garnered positive reactions. The review bombing phenomenon continues to affect new game releases. The importance of marketing and community engagement in game launches is highlighted. The hosts share their personal gaming experiences and recent titles. The conversation reflects a mix of nostalgia and anticipation for future gaming developments. The true ending in Hades requires completing both worlds in one run. The hosts have produced the most extensive best of 2025 coverage to date. Fantasy critic game drafts involve strategic selections based on anticipated game releases. Indie games are gaining traction and excitement among gamers. The hosts express high expectations for upcoming titles like Grand Theft Auto 6 and Forza Horizon 6. The importance of game reviews and critical scores in the fantasy critic game. The hosts share their personal experiences and excitement for various games. The conversation highlights the unpredictability of game releases and their success. The hosts emphasise the significance of indie games in the current gaming landscape. The dynamic nature of the gaming industry keeps the hosts engaged and excited. The potential for a game to improve during its development phase is significant. Gameplay quirks can be overlooked if the plot is strong. The developers of a game have a track record of delivering quality products. Innovative genres, like card-based games, are becoming more popular. The anticipation for sequels and spin-offs remains high among gamers. The success of previous titles can influence expectations for upcoming releases. Speculation about unannounced games can generate excitement in the gaming community. Drafting games based on hype and potential can be a strategic move. The gaming industry is constantly evolving, driven by new ideas and concepts. Final projections for game success can be based on various factors, including developer reputation. YOUR HOSTS

Tonight's topics:- Highguard is a massive disaster- Xbox has brutal Q2 report- Ubisoft launches voluntary redundancy process- One-third of U.S. game industry workers were laid off- Grand Theft Auto 6 may not have a physical version on day one to avoid leaks- Helldivers 2 has now sold over 20 million copies- Resident Evil Requiem hands-on impressionsThanks as always to Shawn Daley for our intro and outro music. Follow him on Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/shawndaleyWhere to find Throwdown Show:Website: https://audioboom.com/channels/5030659Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/throwdownshowTwitter: https://twitter.com/ThrowdownShowYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/throwdownshowDiscord: https://discord.gg/fdBXWHTTwitter list: https://twitter.com/i/lists/1027719155800317953

Follow The Trophy Room Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/pstrophyroom Apple Podcast: https://apple.co/2PglU1a Discord: https://discord.gg/wPNp3kC Twitter: https://twitter.com/PSTrophyRoom Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/badbit ****** This week on The Trophy Room: A PlayStation Podcast, we square up the news and tackle some of the biggest stories shaping the future of gaming. We start with reports claiming Grand Theft Auto 6 may not launch with a physical edition, as Take-Two and Rockstar allegedly consider a digital-only release to prevent leaks. We discuss what this could mean for collectors, retail, and GTA 6's already sky-high expectations. Next, we dig into new analyst predictions suggesting the PlayStation 6 may be delayed longer than expected, potentially extending the PS5 generation well into the next decade. We debate whether the PS5 still has untapped potential and what features the PS6 would actually need to feel like a true generational leap. We also cover reports that a PlayStation State of Play is locked in for February, what Sony might show, and whether titles like Marvel's Wolverine, Saros, and Marathon could appear. On the industry side, we break down Ubisoft worker unions calling for a global strike, following layoffs, studio closures, and a push to end remote work. We discuss what this says about the current state of the games industry. Plus, we react to the Microsoft Developer Direct, Xbox's declining revenue numbers, discourse surrounding new releases, Nintendo Switch censorship concerns, and a packed slate of Flash News, including MLB The Show 26, PS Plus February games, and more. We wrap up with Whatcha Been Playin'?, community questions, and plenty of classic Trophy Room discourse.

Episode 410 of PS This Is Awesome is packed with PlayStation news, speculation, and fresh releases as Fred and Jake break down one of the busiest news cycles of the year so far. Fred shares his continued time with Arc Raiders and GI Joe: Wrath of Cobra, Jake talks about beating Outerworlds 2 while the duo reacts to major industry rumors — including reports that Grand Theft Auto 6 could launch digitally first to prevent leaks, potentially reshaping how blockbuster games release going forward.The conversation heats up with talk of a rumored PlayStation State of Play in February, sparking speculation about what Sony might show early in 2026, alongside a newly announced historical Italian adventure becoming a PS5 console exclusive. The guys also discuss the surprising confirmation that Fable is coming to PS5 in Autumn 2026, marking a major moment for the franchise as it expands beyond Xbox for the first time.On the media side, Christopher Judge's endorsement of the upcoming God of War TV series casting helps ease fan concerns, while PS VR2 owners get a win as Synth Riders adds a timed exclusive Queen track following Beat Saber's quiet exit. The episode wraps with a broader look at Sony's evolving business strategy, including the company spinning off its iconic television division — a symbolic shift for one of gaming's most influential brands.With a stacked lineup of new game releases and thoughtful discussion on PlayStation's future, Episode 410 delivers insight, hype, and perspective for fans who want to stay ahead of what's next.Visit www.patreon.com/psthisisawesome to support the show and help us continue producing the content you love!Please, if you enjoyed the content — or even if you didn't quite enjoy this one — come back. We try to offer something for everybody. Share with your friends and help us grow our awesome PlayStation community!As always you can support our show at our Patreon Page. Thanks for listening.http://www.patreon.com/psthisisawesome Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Greetings from Pilda,It is the coldest January in thirty years. Outside my window, the thermometer is dropping, and I have just finished hauling 150kg of heating pellets into the bunker. It is the perfect atmosphere for what we need to discuss today.For years, we have been documenting the slow, bureaucratic rot of the Russian Empire. We called it the “Rotting Cake”—a structure that looked impressive from the outside but was being eaten alive by corruption from within.Well, I have bad news. The cake is gone. The rats have finished it.We have now entered the Warlord Era.In this episode of The Eastern Border, we are no longer looking at a state. We are looking at a dark, geopolitical anime where the laws of physics and logic have been suspended. The “Vertical of Power” has collapsed into a collection of feudal tribes, each led by a warlord more insane than the last.The World Boss Wakes Up While the Kremlin was busy arguing about “traditional values,” the United States decided to play Grand Theft Auto. In the span of 48 hours, they kidnapped the President of Venezuela and announced plans to put a “Golden Dome” over a newly purchased Greenland. The “Multipolar World” is dead. The Sheriff is back in town, and he is drunk.The Grinch and the Cucumber Meanwhile, France—yes, France—has started seizing Russian oil tankers. Specifically, a tanker named “The Grinch” (you cannot make this up). The Russian response? Impotent rage on Telegram. Why? Because they can't afford to fight back. The “Cucumber Index” has spiked 30% in three weeks. The economy is eating itself.The Spiritual Psychosis But the real horror is in the trenches. We read the diaries of soldiers who are trapped in the “Red Marker Trap”—dying in villages that their commanders have already marked as “captured” on the map. We meet the “Shashlik Commandos”—elite bureaucrats who go to the rear to eat barbecue and steal tractors. And we listen to the “Berserkers” like Yuri Yevich, who are now screaming that the war is actually against “Satanic Space Bears” and that the only solution is… ice axes.The State is dead. Long live the Tribe.In this episode:The Global Humiliation: From Maduro to the Grinch.The Techno-Rot: Why the “Toilet Warlords” can't build drones but can brick your iPhone.The Meat Grinder: Strelkov's letter from prison revealing that Putin has killed more men in one village than WWII.The Escape: Why the “Good Russians” are finding the doors to the West locked tight.Happiness is Mandatory.

TJ Johnson and Gerald return as they answer YOUR questions on some exciting pop culture topics. Tune in as they answer questions about pop culture staples Star Wars, Marvel, and DC. Plus, they look ahead at Grand Theft Auto 6 and answer some burning questions that have been asked as well. The guys of the Pop Culture Cosmos are back and are eager to answer the big questions in pop culture right here on the Pop Culture Cosmos!Gear up with your favorite Pop Culture Cosmos shirts and gifts in our TeePublic store at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.teepublic.com/user/pop-culture-cosmos⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Questions for us? Hit us up at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠popculturecosmos@yahoo.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ or @popculturecosmo on Twitter!Don't forget to Follow, Like, and Subscribe to our shows and leave us that 5-star Review on Apple Podcasts and Spotify!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Presented by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Pop Culture Cosmos⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, Zero Cool Films, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ThriveFantasy⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, the novel Congratulations, You Suck (available for purchase ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠HERE⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠), ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Lakers Fast Break⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Pop Culture Cosmos⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Inside Sports Fantasy Football⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠DripShow Shop, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠The Happy Hoarder⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Retro City Games⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠!

In a rare and heartwarming moment for the gaming industry, Rockstar Games has reportedly stepped up to grant a terminally ill fan's wish to see Grand Theft Auto 6. Following a viral plea from a rival developer at Ubisoft Toronto, Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick and the team at Rockstar have moved mountains for a gamer with limited time. We break down how the industry came together, the current state of the November release window, and why this story is the "must-hear" moment of the weekend. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

ON THIS EPISODE: (TIME STAMPS BELOW) A review for the series premiere of The Pendragon Cycle: Rise Of The Merlin, and an exploration of how some basic, well-known truths about Jesus can transform for the better the way we think and feel about things on a daily basis! ‍ ‍ AND MUCH MORE! 00:00:30 Intro 00:06:37 Pendragon Cycle: The Rise Of Merlin Premiere Review 00:20:39 CGC & Christian Geek News(Worlds Collide by Clint Hall) 00:27:00 How Truths About Jesus Change Our Thoughts/Feelings/Actions (1 Timothy Geek Bible Study) 00:38:01 Listener/Viewer Questions/Feedback(Are Paeter's Reviews Really "Christian"?, The Holy Spirit & Feeling Guilt, Navigating Feelings & Responses To Nasty Comments) ‍ ‍ GEEK WEEK 01:17:27 MOVIES/TV SHOWS: Dark Season 1, Masters Of The Universe Trailer 02:03:55 VIDEO GAMES: Red Dead Redemption 2, Red Dead Redemption 1, Grand Theft Auto 5, ‍ ‍ 02:30:37 On The Next Episode… ‍ ‍ 02:33:30 Essential Issues Weekly: DC Comics Reactions (Superboy has a moral dilemma that doesn't quite work, Green Lantern Corps is further exploring A.I. sentience/personhood while suggesting an unhealthy view of romance and human purpose, and Wonder Woman continues to barrel through the DCU being "right", but steps into delivering a self-defeating sermon... or perhaps her writer does. Action Comics 1093, Batman And Robin 28, Green Lantern Corps 11, DCKO 3) ‍ ‍ ‍ ‍‍ ‍ Get The Wonderful Wizard Of Oz & More Audio Entertainment From Spirit Blade Productions HERE: https://www.patreon.com/posts/44479037 or on youtube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XNC7Qz41mx8‍ ‍ ‍ ‍ Support this podcast and enjoy exclusive rewards at https://www.patreon.com/spiritbladeproductions ‍ ‍ Join Our Free Public Discord Channels! Invite HERE: https://discord.gg/5CRfFy2GG5 ‍ ‍ SUBSCRIBE TO PAETER'S SUBSTACK, @PAETERFRANDSEN: https://paeterfrandsen.substack.com/ ‍ ‍ Subscribe in a reader ‍ ‍ Open In i-tunes- itms://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-christian-geek-central-podcast/id258963175?mt=2 i-tunes Page Link- https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-christian-geek-central-podcast/id258963175?mt=2 Get fun, exclusive rewards for your support! Visit: https://www.patreon.com/spiritbladeproductions Or Become a Patron! ‍ ‍ All episodes are archived and available for download at www.spiritblade.com , Resources used to prepare CGC Bible Study/Devotional content include:"Expositor's Bible Commentary", Frank E. Gaebelein General Editor (Zondervan Publishing House),"The IVP Bible Background Commentary: Old Testament", by Dr. John H. Walton, Dr. Victor H. Matthews & Dr. Mark W. Chavalas (InterVarsity Press), "The IVP Bible Background Commentary: New Testament", by Dr. Craig S. Keener (InterVarsity Press),Thayer's Greek Lexicon, Strong's Exhaustive Concordance Blueletterbible.org, The Christian Geek Central Statement Of Faith can be found at: http://christiangeekcentral.blogspot.com/p/about.html The Christian Geek Central Podcast is written, recorded and produced by Paeter Frandsen. Additional segments produced by their credited authors. Logo created by Matthew Silber. Copyright 2007-2026, Spirit Blade Productions. Music by Wesley Devine, Bjorn A. Lynne, Pierre Langer, Jon Adamich, audionautix.com and Sound Ideas. Spazzmatica Polka by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Freesound.org effects provided by: FreqMan

It's a light news week, the most noteworthy news being that Rockstar North had a boiler explosion which might lead to yet another Grand Theft Auto 6 delay. And speaking of delays, we ask what's going on with the game Highguard, which was revealed at The Game Awards and is supposed to be releasing at the end of the month but have had no communication from the developers.  #gta6 #tga #highguard #bungie #marathon #sony #videogames #allyoucangeek #aycg #podcast 

And just like that, it's Friday! We've got snow in the forecast today and then brutally cold temps this weekend. In the news this morning, the Milwaukee father accused of locking six kids in a storage locker has been found guilty, President Trump is threatening to use the Insurrection Act to help handle the situation in Minneapolis, a recall on bottled water that was distributed to several states in the Midwest including Wisconsin, and Matthew McConaughey has trademarked the phrase "alright, alright, alright" to keep it from falling into the evil hands of A.I. Speaking of artificial intelligence, we had a couple of additional stories about the technology this morning. Including a professor from Canada who got all his news from A.I. bots for a full month. And his data says that the news it fed him was fully accurate just 47% of the time…partially accurate 45% of the time…and the other 8% was bullshit. Plus, 41% of travelers claim they'll trust A.I. recommendations over their friends and social media. Which feels sad. In sports, the Bucks lost again last night to the Spurs, the Badger men's basketball team takes on Rutgers tomorrow, the NFL divisional round kicks off tomorrow afternoon & concludes on Sunday, and another betting scandal in the world of college basketball. Today is "National Boston Day". It's also "Appreciate a Dragon Day", and "International Fetish Day". So celebrate accordingly! We let you know what's on TV this weekend and what's new in theaters. Additionally, the new "Baywatch" show is holding an open casting call if you think you've got what it takes! Cool story about a retiring news anchor from Philly who is now a Guinness World Record holder, and a Canadian lottery winner decided to help others during the holidays after collecting a massive jackpot! Elsewhere in sports, Clayton Kershaw is going to pitch for Team USA in the upcoming World Baseball Classic, and the latest on that Olympic hockey rink. The astronauts successfully returned to Earth from the space station after one of them had a medical emergency. And a start-up company is trying to rent hotel rooms on the moon. Good luck with that. Doc recorded a Racing Report extra for us thanks to County Materials in Holmen. And in today's edition of "Bad News with Happy Music", we had stories about a guy who was trying to take a nap when a car crashed into his home & landed on top of him, a bunch of driverless delivery trucks in China are basically ramming into everything like a scene from "Grand Theft Auto", a dude who impersonated a cop so he could get free donuts, & a guy in Canada who assaulted another dude because he was ice fishing too close to his spot.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Brian, Blake, and Richard are back for Episode 600 of the Chasing Tone Podcast -  The legend of goat mountain, Brian wants a new Les Paul, and behold - the Human Riff!We join the guys in a bizarre stand off as they convene for the annual "No Richards" party at NAMM and there is a mysterious portent. Meanwhile the guys come up with a new idea for a business and it is swiftly erased from memory. Blake has a special British guest on Tape Spaghetti this week and spills all.Brian has GAS for a Les Paul and the guys discuss it before looking at an all new ES 355 from Gibson that has quite the price tag and we learn that Brian has a lot on his mind. Richard found some new David Gilmour footage and it simultaneously ignites a new debate and nearly bores Brian to sleep.There is some Grand Theft Auto action as Blake makes a terrible admission about his gaming history. Meanwhile Richard is editing a book about a famous Californian band and it has awoken a deeper understanding - but not of how to pronounce names. He and Brian also drop some teases about what they are showing at NAMM. Only Fans, Random Facts, RIP Bob Weir, Guitar Whales, Carmageddon, Anthony Cleetus...it's all in this week's Chasing Tone!We are on Patreon now too!Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/chasingtonepodcast)Courses and DIY mods:https://www.betterguitartone.comhttps://www.wamplerdiy.comhttps://www.guitarpedalcourse.comYoutube:https://www.youtube.com/@chasingtonepodcastFind us at:https://www.wamplerpedals.com/https://www.instagram.com/WamplerPedals/https://www.facebook.com/groups/wamplerfanpage/Contact us at: podcast@wamplerpedals.comSupport the showSupport the show

It's a brand new year and with that comes a brand new year of gaming to look forward to! And to usher in that new year of gaming we are doing another Video Game Fantasy Draft. We explain it all in the episode, but we pick games we think will come out in 2026 and score well with critics. If the game doesn't come out, we get no points. We're hot off some controversy from last year's contest, so the stakes are high!As expected, we've got some heavy hitters that get drafted early - Wolverine, Resident Evil Requiem, and Grand Theft Auto 6,but we've also got some picks that you may not have heard of (and some games you may never hear of again in 2026). We'll provide more updates as the year goes on, but for today, just grab your headphones, your crystal ball, and join us for this video game fantasy draft!

Netease and Marvel Rivals is about to start the new season and show off the season starter character, the merc' with a mouth himself, Deadpool, who will be able to fulfill any role in the game. Microsoft announces a Developer Direct with a focus on Fable for later this month. Grand Theft Auto 6 may face another delay according to Jason Schreier. Lastly, OG game director Yasumi Matsuno announces that Final Fantasy Tactics The Ivalice Chronicles has sold a million units in just 3 months when he predicted it would take 3 years. #marvelrivals #deadpool #fable #gta6 #fft #finalfantasy #magfest #videogames #allyoucangeek #aycg #podcast

In this week's episode,Kiaun will discuss the Resident Evil Showcase,what title Ninja Theory is working on next,some Grand Theft Auto 6 rumors have been confirmed to be true and Playstation 5 Pro PSSR 2.0 has an alleged release window. Feel free to leave us a message at 667-284-9057.

That's a wrap on 2025! Now we are heading into 2026. And there are so many exciting movies, video games and shows coming at us this year! So come hear what the guys are excited about and what they don't really for. Is there enough horror for Adrian? Is Mike even excited about Avengers Doomsday? And how many books made into movies is Corey excited for this year? Find out all of that and more, right here!Click here to send us a message! If you would please go follow us on all the socials? We would love you all forever...in a friend way...don't be weird!!!Please go rate and review us anywhere you get your podcastsPatreon: https://www.patreon.com/CultureShockedPodcastTwitter/X: https://www.twitter.com/cspodcast21TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@cspodcast21?lang=enFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/cultureshockedpodInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/cultureshocked21YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/cultureshocked21Website: https://cultureshocked.buzzsprout.com/

Grand Theft Auto was delayed again, and to be honest, we weren't necessarily surprised. What was interesting was the rumors of why it was delayed. Some sources claim that the game is complete, but Rockstar wants to ensure that everything functions as intended. Other news sources claim that union-busting could be the cause of the delay.

2026 looks to be a big year for movies, video games, and television, so we take a look to share which ones we're most looking forward to!Starting with our most anticipated video games of 2026, we're eagerly awaiting Grand Theft Auto 6, Pragmata, 007 First Light, Total War Warhammer 40k, and more!Looking at the most anticipated movies of 2026, we discuss looking forward to Avengers Doomsday, Project Hail Mary, Spider-Man Brand New Day, Supergirl, and more!And on television, the Scrubs reboot is our most anticipated tv show of 2026!We discuss all of that and more as we give off the new year!

WERBUNG | Papierkram bereitet Dir Kopfschmerzen? Na dann einmal durchatmen: Check unbedingt WISO MeinBüro Rechnungen aus: [Link weiter unten] So wird Buchhaltung zum Kinderspiel! Mit nur einem Klick erstellst Du Angebote und Rechnungen, scannst Belege direkt per App und hast dabei alles sortiert, ganz ohne Zettelchaos. Und das Beste: Es läuft alles aus einer Hand! Du kannst WISO MeinBüro Rechnungen entweder über die App oder den Browser bedienen. /WERBUNG Frohes Neues Jahr liebe Leute. Wie wir alle wissen ist nach dem Ende des letzten GAMINGJAHRES nur vor dem nächsten GAMINGJAHR und DAS GAMINGJAHR 2026 wirft einige Zeichen voraus, auch einiges zu bieten zu haben. Allen voran natürlich GRAND THEFT AUTO 6, bei dem noch nicht alle überzeugt sind, dass es wirklich dieses Jahr erscheint. Aber zum Glück gibt es neben GTA6 noch ein paar sicherere Kandidaten wie RESIDENT EVIL REQUIEM, der neue NINTENDO SWITCH 2 Exklusivtitel THE DUSKBLOODS, aber auch PRAGMATA, ONIMUSHA WAY OF THE SWORD und NIOH 3. Fabian Käufer, Nils Bomhoff, Tim Heinke und Matthias Rosenkranz wühlen sich mit euch durch das reichhaltige Angebot, das dieses Jahr ansteht, und prüfen ihre persönlichen HYPETITEL und auch, wie sehr sich der Chat auf manche Sachen freut. Was wird wohl heißer erwartet: JAMES BOND 007 FIRST LIGHT oder TOMB RAIDER: LEGACY OF ATLANTIS? Welches WARHAMMER 40.000 Game liegt höher im Kurs? Und was macht NINTENDO eigentlich im POKÉMON Geburtstagsjahr neben POKOPIA? Das und vieles mehr in dieser Spezialausgabe des GAME TALK - DIE GROẞE GAMING-JAHRESVORSCHAU 2026! Rocket Beans wird unterstützt von WISO MeinBüro. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

2026 may be the year of Grand Theft Auto 6, but we're partial to the nearly 20 other games on our most anticipated list. You like RPGs? Prefer point-and-click adventures? Crave some tactics, life simulators, or deckbuilders? Whatever your interests, we have you covered! Get the full list of games (and other stuff) discussed at www.besties.fan. Want more episodes? Join us at patreon.com/thebesties for three bonus episodes each month!

A new year is here, and that means an entirely new slate of games to look forward to! Polygon editor-at-large Giovanni Colantonio joins Marcus, Charles and Eric to discuss what they played over the holidays, as they picked at their backlogs and indulged their guiltiest pleasures. Then, we roll some dice for a snake-style draft and each pick our five most anticipated games of 2026. From the big games like Grand Theft Auto and Resident Evil to the hidden gems you should keep an eye out for, there's a little bit of everything in this week. Let us know in the comments who you think won the draft!The Game Informer Show is a weekly podcast covering the video game industry. Join us every Friday for chats about your favorite titles – past and present – alongside Game Informer staff and special guests from around the industry.Jump ahead to a specific segment: 00:00 - Intro07:11 - What We Played Over The Holidays41:33 - Drafting Our Most Anticipated Games Of 2026

Send us a textIn this episode...--> Now that we have all finished welcoming in the new year with fanfare and no small amount of trepidation, it's the perfect time to take a look ahead at the biggest games currently scheduled to release in 2026, including Resident Evil: Requiem, Pragmata, 007 First Light, and Grand Theft Auto 6.--> Sony has patented a "ghost" AI assistance system for when you just can't be bothered to git gud.--> An obscure Star Wars video game just became extremely valuable for a wild reason: it can be used to jailbreak your PlayStation5.--> Also: Top 3 New Releases, Gaming History 101We love our sponsors! Please help us support those who support us!- Check out the Retro Game Club Podcast at linktr.ee/retrogameclub- Connect with CafeBTW at linktr.ee/cafebtw- Get creative with Pixel Pond production company at pixelpondllc.com- Visit Absolutely the Best Podcast: A Work in Progress at linktr.ee/absolutelythebest**Use this link to get a $20 credit when you upgrade to a paid podcast hosting plan on Buzzsprout! buzzsprout.com/?referrer_id=1884378Hosts: donniegretro, retrogamebrews, wrytersviewOpening theme: "Gamers Week Theme" by Akseli TakanenPatron theme: "Chiptune Boss" by donniegretroClosing theme: "Gamers Week Full-Length Theme" by Akseli TakanenSupport the show

On our first episode of 2026, Nathan, Chris, and Riley start the year off with a bang, or at least the next best thing: a discussion about video games. We begin by reflecting on Nathan's time attending Awesome Games Done Quick, the annual speedrunning marathon that raises money for charity and just generally rules. Gaming communities can be forces for good – at least, when they don't allow their ranks to be overwhelmed by shitheads. Who knew? Then we move on to less positive happenings: Ubisoft just shut down an entire studio mere weeks after its workers voted to unionize. Suspicious, to say the least. Finally, we close out the show by predicting the year ahead for video games with 100 percent, crystal-clear accuracy.Credits- Hosts: Nathan Grayson, Chris Person, and Riley MacLeod- Podcast Production & Ads: Multitude- Subscribe to Aftermath!About The ShowAftermath Hours is the flagship podcast of Aftermath, a worker-owned, subscription-based website covering video games, the internet, and everything that comes after from journalists who previously worked at Kotaku, Vice, and The Washington Post. Each week, games journalism veterans Luke Plunkett, Nathan Grayson, Chris Person, Riley MacLeod, and Gita Jackson – though not always all at once, because that's too many people for a podcast – break down video game news, Remember Some Games, and learn about Chris' frankly incredible number of special interests. Sometimes we even bring on guests from both inside and outside the video game industry! I don't know what else to tell you; it's a great time. Simply by reading this description, you're already wasting time that you could be spending listening to the show. Head to aftermath.site for more info.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

On today's show I talk to you about how life in America currently feels like being trapped in a Grand Theft Auto game, gooning my way into the new year, David Ghantt, phantom cats and my goals for clever ways to get road rage revenge. Enjoy the show!

Figgy's Mixtape bringing the chaos, including Denmark ditching its postal service, a Houston police chase straight out of Grand Theft Auto, and more wild stories.

DeMeco Ryans weighs in on the failed rushing touchdown involving Tommy Togiai, and ITL discusses what the moment says about execution, decision-making, and coaching philosophy. Plus, Cal and Hannah McNair joined P&P, and the crew reacts to what they had to say and what it reveals about the organization. The hour wraps with Figgy's Mixtape, bringing the chaos, including Denmark ditching its postal service, a Houston police chase straight out of Grand Theft Auto, and more wild stories.

After discussing Nico Collins' importance to the Texans offense, ITL zooms out to ask a bigger question: who are the most indispensable players on each side of the ball, and what does that say about C.J. Stroud's talent and how this offense is maximizing it? Plus, Astros pitcher Tatsuya Imai held his presser and delivered a message to Houston before the hour wraps with a QOTD inspired by Kevin Durant's game-winner against his old team: what's the best revenge you've ever had? Around The NFL follows with the latest league news, including Kliff Kingsbury leaving Washington, an update on Tua Tagovailoa from Mike McDaniel, and more, along with a recap of an electric Rockets win capped by a Kevin Durant game-winning shot, plus What's Popping in sports and entertainment. The conversation then shifts to DeMeco Ryans' concerns about the Texans' defense, debating whether it's simply tough coaching or a legitimate red flag, followed by Lunch-Time Confessions on New Year's resolutions and CFBOAT: Playoff Edition. The show wraps with DeMeco's comments on the failed Tommy Togiai rushing touchdown, reactions to Cal and Hannah McNair's appearance on P&P, and Figgy's Mixtape bringing the chaos with Denmark ditching its postal service, a Houston police chase straight out of Grand Theft Auto, and more wild stories.

Gelukkig nieuwjaar! Waar we in de vorige aflevering vooral terugkeken op het afgelopen jaar, kijken we in deze special juist vooruit. Welke games verschijnen er dit jaar en waar zijn we het meest enthousiast over? Martin en Simon stellen een top 10 samen, maar dat blijkt makkelijker gezegd dan gedaan… Benieuwd welke games erin zijn beland? Check dan snel de aflevering, baklap!00:00 Intro00:50 Hoe was kerst?04:15 2026-gameslijst04:45 Grand Theft Auto 608:00 De games!09:40 Fatal Frame en geestverhalen14:55 Terug naar de games17:50 Ace Combat 8 en straaljagerverhalen22:50 Opnieuw terug naar de games29:15 Samuels top 3 2026-games34:40 Replaced36:15 Opnieuw terug naar de games (again)45:40 ONTOS en vergeten games48:55 Tomb Raider52:40 Nog meer vergeten games56:00 De genomineerde59:45 Florians top 3 2026-games01:05:05 Terug naar de genomineerde01:14:00 De 10 titels01:23:10 De officiële 2026 top 10!01:26:15 Outro

As per tradition, we're talking all media to round out the year! Our theme is past, present, future; we're discussing what influenced both of us the most in each category. Thanks for hanging out with us this past year!   Shan: Past: The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare  Present:  The Radium Girls: The Dark Story of America's Shining Women by Kate Moore. A Woman of No Importance: The Untold Story of the American Spy Who Helped Win World War II, by Sonia Purnell  Sylvia Pankhurst: Natural Born Rebel, by Rachel Holmes The Sisterhood: The Secret History of the Women at the CIA, by Liza Mundy  The Woman They Could Not Silence: One Woman, Her Incredible Fight for Freedom, and the Men Who Tried to Make Her Disappear, Kate Moore Ten Days in a Mad-House: The Original 1887 Edition (Nellie Bly's Experience On Blackwell's Island) by Nellie Bly  Nellie Bly: Daredevil. Reporter. Feminist by Brooke Kroeger The Secret Life of Dr James Barry: Victorian England's Most Eminent Surgeon, by Rachel Holmes  Future: Star Trek    Bryce: Past: Grand Theft Auto Present: The Teachings of Don Juan: A Yaquui Way of Knowledge by Carlos Castaneda Future: Age of Disclosure Show Notes:  History of Grand Theft Auto https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=poKPUS7pu5Y The Teachings of Don Juan https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Teachings_of_Don_Juan The Aliens are Here (Again)! A Review of The Age of Disclosure by Michael Shermer https://www.skeptic.com/article/the-aliens-are-here-again-a-review-of-the-age-of-disclosure/ Skeptic debunks of UFO/UAP videos https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jHDlfIaBEqw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uuhkVTJ6A_c https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Om0d0u1ASJY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=64zlyzojpPM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qsEjV8DdSbs&t=1093s   Other appearances: Chris Shelton interviewed us in the beginning of a series on Mormonism on his Speaking of Cults series. Our most recent discussion was on the Mountain Meadows Massacre: https://youtu.be/iJWirjCyWdk  He has had MANY different fascinating people on so go take a look!  Here is the whole playlist: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OpGuS7GcsgA&list=PLGrPM1Pg2h72ADIuv8eYmzrJ-ppLOlw_g   Email: glassboxpodcast@gmail.com  Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/GlassBoxPod  Patreon page for documentary: https://www.patreon.com/SeerStonedProductions BlueSky: @glassboxpodcast.bsky.social  Other BlueSky: @bryceblankenagel.bsky.social and @shannongrover.bsky.social  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/glassboxpodcast/  Merch store: https://www.redbubble.com/people/exmoapparel/shop Or find the merch store by clicking on "Store" here: https://glassboxpodcast.com/index.html One time Paypal donation: bryceblankenagel@gmail.com  Venmo: @Shannon-Grover-10  

Historian Kevin Impellizeri shares a story of a video game controversy to his friends: Elford Stephens, Phil Thomas, and Ryan Weaver. In our thrilling conclusion to our remastered version of our 2022 episode on the Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas "Hot Coffee" mod, we examine the fallout and the lasting legacy behind arguably the most infamous mod in the history of video games. Topics discussed include: the grandma who saved her grandchild from the M-rated game she bought, Take-Two runs afoul of the city of Flint, MI, the slapdash remastered editions of the Grand Theft Auto trilogy, and how many bad Arnold Schwarzenegger impressions can we cram into a single episode?For more on Hot Coffee and Rockstar, check out:David Kushner, Jacked: The Unauthorised Behind-the-Scenes Story of Grand Theft Auto (London: Collins, 2012).Simon Parkin, "Who Spilled Hot Coffee?" Eurogamer, December 2, 2012: https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2012-11-30-who-spilled-hot-coffee. More info, including show notes and sources at http://scandalousgamespodcast.wordpress.com.

Happy Thanksgiving!! Enjoy this Florida Man Friday bonus podcast sample from patreon.com/hardfactor - go there to join our community, get access to way more bonus podcasts, discord chat access, Trivia with the hosts on 12/12/25 at 9 PM, merch discounts, and more! Timestamps: (00:00:00) - Holiday Rush is here and the Robots aren't helping (00:06:07) - Insane Florida Woman of the Week killed her BF by crashing into a tree and is now on trial for Vehicular Homicide after he came out of a coma to tell the doctor (00:13:10) - Florida Man addicted to Grand Theft Auto survives 36 hour manhunt in swamp with cops, eventually caught by Fish & Wildlife (00:21:40) - Diving deeper into Grady's new Coffee schtick, and a man with possible shrinkage caught streaking in 36 degree weather in Polk County (00:29:18) - Florida Man admits to murdering UK girl who traveled to Florida for that specific purpose Thank you for listening, we love you all, and Most importantly HAGFD!! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

PlayStation has a weird new ad campaign, why Agent didn't happen, and The Simpsons have arrived in Fortnite. Follow, watch, and rate all of our podcasts on Spotify! https://open.spotify.com/show/1hXrn6RoMMAiNGLE8jxKKf Thank you for the support! Run of Show - - Start - Housekeeping Today after, KFGD, you'll get: Then the STREAM is Arc Raiders Today's Gregway The Roper Report   - - Marvel Games says it'll continue to work with Spider-Man and Wolverine studio Insomniac ‘for many years to come' - Ad - Cloud Streaming officially arrives on PlayStation Portal today - Nintendo plans for growth include "acquiring dev companies," pursuing more non-gaming avenues, and growing Nintendo Accounts - Steam Deck now has a display-off low-power download mode - ‘Grand Theft Auto' Studio Accused of Union Busting After Firings - Required Reading: Inside Dante's Purgatorio, the Cancelled Sequel to EA's Dante's Inferno: https://www.ign.com/articles/inside-dantes-purgatorio-the-cancelled-sequel-to-eas-dantes-inferno - Wee News! - SuperChats & You‘re Wrong Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This is a fan fav episode. In this episode, Donald Hoffman returns and takes a deeper dive with Tom to discuss the complexities of consciousness perceived in and out of spacetime. Donald shares the possibilities of consciousness and the infinite nature of theories that exist outside of the virtual reality headset he uses to describe the version of reality you may still be experiencing. Take the plunge into this conversation and challenge the consciousness of what you call your true self. Order Donald's latest book, ‘The Case Against Reality': ⁠https://www.amazon.com/Case-Against-Reality-Evolution-Truth/dp/0393254690⁠  Original air date: 4-1-21 SHOW NOTES:  Consciousness | The theory of reality beyond the physical space and time [1:24] Spacetime | Donald relates Grand Theft Auto to understanding reality beyond space time [7:48] Testing Reality | Testable predictions of reality outside of space time and the fundamental nature of consciousness [10:40] Conscious Agents | Donald introduces conscious agents using the Twitter model [16:00] Conscious Illusion | How consciousness is not bound to the laws of physics and is created as needed in a simulation [22:00] Evolution | Why evolutionary theory only exists in space and time within the VR experience [26:34] The Unknown | The dark side of letting go to explore unknown concepts [33:40] Spacetime Simulator | Donald takes us through how consciousness is explored [37:33] Predicted Consciousness | Enjoying experience and predicting the realm of consciousness [49:57] Girdles Down | The Girdles theorem and why everything can not theoretically be known [54:46] A.I. Consciousness | How reductionism makes it possible to give rise to consciousness [1:03:54] Created Consciousness | Donald explains the creation of consciousness from portals [1:10:29] God Hypothesis | Donald's hypothesis of science of God as agent of consciousness [1:15:05] Asymptotic behavior | Long term behaviors from far away that use spacetime theory [1:26:07] Alien Intelligence | Donald discusses alien intelligence and being in a simulator [1:31:22] Living vs NonLiving | Being unplugged from VR game and notion of self [1:33:53] Meditation | Donald shares how meditating to let go and have complete silence transforms his thoughts [1:46:20]  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices