OWITH.ai - Only What's Important to Hear around AI and Tech

• 2025-11-22 Saturday Special

  Each Saturday we take the headlines of daily podcast and ask ChatGPT to create a Sci-Fi story inspired by the news. The outcome for this week is this short story.Support the showThanks for listening! Follow us on Twitter, Instagram and Linkedin

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• AI Revolution: Transforming Industries, Leadership, and Global Markets

  Good morning from OWITH.ai: the podcast that gives you only what's important to hear in the AI and tech world.Stuut, a startup founded by Tarek Alaruri, Ben Winter, and Miraj Mohsin in 2024, has secured $29.5 million in a Series A funding round led by Andreessen Horowitz. The company is revolutionizing the accounts receivable process through artificial intelligence, targeting industries where efficient payment collection is crucial. Stuut's platform automates tasks such as invoice follow-up and payment reconciliation, addressing a significant issue for companies losing up to 5% of EBITDA due to manual tracking. Major clients, including Honeywell and Wayfair, have adopted Stuut’s technology, which promises rapid scalability and effectiveness. This investment is part of a broader trend of funding in AI-powered solutions across various sectors, underlining the growing interest in leveraging AI for solving complex industry problems efficiently.In other venture deals, Profluent Bio raised $106 million for AI-powered protein design, while Amperesand secured $80 million for next-gen power infrastructure development for AI data centers.Moving on to significant developments in the tech industry on November 20, 2025: Nvidia reported impressive Q3 earnings, Yann LeCun departed from Meta to launch a new venture, and Nokia announced strategic restructuring. Nvidia continues to lead the AI boom by exceeding Wall Street expectations with $57 billion in revenue and robust Q4 guidance. CEO Jensen Huang emphasized strong demand for AI infrastructure from major tech companies like Alphabet and Amazon, suggesting sustained growth in the AI sector. Nvidia's remarkable earnings have sparked a market rally, alleviating concerns over potential overhype of the AI boom. The company's ambitious future projections aim at generating $300 billion in revenue next year with its Blackwell and Rubin chips.Yann LeCun, a pioneer in AI research, is leaving Meta to start a company focused on "advanced machine intelligence," aiming to develop systems capable of understanding the physical world. Meta plans to partner with LeCun's new venture.Nokia has decided to split its operations into two divisions: "network infrastructure," concentrating on cloud services, and "mobile infrastructure," focusing on telecommunications networks. Despite a nearly 9% drop in Nokia's stock price following this announcement, it reflects efforts to capitalize on AI's potential amid slowing 5G investments.Additional tech news highlights proposed changes to GDPR regulations by the EU and U.S. considerations of an executive order to prevent states from hindering AI industry growth. Elon Musk's XAI is collaborating with Saudi-backed startup Humain on a data center project.In recent business news, Walmart and Target are undergoing CEO transitions as Doug McMillon and Brian Cornell step down in February 2026. Walmart's transition appears smooth with John Furner set to take over, while Target's plan has faced skepticism from Wall Street.In political news, U.S. President Donald Trump is considering an executive order to prevent states from regulating AI independently. Additionally, due to a government shutdown, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics will not release October's jobs report.Trade dynamics have shifted with Mexico surpassing Canada as the top buyer of U.S. goods for the first time in three decades. U.S.-Mexico trade relations have remained stable under Trump's administration due to tariff exemptions.In market updates, S&P 500 futures rose by 1.07%, while Japan's Nikkei 225 saw a 2.65% increase. Bitcoin remained stable at $95k.Finally, Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai suggested that AI could potentialSupport the showThanks for listening! Follow us on Twitter, Instagram and Linkedin

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• AI Innovations, Legal Battles, and Market Dynamics: Today's Tech Pulse

  Good morning from OWITH.ai, the podcast that gives you only what's important to hear in the AI and tech world.Doppel, a cybersecurity startup founded in 2022 by Kevin Tian and Rahul Madduluri, has successfully raised $70 million in a Series C funding round, achieving a valuation exceeding $600 million. This latest investment, led by Bessemer Venture Partners with participation from new and existing investors, comes just six months after their previous funding round. Doppel specializes in combating AI-powered social engineering attacks, using deepfake technology to simulate and expose vulnerabilities to enterprises. Their platform is particularly beneficial for training and testing companies against impersonation threats. Initially launched to help crypto firms with impersonation issues, Doppel soon expanded its focus due to the broader implications of deepfake technology. The company's tools demonstrate the potential risks posed by such technology, especially in real-time synchronous deepfake conversations, which have improved significantly in recent months. The mission is not to eradicate deepfakes entirely but to prevent their malicious use in social engineering attacks. Doppel's rapid growth is evident from a 400% increase in its enterprise customer base since 2024, serving numerous Fortune 500 companies. The Series C funding aims to fuel further engineering advancements, speed up operations, and expand the company's reach. Notable investors include CrowdStrike CEO George Kurtz, NTT Docomo Ventures, Andreessen Horowitz, and sports-associated entities like Aurum Partners and an investor group led by WNBA stars. Despite competition from companies like Bolster, ZeroFox, KnowBe4, and Netcraft, Elliott Robinson from Bessemer highlights that Doppel stands out with its focus on the evolving social engineering attack landscape beyond traditional email and domain-based threats. Customer service sectors are particularly vulnerable due to their operational nature of always being helpful and compliant with requests. Despite the challenges posed by AI advancements in deepfakes, Doppel aims to equip both human operators and AI models with the reasoning skills necessary to discern safe practices from potentially harmful ones. This approach underscores the idea that human intuition remains a critical component of cybersecurity defenses.In addition to Doppel's developments, various other startups have secured funding across different industries. Notable ventures include Lambda's $1.5 billion Series E for superintelligence cloud services, Venn's $52 million Series B for multifamily housing operating systems, and Maxima's $41 million for accounting automation AI platforms. These investments underline the ongoing innovation and financial backing within the tech startup ecosystem.Google has unveiled its Gemini 3, an advanced AI model touted as the company's most intelligent model yet. It is designed to excel in coding and reasoning and will be integrated into Google's search engine right from its launch. The release includes a Gemini agent for multi-step task completion, a redesigned app offering comprehensive answers, and a new software development platform called Antigravity. This launch is part of Google's substantial investment in AI, amounting to $85 billion this year, with plans for more in 2026.In legal news, a U.S. judge ruled that Meta's acquisitions of Instagram and WhatsApp did not breach antitrust laws. The Federal Trade Commission had accused Meta of monopolizing the social networking market. However, the court found that the FTC failed to prove Meta's ongoing monopoly power, noting increased competition from platforms like TikTok.MeanwhileSupport the showThanks for listening! Follow us on Twitter, Instagram and Linkedin

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• AI's Political Influence, Billionaire Ventures, and Tech's Future: Navigating the AI Landscape

  Good morning from OWITH.ai, the podcast that gives you only what's important to hear in the AI and tech world.A $100 million pro-AI Super PAC, supported by Andreessen Horowitz and OpenAI president Greg Brockman, has targeted Alex Bores, a Democratic congressional candidate in New York. This highlights the increasing involvement of Silicon Valley interests in local politics as AI gains more influence. Bores is the main sponsor of New York's RAISE Act, which mandates safety regulations for large AI labs. While the bill garners support from AI safety advocates, it faces criticism for being overly stringent. Leading the Future, the Super PAC, argues that the RAISE Act could lead to fragmented national regulations. However, Bores insists that the opposition is minor and heavily financed to avoid regulation, pointing out the bill's bipartisan backing.Strategic collaborations between Microsoft, NVIDIA, and Anthropic aim to enhance Anthropic's computational capabilities through joint model and chip design efforts. Meanwhile, a Cloudflare outage affected major websites globally, including those of AI firms like OpenAI and Anthropic.Jeff Bezos is making significant strides into AI by co-leading a startup named Project Prometheus with an investment of $6.2 billion. This reflects his serious commitment to AI since stepping down as Amazon CEO. The startup aims to revolutionize sectors like computers and aerospace by applying AI to engineering and manufacturing tasks through real-world learning systems. Despite fierce competition in the AI landscape with significant investments in companies like OpenAI and Anthropic, Bezos remains undeterred by concerns of an "AI bubble." He believes such scenarios can ultimately benefit society through technological advancements.Moreover, Sam Altman and Masayoshi Son are backing a new research lab in San Francisco called Episteme. This venture aims to rekindle the spirit of Bell Labs by promoting long-term scientific research with substantial impact.In international news, Japanese startup Sakana AI has raised $135 million at a $2.65 billion valuation to create generative AI models tailored for Japanese culture and language. The company plans to diversify into different sectors by 2026. Additionally, an open-source AI system recently achieved top performance at the International Physics Olympiad, showcasing advancements in AI's scientific reasoning capabilities.As documentary storytelling faces challenges due to advances in AI video technology, maintaining trust and authenticity becomes crucial. Discussions are ongoing about establishing new norms for transparency in documentaries to ensure viewer trust.In recent venture capital activities, numerous companies have secured substantial funding across various sectors. Meanwhile, private equity acquisitions continue with notable deals such as CD&R taking Sealed Air Corporation private for $10.3 billion.In legal news, the U.S. Supreme Court chose not to hear a case concerning expired patents involving Gesture Technology Partners against Apple and others. Financially, Amazon has raised $15 billion via bond sales for acquisitions and expanding its capital expenditure towards AI initiatives.Additionally, recent tech developments include Mira Murati's AI startup seeking significant funding at a high valuation while Elon Musk's XAI releases Grok 4.1 with improved features. Google DeepMind is also advancing weather forecasting technologies with Weathernext 2.Investment moves reveal Peter Thiel selling his entire stake in Nvidia amidst concerns about an AI bubble while fintech firm Ramp raised $300 million boosting its valuation substantially.In corporate movements, Satya NadelSupport the showThanks for listening! Follow us on Twitter, Instagram and Linkedin

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• Power Plays and Tech Shifts: From Regulatory Controversies to AI Ambitions

  Good morning from OWITH.ai, the podcast that gives you only what's important to hear in the AI and tech world.In December, The Boring Company, Elon Musk's underground transportation venture, faced scrutiny following an incident in a Las Vegas tunnel where a fire drill resulted in two firefighters being hospitalized with chemical burns. Nevada's workplace safety regulator, OSHA, issued severe safety violations against the company. However, within 24 hours of a phone call from Steve Davis, president of The Boring Company, to Chris Reilly from Nevada Governor Joe Lombardo's office, these citations were rescinded. This unusual rescission raised questions about the influence of powerful businesses on regulatory processes. State regulators stated that the citations were reviewed and deemed invalid after intervention from the governor’s office. Critics argue this indicates undue political influence on an agency meant to operate independently. Further irregularities emerged in the handling of the case file, including missing evidence of meetings between The Boring Company and the governor's office and essential documents explaining the citation withdrawals. This reportedly led to a chilling effect within Nevada OSHA, where staffers involved in the case faced demotion or reprimand. In response to an investigation by Fortune, Nevada OSHA updated its records to ensure accuracy and revised its policies for investigating high-profile employers. This situation underscores concerns about regulatory oversight and the influence large corporations can exert on state processes.Transitioning to another significant development... On November 17, 2025, Fortune's CEO Daily highlighted several crucial developments across corporate governance, politics, and global economics. A report from the Conference Board noted a shift in corporate board composition towards older, predominantly male directors with reduced diversity. This change followed the U.S. Court of Appeals overturning Nasdaq's diversity rules and executive orders dismantling diversity programs. Consequently, there has been a significant decrease in disclosure of directors' race and ethnicity among companies in the Russell 3000 and S&P 500 indices. Key trends include a decline in women directors' appointments, an increase in older board members, and a focus on directors with expertise in technology and cybersecurity. The demand for "trophy directors" is waning as more boards limit directorships per individual.In political news, President Donald Trump reversed his stance on the Epstein files, urging Republicans to release investigation materials, causing division within the party. The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration lifted flight restrictions imposed during a government shutdown with hopes of normalizing air travel before Thanksgiving.Switching gears to international economic news... Japan experienced an economic contraction of 1.8% due to U.S. tariffs affecting its automotive sector and a decline in tourism following China's advisory against travel to Japan amid diplomatic tensions.In financial news, Goldman Sachs is on track for a record year in global mergers while Phia, an AI shopping agent founded by Phoebe Gates, faced scrutiny over data collection practices. President Trump announced tariff eliminations on beef, coffee, and tropical fruits to address grocery affordability ahead of midterm elections.Transitioning now to developments within the tech industry... The Fortune Brainstorm AI Gathering scheduled for December 8-9 in San Francisco will feature prominent speakers from OpenAI, Nvidia, Qualcomm, and Zoox discussing topics like agentic AI in retail and autonomy in defense. Speculation abSupport the showThanks for listening! Follow us on Twitter, Instagram and Linkedin

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