Ben Thompson
FollowThe latest interviews, podcast appearances, and blog posts from Ben Thompson, updated daily.
2026.29: Mainframes and Main Characters
The best Stratechery content from the week of July 13, 2026, including the end of the mainframe, the continuing adventures of OpenAI, and answering the question, “Is Netflix Washed?”.
IBM Misses, IBM’s Mainframe Moat, IBM’s Many AI Problems
IBM announced preliminary results that spooked the software market generally; this is a story, however, specifically about IBM and its mainframe franchise.
The OpenAI Super App, ChatGPT = Codex, Whither Chat
OpenAI has refashioned Codex as the new ChatGPT; is the company abandoning the chat category they pioneered?
Apple Sues OpenAI, Apple’s Real Problem
Apple is suing AI for stealing trade secrets; there is one guilty employee, but this mostly feels like lashing out.
2026.28: XBOX On the Rocks
The best Stratechery content from the week of July 6, 2026, including a word from Mark Zuckerberg*, pulling the plug on XBOX, and toilet talk.
An Interview with Figma CEO Dylan Field About Design and AI – Stratechery by Ben Thompson
An interview with Figma CEO Dylan Field about building Figma, and why he believes AI gives the company a tailwind.
An Interview with Michael Morton About E-Commerce in the Age of AI – Stratechery by Ben Thompson
An interview with Michael Morton about e-commerce and AI, including the challenges of unfalsifiable bear cases, distribution versus referal models, grocery, and autonomous vehicles.
An Interview with Ben Bajarin About Apple, AI, and Compute – Stratechery by Ben Thompson
An interview with Ben Bajarin about WWDC and the status of the AI compute industry.
An Interview with Ben Thompson at the MoffettNathanson Media, Internet & Communications Conference – Stratechery by Ben Thompson
An interview with me about the implications of the compute shortage on Aggregation Theory, consumer AI, and more.