Ben Thompson
FollowThe latest interviews, podcast appearances, and blog posts from Ben Thompson, updated daily.
OpenAI Hacks Hugging Face, What Happened, Alignment and Paper Clips
OpenAI accidentally hacked Hugging Face, but the takeaways are more encouraging than people realize.
Netflix Earnings, Is Netflix Washed?, Additional Notes
Netflix’s earnings were fine, and befitting a mature company whose most exciting days are likely behind them.
Who’s Afraid of Chinese Models?
Everyone is worried about Chinese models, but the frontier labs will be fine; we need to enable open U. S. alternatives.
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.