“Chasing the vibe” — OpenAI’s M&A strategy gets even more confusing with TBPN

More than 10 months after spending an eye-popping $6.4 billion on Jony Ive’s nascent device startup, OpenAI announced yet another surprising deal Thursday, acquiring a media business that streams a three-hour daily technology talk show.

OpenAI’s M&A strategy is difficult to discern for a company facing billions of dollars in infrastructure losses and increased investor scrutiny. “TBPN is my favorite technology show,” OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said in a post on X on Thursday, after the startup, currently valued at more than $850 billion, announced its acquisition of Technology Business Programming Network.

“I don’t expect them to make it any easier on us. I’m confident they will do their part to make that possible, even if they make some stupid decisions at times,” Altman wrote.

This is a pivotal moment for OpenAI, which is preparing for an IPO as early as this year. The company’s core products, its popular artificial intelligence model and ChatGPT chatbot, are facing increasing competition from the United States. googleAnthropic and Elon Musk’s xAI could be brought to the general market first through SpaceX’s anticipated offering.

Spooked by spending expectations, OpenAI last month shut down its Sora video app, which went viral after launching six months ago. It’s not immediately clear how TBPN fits into OpenAI’s strategy, but the AI ​​market moves so quickly that the most logical move today may mean little tomorrow.

“When more and more disruptive competitors emerge, they need to build something that gives people unique reasons to choose ChatGPT over other AI platforms,” ​​Futurum Group CEO Daniel Newman said in an interview. “They’re kind of chasing the vibe.”

Not all of OpenAI’s acquisitions will pay off, but the company, which just closed $122 billion in funding, has room to experiment, Newman said. “It’s a pretty small bet to get a lot of attention,” he said of TBPN.

OpenAI did not disclose the terms of the agreement. The company did not respond to requests for comment.

OpenAI’s biggest deal to date was the acquisition of Ive’s io, which gave the company its first foray into the complex world of hardware development. Ive is a legend in the field of designing iPods, iPhones, iPads, and many other gadgets. appleand is working on bringing OpenAI’s first device to market next year.

In December, OpenAI hired Google’s Albert Lee to lead corporate development, a sign the company is looking for more targets. Since then, it has acquired several startups in a variety of industries, including software startup Astral, cybersecurity startup Promptfoo, and health tech startup Torch.

OpenAI’s last big splashy acquisition came in the form of a developer rather than a company. In February, the company hired Austrian software developer Peter Steinberger, who created the viral AI assistant OpenClaw. Just like TBPN’s sudden announcement, the news of Steinberger’s hiring also made social media buzz.

Neumann said Altman is trying to determine whether there is a “relevant M&A path” to perhaps the company’s next area of ​​focus.

“He has yet to succeed with many big, ambitious ideas,” Newman said.

Founded in 2024 by hosts John Coogan and Jordi Hayes, TBPN quickly rose to prominence within Silicon Valley and developed a loyal audience of investors, founders, and technology insiders. The company has less than 60,000 YouTube subscribers, but has hosted high-profile guests like Altman. microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg appears regularly on the show.

Fiji Simo, OpenAI’s CEO of applications, said in a memo to employees Thursday that he believes the company has a “responsibility to help create a space for truly constructive conversations about the changes AI is creating.” Simo said OpenAI will leverage TBPN’s “incredible communications and marketing instincts,” but added that TBPN will make “its own editorial decisions.”

Gartner analyst Andrew Frank said TBPN is not on the “bingo card” as an acquisition candidate. But he said it may make sense if OpenAI is seen as a way to counter the narrative that AI is dangerous.

“I think when you’re a company like OpenAI where everyone leans into the news, you just need an established way to communicate with the wider world,” Frank said in an interview.

Paul Nally, a professor of M&A at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, doesn’t quite understand that.

“OpenAI acquiring @tbpn makes no sense to me at all,” he wrote to X.

In an interview with CNBC, Nally elaborated on his thoughts and said that OpenAI’s explanation wasn’t very helpful.

“We’ll give you editorial control, but you’ll still be involved with the company,” Nally said. “So, is there a conflict of interest there? What does that mean for the future of business?”

Nally said media and entertainment deals are some of the most likely to fail, but suggested that TBPN’s size does not pose a major financial liability for OpenAI. He expects the show to change significantly over time.

“A year from now, I think there will be something different going on from the perspective of what the show and the founders are doing,” Nalley said.

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