E34: Microsoft’s $80B AI Bet, OpenAI’s Success, Meta’s AI Profiles: NVIDIA’s Open-Source Gambit?
"Microsoft is investing the same amount of money in AI that a whole country produces for its GDP" - Rod on the scale of AI investment
In this episode, Max and Rod discuss the latest developments in AI, focusing on Microsoft’s significant investment in AI infrastructure, the implications of US-China relations in the AI landscape, and the future of AI in the workforce.
They reflect on Sam Altman’s insights regarding OpenAI’s growth and the potential for AI agents to transform work dynamics. The conversation emphasizes the need for training in AI usage and the evolving expectations in the workplace as AI becomes more integrated into daily tasks.
In this conversation, Max and Rod explore the current landscape of AI investment, discussing the staggering amounts of funding flowing into AI startups and the implications for the market. They delve into the evolution of AI companies, the potential for personal AI assistants, and advancements in AI reasoning models.
The discussion also covers the impact of AI on content creation, including the rise of AI-generated media and podcasts. Finally, they analyze NVIDIA’s strategic move to open source its recent acquisition, considering the broader implications for the AI community.
Chapters
00:00 Welcome Back and Reflections
01:13 Microsoft’s Massive AI Investment
05:03 The US-China AI Landscape
08:39 Training for an AI-Driven Future
12:41 The Role of AI in Daily Life
15:16 Evaluating AI Investments
17:23 Sam Altman’s Reflections on OpenAI
21:45 The Future of AI Agents
25:51 Adapting to AI in the Workforce
28:32 The Rise of AI Investment
30:11 Funding Trends and Market Dynamics
32:56 The Evolution of AI Companies
36:36 The Future of Personal AI Assistants
39:18 Advancements in AI Reasoning Models
41:43 The Impact of AI on Content Creation
44:19 AI-Generated Content: The Future of Media
51:53 NVIDIA’s Strategic Moves in AI
Takeaways
1. Microsoft's $80 Billion AI Infrastructure Investment by 2025
Microsoft’s announcement to invest a staggering $80 billion in AI infrastructure by 2025 showcases the immense scale of commitment required to stay competitive in the AI industry. This figure is more than the GDP of several countries, emphasizing the transformative role AI is expected to play in global economies. The investment highlights Microsoft's belief in AI’s potential to redefine industries, create new job markets, and fuel technological breakthroughs. It also reinforces their strategic partnership with OpenAI, further positioning Microsoft as a leader in the AI space.
This level of investment not only accelerates innovation but also signals to other players in the tech industry that the race for AI dominance is becoming increasingly capital-intensive. It underscores the need for both public and private sectors to collaborate on infrastructure, talent development, and ethical AI frameworks to ensure sustainable growth.
2. The Potential for AI Agents to Join the Workforce by 2025
The concept of AI agents joining the workforce by 2025 is one of the most exciting developments discussed. These agents, powered by advanced reasoning models and autonomous decision-making capabilities, have the potential to revolutionize productivity in the workplace. AI agents could handle repetitive tasks, optimize workflows, and even collaborate with human workers in creative and complex problem-solving scenarios.
This development reflects a broader trend toward “agentic AI,” where systems are designed to independently perform tasks across domains. As organizations prepare for this shift, reskilling and upskilling the workforce will be essential to integrate AI agents effectively. While the timeline is ambitious, it aligns with rapid advancements in generative AI, reasoning models, and real-time decision-making systems. The introduction of these agents could mark the beginning of a new era in workplace efficiency and innovation.
3. NVIDIA’s Open-Source Strategy and Industry Influence
NVIDIA’s decision to open-source software from their $700 million Run AI acquisition represents a significant shift in their strategy. As the de facto leader in AI hardware, NVIDIA is already indispensable to the industry. By open-sourcing key technologies, they are likely aiming to strengthen relationships with developers and the broader AI community, fostering innovation and goodwill.
This move is also a reflection of NVIDIA’s confidence in their ecosystem. By allowing broader access to their tools, they encourage adoption of their hardware while building a loyal community. However, the risk of diminished ROI on acquisitions remains a concern. Despite this, the potential long-term benefits—such as increased market influence and industry standardization—may far outweigh the costs. NVIDIA’s open-source initiative could set a precedent for other tech giants, further blurring the lines between competition and collaboration in the AI landscape.
Sources
The Golden Opportunity of American AI by Brad Smith, MSFT President- https://blogs.microsoft.com/on-the-issues/2025/01/03/the-golden-opportunity-for-american-ai/
Reflections - Sam Altman https://blog.samaltman.com/reflections
Sapphire’s Top 10 AI Trends & Predictions - https://sapphireventures.com/blog/top-10-ai-trends-predictions-for-2025-a-platform-shift-in-the-making/
Top Tech Enterprise Tech experts and their AI views - https://www.ai21.com/blog/2025-predictions-for-enterprise-ai
NVIDIA to OpenSource Run.AI - https://venturebeat.com/ai/nvidia-acquires-software-maker-runai-to-orchestrate-gpu-clouds-for-ai/?utm_source=tldrai
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Episode Transcript
Introduction and Welcome Back
Max: Welcome to another episode of the Chris Rod Max show. Today we have Rod and Max here.
Max: It’s good to be back. Feels like I missed the world by being gone for a couple of weeks. But yeah, things moved.
Max: How are you feeling today, Rod?
Rod: I’m feeling great and, exactly as you’re saying in our previous episode, people ask me, where is Max? What happened to him? Where were you, Max?
Max: Yeah, good question. So for those who are listening, I was actually very ill. Unfortunately, I was traveling to Asia, but I somehow got food poisoning, which is not great. But yeah, I mean, nevertheless, I am fully recovered now, you know, new year, new you kind of thing. And it’s good to be back. I’ve missed doing this, to be honest.
Newsletter Announcement
Rod: New Year New You and yeah, of course. That’s the thing to do now. If everyone did not know yet, we have a new newsletter, which you should subscribe to, where we try to put on all the latest and the greatest news on AI for business up there. So remember to subscribe.
Microsoft’s AI Investment Discussion
Max: So today, given that we’re all coming back from holiday, there’s actually quite a lot of action going on for the last two weeks or the first two weeks of the year. And we’re going to spend a little bit of time talking about Brad Smith, the Microsoft President’s latest article. And then we’re obviously going to spend a little bit of time talking about Sam Altman’s reflection of what he has done for last year, which was pretty eventful from an OpenAI perspective.
Rod: When we were talking about this, we spent some time talking about the biggest protagonist on AI, which has been Microsoft and OpenAI, obviously when they invest such a huge amount. And in there, we also have Brad Smith talking about their plan to invest about $80 billion in AI infrastructure for FY 2025. That’s eight-zero, guys. That’s eight-zero. That’s a lot of money.
Max: For just the number, I was thinking about that and you think about this: this is more than the GDP of Sri Lanka or other countries such as Azerbaijan, Tanzania, or about the level of Serbia. So in one year, Microsoft is investing the same amount of money that a whole country produces for its GDP.
The US-China AI Competition
Rod: Yes, and this division, US-China, is really a common theme in our show. So we discuss all the things that are happening in China that very often we are not really aware of. We’re seeing how through legislation, through business decisions, and so on, we’re seeing a rift between what is happening in the Western world with companies such as Microsoft here, but also in China with all the local players.
AI Training and Implementation
Max: So allegedly, one billion future AI jobs and so on. So of course, seeing from that perspective, we need $80 billion per year in investment in AI to have the infrastructure in place and everything necessary to foster this innovation and these future jobs.
Rod: If we think back to the late nineties and so on, there used to be internet cafes. For example, Apple stores were places where people would come for training: “How can I send emails? How can I browse the internet?” Now, of course, this is almost intuitive. Nobody really needs a boot camp or training course anymore.
OpenAI’s Growth and Success
Max: Speaking of looking hard enough, Sam Altman obviously recently published an article on his own blog reflecting on what happened last year. For those who don’t follow this very closely, Sam Altman was ousted and then reinstated as CEO, then a couple of co-founders left. But in the middle of all this, OpenAI was still growing quite significantly.
Rod: It’s estimated that ChatGPT is now generating $2.7 billion every year from subscriptions. People are paying $20 per month. I mean, how many companies can claim they generate this amount of money? It’s astronomical, and this is something that two years ago, three years ago didn’t exist at all.
Future of AI and Personal Assistants
Max: I think in the article, Sam Altman actually made the bold claim that they now know—or are confident—about how to build an AGI. He foresees that in 2025, AI agents will join the workforce.
Rod: Certainly, Max. I saw this quote about AI agents in 2025. Some estimate that we’ll see the first AI agents. Last week with Chris, we were also saying that this year will be the year of the agent.
NVIDIA’s Strategic Moves
Max: In the interest of time, we have one last segment, which is about NVIDIA. I want to talk a little bit about this. Just interesting to get your take. We all know now NVIDIA is the darling of AI. Everybody wants their chip. And we also know that NVIDIA bought Run AI for $700 million. And now they’ve decided to open source the software they bought with Run AI.
Rod: This acquisition is so irrelevant in the bigger picture for NVIDIA that even if it doesn’t pan out and even if it’s not a good idea to offer this for free instead of commercializing it, that doesn’t really change anything for NVIDIA.
Closing Remarks
Max: With that, we are on top of the hour, slightly over. I think we really enjoyed the chat. If you like what you’re hearing, share it with your friends, comment, or like the post. We really appreciate any feedback that you have. It is only your feedback—your listening—that can help us improve the podcast. And with that, thank you so much again for joining us for another episode and happy 2025. May this year be the year of agents and whatever it is that you have going on.
Rod: Thank you very much and tune in for the next one. And don’t forget to subscribe to our newsletter on chrisrodmax.com.
Max: Good one, Rod. Subscribe. Do what Rod says.
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