WSJ Tech News Briefing

Social-media company Reddit profits from feeding artificial-intelligence companies’ insatiable appetite for conversational text. WSJ reporter Sarah Needleman joins host Belle Lin to talk about why Reddit’s posts are so valuable and interesting to AI companies. Plus, why Amazon’s new robotic warehouse still relies heavily on humans. Sign up for the WSJ's free Technology newsletter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Plus, the Supreme Court declines to rule on an Nvidia investor case. And Japanese crypto exchange Coincheck rallies on its first day of trading. Belle Lin hosts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It’s not just demographics weighing on the tech and search giant—Google’s core search and advertising business is under siege. WSJ tech columnist Christopher Mims joins host Belle Lin to talk about the various pressures that threaten Google’s dominance. Plus, why the coolest job in tech might actually be in a bank. Sign up for the WSJ's free Technology newsletter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Plus, the European Union looks into Google ads targeting teens. And Games Workshop Group reaches an agreement with Amazon Content Services for its popular Warhammer game. Belle Lin hosts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Marvell’s role in helping tech titans create their own data center chips has boosted its revenue and valuation, but you may not have heard of the company. WSJ columnist Dan Gallagher joins host Belle Lin to talk about how the tiny chip maker’s market capitalization briefly catapulted above $100 billion. Plus, a look at Robinhood’s hot new tech bet: the desktop computer. Sign up for the WSJ's free Technology newsletter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Plus, OpenAI releases its long-awaited video tool Sora. And German arms producer Rheinmetall and the U.S.-based drone-software company Auterion say they will develop software for a range of military drones. Belle Lin hosts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Pat Gelsinger returned to Intel in 2021 to lead its turnaround and become a cornerstone of the artificial intelligence sector. Last week, the company’s board forced him out. WSJ reporter Asa Fitch explains what happened and where it leaves the United States’ chip manufacturing industry. Plus, two university students made a website to rate how well AI chatbots perform tasks. We’ll hear why Chatbot Arena’s rankings have become so important to leaders of companies like OpenAI and Google. Danny Lewis hosts. Sign up for the WSJ's free Technology newsletter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Fifteen years ago, Google made a big bet that future cars will drive themselves. Now, billions of dollars later, that bet may finally be paying off. Waymo, Alphabet's driverless car company, has hit the accelerator in recent years as its technology has evolved, and its rivals have stumbled. On episode one of our special series on the growing driverless car industry, host Danny Lewis explores the roots of this technology and how Waymo took the lead in the race to a driverless future. What do you think about the show? Let us know on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, or email us: FOEPodcast@wsj.com  Sign up for the WSJ's free The Future of Everything newsletter . Further reading:  How San Francisco Learned to Love Self-Driving Cars  GM’s Self-Driving Car Unit Skids Off Course  Self-Driving Cars Enter the Next Frontier: Freeways  All Hail Phoenix: America’s King of the Robo-Taxi  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Cloud storage used to be a sleepy part of the computing world but, with artificial intelligence becoming cheaper than ever, the companies collecting and protecting that data are now a hot investment. That includes cloud storage company Box, which has seen its stock climb nearly 40% this year. Its customers include most of the Fortune 500, including movie studios, automakers, consumer electronics giants, marketing firms and the Pentagon. Box CEO Aaron Levie says AI is getting better at piecing through 90% of companies’ data that previously was an intractable mess, and is doing some tasks better than humans – from processing invoices and parsing contracts to building marketing campaigns. So why does he think that could actually lead to more jobs for humans? Plus, why his company plans to stay “model agnostic” and continue to work with all the major artificial intelligence models, including OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Anthropic’s Claude. He speaks to WSJ’s Christopher Mims and Tim Higgins in episode four of our interview series Bold Names. Check Out Past Episodes Bold Names: Why This Tesla Pioneer Says the Cheap EV Market 'Sucks'  Bold Names: Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff and the AI ‘Fantasy Land’  Bold Names: Why Elon Musk’s Battery Guy Is Betting Big on Recycling  Further Reading Amazon Invests an Additional $4 Billion in Anthropic, an OpenAI Rival  How to Make AI Less of a Power Guzzler  What Is AI Best at Now? Improving Products You Already Own  Elon Musk vs. Everyone: The New Fight in AI  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Plus, a federal appeals court upheld a law requiring TikTok to shed its Chinese ownership or be banned. And the Teamsters gave Amazon a deadline to set dates to negotiate union contracts for its drivers and warehouse workers. Danny Lewis hosts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Rising costs, supply-chain issues and cooling consumer demand were hammering electric-vehicle startups even before the November election. WSJ reporter Amrith Ramkumar explains how President-elect Donald Trump’s return to the White House could squeeze them even more. Plus, the data centers required for training and operating artificial intelligence models need huge amounts of electricity and water. We’ll hear how AI companies are trying to cut back on their resource needs. Danny Lewis hosts. Sign up for the WSJ's free Technology newsletter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Plus, Intel adds chip industry veterans to its board. And the Vietnamese government orders Temu to suspend sales in the country. Danny Lewis hosts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The maker of ChatGPT once spurned the defense industry. Now, OpenAI has signed a deal with drone maker Anduril to use its technology in some of its systems. What does this mean for the AI company, and for Silicon Valley’s efforts to forge closer relationships with the Pentagon? WSJ reporter Deepa Seetharaman explains. Plus, why are weather apps inconsistent with forecasts? We’ll find out how to get more accurate predictions. Danny Lewis hosts. Sign up for the WSJ's free Technology newsletter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Plus, OpenAI partners with defense-tech startup Anduril to include its technology in anti-drone systems. And OpenAI and Anthropic have opened offices in Switzerland to pursue employee talent. Danny Lewis hosts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Since Elon Musk started xAI last year, the company has been racing to catch up with competitors like Chat GPT-maker OpenAI, Anthropic, Meta Platforms and Alphabet. But can xAI stand on its own as a business? WSJ’s Meghan Bobrowsky explains. Plus, new federal rules are aimed at making passwords easier to remember and more secure. We look at what that means for your logins, and how emojis factor into it. Danny Lewis hosts. Sign up for the WSJ's free Technology newsletter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Plus, Microsoft faces a $1.27 billion antitrust lawsuit in the United Kingdom. And China responds to U.S. trade restrictions with a ban on exports of key raw materials. Danny Lewis hosts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After years of Western governments making it more difficult for China to access sensitive technologies like semiconductors and artificial intelligence, Chinese companies are now bombarding tech talent with job offers. Can Western governments do anything to restrict recruitment and hold on to trade secrets? WSJ’s China tech reporter and editor Liza Lin explains this new front in the battle for tech supremacy. Plus, Coca-Cola’s latest holiday ads were made by AI. We look at what the move means for the advertising industry. Danny Lewis hosts. Sign up for the WSJ's free Technology newsletter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Plus, the Biden administration issues new rules on transferring chips to China. And Super Micro Computer says a final review of its accounting showed no evidence of fraud or misconduct by its board or management. Danny Lewis hosts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Figma is a collaboration-software company that helps designers and product developers work together to build software products. And the company is looking to incorporate artificial intelligence into every step of the development process. At WSJ Tech Live in October, Figma co-founder and CEO Dylan Field joined WSJ global tech editor Jason Dean for a chat about collaboration in the AI-era. We play you highlights of that conversation. Julie Chang hosts. Sign up for the WSJ's free Technology newsletter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

JB Straubel was Elon Musk’s battery guy. Now he’s trying to turn what some see as trash into power for the electric vehicle revolution. Straubel was there at the earliest days of Tesla, and in his 15 years with the electric vehicle company, he played an integral role: he developed the battery pack used in the first Tesla vehicle, was the company’s Chief Technology Officer, and now sits on the board of directors. But his day job is running the battery-recycling startup Redwood Materials, and he envisions a future where recycled batteries power our cars, cell phones and power tools. So could companies like his one day replace the oil giants who fueled the last century? Why does he think humans have room to work harder? And can the Tesla board manage Musk as he takes on a growing role in U.S. politics, including advising the Trump administration? Straubel speaks to WSJ’s Tim Higgins and Christopher Mims in episode three of our interview series Bold Names. Check Out Past Episodes Bold Names: Why This Tesla Pioneer Says the Cheap EV Market 'Sucks'  Bold Names: Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff and the AI ‘Fantasy Land’  Further Reading The Boom in Battery Metals for EVs Is Turning to Bust  Cost-Cutting Lessons From Musk World for DOGE  The Withering Dream of a Cheap American Electric Car  What Americans Get Wrong About Electric Cars  One of the Brains Behind Tesla May Have a New Way to Make Electric Cars Cheaper  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices