The Vergecast builds a tech company
Digest
The Verge Cast hosts continue their hypothetical game of building a tech company from scratch by acquiring products from existing companies. They discuss the possibility of acquiring a car company, but ultimately decide against it due to the complexity and potential for conflict. They then move on to the camera business, choosing Fuji's X100 business over Samsung's, recognizing its potential for innovation and its focus on high-quality cameras. They also decide to acquire Anthropic, an AI startup, recognizing its potential for growth and its focus on developing innovative AI products. The hosts believe that Anthropic will be a valuable asset to their company, particularly in the area of AI development. They also discuss the potential for Anthropic to collaborate with their existing products, such as Siri, to improve their functionality. The episode concludes with the hosts recapping their acquisitions, highlighting their diverse portfolio of hardware and software solutions, including the iPhone, Kindle, Lenovo PCs, Meta's wearables, Sony's audio solutions, Adobe Creative Cloud, LG Display, Google Chat, TikTok, Fuji Films X100 business, and Anthropic. They express their excitement about the future of their company and their plans to continue to acquire innovative products and services.
Outlines
Introduction
This Chapter introduces the concept of the episode, where the hosts will be building a tech company from scratch by acquiring products from other companies. They establish the rules of the game, emphasizing the focus on building a cool and innovative company rather than maximizing profits.
Smartphones
This Chapter focuses on the selection of a smartphone for the hypothetical tech company. The hosts discuss the merits of various options, including the iPhone, Samsung Galaxy, Google Pixel, and Nothing Phone. Ultimately, they choose the iPhone, recognizing its market dominance and potential for lock-in.
Tablets
This Chapter focuses on the selection of a tablet for the hypothetical tech company. The hosts discuss the merits of various options, including the Samsung Galaxy Tab, Google Pixel Tablet, Amazon Kindle lineup, and Kobo. Ultimately, they choose the Kindle lineup, recognizing its potential for innovation and its focus on e-readers.
PCs
This Chapter focuses on the selection of a PC for the hypothetical tech company. The hosts discuss the merits of various options, including Microsoft Surface, Lenovo, ASUS, ASER, HP, Razer, and Dell. Ultimately, they choose Lenovo, recognizing its strong hardware and potential for improvement.
Wearables
This Chapter focuses on the selection of a wearable for the hypothetical tech company. The hosts discuss the merits of various options, including Meta's Ray-Ban smart glasses, Garmin watches, and Whoop fitness trackers. Ultimately, they choose Meta's Ray-Ban smart glasses, recognizing their potential for innovation and their focus on augmented reality.
Headphones
This Chapter focuses on the selection of a headphone company for the hypothetical tech company. The hosts discuss the merits of various options, including Bose, Sony, and Sonos. Ultimately, they choose Sony, recognizing their wide range of products and their iconic party speaker.
App Platforms
This Chapter focuses on the selection of an app platform for the hypothetical tech company. The hosts discuss the merits of various options, including Adobe Creative Cloud, Microsoft Office, and Google Workspace. Ultimately, they choose Adobe Creative Cloud, recognizing its potential for innovation and its focus on creative professionals.
Boring B2B Money Faucets
This Chapter focuses on the selection of a cloud provider for the hypothetical tech company. The hosts discuss the merits of various options, including Azure, AWS, and LG Display. Ultimately, they choose LG Display, recognizing its importance in the display market.
Cameras and AI
This Chapter focuses on the selection of a camera company and an AI startup for the hypothetical tech company. The hosts discuss the merits of various options, including Samsung, Fuji, and Anthropic. Ultimately, they choose Fuji's X100 business and Anthropic, recognizing their potential for innovation and their focus on high-quality products. The hosts believe that these acquisitions will be valuable assets to their company, particularly in the area of AI development and camera technology.
Keywords
iPhone
The iPhone is a series of smartphones designed and marketed by Apple Inc. It is the flagship product of Apple and is known for its sleek design, user-friendly interface, and powerful hardware. The iPhone has been a major success since its launch in 2007, becoming one of the most popular smartphones in the world. It is known for its integration with Apple's ecosystem of products and services, including the App Store, Apple Music, and iCloud.
Kindle
Kindle is a series of e-readers and tablets designed and marketed by Amazon. The Kindle is known for its ability to display e-books and other digital content, and its long battery life. The Kindle has been a major success since its launch in 2007, becoming one of the most popular e-readers in the world. It is known for its integration with Amazon's ecosystem of products and services, including Amazon Prime, Kindle Unlimited, and Audible.
Lenovo
Lenovo is a Chinese multinational technology company that designs, develops, manufactures, and sells personal computers, tablet computers, smartphones, workstations, servers, and storage devices. Lenovo is the world's largest personal computer vendor by unit sales, and is known for its ThinkPad line of laptops, which are popular among business users. Lenovo also manufactures a wide range of other devices, including tablets, smartphones, and servers.
Meta
Meta Platforms, Inc. is an American multinational technology company that focuses on social networking and online services. It is best known for its social networking service Facebook, as well as its other products and services, including Instagram, WhatsApp, and Messenger. Meta is one of the largest technology companies in the world, with a market capitalization of over $500 billion. The company has been criticized for its handling of user data and its role in the spread of misinformation.
Sony
Sony Corporation is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Kōnan, Minato, Tokyo. It is one of the world's largest media and entertainment conglomerates, with a wide range of businesses, including electronics, gaming, music, and movies. Sony is known for its consumer electronics products, such as televisions, smartphones, and headphones. The company also owns a number of popular brands, including PlayStation, Walkman, and Bravia.
Adobe Creative Cloud
Adobe Creative Cloud is a subscription service that provides access to a suite of Adobe's creative software applications, including Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, Premiere Pro, and After Effects. Creative Cloud is used by millions of creative professionals around the world, and is known for its powerful features and its ability to help users create high-quality content. The service is available on a monthly or annual subscription basis, and offers a variety of plans to suit different needs.
LG Display
LG Display Co., Ltd. is a South Korean multinational technology company that manufactures and sells liquid crystal displays (LCDs) and organic light-emitting diode (OLED) displays. LG Display is one of the world's largest display manufacturers, and is known for its high-quality displays, which are used in a wide range of devices, including televisions, smartphones, and laptops. The company is also a major supplier of displays to other manufacturers.
Google Chat
Google Chat is a messaging app developed by Google. It is a part of Google Workspace, a suite of online productivity tools. Google Chat is designed for team communication and collaboration, and offers features such as group chats, direct messages, file sharing, and video conferencing. Google Chat is available on a variety of platforms, including web, Android, and iOS.
TikTok
TikTok is a social media platform for creating, sharing, and discovering short videos. It is owned by the Chinese company ByteDance. TikTok is known for its addictive nature, its ability to help users create and share creative content, and its popularity among young people. The app has been criticized for its handling of user data and its role in the spread of misinformation.
Anthropic
Anthropic is an American artificial intelligence (AI) safety and research company founded in 2021 by former OpenAI researchers. The company is known for its work on developing safe and reliable AI systems, and its focus on creating AI that is aligned with human values. Anthropic has developed a number of AI models, including its flagship model, Claude, which is designed to be a safe and reliable language model. The company is also working on developing AI systems for a variety of applications, including customer service, education, and healthcare.
Q&A
What are the rules of the game the Verge Cast hosts are playing?
The hosts are building a tech company from scratch by acquiring products from existing companies. They can only take one product per company, and they are focused on building a cool and innovative company rather than maximizing profits.
What are the first three products the hosts choose for their tech company?
The hosts choose the iPhone as their smartphone, the Kindle lineup as their tablet, and Lenovo PCs as their computer line.
Why do the hosts choose Meta's Ray-Ban smart glasses over other wearable options?
The hosts believe that Meta's Ray-Ban smart glasses have the most potential for innovation and are the most likely to be successful in the future.
What is the hosts' strategy for choosing an app platform?
The hosts want to choose an app platform that will make their company a lot of money, and they believe that Adobe Creative Cloud has the most potential for growth.
Why do the hosts choose LG Display as their cloud provider?
The hosts recognize the importance of LG Display in the display market and believe that it will be a valuable asset to their company.
What is the hosts' goal for Google Chat?
The hosts want to finally make Google Chat a successful product and solve the blue bubble problem.
Why do the hosts choose TikTok as their streaming service?
The hosts believe that TikTok has the most potential for growth and is the most likely to be successful in the future.
Why do the hosts choose Fuji's X100 business over Samsung's camera business?
The hosts believe that Fuji's X100 business has more potential for innovation and is more aligned with their brand.
Why do the hosts choose Anthropic as their AI startup?
The hosts believe that Anthropic has the most potential for growth and is the most likely to be successful in the future. They also believe that Anthropic will be a valuable asset to their company, particularly in the area of AI development.
What are the hosts' plans for Anthropic?
The hosts plan to use Anthropic to improve their existing products, such as Siri, and to develop new AI-powered products and services.
Show Notes
Today on the flagship podcast of corporate infighting:
The Verge's David Pierce, Nilay Patel, and Alex Cranz roleplay as CEOs of Vergecast Inc., tasked with creating a tech company by acquiring product lines from various industry giants. They select established products ranging from smartphones and PCs to messaging and audio solutions, sourced from companies such as Apple, Google, Amazon, Samsung, Meta, and others.
Email us at vergecast@theverge.com or call us at 866-VERGE11, we love hearing from you.
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