China Kills Meta / Manus Deal (Story Of The Year) | E2281
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What’s the technology story of the year? No, it’s not Anthropic’s Mythos model, nor any other AI model. Upcoming IPOs? Wrong again. Jason thinks it’s China’s government’s decision to block Meta's acquisition of Manus. The multi-billion-dollar deal was heralded as evidence that AI companies founded in China could sidestep onerous government meddling by moving their operations to Singapore. That loophole now appears closed.
Jason and Lon then dug into the newly-reforged OpenAI-Microsoft partnership. The two companies have had a mutually beneficial, if fractious, operating relationship to date; that they had to rework their agreement is not a shock.
Then, your hosts watched and digested a video from China purportedly showing a self-driving car hitting a child at speed. What would happen in the United States if such a tragedy struck? And is that fait accompli?
Closing the show, Jason and Lon reacted to the latest Russell Brand implosion, discussed Lon’s new favorite show ‘Criminal Record,’ and shared recommended foot pedals (for AI dictation) and headphones for the road warriors tuning in.
Key Links: OpenAI and Microsoft
OpenAI’s announcement of its new Microsoft deal
Microsoft’s announcement of its new OpenAI deal
OpenAI announces its deal with AWS
News that Microsoft was considering legal action against OpenAI
Microsoft-OpenAI negotiations late 2025 edition, and terms announced in early 2026
Amazon announces that OpenAI models are coming to AWS
Key Links: Manus, Meta, China
News Coverage of China blocking the Manus deal
Reporting on the Benchmark-Manus funding round
The United States’ government examined the deal, recall
Manus announcement of $100M ARR
Early-2025 coverage of Manus as it blew up
Coverage of Didi’s service suspension in 2018
How ‘Golden Shares’ work
Key Links: Self-driving safety
Huawei ADS accident video
Waymo Santa Monica collision coverage
Waymo safety data
Cruise crash historical coverage, Waymo cat crash coverage
How Japan teaches kids to be safe in traffic
Key Links: Off Duty
Russell Brand hasn’t read the Bible (clip)
Why Brand was carrying a Bible
Lon’s streaming pick: Criminal Record
Jason’s recommended foot pedal
Jason’s recommended headphones