OpenAI CEO Sam Altman praised TBPN’s hosts as “genius marketers” in an interview with Axios about acquiring the buzzy tech talk show, while pledging editorial “independence.”
TBPN co-hosts Jordi Hays and John Coogan said on Thursday that the ChatGPT maker would acquire the show, a deal the Financial Times pegged in the “low hundreds of millions of dollars.” The deal puts OpenAI firmly in the media business after a reported internal pledge last month to minimize “side quests,” a decision Altman told Axios co-founder Mike Allen on Thursday stemmed from the show’s ability to explain AI in a relatable way.
“Those guys do the best and most interesting job of covering what’s happening with AI in a way that people understand,” Altman said. “They’re fun, they’re not sensationalist. They go into real levels of technical depth, and it resonates with people. It resonates with the community of developers and builders that I want to make sure are fully informed in this.”
“They are genius marketers, and I would love to have better marketing” for AI, Altman added, acknowledging the public’s skepticism of the technology. “Given the amazing things AI can do, I think there’s got to be better marketing for AI.”
OpenAI has framed the acquisition around benefiting the company’s communications and marketing apparatus, and the TBPN team will report to chief global affairs officer Chris Lehane.
Altman asserted he would allow the hosts to “completely maintain their independence,” though he acknowledged potential fears about a tech company meddling with an editorial product.
“There have been other examples of tech companies or tech people supporting a media company where that doesn’t come across,” he said. “So that’s the only thing I’m worried about. But it’s just making sure that the world still trusts that they’re going to be harsh on us and cover the industry fairly.”
Altman‘s comments to Axios reiterated his X post about the deal, in which he called TBPN “my favorite tech show” and said he would help maintain the show‘s scrutiny of OpenAI with his own “occasional stupid decisions.”
