OpenAI Acquires TBPN Talk Show in First Media Buy to Reshape AI Communication Strategy

OpenAI acquires TBPN, the buzzy founder-led business talk show | TechCrunch

OpenAI has acquired popular tech industry talk show TBPN, short for the Technology Business Programming Network, making the AI giant's first acquisition of a media company. The show will report to OpenAI's chief political operative, Chris Lehane. TBPN, hosted by former tech founders John Coogan and Jordi Hays, is a daily live show that airs on YouTube and X for three hours, focusing on tech, business, AI, and defense. TBPN has gained a cult following in Silicon Valley, a safe space where industry power players can speak candidly and be questioned by fellow insiders. The show has a reputation for being something of a Sports Center for the tech industry -- a place where top tech CEOs like Mark Zuckerberg, Satya Nadella, Marc Benioff, and, yes, Sam Altman, come to chop it up, react to the news of the day, and occasionally make some of their own. TBPN will continue to live on as its own brand, which OpenAI will help scale. Not that it necessarily needed help on that front; TBPN has grown into an empire that's on track to pull in more than $30 million this year, according to The Wall Street Journal. OpenAI already has its own podcast for long-form conversations with the people building tech at the company. OpenAI will also tap the founders' "amazing comms and marketing instincts" outside the show, according to OpenAI's head of AGI deployment Fidji Simo, who said TBPN will "bring AI to the world in a way that helps people understand the full impact of this technology on their daily lives." Simo went even further, noting that TBPN's prowess is necessary for an atypical company like OpenAI where "the standard communications playbook just doesn't apply." Simo said TBPN will have editorial independence and continue to "run their programming, choose their guests, and make their own editorial decisions." Still, the acquisition might give some pause. After all, OpenAI is a valuable AI lab on the brink of an IPO buying a buzzy talk show that often discusses the company and its competitors. And once the deal closes, TBPN will operate under OpenAI's strategy team and report to Chris Lehane, the man who invented the phrase 'vast right-wing conspiracy' as a tool to deflect press scrutiny of the Clinton White House. Lehane, who has been described as a master of the "political dark arts," is also behind the crypto industry super PAC Fairshake, which spent hundreds of millions to kneecap anti-crypto candidates in the 2024 election. He joined OpenAI that same year and has been in President Trump's ear ever since, whispering recommendations for sweeping and controversial policies like preventing states from regulating AI and easing environmental restrictions that might slow data center construction. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, who said in a social media post that TBPN is his favorite tech show, seems to believe the acquisition won't change TBPN's commentary and even criticism of the company. "I don't expect them to go any easier on us, am sure I'll do my part to help enable that with occasional stupid decisions," he wrote. TBPN, meanwhile, sees the acquisition as a means to do more than just commentary. "While we've been critical of the industry at times, after getting to know Sam and the OpenAI team, what stood out most was their openness to feedback and commitment to getting this right," Hays said in a statement. "Moving from commentary to real impact in how this technology is distributed and understood globally is incredibly important to us."

OpenAI Buys Some Positive News

OpenAI announced Thursday that it had acquired the online business talk show TBPN for an undisclosed sum. The move comes as OpenAI struggles with its public image, which has taken a significant hit in recent months. Since launching in 2024, TBPN has risen in popularity among Silicon Valley circles by offering a daily live stream about the technology industry that's seen as more tech-friendly than traditional outlets. The show's two hosts, John Coogan and Jordi Hays, offer real-time commentary on breaking news, cycle through viral social media posts, and interview executives from companies including Meta, Salesforce, Palantir and OpenAI. It's become especially popular among OpenAI staff and other AI researchers, many of whom are addicted to the social media platform X. It's hard to understand how a media startup fits into OpenAI's core businesses selling ChatGPT, Codex, and a new super app the company is developing to consumers and enterprises. Last month, OpenAI's CEO of Applications, Fidji Simo, told staff in an all hands meeting that the company needed to cancel its side projects and refocus around its core businesses. In a memo to staff announcing the acquisition, Simo said the typical communications playbook does not apply to OpenAI. "We're not a typical company," she said in the memo, which was also published as a blog. "We're driving a really big technological shift. And with the mission of bringing AGI to the world comes a responsibility to help create a space for a real, constructive conversation about the changes AI creates -- with builders and people using the technology at the center." TBPN is a small business compared to OpenAI. The media firm says it generated $5 million in ad revenue last year, and was on track to make more than $30 million in revenue in 2026, according to the The Wall Street Journal. The show reportedly reaches around 70,000 viewers per episode across a variety of platforms. A source close to OpenAI says the company doesn't expect TBPN to contribute financially to the business, though it will help with OpenAI's communications strategy. OpenAI has fallen under increased public scrutiny in recent months. After the company signed a deal with the Department of Defense in February, Anthropic's Claude surged in downloads and claimed the top spot among Apple's free apps. OpenAI's leaders are also dealing with a growing QuitGPT movement which is made up of people who vow to never use OpenAI's products. OpenAI President Greg Brockman cited AI's popularity issues as a core reason for his increased political spending. The acquisition makes OpenAI the latest Silicon Valley player to try owning and operating a news business. In recent decades, there have been several notable examples of technology leaders purchasing media firms, including Jeff Bezos buying The Washington Post, Marc Benioff buying Time Magazine, and Robinhood buying the newsletter company MarketSnacks. In each case, the acquisitions raised immediate questions about whether the outlets would remain truly independent. In her memo, Simo told staff that TBPN will retain editorial independence. "TBPN is my favorite tech show. We want them to keep that going and for them to do what they do so well," said OpenAI CEO Sam Altman in a post on X. "I don't expect them to go any easier on us, [and I] am sure I'll do my part to help enable that with occasional stupid decisions." OpenAI said TBPN will continue to "run their programming, choose their guests, and make their own editorial decisions," according to Simo's memo The company also said that TBPN will report directly to OpenAI's VP of global affairs, Chris Lehane. WIRED previously reported how an economic research team under Lehane had struggled to report on AI's negative impacts on the economy.

OpenAI just bought TBPN

TBPN's views averages about 70,000 viewers per episode, and it generated more than $5 million in advertising revenue this year, with projections to draw in more than $30 million in 2026 revenue, according to The Wall Street Journal. OpenAI's reasoning for purchasing the show involved "accelerating the global conversation around AI," according to a company blog post, which includes a memo sent Thursday by Fidji Simo, OpenAI's CEO of AGI deployment. Simo wrote, "As I've been thinking about the future of how we communicate at OpenAI, one thing that's become clear is that the standard communications playbook just doesn't apply to us ... With the mission of bringing AGI to the world comes a responsibility to help create a space for a real, constructive conversation about the changes AI creates -- with builders and people using the technology at the center."

OpenAI acquires technology talk show TBPN in surprise move

April 2 (Reuters) - OpenAI, jostling with Anthropic for enterprise customers, has bought TBPN, an online tech talk show that has built a loyal Silicon Valley following through interviews with industry CEOs. Entrepreneurs John Coogan and Jordi Hays, who started TBPN in late 2024 with the aim of competing with industry heavyweights including CNBC, will join OpenAI as part of Thursday's move. The deal is surprising given that OpenAI had not previously indicated any plans to ⁠enter the news business and had recently shelved its Sora video-generation tool as part of its efforts to focus on the lucrative market for AI coding tools. OpenAI, which did not disclose the financial details of the deal, said the move would help communicate its plans better and guide the conversation about the changes AI creates. The money-losing startup said it would maintain TBPN's editorial independence and drew parallels to other ⁠such efforts by large tech companies over the years in its newsletter, the Prompt. "This isn't new in form. Media has long sat within larger enterprises, whether that was ABC/CBS/NBC sitting within large conglomerates, or Microsoft co-creating MSNBC, ⁠or Bloomberg News belonging to Bloomberg LP," it said in the newsletter. OpenAI has recently faced backlash over its move to strike a deal with the U.S. ⁠government to let it use its technology in classified military operations, after rival Anthropic and Washington got into a dispute. The talk show has ⁠hosted high-profile guests, including Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, filmmaker James Cameron and OpenAI chief Sam Altman. Reporting by Aditya Soni and Kritika Lamba in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D'Silva Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab

OpenAI just bought the TBPN talk show because the normal PR playbook "doesn't apply" to it

This article covers a developing story. Continue to check back with us as we will be adding more information as it becomes available. Back when LLMs were new, OpenAI had the lion's share of the popularity. However, as rival companies such as Google and Anthropic managed to get a strong foothold, it seemed like the company was struggling to keep up with everyone. However, it seems that the minds at OpenAI have figured out why that's the case; it's because the tech giant isn't a typical company, but instead a huge player in one of the biggest tech shifts in years. As such, the company believes that unconventional circumstances demand unconventional solutions. The company has just purchased talk show TBPN in a bid to communicate with the world better. OpenAI buys up TBPN to better spread the word Although it's not a complete takeover by any means As reported by Yahoo News, Fidji Simo, chief of applications at OpenAI, wrote a note to company staff about the acquisition. On the surface, an AI company buying a talk show sounds strange, but Simo believes that OpenAI is in a strange position to begin with. As Simo notes in her note: "As I've been thinking about the future of how we communicate at OpenAI, one thing that's become clear is that the standard communications playbook just doesn't apply to us. We're not a typical company. We're driving a really big technological shift. And with the mission of bringing AGI to the world comes a responsibility to help create a space for a real, constructive conversation about the changes AI creates -- with builders and people using the technology at the center." As part of the deal, Jordi Hays and John Coogan, the hosts and founders of TBPN, will aid OpenAI with communication and marketing. They will also report back to strategy executive Chris Lehane about what's happening. However, despite the buyout, Simo was quick to note that Hays and Coogan will still have full editorial freedom over the show, and will continue to run what they want and bring on the guests they want to see. Simo notes that this freedom is "foundational to their credibility," which OpenAI is "explicitly protecting as part of this agreement."

OpenAI acquires popular tech talk show for 'low hundreds of millions'

OpenAI has struck a deal to acquire TBPN, a technology-focused talk show popular in Silicon Valley, making an unexpected move into broadcasting after pledging to abandon "side quests" and focus on its core business. The ChatGPT-maker had purchased the 11-person company in a "low hundreds of millions of dollars" deal, according to a person with knowledge of the terms. TBPN, or Technology Business Programming Network, has acquired a devoted following among start-up founders and their investors since its launch in October 2024. Co-hosts and self-styled "technology brothers" Jordi Hays and John Coogan have interviewed Meta's Mark Zuckerberg and OpenAI founder Sam Altman, becoming a fixture at tech conferences. Fidji Simo, who runs OpenAI's product business, told staff on Thursday that TBPN was "one of the places where the conversation about AI and builders is actually happening day to day". Coogan and Hays had built "a space for a real, constructive conversation about the changes AI creates -- with builders and people using the technology at the centre", she added. In a separate memo last month, Simo urged staff to zero in on primary business lines including ChatGPT and coding tools for business customers. "We cannot miss this moment because we are distracted by side quests," she wrote. One person close to OpenAI dismissed the idea that the deal was a distraction for a company competing against Google and Anthropic. "Researchers and engineers will not devote time to this and it's not a new product, so it's not a side quest," they said. TBPN averages about 70,000 viewers per daily episode and was on course to generate around $30mn in revenue this year, largely from advertising, before the deal, according to the person with knowledge of the terms. OpenAI said TBPN would remain in Los Angeles and continue to be editorially independent, despite its new owners being among the most recognisable AI companies in the world and a competitor to a number of the talk show's existing advertisers. "While we've been critical of the industry at times, after getting to know Sam and the OpenAI team, what stood out most was their openness to feedback and commitment to getting this right," said Hays. "Moving from commentary to real impact in how this technology is distributed and understood globally is incredibly important to us." Hays and his team would report to OpenAI's head of global affairs, Chris Lehane, and "help with marketing and communications at OpenAI but keep their editorial independence", the company said. Altman on Thursday posted on X: "I don't expect [TBPN] to go any easier on us, am sure I'll do my part to help enable that with occasional stupid decisions." The Wall Street Journal first reported that OpenAI was acquiring TBPN.

OpenAI acquires popular tech podcast TBPN

TBPN is a daily podcast hosted by John Coogan and Jordi Hays that covers technology news and features interviews with major tech leaders, including Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, and OpenAI co-founder and CEO Sam Altman. The Wall Street Journal was first to report the news. In the announcement, OpenAI CEO of AGI Deployment Fidji Simo wrote that their mission of bringing artificial general intelligence comes with a responsibility to have a space for "constructive conversation about the changes AI creates." OpenAI did not disclose the terms of the deal but said TBPN will be housed within its strategy organization. "While we've been critical of the industry at times, after getting to know Sam and the OpenAI team, what stood out most was their openness to feedback and commitment to getting this right," wrote Hays in a statement. "Moving from commentary to real impact in how this technology is distributed and understood globally is incredibly important to us." CNBC has reached out to OpenAI for additional comment. TBPN generated about $5 million in advertising revenue in 2025 and is on track to exceed $30 million this year, according to the Wall Street Journal.

OpenAI Buys Streaming Show 'TBPN,' Aiming to Change Narrative on A.I.

Mike Isaac covers artificial intelligence and wrote about the rise of "TBPN" last year. For the past 18 months, every chief executive in Silicon Valley has clawed at the door to talk to "TBPN," a streaming show focused on technology and business. They have embraced the "TBPN" hosts, John Coogan and Jordi Hayes, who often speak optimistically about technology on their show, which airs online three hours a day, five days a week. Now, a leading artificial intelligence start-up is giving the show a full-on bear hug. On Thursday, OpenAI said it had bought "TBPN" for an undisclosed amount and would continue to support it as the show promoted the business of technology and media. "One thing that's become clear is that the standard communications playbook just doesn't apply to us," Fidji Simo, a top OpenAI executive, said in an internal memo to employees about the deal. She added that buying "TBPN" would help OpenAI "create a space for a real, constructive conversation about the changes A.I. creates -- with builders and people using the technology at the center." "TBPN," which employs 11 people, said it would remain editorially independent and continue running its daily show but would wind down its advertising operations. The company had not raised a major amount of venture capital. OpenAI and "TBPN" declined to disclose the terms of the deal. The Wall Street Journal earlier reported the deal. (The New York Times sued OpenAI and Microsoft in 2023 for copyright infringement of news content related to A.I. systems. The two companies have denied those claims.) The acquisition comes at a pivotal moment for Silicon Valley as A.I. companies face more scrutiny amid an accelerating boom. Sam Altman, OpenAI's chief executive, has said he "miscalibrated" the level of mistrust for A.I. companies from the public after OpenAI struck a deal with the Pentagon in February to provide services for military operations. Prominent venture capitalists like Marc Andreessen and Peter Thiel have claimed the mainstream news media does not give the tech industry a fair shake. OpenAI executives have expressed similar concerns, current and former employees said. "TBPN," which aired its first episode in October 2024, gained traction among techies because it bucked that discourse. Mr. Coogan and Mr. Hays, both former start-up founders, have professed their love of capitalism, building businesses and watching technology companies reshape the world. Mr. Altman also invested in Mr. Coogan's first company, the nutritional supplement drink Soylent, more than a decade ago. Dylan Abruscato, the president of "TBPN," said in an interview that the show had ambitions to expand, which would be easier to do with OpenAI's support and funding. "TBPN" will sit in OpenAI's strategy division and report to Chris Lehane, the chief global affairs officer. As part of the deal contract, the companies created a "commitment to editorial independence." OpenAI will not have a say in which guests Mr. Coogan and Mr. Hays have on the show or in the topics they cover. OpenAI also does not get the rights to the likenesses of Mr. Coogan and Mr. Hays, should the company one day decide an A.I. version of them may be better than the real thing. "I don't expect them to go any easier on us, am sure I'll do my part to help enable that with occasional stupid decisions," Mr. Altman said in a social media post on Thursday. The reality may not be so simple. Part of the success of "TBPN" has been its independence, with guests like Satya Nadella of Microsoft and Mark Zuckerberg of Meta, whose companies compete with OpenAI. It may be difficult for the "TBPN" hosts to continue nabbing high-profile interviewees with their new affiliation. Mr. Abruscato said "TBPN" pushed hard for contract terms that would ensure the show would remain in control of its own direction. He added that it had ambitions of building an events business, or potentially taking the "TBPN" broadcast on the road in the future. In a text message to The New York Times on Thursday, Mr. Coogan put it more succinctly. "Expect the unexpected," he wrote.

OpenAI buys tech talkshow TBPN in push to shape AI narrative

OpenAI's chief of strategy says acquisition of show will help company engage with public about AI as it evolves OpenAI is wading into the media business by acquiring TBPN, a technology-focused talkshow closely watched by Silicon Valley insiders, its hosts said on Wednesday. Co-hosts John Coogan and Jordi Hays broadcast TBPN live for three hours every weekday from Los Angeles, lining up guests that include founders, venture capitalists and major figures in the technology world. The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. Fidji Simo, OpenAI's chief of strategy, said in an internal message to staff that the acquisition would help the company engage more authentically with the public at a pivotal moment for artificial intelligence. "We're driving a really big technological shift. And with the mission of bringing AGI to the world comes a responsibility to help create a space for a real, constructive conversation about the changes AI creates," she wrote. Simo said TBPN "will continue to run their programming, choose their guests, and make their own editorial decisions. That's foundational to their credibility, and it's something we're explicitly protecting as part of this agreement." The show - which is broadcast on X, YouTube and Spotify - is also known for a ritual in which the hosts bang a gong as guests announce their latest fundraising haul. TBPN will continue broadcasting daily at its regular time, Coogan said in a post on X, adding that the acquisition represented a "full circle moment" given his longstanding ties to OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman. "He funded my first company in 2013," Coogan wrote, tracing a relationship with Altman that spanned stints at Y Combinator - the startup incubator where Altman served as president. Coogan also worked at venture capital giant Founders Fund, where he said the first deal he encountered was OpenAI's post-ChatGPT funding round in late 2022. "This is not an April fools joke," Coogan said, confirming the deal at the start of their show on Thursday.

OpenAI acquires tech talk show TBPN

Why it matters: The deal underscores OpenAI's effort to not just release AI tools but also shape the public conversation on AI. Driving the news: "TBPN is my favorite tech show," OpenAI CEO Sam Altman posted on X. "We want them to keep that going and for them to do what they do so well. I don't expect them to go any easier on us, am sure I'll do my part to help enable that with occasional stupid decisions." * TBPN will maintain its editorial independence and continue to run its programming and choose their guests, OpenAI's CEO of applications Fidji Simo wrote in Thursday's announcement. * Simo said the "acquisition brings a team with strong editorial instincts, deep audience understanding, and a proven ability to convene influential voices across tech, business, and culture." * TBPN will report to OpenAI chief global affairs officer Chris Lehane. Its advertising business will wind down under the new structure, the Wall Street Journal reported. Catch up quick: Launched in 2024, TBPN quickly became an influential media startup in tech with a daily, three-hour live show that covers tech and finance in the style of an ESPN "SportsCenter" broadcast. * The show, which streams on X, YouTube and LinkedIn, has hosted high-profile guests including Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and Altman. * Coogan and Hays previously worked as investors and entrepreneurs. On Thursday's live broadcast, Coogan said Altman invested in his first company and they had known each other for about 13 years. Follow the money: OpenAI and TBPN did not disclose deal terms. * TBPN expected to generate $5 million in ad revenue in 2025 and was profitable with no outside investors, the Wall Street Journal reported. It hired former Postmates and HQ Trivia executive Dylan Abruscato to help triple that to $15 million in 2026. * OpenAI this week announced its latest funding round of $122 billion at an $852 billion post-money valuation. Between the lines: Coogan and Hays framed the acquisition as a continuation of their work on Thursday's show. * "TBPN is not going away," Coogan said. "We're going to be live every day, three hours, long as we want. We have a lot of flexibility. We're going to do a lot of interesting things." * "A core part of this is editorial independence," he added. "We can say whatever we want because we're live, and we don't need to run anything through anyone." Reality check: TBPN has gained prominence for its ability to attract top executives across the tech industry. Now that the show is owned by OpenAI, it's unclear whether it will be able to secure interviews with competitors. * Instead, it could begin to resemble a traditional owned content strategy, featuring conversations with current and potential OpenAI partners and investors. Zoom out: Other companies have acquired or launched their own media properties to shape perception and deepen customer relationships. * Plaid, the $8 billion startup connecting banks and fintechs, acquired This Week in Fintech last month, Axios exclusively reported. * Robinhood launched Sherwood back in 2023. * Penn Entertainment acquired Barstool Sports, though later sold it back to founder Dave Portnoy. What to watch: The acquisition comes shortly after OpenAI said it would focus on its enterprise business and wind down experimental consumer products like its video generation app Sora.

OpenAI Gets Into Media, Buys Streaming Business Talk Show TBPN

WME Inks $500 Million Deal to Sell 160over90 Sports Marketing Firm to Publicis The AI tech giant has acquired TBPN, the red-hot streaming show that covers big business, with a heavy emphasis on tech. The show will continue to stream on YouTUbe, X and every pother platform where it is available, and OpenAI CEO of applications Fidji Simo told employees at the company that it will have editorial independence. "TBPN will continue to run their programming, choose their guests, and make their own editorial decisions," she wrote in a note to staff. "That's foundational to their credibility, and it's something we're explicitly protecting as part of this agreement." So why is OpenAI buying the Gen Z CNBC? It's about helping the company communicate. "As I've been thinking about the future of how we communicate at OpenAI, one thing that's become clear is that the standard communications playbook just doesn't apply to us," Simo wrote. "We're not a typical company. We're driving a really big technological shift. And with the mission of bringing AGI to the world comes a responsibility to help create a space for a real, constructive conversation about the changes AI creates -- with builders and people using the technology at the center." TBPN's founders and hosts Jordi Hays and John Coogan will help OpenAI on communications and marketing, and report to strategy executive Chris Lehane. "I can't wait to leverage their talent outside of the show to innovate on how we bring AI to the world in a way that helps people understand the full impact of this technology on their daily lives," Simo wrote. TBPN has become a Silicon Valley obsession, with their hours-long daily streams and in-depth conversations with founders. "Over the past year, we've had a front-row seat not just to OpenAI, but to the entire ecosystem, covering the daily news, announcements, and launches in real time," Hays said in a statement. "While we've been critical of the industry at times, after getting to know Sam and the OpenAI team, what stood out most was their openness to feedback and commitment to getting this right. Moving from commentary to real impact in how this technology is distributed and understood globally is incredibly important to us."

ChatGPT owner OpenAI acquires technology talk show TBPN in surprise move

OpenAI, jostling with Anthropic for enterprise customers, has bought TBPN, an online tech talk show that has built a loyal Silicon Valley following through interviews with industry CEOs. Entrepreneurs John Coogan and Jordi Hays, who started TBPN in late 2024 with the aim of competing with industry heavyweights including CNBC, will join OpenAI as part of Thursday's move. The deal is surprising given that OpenAI had not previously indicated any plans to enter the news business and had recently shelved its Sora video-generation tool as part of its efforts to focus on the lucrative market for AI coding tools. OpenAI, which did not disclose the financial details of the deal, said the move would help communicate its plans better and guide the conversation about the changes AI creates. The money-losing startup said it would maintain TBPN's editorial independence and drew parallels to other such efforts by large tech companies over the years in its newsletter, the Prompt. "This isn't new in form. Media has long sat within larger enterprises, whether that was ABC/CBS/NBC sitting within large conglomerates, or Microsoft co-creating MSNBC, or Bloomberg News belonging to Bloomberg LP," it said in the newsletter. OpenAI has recently faced backlash over its move to strike a deal with the US government to let it use its technology in classified military operations, after rival Anthropic and Washington got into a dispute. The talk show has hosted high-profile guests, including Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, filmmaker James Cameron and OpenAI chief Sam Altman.

OpenAI acquires technology talk show TBPN in surprise move

April 2 (Reuters) - OpenAI, jostling with Anthropic for enterprise customers, has bought TBPN, an online tech talk show that has built a loyal Silicon Valley following through interviews with industry CEOs. Entrepreneurs John Coogan and Jordi Hays, who started TBPN in late 2024 with the aim of competing with industry heavyweights including CNBC, will join OpenAI as part of Thursday's move. The deal is surprising given that OpenAI had not previously indicated any plans to enter the news business and had recently shelved its Sora video-generation tool as part of its efforts to focus on the lucrative market for AI coding tools. OpenAI, which did not disclose the financial details of the deal, said the move would help communicate its plans better and guide the conversation about the changes AI creates. The money-losing startup said it would maintain TBPN's editorial independence and drew parallels to other such efforts by large tech companies over the years in its newsletter, the Prompt. "This isn't new in form. Media has long sat within larger enterprises, whether that was ABC/CBS/NBC sitting within large conglomerates, or Microsoft co-creating MSNBC, or Bloomberg News belonging to Bloomberg LP," it said in the newsletter. OpenAI has recently faced backlash over its move to strike a deal with the U.S. government to let it use its technology in classified military operations, after rival Anthropic and Washington got into a dispute. The talk show has hosted high-profile guests, including Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, filmmaker James Cameron and OpenAI chief Sam Altman. (Reporting by Aditya Soni and Kritika Lamba in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D'Silva)