Alphabet's $80B Raise, the App Distribution Crisis, and Why Substack Is a Landlord
Failed to add items
Add to basket failed.
Add to wishlist failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
-
Narrated by:
-
By:
Daniel and James kick off a packed ADSN rundown by celebrating hitting #1 in Namibia, then dive into Alphabet's staggering $80 billion capital raise arguing it's not just about compute buildout but a strategic move to suck capital away from soon-to-IPO competitors like SpaceX, Anthropic, and OpenAI. From there, they unpack the app distribution crisis created by agentic AI tools: everyone can build now, but the audience, budget, and creative genius to actually get discovered are nearly impossible to find.
The back half covers the Substack vs. Beehiiv battle over audience ownership, why ChatGPT is becoming the new Facebook blue app, Apple's potentially risky WWDC AI strategy, and a Northbeam stat showing just 1.4% of Meta ad accounts produce 36% of all creative. They close with a comparison of AI adoption to electricity — the real gains don't come from plugging in, they come from redesigning the entire workflow — and primary posts on the risk of founding and Snap's upcoming Specs launch.
Thank you to our sponsors:
AdQuick – Making OOH advertising as easy to plan, buy, and measure as digital. adquick.com
Thrad.ai — Building the advertising infrastructure for AI. thrad.ai
beehiiv — The all-in-one platform for newsletters, websites, and every tool you need to grow and earn. beehiiv.com
The Farm — Fraction commercial legal with an in-house approach to outside counsel. thefarmllp.com
STAY CONNECTED
James on Twitter & LinkedIn – /jamesborow
Daniel on LinkedIn, Instagram, TikTok – /danieldruger
Subscribe & leave a ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ review on Spotify & Apple Podcasts.