OpenAI takes over tech talk show TBPN — and buys itself some positive news

OpenAI announced on Thursday They took over the online business talk show TBBN For an undisclosed sum. The move comes as OpenAI struggles to improve its public image, which has taken a major hit in recent months.

Since its launch in 2024, TBBN She rose to popularity among Silicon Valley circles by presenting daily live broadcasts about the technology industry that were seen as more technology-friendly than traditional outlets. The show’s hosts, John Coogan and Jordie Hayes, provide real-time commentary on breaking news, sift through viral social media posts, and interview executives from companies including Meta, Salesforce, Palantir, and OpenAI. It has become particularly popular among OpenAI employees and other AI researchers, many of whom have become addicted to the social media platform X.

It’s hard to understand how a media startup fits into OpenAI’s core business, which sells ChatGPT, Codex, and a new super app the company is developing for consumers and businesses. In March, Fidji Simo, chief applications officer at OpenAI, told employees in an all-hands meeting that the company needed to scrap its side projects and refocus on its core business.

In a memo to employees announcing the acquisition, Simo said that typical communications rules do not apply to OpenAI. “We are not a typical company,” she said in the note, which was also published as a blog. “We’re leading a really big technology shift. And with the mission of bringing AGI to the world comes a responsibility to help create the space for a real, constructive conversation about the changes that AI is creating — with the builders and the people using the technology at the center.”

TBBN It is a small company compared to OpenAI. The media company says it generated $5 million in advertising revenue last year and was on track to generate more than $30 million in revenue in 2026, according to the Wall Street Journal. The show is said to reach around 70,000 viewers per episode across a variety of platforms. A source close to OpenAI says the company doesn’t expect that TBBN To contribute financially to the business, although this will help with OpenAI’s communications strategy.

OpenAI has come under increasing public scrutiny in recent months. After the company signed an agreement with the Department of Defense in February, the number of downloads of Anthropic’s Claude app rose and took first place among Apple’s free apps. OpenAI leaders are also taking issue with the growing QuitGPT movement, which consists of people who pledge to never use OpenAI products. OpenAI President Greg Brockman has cited AI popularity issues as a primary reason for his increased political spending.

This acquisition makes OpenAI the latest Silicon Valley player to attempt to own and operate a news company. In recent decades, there have been several high-profile examples of technology leaders purchasing media companies, including Jeff Bezos’ purchase of the Washington Post, Marc Benioff’s purchase of Time Magazine, and Robinhood’s purchase of the newsletter company MarketSnacks. In each case, the takeovers raised immediate questions about whether the media outlets would remain truly independent. Simo told employees about this in her memo TBBN You will retain editorial independence.

“TBBN It is my favorite technology program. “We want them to keep it going and do what they do well,” Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, said in a post on X. “I don’t expect them to treat us any easier. [and I] I’m sure I’ll do my part to help make that happen by making stupid decisions sometimes.

OpenAI said TBBN She will continue to “manage her programming, select her own guests, and make her own editorial decisions,” according to Simo’s memo. The company also said that TBPN will report directly to OpenAI’s Vice President of Global Affairs, Chris Lehane. WIRED previously reported how an economic research team under Lehane’s leadership struggled to report on the negative effects of AI on the economy.