Ben Thompson

1 week ago | stratechery.com | Ben Thompson

Good morning,This week’s Stratechery Interview is with Dan Kim and Hassan Khan. The CHIPS and Science Act was passed in 2022 to encourage the manufacturing of semiconductor chips in the U.S.; it included $39 billion in subsidies for chip manufacturing on U.S. soil, $13 billion for semiconductor research and workforce training, and a 25% investment tax credit for semiconductor manufacturing equipment. Kim and Khan helped distribute that money. Kim was the Chief Economist of the CHIPS Program Office.

1 week ago | stratechery.com | Ben Thompson

The FTC’s case against Facebook doesn’t make sense because it conflates three distinct Facebook eras, and today’s era is very much defined by competition. Subscribe to Stratechery Plus for full access. Already subscribed? $15 / month or $150 / yearWith Stratechery Plus you get access to the subscriber-only Stratechery Update and Stratechery Interviews, and the Sharp Tech, Sharp China, Dithering, Greatest of All Talk, and Asianometry podcasts.

1 week ago | stratechery.com | Ben Thompson

Good morning,On last Thursday’s Sharp Tech, Andrew and I discussed the then-current state of Trump’s trade war, including the history of Apple manufacturing and how and when tech built up its supply chain in Asia. Plus, at the end, I give my trip report from my vacation visit to the Japan Grand Prix. On to the Update:From Ars Technica:OpenAI today announced a significant expansion of ChatGPT’s customization and memory capabilities.

1 week ago | stratechery.com | Ben Thompson

Hello! And welcome to a new feature called “This Week in Stratechery.” Each week, on Fridays, we’re going to be putting together a digest of everything that’s been released in the Stratechery Plus universe, and highlight a few of our favorite podcasts and articles. We’ll also, for free subscribers, unlock at least one paid Update or podcast — look for the highlighted links. We’ve been publishing TWiS in beta since the beginning of 2025 — the archives are here — and now we’re live.

2 weeks ago | stratechery.com | Ben Thompson

Here were a few of our favorites from Stratechery Plus this week. Opportunities and Constraints for Google. Monday’s Stratechery Article focused on multiple dimensions of Google’s strategy, but the lessons apply to big tech in general. On one hand, there’s a tremendous opportunity for Google to make YouTubeTV an aggregator of various streaming platforms, and structurally speaking, YouTubeTV should probably be the entry point for mass television audiences of the future.