OpenAI Buys TBPN, a Daily Tech Talk Show, to Help Drive ‘Constructive Conversation’ About AI
Artificial-intelligence giant OpenAI has acquired TBPN, aka the Technology Business Programming Network, a media start-up that hosts a talk show about Silicon Valley and finance that has streamed online for about a year.
“TBPN has built something pretty special,” Fidji Simo, CEO of applications at OpenAI, wrote in a memo to staffers Thursday. “It’s one of the places where the conversation about AI and builders is actually happening day to day. A lot of you already watch it, and rely on it to stay close to what’s going on.”
Simo claimed OpenAI will maintain TBPN’s “editorial independence,” allowing the team to choose their own 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,” she wrote.
But why is a gigantic tech company buying a small media start-up?
Simo explained it like this: “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 [artificial general intelligence] 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. That’s exactly what TBPN has built. So rather than trying to recreate that ourselves, it made a lot of sense to bring them in, support what they’re doing, and help them scale — while keeping what makes them special.”
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman — who has appeared as a guest on the show — tweeted that “TBPN is my favorite tech show. 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 has 11 employees and debuted its talk-show livestream in March 2025, which averages around 70,000 viewers per episode across platforms, per the Wall Street Journal. TBPN says it is profitable and generated around $5 million in ad revenue in 2025 (and claims it was on track to make more than $30 million in revenue in 2026).
TBPN will be housed within OpenAI’s strategy organization, reporting to chief global affairs officer Chris Lehane.
Jordi Hays, co-founder and co-host of TBPN, said in a statement: “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. 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.”
John Coogan, TBPN’s other host, wrote on X, “This is a full circle moment for me as I’ve worked with [Sam Altman] for well over a decade,” with Altman having funded his first company in 2013. Last year, Altman “was the very first [AI] lab lead to join the show,” Coogan said. “Thank you to everyone that has been a part of TBPN until now. The last year has been the most fun and rewarding part of my career and we’re excited to have more resources than ever going forward.”
TBPN’s daily, live tech talk show is hosted by Hays and Coogan and airs weekdays from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. PT. The show is available on X (Twitter), YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, LinkedIn, Substack and Instagram.
The duo provide “boosterish commentary on the worlds of tech and business,” per a New York Times October 2025 profile. (Originally they called the show “Technology Brothers,” which the Times said was “a wink to the common put-down for men of their ilk, ‘tech bros.'”) Led by Coogan, Hays, and president Dylan Abruscato, TBPN “caught fire across the tech ecosystem,” according to OpenAI.
Law firm Eisner LLP represented TBPN in the acquisition.
“TBPN has built something pretty special,” Fidji Simo, CEO of applications at OpenAI, wrote in a memo to staffers Thursday. “It’s one of the places where the conversation about AI and builders is actually happening day to day. A lot of you already watch it, and rely on it to stay close to what’s going on.”
Simo claimed OpenAI will maintain TBPN’s “editorial independence,” allowing the team to choose their own 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,” she wrote.
But why is a gigantic tech company buying a small media start-up?
Simo explained it like this: “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 [artificial general intelligence] 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. That’s exactly what TBPN has built. So rather than trying to recreate that ourselves, it made a lot of sense to bring them in, support what they’re doing, and help them scale — while keeping what makes them special.”
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman — who has appeared as a guest on the show — tweeted that “TBPN is my favorite tech show. 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 has 11 employees and debuted its talk-show livestream in March 2025, which averages around 70,000 viewers per episode across platforms, per the Wall Street Journal. TBPN says it is profitable and generated around $5 million in ad revenue in 2025 (and claims it was on track to make more than $30 million in revenue in 2026).
TBPN will be housed within OpenAI’s strategy organization, reporting to chief global affairs officer Chris Lehane.
Jordi Hays, co-founder and co-host of TBPN, said in a statement: “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. 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.”
John Coogan, TBPN’s other host, wrote on X, “This is a full circle moment for me as I’ve worked with [Sam Altman] for well over a decade,” with Altman having funded his first company in 2013. Last year, Altman “was the very first [AI] lab lead to join the show,” Coogan said. “Thank you to everyone that has been a part of TBPN until now. The last year has been the most fun and rewarding part of my career and we’re excited to have more resources than ever going forward.”
TBPN’s daily, live tech talk show is hosted by Hays and Coogan and airs weekdays from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. PT. The show is available on X (Twitter), YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, LinkedIn, Substack and Instagram.
The duo provide “boosterish commentary on the worlds of tech and business,” per a New York Times October 2025 profile. (Originally they called the show “Technology Brothers,” which the Times said was “a wink to the common put-down for men of their ilk, ‘tech bros.'”) Led by Coogan, Hays, and president Dylan Abruscato, TBPN “caught fire across the tech ecosystem,” according to OpenAI.
Law firm Eisner LLP represented TBPN in the acquisition.